by Rose Pressey
“Does he wear funny-looking shirts?” she asked with a furrowed brow.
Courtney and I exchanged a look. “Yes, that sounds just like him.”
“He has been in here a few times, and yes, I remember that he bought some dolls.”
“Just as I suspected,” Courtney said with a quirk of her brow.
“Has he been doing bad things with the voodoo dolls?” Christine asked.
Courtney laughed. “He thinks he has been and that’s enough.”
She nodded. “Yes, I see that is a problem.”
“If you remember anything else, can you give me a call?” Courtney asked.
“You know I will, darlin’. You make sure to call me if you need anything,” Christine offered.
Courtney gave the woman a hug.
“It was nice seeing you again,” Christine said to Courtney. “Nice to meet you.” She waved at Dangerfield and me.
“Thank you for the information,” I said with a smile.
She tossed her hand up again. “You’re welcome. Come back any time,” she said.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Dangerfield said.
“It was so nice of her to help us,” I said as we moved down the sidewalk.
“She’s always been wonderful,” Courtney said.
We headed away from the shop with a heavy feeling. I didn’t like not being able to find out who had done this to Courtney and Dangerfield too.
“We could set up surveillance for this place,” Courtney said.
“The guy may never come back to buy anything,” I said.
“I doubt he would give up his practice of voodoo dolls. He obviously likes doing them.”
“I agree, I doubt he will give this up. But he may have all the dolls he needs for a while or he might buy them from another store,” I said.
“I’m going to make it my mission to find this guy,” Dangerfield said with frustration in his voice.
I had a feeling that Dangerfield meant what he said. Courtney and I dropped off Dangerfield. She suggested that I join Dangerfield at his house, but I had too much to do at my place. Courtney’s matchmaking attempts would get her nowhere.
After dropping her off, I headed back to my place. I felt like locking the door, pulling down the shades, and not coming out until it was time for work.
Chapter 25
A jazz festival was being held for the next two days. The streets were even more crowded than usual as I returned home. There would be a parade later in the day. When I looked up ahead I spotted a black car with a man behind the wheel and a woman in the passenger seat.
As I neared the car, it sparked my memory. It was a black car just like the one the man at the bar had described. There were plenty of couples driving black cars, but ever since he’d told me about the couple I had been on the lookout for the car. None had popped up directly in front of my building though… until now.
I continued my walk slowly toward my building, ignoring the crowd around me. My attention was focused strictly on the black car. As I neared the car I had to think of what to do next.
I stopped on the sidewalk to watch the man and woman. They were having a heated discussion. At least I figured that by the way she had pointed her finger at the man. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn’t place it right away. If only I could get a closer look I might be able to figure it out.
My heart beat a little faster with anticipation. I had to know who was in the car and what they were doing there. I couldn’t just step up there and look in on them. That would be rude.
If only I could get a closer look at their faces. I was sure that it was nothing, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a better look. I inched closer, but still couldn’t see their faces. I didn’t want them to catch me. If I moved any closer I was sure they would notice.
If it was the woman who had been at the jazz club, then I wanted to get as much information about her as possible. But how would I ever find out who this woman was? It seemed lately that I was like a rat in a maze trying to find my way out. I stood there wondering what to do next. I hated that I was always so indecisive.
The only way I could look without being noticed was to cross the street. I looked both ways and waited for a chance to cross the street. When there was a lapse in traffic I rushed across to the other side. Once on the sidewalk I headed down the street so I could get a better look. I felt a little strange trying to hide behind people as they walked beside me. Whatever it took to get the job done though.
A couple of drunk people stumbled past laughing loudly. Once they’d passed I continued on my way.
I weaved through the crowd and down the sidewalk. People had booths set up to sell their items. Music played on practically every corner. A group in front of me had stopped to listen to music, so I moved around them.
A man was walking at the same pace as me and he glanced over at me. He probably wondered why I was trying to keep up with him. I offered him a smile, but he didn’t return the sentiment. Oh, well—I had tried to be friendly.
That didn’t make me stop walking beside him either. Not until I reached the spot where I wanted to be.
Why were they stopped in front of my place? Were they looking at my building? And if so, were they looking for me?
Now that I was closer I could see their faces. Even if I was across the street, I recognized her right away. It was April Benson. She had been the focus of one of my recent investigations. Because of my investigations she had been forced to right her wrongs and pay back money that she owed. I’d suspected she’d been trying to get back at me ever since. Could she be the one behind the voodoo dolls? It seemed like something she might try to get revenge. I hadn’t thought to ask Anne Blackshear at the voodoo store if April Benson had bought any dolls.
April would probably give Dangerfield and Courtney dolls too just because she knew I was around both of them. I had hoped that she’d given up on trying to get revenge against me, but apparently she was just as determined as ever. She had told me recently that I deserved everything that I got. I got a feeling she wanted to be the one to give me what she thought I deserved.
I had only been doing my job trying to help people who had been cheated out of money. Now I had become the focus of April’s hatred.
I looked at the time on my phone. I wondered how long they’d been sitting there. April looked over at the building. Was she waiting for me to come out?
At least I had the festival to help me hide from them. But how long would they sit there waiting for me? I wanted to go home and I didn’t feel like having a confrontation. She might not give me that option though.
Mrs. Perkins wouldn’t be happy if there was an argument in the building. She was probably close to trying to get me kicked out of the building.
A crowd moved in front of me and for a moment I lost sight of the car. As I watched from across the street, the car doors opened. Then they both got out of the car. I watched to see what their next move was. They stepped out of the car and looked over at my building. After a couple seconds, they started walking down the sidewalk away from my building.
Now was when I had to follow them. I just had to keep my distance so that April wouldn’t see me. I walked behind them, staying a safe distance away. I wasn’t sure how far I would follow them.
I rushed across the street so that I could follow the couple. A group of people were walking down the sidewalk behind them, so I fell in. I didn’t want to necessarily talk with April, but I was curious what she was up to.
I’d fallen in step behind them and so far they hadn’t noticed me. I had to keep it that way. I walked behind a man and peeked out every few seconds. He looked over his shoulder and frowned. He stepped to the right and took away my cover.
Soon I realized where they were going. They had stopped in front of Anne Blackshear’s store where Courtney used to work. I paused and watched them walk into the store. Now was time for me to make my move. I rushed toward the store and up to the entrance. I couldn’t believe tha
t they’d come here. This was where the dolls had been sold. That couldn’t be a coincidence. I wondered what Courtney would say about this. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number.
“I’m following that woman who is mad at me. April Benson.”
“The one from the investigative report?” Courtney asked.
“Yes, that’s the one,” I said.
“You should follow them in there. What can they do while you’re in public, right?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll call you back.”
I decided to take Courtney’s advice and go into the store. She was right, I doubted April would make that much of a scene in public. At least I hoped that she wouldn’t. I knew she was furious with me.
My nerves set in just thinking about it. Letting out a deep breath, I grabbed the door’s handle and pushed it open. I planned what I would say if she confronted me.
I stepped into the store. April would be surprised when she saw me.
The only problem was I didn’t see the couple. The store was empty. That was odd. Where had they gone? I knew they’d come into the store. The back area was marked for employees only, so unless they worked here then I knew they hadn’t gone back there. I looked over every inch of the store, but couldn’t find them anywhere. They couldn’t have just vanished. They had to be here somewhere. I moved further into the store, but there was nowhere to hide.
Anne Blackshear eyed me as if she thought she recognized me.
“Hello,” I said.
“Good afternoon. May I help you find anything?” she asked.
“We’ve met before. My cousin is Courtney Charley. We were in here yesterday.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, yes. You’re Chase, right?”
“Yes, that’s me.” I smiled.
“What brings you by on this glorious day?” she asked.
I frowned. “There was a couple who just came in here and now they’re gone. A dark-haired woman wearing a black dress and a tall man in a black shirt and pants. Did you happen to see them in here and know where they went?”
“Yes, I saw them walk in and then they asked to use my back exit. I thought it was odd, but I get a lot of odd requests, so I said yes. Were they hiding from you?” she asked.
“Well, I didn’t think they even knew I was following them, but I guess they did. Did you recognize the woman? Had she ever been in here before?” I asked.
Anne furrowed her brow. “I’m not sure. She looked familiar, but I just can’t say for sure. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay. Thank you for the help.”
“Tell Courtney I said hello.”
“I will,” I said as I turned to walk out of the store.
I stepped out of the store and into the crowded sidewalk. I looked to my left and to my right. Nope, they were nowhere in sight. At least I had tried to find out what they were up to.
Had they been the couple who had been talking with Tim Swanson? It was possible, but it would be hard for me to find out for sure. I could always get a picture of April and go back to the bar and look for Matthew Hudson. If he was a regular at the club then it shouldn’t be too hard to find him. I thought about telling Dangerfield, but then thought better of it.
When I reached my place, I realized that the black car was gone. At least I didn’t have to worry that they had waited for me at my place. I didn’t want Mrs. Perkins to think I had brought more bad vibes to the building. Maybe she was right, I did have a lot of bad vibes lately. It wasn’t like I had asked for it though. Mrs. Perkins probably thought otherwise. Yes, she would be talking to the landlord again soon. I hurried the rest of the way to my building.
Chapter 26
After leaving my place, I made a stop at Café Mojo on my way to the office. The place was crowded and there was barely room to move around. I thought about stepping back out and forgetting the coffee, but I really wanted it and there wasn’t another café close by. I didn’t have time to go to another one. My boss would already be watching the clock and waiting for me.
I weaved around a crowd of people who were trying to make their way out of the shop. Since it was so busy I would probably just order the latte today. Finally, I made closer to the counter.
I perused the menu, although I would probably end up getting the same thing I always ordered. They had a couple new things on the menu, but I doubted I was brave enough to change my routine today.
There was a line in front of me, so I knew I would be there for a bit. The line behind me grew with each passing minute. I inched my way forward and was almost to the counter. I tapped my foot against the floor, but soon realized that was probably annoying for everyone around me. Just when I thought I couldn’t wait any longer, I made it to the front of the line.
“May I take your order, please?” the barista asked.
“I’d like a double cinnamon latte, please,” I said.
He turned and put in my order with the other employee. I stepped to the side so that the next person in line could place her order. As I stood there I felt eyes on me. I supposed that wasn’t surprising with the number of people in the place. Still, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling and it was making me feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to get my coffee and get out of there. I hoped that my stalker hadn’t followed me, but I knew that he probably had. Ignoring him obviously wasn’t deterring him from his pursuit.
I figured I should at least take one quick peek to see who might be staring at me. This guy couldn’t hide in here forever. Eventually, I would spot him and then I should call him out right there in the middle of the café.
When I glanced over my shoulder, I spotted April Benson standing beside me. I whipped my head back around, hoping that she hadn’t spotted me. At least now I knew it wasn’t the stalker guy. I supposed I could consider her a stalker too. Just not on the same level as the guy.
The more I stood there, the more creeped out I got. I didn’t like the fact that April was staring at me. I should have told her to leave me alone. Not that she would listen to me.
I looked back again and caught her with her hand in my purse. I yanked my bag away so that she couldn’t reach it.
“Are you trying to steal from me?” I asked.
Her mouth dropped open. “Of course not.” She looked offended that I would even ask such a question.
“If you weren’t trying to steal from me then why did you have your hand in my purse?” I asked.
Everyone around us was staring. She looked around at our audience and her face turned red. What did she expect when she’d been caught with her hand in my bag?
“What are you doing?” I asked again.
She just stared at me as if she’d lost the ability to speak. When I looked down at her right hand, I spotted the voodoo doll. The little figure was grasped tightly in her hand. Now it all made sense to me.
April didn’t speak as she continued to stare at me. She appeared to be shocked that I’d actually caught her trying to shove that doll into my purse.
I quirked a brow and placed my hand on my hip, waiting for her to speak. Without a word, she dropped the doll. It fell to the floor. It was exactly like the one I’d gotten before.
“You were the one who put the other doll in my purse, weren’t you?” I asked.
She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but didn’t deny it. There was really no way for her to deny it.
“Did you really think I would fall for this?” I asked.
She narrowed her eyes at me as if I was the one who’d done something wrong. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
I didn’t know what to say or how to move forward from here. Honestly, I just didn’t want to be around her at all. Everyone was still watching us and having an audience for something like this was the last thing I wanted.
“I don’t believe in this stuff,” I said. “So if you think it’s affecting me then you’re wrong.”
“I don’t believe that,” she said. “I had nothing to do with this.”
“I caught you with your hand in my purse. Am I imagining things now?” I asked. She stared at me with a blank look. “Plus, you had the doll right in your hand ready to drop into my purse. I suppose that doll wasn’t yours either, right?”
“Like I told you, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
I scoffed. “Please don’t keep denying it because I know it’s not the truth.”
She turned around and stormed out the door. She didn’t look back at me.
“You forgot your doll,” I called out.
I reached down and picked up the doll. I honestly didn’t want to even hold the thing, but I wanted to take a closer look. I definitely wanted Courtney to take a look at it too. Funnily enough, this doll looked a lot like me too. April wouldn’t have been able to deny that one. I was glad that she’d left though. I hoped that I never saw her again.
Since this doll looked just like the other one, I figured it was a safe bet that she had been behind all the voodoo dolls. Plus, I had seen her in Christine Blackshear’s shop that sold the dolls. She definitely could have been at the café the other day and put the doll into my purse. This was her way of trying to scare me. It would take a lot more than a doll to do that. I hoped that she didn’t try anything else though. I knew she had been the one to slip the other doll into my purse. She’d probably been here in the café with me and I hadn’t even known it. That was the only logical explanation for how it’s gotten there.
Now that I had confronted April, I realized her feud with me wasn’t over. She would realize that she couldn’t keep trying to intimidate me. I was hopeful that she would leave Dangerfield and Courtney out of this from now on too. After the last incident, I should have known she wouldn’t have given up on getting revenge that easily. Something told me she wasn’t quite done yet.
I would have to warn Dangerfield and Courtney to be on the lookout for her. Courtney wouldn’t be as nice about it as I was.
I looked into my purse to make sure she hadn’t stuck something else into my bag. I made sure my purse was secure this time. This would teach me a lesson to pay more attention to it. I held my purse in front of me now. The last thing I needed was for someone to steal my wallet.
