by Rose Pressey
There was only one idea that came to mind and I wasn’t sure if it was a good one. But it was the only one I had so I supposed I had to go with it.
“My real estate agent actually gave me the information about your tour,” I said. “I’m glad she did.”
Dorothy’s whipped her attention over to me. “What are you doing?” she whispered.
Joe glanced back at me with a scowl on his face. Obviously, this had struck a nerve.
“Her name is Jessica Combs. Do you know her?”
Of course he knew her, but would he admit it?
“Yes, I know her,” he said. “What are you up to?”
Okay, this was the worst-case scenario.
“What do you mean?” I said, trying to sound innocent.
“You know she was murdered,” he snapped
“Excuse me?” I said with my best attempt at acting shocked.
“She was murdered, but you know that.”
“I had no idea. I’m sorry,” I said. “If I’d known I would have never mentioned it. Was she a relative of yours?”
“She was my girlfriend, but I assume you already knew that. That’s the whole reason for this visit, right? Are you trying to find out who killed her?”
Maybe he was more astute than I’d given him credit.
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” I said. “Maybe it’s time that you took us back to shore.”
This guy was agitated, and it was a good idea for Dorothy and me to be out here with him.
He glanced back at me again. “Sure, I can do that.”
The menacing sound of his voice sent a shiver down my spine. Did he have something else planned for us? Maybe it would be better if Dorothy and I just abandoned ship.
Dorothy and I were no longer looking for dolphins. Joe had turned the boat around and was headed back toward the shore. I just had to hope that nothing else went wrong before we were back on land. The shore was in sight now and I felt somewhat relieved. But then, all of a sudden, a loud noise rang out. It sounded like a gunshot. The next thing I knew, Dorothy had jumped over the side of the boat and was now in the water.
I screamed out. “Dorothy, what are you doing?”
Now I had no choice but to leap over with her. Of course, luckily for us, we were wearing the life preservers, so it wasn’t like she would drown, right? Without looking back at the tour guide, I dove over the side of the boat. Spitting the water from my mouth, I managed to swim over to her and get my arms around her. Splashing through the salty ocean, I started guiding her back toward the shore. She wasn’t uttering a word, and neither was I.
I had no idea what Joe was doing either. Obviously, he hadn’t jumped in the water after us. We had been so close to the shore already though that it only took a short time until we were on the beach.
“Dorothy, what were you thinking?” I said breathlessly.
“I thought someone had shot at us again. I thought he had a gun.”
“I don’t know what the sound was but I’m pretty sure he didn’t have a gun.”
Joe was still out on the water, seemingly unconcerned about whether Dorothy and I had made it back to the shore.
“I should leave him a bad review,” Dorothy said.
“I think we’d better just leave this well enough alone,” I said. “For all we know he could be in jail soon for murder.”
“You really think he’s the killer?” Dorothy asked.
“I’m not sure but he acted awfully agitated when he heard the mere mention of her name.”
I picked the seaweed off Dorothy’s neck and then we took off the preservers. Thank goodness that was over with though.
“Just maybe don’t jump off a boat again,” I said.
“Well if someone’s shooting at us I’ll have no choice,” she said.
It had definitely been a bad idea to take Dorothy out there on that tour.
“Let’s get out of here, Dorothy,” I said as I guided her across the beach. “It’s been a crazy day. I think I need ice cream.”
“Can we get the chocolate dipped cone?” Dorothy asked.
“Anything you want,” I said. “But maybe we should get out of the wet clothes first. We’ll go by your place. I have a change of clothing in my car. After we change, we’ll go for ice cream.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dorothy said.
I glanced back at the water to see what had happened to Joe. He was still out there on that boat, unconcerned whether Dorothy and I had made it to shore.
Chapter 25
The next day, Dorothy and I were at the office. I’d researched more on Joe Delgado with little luck. I’d moved on to the other person on my list.
“I think if I talk to Jessica Combs’ husband, he’ll recognize me. Also, I think he might recognize you if he’s done any kind of research at all. Therefore, there’s only one thing to do,” I said.
“Go in disguise,” Dorothy said as she studied the crossword puzzle. “I’ve been looking at this same set of blocks all day.”
“A disguise? Now you’re talking,” I said.
“So what are we going to dress as?” Dorothy asked.
“Well, we’re not wearing costumes,” I said
“No clown outfits?” Dorothy asked.
“Heavens, no. Something totally different.”
“I want to be a teenager,” Dorothy said.
“Okay, we have to be realistic. We’ll just wear wigs for different-colored hair and maybe eyeglasses or something.”
“I’m getting a whole Lucille Ball vibe from this plan. Remember that episode where Lucy and Ethel get costumes that are all mixed up?”
“I remember, but we’ll try to avoid that outcome,” I said.
Dorothy and I headed for the store to try on new outfits. I ultimately went with the blonde wig and she went red. Mine was cut into a bob and hers was curly.
“I think we look glamorous,” she said.
“We probably look ridiculous,” I said around a sigh.
“Oh, no, we look totally natural.”
“What do you think about my outfit?” I asked, spinning around like a fashion model.
“You looked like a crazed clown.” She shook her head.
“Just what I always wanted to look like,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
We walked out of the store donning our wigs. I tried to pay attention to see if anyone was watching us. That would be the first indication that we had bad disguises. Luckily, no one seemed to notice us. I still wasn’t convinced though. A true sign would be if the man acted odd when he first saw us.
“This thing is really hot,” Dorothy said as she adjusted her wig.
After leaving the store, we were now sitting in the car. The windows were down while I waited for the air-conditioner to cool us down. I’d underestimated exactly how hot it would be in these things. Nevertheless, we’d started this now and we had to meet this man.
“Do you think this will take long?” Dorothy asked.
“I certainly hope not. I don’t want to have heat stroke,” I said.
“I don’t want you to have one either.”
I’d made a call to this man and set up a meeting. We had to be there in thirty minutes, and I hadn’t anticipated heavy traffic. I should’ve known it would be that way though. Dorothy was never great at picking out clothing. Though who was I to talk? I wasn’t exactly the best at it either. I put the car in reverse and headed out of the parking lot.
“Well, here goes nothing,” I said.
“You don’t sound very confident,” she said.
“I’m confident.” I forced a smile.
Thank goodness it was a short drive to the location that I had picked out. But now I was starting to worry that this wouldn’t work out. We sat in the car staring at the building.
“Well, what are we waiting on?” Dorothy asked.
“I’m mentally preparing myself,” I said.
“That sounds draining if you ask
me,” she said.
“No, I do it all the time. I just don’t tell you about it.”
“I thought you told me everything.”
“Not everything.”
“You’re just like your uncle, so secretive.”
“I have to come up with exactly what I’m saying and how it will play out in my mind.”
“You know it never happens that way,” she said.
Unfortunately, I knew, but I didn’t let that stop me from doing it anyway.
I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Let’s do this.”
“We’ve got this,” Dorothy said.
It was good to see that she had gotten back to her old self. I still waited a few more minutes before I actually took the keys from the ignition and opened the car door. Dorothy was standing at the back of the car waiting for me. I needed to explain to her that she should let me do most of the talking. She had a tendency to say a little too much. It was even worse when she was nervous. And I knew she was nervous, even though she pretended as if she wasn’t the least bit fazed. She was relying on those peppermint candies again, so I knew that was the case.
“Here you go,” Dorothy said as she handed me a candy.
“Thanks, Dorothy. I’ll hold onto it for right now. If I need it during the process, I’ll make sure to use it,” I said.
I couldn’t talk to this man while sucking on a peppermint candy.
Walking up to this beautiful house on the pretense of possibly making a purchase made me anxious. This was a dangerous situation. And I hoped that at least we’d get some clues. How would I bring up the murder of his wife? That would be an awkward conversation to start.
His car was parked in the driveway, so I assumed the man was inside. Dorothy and I walked up to the door wearing our ridiculous disguises. What we were doing could be extremely dangerous. This was a new home, so no one was living there. Once in front of the door, I released a deep breath and prepared myself to ring the doorbell. Dorothy and I exchanged a look. She motioned toward the doorbell and I finally reached out and pushed it.
Within seconds, the door opened, and the man was standing in front of us: Stuart Combs, Jessica’s ex-husband—or would have been ex-husband if she’d lived long enough to go through with the divorce. I would have recognized him anywhere from the picture. He had more gray hair now though. Also, he might have a few more lines around his eyes. Otherwise, he looked exactly the same. His face was tan as if he had been out on a boat, probably fishing.
“Are you Madonna?” he asked.
Dorothy chortled. I’d thought I’d told her I’d given him a fake name. She was probably laughing about my choice. What could I say? It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Madonna had been on the radio at the time. Dorothy would have to cut me some slack. She wasn’t the best at that stuff either. I’d known her to come up with some pretty goofy ones. Like Daisy Duke and Ms. Tree.
“Yes, that’s me,” I said with a smile. “This is my mother Deidre.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said, stretching out his hand toward us.
Was I shaking hands with the killer? The thought always creeped me out.
“Please come in,” he said, stepping out of the way and gesturing.
I got a nervous vibe around him, but maybe it was just because I suspected him of murder. After all, I wasn’t sure he’d done anything wrong. Maybe he was completely innocent. Nevertheless, I had to be on guard. Dorothy and I stepped into the foyer of the beautiful home. My shoes clicked against the marble floor.
“The house is over three thousand feet,” he said. “And you are going to love the view.”
“Oh, this place is beautiful. I think you should buy it,” Dorothy said.
When the man wasn’t looking, I flashed Dorothy that look. The one to let her know that she should keep quiet about this. Before I knew it, she would have me signing a contract on this place. We weren’t here to buy the place, only to get clues.
“Although I don’t know,” Dorothy said with a click of her tongue. “There’s something odd about this place. Maybe it’s haunted.”
Oh, Dorothy. She just kept making it worse. Soon she would get us caught.
He raised an eyebrow.
“Are the appliances included?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“All of that can be negotiated,” he said. “And I can tell you that the buyers are motivated. Come over here. I want to show you the view.”
He motioned toward the back windows. I really wanted to get down to asking him questions. I certainly couldn’t wait until we toured the whole house before I asked. I stepped over next to him and looked out the window at the beautiful palm trees.
“It is gorgeous,” I said.
“It’s all right,” Dorothy said.
Now she was going overboard with not wanting me to buy the house. If she wasn’t careful, she would give away our cover. When I glanced over at her, the wig was slightly skewed, and part of her gray hair was peeking out. My eyes widened and I motioned to her. She quickly adjusted the wig, but that only made it worse. Before the man caught me, I reached up and fixed her hair. Just as I finished, he looked over and frowned.
I reached out and patted Dorothy’s arm. “I just love her so much and I’m thankful she came to look at the house with me.”
He frowned. I thought he thought we were completely crazy. He had no idea.
“If you’d like to come to the back, I can show you the bedrooms.”
A flash of the murder went through my mind. It reminded me of when we went to the condo and Morty went back to check on the bathroom. It sent a shiver down my spine. Did I really want to go back there with this man? I supposed I had no choice. I wished Dorothy would stay out here by the door in case I needed to run. Maybe she could call for help if I was in distress. Surely he wouldn’t do anything here with both of us. Two against one, right?
“Sure, I’d love to see it,” I said with a big smile.
Dorothy and I followed the man down the long hallway. We reached the back and he opened up the door, motioning for us to walk in. I would rather he go first. Nevertheless, I reluctantly stepped into the beautiful room. It had gorgeous windows like the living room.
I wished I could get a look at the man’s phone. I bet there was a plethora of information on there. Considering he was holding in his hand though I doubted I could get a hold of it myself. Maybe I could knock it out of his hand and run with it. No, that wouldn’t work either. If he only would set it down, I could get Dorothy to distract him and then I could take a peek.
His wife had kept an old-school agenda, but maybe he kept everything on his phone. Maybe I could match her appointment that day with something he had written on his phone. I was willing to take just any information. I needed some kind of clue. Pronto. He was talking about the paint and the hardwood floors or something, I really wasn’t paying attention. I was too busy trying to figure out how to get a hold of his phone.
“You know, I really want to consult my decorator about this room.”
“If you need her to come by and look at it, I’m sure I could arrange an appointment.”
“I’m not sure she needs to see it right now, per se. Maybe if I just call her and describe,” I said.
“Oh, well, sure. Whatever you want to do. I can give you some time if you’d like,” he said.
“Oh, that won’t be necessary. I can just make the call right here really quick.”
Dorothy was giving me a look and I knew she had no clue what I was doing. She would just have to roll with it though. I pretended to dial my phone and put it up to my ear.
“Oh, that’s funny,” I said.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“What’s wrong?” Dorothy asked.
Okay, now she wasn’t rolling with it.
“My phone isn’t working at the moment. I have no reception. Would you mind if I use yours?”
He frowned for a moment and I wondered if he was suspicious. Were our wigs falling off?
A shifting wig and not to mention the thing was getting extremely hot. How much longer would we have to wear these things?
He handed me the phone. “No problem.”
I was torn because I didn’t want him to see me check his phone, but also, I didn’t want to leave Dorothy in the room alone with him either. There was no telling what she would do. Maybe she would inadvertently give away our true identities. Although I had no choice because he couldn’t see me looking through his phone.
“As a matter of fact, maybe I’ll just step right out here into the other room to make the call. You two talk amongst yourselves.”
I winked at Dorothy as I headed toward the door. I sure hoped she didn’t mess up. I hurried out into the other room because I knew I didn’t have much time. I looked through his past schedule quickly, but I noticed nothing for that specific day and time. Then I decided to look through the phone calls. If there was any suspicious activity during that date and time, then I’d know I’d found the killer.
I had to scroll back for a bit but then I found it. There were a lot of calls to the same number at the exact time that she would have been arriving at the condo. I pulled out my phone and quickly typed in the number so that I could look it up later. Was there anything else that I was missing? I saw nothing else on the phone calls, but maybe I needed to check the contacts.
It was impossible for me to know if any of these names were anything related to the murder. So I took a picture of his phone and all the contacts. I thought I heard footsteps, so I quickly held the phone up to my ear. So far no one was coming down the hallway. I needed to head back into that bedroom and see what was happening.
However, I also needed to make a call because if he looked at his phone and saw that no call had been placed, I would be caught. But I didn’t have a decorator. I didn’t even know what number to call. Should I just make up a random number? I dialed the number to the local bakery. Maybe I’d ordered too much from them since I remembered the number. I could do that, but I hated to place a call and hang up on someone. Especially since they were working. This was quite a dilemma. Why was I having such a tough time making such a simple decision?
In the end, I placed the call to the bakery. Immediately when a staff member answered, I ended the call. Whew. I was glad that was over with. Now I had to get back to the bedroom and check on Dorothy.
