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

by Rose Pressey

“Not me, but I’ve heard people use it before,” he said.

  “This is serious, Jake. I was almost killed. We need to find out who did that.”

  “And that’s exactly what I intend to do,” he said. “We’re going to check for any video surveillance in the area. And as a matter of fact, maybe I can speak with the building management here and get some cameras installed outside. With you living here we’re going to need it.”

  “Hey,” I said.

  “I’m surprised your neighbors haven’t asked for you to be removed yet,” Jake said.

  “That’s not funny,” I said.

  “It wasn’t meant to be funny. I’m being serious,” he said. “Can you tell me anything else about the car?”

  “No, other than it was black. It was dark, and I didn’t get the license plate number. It all happened so fast. Plus, I was lying in the bushes.”

  “You saw this car other day?” Jake asked.

  “Yes, it went by my office. I know it wasn’t an accident that they came up on that sidewalk tonight. They were specifically targeting me.”

  Jake ran his hand through his hair. “We just have to know which case they’re targeting you for. Is it the murder or is it just some cheating husband?”

  “I have other cases that are serious,” I said defensively.

  “Well, whatever the case, we need to figure out who did this. I’ll start with the video and if we don’t find anything there then maybe we need to have you followed by an officer.”

  “Oh, no. I don’t want to do that,” I said, waving my hands.

  “You may not have any other options,” he said. “It will be necessary.”

  The officers walked back over to us. “We only found damage to the bush from when she jumped.”

  “All right, as soon as we’re finished here we’ll go visit places down the street and look for any surveillance video that we can find. Maggie, are you staying in for the rest of the evening? I can have somebody stay with you.”

  “I don’t anticipate going anywhere else now, but I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

  He scoffed. “Really? Are you? You were almost run over.”

  “That doesn’t mean that I can’t protect myself. I jumped out of the way. I climbed that fence and I got myself to safety.”

  “Obviously it does no good arguing with you on this.”

  “It’s about time that you figured that out,” I said.

  “As soon as I’m finished is it all right if I come back by? I want to check on you.”

  “If you bring dinner,” I said with a smile.

  “Is pizza okay?”

  “Pepperoni,” I said.

  Jake captured my mouth in a passionate kiss that made my head spin. After an entirely too short amount of time the kiss ended. Jake released me from the embrace and I blinked a few times to snap back to reality. What were we talking about? Oh yes, pizza. He waited for me to step inside my apartment. I needed a chance to read that email anyway. Plus, I wanted to catch up on some of my shows and just relax. After today’s events, I deserved it. I couldn’t work twenty-four seven, after all.

  I locked the door behind me and then checked out the window to see if Jake was still there or if he had another officer staying behind. I couldn’t see anyone with the limited view, but I was pretty sure somebody was out there watching. I guessed if it made him happy…

  I sat down at my desk and turned on the computer, hoping that nothing else crazy happened tonight. I pulled up my email and immediately clicked on the one from Officer Franks. He was the officer helping me solve my father’s murder. Only the first sentence let me know right away it wasn’t actually from him. It was from his son.

  Apparently, Officer Franks had been murdered. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. He had been murdered in the same manner as my father. The killer had taken him out. Immediately I knew it had to be the same person. Wait until I told Jake about this. He’d been helping me with this case. And now the person who was our connection back in Kentucky was gone. This couldn’t be a coincidence and now I had to wonder if this person was also looking for me.

  I typed back a message, letting his son know how terribly sorry I was for what happened. Somehow, I felt responsible. I mean, he’d been helping me look into my father’s death. It had been a cold case for so long and he’d helped me bring it back. I just hoped that there was something I could do to help. But at the moment, I was clueless as to what that would be.

  While I waited to hear from Jake, I plopped down on my lumpy bed to try and relax for just a moment. Well, relax as much as I could with a lumpy bed and someone trying to kill me. When my phone dinged, assuming it would be Jake, I snatched it up to check the message. I didn’t recognize the number, but there was a video attached. The message read: Watch this.

  Curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on the video. The dark bar room glowed from the neon beer signs. Reynold and I were sitting at the bar. My heart sped up. Someone had taken this video just a short time ago. This was completely creepy to know that someone had been filming us. I knew I’d seen that person out of the corner of my eye.

  Whoever filmed this had to be the person who had been watching me at the pool. I watched as Reynold and I got up from the bar and headed back toward the restroom area. This was when we’d been looking for the person. However, if the person took the video from that angle, then they couldn’t have been the same person I saw walk back toward the exit. Were there two people working together?

  I replayed the video so that maybe I could catch a glimpse of the person I’d thought I’d seen. Unfortunately there was no way to see since it was at a different angle. That was disappointing. I played the video several more times. I wasn’t sure what I thought I would accomplish by doing that. Maybe I thought I’d catch something that I hadn’t been before. Reynold couldn’t have taken the video because he was beside me the whole time. Was the killer sending me a message with this video? What was the message?

  As soon as Jake returned I had to tell him about this. Maybe he could track down the number. It was the one solid clue that I had. I played the video one more time, but then I had to stop because it is just giving me the creeps too much.

  A short time later I jumped at the sound of knocking at the door. Even after I told Jake that I could take care of myself, I wasn’t paying attention and the noise had startled me. The video had increased my anxiety. I rose up out of the chair and peeked out the window blinds. Thank goodness it was Jake. He must’ve felt my eyes on him because he looked over at the window and smiled. I rushed over to unlock the door and let him in. I was glad to see him.

  Jake held the pizza box.

  “That looks delicious,” I said.

  “You haven’t even seen the pizza yet,” he said.

  I laughed. “Okay, the box looks delicious. I’m hungry.”

  He laughed.

  “Maybe we should eat by the pool. Although that will have bad memories for me at the moment.”

  I supposed I couldn’t avoid it forever. And it was beautiful. Plus, the night was perfect other than almost being killed.

  “Are you sure?” Jake asked.

  “Yes, I’ll grab a couple drinks from the fridge and meet you right there.”

  “Bring napkins. I have a feeling this will be messy,” he called out as I headed back into the apartment.

  With my phone in my shorts’ pocket, I grabbed a couple Diet Cokes, some napkins, and headed back to the pool. A patio table and chairs sat by the pool. It was the perfect place for us to enjoy our food.

  “Okay, now I can see the pizza and it really does look delicious,” I said.

  I placed the napkins and drinks on the table. After taking a couple bites of the pizza I knew I had to share the video with Jake. Then to top it off I’d have to tell him the sad news about Officer Franks. I hated to ruin his meal, but the bad news had to be shared.

  “You have to take a look at this, I said, pulling the phone from my pocket.


  “What is it?” Jake asked, setting his slice down.

  I showed him my phone and clicked on the video.

  “Oh, so you’re showing me the other guy you’re dating?” Jake asked.

  “Don’t be silly. Watch the video. Somebody was there.” I pointed. “Someone filmed me. Why would they do that?”

  Jake ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know, Maggie, but this is very strange.”

  “I think it might be the killer doing this,” I said.

  “Why would they send this to you?”

  “To let me know that they’re following me and watching my every move. Now it’s just a video, but what will they do next?”

  “I don’t want to find out what’s next,” Jake said. “I want to find the person before anything else happens.”

  I sighed as I leaned back in the patio chair. “Ideally that would be the best thing, but now I’m not so sure we’ll be able to stop them.”

  “Do you have no confidence in me?” he asked.

  “It’s not that. It’s just that they’re obviously pretty devious. At least now you can see that Reynold was innocent in this.”

  “What do you mean?” Jake asked.

  “This video proves nothing about his innocence. He could be working with someone else. That person could’ve videoed you there. I mean, who else would know you were there?”

  “Well, if the person driving the car followed me they would know. They could’ve followed me down the street while I walked. Once I left the bar they saw me walking alone. They’d probably been waiting for me.”

  “It’s all a game to them and they’re just waiting for the right opportunity to scare you or worse,” he said.

  “Are you trying to scare me?” I asked.

  “No, Maggie, I would never want to do that,”

  Jake stood from the chair. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around me.

  “I hope you know how much I worry about you,” he whispered in my ear.

  No, I guess I hadn’t known until now. Jake sat back down.

  “I have some more bad news,” I said.

  “Worse than almost getting hit by a car? I’m not sure if I can handle it,” he said.

  “Officer Franks was murdered.”

  He set the slice down. “How and when did it happen?”

  “Just a couple days ago. The murder was exactly like my father’s.”

  “Do they have any ballistics information on the bullet?”

  “Not that I’m aware of yet, but possibly you could find out for me.”

  “I’ll get right on it in the morning. I’m really sorry, Maggie. This is terrible.”

  “I’m not going to stop trying to find the killer, obviously, but I believe it’s the same person.”

  “I don’t know what to think,” Jake said.

  I stared out over the sparkling water and contemplated all that had happened today.

  Jake and I discussed what had happened and that he’d had no progress yet finding out who had tried to run over me. But some of the places that had cameras would be open in the morning and hopefully we’d get an idea then. In the meantime, we finished our pizza and then Jake asked if he could stay with me all night.

  “You do realize that this is a tiny apartment and you can’t move in here,” I said.

  He laughed. “Maybe you should move in with me. I have a bigger place.”

  I stared at him. I couldn’t tell if this was a joke or he was serious. And he didn’t ask again, so I didn’t bring it up since I figured he was just joking. It was too soon for us to move in together anyway. I couldn’t imagine leaving this little apartment just yet. Jake and I slipped under the sheet, and even though the tiny air-conditioner was running, it was still hot.

  ***

  Jake woke me the next morning bright and early as he was getting ready to leave for work.

  “Don’t you ever take a break?” I asked as I sat up in bed.

  “I’ve got to get in the office and work on these cases. I need to make some calls and find out what exactly happened to the officer in Kentucky.”

  “I really appreciate the help.”

  “I know you do,” he said as he leaned down and softly pressed his lips on mine.

  My eyelids fluttered closed as I allowed myself to linger in the moment. Unfortunately, the moment came to an end too soon.

  Jake touched my chin with a stroke of his fingers. “I hate to leave you here alone. Can you give me a step-by-step itinerary of your moves for the day?”

  “No, I cannot,” I said.

  Chapter 27

  After Jake left, I dressed in my favorite white shorts and sunshine-yellow tank top. I grabbed my tote and keys and headed for the door. When I stepped outside I immediately stopped and scanned my surroundings. Yes, it was bright and sunny out, but even still I was anxious. I was still on the lookout for my stalker. They didn’t have the darkness to hide behind now though, so at least I had that to my advantage. This was no time to let my guard down.

  So far, I saw no one around. I almost expected for Reynold to pop up out of nowhere again. This had all been so strange last night. Was it a dream? I locked the door behind me and only made it a couple of steps when I spotted something on the ground next to my apartment. This reminded me that it all hadn’t been a dream. It was all real. Unfortunately, I was going to have to deal with this realistic nightmare.

  It was the special pen from my office. Had the person who had broken in my office taken it and now they’d left it here on purpose just so that I would know that they had been to my apartment too? I knew it hadn’t been there last night before I’d closed the door when Jake and I had gone to bed. Someone had to have been out there in the middle of the night. Just the thought sent a shiver down my spine. They were sending me a message. And I knew it wasn’t a good one.

  Why were they toying with me and playing these games? Was it a warning for me to stop trying to find the killer? But I couldn’t stop. I had to find the person so that they didn’t do it again. I had to keep myself from being killed in the process though. That was easier said than done when I had a complete psycho running around chasing me with their car.

  I picked up the pen, stuffed it in my bag, and then hurried around the corner toward my car parked along the street. When I reached the spot where I’d climbed the fence I stopped. Momentarily flashes of what happened came back to me and I panicked. But the incident was behind me now and I had to push those thoughts to the back of my mind so that I could move forward with the investigation.

  I hurried the rest of the way to the car, stopping just long enough to unlock the door and scan the area for any danger. It wasn’t fun having to constantly look over my shoulder, but it was necessary. At least until I figured out who the killer was and brought them to justice. Then I thought about the officer who had been recently killed in Kentucky. Would I have that killer after me too? I hoped Jake found more information on the case this morning.

  I slid into the car and locked it behind me, started the ignition and pulled away from the curb. On the way to the office I made sure to be conscious of my surroundings and any cars that could possibly be following me. After all, the person who’d tried to hit me might try to make me have an accident as well. They could’ve gotten a different car by now. My phone rang and Jake’s picture popped up on the screen. It was a photo I’d taken when we’d been on the beach. He was actually smiling, which was something he didn’t do often. He liked to keep his tough detective persona.

  “Maggie, this doesn’t look good,” Jake said when I answered.

  “What happened?” Dread surged through my body.

  “I don’t want you to talk to that Reynold guy anymore.”

  I sighed as I buckled my seatbelt. “I only talked to him to get information. You don’t have to be jealous.”

  “He’s dangerous, Maggie. He has a black car. It fits the description of the one that almost hit you. I think it was him.”

  “It can’t be hi
m. Why would he do that? I didn’t get a license plate number and I’m sure there are a lot of those black cars around town.”

  “What are the odds it was someone else though?”

  Jake didn’t like Reynold though. I wasn’t so quick to make that decision.

  “I’m going to find out why he’d do this. Just don’t go anywhere near him, okay?”

  “All right, if you say so. What are you going to do to him?” I asked.

  “I’ll ask him some questions.”

  Now I felt bad for Reynold. He’d been nice when we were at the bar. I felt confident there was no way he was involved. Though he had shown up right after I’d seen the man at the pool.

  “I’ll call you soon,” Jake said.

  After ending the call with Jake, I checked my phone to see if Dorothy had responded to my text. There was nothing from her. I’d expected her to message me already. She hadn’t called or texted, which was unlike her.

  Naturally apprehension took over. After what had happened maybe they had come after Dorothy too. The thought was overwhelming. I had to talk to her soon. I hoped she was already at the office when I got there. I wanted to hear those clacking needles and longed to smell the peppermint candy. Who knew all those annoying qualities could be so endearing?

  Thank goodness the car that had almost hit me wasn’t waiting for me at the office. And no one tried to run me over as I walked from my car to the office door. Granted this was in the parking lot, but I didn’t trust the person not to run right over me right there. I tried the door, but it was locked, which led me to believe that Dorothy wasn’t here yet. Her car wasn’t here, but sometimes Morty dropped her off.

  I still hadn’t looked at the jacket since I’d found it. It was in the trunk of my car. Just for curiosity I decided to get it another glance. Getting out of the car I went back to the trunk and pulled it out. I examined it once again. Not that this would provide any new clues. After all, it was just a jacket. It wasn’t like I could collect DNA off it.

  After checking the pockets again, I noticed the name on the inside collar. How had I missed this? The name wasn’t Smith. A cold chill ran down my spine. I recognized the name. Smythe. The guy I’d talked to at the boutique. Baxter Smythe. I needed to contact him right away. The killer had been right in front of me.