by Rose Pressey
“What did you say the real estate agent’s name was?” I asked.
“Jessica Combs. She seems extremely savvy and I think she’d be a great negotiator for Morty if he decides to buy the place,” Dorothy said.
“Sounds good,” I said.
We walked over to the elevators and I pushed the button for up. I wasn’t sure why I felt so anxious about this trip. After all, I wasn’t the one making the big purchase. It was totally on Morty. But what if I told him to buy the place and it was a bad purchase? I didn’t want to be involved in that. Yet there was something else nagging at me and I wasn’t sure what. It almost felt like a sense of dread.
I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone else was in the building with us. It was just the three of us standing there waiting for the elevator. Finally, the bell dinged, and the doors opened. I pushed back my anxiety and stepped onto the elevator with Morty and Dorothy.
“What floor is it?” I asked.
“Twelve,” Morty said.
Once inside the tiny space, I pushed the button for twelve and watched as the doors closed. Mirrors on the back of the door showed our reflection. The three of us stared at ourselves.
Even though Dorothy said that I resembled my uncle, I thought I looked like my mother with the same dark hair, almond-shaped blue eyes, and round face. Today I wore my khaki shorts, white tank top, and pink flip-flops. This was my usual attire, only varied in colors day by day. I felt like I was constantly dressed for a stakeout. I never liked to dress up anyway. Only when I absolutely had to.
The elevator stopped and the doors opened, thank goodness. I always got claustrophobic on these things. I wanted to rush off first. However, I waited for Dorothy and Morty to exit first. Please let this thing stay open and not drop to the ground before I get off.
“What number is it?” I asked.
“1204,” he said.
“Looks like it’s right down this way.” I motioned.
Dorothy and I followed Morty down the hallway. However, Morty and Dorothy walked right by 1204. I stopped and backed up just a bit.
“I found it,” I said, pointing toward the door.
Morty and Dorothy shimmied in front of me. Morty knocked on the door.
“You said she’s supposed to be waiting here for you?” I asked.
“That’s what she said,” Morty said as he knocked again.
Again, there was no answer. However, I noticed the door move just a bit as Morty knocked.
“I think it’s open,” I said.
“Should we go on in?” Dorothy asked.
“Perhaps,” Morty said as he pushed on the door.
It opened all the way. Morty poked his head inside.
“Hello?” he called out.
No one answered.
“I don’t think she’s here yet,” he said.
“She probably wants us to go in,” Dorothy said.
We filed into the condo. It was vacant with no furniture. Huge windows looked out over the ocean with a lot of light pouring in. I walked over to the window for a look outside. Morty headed straight down the hallway toward what I assumed were the bedrooms.
“I think he probably wants to check out the bathroom. He has a thing about showers. He doesn’t like them to be too small because he feels claustrophobic. But then he doesn’t want them too big. What’s the reason for a big shower?”
“Well, at least he knows what he likes,” I said.
“He can definitely be finicky.”
“Yes, I suppose he can,” I said.
Dorothy and I stood there for a moment longer looking out over the ocean. Waves crashed against the shore, lapping at the sandy beach. Not one single cloud made an appearance in the bright blue sky.
“I could really get used to this view. What about you, Dorothy?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.
“If you’re implying that I’m moving in with Morty then you’re wrong.”
I held my hands up. “I was just suggesting.”
“Well, just forget it,” she said.
“All right, not another word,” I said, pretending to zip my mouth.
She probably thought for sure I would mention it again. I’d try my best not to, but it might slip out accidentally.
A few seconds later, Morty rushed down the hallway. He had a strange look on his face, but he just stood there at the end of the hallway by the kitchen staring at us. No words came from his mouth. It looked like he might be in shock. Was the bathroom that spectacular?
“What’s the matter, Morty?” I asked.
Dorothy rushed over to him. Her orthopedic shoes squeaked across the tile floor. Morty pointed down the hallway.
“What’s wrong, Morty?” I asked again.
He just pointed down the hallway and continued to remain speechless. I’d have to run down the hallway and find out what was going on for myself. Several doors lined the hallway, so I wasn’t sure which one I should look in. But since only one was open, I decided to check that one. The open door was at the back of the hallway. I assumed that this was the main bedroom.
I rushed into the empty room. Bright sunshine from the windows on the far wall flooded the empty space with sunlight. I immediately turned my attention to the left toward the other doorway. Inside the bathroom, I noticed feet. Of course, they were attached to legs. A body was lying on the ground. I raced over to the door.
“Oh, my gosh. Are you all right, ma’am?” I asked.
When the woman didn’t answer, I stepped into the small space. I reached out to check for a pulse, but I found nothing. I wasn’t sure what had happened to her, but I noticed marks around her neck. I moved out of the room just as Dorothy entered.
“Is everything all right in here?” Dorothy asked.
I held her back.
“Who is that woman in the bathroom?” Dorothy pointed.
“I don’t know, but we need to call the police immediately,” I said.
I ushered Dorothy back down the hallway. Morty waited by the door. Unfortunately, the three of us tried to run out the door at the same time. Morty on the left, me in the middle, and Dorothy on the right.
“One at a time,” Dorothy yelled.
When I backed up, Morty and Dorothy did too. We bumped into each other again. If Jake saw this he would be shocked at my clumsiness. Or would he? I was kind of shocked at myself. I was supposed to be a professional. Yet here I was acting like one of The Three Stooges. Perhaps we were a bit unprepared for what had happened. Nevertheless, had to get my act together. Once again, I moved forward, trying to get out the door. Unfortunately, Morty and Dorothy made yet another attempt and we smashed into each other like bumper cars.
“Don’t move,” I yelled.
As usual Dorothy and Morty didn’t listen to me. With a few groans and shoving, we all squeezed our way through the opening. I didn’t fare well in this clumsy sleuthing sandwich.
I stumbled forward, landing onto the hallway floor. Some private investigator. This was embarrassing. I looked over my shoulder at Morty and Dorothy. They stared at me with their mouths open as if either in shock that they had knocked me down or that I was that clumsy. Either way, I had to get myself out of this mess.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, let me help you up,” Dorothy said, stretching her hand toward me.
“I got it.” I waved my hand.
The last thing I needed was for Dorothy to help me up from the floor. I would just end up making her fall. And heaven knows I didn’t need Morty with his bad hip coming to my aid.
“You might break something,” Dorothy warned.
“I still have my joints working so I can handle it,” I said.
I pushed to my feet and tried to calm my shaking hands enough to dial the police.
“Don’t feel bad, Maggie, it’s a stressful situation. We were bound to make mistakes.” Dorothy handed me a peppermint candy.
After taking the candy, I dialed 911. I would’ve called Jake first, but I was pretty sure he had gone fishing today. It was
his day off and I didn’t want to disturb him. I gave the woman on the 911 call my information and where we were located. Now we had to wait. This was the craziest thing, and I was in shock still.
Movement caught my attention. At the end of the hall was a door that I assumed led out to the stairwell. I thought for sure I’d seen a man peering out the door at us. He’d had the door open only slightly. When he spotted us, he quickly let go of the door. I wondered if he was now hurrying away down the stairs. Maybe it was just another tenant, but the fact that there was now a murdered woman in this condo and this man had been lurking around in the staircase watching us meant that I needed to check it out.
“Wait right here,” I said as I stepped away from Dorothy and Morty.
“Where are you going?” Dorothy asked.
“Just to look in the stairwell,” I said.
Rushing down the hallway, I made it to the door within seconds. I eased the door open just a bit since I didn’t want the person to know that I was on my way. Though he was probably already long gone by now. When I peeked into the stairwell, just as I had suspected, he was nowhere in sight. Nevertheless, I stepped out into the stairwell and peered down the stair railing to see if I spotted him. Sure enough, I caught a glimpse of the man’s arm as he moved down the stairs. I thought about calling out to him, but what if this was the killer?
Did I really want to have a confrontation with a crazy man right now? I often did risky things though. I should go after him just in case. Wouldn’t Jake be surprised if I found the killer already. I headed down the staircase in a hurry, hoping that Dorothy and Morty would be okay. No doubt Dorothy would come looking for me soon if I didn’t hurry. That was a situation I surely didn’t need.
I moved down those stairs so fast that now my legs hurt. Why did Morty have to pick the twelve floor? This was crazy. I might need an ambulance instead of just having the police arrive. Or they’d find another dead body at the bottom of the staircase. Either I’d collapse after stumbling and break my neck or this was really the killer and he’d attack me. Maybe this really was a crazy idea. After all, he could have already moved to one of the other floors. Maybe I had already missed him.
Nevertheless, I continued down the stairs. Just when I thought I would collapse, I finally reached the bottom floor. I burst out into the lobby. No one there. Leaning over with my hands on my thighs, I attempted to catch my breath. I spotted a car pulling out of the parking lot, but I was so far away, and there was such a glare from the sunshine on the front windows, that I couldn’t even make out the model or color of the car. Was it white or silver? For all I knew, it was another resident. It looked as if I’d just gotten a heavy dose of cardio for no reason. Oh well. I suppose I needed the exercise.
Now I needed to go all the way back up and check on Dorothy and Morty. They would freak out soon. There was no way I was using the stairs again though. It was the elevator or nothing. After walking over to the elevators, I pushed the button and waited for the doors to open. When the doors finally opened, I was surprised to see a man standing on the elevator. He wore a dark jacket, pants, fedora hat and sunglasses. Graying hair peeked out from under the hat. Apparently, he took sun protection very seriously. He just stood there staring at me.
“Are you coming out?” I asked with a smile.
“I forgot something. I’m going back up,” he said.
“Oh, I see,” I said, stepping onto the elevator with him.
He was kind of creepy though and I wished I was in the elevator alone. When I looked at the buttons, I realized he hadn’t even pushed one for his floor yet.
I touched the twelve button. “Which floor are you going to?”
“Twelve also,” he said with a lopsided grin.
Now I was suspicious of this guy. He just happened to be going to the same floor as me? That was weird. But he had no way of knowing I would be on this elevator, right? I couldn’t wait to get off. I watched the little screen that indicated which floor we were on as it moved rather slowly to the second and then the third floor. It seemed to be taking forever. I stood as far away as possible from the guy.
“Are you a new tenant?” he asked. “I don’t remember seeing you around.”
I had hoped he wouldn’t talk to me. Now I was confined in this tiny little box and had to chat with him.
“Just visiting,” I said, trying to keep it brief.
“It’s a great building,” he said.
“Yes, it is,” I said.
He had no idea the chaos that was about to descend upon this place, but I couldn’t tell him that there was a murder victim in one of the condos.
“Do you have a friend who lives here?” he asked.
Okay, this was too many questions.
“Yes,” I said.
I should have said no but then he’d wonder why I was visiting if I didn’t have a friend. I didn’t want to tell him that I had a friend who was possibly thinking about buying here.
“Oh, so your friend is probably my neighbor.”
“Maybe so,” I said.
I watched the screen. We were at the seventh floor now. On to the eighth. I swear if something happened to this elevator and it got stuck, I didn’t know what I would do. I’d never liked elevators anyway. Thank goodness the screen finally popped up with the number twelve. Open doors, open. I moved closer to the doors until my face was practically pressed against the steel. The guy probably knew I was in a hurry to get off.
“Don’t like elevators?” he asked with a laugh.
His laughter sounded like an injured donkey trying to sing. Not the most pleasant sound I’d ever heard.
“Something like that,” I said.
I thought I’d be safe now. Except for the doors weren’t opening and now I was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. Soon I would struggle to breathe. I’d break out in a sweat. My heart would race. I might even faint right there with this creepy guy on the elevator with me. Could it get any worse than this? Well, I supposed being on the elevator with the killer would be worse. I glanced back at the man. He stared at me with that lopsided grin. Well, he looked in my direction. With those dark sunglasses on, I had no idea where his gaze was exactly. There was something definitely wrong with this guy. I got the creeps around him.
I’d forced those doors open if I had to. I wouldn’t wait much longer before I pushed the emergency button. Okay, I needed to calm down. I was beginning to overreact. It had only been a few seconds. No reason to call out emergency just yet. In my mind, I was willing those doors open though.
“Seems like they might be stuck,” he said.
Oh, don’t say that, creepy guy. He was only making it worse when he talked. Just keep quiet until I figure this out. I glanced over at the panel an located the emergency button. Just as I moved my arm to actually push the button, the rumble of moving doors caught my attention. Oh, thank you, thank you!
When the doors opened, I practically ran out of the elevator. Freedom at last. I sucked in a deep breath.
“See, no reason to panic,” the man said.
I didn’t bother responding because in my mind there had been plenty of reason to panic. Though I supposed I had been a bit quick to rush to that panic, but in my defense, I had been under a lot of stress this morning already. Leaving the guy back there without another word spoken, I headed around the elevator area to the hallway to find Dorothy and Morty.
I glanced back over my shoulder and saw the guy had stepped off the elevator. He still watched me. Was he coming in the same direction? I had hoped his place was on the opposite side of the building. When I stepped into the hallway, Dorothy looked to her left and spotted me. She had been all the way at the other end of the hall by the staircase, obviously looking for me.
“There you are,” she said in a loud voice. “I was worried about you. I thought maybe the killer got you. What is taking the police so long?”
My eyes widened. I waved my hands, trying to get Dorothy not to say more. I didn’t want Dorothy to aler
t creepy elevator guy that something was wrong. When I glanced back though, I realized he was nowhere in sight. Had he gone all the way to the other end of the hallway already? Maybe he got back in the elevator. Either way, I was glad that he was gone now. I had to focus on the dead body in that condo. I hurried down the hallway toward Dorothy and Morty. Morty was still standing in the same spot staring at the wall.
“What happened to you?” Dorothy eyed me up and down.
“I wanted to see what that man was up to.” I pointed at the end of the hall.
“What man?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I said with a wave. “He got away.”
“Why did you follow him?”
I raised an eyebrow. “He acted suspicious.”
“How did he act suspicious?” she asked.
“I don’t know. He was peeking out the door at us. Well, at least I thought he was. He moved so fast that I couldn’t be sure.”
“You’re just being paranoid now.” Dorothy waved off my concern.
A peppermint candy fell to the floor. She had so many of those things that they were now randomly falling off her. I guessed it had come from her pocket.
“Shouldn’t I be paranoid?” I lowered my voice. “There’s a dead body right in there.”
“Speaking of corpses, when will the police be here?” Dorothy asked.
“I’d like to think they’ll be here any minute.” I looked at my watch.
“Maybe we should just leave,” Dorothy said. “I don’t like standing out here.”
“After discovering a body? I’m pretty sure Jake would frown upon that.”
“It’s not like it’s the first time you’ve ever been in a predicament like this,” she said.
“Which makes it even worse,” I said. “I know he won’t be happy so why escalate the situation?”
I stared at my phone. Jake wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t call him right away either.
“Aren’t you going to call Jake?” Dorothy asked.
Dorothy could probably tell that I was debating on what to do.
