Pier Pressure

by Rose Pressey

  “Do you know what they were fighting about?” I asked.

  “No, I tried to mind my own business.”

  Dorothy snorted. “Yeah, by watching them.”

  “Is there anything else you can tell us?” I asked.

  He looked over at Dorothy. I supposed he was wondering who she was. I needed to remember to introduce her. She would be angry about that. This guy hadn’t given us much information anyway though, so I’d keep our conversation to a minimum if possible.

  He shrugged. “No, I don’t think there’s anything else.”

  “Are you sure there weren’t any other people around on the day this happened?” I asked.

  He stared off into the distance. I supposed he was thinking about it. A couple more seconds passed and he said, “Oh, there were other men.”

  “Yes?” He’d piqued my interest. “Who are they? What do they look like?”

  “One question at a time,” Dorothy reminded me.

  “I told the police. The guy who was here I’d seen with Robert’s wife in the past. She wasn’t with him this time. Though like I said, she had been here earlier on her own. A few minutes after she left, the young guy came by. I also saw an older man stop by. I’d seen him around a lot too. I think he was friends with Robert and his wife.”

  “Did they say anything when they were here?” I asked.

  “I never spoke with them. They both got on the boat though.”

  So now I had three suspects. Jake believed it was Cora. Had he even questioned the other two men?

  “You have no idea who these men are?” I asked.

  “Someone told me the older man’s name is Dean Perriman. He’s a doctor.”

  With that kind of detail I’d surely be able to find him.

  “Thanks for the info,” I said.

  He nodded. “I hope they catch whoever did this.”

  “We hope they catch them too,” Dorothy said.

  I glared at her. “I’ll catch who did this.”

  Chapter 6

  The nurse led us back to the tiny, stark white examining room. “Change into that gown. You can leave the bottoms on.” She closed the door before a single word left my lips.

  “Why does she want me to undress only the top?” I asked.

  Dorothy shrugged. “Beats me.”

  I slipped out of my top and into the ugly green gown, even though I couldn’t stop thinking of why it was necessary. The longer I sat there the more claustrophobia took over. Were the walls closing in on us? The space seemed even smaller. My heart rate increased and sweat beaded on my forehead, usually signs that a panic attacks was coming. Small places were not my friend. I fidgeted on the examining table. Dorothy had taken the chair next to me.

  “Do you have any idea what you’re going to tell this man?” Dorothy asked, inspecting her peppermint for lint.

  “I think I’ll ask for a facelift.” I pulled at my face, mimicking what I might look like after.

  “Maggie Thomas, you don’t need a facelift.” Dorothy popped the mint into her mouth.

  “Exactly.” I pointed. “He’ll say, ‘You don’t need a facelift,’ and then I’ll leave, after asking him the questions I want, of course.”

  “So you have this all worked out,” she said.

  “Completely mapped out,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Everything will go smoothly and according to plan.”

  Dorothy snorted. “Yes, because it always works that way.”

  “This time is different. This time it really will go as planned.”

  Dorothy adjusted her silk floral blouse. “Perhaps I should get a breast reduction.”

  I shook my head. “You’re fine the way you are, Dorothy.”

  “Okay, not a reduction, but a little bit of a lift and tuck, or whatever they do,” she said with a wave of her hand.

  “You’re fine.” I adjusted the gown. Why was the thing so small? Not to mention it was nothing more than paper.

  “Well, maybe I don’t want to be fine.” She glared at me. “I want to be a goddess.”

  “A poor choice of words from me. You’re already a goddess,” I said.

  She laughed. “I am, aren’t I?”

  The door rattled, grabbing our attention. The doctor walked in the exam room. He had short graying hair and chiseled features. He was a handsome man. A white lab coat covered his white shirt and gray pants. A red tie peeked out from the top of the coat. However, good looks meant nothing. Right away, I didn’t like him. He didn’t acknowledge either of us as he wrote on the file, not even bothering to look over at us. A few seconds passed and he placed the file down. He met my stare.

  He glanced back at the file one more time. “What can I do for you, Ms. Thomas?”

  “Well, Doctor, I’m here because I want to get a facelift.” I tried my best to say that with a straight face.

  He wheeled his chair closer and stared at my face. Standing from the chair, he took my face in his hand and turned me to one side and then to the other. “Uh-huh. I can’t see that you need a facelift.”

  See, this was working exactly as planned. I’d told Dorothy it would happen that way.

  The doctor looked me up and down. “May I suggest that you have breast augmentation surgery?”

  “You mean you want her to have a boob job?” Dorothy asked.

  The doctor nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

  Dorothy couldn’t control her laughter. I was so glad she found this amusing.

  “Well, Doctor, thanks, but no thanks. I think I’m fine,” I said.

  “Suit yourself,” he said. “I can make them bigger and perkier.”

  “I prefer saggy,” I said with a smirk. “You know, Doctor, you look very familiar. I think I’ve seen you around somewhere before.”

  He quirked a bushy eyebrow. “Oh, yeah?” he asked with a smile.

  Oh, no. He thought I was flirting with him now. It was too late to stop my questions though.

  “Do you have a boat?” I asked.

  “Why, yes, I do,” he said with another big smile. “I have a big boat.”

  He winked. Was he being serious? That comment was kind of creepy. What did he mean when he said boat? I was talking about a water vessel. I had a feeling that he was talking about something else. It always astounded me at what people thought was appropriate to say out loud. Sure what he’d said wasn’t bad, but the way he said it was gross.

  “That must be it. I saw you at the Palms Marina. You were talking with Robert Shears. It’s unfortunate what happened to him.”

  Dorothy cleared her throat, as if warning me I was doing a terrible job. Hey, this wasn’t easy, and I was doing my best.

  The doctor frowned. “No, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know anyone by that name.”

  I wanted to mention to him that I had information that said otherwise, but perhaps I would just leave it at that. Acting suspiciously meant he definitely knew more than he was letting on.

  He picked up the file and headed for the door. “If you change your mind about the procedure, let me know.” He walked out of the room and left us there.

  “Way to go, Maggie, now you’ll never get any information out of him. You should have taken the boob job.”

  “I am not getting a breast enlargement just to solve this case.” I slipped back into my shirt.

  Dorothy stared at me. “Admit it, you’re thinking about it a little bit.”

  “I am not thinking about it a little bit. I want to solve the case, but let’s not be ridiculous.” I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

  Dorothy followed me out into the hallway. As we walked down the hallway I noticed the office door was slightly open. On the front of the door was the doctor’s name. I spotted him walking to another examination room. That meant I would have at least a few minutes to sneak into his office. I didn’t want to leave empty-handed.

  “What are you doing?” Dorothy whispered.

  “We’ll just go in and take a look around the offi
ce. You never know what we might find.”

  “We’ll probably find nothing. Let’s get out of here before they call the police.”

  “They won’t call the police. I’ll tell them we got lost.”

  “Yeah, right, like they’ll believe that.”

  I motioned for Dorothy to follow me. “Better yet, you wait out here and tell me if he’s coming so that I can run out.”

  “Gladly,” she said. “I don’t want to go in there.”

  I eased the door open just slightly so that I could squeeze through. It was a beautiful office with rich mahogany wood and a big desk right in the middle. The windows overlooked the park nearby. I honestly didn’t know where to start looking first. On top of the desk was a picture of what I assumed was his wife. I looked through a couple of drawers. This place was way nicer than my office and better than my apartment too. There was nothing unusual in the drawers. Just papers, pens, and other supplies that were to be expected in an office. The next drawer I looked in though had condoms. An odd thing to have in his office. At least they were still in the wrapper. What was he doing in here? I closed the door and wished that I had hand sanitizer.

  I shuffled a few papers on top of the desk and then I picked up what looked like a lovely card with red roses and gold letters. It was probably from his wife. When I looked inside I was shocked to discover that it was from none other than Cora. Momentarily, I was frozen. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Apparently they were having an affair.

  At least that was the way it seemed from this card. She was professing her love for him. That had to mean they were seeing each other. Why else would he keep the card right here on top of his desk? What if his wife had seen it? I needed to ask Cora why she’d left out this little detail. And she acted as if she didn’t like him at all. Apparently she didn’t like him, she loved him.

  She wasn’t being co-operative with me at all. I still didn’t have a list of her friends and acquaintances like I’d asked for. It seemed as if she only told me what she wanted me to know.

  “Maggie, someone’s coming toward us.”

  I decided to keep the card. I stuffed it under my shirt and ran for the door. I slipped out and into the hallway. It was too late to get away though. The doctor was headed our way. Apparently he hadn’t seen us yet. He would definitely see us if we took off down the hallway past him. There was nowhere for us to go but back into the office. It was probably where he was going though. I’d gotten us into a real pickle this time. I had a knack for getting into these situations. I had to remember to breath and remain calm. Panicking wouldn’t help matters. There wasn’t time to come up with another plan. I hoped that no one else came out of any of the examine rooms. I didn’t want to talk with him again just yet. He would realize we had been in his office.

  “You should have gotten the breast enlargement instead,” Dorothy said.

  We dashed into the room. I looked around for cover. The only place to hide was under the desk. He would find us there if he sat down, which I assumed he would.

  “You have to think of something quick,” Dorothy said.

  “I know, I know. I’m panicking.”

  “No panicking allowed right now.”

  That was when I looked at the window.

  “You can’t be serious,” Dorothy said.

  “It’s our only option.” I ran over to the window.

  Thank goodness I managed to get it open. Better yet, we were on the ground level. All we had to do was put a leg over the ledge and touch the ground. I slipped out first so that I could help Dorothy. She hiked her leg over the window sill.

  “I don’t know why I let you get me into these messes,” Dorothy said.

  “You have to hurry. He’s coming.” I practically pulled her through the window.

  We slipped down to the ground and behind a shrub so that he couldn’t see us. Dorothy and I started waddling like ducks toward the parking lot. Once off the sidewalk I helped Dorothy up and we fast-walked to the car.

  “Whew. That was a close one,” Dorothy said as she buckled her seatbelt. “Do you think he saw us?”

  I shoved the key into the ignition and looked back toward the office window. The doctor was peering out across the parking lot. I supposed he was wondering how the window had gotten open. It didn’t matter. At least we were out of there.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “We’d better get out of here before he calls the police.”

  Chapter 7

  Now that Dorothy and I were away from the doctor’s office, I had to make a phone call to Cora. She had a lot of explaining to do. I dialed the number and waited for her to answer. Ring after ring and there was no answer.

  I hung up the phone. “She’s not going to get away with this.”

  “What are you going to do?” Dorothy asked.

  “I think I should go over to her house.”

  “Do you think she’ll really tell you about this?”

  “I think she has no choice or else I won’t handle this case any longer. Does she think she’s playing me for a fool?”

  “She could think she’s playing you for a fool,” Dorothy said. “Here, you need a peppermint.”

  Dorothy handed me one and I gladly popped that thing into my mouth. I was stressed right now. After the whole ordeal with the doctor I didn’t need this added stress. “If she was lying to me I will get to the bottom of it.”

  “Nobody messes with Maggie, P.I.,” Dorothy said.

  “You got that right,” I said as I took off from the red light.

  After the short drive we reached Cora’s house. I marched right up to the door and rang the doorbell. I tapped my foot against the porch, waiting for her to answer. I crossed my arms in front of my chest. Still she didn’t answer. I pushed the bell again.

  “I don’t think she’s here,” Dorothy said. “She could be hiding from us.”

  I tried to peek in the window, but the blinds were drawn.

  “She could actually not be home,” Dorothy said.

  She hadn’t answered her cell phone, so what had happened to her?

  “More than likely she knows I discovered her little secret. Did she think that I wouldn’t speak with the doctor?”

  “Maybe she’s just crazy. You can never tell what crazy people are thinking,” Dorothy said.

  I pointed my finger. “That’s true, Dorothy.”

  “What are you gonna do now?”

  “I don’t know.” I knocked on the door and that was when it opened.

  Dorothy and I exchanged a look. I had to admit this sent a shiver down my spine.

  “Hello,” I called out, but there was no answer. “I suppose I should go in and see if she’s okay.”

  “It would probably be the wise thing to do,” Dorothy responded.

  I entered into the house with Dorothy right behind me. She was holding onto my shirt. I called out for Cora, but there was no response. The house looked like a museum. Nothing was out of place. Everything was decorated as if it should be featured in a magazine. How would I explain being in her house if she was actually here?

  “Do you hear the shower?” I asked.

  Dorothy shook her head. “Maybe you should go upstairs and check,” she whispered.

  “Oh, I plan on searching the whole house,” I said. “Now that I’m in here I might as well have a little look around.”

  “Okay, but let’s just hurry up. Something about this place gives me the creeps. Why would the door be open if she wasn’t home?” Dorothy asked.

  “Maybe she thought she closed it. Sometimes I’m forgetful like that.”

  “Well, I may get the senior discount, but I don’t forget to close my door,” Dorothy said.

  Dorothy and I had been in this situation before. It wasn’t the first time we’d stepped into someone’s house when they weren’t home. I just hoped that Jake didn’t catch me this time. We went upstairs, but there was no sound of running water in the shower and we saw no one in the bedrooms.

  “We�
��ll go back downstairs. I want to look in the kitchen,” I said.

  “Fine with me,” she said as she followed behind me.

  Dorothy and I headed back down the steps and into the kitchen. It was just as neat and orderly as the rest of the house. Everything had its place. I started looking through drawers while Dorothy was looking in the cabinets. Next thing I knew she had opened the refrigerator door.

  “I don’t think there will be anything in there we need,” I said. “Unless you’re hungry.”

  “Well, you never know. If she left the door open she might put a piece of paper in the refrigerator for all we know.”

  “I guess that’s true. Is there anything in there?”

  “Just a bunch of salad and other stuff I don’t recognize,” Dorothy said as she closed the door.

  There was a small desk in the corner of the room, so I headed over there. Though there was nothing on top, it had drawers, so I started opening them up. Most people had a junk drawer, but not Cora. Everything was organized with little bins and other organization trays. I was seriously impressed. Maybe I should take some pointers and have my office organized like that, but I digressed. I spotted a file and pulled it out. There were only a couple pieces of paper in there.

  “What is that?” Dorothy asked, looking over my shoulder.

  “It’s a lease,” I said.

  “For what?”

  “It looks as if her husband rented an apartment. It’s dated two days before his death.”

  Dorothy and I exchanged a look.

  “So he had moved out,” Dorothy said.

  “I’m going back upstairs to see if any of his clothing is here.”

  “I’ll stay here. Those stairs are killer.”

  I handed Dorothy the lease. “Write down the address, Dorothy. I’ll be right back.”

  I hurried back up the steps and checked all of the bedroom closets. There was no men’s clothing in there, only Cora’s vast collection of shoes, bags, and expensive clothing. I drooled for a moment at the beautiful things then snapped back to reality and headed back down to Dorothy. We had been in the house entirely too long and needed to get out of there before Cora came back. I still wondered why Cora had left the door open. Just like for Dorothy, being in the house left me with an uneasy feeling.