Wipe Out: A fun and fast-paced private investigator cozy mystery/beach read (Maggie PI Mysteries Book 3)

by Rose Pressey

  That was when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Ugh. Thank goodness Jake wouldn’t see me in this thing.

  “Okay, Dorothy, here goes. I’m going to pull now.” I yanked and Dorothy wobbled back and forth.

  I steadied her.

  “Maybe we can leave it like this.”

  I stared at her. “Okay, try to walk.”

  She moved across the space like a mummy.

  I laughed. “Not going to work. Come back over here.”

  Another few minutes of shimming and we were there.

  “Success,” I said. “Okay, now you have to take that over the shoulder boulder holder off.”

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Naked?” she whispered.

  “You’ll have the wetsuit on. You’ll be covered.”

  “I might be covered, but these puppies need support. Besides, I’m wearing my knickers underneath, so what’s the difference with the bra?”

  “Well, nothing I suppose. As long as the suit doesn’t compress against the bra too much.”

  Dorothy slipped the top portion on and I helped her get zipped in.

  “Maggie, I just thought of something.”

  “What’s that?” I asked, stuffing my clothing into one of the tiny lockers.

  “What did the people who wore these suits before us wear under them? Did they clean these before we wore them?”

  I stared at her. “Why did she have to bring this up?”

  The thought hadn’t crossed my mind and I’d been blissfully unaware. Now I couldn’t get the thought out of my head.

  “I’m sure they clean them.”

  “You think that guy out there cleans them?”

  I sighed. “Just don’t think about it.”

  As if on cue, the guy called out from the other side of the door. “How’s it going in there? What’s taking so long?”

  “We’re coming,” I said.

  I placed Dorothy’s things into the locker next to mine and then rushed her to the door.

  We came out of the dressing room in our suits. The guy looked us up and down. Thank goodness he didn’t laugh because then I would really have let him have it.

  “All right, you’re going to need to get your surfboards. The rentals are right through that door.” He gestured.

  Dorothy and I traveled to the room that he pointed out.

  “I want the smallest one they have,” she said.

  “Well, it doesn’t look like they come in small, medium, or large, so let’s just take these right here,” I said.

  The boards were propped against the walls and on shelves around the room. Where would I start?

  “Which one should we pick?” Dorothy asked.

  “I want one that isn’t heavy,” I said.

  “Don’t they all weigh the same?” she asked.

  “I have no idea,” I said.

  “I want that pretty one with the aqua color.” Dorothy pointed.

  I realized that Dorothy and I sounded as if we had no clue what we were doing. I suppose because we really had no clue. I hoped we didn’t get ourselves killed. I especially hoped that nothing happened to Dorothy. This was my idea. Sure, she insisted on coming along, but she was my responsibility.

  I grabbed the board and then fell back onto the floor. I’d had no idea it was so heavy. Dorothy picked hers up with ease and then headed out the door, leaving me on the floor. A few seconds later I managed to wrangle mine up from the floor and dragged it out to the main area. We were standing there waiting for the instructor. A few more people came in with their suits on already.

  The guy came from the back. I knew right away that it was Kenneth. How lucky was it that he was going to be the instructor? This would give me plenty of opportunity to find out more from him. I just had to get him on friendly terms and then he would talk.

  “Okay, if everyone’s ready we’ll head outside to the waves.” Kenneth motioned.

  We followed along like little ducklings, across the hot sand, and over to the shore. We were right by the water now. It lapped against my feet. The sound of the waves was almost covering up his voice, and I couldn’t understand what he was saying. Something about lying down on the board and paddling. This was probably important information that I needed to know.

  Maybe Dorothy was right about this surfing lesson. Maybe it wasn’t the best way to talk to him, but I couldn’t admit that now. Dorothy would just make fun of me and say she told me so. Everyone was doing as the instructor said and I gave it a go as well. He didn’t say anything about my attempt, so I assumed I was doing all right. Dorothy picked up her board and headed straight for the water.

  “Wait, where do you think you’re going?” Kenneth yelled and chased after her.

  I ran too, hoping to stop Dorothy. Had she completely lost her mind?

  Dorothy stared at us with wide eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “You can’t go yet,” he said.

  “Come on back to the class, Dorothy.” I motioned.

  “I feel like I’m ready to go. I don’t know, it’s just a strange feeling. Something calling me to the water, I guess,” Dorothy said.

  “I think you better take a few more lessons first,” Kenneth said.

  Oh, great, Dorothy was going to get us kicked out of the lessons before the first surfboard hit the water.

  As we turned back around to gather with the rest of the group, I thought I saw someone over by the lifeguard shack. It was definitely a man standing over there, but it was so far away. I couldn’t get a good look at him. Although something told me that he had been watching us and he looked suspiciously like the man we saw at the racetrack the other day. Was Brett at the beach now too? Yes, definitely I thought it was him.

  “Hey, are you listening to what I have to say?” Kenneth snapped his fingers.

  I turned around to look at him. I didn’t appreciate the way that he talked to me.

  “I heard you,” I said. “Paddling, something, something.”

  When I turned back to look for the guy, he was already gone. That was definitely suspicious. Now I had an uneasy feeling, but I had to continue with the rest of this class. I hoped he wasn’t waiting for us when we got out of here. Maybe he’d hidden away somewhere and I wouldn’t see him. Then he would jump out at us. I had to be on guard all the time. Plus, I didn’t have my gun. What if he shot at us?

  Chapter 14

  Once I was in the water, it was hard to even get on the huge board, but somehow I managed to straddle the thing. When I glanced over at Dorothy she was on top of her board, smiling and waving at me, as if this was no big deal at all. So I couldn’t let her know that I was terrible at this, although it would probably be obvious to everyone.

  Water splashed as I paddled out into the ocean, unsure of what I was doing. I couldn’t believe that I’d volunteered for this. I got out to the spot where we were supposed to stop. Was everyone else as clueless as me? Yeah, probably not.

  The briny sea scent wafted across the breeze. The expanse of blue surrounding me seemed overwhelming. The blue water fading into the blue sky in the distance. The hot sun beat down on me. Sweat trickled on my forehead. Now came time for me to actually stand on this thing, which probably wasn’t nearly as easy as it looked. I took a deep breath, released it, and decided to try to stand. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Dorothy.

  She was actually standing on that thing, ready to take on the wave. I knew I better hurry up and get up there on this thing before a wave wrapped around us. I stumbled onto my knees and then attempted to get on my feet. I wobbled back and forth, waving my arms like a chicken in distress. I hoped no one was watching me, but I had a feeling everyone was enjoying the show.

  A roaring sound caught my attention. The wall of water crashed forward on me. The next thing I knew, I toppled over to the left and landed in the water. I was completely under. It was a good thing I knew how to swim, although I was kind of panicking at the moment. What if I was caught in a rip current? I had to remai
n calm. I was just in the water, and this was no big deal. I’d been in the ocean many times since I had arrived in Miami. This time was no different.

  My head was now above the water. I swayed back and forth with the motion of the water. Another wave would be coming for me again soon. Remaining calm was a struggle. Something brushed against my leg. I screamed out because I just knew it was a shark. Soon my leg would be torn off, blood would flow through the water, turning it a crimson color, and my life would seep from my body as quickly as the wave had knocked me into the water.

  My arms were flailing about, so swimming wasn’t really an option. There was a whole other mesmerizing world beneath me and I had no way to see what lurked near. So far the shark hadn’t taken a chunk out of my leg, or any other limb for that matter, but I hoped it wasn’t just a matter of time until he returned. All I could do now was swim toward the shore.

  Reaching out I attempted to retrieve the surfboard. My hands slipped at first, but ultimately I grabbed hold of the board and managed to get myself up on it again. It required a lot more strength than I’d ever thought I had. Apparently, I had a lot more strength when the adrenaline was pumping.

  My cries for help went completely ignored as I tried to paddle the board away from the shark. Frantically I scanned the top of the ocean for any sign of a fin. Thank goodness it was nowhere in sight. That thing was probably just toying with me and would pop up like Jaws swallowing me whole. When I looked toward the shore, I noticed someone running and jumping into the water. He was coming to save me, my hero. As the man got closer, I realized who my hero was. I thought about possibly just letting the shark eat me. It might be better than being rescued by Jake.

  He was on his way out to save me. This was embarrassing. I was supposed to be some tough private investigator, and I couldn’t even surf without panicking. A woman who was fifty years older than me could out-perform me at almost anything. I was a disgrace to the private investigator business.

  “Maggie, are you all right?” Jake asked when he swam closer.

  “You have to get out of the water. I think there’s a shark,” I yelled.

  “What makes you think there’s a shark?” He looked around.

  “It touched my leg when I fell off the surfboard.”

  “Really? It touched your leg?” He looked down at my leg and pulled the seaweed off. “Is this what you possibly felt grab hold of you? Did you see fins in the water?”

  I knew my face turned red. “No, I suppose I didn’t.”

  Jake got on the surfboard with me. Our wet bodies were touching each other.

  “Come on, let’s get you back on the sand.” Jake sliced through the choppy water with his arms, paddling us toward the shore.

  I helped even though I knew my assistance wasn’t needed. After a few more minutes we reached the shore and back on dry land. Jake’s muscles were flexed and on display as he dragged the board up to the instructor, who was glaring at me. The tank top and shorts was a good look for him.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked Jake.

  “I decided to take an afternoon jog along the beach and that was when I noticed the commotion.”

  I wasn’t sure that I believed him. Was it a coincidence that he was here just at the same spot and time that I was? Was Jake following me again? He didn’t trust me? I mean, sure, I had been in some danger, but that went along with the job.

  “You don’t believe me, do you?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”

  I kind of felt bad after saying that. When I saw the look on his face, he seemed a bit disappointed.

  “Thanks for saving me out there though,” I said.

  “I couldn’t just let that shark get you,” he said with laughter in his voice.

  Now he’d never let me forget that.

  Dorothy ran over to me. “Maggie, are you all right?”

  “She thought a shark attacked her,” Jake blurted out.

  I really could have done without him telling her that.

  Dorothy and Jake exchanged a look. Their laughter filled the hot summer air.

  “This isn’t funny. My life flashed before my eyes,” I said, pushing wet hair off my face.

  “I think you’ve watched Jaws one too many times,” Dorothy said with a snort.

  “I had no idea you were interested in surfing. I could show you some things,” Jake said.

  “She’s not interested in surfing, she just wants to…”

  I covered Dorothy’s mouth. “Get in shape. You know, for the exercise.”

  Jake eyed me suspiciously. While he was here I should have probably told him about the guy watching us. Then again, I was trying to solve a case. No need to run to the police for every little detail.

  “I guess we should get back to the class.” I motioned over my shoulder. “Thanks again for, um, saving me.”

  “I’m just glad I was here.”

  “Why were you really here?” I quirked an eyebrow.

  “Like I said, just taking a jog,” he said with a sheepish grin.

  Yeah, I didn’t believe him. He was checking up on us again.

  “Stay safe.” Jake winked and turned to walk away.

  Dorothy snorted. “You should have seen you out there. I wished I’d videoed it and put it on YouTube.”

  “What do you know about YouTube?” I asked.

  “I know plenty… plenty,” Dorothy said.

  “Are you okay?” the woman standing beside me asked.

  For a moment it didn’t register that she was speaking to me and asking about my condition after almost drowning in the Atlantic Ocean. I snapped to attention and acknowledged her. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

  “It’s none of my business, but you seemed distracted before you went into the water. Maybe that’s why you had difficulty. Was it because of that man watching you?”

  “You saw a man over there by the lifeguard shack? He was watching us and it just kind of spooked me.”

  “Yeah, I saw him. He was looking over here at you.”

  “Did you get a good look at him? I’m just wondering if it was the man I saw. It was too far away for me to know for sure,” I said.

  “I got a good look at him. Not only that, I recognized him,” she said.

  “What? Like as in it was someone you know?” I asked. “Who is he?”

  “His name is Brett McGraw,” she said.

  The air had been sucked from my lungs. I knew it had been him.

  “How well do you know him? Where can I find Brett McGraw?” I bombarded her with the questions.

  I knew Brett worked at Gator World, but I wanted to see if she’d offer more details.

  “No… well, maybe. He works over at Gator World. My husband works there. I don’t really know Brett. Just that he works there. Maybe you can go there and look for him.”

  “Yeah, thanks a lot. I appreciate that information.”

  “What was that all about, Maggie?” Dorothy asked.

  “She knew Brett. That was definitely him watching us. I think it’s time we saw some gators. What do you think about that?”

  “Let’s go find him.” Dorothy motioned. “We should go try to find him now, don’t you think?”

  “It’s a good idea. If you think you’re done with the surfing lessons,” I said.

  She lugged her board out of the water. “Yeah, I guess I'm done for today, but I’m definitely doing this again.”

  Who knew that Dorothy could surf so well?

  “I am impressed,” I said.

  Dorothy’s hair was barely wet. How did she manage that?

  “Don’t feel so bad that you can’t do it. Maybe you’ll learn. That’s what the lessons are for.”

  “Thanks for the pep talk,” I said. “I need to talk with Kenneth since we’re here, and then we’ll go look for the other man, Brett.”

  “That sounds like a good idea to me. Let’s see what this dude has to say.” Dorothy stepped in front of me.

&nbs
p; “Excuse me.” I waved to get his attention since he was talking to other classmates.

  He scowled. “Yeah?”

  Like father, like son, I supposed.

  “Do you know Skye Clark? I was friends with her before… well, you know. She’s the one who told me what a great surf instructor you are.”

  He studied my face. “Never heard of her.”

  I honestly hadn’t expected that response. Did I have my facts wrong? No, I knew this guy was lying. But why not be honest with me? Unless he had killed her. “You don’t know her?”

  “Nope. Sorry.” Kenneth walked away without another word.

  “Well, that was some fancy detective work, Ms. Thomas,” Dorothy said.

  I smirked. “Ever been to Gator World?”

  We arrived back to the shop and we wrestled out of our wetsuits. That was no easy task. I struggled with getting the rubber thing off. After much grunting and tugging I managed to free myself. I slipped back into my clothes and put the surfboard away. I waited for Dorothy.

  “You okay in there?” I asked.

  “Just a minute,” Dorothy yelled.

  She must be having trouble too.

  “Do you need any help? Are you sure?”

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  Dorothy came out with her pocketbook on her arm. Her clothing was a little twisted, but she otherwise looked okay. Now I had to go track down Kenneth before he got away.

  “I’m not finished with Kenneth,” I said.

  “I think I see him leaving out the door.” Dorothy pointed.

  “We have to get him. I don’t want to let him get away.”

  With Dorothy right behind me we raced toward the exit. We spilled out the door into the bright sunshine and Kenneth was already unlocking his car. I ran over to him, almost falling into him. He looked at me as if I was crazy. I probably was.

  “May I help you?” he asked.

  I was pretty sure he was telling me to give him some personal space. After all, I had practically fallen on top of him.

  I backed up a couple of steps. “Actually, I have a few more questions about the surfing.”

  “Well, maybe it can wait until next week? When we have another lesson,” he said. “I’m actually in a hurry.”