Dead in the Water_A fun and fast-paced private investigator cozy mystery/beach read
Page 19
When my gaze met with Vanessa’s I knew she realized I’d found her phone. I waved the phone through the air and she hurried over toward us.
Now that she stood in front of us she chuckled. “Oh, thank you so much for finding my phone for me.”
I pretended to hand it to her, but then I pulled it back.
She scowled. “Can I have my phone please?”
“Not so fast,” I said. “Before I return it I have some questions. Why are there videos of me on your phone?”
A nervous laugh slipped from her lips. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You don’t know what I mean?” hiding the frustration in my voice was impossible. “Would you like for me to show you the video? You really should lock your phone. I mean, if you’d had a passcode on there I would never have gotten in and noticed the plethora of evidence. But now your caught. So you might as well just confess.”
Jake stood beside me as we waited for her response.
“We’re waiting.” I quirked an eyebrow.
“Maggie, I recommend taking out a restraining order against Ms. Carl,” Jake said.
She narrowed her big blue eyes. “That’s not necessary. It’s not like I’m stalking her.”
“Oh no?” I said. “What about all the phone calls?”
“There weren’t that many calls. I only called you like twice.”
“So you admit making the calls? I asked.
“If you’d like to press charges, Maggie, we can arrange for that,” Jake said.
Vanessa’s mouth dropped. “What kind of charges? I did nothing wrong.”
“I really don’t think that pressing charges will be necessary, Jake,” I said. “As long as she leaves me alone. This case is over now so there’s no reason to contact me.”
“Exactly,” she said. “I have no reason to contact you. It’s not like you have anything interesting to say.”
I stared at her for a moment. “Well as long as we understand each other. No more contact with me. No more following me around and videoing me. That’s just weird.”
She looked as if she hated to be called out for this. “No more of any of that.”
“I don’t understand why you were doing this in the first place,” I said.
She sighed. “I just wanted to scare you a little bit. Maybe get you to talk that way. If I really put the pressure on you then you would confess to the crime. I thought maybe you thought someone was onto you. Then you would have to get the truth off your chest.”
“You really thought I was guilty of murder?” I asked.
“Well I was doing this with everyone who I thought might be a suspect. I wanted to fish out the real killer.”
Apparently, I had some competition on my hands in the private eye department. But Vanessa had a crazy way of doing things. I liked my way much better, even though I did some questionable things, I didn’t harass people or stalk them.
“As long as you understand that you can’t continue to contact Ms. Thomas,” Jake said.
“I completely understand,” she said around a sigh.
I handed her the phone. She snatched it from my hand and then walked away.
“Well that explains that,” I said.
Jake wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“As if there was ever any doubt,” I said, taking in a whiff of Jake’s spicy cologne.
Looking over Jake’s shoulder I was a bit surprised to see the men I’d seen at Annie’s house. The ones Dorothy and I had the slip. We’d driven off leaving them scratching their heads. I guessed my private eye skills had allowed me to outsmart them. I smiled at my accomplishment.
“What’s so funny?” Jake asked.
“Those guys over there.” I gestured. “They were at Annie’s house asking about her. They thought I was her.” I laughed. “Dorothy and I took off and I bet they never knew what hit them.”
Jake chuckled. “It’s funny, right?”
“Oh, it’s funny.” I quirked an eyebrow. “Wait. What do you mean by that?”
“It’s funny because they’re with the FBI and they knew who you were. I spoke with them. When they told me what happened, I knew right away it was you.”
I narrowed my eyes. Jake thought he was so clever. Just because I didn’t get everything right didn’t mean I wasn’t a fantastic private eye.
***
Dorothy and I sat under the palm tree peering out at the magnificent ocean. A breeze carried across the wind caressing our warm skin. We had piña coladas in hand. Waves rolled in to shore.
“This is the life, Dorothy,” I said after taking a sip of my drink.
“You can say that again.” Dorothy adjusted her giant floppy straw hat.
“We survived another case,” I said.
Dorothy sighed. “Just barely. That was a close one this time. I think we’re due for a bit of relaxation.”
Movement in the water caught my attention. It looked as if a man was waving his arms.
“Dorothy,” I said, sitting up. “Is that man calling for help? Do you think he’s drowning? I think he’s in danger.”
Dorothy lowered her sunglasses. “As a matter of fact, I think he is in danger.”
I jumped up and ran toward the water. What was I thinking? I wasn’t exactly an Olympic swimmer. I surely wasn’t qualified to be a lifeguard. Nevertheless, I had to do something. There was no time to call the police. I jumped in the water and attempted to swim toward the man, I tried to push the thoughts of how many sharks were in the water to the back of my mind. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted someone else swimming.
“Dorothy!” I yelled breathlessly. “What are you doing?”
She didn’t answer. Instead she kept on track toward the drowning man. I continued swimming that way, but the doggy paddle wasn’t getting me far. Dorothy had reached the man now. How had she managed that?
I suppose my adrenaline had finally kicked in because I swam up to them now.
“Don’t worry, we’ll help you,” I said.
The dark-haired man remained quiet as he tried to keep from slipping under the water. Dorothy and I clutched onto the man.
“Hold on to us,” I said.
I wasn’t sure if he had the strength. For that matter, I wasn’t sure I had the strength. Dorothy seemed to have enough for all of us.
We swam our way back to shore and then collapsed onto the sand. A gathering of people had formed now.
“I called for an ambulance,” a woman called out.
The man we’d dragged in from the water had seaweed draped around his neck.
“Are you all right?” I asked, pushing the wet hair out of my eyes.
With a crazed look in his eyes, he said, “You have to help me. They’re trying to kill me.”
I frowned. “Who are they?”
“I don’t know who they are, but they kidnapped me. I jumped off the boat and swam toward the shore.”
I scanned the water for a boat. There were several out there, but there was no way to be sure at the moment if one of those was the one this man claimed took him. Just when I thought things had calmed down another mystery had washed ashore.
About the Author
Rose Pressey is a USA Today bestselling author. She enjoys writing quirky and fun novels with a paranormal twist. The paranormal has always captured her interest. The thought of finding answers to the unexplained fascinates her.
When she’s not writing about werewolves, vampires and every other supernatural creature, she loves eating cupcakes with sprinkles, reading, spending time with family, and listening to oldies from the fifties.
Rose suffers from Psoriatic Arthritis and has knee replacements. She’s soon having her hips replaced, elbows, and at least one shoulder. She doesn’t let that slow her down.
Rose lives in the beautiful commonwealth of Kentucky with her husband, son, and two sassy Chihuahuas.
Visit her online at:
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“Rose Pressey’s books are fun!” Janet Evanovich
“Rose Pressey spins a delightful tale with misfits and romance that makes me cheer loudly.” Coffee Time Romance
Other books in the Maggie, P.I. Mystery Series:
Book 1 – Crime Wave
Book 2 – Murder is a Beach
Book 3 – Wipe Out
Book 4 – Pier Pressure
Book 6 – coming soon 2019