Pier Pressure

by Rose Pressey

  Okay, maybe they would kick us out. Dorothy grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the glass case.

  “I think I’ll start saving for one of those,” I said.

  “Great, you’ll carry a designer bag as you’re tracking down a killer.”

  “It’s an idea,” I said.

  “She could be in the dressing rooms,” Dorothy said.

  “Yes, I suppose I should check.”

  The employees were watching me. They were helping other people, so they hadn’t come over to see what I wanted. I inched my way back toward the dressing rooms, pretending to check out handbags as I went. Dorothy and I made it back to the dressing rooms.

  “You be my lookout while I check in each one,” I whispered.

  I pulled back the curtain on a couple rooms. When I looked at Dorothy her eyes were wide. She motioned with a tilt of her head behind me. That was when I realized that someone must have been behind me.

  “May I help you?” the woman asked.

  I turned around. The tall blonde was giving me a suspicious look.

  “We were just looking,” I said.

  She quirked an eyebrow. “Is there something in particular that you’d like to look at?”

  There was plenty I’d like to look at, but my focus right now was finding my client. Not to mention my bank account wouldn’t allow for anything other than just looking.

  “No, I think we’ve seen all that we need.”

  The woman’s face scrunched up. I assumed she was ready to call security. I took Dorothy by the arm and guided her toward the front door. We couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Dorothy and I checked the other shops: Hermes, Fendi, Dior, and Gucci. There was no sign of Cora. Plus, her car was still parked in the same spot. Perhaps we would wait around for a bit and see if she showed up. Dorothy and I walked back over to her car. I scanned the area to see if anyone was watching us. A couple people were walking to their cars, but they didn’t act as if they even noticed us. I eased over to the car and leaned down to the window. I peeked inside.

  “Do you see anything?” Dorothy asked as she moved over beside me.

  “Nothing at all,” I said.

  I thought maybe she would have left something behind to offer a clue.

  There was a bench nearby where we could sit and wait. We sat down on the bench. A few people strolled by and headed for their cars. We could see Cora’s car, but if she pulled up she wouldn’t be able to see us unless she walked over toward the bench. If she did show up I would ask her exactly what kind of trick she thought she was playing with me.

  I noticed a car pull up behind Cora’s car.

  “Look, Dorothy.” I pointed. “It’s a Rolls-Royce. The same color as the one that almost hit me.”

  “That can’t be a coincidence,” she said as she got up and headed toward the car.

  I grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m going to ask him why he almost hit you.”

  “That’s too dangerous,” I said.

  Just then the car drove off. I still wasn’t sure who had been behind the wheel. They had definitely been there because of Cora’s car. Who had driven Cora’s car? Was the doctor looking for her? Why else would the Rolls stop behind Cora’s car like that? I guided Dorothy back over toward the bench.

  “This is all so mysterious,” Dorothy said.

  “That’s why we’re trying to figure out what’s going on,” I said.

  “It won’t be a mystery when we’re finished with it.”

  Dorothy shook her head. “You’re right. That’s why we’re here.”

  “I think I need to call Jake and let him know that the car’s here.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Dorothy said. “I was hoping you would suggest that.”

  I pulled out my phone from my pocket and dialed his number.

  Jake picked up on the first ring.

  “I think you need to come here,” I said.

  “And where is here?” he asked in a teasing tone.

  I supposed he thought I was just joking around.

  “This is serious,” I said. “I’m over at the shops. I found Cora’s car. She’s not here, but that Rolls-Royce showed up. I think something fishy is going on.”

  “You don’t say,” he said.

  Now he was just mocking me.

  “Okay, if you don’t want to come then that’s fine.”

  I was upset right now. Dorothy pulled on my shoulder.

  “I suppose I can dial 911,” I said.

  Dorothy was still pulling on my shoulder. Finally, I paid attention to her. She pointed over my shoulder. I spun around. Jake was right there behind us. I lowered the phone from my ear. I knew my face was red and it wasn’t from the sun.

  “How long have you been here?”

  “Let’s just say that I was here before you called.”

  “Did you see the Rolls-Royce?” I asked.

  “I didn’t see it,” he said.

  At this point, if Dorothy hadn’t seen the car too, I’d have wondered if I had imagined it.

  Chapter 16

  Cora never came back for her car. Neither did anyone else. Jake took the car as evidence. That was when I had to tell him about adding a tracking device. He didn’t seem as upset as I’d thought he’d be. I asked him how he’d known that the car was there, but he didn’t answer. I felt as if I deserved an answer.

  I’d seen him taking something off the car in the area where I had placed the tracking device. Had Jake placed something on her car too? That would explain why he’d been able to track me down. Actually, he wouldn’t have been looking for me at all. He would have been looking for Cora’s car.

  “So you didn’t add a tracking device to the car?” I asked.

  He stared at me. “How would you know so much about tracking devices?”

  Now he was just trying to bounce the question back at me. That wouldn’t work.

  “I’m a private eye. I’ve been doing this a while. Plus, you remember my uncle, right?”

  “Yes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Jake said.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Either that or he was truly following me. If that was the case then he had to stop. He had to realize I could handle myself.

  I was leaning toward the theory that he had placed a tracking device on the car. What a tricky thing to do. I’d figured I was the only one of the two of us who would try something sneaky like that.

  ***

  With that lead going nowhere, I was back to the start. Dorothy and I were currently sitting in the doctor’s office building parking lot. He was out of jail. Apparently they’d found nothing to charge him with a crime. A few people walked in and out of the building. I assumed they were patients.

  “Hey you could go back in for that breast augmentation consultation.” Dorothy laughed.

  “Funny. Very funny. This is serious,” I said.

  “I know how serious this is. You’d better not forget it either,” Dorothy said with a wiggle of her index finger.

  I focused my attention on the door. “Don’t distract me.”

  “I’ve never staked out a place in the middle of the day before,” Dorothy’s needles filled the car with a clicking noise.

  “Sure we have. Remember that cheating husband case last month? He was meeting the mistress right there at his office building at lunch time. We got the pictures on the first day within the first five minutes. That was an easy case,” I said.

  Dorothy chuckled. “Now I remember. What an idiot he was.”

  I had a feeling this time wouldn’t be that easy. I had nothing specific that told me the doctor would even come out of the building for quite a while. Dorothy was content with knitting. However, I couldn’t take my eyes off the building. If I looked away for just a moment Dean could come out and I would lose him.

  This was the worst part of being a private investigator—a lot of time just sitting with nothing
but my thoughts to entertain myself. That caused me to have a lot of crazy ideas. Well, more than I normally would if my mind was occupied. Dorothy talked some though so that helped.

  Movement caught my attention. Oddly enough, the doctor looked around as if he was searching for someone. I ducked down in the car. Though he hadn’t looked in our direction. I hoped he didn’t peek over here and see us. He really would think I was stalking him. He scanned the lot, searching to the left and then to the right. Maybe he was waiting for someone. Whatever the reason he was acting suspicious.

  “Yes, Dorothy, we have movement. The cat’s come out to play.”

  “Will he led us to the mouse though?” she asked.

  I watched the doctor like a hawk as he walked across the lot.

  “Where is he going?” I asked under my breath.

  Then I spotted the car. It was a white Rolls-Royce. A chill went down my spine.

  “Dorothy, what are the odds that it was a different Rolls-Royce that almost hit me?”

  “Well, we are in Miami, but I still think it’s unlikely to be a different one.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I figured,” I said.

  He got in the car. I started my car so that I could be ready to follow him. He didn’t take off right away though. He sat there in the driver seat. Was he waiting for someone else to join him? After a couple more minutes he backed out of the parking space. My anxiety increased knowing that I would now have to follow him. What if he realized what I was doing? It was obvious he wanted to harm me. Had he realized it was me the whole time I’d worn the wig?

  He pulled out of the parking lot and I inched out behind him. He was a smart man, he had to know I was back there. I wasn’t entirely sure what I would do if he confronted me. Where was he going now? Was he taking off early and headed home? He could just be going to the hospital.

  As I navigated the streets it looked more and more as if he was headed toward the water. Maybe he was going out on his boat. I hung back as much as possible so he wouldn’t notice me. That was if he hadn’t already.

  A short time later we had arrived at the boat dock. So he was going to his boat. This was probably a pointless trip. I should just give up now and head back to the office.

  He parked the car and I wheeled into a spot some distance away. I jumped out in a hurry just so that I could see where he was going. Though I was pretty sure I knew he was headed for his boat. When he glanced back in my direction I hunkered down beside my car. He sat there for a moment and I was growing more anxious by the minute. What was he doing? Why did it take so long for him to get out? I wanted to know what he was doing here and I wasn’t patient about it. Maybe he was really waiting for someone this time. Whatever the reason or whatever he was doing I hoped he moved soon.

  “Stay down, Dorothy,” I said.

  “Is he still there?” she whispered.

  A couple seconds passed and I rose up to take a peek. Thank goodness the doctor wasn’t right there. Maybe he really didn’t know that I had followed him. I released a deep breath. He was walking toward the boat dock.

  “Come on, Dorothy, we have to follow him.”

  Dorothy and I took off across the parking lot and down the path. Dorothy and I weaved around the palm trees and followed him toward the boats.

  “We’re like a couple of ninjas,” Dorothy said.

  “Minus being quick and able to fight, yes, we’re just like that,” I said.

  “Hey, speak for yourself,” she said.

  The doctor had stopped at a different boat. He was speaking with a tall dark-haired man. Dorothy and I stood at a distance and watched him. Another man speaking caught my attention and I spun around. Luckily, he was talking to someone else. As they walked by they didn’t pay attention to me. I focused my attention on Dean again. He was getting on the boat with the man. It looked as if they were getting ready to take the boat out.

  “I wish we knew what they were doing and saying,” I said.

  I glanced over and realized that Dorothy wasn’t beside me. I looked around and didn’t see her anywhere.

  “Dorothy, where are you?” I called out.

  She was nowhere in sight. I hoped that I didn’t have to go looking for her. I didn’t want to lose sight of the men. However, I had to find her. Then I had a terrible thought. What if someone had kidnapped her? How would that be possible? She had been right there beside me. Once again I scanned the area. I didn’t spot anyone suspicious. That didn’t mean they hadn’t already taken her away though. I looked back at the boat and then I saw her. She was peeking out from the back. The men were at the front of the boat. What was she doing on the boat? Dorothy waved at me. I had to get her off there before they spotted her. I waved for her to get off. She shook her head. I motioned for her to come to me right now. She again shook her head. It looked as if I would have to go after her.

  I hurried over to the boat. The men had started it. I figured they’d be taking off soon. I rushed onto the back of the boat and hoped that they didn’t see me.

  I rushed to Dorothy’s side. “What are you thinking? You can’t get on the boat with them.”

  “I can’t?” She placed her hands on her hips. “I think I can, and I did. Now let’s see what they are saying.”

  I grabbed her arm. “We have to get off before they set off.”

  The boat started to move. When we got above deck and to the back we realized that the boat was away from the dock. There was no way we could get off now. The boat rocked with the water as we moved further away. I swayed from side to side, trying to balance myself.

  “The water is choppy,” I said.

  Dorothy held my arm and we headed for the back.

  “We have to get off here. I can’t believe you thought this was a good idea. Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw your little face peeking out?” I asked.

  “Oh, save the lecture. You’re not my mom.”

  I rolled my eyes. Dorothy acted like a teenager.

  “What do we do now?” I asked.

  I couldn’t believe Dorothy had gotten us into this mess.

  “Good question.” Dorothy dropped a mint, picked it up, and then wiped it off.

  “We have to go below deck and hide. Let’s hope they’re just going out for a quick trip.”

  Dorothy and I sneaked back down below. The longer we were on the boat the more paranoid I became. A million thoughts ran through my mind. Like what if they found us and then tossed us overboard? Maybe I was getting sea sick, but my stomach turned. I’d never really gotten this feeling before.

  Dorothy peered out the little window. “Wow, we’re really out there now.”

  My stomach flipped.

  She looked back at me. “You don’t look so good.”

  I shook my head, but didn’t speak.

  Dorothy shrugged and looked out the window again. “Hey, what if we’re in the Bermuda Triangle now?”

  Dorothy had too much pep in her voice. Fear washed over me. What if she was right?

  I jumped up and dashed over to her. “Dorothy, what if we are in the Bermuda Triangle? We’ll be lost at sea forever. This is it for us. I had so much more I wanted to do. I can’t breathe. We have to get out of here.”

  Dorothy reached over and picked up a bottle of water that was on the table nearby. She unscrewed the lid and then tossed the water onto my face. I gasped and then stared at her.

  “Are you going to calm down now?” Dorothy placed her hands on her hips.

  I released a deep breath. “Sorry, I guess I started to panic there.”

  Dorothy shrugged. “It’s understandable. A lot of people come up missing in the Devil’s Triangle.”

  I glared at her.

  “Sorry,” she said.

  “We should at least find out what’s going on with them out there,” I said.

  Dorothy and I inched over to the front of the boat and peeked out. The men were drinking beer and talking. It looked as if they had no idea that we were there and watching them. It was
a good thing because they probably really would have tossed us overboard.

  “Can you hear anything they are saying?” I asked.

  Dorothy shook her head. “Nothing. All this trouble and we can’t even hear what they are saying. I guess we’ll just have to go back down there and hide again.”

  Dorothy and I went back down below deck. We crawled back behind the tiny table. What if they came and sat down? They would definitely see us then. I figured the odds were we would eventually be caught. As we were hunkered down under there I spotted something shiny. Wires stuck out from the top and sides. It was a square box. I didn’t want to get too close to see much about the thing.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “What is what?” Dorothy asked.

  I pointed at the object.

  Dorothy looked over. “Looks like a bomb to me.”

  She chuckled. Then it hit us. It really was a bomb. Panic took over. We rushed out from under the table. It felt as if someone had hit me in the stomach.

  “What do we do now?” Dorothy asked through her panting.

  That thing could go off at any moment. One thing was for sure, I didn’t think the doctor was the killer. Someone was trying to kill him too.

  “We have to get out of here,” I said.

  “That is kind of impossible,” Dorothy said. “We are out in the middle of the ocean. I knew we shouldn’t have come to the boat docks.”

  I wouldn’t even respond to that comment right now. She was the one who got us on this boat. This was no time to argue. I had to get us out of here.

  “Why don’t you grab the bomb and toss it overboard?” Dorothy asked.

  “I’m not touching that thing. What if it explodes in my hands?”

  “Good point. Can you swim well?” Dorothy asked.

  “What? I can’t swim all the way back to shore. There are sharks out there. Not to mention the Bermuda Triangle. This will go down as another missing case in the Devil’s Triangle. I’m hyperventilating.” I fanned myself, as if that would actually help.

  “Calm down before I have to splash water on you again.”

  “Okay, we don’t know how long we have. This could go off any second. We have to call Jake right now. I think we’d be safer in the water with the sharks. We have to tell the men. Maybe they have a lifeboat on here,” I said.