Read Online Jason Deas - Cameron Caldwell 01 - Private Eye by Jason Deas - Free Book Online

“Don’t you already have enough money without this new land deal? From what I hear, you’re one of the richest men in town.”
    “Not one of the richest, the richest. Let me tell you something that normal people don’t understand.”
    Cam observed that Billy didn’t even register he was talking down to him.
    “Money isn’t everything.” He took a drink and shook his empty glass at Cam who promptly refilled it.
    “The power that comes with money is better than the best sex you’ve ever had in your life, boy.”
    There it was again, the second time he’d been called boy. Cam bit his lip and pressed his arm to his side so he wouldn’t reach across the bar and slap the arrogant ass off his stool.
    “I own this town and I won’t be told that I can’t build anything by some two-bit hillbilly bootleggers. When I build my ski slope, people will come here from all over the southeast to dump money into my town.”
    “And what if it doesn’t work out the way you plan?”
    “Shoot,” Billy said, tilting his drink back and slamming it hard against the bar top. He got up without thanking Cam for the information and walked toward the door. “They get in my way again and I’ll kill those two,” he said, leaving without a goodbye.
     

Chapter Ten
     
    “I think you guys are in real danger,” Cam told Daphne. “He seemed really pissed. He said something about killing you and Claude.”
    “He probably says that every day.”
    “Why don’t you guys call it quits after this batch of shine? This just seems like it’s getting too risky. I wouldn’t mess with him.”
    “He’s all talk.”
    “No, he’s not,” Cam said, grabbing her hand. “You think he killed your father. You may be right. He killed Chief Lee.”
    “He what?” Daphne stopped and dropped the stack of menus in her hand.
    “He killed Chief Lee. I saw it in his eyes this morning.”
    “What about my daddy?”
    “I can’t see two things. I’m sorry. If a person has done a bunch of horrible things I can only see the last one.”
    “Will you keep trying to find out?”
    “Of course I will, but if he killed Chief Lee and he killed your father, what makes you think he won’t take you and Claude out as well?”
    “That would be too many murders. He would be caught.”
    “He doesn’t see it that way. He thinks he’s above the law. He even told me he owns this town.”
    “I’ll talk to Claude. We do have more money than we could ever spend. If nothing else, maybe we could sell out to Hank.”
    “Please talk to him, tonight.”
    “I will.”
    “Promise me.”
    “I promise.” Daphne picked the menus up off the floor. “You ready to go home?” Cam nodded. “Do we need to stop by the liquor store?”
    “Nope.”
     
    Daphne drove into Cam’s driveway.
    “Do you even have a car?” she asked, as the engine idled.
    “Of course I do.”
    “Do you ever use it?”
    “Rarely. I don’t drink and drive.”
    Daphne smiled.
    “Do you want to come inside to see what your brother did?”
    Daphne shut the engine off. “Sure.”
    Cam opened the door and let her enter first. She looked around and nodded her head. “It’s very Claude. Do you like it?”
    “I love it.” Cam set a bag down on the counter and pulled out the bottle of Jimmy Buffett tequila. “Can I offer you a drink?”
    “I don’t do tequila.”
    “It’s not tequila. It’s your product.”
    “Oh. No. Do you have any beer?”
    Cam walked to the fridge and looked inside. He wasn’t sure if he had consumed all the beer or not. “You’re in luck. I have about eleven beers.”
    Daphne laughed. “I’ll start with one. I’d drink shine with you, but I have to be at the diner at five a.m.”
    “How do you drink this stuff?”
    “Straight. On ice. There are a bunch of ways. I suggest on ice.”
    Cam handed her a beer and walked back into the kitchen. He opened the freezer door and grabbed a few ice cubes and plopped them in a glass. He opened the bottle and sniffed.