Dead in the Water_A fun and fast-paced private investigator cozy mystery/beach read

by Rose Pressey

  “Well, to be with Brigette, of course. She’s from here, not me.”

  “And you’re going to stay here now that you’re getting divorced?”

  “I haven’t made that decision yet.”

  Okay, he sounded a bit hostile.

  “Right,” I said. “Well, thanks again for clearing everything up for me.”

  Actually, he hadn’t cleared it all up, but I’d gotten the answer I expected from him.

  “Not a problem,” he said.

  A chill covered my body with the look he gave me.

  Dorothy and I got into the car and hurried it away from there.

  “We have to look over the clues that we have so far. We know that someone associated with the military is involved. Because of the items I found.”

  “And a man following you went to a place with someone that was military.”

  “But then my client is also.”

  “The other man has the last name on that jacket,” Dorothy said.

  “Maybe they know each other, and this is a setup?”

  “I think you need to speak with Brigette again. Maybe she can offer some kind of clues on how these people might be connected to each other.”

  “We’ll talk to as many people as we can. There has to be some kind of clue that comes from all of this. I think I’m going to make a big board with all the names of the suspects and then add the clues around to see how they are connected. That might lead back to the killer.”

  Chapter 22

  When someone jumped out of the bushes in front of me, I screamed and Dorothy immediately took a karate stance. She didn’t even know karate. Nevertheless, I appreciated her attempt at self-defense. The reporter had been hiding in the bushes and now was standing in front of me with that microphone again.

  “What’s this all about?” Dorothy yelled. “Who are you, crazy lady?”

  “I just have a few more questions about the case,” Vanessa Carl said.

  The wild look in Vanessa’s eyes was a bit frightening. She was obviously on a mission. But I wasn’t about to give in. I was on a mission too. A mission not to speak with her about the case.

  “I told you before I have no comment,” I said.

  “You told her before?” Dorothy asked.

  I caught movement out of the corner my eye. When I spun around I realized the cameraman was right behind me.

  “Are you filming this?” I asked.

  “Just doing my job,” he said.

  Apparently, that was their go-to answer.

  “How about you not do your job?” I asked.

  “Wait. Are we on video?” Dorothy asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” I said.

  Dorothy immediately started fixing her hair and then straightening out her blouse. “Oh, my word. If I’d known this I would’ve reapplied my lipstick.”

  This was no time to worry about makeup. Although maybe I should be worried about it too. I’d been frightened by my appearance on camera.

  “I don’t want to look a fright on TV,” Dorothy said.

  I suppose it was too late for me to worry about that after seeing my first appearance. I looked frazzled then and I was sure I looked that way now. The least they could do was give me a little notice for these interviews so that I could have my make-up done and visit the hair salon.

  “It’s been said that the murders are related. Do you have any comment on that? Since you were arrested for the first murder.” Vanessa stuck the microphone in my face again.

  “I was never arrested,” I said with panic in my voice. “I just happened to be on the scene when the body was discovered.”

  “So you know who did it?” she asked.

  “Where did you come up with these questions? No, I don’t know who did it. If I did the person would be in jail. I’m done answering questions now.” my looped my arm through Dorothy’s. “Dorothy, come on. We have work to do.”

  “Do you have any clues that you can give to us?” Vanessa pressed.

  Yet another silly question. If I had clues I certainly wouldn’t disclose them. Surely Jake would have something to say about this latest interview. He would ask me to stop discussing the case. Which was exactly what I was trying to do.

  “I have to get back to business.” I tried to step around Vanessa, but she moved in front of me again.

  We were doing some kind of odd dance. Dorothy was still adjusting her hair. Finally, I maneuvered around Vanessa.

  “If you’ll excuse me.” I let her know by my tone that I wasn’t happy with this.

  I took Dorothy by the arm and led her toward the door. Dorothy waved and smiled at the camera.

  “Don’t do that,” I said. “We’re not talking to them.”

  “I think that’s too late,” Dorothy said. “You’ve already done enough of that. You are terrible on camera.”

  “Well, that’s why I’m a private investigator and not a news reporter.”

  “Thank goodness,” Dorothy said.

  I fumbled with the key and got the door unlocked. We hurried inside. I slammed the door so that they wouldn’t follow us. Then I locked it behind us.

  “Thank goodness that’s over,” I said, releasing a deep breath. “I hope they never come back.”

  “Something tells me you’ll see them again,” Dorothy said.

  I dashed over to the window to see if they were still outside. When I got there, I opened the blinds. Vanessa was right there and looking in. I screamed again.

  “Maggie, you need to stop doing that,” Dorothy clutched her chest. “My heart can’t handle that kind of shock. Why don’t you just get out the paddles and give me a little electric jolt while you’re at it?”

  “Sorry, Dorothy.” I knocked on the window, trying to get Vanessa to hear. “Get out of here.”

  Vanessa frowned and then finally turned around and stomped back toward the van. The cameraman had already given up and was loading his camera into the back of the van. At least he had a little bit more sense than Vanessa.

  I closed the blinds. “I guess that’s over for now. That was stressful and more than a little embarrassing.”

  “So you talked to her before?” Dorothy asked.

  “Yes, we spoke when the first body was discovered,” I said.

  “And you didn’t tell me about this?” she said, placing her hands on her hips.

  “I didn’t think it was necessary to share that embarrassment.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it was quite a sight to behold. When exactly did this other incident happen?”

  “Right before I came into the restaurant that evening after it happened.”

  “Was it on the news?” Dorothy asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t know about this sooner. How did I miss it? It has to be on YouTube. I have to check the computer” Dorothy turned around to retrieve the laptop.

  “What do you think you’re doing? Stop that.” My eyes widened.

  Dorothy and I stopped in our tracks. How had we not noticed this when we first entered the office? I suppose we’d been too distracted by Vanessa. The whole place was in shambles. Papers and files were scattered everywhere. The desk was tipped over and the chair was upside down. I choked back tears. Who would do something like this?

  “Maggie, this place is a mess,” Dorothy said.

  I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “I have a feeling someone is trying to send me a message,” I said.

  “They could have left a voicemail,” Dorothy said.

  “Maybe they were looking for something.”

  “What could they possibly have been looking for?”

  “Other than the files I have on my clients? Maybe a person wants to get rid of evidence.”

  “I wonder how long ago this person was here?” Dorothy said.

  “I wonder how they got in? I unlocked the door.” I looked over to the little window and it was closed as well. “No one else has a key but me.”

  “That’
s not true. You gave one to Jake,” Dorothy said.

  “He wouldn’t do this.”

  “No, but what if someone took the key from him?”

  “Who would do that?” I asked.

  Dorothy quirked an eyebrow.

  “I guess Abby doesn’t like me much, so I suppose it’s possible. Do you really think she could have done this?” I asked.

  “Anything is possible because, like you said, she doesn’t like you much.”

  “Should I mention it to Jake?”

  “I think you have to,” Dorothy said.

  I sighed. “Yeah, I guess I do. And I can’t clean up this mess until the police arrive.”

  I pulled out my phone and typed out a text message.

  Need you to come to my office ASAP.

  “You’re going to tell him this over a text message?”

  “I thought maybe he’s too busy to come by right now. It’s not a life-threatening situation,” I said.

  “You don’t know that. A killer is out there somewhere. This is like 911 material right here,” Dorothy said.

  “I don’t think so, Dorothy. I mean, they couldn’t have taken anything valuable. I don’t have anything.”

  “The clients’ information is valuable,” Dorothy reminded me.

  My eyes widened. “That’s true. If a client found out their information was stolen they would be unhappy.”

  “I hope they never find out,” Dorothy said.

  “I hope nothing is really missing.” I blew the hair out of my eyes. “I need to look through everything and try to remember exactly what was here.”

  My phone dinged. A text from Jake.

  In the area. Thought I’d stop by.

  I showed Dorothy my phone’s screen. “I should tell Jake about what happened before he gets here.”

  “You should tell me what before I get here?”

  I whipped around.

  Jake’s eyes widened when he saw the condition of the room. “What happened here? Did you make Dorothy mad?”

  “I wouldn’t do this.” Dorothy scowled.

  “Did you rearrange again, Maggie?” Jake asked.

  “Someone broke into the office,” I said.

  “You’re being serious about this,” he said.

  “Absolutely I’m serious. Why would I do all of this?” I waved my arm.

  “I just thought you were re-organizing again,” he said.

  “Look at the desk and the chair.” I pointed.

  “All right, we need to step out of the office so that I can get somebody here to dust for fingerprints.” Jake motioned for us to follow him.

  Dorothy and I followed Jake out onto the sidewalk, stepping under the sunny sky.

  “Did you notice anything unusual when you walked in?” Jake asked.

  “Other than the mess?” I asked.

  “Was the window open or the door?”

  “The window is still closed, and the door was locked. You’re the only one other than me and Dorothy who has a key.”

  “This doesn’t make sense,” he said. “There has to be a way that the person got in. Other than using a key, because I know I still have mine.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. He sorted through each one. When he looked back at me he had a strange look on his face. I knew that something was wrong. “It’s not there,” he said.

  “Do you think someone took it from you and came in here looking for something?” I asked. “What could they possibly be looking for?”

  “I don’t know, Maggie, but I’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise you.”

  Chapter 23

  Should I mention to Jake that I thought Abby might be responsible for this? No, I should keep that to myself for the time being. She was a likely suspect. I mean, I didn’t know anyone else close to Jake who would have even thought about getting the key from him. Or know what it was for.

  “Where did you keep the key?” I asked.

  “With all the other keys on the ring,” Jake said.

  Soon the other officers arrived, spreading out around the space to take fingerprints. Would they actually find anything? I hoped so, but what would come of this if it actually was Abby? And why would she even attempt this? Maybe she wasn’t looking for anything at all, she just wanted to damage my office. Maybe she was sending me a message that she wasn’t happy about what happened back at Annie Jensen’s house.

  Abby and I didn’t get along, but I’d never thought she would attempt something like this. I really didn’t think that was in her character, but she had been acting awfully strange lately. Maybe I didn’t know her well at all. Yes, that was probably the case. We’d never spent much time together. There was no reason to.

  Jake stood close to me as he talked with another detective. They were telling him that they hadn’t found any fingerprints so far. If it was Abby she was probably much too savvy to leave a print behind. Had she been worried that I would come in while this was taking place? Unless she knew my whereabouts and knew that I wouldn’t be back at the office for quite some time. I hated to sound all paranoid, but what if she’d been tracking me? After all, she thought that I was maybe guilty of murder.

  My phone rang. When I saw the number, I didn’t recognize it right away, so I answered. “Maggie Thomas, P.I.”

  “Good afternoon, Maggie Thomas, this is Reynold Mitchell,” he said.

  I hadn’t expected to hear from him so soon… if at all.

  “I was just wondering if you were available for dinner tonight? Maybe we can discuss the case. I think I have something you’ll find interesting.”

  Well, now I was torn between saying yes to find out more information or saying no because I was dating Jake. It just wouldn’t be right.

  “I’m gonna have to call you back,” I said.

  Jake watched me as I talked. I didn’t want him to hear the conversation since I knew he was eavesdropping even though he was still talking to the other detective. He probably was suspicious. My face said it all.

  “Who was that?” Dorothy asked.

  I shook my head, letting her know that I couldn’t answer right now. Unfortunately, Jake saw that and now he seemed even more curious as to why I hadn’t completed that conversation. I hated to keep things from him, but this wasn’t something I thought I should share.

  I’d just tell Reynold Mitchell that I had a boyfriend and if he had important information to share he could tell me over the phone. Then he’d know right up front that there was nothing romantic between us. I just wanted to solve the case. I wouldn’t let him get away with any of his ladies’ man shenanigans.

  Dorothy must have figured out who the phone call was from because a sly smile appeared on her face. She enjoyed the fact that the ladies’ man was doing his typical antics.

  Jake stepped away from the detective and joined me.

  “Did you find out anything?” I asked.

  “Not yet, but we’re working on it. With any luck we’ll have answers soon. I need you to go through everything and see if anything is missing though.”

  I released a deep breath. “Yeah, that’s going to be a lot of work.”

  “I’ll help you,” Jake said.

  “I’ll help too,” Dorothy said.

  “I don’t know what I’d do without you all,” I said.

  “Well, you might not have this mess if I hadn’t lost the key,” Jake said.

  “Please don’t think that,” I said.

  I didn’t like that Jake felt bad. What if there was something missing? Was I forgetting something? I hoped that whatever this was I figured it out soon so that Jake wouldn’t feel bad. Plus, I hoped it wasn’t Abby because I knew that would really upset Jake.

  After the police had gone, we stepped inside the office and looked around at the mess.

  “I’m not sure where to start,” I said, pushing the hair out of my eyes.

  “You should probably look through the papers and files there,” Jake said. “I’ll make sure the furniture is up
right and unbroken.”

  I certainly had plenty of places to start.

  “I hope the furniture isn’t broken,” I said as I picked up some of the papers.

  I really needed to go all digital. I’d said I would change that when I inherited the agency, but so far, I hadn’t.

  “If it needs to be repaired I’m your man,” Jake said with a wink.

  “I just hope they didn’t bother my knitting needles,” Dorothy said.

  I knew this break-in had to be directed at me, not Dorothy. Having her stuff broken or taken would make me feel even worse. I started shifting through the files, but I found nothing out of the ordinary. Everything seemed to be in place.

  After I picked up everything up, I placed back them the filing cabinet. I turned around to survey the room. Thank goodness it all looked the way that it had before this had happened. I was so relieved that I almost cried.

  “I can’t believe that we got this all back together. And in such a short time,” I said.

  “Well, the room is small,” Dorothy said.

  “Was anything missing?” Jake asked.

  “No, everything seems to be there. That’s why I don’t understand what the reason for this was.”

  “I think it was just to make you have to clean it up,” Dorothy said.

  “I guess I made someone mad.”

  Jake ran his hand through his hair. “I know what you’re thinking, Maggie. I know you and Abby had a rocky start, but I don’t think she did this.”

  Part of me believed that as well, but then another part of me was a little upset that he was kind of defending her. I guessed I just wanted him to find the answer before he defended her. I mean, it was possible that she had done this.

  “I didn’t say that she did, but I just want to keep an open mind to the possibility, I guess.”

  “It’s my job to keep an open mind, Maggie, and I will, I promise.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Jake wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in for a hug. “You know, maybe you should have security cameras installed. After all, you are a private investigator. I just don’t want anything else to happen.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I said.

  I didn’t want to tell him that it was too much money. Besides, everything would probably be fine. We’d find out who did this, and it wouldn’t happen again. At least, that was what I kept telling myself.