by Rose Pressey
“Scared you? You just about gave me a heart attack. Don’t do that to an old woman.”
“Well, I didn’t do it on purpose,” I said. “What are you doing back here anyway? I thought you were going to the beach to knit and watch the water.”
“I was worried about you so I just couldn’t think about anything else until I came back to check. What are you doing back here? I thought you were going to get supplies.”
When Dorothy and I walked around the front of the building there was a black sedan in the parking lot. Was this the same car that I’d seen before? My heart sped up. The car door opened and a man stepped out from behind the wheel. He was tall and slim with short gray hair. His black suit was impeccably tailored to fit his body.
“Maggie Thomas?” he asked.
I eyed him up and down. “Yes.”
I knew I seemed suspicious, but in my line of work I had a reason to be.
“The name’s Gordon Kinney.”
The landlord. Oh, no.
“I know this is a private detective agency, but I never thought there would be this kind of crime here. If it doesn’t end I will be forced to end the lease.”
Uncle Griffin had been here for years. I couldn’t be kicked out of here. I had a sliver of a view of the beach.
Chapter 24
Before going to the office, I headed out for a walk along the beach. Okay, really I wanted to go back to the scene of Henry’s murder. I knew there wouldn’t be evidence there because of the water, but maybe just being in the surroundings would spark an idea. Seagulls circled in the sky above me. At least they weren’t swooping down for my head. Looking to my left there was a white surf guard tower, although no one was there. Beyond that a couple strolled hand in hand. To my right a man jogged by the water, moving farther away. Straight ahead in the distance, a cruise ship traveled across the ocean. I took off my shoes, carried them in my hands, and walked over to the water. I’d still been trying to track down information about that surf shop pin. It was definitely for Roland’s shop. That was no coincidence, but I couldn’t prove anything.
I let the foamy water rush against my legs and the sand sink between my toes. The crash of the surf was such a soothing melody. It was ironic that such a violent crime had been carried out in this calm and tranquil backdrop. Had Henry been lost in thought and peering out at the sea when he was murdered? I didn’t believe it was a planned killing because the murderer surely would have picked a more secure location if he knew he was going to commit such a horrendous crime. The sun was rising, casting red streaks across the blue sky. A gentle breeze came off the water and onto my skin.
“What are you thinking about?” the male voice asked from over my shoulder
I spun around.
Jake was right behind me. “Sorry if I startled you.”
I studied his handsome face. “The boat going by must have concealed you.” I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t on my toes. Yes, I had something to prove. “Just enjoying the sunset, I guess. What are you doing here?”
“Same thing,” he said.
“Oh, you know why you’re here and you know why I’m here. We’re both trying to solve this case,” I said.
“Learn anything new?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not really. What about you? Oh, wait. You can’t tell me, right?” I hadn’t intended on sounding so smug.
“Nothing new here either,” he said.
I was surprised that he had been honest with me. I believed him.
“You never told me who called you the other day when we found Brett,” I said.
Angela had been snooping around on Kevan Willoughby. It seemed like she was trying to play a little bit of the P.I. as well. She’d seen him go into the house after Brett.
“It was Mike Archer.”
“Now that makes sense. Angela called me.”
Jake smiled. “I told them I didn’t need the help.”
“Did you get any answers from Roland, Kevan, and Kenneth?” I asked.
“They denied it. No one else on the scene recognized them.”
That included Dorothy. I’d told her she needed to have her eyes checked again.
Jake stared out at the water. “The water sure made it hard to get any evidence.”
“Yeah, too bad about that. What about the paper? The one with my info? Did you get anything from that?” I asked.
A smile spread across his face. “You just want me to tell you what kind of clues I have.”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “I’m offended by that.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners again. “Well, don’t be offended.”
I tried to hide my smile so that he would take me seriously.
“Well, we know Henry certainly wasn’t dressed for the beach, so I’m guessing that he met someone here. Like Penelope.”
“There was more video of her at a different store at the time of the murder,” Jake said.
“Yes, but I’m convinced the man she met was Roland. He probably killed Henry.”
“I suppose anything is possible,” he said.
“I have a feeling Henry ran into someone else here. I say the person killed him during some sort of heated argument.”
Jake ran his hand through his hair. “We didn’t identify the fingerprints we got off the card either. Unfortunately, whoever left the fingerprints doesn’t have a criminal record, so we don’t know who they belong to.”
“Any ideas?” I asked.
“I have my suspicions that it’s someone on my suspect list, but I have so far been unable to compare the fingerprints.”
“Meaning you haven’t been able to get the fingerprints from your suspect? Can’t you just ask them for that?”
“We don’t have probable cause just yet.”
“What about if you got it from something they touched?” I asked.
“Sure, we’ve been trying, but we’ve had no luck so far.”
This really had me thinking. What if I could get the fingerprints and then I could make a match? That would still be me solving the case, although technically, I hadn’t gotten the fingerprints from the card to begin with, but that was just a technicality. As long as I solved the case, I was happy.
“I can do it,” I said.
“You can do what?” he asked.
“I can get fingerprints for you,” I said.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“What? You think I can’t do it?”
“No, I know you can do it, and that’s the problem. Just how much trouble will you get into in the process?” he said.
“There you go again, offending me,” I said.
“You know I’m telling the truth. What do you have in mind?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t know exactly, but I will come up with something. Look, Jake, you have your hands full. This is something I can do for you. Besides, it’s not like I won’t do it just because you tell me not to,” I said.
“You know this is dangerous.”
“I’m well aware of the danger. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear any of this conversation.”
“Fine, we didn’t have this discussion,” I said. “Don’t be surprised if you get something from me soon.”
“I’m not listening,” he said.
My cell phone rang and I had to take the call. “I just need to answer this real quick.”
Dorothy had been texting me. Since I hadn’t answered her, I knew that the next step would be her calling Jake.
After a few seconds, I said, “I have to go. Apparently, Dorothy needs me.”
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine. It’s probably some sort of emergency where she needs to go to the store for more yarn or something. Nevertheless, I should get there. I am a little late.”
“It was good seeing you, Maggie,” Jake said.
He wasn’t walking away and neither was I. I su
pposed I had to make the first move, so why was I staring at his gorgeous face? Why was he staring at me? I wondered what was on his mind. A couple of seconds later, I realized what was on his mind as he moved forward. Jake was kissing me. And this time it was way more thought-out than the last one had been. The last kiss had been more of an impulse move, but this time it seemed as if he had put some thought into it. The kiss was soft and gentle. The ocean behind us made this an extremely romantic scene. My phone rang again, breaking up the blissful moment.
The corner of his mouth turned up in a grin. “I should let you get to Dorothy now.”
“Yeah, I should go.” Were my cheeks flushed?
He received a text. “It’s Dorothy. She wants to know where you are.”
“Tell her I’m on my way.” I headed out across the sand toward my office.
Chapter 25
I headed back to the office with a bit of a spring in my step. Even though I hadn’t solved the case, I had a renewed hope that I would. Plus, I had had a kiss from Jake, so I couldn’t help but feel happy about that. I told myself I wouldn’t let Jake distract me from my business, but it almost seemed as if this was out of my control. I couldn’t stop myself when he kissed me, and I liked it.
I’d always said I would have a successful business first before I even pursued a relationship, and I wasn’t at the successful business part quite yet. Sure, I was doing well, but not how I saw myself performing and reaching that goal. It was just a few kisses though. That didn’t mean it would be a relationship. I needed to stop putting so much thought into it. It probably meant nothing and I would treat it if it meant nothing.
I stepped inside my office and over to my desk. “Dorothy, I’m here. What was so important that you needed to see me right away?”
She didn’t answer. Dorothy wasn’t at her desk. After all the texting and calling Dorothy wasn’t even waiting for me. I assumed she was in the restroom, so I put away my bag and sat down behind my desk. I pulled out the file that I had for the case and studied it. Things were awfully quiet around here. It wasn’t like Dorothy to be that quiet.
“Dorothy, what are you doing in there? Is everything okay?”
She didn’t answer. I paused and listened for any sounds. Suddenly, I got an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something seemed off about this situation. I needed to see what was going on in there. Maybe Dorothy was sick. I pushed to my feet.
“Dorothy, what are you doing in there?” I asked as I headed across the room and over to the tiny little bathroom.
I knocked on the door, but she didn’t answer again. My panic had spiked. I grasped the door knob and turned. It was unlocked.
“Dorothy, are you okay in here?” I peeked my head in, but the room was empty.
She wasn’t in there. There were no other places to hide in this office, unless she crawled under her desk for some unknown reason. I would think that was a crazy idea, but for Dorothy anything was possible. I walked over to her desk to take a look. Everything seemed to be in order. Her desk was always neat. I scanned the room to see if anything else was out of place, but everything looked normal. I would have to call Dorothy and find out where she was. Maybe she was just outside looking for me.
Yes, that was probably it. I would take a look outside. She would probably be walking through the door at any moment. Still, I wanted to know what was so important that she needed to talk with me right away. I guessed she’d given up on me and gone for more yarn on her own. Though I wasn’t happy that she’d left the office door open with no one here.
That was when I noticed her purse was beside the desk. She never left without it. So she had to be around somewhere. I decided to look outside for her. She could be out there feeding the seagulls again. If I caught her in the act I was going to take away all the bread she had stashed to feed them with.
I stepped outside, expecting to see her right near the door. She wasn’t there, so I scanned the area. She was nowhere in sight. I decided to take a look down by the water. I went over to the area leading to the beach and as far as my eyes could see she wasn’t anywhere around.
“Dorothy, where are you?” I called out.
I hadn’t expected an answer and I didn’t get one. She could’ve left with the man she had been dating. Why didn’t she call me? I picked up my cell phone and dialed her number again. There was no answer. I left a message and sent her a text. She wasn’t the only one who could do that. I would continue this until she finally decided to answer me. She was probably punishing me for not being at the office exactly when she wanted me.
On my way back to the office, I noticed something on the ground. I walked over for closer inspection. It was exactly what I thought. I reached down and picked up the peppermint. It was still in the wrapper. Sure, she could’ve dropped one out of her purse on the way in, but I hadn’t noticed it earlier when I walked by my office to the beach.
Plus, it wasn’t like Dorothy to lose her mint. They were precious to her. They meant everything. She wasn’t about to lose one.
That was when I noticed the other mints. They led down the sidewalk like a trail of breadcrumbs. Was Dorothy trying to let me know where she was? The only problem was they stopped at the end of the sidewalk. They didn’t lead to any other clues. No car, nothing. I had a bad feeling about this, and I didn’t think Dorothy had left on her own.
Was she really missing? Who would have taken her? Her purse being here and the mints on the sidewalk all led to me believing that someone had taken her. I scanned the parking lot one more time to make sure she wasn’t somewhere, maybe watching me and getting a good kick out of scaring me. I wished that was the case, but unfortunately I saw her nowhere. I had to do something quickly.
I could look for her on my own, but this was a dangerous situation. I couldn’t risk that someone could be harming her at this very moment. The very thought made my stomach twist into a knot. I rushed back into the office and grabbed my phone. I hoped to have a text from Dorothy or a missed call. Unfortunately, there was nothing, so I did the only thing I knew to do and that was to dial Jake.
“I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” he said.
He probably thought I was calling because of that kiss. This would really burst his bubble.
“Unfortunately, I have a problem.”
“I knew it. What happened?”
“Dorothy is missing.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. “She just called you.”
“Yes, I know, and when I got to the office she wasn’t here. She was nowhere in sight.”
“Are you sure about that? Maybe she just went out for more yarn,” he said.
“Her purse is still here and I found mints on the sidewalk, as if she dropped them on purpose to let me know where she was.”
“I’m on my way,” he said. “Try not to worry.”
“I’ll try. Thank you, Jake,” I said.
Now I had to figure out what to do while I waited for Jake to arrive. I paced the office floor while I waited for Jake. Thank goodness it didn’t take long before he entered my office.
I rushed over to him. “I’m worried about her. I left messages for her, but she still doesn’t answer.”
“Do you think she’s mad at you because you took too long in answering her calls?” Jake asked.
“I thought about that, but I don’t think Dorothy would last this long. She’d try something like that and give up after five minutes.”
Jake touched my arm. “Don’t worry, Maggie, we’ll find her. Can I take a look at her purse?”
I guided Jake over to Dorothy’s desk.
“Anything unusual here?” He scanned the top of the desk.
“Just the usual yarn, extra knitting needles, more yarn, stashes of breadcrumbs…,” I said.
Jake opened a cabinet door on the front of the desk and an avalanche of peppermints tumbled to the floor.
“Oh, and a few extra peppermints.”
While Jake took a look around, the door opened.
My hopes were dashed when I realized it was Jake’s partner. The last person I wanted to see. She eyed me up and down for a second. Without saying a word to me she focused on Jake.
“What have we got?” she asked.
“Maggie’s assistant is missing.”
She cut another look at me, as if to say, couldn’t I find her? Maybe Dorothy had just stepped out for a moment. I really didn’t want to go through all this with Abby. I forced the tears back. With Dorothy missing it was like part of me was gone. There was no way I could let them see me cry.
Chapter 26
That was when I remembered that I could track Dorothy’s phone. I’d be able to tell where she was based on that. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t thought of that sooner. Jake and his partner were talking. Did she really have to smile so much and look gorgeous? I turned on the locator and waited for it to pull up Dorothy’s location. It pulled up the address. She wasn’t in a car, or if she was, it was parked. Jake made eye contact with me and knew I was up to something. I met him halfway in the middle of the room.
“You look as if you found something,” Jake said.
“I tracked her phone and found an address,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean she’s there,” Abby said.
I didn’t appreciate her butting in like that. I wasn’t even talking with her.
“It’s certainly a place to start since we have nothing else to go on,” I said.
“I agree,” Jake said.
“Okay, so we’ll go check it out,” she said.
She acted as if she didn’t want me coming along for the ride, but there was no way I was passing this up, even if I had to drive the scooter.
I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.
“Aren’t we riding together in my car?” Jake asked.
I couldn’t help but glance over at Abby. “I’d rather drive myself.”
“This is a police investigation now,” Abby said.
I narrowed my eyes. “Since when?”
Without saying another word, I jumped on the scooter and took off. Sure, the scooter wobbled a little, but I didn’t wreck. Peeking over my shoulder for a split second, I saw that Jake and Abby had gotten into his car and were now following me. I didn’t care if they followed me. Actually, maybe it would be better if I wasn’t alone for this. If Dorothy was in trouble I wanted all the help I could get. I followed the navigation to the street that was listed as her location.
