Page 3 of The Beachside Cafe 4
“No. Got this, though.” He reached in his vest pocket and pulled out a folded flyer. He opened it for her and handed it over. She took it from him, reading the words at the top.
Meet the Councilman 1pm to 4pm Tuesday through Thursday this week.
Answering questions for his constituents and taking suggestions for
Improving our Community is what O’Rourke is all about.
She nodded, turning her eyes up to him. “This looks promising. But it’s going on for another three hours. Let me go home and change first. Then we can both go in and see him. How’s that sound?”
“I like it. Let me drive. I don’t feel like puttering around in that little Honda of yours. I brought my Jeep. That’s a cooler ride.”
Jaymee chuckled. “I guess I can’t argue with that. The jeep is cooler. Especially when you take the doors off. Makes me feel like a teenager.”
“Well, more the reason for me to take those things off. Just for you, my lady. Sorry. But today the doors are on.”
“That’s okay. Let’s get to the house. You’ve made me anxious to see what O’Rourke is all about.”
The ride home was comfortable, as always.
“When’s the last time you talked to the detectives?” Jaymee asked, thinking about Lou Monroe and John Spencer, who had been on the case of Doug and the IDL since the beginning. Early on, they had decided to focus their investigation on IDL and let Cameron and Jaymee search for clues about what happened to Doug.
“Yesterday. They had nothing to report.”
At first Jaymee had been anxious to find her husband. But now that the divorce was in the works and would be finalized soon, according to her attorney, Noah Elliott, she was anxious to find him for different reasons. She wanted him brought to justice. The lives he’d tried to destroy with his misdoings may not have been perfect but they weren’t his to interfere with. A woman with an unsavory reputation, a man with a shady past he couldn’t escape from, a councilman who was apparently taking bribes to pass certain bills and regulations… these people weren’t perfect. They’d almostaskedto be blackmailed.
Regardless, Jaymee knew of at least two people who were innocent victims and one was Carmine Russo. Martin Granger was the first suspect on their list and he’d been immediately scratched off, as well. So two of the people he’d been blackmailing were victims of his greed and human mistakes they’d made. The two they had under the spotlight were Dylan Lianetti – the lawyer for IDL – and Amanda Dinklage – a researcher for IDL.
Jaymee and Cameron uncovered experiments the company was doing on human guinea pigs in their investigation. This was what launched the inquiry the police detectives were doing. Everything the two had brought to their attention was building a strong case of crimes against humanity, as well as illegally doing experiments that might have serious consequences, eventually involving the CDC, maybe the DOJ and other government officials. Jaymee was glad she wouldn’t be dealing with those people. That would be left to the investigating detectives in law enforcement.
They pulled up in front of the house and Cameron let her out before continuing to the line of three parking spaces on the left side of the house after the circular drive that was flanked with full bushes. In the middle of the circular drive was a huge fountain with constantly flowing water from the bucket of a little boy and girl Jaymee thought was a cute representation of Jack and Jill. Before Jack cracked his skull and Jill went tumbling after.
Jaymee went inside the house, noticing immediately how the high ceilings and the luxurious nature of the interior made her feel a little cold. She hadn’t felt at home since Doug’s disappearance. She felt more at home in Cameron’s huge mansion on a cliff overlooking the ocean and that wasn’t her home at all.
She glanced over her shoulder at him as he got out of the Jeep and came toward her. Once again, he was looking down at his phone. She hadn’t seen him check his phone so often before and wondered what he was keeping up with.
She didn’t want to ask, for fear he would think she was questioning him when it wasn’t her business. She felt no jealousy and didn’t suspect him of talking to another woman. Jaymee knew he wasn’t hers to claim yet and she would have no right to say anything to him or feel any kind of way about it.
But when she saw him tap his thumb over the keyboard rapidly and shove the phone back in his pocket, her curiosity peaked. If it was a woman, he wasn’t very pleased with her.
Smiling at her silly thoughts, Jaymee turned back to the front door and pulled her keys out. She unlocked it and went through into the gigantic foyer. Again, her footsteps seemed to echo, making her feel like she’d walked into a brightly colored tomb.
She left the front door open so he could come in as she crossed the foyer and went up the stairs, heading toward her bedroom.
It didn’t take long to change. She hurried at it, washing her face and brushing her teeth and her hair, plumping the long curls around her shoulders. She smiled at her reflection. She was satisfied with how she looked. She’d chosen a pencil skirt and matching blouse and jacket with one button to hold it closed in front of her flat stomach.
Jaymee examined herself in the full-length oval mirror in her room. She turned from side to side. It might be time to get a workout machine in the house. She was getting older and figured it could only do her good.
When she was satisfied with how she looked, she pulled on a pair of pretty two-inch high heels the same color as her navy blue outfit.
He was still waiting in front of the door downstairs. He hadn’t even closed the door behind him. He was standing to the side with it wide open next to him and his eyes were on his phone.
Jaymee couldn’t stop herself. She had to say something about it.
“Ever since I saw you this morning, you’ve been on that phone. Is everything all right?”
She hoped he didn’t think she was overstepping her bounds. She asked the question to reassure him and herself that she wasn’t asking out of jealousy, only curiosity.
Cameron’s eyes darted up to her as she came down the stairs toward him.
