Pier Pressure: A fun and fast-paced private investigator cozy mystery/beach read (Maggie PI Mysteries Book 4)

by Rose Pressey

  “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.

  “Oh, good thinking.”

  Dorothy and I ran for the front of the boat. We burst out where the men were.

  “What the hell?” Dean said.

  The other guy dropped his beer. “Who the hell are you?”

  “There’s no time for small talk. There’s a bomb on this boat and we have to get off.”

  Chapter 17

  “I don’t know what kind of crazy person you are or what you think you’re doing. How did you get on this boat?” Dean’s friend jumped up and held his arms out as if ready to fight.

  “We came on back at the dock,” I said.

  “Yeah, what did you think—we fell out of the sky? Oh, I know, we’re mermaids.” Dorothy laughed.

  “We have to get off this boat now. Do you have a lifeboat?” I glanced around.

  “You’re crazy, lady,” the man said.

  The doctor pointed at me. “I know her. She’s been stalking me. She wore a wig before, but I’d recognize those eyes anywhere.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” I said. “You didn’t recognize me at the bar. I’d been at your office for a consultation.”

  “I recognized you,” he said. "That’s why I think you’re crazy.”

  If you’d don’t think we’re being truthful then go below deck and look for yourself. There’s a bomb under the table. It’s just like what happened to the other boat.”

  The men stared at me for a moment. I was ready to jump overboard. I looked around the boat for life preservers or the lifeboat.

  “Dorothy, help me look. We have to get off the boat before it blows up. The longer we are on the boat the greater the risk.”

  “That clock on the thing said we had ten minutes.”

  “I don’t trust a timer that a lunatic puts on a bomb,” I said.

  Dorothy and I started racing around the boat. I guessed the men finally took us seriously. They moved inside the boat while Dorothy and I continued to search for the lifeboat. I was ready to give up and jump overboard. It didn’t look as if the boat had anything like that.

  I grabbed Dorothy’s hand. “We have to take our chances in the water.”

  It didn’t look as if we would survive either way. I had to decide which ending was better. In my opinion it was the water, even though being shark bait didn’t sound like much fun. Perhaps being blown to pieces would be the fastest and best. What morbid thoughts.

  I guessed the men found the bomb, because they ran up and down. They went over to the area and pulled out the lifeboat. So that was where it had been hidden. The thought entered my mind. What if they got in the boat and left us here? It sent a shiver down my spine. I didn’t even want to think they would be capable of such a thing. The men put the boat into the water.

  The doctor motioned for us to come over. “Hurry up.”

  He didn’t have to ask me twice. I grabbed Dorothy so we could get her on first.

  Dorothy started to ease down from the boat and then she paused.

  “What’s wrong, Dorothy?” I asked.

  “What it I fall into the water?”

  “You’re the one who was telling me it’s safe to be out here. Now move it,” I ordered.

  She narrowed her eyes and glared at me. “Fine.”

  It wasn’t as if we had a choice. It was stay here and blow up or get on the boat and risk falling into the water.

  The men helped Dorothy into the lifeboat. Next, I climbed in. The boat moved back and forth. It was so small I wondered if we would all fit. I was just happy that they hadn’t left us behind and we were finally off the ticking time bomb. We moved the raft away from the boat. We headed in the direction of the shore. But I wasn’t sure how far away we actually were. After a minute we stopped. I peered back at the boat. How long would we drift out here?

  “I need to call Jake. If the Coast Guard can come save us that would be great.” I pulled out my phone and dialed the number.

  The call dropped before it even went through.

  “It won’t work,” I said.

  I’d like to say that I wasn’t panicking on the inside, but that would be a lie. I didn’t want to worry Dorothy.

  “What will we do now?” Dorothy asked.

  “Keep trying to get the phone to work,” I said.

  “We’ll keep trying to get back to shore in the meantime,” the doctor said.

  The expanse of water around us was overwhelming. I felt like a tiny speck. The waves rocked the raft back and forth over the surface of the water. Dorothy’s eyes widened and she pointed over my shoulder. I was almost afraid to look at what she was trying to show me. The men’s expressions changed. They saw what Dorothy saw now too. I had to know what it was. I slowly looked over my shoulder. As soon as I peered down into the water I saw the fins. Unfortunately, they weren’t from cute little dolphins. These were really sharks this time. More than one. There were three of them. At this point I figured our fate was sealed. We would be dinner for the sharks. I wished I’d never seen the movie Jaws. Though I would have probably been just as panicked without seeing it. The sharks made long loops around the boat. Circling as if they were trying to figure out what was the best plan of attack. I’d look over and see a giant shark bearing down on us.

  “Don’t panic, Maggie, they can smell the fear,” Dorothy said.

  “Is that true?” I asked.

  “I have no idea,” she said. “But it sounds good, right?” She forced a smile.

  “What do we do?” I asked.

  “There’s not much we can do,” the man said. “We have to hope that they just go away.”

  I supposed he had a point. It wasn’t as if we could shoo them away. At least they weren’t circling around the raft. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed as if they were moving further away from us now.

  It was so quiet out there. That was until the boat that we’d been on exploded. Dorothy screamed. The men watched in stunned silence. I’d wondered if the thing would ever really go off. Now I had the answer. Of course I thought about if we’d still been on there when it happened. What would have happened if we’d never discovered the bomb? I had to push those thoughts out of my mind. Flames shot skyward.

  “Maybe someone will see the fire and come find us,” Dean said.

  “I’m just glad we weren’t on there,” Dorothy said.

  “Thanks for letting us know.” The other man leaned back on the boat.

  “Well, we had to get off the boat.” I motioned for him to sit up. “You’re making me nervous leaning back like that.”

  He leaned forward. “Why were you there in the first place?”

  “My name is Maggie Thomas. I’m a private investigator.”

  “That explains a lot,” Dean said.

  “I’m investigating the other boat explosion. The woman who hired me, Cora Shears, was married to Robert, the man who was murdered. She is missing now.” I turned my attention to the doctor.

  I was expecting him to tell me everything he knew now. Dean remained tight-lipped. I would get him to talk though. Not that it mattered if we were stuck out here in the ocean.

  “Do you have any idea who would put that bomb on your boat?” I asked.

  The men shook their heads. I knew they weren’t being honest. Why wouldn’t they tell me what they knew?

  “Don’t you want the person responsible for this in prison?” I asked.

  Still they didn’t answer. Silence fell over us. Would we see anyone coming to rescue us soon? The boat was still burning, but it had almost stopped now. Smoke still filled the sky. That gave me a little hope that we could be found. I tried my phone again, but it didn’t work. I wouldn’t stop trying.

  “Too bad your name isn’t Rose,” Dorothy sa
id.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Well, Jake could come save you. That’s close to Jack. I feel like we were on the Titanic,” Dorothy said with a wave of her hand.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t know if anyone is coming to save us,” I said.

  I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but it was reality.

  “Don’t be negative, Maggie, we have to keep up hope,” Dorothy said.

  She was always positive. Though most of the time she spoke the truth. She had to realize how much danger we were in right now. Would the sharks return soon?

  I touched the phone screen and attempted to dial Jake again. I supposed I could have dialed 911. It would be much easier to reach him though. Plus, I wanted to hear his voice just in case I didn’t make it. I wanted to say my final goodbye. Perhaps I should tell him how I really felt about him.

  “I can’t believe it. The phone is ringing,” I said.

  “Thank you, AT&T.” Dorothy clasped her hands together in prayer.

  I wouldn’t feel relieved until he actually answered though. With my luck it would go straight to his voicemail.

  “Maggie, where are you? I’ve been trying to call your number, but the call wouldn’t go through,” Jake said.

  “I’m so glad to hear your voice.” I fought back the tears.

  “What’s wrong, Maggie? I’ve never heard you sound this way before.”

  “I’m stranded on a raft in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.”

  My announcement was met with silence. He was probably contemplating if I was joking.

  Finally in a panic, he said, “What? How?”

  “Dorothy and I accidentally got on a boat. There was a bomb on the boat and it blew up. Not until we were safely off, of course,” I said.

  “I’m calling for help right away. Stay with me, okay? I’m at the station now.”

  “He’s calling for help,” I whispered with my hand over the phone.

  “Thank goodness for Jake,” Dorothy said.

  “Who is Jake?” the doctor asked.

  “That’s her boyfriend. The police officer,” Dorothy said. “You met him when he arrested you.”

  Jake stayed with me on the line. I was worried that my phone would die before they found us though. Jake assured me he wouldn’t let that happen. Soon I heard the helicopter. It hovered over us for a while. We waved our arms. They already knew we needed help, so I wasn’t sure why we did this. Soon the boats arrived. Jake was on one of them. I clicked off the call when I saw him. The boat came up to us and they helped all of us onto the boat. Jake wrapped his arms around me. I had a lot of self-control, but that was when momentarily I lost it. I tried to be tough, but the tears fell from my eyes. In Jake’s arms I felt safe. Even if it would only be for a short time. Sometimes I just needed someone. I suppose that someone I needed was Jake. He was comforting, helpful, and strong. These were all qualities I said I was looking for in a guy. So why fight it? Oh yeah, I didn’t want to be rejected. It was easier not to take that kind of risk. It looked as if I might not have a choice now.

  Jake wiped the tears from my cheeks. “You want to tell me why you were on that boat?”

  He always asked me if I wanted to tell him. No, I didn’t want to, but I supposed I had no choice but to lay out the whole story. Well, some of the story. I explained everything.

  “So see, I couldn’t let Dorothy go on there by herself.”

  “No, I suppose you couldn’t. I’ll have a talk with Dorothy,” he said.

  “Good luck with that,” I said.

  We traveled back to shore. We still had a lot of statements to give to the police. I was thankful to be back on land. I’d honestly never thought this would happen. The sight of that boat going up would forever be in my mind. Morton had rushed to the scene when Dorothy called him from the boat on our way back. It was sweet to see them embrace the moment they were near each other. I could have done without the passionate kiss though.

  “Sure, Maggie, was freaking out, but I managed to calm her down,” Dorothy said.

  I wouldn’t say that I was freaking out. Dorothy had her share of moments while we were on that boat. I wouldn’t mention that to Morton though.

  “Maggie’s lucky to have you,” Morton said.

  I smiled to myself. Yes, I was lucky to have her. Morton was lucky to have her too.

  The ambulance checked us out. I told them I was fine.

  “The doctor and his friend aren’t being truthful,” I said to Jake. “They know more than they want to admit.”

  “We’ll get them to talk,” Jake said.

  Movement caught my attention.

  “Well, you’ll have to catch up with them first.” I pointed at the white Rolls-Royce that was taking off out of the parking lot.

  Jake took off running. Police ran for their cars. Would this be a chase? I ran over to Jake. I knew he wouldn’t allow me to go on the chase with him. I had my car. What could I do but get in the way though?

  Jake came back over. “If they catch him I’ll get to speak with him.”

  “And if they don’t?” I asked.

  “He can’t hide forever,” Jake said.

  I wasn’t so sure about that. I had ruled him out as a suspect in the murder, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. This could be related to the murder. A payback perhaps?

  “We need to get you home. You need rest and food,” Jake said.

  “Chocolate cake sounds good,” I said.

  Chapter 18

  I’d called Abby. Needless to say, she was surprised by the call. That surprise gave way to suspicion. I didn’t blame her for that. I would have been suspicious too if I were her. I had only called her because I wanted to see what I could find out about the case. I wondered if Jake had told her not to tell me anything. Regardless, I gave it a shot. I’d asked her to meet me for lunch. I’d told her that we’d gotten off to a bad start and that we should start over. Perhaps get to know each other.

  Also, I’d told her not to tell Jake about this. No doubt she would tell him anyway. He would be suspicious too as soon as he found out. No one could blame me for trying though. I wouldn’t lie and say that I wasn’t nervous about this meeting. I just hoped that she couldn’t see right through my charade.

  I hadn’t even told Dorothy about this trip. I just told her I was running out to the store. She’d asked me to pick up yarn. That meant I had to stop on my way back. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Dorothy to go with me. Okay, it was that I didn’t want her to go with me. Only because I was afraid she would spill the real reason I had invited Abby to lunch. She had a way of letting things slip. Plus, Dorothy would see right through me and know what I was up to right away.

  Dorothy had given me a raised eyebrow when I’d told her I was leaving. It was almost as if she knew I wasn’t being honest. She must have believed me though because she didn’t make a move to come with me or even mention it. I was a little suspicious of her, to be honest. I slipped out of the office full of guilt.

  I pulled into the seafood restaurant’s parking lot. It was a place right along the beach and not far from my office. It seemed like a good neutral location. I checked my makeup in the mirror one more time before I got out of the car. Yeah, it was hard to keep makeup on my face with the Miami heat. Though I knew that Abby would look flawless as usual. I wasn’t sure how she did it.

  With nerves settled in my stomach I headed across the parking lot toward the restaurant’s door. I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous when talking with Abby. I had nothing to feel insecure about. But yet that feeling was always there when I was around her. Maybe it was because she was working with Jake. Perhaps it was because she would never have to sneak around and try to get info about a case. She would always be part of the case and never be told to butt out.

  I stepped into the restaurant. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim light. Once I could see the surroundings better I looked around the room for Abby. I spotted her at the back of the room sitting at a
table in the corner. Our eyes met. She didn’t look too thrilled that I was there. She’d probably been hoping that I wouldn’t show up. She waved me over to the table.

  Fish plagues and other paintings with ocean themes hung on the walls. A fish net with seashells decorated the far wall. Abby was dressed with her usual black pants and white shirt. The pants color varied some days to gray or navy. She always looked effortlessly chic. Her makeup was flawless yet it looked as if she wasn’t even wearing makeup. I wouldn’t know she was wearing it if I wasn’t watching her pat her face with the applicator from her compact.

  “I’m meeting someone.” I gestured when the hostess approached.

  She guided me to the table. I checked the time on my phone to make sure that I wasn’t late.

  I slid onto the seat across from Abby. She started at me. This was going to be an awkward lunch.

  “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” I said.

  “It’s okay,” she said, taking a drink of water.

  Thank goodness the waiter came over. I placed a drink order and then studied the menu. Abby nibbled on the bread. I supposed she’d already selected while she’d been waiting for me. The waiter came back and I placed my order. Now that he was gone it was back to figuring out what to say. The silence surrounded us. I spread butter onto a slice of bread. I had to break the silence soon or this trip would be wasted.

  “I suppose you’re wondering why I invited you to lunch,” I said and then took a bite of bread.

  “The thought had crossed my mind,” she said.

  "The food is really good here, right?” I asked.

  Abby forced a smile. “Yes, it is.”

  “I like crab cakes.”

  She nodded.

  Come on. At least we could talk about the food. That was something everyone could talk about. Though blurting out that I liked crab cakes was kind of a strange conversation starter.

  “They have key lime pie too,” I said.

  “I usually don’t eat dessert,” she said.