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Cameron found Kate sitting in one of the chairs in the courtyard enjoying the wonderful weather—just warm enough with a light breeze. Popcorn clouds floated in a seldom seen blue sky. It was the kind of day that made you love being in Southern California. Kate had changed from her business clothes into a pair of jeans topped by a tee shirt featuring a pointing finger and the word ‘Gotcha’ below the Fraud Busters logo. Maxi and Mini were sitting on the concrete next to Kate’s chair sunning themselves. Occasionally one of the ducks would give a little quack. Outside of that everything was tranquil.
“Hey, you’re early. Glad to see you’re controlling a little of that workaholic nature of yours.” Kate patted the chair next to her. “Join me for a minute before you go in to change.” She flashed an engaging smile. “I wrapped it up early today, too. Wait till I tell you about my meeting with the producers. It’s a go, but there’s more. I’ll tell you everything that happened after you change.”
Cameron plopped down in another chair and kicked off her stilettos. “Congratulations. When do they begin filming? Who’s playing you? Oh, man, I have a thousand questions.”
“Whoa. Too early to answer any of that. Like I said, you’ll get everything I know when you come back down.”
“Okay, be like that. Make me wait. Anyway, I have news, too, but nowhere as thrilling as yours. I pulled it off. I’m getting the contract for Sexy Seniors and a very lucrative account. You are looking at the Queen of beguiling disposable panties for women and men. Um, I guess that title will go to the CEO, but I’m behind the campaign. You’ve gotta love it, right? Who ever dreamed you could market the solution for incontinence as being sexy?”
“Well, my friend, you sure made the right decision when you geared your agency to targeting the over-fifty market. I don’t think youngsters relate to how much buying power seniors have or what will tap into that market.”
They sat there for a few minutes, thoroughly enjoying life. Maxi got tired of his spot on the concrete and got up to waddle back to the canal. Mini limped after him. They were such a cute couple.
Finally, Cameron said, “Well, I’ll be back shortly. I’ve gotta get out of this suit and stow my briefcase.” She wiggled her feet back into the stilettos and headed for the house, then stopped and turned toward Kate. “Besides the news about your meeting, which I can’t wait to hear more about, anything new regarding the Shadys?”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you about it when you come back. Danny called, and he said both he and Margaret have more to tell us. Also, I saw the Colonel walking Clarence when I got back. He said he remembered something Shady told him quite a while back but wanted to wait to tell everyone at the same time. It should be an interesting evening. By the way, don’t worry about dinner. I ordered some Wolfgang Puck salads, two rotisserie chickens and a spinach quiche plus one of those wonderful Viktor Benes Black Forest Cakes from Gelson’s. I got plenty for all of us. They’ll deliver it around seven thirty. Go! Get changed.”
Less than fifteen minutes later Cameron hurried down the stairs to join Kate. The chic business suit had been traded for cargo pants and a crop top. The Jimmy Choo stilettos were replaced by sandals with a slight wedge heel.
A couple of tourists strolled along the walkway, his arm around her shoulders. Both wore matching shorts and tee shirts obviously purchased from one of the shops on the boardwalk. His had a bikini-clad cutie on a surfboard with the words “Fun and Sun at Venice Beach CA.” Hers featured a Muscle Beach hunk and said “Love the Scenery at Venice Beach.” They paused for a beat and looked over the low fence into Cameron’s courtyard.
The man said, “Hey, how ya doin’ tonight? Sure is nice to be here.”
Cameron lifted her wine glass to the couple. “Glad you’re enjoying it. I really feel lucky to live here.”
He waved to her and said, “We’re from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, just here till tomorrow. If you haven’t visited, it’s pretty exciting there, too, but somehow being by the ocean and being by a river are a lot different. Still, you have these canals, eh. Sort of like being by a river, I guess.”
His companion giggled at the comparison, then looked embarrassed. “We shouldn’t bother these nice people, Luke.”
“Right you are, Love. Anyway, have a nice night, ladies.” He gave them a little salute and the couple continued their walk.
“You know, I really do feel lucky to live here,” Cameron said. “When I take the time to sit out here with a glass of wine, occasionally with a good friend like you, sometimes I think about how it could have gone if the three of us hadn’t met and we hadn’t gotten our reward for being whistleblowers. I’d probably be working in some hack job after Reed/Cunningham dumped me instead of being able to start my own agency and steal some of their clients.”
She added, “Revenge really is fun, you know. Never in a hundred years did they imagine I’d do something like that. In retrospect they really did me a favor when old Cunningham fired me by voicemail, although I sure didn’t think so at the time.”
Kate nodded. “I feel the same way. I love my street with the painted ladies and feel so blessed to be able to own one of them. Lord knows what would have happened to me if I hadn’t taken the job with FACR, met you and Kim and embarked on our crazy lives. I almost didn’t accept when I realized I’d be working for the Federal prison system. And it was such a step down, but you’ve gotta put bread on the table.” She let out a sigh. “Truthfully, I don’t even allow myself to think about it. Too bad Kim couldn’t get away to be here with us this time.”
The Colonel and Clarence made their slow trek along the walkway toward Cameron’s house. She looked at her watch and saw that it was five minutes to seven. The others would be arriving soon. She got up and opened the gate for them. Clarence’s tail wagged like a metronome. He raised up on his hind legs, placed his front paws on Cameron and gave her a doggie kiss. She patted his head and said, “I love you, too, old fellah. Wait till you see the carrot I’ve been saving for you.”
“Evening, Ladies. Looks like I’m the first one here. Oh, wait, here comes Matt. With the stride that man has he’ll be here in no time.” Looking a bit nostalgic, he added, “I remember when I used to be able to do that,” then waved to the action star who was sprinting in their direction.
He added, “It’s so beautiful tonight. Should we just wait out here for Danny and Maggie?”
With no need for words, the two men pulled out the other two chairs. Clarence went over to Matt and put his head in Matt’s lap, waiting for pets and pats.
Kate broke the silence. “I get the feeling that all of us have updates about the case, but let’s wait until everyone is here. Meanwhile, I’m bursting with good news. Nothing to do with our investigation, though.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know if you knew this, but when my agent set up meetings with the network producers, I thought it was going to be to discuss going forward with a TV movie based on my book. Instead—something he’d hinted at but didn’t say outright to me—he pitched them on making it a series. Truthfully, I thought I was just building that part up in my mind.”
At this point her grin lit her entire face. “The network decided to use the movie as a pilot for a series called FraudBusters. I’m so excited I had to share it. Imagine, a series inspired by my life. Wow.”
Matt gave her an inquisitive knowing look. She sensed he was wondering if there might be a part for him. She didn’t acknowl-edge the look.