by Sage Parker
Martin looked disgruntled. He reluctantly stepped back and let them in. Jaymee was amazed by what she saw when she stepped into Martin’s home. The inside was not nearly as neat and tidy as the outside. Despite the papers spread all over the house, some in stacks up against the wall, filing cabinets lining one way and desks with papers stacked on top, there was a pleasant smell to the house.
Jaymee wondered how Martin managed that. The papers had to collect dust. Maybe he was the kind of man who cleaned constantly. Other than his papers, of course. He was a biologist. He should know something about germs and disease, that was for sure.
“You can sit if you can find a place. Just move my papers out of the way. I’m in the middle of sorting through some things, getting rid of other things.” He moved quickly down the hall and into the living room, taking papers from chairs and opening them up for Jaymee and Cameron.
Jaymee sat down, looking around the room. There wasn’t a speck of dust in sight. There was no trash. There was no old food wrappers or cups sitting around. This was a clean man, just untidy. And he had a lot of papers.
They sat for a few minutes, watching the man move papers around, mumbling to himself. Finally, he’d cleared a spot and sat on the couch. He leaned forward and glared at them both.
“So what do you want from me? What can I tell you?”
“Do you remember a man named Doug Lent?” Jaymee asked, deciding it would best to tell him about Doug without relating him to herself.
Martin’s face turned grey when she mentioned her soon-to-be- ex-husband’s name. “I remember him.”
“We found a picture of you and Doug from back about five years,” Cameron said, showing no signs of surprise that Jaymee had revealed Doug’s name when they had initially lied about it. “You looked like you were friends. You were shaking hands in the picture.”
Martin’s eyes clouded over as he stared into his memory. “I remember that, yeah. He was a good friend back then. We had a great time on that trip. Too bad that didn’t last. He wasn’t a good man. He was… he was a greedy man. He liked to take money from people. Something happen to him? Somebody kill him?”
“He’s also missing,” Jaymee said. “And we’re trying to find out where these men have gone.”
“Well, if you think your husband had anything to do with Doug Lent and now they’re both missing it’s probably because your husband is involved in something illegal. That was the kind of man Lent was. He liked to walk on the dark side. He was greedy.”
Cameron spoke up. “You keep saying he was greedy. Is that because he had something on you? We found evidence he has been blackmailing a lot of people. We haven’t got the evidence to prove it yet, though, nor do we know what he has on his victims. Were you one of them?”
Martin’s face fell. He’d realized he been caught, Jaymee surmised.
“Yeah. I was. And I’m not sorry he’s gone, I’ll tell you that. He was awful. He was blackmailing me… because…” Martin’s jaw clenched and he leaned forward, speaking low as if the walls could hear and would judge him for what he was saying. “Years back when I was in college, I plagiarized one of my papers. It was a moment of shame in my life that I’ll never get over. I… I got a scholarship based on that paper. I took it from an obscure unknown source but somehow Doug found out about it and… well, he started demanding money. Most recently $50,000. I don’t have that kind of money anymore. I hope he never comes back. At least not alive.”
Martin hung his head, as if ashamed of what he’d just said.
But Jaymee didn’t blame him. She stood up, looking at Cameron. “I think we should go and stop bothering this man. I doubt he can tell us a whole lot about IDL. I don’t think he was very high up in the company, were you, Mr. Granger.”
Martin frowned. “I was high enough for some security clearance. I wasn’t a janitor, you know.”
Cameron snorted. “Don’t knock the janitors,” he said. “Those people and housekeepers have access to all parts, parts that other people in the company don’t have access, too. You scientists aren’t the ones doing the mopping and dusting, are you?”
“No. And you’re right. I take that back. I know a lot about the company. But probably not anything that could be helpful to you.”
Cameron pushed himself to his feet next to Jaymee. “Let me leave you with my business card. You call us if you think of anything you think we might need to know.”
“By the way, one last thing,” Jaymee said. “Where were you two weeks ago on Tuesday, the fifth?”
Martin blinked at her. “I was right here, neck deep in paperwork. I’m at the university now. Teaching biology. I was grading papers.”
“You’re sure?” Cameron asked.
Martin turned his eyes to him and said in an unwavering voice, “Of course. That’s what I always do on Tuesday nights. There is never a variation to my schedule. Unless I have unexpected visitors.”
Jaymee blushed and the two left quickly with a friendly goodbye.
TEN
On the way home, they’d decided they would put Martin at the bottom of the list of suspects until they checked out all the other people.
“He doesn’t seem like the type that would actually make a physical move against someone else. He would probably poison his victims.”
“But the drugs we found… he could have used that first one to paralyze Doug and get him out of the house.”
“That still leads me to believe he must have had an accomplice. And he’s got five of them to choose from.”
“We need to establish if there’s a relationship between all of the people on the list. Since they all work for IDL, they might know each other.”
Jaymee felt a chill pass over her skin. “Can you imagine if all of them were involved?” She shook her head. “That would be really something. All of the people being blackmailed getting together to kill their blackmailer.”
“I’m sure it’s happened plenty of times,” Cameron said.
They pulled up in front of Jaymee’s house just as the sun was beginning to dip behind the horizon. Jaymee was missing her restaurant but she knew her manager was in charge and making things run smoothly. She completely trusted him to do a good job.
She looked over at Cameron. “You want to stay for dinner?”
He smiled. “I would love to stay for dinner, Jaymee. What’s on the menu?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Any suggestions?”
Cameron thought about it for a moment. “How about lasagna?”
Jaymee grinned at him. “Any suggestions that don’t take all night and have ingredients I have in my pantry?”
He laughed. “How about we go out or order in?”
“Let’s order in. Cheyenne will want to eat, too.”
“We could all go out.”
Jaymee laughed. “Well, we have all kinds of options, don’t we? I’m not really in the mood to go out. Let’s order in.”
“You got it.”
He pushed open the driver’s side door and stepped out into the street at almost exactly the same time Jaymee got out on her side. She waited for him as he rounded the car and came up next to her. He touched her elbow when he was close enough and the intimate gesture sent a tingle up Jaymee’s arm.
As they walked to the door, Jaymee sighed and said softly, “I think I better tell Cheyenne tonight about her father and that I’m divorcing him. I’m going to the lawyer and filing the papers and I want to tell her before I do that. It makes no sense to wait until the last minute so I… I think it’s best if I do it now.”
Cameron nodded. “It’s your decision, Jaymee. She’s your daughter. I think you should but that’s just my opinion. I don’t want you to think I would ever pressure you to do anything with your daughter. I am not an authority on her. But I’ll be glad to be here for moral support.”
“I know what we should do,” Jaymee said, spinning to face him, an idea popping into her head. “Since tomorrow is Sunday and no one has to get up for work, let’s get Al
ex over. Then he can help soften the blow, too. He could pick up a pizza on his way. Pepperoni and extra cheese.”
Cameron chuckled softly. “Matchmaking again.”
Jaymee blushed. “Not really. I just think she’ll want to be surrounded by people who care for her, friends and me, it just seems like the right thing to do.”
“I’ll call him and give him the 4-1-1,” Cameron said. He pulled out his cellphone and the two of them stood in the middle of the pathway while he waited for Alex to answer.
“Come on, come on,” he whispered, looking at Jaymee. “Hope he answ… hey, Alex. It’s Cam.” He waited a second while he listened to Alex on the other end. “Yeah, we’re good. Glad to hear it. Hey, you up for dinner? No, not with me… well, sort of with me… no, it’s not a date, you moron… yes, I know you don’t swing that way, look will you shut up and listen?” The whole time he was speaking, Cameron was rolling his eyes, a huge smile on his face. It made Jaymee’s heart feel lighter. She was dreading the task ahead.
Cheyenne’s car was in the driveway, so there was a good chance she was at home. Jaymee didn’t know if she had any dinner plans with anyone else and was just praying she didn’t so the whole conversation could take place and be done with.
“I’m at Jaymee’s. She thought it would be nice if you were here when she tells Cheyenne about her dad since the two of you have become friends. Jaymee wants her to be surrounded by people who care about her, you know… You will? That’s great, man, I appreciate that. Hey, pick up a pizza on your way here…” He abruptly laughed, startling Jaymee, who jumped and then giggled. “You want me to pay for it, do ya? I’ll pay you back when you get here. Get pepperoni and extra cheese, man… yeah, I know you were just teasing… you want to go in one with me? I want some sausage with my pepperoni. Yeah. Okay.”
Jaymee listened to the rest of the conversation as the two of them walked up the porch steps and across the deck to the front door.
He hung up with Alex. “He’ll be here in an hour.”
“Wonderful. Let’s go in and see what Cheyenne is doing.”
“Hopefully making lasagna,” Cameron said, pushing open the front door around Jaymee and holding it open for her.
Jaymee laughed at his joke as they stepped into the foyer.
“Cheyenne?”
“In here, Mom,” she heard from the den.
The two went to the door of the den and Jaymee peeked in to see her daughter watching TV, curled up on the couch with a big, warm blanket enveloping her entire body. She smiled at them.
“How’s everything?”
“It’s good. Real good in fact. Alex is bringing over a pizza and I thought we could talk and watch a move and stuff. The four of us.”
Cheyenne’s smile widened. “That’s great! I’d love that!”
By the time Alex got there forty-five minutes later, all three had settled in and made themselves comfortable. When Alex knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, they all looked at each other.
“Ugh, all right, I’ll go. It is my house, after all,” Jaymee threw off the blanket and went out to the front door.
The smell of pizza was intoxicating. She smiled wide and invited him in.
He went to the den with the pizzas and Jaymee went to the kitchen for plates and bottles of soda from the fridge.
Jaymee let Cheyenne enjoy her pizza and some small talk before she brought up the reason for the evening.
“Cheyenne, I want to tell you something important.”
Cheyenne, who had been smiling at Alex after a short conversation, turned her eyes to her mother. She took a bite of the pizza crust she was holding. “Is it about Dad?” she asked through her chewing.
Jaymee nodded. “Yes, it is. And it’s going to be… difficult to take.”
She was hurt by the tears that immediately sprung to her daughter’s eyes and the downturn of her lips. “Is he… is he…”
“I don’t know that yet,” Jaymee said hurriedly. She hated being forced to have this conversation with her daughter. It was all Doug’s fault. It made her angry but she pushed it down. That wasn’t the emotion she needed to use right now.
“Then what is it?” Cheyenne asked in a confused voice.
“Cameron and I have found evidence that… well, your dad was involved in some criminal activities. That might be what led to his disappearance.”
Cheyenne frowned. “What kind of criminal activities? What would Dad do that was illegal?”
“He was blackmailing people.”
“What?” Cheyenne shook her head. “No.”
“I’m afraid so, honey. And it seems to be tied to some kind of drug that’s being developed. I’m not sure of the details yet. The reason I’m telling you this now is because you need to know that I’ve decided to get a divorce.”
Cheyenne looked shocked. Again, tears formed in her eyes and this time, they fell.
“What? No!”
“I have to, honey. I can’t be involved in anything like this.”
Cheyenne looked as devastated as Jaymee thought she would.
She moved close to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her as Cheyenne started to cry. She felt Alex’s arm over hers and saw that he was hugging Cheyenne from the other side. Cameron completed the circle from the front and they comforted the young woman as she wept.
CONTINUE THE SERIES (BOOK 3)…
Chapter 1 Teaser:
Jaymee Lent laid back, stretched out on the full-length deck chair, relishing in the warmth of the sun on her face. The motion of the boat rocked her gently. It was a sensation she never got tired of. Doug, her soon-to-be ex-husband, hadn’t wanted a boat but was willing to go on a cruise every other year and Jaymee had taken it upon herself to go sailing whenever she felt like it, usually taking her daughter, Cheyenne, with her.
Cheyenne wasn’t on this boat ride, though. Doug had been missing for a month now and Jaymee had decided to investigate his disappearance herself, with the help of Cameron Smith, an investor in Jaymee’s oceanside restaurant called Saltwater Café.
Just before she left Grand Bay for her weekend mini-vacation with Cameron, Jaymee had signed the papers for her divorce. If Doug was ever found, she expected him to sign. She would divorce him whether he was found or not.
In the last four weeks, Jaymee had discovered some things about her husband that made it impossible for her to remain married to him. Twenty-one years down the tubes.
It hadn’t been a happy marriage at the end anyway. It was run-of-the-mill, a boring couple in their forties who had no interest in each other at all. She’d thought Doug was trying to rekindle something in their marriage when he told her his plan to buy a building for her to use for the oceanside café she’d dreamed of for so long.
He’d gotten investors, one of which was Cameron Smith, and let her have free reign over everything, from design to furniture to appliances. It was all hers. She’d thought her life was perfect. A husband who wanted to fall in love again, her own dream business, a successful daughter… It had all seemed perfect.
And then Doug disappeared. Cameron came into the picture, an investor and a private investigator. During their searches, they discovered Doug was not the upstanding character he made himself out to be. In fact, he was a blackmailer. He had six people on his radar, five men and one woman.
Cameron and Jaymee had eliminated one person from the list, Martin Granger. They discovered during their interview with him that he had an alibi. Their personal assessments of him were similar – he just wasn’t that kind of man.
Cameron had surprised Jaymee Friday afternoon when he met her outside her lawyer’s office. He’d taken her there and waited in the deli across the road while she did her divorce stuff. He was more than happy to take her there and wait. It may have only been a month, but Cameron’s feelings for Jaymee had grown stronger every day until he felt he was hopelessly in love with her.
And he hadn’t held back when telling her. He practically accosted her that day when
she came out of the office. He’d bought a bouquet of brightly colored flowers – she’d expressed her admiration for them in the grocery store one day – and told her they’d been working too hard. He wanted a vacation. Just a weekend. And he wanted her to come with him.
Of course she had to say yes. Who turned down vacations? Especially on a private mini-yacht?
Jaymee smiled.
It was Cameron’s boat and they were free to do whatever they wanted the whole weekend.
She turned her head and shielded her eyes when she heard the door to the lower deck open and Cameron’s footsteps on the stairs. He emerged from the lower deck, a cocktail in each hand. He smiled wide, his perfect skin glowing, his white teeth flashing.
“There you are,” he said. “I’ve brought you something cool and refreshing to drink. I call it the Sunset. You’ve got to try it.”
He gave her a uniquely shaped glass containing an orange and red mixture with several squares of ice floating in it along with a cherry.
“This looks delicious.” She lifted it up and scanned the colors as they mixed and floated inside. She got the sense there was orange juice involved in this drink. “It looks like a sunset, too, with the orange and red and yellow colors.”
Cameron nodded. “Yep, that’s why I call it that. Go ahead and taste it.”
CLICK HERE FOR BOOK 3
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