The Beachside Cafe (Saltwater Secrets Book 2)

by Sage Parker

  Lou got up from his desk and went around it, taking the pictures from Cameron and holding them up in front of him. He grunted when he came to one of them. “This is the IDL logo, isn’t it?”

  Jaymee was surprised and raised her eyebrows. “Yes, that’s what our friend Alex said.”

  The detectives looked at Jaymee at the same time. “Alex? Who is that?”

  Cameron was the one who answered. “Alex is a brilliant scientist I know who has his own laboratory, despite being very young. I’ve consulted him many times in the past and have done so for this job, too. He knows labs and what things look like in pictures like this. Clearly they are manufacturing vials of clear liquid. Some kind of drug. My friend says they may be using human subjects for their trials.”

  “That’s about as illegal as it gets,” John said, his voice expressing his disgust.

  “Yep.” Lou agreed with his partner, laying the photos back down. He returned to his desk and lifted the lid on his laptop. “Let me tap in the name here and see what we come up with.”

  Jaymee watched anxiously as Lou tapped on his keyboard. After about five long, silent minutes, while John looked through the rest of the papers Cameron handed him, Lou turned the laptop toward the two of them, making sure it was turned enough for John to see as well. He scooted his rolling chair around so he was next to Jaymee and could also see the screen.

  “That the man?” He pointed to the front face picture of a man that looked just like the one in the picture with Doug.

  Jaymee nodded. “That’s the guy. That’s Martin Granger.”

  “Check this out,” Lou clicked on the picture and it became smaller, revealing more information about the person in the photo. In fact, there was an entire paragraph about him. “So this Martin Granger guy was working for IDL up until two years ago when there was some evidence he had been stealing trade secrets from the company and selling them for a high profit. Nothing he sold was harmful, thank God, but if he had continued on, he might have turned to the dark side, so to speak.

  “That’s awful,” Jaymee said. “They’re performing trials on human subjects, for goodness sake.”

  “Who don’t even know what’s going on or happening to them,” Cameron added, shaking his head.

  “So that’s the connection between these two men,” Jaymee said. “That might be the connection between Doug and everyone on the list. It’s IDL. That’s the connection.”

  “Did you know your husband was dealing in pharmaceuticals?” John asked.

  “He wasn’t. Not that I know of.”

  “Do you have the names of the other six victims?” Lou asked, turning the laptop back to him.

  “Right here.” Jaymee pulled the hand-written list from her pocket of first names and last name initials. She handed it to him.

  “Good, good.” When he said the words and began to type on the laptop, Jaymee was reminded of Alex and smiled. It took about fifteen minutes but Jaymee wasn’t bored. She watched as the man began writing down information, her hopes skyrocketing.

  Finally, he turned the paper to them and tapped it with his pen. “These are the people I found working for IDL that have the same first name and last initial. Looks like there’s one for every name on that list.”

  Jaymee was covered in chills when she picked up the paper and ran her eyes down the list. She read it out loud for the benefit of Cameron and John.

  “Martin Granger. Brian O’Rourke. Carmine Russo. Dylan Lianetti. Daniel Coulter. Amanda Dinklage.”

  She looked over the paper at Cameron. “They all work for IDL. Did you find any other documents about IDL on Doug’s computer?”

  Cameron shook his head. “I wasn’t looking for information about IDL on there. He’d have to be pretty stupid to leave stuff like that where it can be seen.”

  “Well, we saw the photos and videos, didn’t we? We have to go back and look.”

  “You two let us know what else you find. We’ll conduct our own investigation on our end. If we come up with anything about IDL that’s pertinent, we’ll get right with you.”

  “Sounds good, thanks, John.” Cameron stood up, holding out his hand. The two men shook.

  Taking his cue, Jaymee stood up. She turned to Lou, bending at the waist to shake his hand. She and Cameron switched up shaking hands with the detectives and left in a hurry. Jaymee was anxious to see if there was anything on Doug’s computer about IDL.

  As they went down the steps in front of the police station, Cameron glanced in her direction, a sly look on his face.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  “Oh, I was just wondering how your divorce is going.”

  Jaymee laughed. “I made an appointment with a lawyer Monday morning. I thought I’d give myself a little more time to think about it and make sure it’s something I want to do. I’ve made up my mind, there’s just that 1% chance I should wait and get his side of the story. But the more I find out about him, the less I think I’m going to stay married to him. It’s going to hurt Cheyenne but Doug isn’t the man I thought he was or the man I need him to be. I need honesty. And frankly, so does Cheyenne.”

  “You can’t be more right.”

  “And besides that, he’s disappeared. No trace of him anywhere. No violence that we can see, nothing but a half-empty vial of a paralyzing drug left behind. If he was taken from our home, surely he would have fought back.”

  “Unless he couldn’t.”

  “Or just didn’t need to,” Jaymee added. “I think there’s always a good chance the drug was used on someone or something by Doug and his cohorts and they simply carried the man out of the house. They dropped the vial before they cleaned up and left.”

  Cameron looked surprised. “Do you really think Doug is capable of something like that?”

  “Unfortunately, I do.” Jaymee responded with a sigh. “I never thought I would say it but the more I’m hearing…” She shook her head. “I just don’t trust Doug anymore and I doubt I ever will again.”

  “Well, I can certainly understand why. And I’m with you, Jaymee. You don’t have to feel like you’re having to deal with this by yourself. If you need someone to talk to, I’m always here for you. In fact, are you free for dinner?”

  Jaymee wanted to say she was always free for dinner where he was concerned. Instead, she smiled at him and said, “Yes. I am.”

  EIGHT

  Jaymee was excited for their dinner together. She was ready and raring to go by the time he pulled up outside. This time, he wasn’t driving a Jeep. He was driving a BMW. Jaymee was glad she’d dressed nice. He was looking sharp in a light jacket and tie with matching trousers and shiny shoes on his feet.

  “I thought I’d take you somewhere nice,” he said as she got in the car. She smiled at him. “I know your husband took you to fancy restaurants. I’d like to make you feel at home.”

  “That’s nice of you. You don’t have to do that. I’ll pay for my food.”

  Cameron’s eyes snapped to her face and when he realized she was joking, he laughed heartily. “You are a funny woman, Jaymee Lent.”

  “Ugh,” Jaymee groaned, rolling her eyes. “Please don’t call me by that name. In the divorce, I’m going to change it back to Mason. But I might go downtown and pay the forty dollars to have it changed back now. I just don’t want to be called by that name anymore.”

  “I understand. I’ll call you Ms. Mason, if you like.”

  Jaymee laughed. “Jaymee is just fine. But if you want to be sarcastic and silly and say the whole thing, it’s Jaymee Mason from now on. Okay?”

  “You got it, little lady.”

  The car drove smoothly and silently down the street. Cameron reached over and turned on the radio. “You like any particular kind of music?”

  “I’m partial to jazz, if you don’t mind that kind.”

  Cameron’s grin spread wide. “I love jazz. That’s perfect. In fact, I’ve got one of the stations autotuned to my radio on the second…” He clicked a few butt
ons and suddenly the smooth sound of jazz music was coming through the speakers.

  “Oh, that’s nice,” Jaymee said, enjoying the tune that was playing. He turned it down to a respectable level so they could still hear each other when they talked.

  Jaymee was amazed by how well they got along. She had never felt so comfortable with a man before. Not even Doug. Then again, she’d been married to him for a long time. Being comfortable with him was a thing of the past. Now they were just two people existing in each other’s worlds and sharing a house together.

  She wanted to share that with Cameron but she didn’t. He already knew her relationship with Doug had grown stale before his disappearance. She thought Doug probably figured she wasn’t even looking for him. If he was still alive.

  They got to the restaurant ten minutes later and Cameron got out, handing the keys to the valet. Another valet was opening Jaymee’s door and helping her out. She thanked him and waited for Cameron to come around to where she was. They walked into the restaurant together. Cameron told the maître d who he was and that he’d reserved a table for two.

  Jaymee was impressed with the restaurant, the staff, and Cameron as soon as she walked into the place. It was true, Doug had taken her to high-class restaurants like this one before. But she’d never seen anyone get the treatment Cameron was getting. It was like he was a celebrity. Staff was calling him by name – “What can I get for you, Mr. Smith”, “How are you today, Mr. Smith”, “You are looking well, Mr. Smith” – Jaymee couldn’t believe her eyes.

  They were seated at a nice table in a good section where the sun was shining on them but not in their eyes. They were directly under a fan that sent down a cool breeze. The tables were covered with white linen cloths, a centerpiece candleholder with a white candle, bronze berries decorating the outside.

  “What can we get you to drink, sir?”

  Cameron looked at Jaymee across the table after he sat down. “You want some alcohol tonight? Or are we abstaining?”

  “I’m not in the mood for more than maybe one glass of white wine, perhaps a chardonnay? You choose.”

  Cameron shook his head. “I don’t drink much. I’ll let Gerald here choose. How’s that sound, Gerald?”

  “I’ll bring you the best we have, Mr. Smith.”

  “And two glasses of ice water, please.”

  Jaymee was amazed that Cameron would know she always got a glass of water with her food.

  “How did you know that?” she asked.

  Cameron gave her a questioning look. “Know what?”

  “That I would want a glass of ice water?”

  The grin that came to Cameron’s face was instantaneous and so dazzling, Jaymee had to steady her rapidly beating heart. She hoped she wasn’t blushing.

  “I’ve had dinner with you a bunch of times in the last few weeks,” he responded. “You always have a glass of water with your dinner. Even on the casual nights, you have a bottle of water. I’ve seen it with my own eyes and these eyes don’t lie.”

  Jaymee was flattered that he’d paid that much attention to her. She was sure Doug had never made such a gesture in their entire time together.

  They talked casually as they waited for the food they’d ordered. Jaymee could tell that, like her, he was avoiding talking about the case. When their food came, Cameron made mention of that fact.

  Once Gerald was gone, he leaned over the food and said softly, “Let’s try not to even think about the case while we’re here, how’s that sound?”

  “I like the sound of that,” Jaymee said. And to solidify her point, she continued, saying, “I didn’t know you were such a popular man with the elites here in Grand Bay. How did you manage that?”

  “I’ll tell you how I managed that,” Cameron said with a sly grin. “I’ve got dirt on all these people. They don’t know I’m a P.I. but they tell me their life story whether I ask or not. And I know where all the bodies are buried.”

  “If they don’t know you’re a P.I. why does it matter that you’ve got dirt on all of them?”

  Cameron nodded. “You’re right, I may have misspoke. They’re nice to me because they like me. Therefore, I have a lot of dirt on them. They’re probably about 90% confident that I won’t spill the beans on them. But you have to be careful when you have a position of some power or money or status and someone knows your secrets.”

  “That’s true. I can understand why they like you anyway. You’re a good friend. To me, you seem very loyal and trustworthy. I felt that way right off. I’m sure all of them did too.”

  Cameron grinned, surveying the room around him, nodding at a few people he knew. “Yes, they all are…” He let the word drift off and kept his eyes in one spot on the other side of the room.

  Jaymee turned her eyes to see what he was looking at. She saw a group of six people at table, enjoying a meal together.

  “Who is that?” she asked.

  “I thought I heard a familiar name,” Cameron said. “One of the ones from the list we made. Brian O’Rourke. I’m sure I heard that name called.”

  Jaymee slid out from the booth, leaving behind a very confused Cameron. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her as she went toward the table. She walked slowly and casually, smiling at people around her as if she wasn’t doing anything sneaky at all. When she got to the table, she took advantage of the picture on the other side of the wall from it. It was a historical picture of the land the restaurant was sitting on. In the early 1800’s, it had made its debut as a saloon for the rough and tough cowboys coming through town for the gold rush.

  Jaymee raised her eyebrows, suddenly truly interested in the picture. She read through it and her brain only refocused when she happened to catch the name they were thinking of mentioned behind her.

  “You shouldn’t have to worry about this next election, Brian,” one of the women said. “I have everything in the bag for you. There’s no way you aren’t going to win.”

  “I just hope we’re trying out some new tactics, Megan. Whatever you and Greg have been doing for the past six months doesn’t seem to be helping me online. People are still bashing me.”

  “Everyone is going to bash someone else in a political office when they’re on the other side of the aisle, Brian. Stop worrying about the naysayers and focus on your policies. The right people will vote for you. They love you. You know that.”

  “My constituents are the only ones I want to focus on,” Brian replied. Jaymee, still staring at the picture but now listening to the conversation behind her, was sure she heard a level of concern and nervousness in his voice. “And I don’t want them to think I’ve betrayed them.”

  “Let’s not talk about that anymore, Brian. Focus. You’ve got to focus.”

  Jaymee had been standing there for a long time. She decided she better move before someone at the table became suspicious. She turned to go in the direction she’d been going and then stopped.

  “Oh, the bathrooms aren’t this way,” she murmured, just loud enough for someone to hear at the table if any of them had become curious. She turned and went in the other direction to the signs that indicated where the restrooms were.

  NINE

  The address for Martin Granger turned out to be a house in the suburbs about twenty minutes outside Grand Bay.

  “You think this is really going to be his address? Like, he’s still living here?” Jaymee asked as they pulled up in front of a small one-story brick house. They both looked at the exterior. It had been freshly mowed and there was a lived in presence about it.

  “I’m willing to bet if he isn’t living here, someone is. Looks well-kept and clean.”

  Jaymee had to agree with that. She got out of the car at the same time as Cameron. They slowly walked on the concrete path to the front door, examining the lawn, which was empty of any adornments like bushes, fountains, flowers or anything that might make it look homey. The only sign of life was in the enormous flower beds that ran along the front of the house on either
side of the small front porch.

  “You knock,” Jaymee said. “And you do most of the talking, too. Men don’t like to listen to women interrogating them.”

  Cameron knocked and the two of them waited. Jaymee thought she heard movement inside as someone walked to the door just before it was opened by a mousy looking man shorter than she was.

  He looked from Cameron to Jaymee and back again. “Can I help you?”

  Jaymee couldn’t believe it. He even had a mousy voice. He was just a small man. There was no way he would have been able to handle a large man like Doug. Doug probably weighed twice what Martin did.

  “You’re Martin Granger?” Cameron asked.

  Martin frowned. “Yeah? So what? Who are you?”

  “My name is Cameron Smith and this is my partner, Jaymee Mason. We’re just asking some questions about IDL from people who’ve worked there.”

  Jaymee was astonished by the look of utter fear on the man’s face when he heard the name IDL. He backed up but didn’t close the door in their faces, which she appreciated.

  “I don’t have anything to say about IDL,” he said in a harsh voice. “Working for them ruined my life. Ruined it! I haven’t been able to sleep, think, eat, nothing! All because of what’s happened since I left there.” Martin suddenly looked defeated, his shoulders slumping.

  “I’m sorry we have to bother you,” Cameron said. “It concerns a missing person and we do need your help. If you could just tell us whatever you can about IDL and we’ll get out of your hair.”

  “Please,” Jaymee added. “It’s… It’s my husband that’s missing. Jeremy Mason. Do you know him?”

  Jaymee was thankful Cameron didn’t look at her when she lied about Doug’s name. She wanted the man to have sympathy for her but not recognize her name or her husband’s. She would have to remember to tell Cameron how pleased she was to remember the last name she was choosing to go back to.

  “I don’t know that name,” Martin said bluntly. “And I don’t want to talk about IDL.”

  He looked like he was going to close the door when Cameron took a step forward. He used a firm but respectful tone when he said, “Mr. Granger. A man is in danger. We need your help. Please do the right thing. We won’t stay long, I promise.”