By two that afternoon, Garth pulled his car into a coffee shop parking lot in Beverly Glen Circle. He shut down the motor, made sure he had his tape-recorder with him, and checked the time.
As he gathered information about Mylo Jensen, Garth wanted to get a feel for the man first. And that meant exploring individuals who had connections to the celebrity. This one intrigued him the most. This man was not a peer of Mylo Jensen, he was a friend of Mylo’s son, but his name kept coming up when Garth asked about the man.
Garth climbed out of his car and looked around the parking lot, wondering if his contact would show up. Just because someone agreed to be interviewed didn’t mean they would follow through.
Garth opened the door to the coffee shop and was hit with the familiar bad acoustics of loud conversations and hissing espresso machines. A drive-up window had a line of cars wrapping around the brick building. Everyone wanted it. Everyone needed it…coffee.
Since he didn’t see anyone he recognized, Garth stood in line to get himself a hot drink.
His phone hummed. A text was sent, ‘Five minutes out.’
‘I’m here already. What can I buy you?’ Garth moved in line near the cooler section.
‘Tall latte.’
‘got it.’ He was given the barista’s attention. “Uh. How about one tall latte and one grande mocha no whip?” He took a twenty out of his wallet.
“Your name?”
“Garth.” He handed her the cash and she gave him change. Before he stood in the second line, Garth noticed a table in the far corner of the room, near the window. He tried not to sprint towards it. He draped his jacket and scarf over a chair, brushed crumbs off the table’s surface, and heard his name being called.
Once he had both drinks in hand, he set them on the table.
“Are you Garth?”
At the deep masculine voice, Garth glanced up from the coffee cups. “Yes.” He held out his hand. “Thanks for coming.”
“What do I owe you for the coffee?” Jayce Lennox unbuttoned his suit jacket and straightened his necktie.
Garth waved him off and took a seat.
Jayce joined him and they took a moment to assess each other.
Leaving Jayce alone for a moment so he didn’t hit him with questions the second he showed up, Garth opened the lid on his mocha and blew on the hot coffee.
~
Jayce scooted the chair closer to the table and had a look around their immediate area. Their table was off to the side, and the noise level wasn’t quite as miserable. Since he had no idea what this conversation was going to be about, Jayce didn’t invite this investigator into his home.
The contact came out of the blue. Yes, Mylo had been in the news recently, but Jayce didn’t think it had anything to do with him. He thought it was bizarre he was asked for an interview.
He tugged at the cuffs of his cotton-long-sleeve dress shirt and took the lid off his latte. As the two of them settled down, Jayce inspected Garth’s appearance. He estimated Garth to be in his mid-thirties. The man was trim, about average in height, and pleasantly handsome with blue eyes and thick brown hair.
Jayce noticed Garth wore a wristwatch, but no other jewelry.
Once he had sipped the coffee, Jayce relaxed on the metal chair, staring at Garth.
Garth rubbed his fingers together as if either his hands were cold or he was eager to begin. The handsome man smiled. “Can I record you?”
“In here?” Jayce was referring to the ambient noise level.
“Yes.”
He shrugged, holding his cup in his hand on the table.
Garth produced a small tape-recorder with a mic, which he pointed directly at Jayce. For some reason, it made Jayce chuckle from nerves.
Garth smiled when he heard a laugh from the man. The sight of a microphone intimidated people. He knew that. He scooted closer on the chair, pointed the mic at Jayce, and then stared at him for a moment.
As Garth settled down in his seat, he was able to inspect Jayce more closely. He knew the guy was forty-five since he had graduated high-school and college the same years as Mylo’s son, Tay, had. Which was one of the reasons for the interview, the other was, that by all accounts, Jayce knew Mylo personally for decades. He wasn’t Mylo’s contemporary or colleague, which is why Garth thought Jayce may be more insightful.
“Well?” Jayce kept laughing, opening his fingers palms-up to enhance the gesture.
“Yes.” Garth sat up higher in the chair. “When did you first meet Mylo?”
“I was fourteen. His son Tay and I were best friends in high-school.” Jayce sipped the latte and then held it on the table. “Is this about Mylo’s film career?”
“So, you’re writing a bio about him?”
“Yes.” Garth had outlined his intent but that didn’t mean people were comfortable with it.
“Why?”
“Why?” Garth inspected the coarse beard growth on Jayce’s jaw, which had been shaven. Jayce had full salmon pink lips.
“Yes. Why? Why now? He’s been working in film for decades.”
Garth tried to stop staring at Jayce’s features since it was distracting him. The man was nicely built and tall. “Well, he’s been in the news recently. We follow the headlines. Right now, Mylo Jensen’s the hot topic. He’s been approached to create a documentary about his rise to fame.”
Just for a second, Garth noticed something dark pass over Jayce’s expression. But, it vanished quickly.
“Okay.” Jayce shrugged. “I’m not sure what I can tell you, but, what do you want to know?”
Hoping for Jayce to feel comfortable with him, Garth tried to ease him into it. “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?” He drank from his cup. “What is it you do?”
“I’m a real estate developer.”
Garth nodded, trying to get Jayce to open up, but it wasn’t easy. Jayce didn’t follow through and stopped talking.
“Um…married? Kids?” Garth asked.
“Divorced, one daughter.”
“So, uh, you grew up in Los Angeles?”
“I did. I traveled abroad pretty extensively on my college breaks.”
“And you were with Mylo’s son on those breaks, correct?” Garth slowly drew a pad and pen from his pocket, setting the small notepad on the table.
“Yes. Tay and I were close all through high-school and college.”
“How close?”
