The Beachside Cafe (Saltwater Secrets Book 5)

by Sage Parker

  THE BEACHSIDE CAFE

  SALTWATER SECRETS BOOK 5

  SAGE PARKER

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  Copyright © 2020 by Sage Parker

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  The book is a work of fiction. The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  Books by Sage Parker

  About the Author

  ONE

  Jaymee Mason looked up from the paperwork in front of her when the door to her office swung open. It was unexpected, as the employees at her oceanside Saltwater Café rarely needed her help with anything. She relaxed a bit and smiled when she realized it was her daughter, Cheyenne, coming through the doorway.

  “Good morning, dear,” she said, pleasantly. Cheyenne had moved into her own condo, leaving the family home, just two months ago, shortly after her father, Doug, disappeared. In the past five months that he’d been gone, Jaymee had gone through divorce proceedings. She and an investor in her café, Cameron Smith, had discovered some unsettling things about her ex-husband that prompted her to make that decision.

  Doug had been blackmailing a handful of people from the company he used to work for. At Intersectional Dynamics Laboratories, Doug had worked in the accounting department. Five years after leaving the place, his disappearance created a reason for Jaymee and Cameron, who is also a private investigator, to launch their own examination of what’s going on.

  Currently, they had two suspects at the top of their list. Amanda Dinklage and Dylan Lianetti. Amanda worked as a researcher for IDL, while Dylan was on the staff of lawyers.

  “Mom,” Cheyenne said, dropping herself in the huge, cushioned chair against the wall to Jaymee’s left. It wasn’t a large office but Jaymee didn’t think that was a good excuse for it not to be comfortable. Cheyenne slid down so her legs were stretched out in front of her and her back was bowed, her chin against her chest. She was a beautiful girl even as exhausted as she was.

  “You look tired,” Jaymee said. “Have you been sleeping all right?”

  “No,” Cheyenne responded, shaking her head. “They’ve given me more responsibility at the firm and I can’t get some of these cases out of my head. I mean, most of our lawyers work with contract law and that kind of thing. Especially here in California, that’s needed more than anything, I’d say.”

  Jaymee raised one eyebrow. “That and murder, maybe,” she stated coldly.

  Cheyenne frowned. “Yes. And that’s where I’m having trouble. With Dad going missing and… everything we’ve found out about him... I just… don’t know how to feel anymore. How to think. Who can I trust? If I couldn’t trust Dad, who can I trust?”

  Jaymee was swept with a heavy feeling of guilt mixed with sympathy. Five months and she hadn’t questioned how easily Cheyenne had taken the news that her father was a criminal. She had been a Daddy’s Girl. She had Doug wrapped around her finger and vice versa.

  To find out her cherished daddy was a blackmailer and was likely killed by one of his victims had to have a painful impact on Cheyenne. How could she have not seen that? Guilt for being so wrapped up in her own life felt like a knife in Jaymee’s heart. She hopped out of her chair and went around the desk, dropping down next to her daughter.

  “Oh, my precious girl,” she whispered, putting one hand on the side of her daughter’s head and the other one around her back, her hand gripping Cheyenne’s shoulder. She pulled her into a side hug that was all-encompassing, kissing the top of Cheyenne’s head while she rocked back and forth. “I really thought you were taking all this better than I would have expected. It’s going to be all right, honey. You still have me. What your dad felt for you was love. You were probably the only person he loved that ever walked the earth, really.”

  “He loved you, too, Mom.”

  Jaymee doubted that. Their marriage had not been one of love and passion. It was almost like a business arrangement in Jaymee’s mind. And she’d come to terms with that. As of late, another man had made his way into her heart, innocently at first but more openly in the last few weeks. She and Cameron had a relationship unlike any Jaymee had had before. He was loving and kind to her. He was both outgoing and knew how to enjoy quiet times together. She was yet to find anything she’d consider a flaw in Cameron Smith.

  “I’m able to get past the hurt easier than you, dear. I haven’t felt a passion for him for some time. I don’t want to hurt you more than you already are, though. So we need to talk about how you feel and how I can help you feel better. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m happy right now. You know why.”

  Cheyenne pulled away slightly so she could look up into Jaymee’s eyes. “I really am happy for you and Cameron, Mom. He’s a great guy. And I don’t blame you. I’ve been really struggling trying to come to terms with knowing what Dad was really like. He was… so different with me. I really never would have believed any of this. I would have been one of those children whose parents have all the evidence against them but they keep testifying on behalf of them.”

  She shook her head.

  “You’re supposed to love your parents that much, Cheyenne. You can’t blame yourself for being human. And you’re right. He didn’t treat you badly in any way. He was never anything but a loving, supportive father. What he was when he wasn’t a father isn’t your fault. I think you might be the only reason he stuck around. It certainly wasn’t for me. But again, don’t worry about me.” Jaymee kicked herself mentally for bringing the topic back to her. The last thing Cheyenne needed was to hear sarcastic remarks about her father coming from her mother. Especially not at that moment.

  “I feel like he was fooling us all.” Cheyenne’s voice was so quiet, Jaymee could barely hear her. “I feel like a huge fool. He pulled the wool over my eyes.”

  “No. He didn’t. Not anymore than he did anyone else. You were the light in his eyes. That’s why he was the way he was with you. You have to understand that.” Jaymee squeezed her daughter’s shoulders once more before. “He loved you, honey. You were the only good thing in his life, I think. It wasn’t fake. None of that was fake. I’m sure of it.”

  Cheyenne gazed at her mother. “Thanks, Mom. You do know how to make me feel better. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, honey.” Jaymee hugged her. While in mid-hug, the door of her office was thrown open abruptly, making both of them jump. Jaymee sharpened her eyes on the stranger who was standing there, looking frantic.

  The brown-haired woman grabbed the door and closed it behind her, pressing her back against it. “Jaymee Lent?” the woman said, breathlessly.
r />   “Mason. Yes. I’m Jaymee. Who are you?”

  “I have something for you.”

  When the woman whipped her head from side to side, scanning the interior of the room in a panicked way, Jaymee got the impression she was checking for cameras. Her heartbeat went into overdrive and she stood up slowly, holding her hands out to show she was not on the defense. “Can I help you? You won’t be hurt here. What can I do for you? Is this about Doug? IDL? The investigation?”

  “Here.” The woman grabbed Jaymee’s hand and yanked her closer. Fear stabbed Jaymee in the chest but she kept herself together. The woman pressed a rectangular object in Jaymee’s hand. “You didn’t get this from me,” she hissed as if suddenly Jaymee and Cheyenne were her enemies. Her eyes opened wide. It was like she’d just realized where she was, who she was with, what she was doing.

  She sucked in a sharp breath, hopped back to the door, pulled it open and was gone as suddenly as she’d been there. Jaymee turned to give her daughter a curious look.

  “What did she give you?” Cheyenne asked.

  Jaymee looked down at what was in her hand. “It’s a flash drive.”

  “I wonder what’s on it?”

  “I don’t know,” Jaymee replied. “Let’s call Cameron and find out.”

  TWO

  Jaymee hadn’t needed to get Cameron to look at the files on the flash drive. But there was something about the way the woman had left the drive behind that made Jaymee want to leave the café immediately. As much as she wanted to know what was going on, she got a sense the woman thought she was in danger just coming to the café. If she was followed, Jaymee wasn’t about to put her daughter at risk.

  She’d gone to one of Cameron’s offices around town. He had several small offices rented for different aspects of his business. He employed several people to run those offices while he wasn’t there. Today, he was in the office that handled his real estate dealings. He’d told Jaymee the day before that was where he would be all day.

  The investigation into finding her husband had been at somewhat of a standstill for the past week and Jaymee was close to thinking it would grow cold. No matter how much evidence they collected on IDL, nothing had so far led to the whereabouts of her ex-husband.

  Cheyenne would never have closure without finding him.

  Jaymee walked into the office with confidence. She was alone. On the drive over, Cheyenne had decided she didn’t want to see what was on the drive. She didn’t want to know what danger lurked out there, what man could do to man and get away with it.

  Jaymee didn’t blame her. But she had to know if it would lead to the discovery of Doug’s body. She’d settled herself with it long ago. Doug wasn’t still alive. None of his credit cards had been used. The people he’d been blackmailing were all coming out of the woodwork, suspected of having a hand in his disappearance. None of them would be stupid enough to use his credit cards. None of them wanted his money.

  They all just wanted him dead.

  Cameron smiled at her, standing up, when she walked into his office. She saw the look in his eyes change after a few seconds of assessing her. “Jaymee. It’s good to see you. What’s wrong? You have news?”

  Jaymee took a moment to ponder how a man who had only known her for such a short time could read her so well. She didn’t mind. He could read her front to back all day long. She wanted to be his favorite book.

  “I do, as a matter of fact,” she said, not letting on how attracted she was to the handsome man gazing at her with his blue eyes. She handed him the flash drive. “We need to take a look at this. Some lady dropped it off at my café about a half hour ago. I was with Cheyenne. She looked terrified, like she was in danger, maybe being followed or something like that. I thought we should get out of there, just in case she had been and this is the best place to go to look at it. I feel safe here.”

  Cameron closed the few feet between himself and the window behind him with three long strides. He pulled down the shades and peered through at the street outside. Looking both ways for a moment, he sighed, letting the shades flip back to normal.

  “I don’t see anyone suspicious out there but that’s not the only parking lot. It doesn’t matter. You’re right about security. I have cameras mounted and I’m always ready with protection. A trained professional, you might say.”

  Jaymee nodded. He came back to her and took the flash drive from her, which she held out once more.

  “So this is it, huh?” He looked up at her. She nodded again. “What do you think is on it?”

  “I think we should find out,” Jaymee responded.

  “Okay.”

  Cameron moved back to his desk and opened the top of his laptop. He sat at the desk and Jaymee went to stand right behind him, one hand up on the back of his chair.

  He pushed the drive into the port and they waited while the laptop loaded the information.

  Cameron clicked on the icon when it came up and a list of folders in a box popped up on the screen.

  “Whoa,” Cameron said under his breath. “That’s a lot of folders. Look at the file size. Those aren’t small files.”

  “Click on the first one.”

  “How about this video first?”

  Cameron moved the cursor to the video file and double-clicked to open it.

  A woman’s face came up on the screen. She was sitting in what looked like a dentist’s chair – high in the back, arm rests on the sides, knees raised slightly, feet on footrests. Her wrists and ankles were secured with what looked like leather straps.

  She had a horrified look on her face.

  “That’s the woman who gave me this drive!” Jaymee hissed, leaning closer, chills covering her body. “What are they doing to her?”

  Cameron shook his head, pulling the cursor up to the video and clicking on it to pause it.

  “Are you sure you want to watch this? It might be pretty gruesome.”

  Jaymee didn’t want to see anything gruesome. But the woman who’d dropped off the drive didn’t look like she’d been tortured. Jaymee didn’t recall any bruises or cut marks. She looked frightened to death but that was about it.

  “Pull the marker over and let’s see what happens without watching it. The video image should show above it.”

  Cameron nodded. “I know what you mean.”

  He pulled the video as she suggested and they saw someone else come on the screen. He was dressed from head to toe in white coveralls, something someone would wear in an experimental lab.

  “Stop. Let’s see what he does.”

  The two watched as the man in the outfit injected something into the terrified woman. It was her screams that made the video almost unbearable to watch. Jaymee winced from that alone.

  The video of the woman in the chair lasted another thirty seconds or so before the screen changed to show the same woman in an office behind a desk. She was turned sideways so the desk was to her right on the screen and a counter holding a globe and a bunch of books was to her left.

  She was leaning over as if she had to be very close to the screen. When she began speaking, Jaymee and Cameron knew why. “That was two weeks ago,” she whispered. “My name is Jennifer Bertram. I am being held in the International Dynamics Laboratories on the seventh floor. I’m not the only one here. They tricked me and a bunch of other people to come and be paid to go through medical trials. What they said wasn’t what they’re doing though. People have died.” The more the woman spoke, the faster her words came out, the more frantic she said them. “Someone has to help.”

  She stopped abruptly and turned the recording device away from her, directing it toward the door. She was breathing hard. There was noise coming from the other side of the door but it passed. Jennifer let out a sigh of relief.

  The recording device was grabbed and the room swiveled in front of Jaymee and Cameron as she moved it back to direct it toward her face. Jaymee assumed it was a laptop.

  “I don’t know who to send this to and I don’t think t
his room has wifi. I snuck in here because I saw the laptop. They didn’t check me when I came in and I still had this flash drive. This is the same laptop they used in that experiment room.” Her voice started to tremble so that it was hard to decipher what she was saying. Her eyes were stressed as she stared at the camera. “Those injections, they’re doing something to us inside. The pain is… so…” She choked for a moment, got herself back under some control and continued, “Please, someone has to come save us. We’re on the seventh floor of the IDL building. Bring the cops. They’re taking some of us on a field trip tomorrow. I’ve discovered how to fight against the sedative they give us. I’m going to take this flash drive with me and take it to that café everyone is talking about. I put as many of their files on this drive as I could. I don’t even know if they will be relevant. But I put my whole file on here. Somebody has got to be able to figure it out.”

  She got even closer to the screen and Jaymee could see the tears in the woman’s eyes. “If you come to IDL and ask for me, they’ll let me talk to you. We won’t have long before they will notify Dinklage or some of the other researchers that there are visitors on the premises. But there’s a lot more I can show you if you come here. Call this number.” She held up a number in front of the screen. “Between two and four this afternoon. That’s when we can get phone calls. Please, I’m begging you. Help us.”

  THREE

  Jaymee turned away from the laptop and stepped over to the counter where she’d left her bag. She rifled through it until her hand touched her cell phone.

  “I’m calling the number,” she stated bluntly.