“And?” I ask.
“The more I learn about him, the more I like him. Please tell me that you two have a plan to keep in touch after the weekend.”
I ignore her question, not willing to get into it with her right now, and deflect instead. “What did you find out to make you say all of that?”
“Well, he has invested in like, thirty businesses, mostly black-owned, across Charlotte, D.C., and New York. All of them are successful, and they all absolutely rave about him. I did find thathe was an initial investor in that security company that you said his brother had ties to, so that was the only red flag I could find on him, but only as it relates to this investigation. Otherwise, he almost seems too good to be true.”
“What about that guy, Nash? Did you learn any more about him or why Cameron chose to step down from his case?”
“Nash Taylor is in prison. I called to make sure of it. I just got started looking into him, but from my research so far, the reason Cameron stepped down from the case is confidential between him, Nash, and the judge, but anyone could fill in the blanks if they just read what he was found guilty of.”
“Which was what?” I prompt.
“Assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering was the main charge. They also tried to get him with drug trafficking and a few other illegal sales of firearms-related charges, but they ended up dropping them to streamline the case. He just started serving his fifteen-year sentence last year, so he’ll be there for a while.”
“Wow,” I say, because no other word better sums it up than that.
“Yeah. But good on Cameron for having the conviction to step away. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy choice since he knew the guy from childhood.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that was really hard on him.” I think back to how Jalen labeled Cameron as weak. I like Monika’s word better and agree with her that it shows strength of conviction, rather than weakness. The sound of voices rises back in Cameron’s room. Val and Ollie are here. “Please call if you find anything else. I’ll text you once I find out if Val was asked to give a fingerprint.”
“Sounds great, and I’ll send over everyone’s pictures as I get them for you to confirm. Thanks, Drew. I feel like we’re close.”
“Me too,” I say, more in hope than in truth.
Chapter forty-six
MOTIVATED
BeforeIjointheothers back in Cameron’s room, I text Leah to ask if she was called back for fingerprints too. I doubt she was, since I just talked to her earlier and she hadn’t heard a peep, but I send the message anyway and then step through the doorway. I expect to find Val and Ollie but instead see Cameron standing alone in the kitchenette.
“Where is everyone? I thought I heard voices.”
“It was just a delivery guy. I got a few things for tonight.” I walk over to see what he is talking about, and stop short at the pile of board games, snacks, and drinks that cover every inch of the small countertop behind him. “I just put some Dr. Peppers in the fridge for you, so they aren’t cold yet, but I’m sure room service can bring us up some ice if you want one right away.”
I look back and forth between him and the pile, using all my energy not to burst out into hysterical tears since I am sure Val and Ollie will be here any minute.
“What’s wrong?” He steps forward but keeps his hands at his sides.
I look up at him and frown. “Why do you have to be so wonderful?”
He reels for a moment, then smiles down at me. “You said that you needed a distraction, so I wanted to give that to you. Although I should have asked earlier during our favorites game if you even liked board games. I love them, personally, but Jalen despises them. I think it’s because I was always better than him, and he didn’t like losing to his kid brother.”
I laugh and cross my arms over my chest so that I can keep them firmly to myself. Thank goodness Val and Ollie are coming soon, because it gets harder by the minute to keep my hands off him.
“I take it that you do like board games, then?” he asks.
“I love them,” I say. “But twister might be awkward for four grown adults.”
He chuckles. “That one was a substitution, and I didn’t notice in time to cancel it. I’ve already been close enough to Ollie on the mat at the fight gym to know that it’s not something I ever want to do for fun.”
Laughter rocks my shoulders as there is another knock at the door.
“Speaking of the smelly devil,” Cameron says, pushing my laugh to a snort.
I cover my face in embarrassment, but he smiles so brightly that it compresses all the air inside my lungs and effectively stops the laughter altogether. Cameron opens the door wide to welcome Val and Ollie inside, but both of our smiles fall as we take in Ollie’s disheveled appearance.
“Hey,” Val says, knowingly. “Thanks for having us.”
