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“No one will want it, and there are no private eyes in my family.” He laughed at that.
Pam came over and sat down next to Jake. She saw Laura’s stony expression. “I guess Jake told you.”
“Yes, I’m so sorry.”
“It’ll be okay, you guys,” Jake said. “I’m not in any pain yet, and it’s after midnight, and I’m wide awake. I’ll go back to work Tuesday and work until I can’t, and Laura will be there to keep things going. Is that a deal?”
“It’s a deal,” she said, not completely certain.
“If that’s what you want to do with the rest of your life, then we’re on a good path,” Jake reiterated. “That was my biggest concern, hoping that the business wouldn’t go down the tubes.”
“It won’t,” Will said. “I know Laura wants to pursue investigation. We’ve talked about teaming up even.”
“Wow, the coroner and the PI. How exciting!” Pam said. “You two are perfect together.”
Someone asked Pam a question, and she turned from the conversation with Will and Laura that she was really enjoying for a change to listen to someone’s complaint about trash collection on Sea View. When she succeeded in getting rid of the person, she sat down again, but the interesting conversation had moved on to another topic. Taking a deep breath, she was finished with the party, wishing she could call it a night.
“I’m over this,” she muttered.
“Do you want me to tell the band to pack up and leave?” Jake asked.
“They are paid to play through one, and it’s only a half hour away. I’ll ask the bartender to do last call.”
The lineup at the bar was amusing, with the Duggan brothers at the head of the line.
“Look! The old ladies are still awake! I should be ashamed,” Pam groaned.
“They probably sleep all day,” Jake said. “They’ll be up all night, having sex, keeping us up.”
“Oh god, shut up, will you? That’s disgusting,” Pam said, barking out a laugh.
“When did Dan leave?” Jake asked.
“He snuck out with Lisa and Ryan.”
People began to approach Pam to thank her and say their goodbyes, so she left the table to shield Jake from having to listen to it.
“I guess we should head down to the cottage,” Laura said. “I’ll see you Tuesday, then, as usual.”
“Right. I hope we have a string of new cases to investigate.”
“Me too. I’m in the mood for something gory.” She leaned forward and whispered so only Will and Jake could hear her, “That baby skeleton gave me a taste for death investigation.”
“Wow, is that right? Because you do that type of investigation on your own and can offer your findings to the police gratis. Those types of cases rarely come up unless the family of the decedent approaches you. But occasionally, the police will ask us to investigate a murder because there are things we can do that they can’t legally do. Under the law, apoliceofficer has restrictions on his or her actions that aPImay not be bound by. Private investigators collect factual evidence that might helpsolveacrime, unlike a policedetective,whose goal is to arrest and prosecute criminals.”
“It sounds like a rough way to try to make a living,” Laura said.
“Not necessarily. We have a reputation already. You can wait for someone to die, but the best way to start is to investigate a cold case.”
“Well, I’m open to anything,” she said. “I’ll see you. Pam, thank you so much.”
“I could listen to the three of you talk about this stuff all night,” Pam said.
They embraced, Will shaking hands with Jake, and headed towards the water’s edge for the trek south to Laura’s cottage. They held hands, making small talk, both anxious to get home.
“We don’t have to do a thing for the rest of the weekend,” she said. “I know you’ll be so happy.”
“I have so many vacation days coming. I’ll save them so I can help you when that murder investigation comes your way.”
