Cam didn’t get to drop his public face once the camera stopped rolling. They needed the press on their side, so he added a layer of charm to go with the serious. “We appreciate y’all coming out to cover this. Can we offer you some coffee? It’s fresh from The Daily Grind.”
“Love some,” Deanna said.
He directed them into the command center tent the Chamber of Commerce had set up at the fountain end of the green. Inside, Norah was running things with her usual efficiency. Behind her, a markerboard held a running tally of total number of voters going through each polling station. It was being updated on the hour. A few hundred so far, but it was early yet. The real rush would be during the lunch hour and after five.
“How did the interview go?”
“Fine. You’d have been better.”
Norah waved that off. “They’ll probably do an update for the noon news, the five o’clock slot, and preliminary results for the ten. We’ll see if we can’t slot your mom in for at least one of those. Maybe Molly for another.”
“What are we going to do about GrandGoods?”
“I’ve sent spies to find out exactly what they’re up to.”
“Spies? I’m afraid to ask.”
“Who do you think volunteered for that task?”
“Cassie. She’s not what you call subtle.”
“Neither is Mamie, who went with her. But this isn’t full scale espionage. It’s just two members of the public cruising through some public event they’ve got going on.”
Those same two members came into the command center at a hustle, not a pace Cam generally associated with Mamie. Cassie was practically bouncing, and Mamie’s bouffant trembled with her agitation.
While the older woman caught her breath, Cassie saluted. “Agents Callister and Landon reporting.”
“I’ve really got to get you walkie talkies.” Norah laughed. “Report in.”
“They’re giving away free stuff.”
“Like koozies, pens, hats?”
“And t-shirts, yeah. But they’re also giving away store memberships and discounts that can be used at any existing store.”
Norah frowned. “Are they asking for anything in return?”
“Just that people hit up the polls, same as us. They’re not even asking for proof in advance.”
“Did they indicate there’s some limit to the number of memberships? Like the first fifty people or whatever?”
“No limit,” Mamie said. “They said they want to support the community and are willing to give out free memberships to back that up. The only thing they’re having people do is show they have a Wishful address. I got a membership myself. Don’t have a clue what I’ll do with it when they don’t come, but I didn’t figure it’d hurt anything.”
“They’re also giving out free pastries,” Cassie added. “Store bought, of course.”
“Oh, hell no.” Carolanne joined the conversation from where she’d been helping coordinate Pollmobile service. “We can do better than that. Give me a team, and I’ll bring my entire inventory out for the cause.”
“Do it.” Norah called in half a dozen volunteers and dispatched them to Sweet Magnolias.
Once they’d gone, Cam did the math. “At, what, fifty bucks a membership, with a potential for up to maybe a couple thousand people. That’s a hundred grand loss right there. Plus whatever they’ve put into their branded merchandise.”
“A hundred thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket for a company like that. They’d make exponentially more than that if they secured a place in the region. Plus, if they don’t end up coming, they haven’t truly lost that much because many of those people won’t ever go to one of the other GrandGoods stores before the annual membership expires. It’s a smart tactic.”
The whole thing had Cam worried.
As usual, Norah read him like a book. She moved in, slipping her arms around his waist. “It will be all right. You just—”
“Have to have a little faith. I know. I’ve got all the faith in the world in you.”