I quickly snapped the photo, making sure that the two guys were visible in the background. One of them was very clearly shown, in what would have nearly been a photo-bomb if it had been unintentional. I immediately turned back around and gave my co-worker a shoulder hug. "See you tomorrow!”
Not giving the two guys a chance to react, I went to the back and clocked out, hanging out for a good ten minutes just to make sure they were gone. While I was waiting, Jay came in. "Hey, Tim just said you were taking a selfie up front?"
I nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I wasn't trying to actually take a selfie, just that the two guys who were at the register had come in when I was in training. They really give off a creepy vibe, so I wanted to get photos of them. If I see them again I'd like to look at what can be done. I'm not saying they're dangerous, just . . . creepy."
Jay considered it, then held his hand out. "Can I see? I'll keep my eye out if they return."
I handed over my phone, and Jay took a look. “Well, that one guy definitely doesn’t seem like the nicest fellow. I'll walk you out today just to be safe.”
I didn't feel the need for it but was grateful as Jay escorted me to my car. "I'll keep an eye out. And make sure Cam knows, okay?"
He didn't need to worry about that. As soon as Cam got home, I showed him my phone. "Those two guys were back," I said. "But this time, I got a photo.”
I thought Cam would have been happy, but instead, he seemed a little peeved. "What?"
"I should have told you earlier, after the last time I slipped a hack into Jay's computer system," he said. "I could have pulled the images off his security cameras just as easily as downloading them from your camera."
I blinked then shook my head. "Just how much of this town do you have wired up?"
“Most of it. I can monitor traffic cameras, access city and county records, and I have full access to everything in the school district as well. Jay's is one of the few private businesses I've tapped.”
"Seriously? So the last time I said something, you pulled up the footage."
Cam shook his head. "I went by and slipped in the tap afterward, but Jay's security isn't all that great. By then, his system had already looped around and deleted the security footage from his hard drive."
"So you can go in there now and get images as well as these, right?"
“I plan on it. I should be able to figure out who they are and who they work fore.”
"So what do we do in the meantime?" I asked. Cam grinned and I felt a warm flush go through me. "Okay, that's one idea."
But first things first. It was actually pretty cool watching Cam pull out Albertine and download my images. He established a link through his other computer to Jay's security system. "Hey, you want to see the payroll for last month?" Cam asked jokingly. "You know, if you want me to add a zero somewhere."
“Stop playing around,” I said, smacking him on the shoulder. "Come on, just find the footage you need.”
We found the security footage and we watched from the time the guys came in until they left, looking for the best angle of their faces. "The selfie you took is good, but I want more to work with. Like this."
Cam tapped his touchpad and the image froze, the other guy looking directly at the camera that was above the front door as he tried to turn away from my selfie attempt. "See? Taking that selfie was useful."
"Dangerous, though, and until you know how to protect yourself, I don't want you taking risks like that again," Cam said. "Now, a few taps of the screen later . . .”
He trimmed out the faces of the two men and copied them into a database search program. There was a lot of little squares and circles that appeared on their faces, and then Cam went over to what looked like a standard search box.
"To save time I'm going to have the database constricted to men in American payroll," he said. "Still, that's a lot of people, most of whom aren't in agencies that you'd think of as being intelligence related. These guys, if they’re American, could be listed as mail carriers or park rangers or hazardous materials handlers. It's rare you'd find them as anything close to what they are."
He clicked a few items to refine the search, then started. Faces started to blink by at high speed, and Cam sat back. "That's all there is to it, now we just wait, it'll take at least a few hours unless we get really lucky."
Cam stood up and swept me into his arms. It was really the first time we'd been romantic since the traffic accident, and it was long missed.
"I love you, Cam."
"I love you too," he said, kissing the top of my head. "I'm sorry I wasn't honest about everything."
"I don't think it’s the sort of thing that comes up very often. Let's not dwell on that right now."
Cam dropped a CD into the tray and smooth saxophone jazz came from the stereo. "That's nice, who is that?"
"Miles Davis," Cam answered, holding his arms out for me. We left the music on, Cam leading me to the big bedroom where there music filtered in softly. The lights were off, only the reddish sunset outside giving us any illumination at all, but I didn't need it. Turning to face away from Cam, I unsnapped my pants and pushed them off my hips.