by Rose Pressey
“I heard you, but I can’t believe that you’re actually serious.”
“You don’t like the water?” Derek asked as he shut off the car.
I didn’t know how to respond. I liked the water just fine, but this was way too romantic. Derek opened the door and got out.
When I didn’t leave the car immediately, he opened the door. “Come on, Cece, you’ll love it.”
It was hard to tell him no. I got out and walked with him to the area where the tickets were sold.
“I’ll be right back,” he said and hurried off.
After Derek paid for our tickets we waited to get on the boat. A breeze drifted across the night air. The sky held an endless amount of stars. This trip was for couples, romance, and marriage proposals. It wasn’t for partners who would clearly never have romantic feelings for each other. Derek winked at me, as if he’d read my mind. The things I did in order to solve a case.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
Derek shrugged. “I guess we’re the only ones on this boat.”
I looked at him suspiciously.
“What?” He held his hands up. “I did nothing wrong.”
The man wore a white and black striped shirt and black pants with a red sash. Dark hair that reached just above his collar peeked out from under the straw hat. This was just like the costumes I’d always associated with a gondolier.
He approached Derek. “Hey, man, how’s it going?”
They shook hands. “It’s going great, Dave. Good to see you.”
“Are you here for the ride?” He looked at me.
“Yes, Dave, this is my business associate, Cece Cash.”
A warm smile spread across his face. “Nice to meet you.”
“Good to meet you,” I said.
“Come on over.” He waved us over to the gondola.
Derek and I climbed into the boat. It rocked slightly as we sat down. Derek sat right beside me. My stomach did a flip. I tried to inch away, but there was nowhere to go.
The man started directing the boat down the water. Music played from somewhere. Where did he have the speaker hidden? This was entirely too romantic. We neared the bridge.
Just as we were about to go under it, Dave said, “This is where you have to kiss.”
My eyes widened. “Excuse me?” I must have a problem with my ears after all. I thought for sure that he’d said I was supposed to kiss Derek now.
He repeated what he’d said word for word.
“Why would I kiss him?” I asked with a chuckle.
Did I sound nervous?
“You have to hurry. We’re almost under the bridge.”
Derek turned to face me. His face was dangerously close to mine. “Oh, come on, Cece, you have to do it. It’s tradition. He won’t stop talking until we kiss.”
I shook my head. If it would get him to stop so that we could ask the real questions, then fine. I straightened my shoulders and prepared for the kiss.
Derek leaned in close and my heart sped up. I closed my eyes as he pressed his soft lips on mine. Derek’s long, slow kiss was so thorough that it clouded my mind and I forgot my surroundings. The slow burn of desire curled through me.
“Cece, you can open your eyes now,” Derek whispered.
I opened my eyes. Derek was smiling at me. We’d crossed under the bridge. I tried to act casual.
“Now can we ask?”
“Absolutely.” Derek studied my face for a moment before turning his attention to our guide. “Dave, the reason we stopped by was to ask you about that guy. Remember the one from the party at Shep’s house?”
Dave laughed. “That was some night.”
“I can’t believe the cops let us go,” Derek said.
I rolled my eyes. I didn’t even want to know what they were talking about. Okay, maybe I wanted to know a little, but I wouldn’t ask. I watched the water ripple as he moved the oar. This was actually kind of nice. Peacefulness that I hadn’t felt in a long time fell over me as we moved along the water.
“Yeah, the guy’s name is Justin Mark. You got some problems?” Dave asked as we reached the end of the ride.
“We’re not sure yet.”
“Well, I hope you find what you need,” Dave said.
Now that he’d given us the name of the loan shark maybe we could get out of there. Derek looked as if he was having entirely too much fun.
After thanking Dave for the great time, we got off the boat and headed for the car. I still couldn’t believe that I’d kissed Derek North. I had to admit that it hadn’t been terrible. I supposed it had actually been kind of nice.
We got into the car and headed back toward the Strip. Thank goodness we had avoided the topic of the kiss during the drive. We pulled up in front of a shop.
“Are you sure this is the place?”
“That’s what Dave said.”
Derek got out and I climbed out too. I was sure Justin Mark would wonder why we were paying him a visit. We stepped inside the shop. I wasn’t even sure what they sold there. There was a large bald man behind the counter. He stared at us as we made our way across the room.
He didn’t bother to greet us. Finally, when we stepped up to the counter Derek introduced me and then gave the guy his name.
“Are you Justin Mark?” Derek asked.
“What do you need?” Justin replied.
It looked as if that was as nice as this guy was willing to be. He probably thought we were there for a loan. I’d hate to think what this guy might do if someone didn’t pay him back. Maybe that was what had happened to Morgan and Amber. Now more than ever I was concerned for Morgan’s safety.
“We’re looking for someone,” I said.
The guy frowned. “What makes you think I know this person?”
Not waiting for Derek to respond, I continued, “We don’t, but we’re hoping you do or maybe you can led us to someone who does know her.”
“We think she may have a loan with you,” Derek said.
Justin looked around as if he didn’t want anyone to hear that part. Of course there was no one else in the store as far as I could tell. Derek pulled out his phone and showed Justin a picture of Morgan.
The man glanced at it. “I know her.”
I hadn’t expected that answer. What I had expected was for Justin Mark to deny any association with Morgan. Derek and I exchanged a look. He was just as shocked as me. “We have a few questions about Morgan.”
A frown formed on the man’s face. Apparently Morgan wasn’t one of his favorite people.
“What about her?” he asked.
“Did you recently visit her at the gym?” I asked.
I’d thought about letting Derek handle all the questions with this guy, but I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut. He eyed me up and down, making me uncomfortable. If this guy had done something to Morgan then I really would be freaked out. But who had shot at us? He wouldn’t have reason to do that, right?
“Yeah, I went to see her. Morgan and her friend owe me money.”
“Amber Barrett?” Derek asked.
He nodded. “That’s her.”
“You do know Amber was murdered?” I asked.
My anxiety increased with every second of this conversation.
“I’m aware of that.”
The doorbell chimed and we turned to look. A customer had entered. Justin waved at the man. He was a lot friendlier than he’d been when we’d come into his shop.
“I’m aware of what happened to her, but I didn’t do anything to the women. Are you the cops?” he asked.
“No, we’re private investigators,” Derek said.
He scoffed. “Good work on tracking me down.”
“The police haven’t been by to speak with you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nope.”
Wow, maybe we were that good. Or I guessed Derek was that good. He had been the one to track this man down. Just because this man said he had nothing to do with Amber’s murder didn’t mean he was in
nocent. It wasn’t like he would confess to us.
“Why did she borrow money?” I asked. Okay, that was a dumb question. Obviously she needed the money. “What I mean is Morgan has a business. I would think she’d have plenty of money.”
“I guess the gambling was finally catching up with her.”
So this guy gave her more money to gamble with?
“Listen, if you’re finished with the questions, I have customers to take care of.”
I looked around and saw no one. The man who had entered had disappeared. I supposed he’d gone into a back room. What was going on back there?
“We might be back around if we think of more questions,” Derek said.
“Great,” Justin said sarcastically.
Derek and I turned to leave. When I glanced back Justin was still watching us. His stare was a little unsettling.
We stepped outside and Derek said, “Do you think he’s telling the truth?”
I scoffed. “It would be hard to know if that guy was ever honest. I can’t believe the police haven’t talked with him.”
“I guess they don’t have my kind of connections.” Derek winked.
Suddenly our kiss flooded back into my mind. I wondered if it had crossed Derek’s mind too. Regardless, I needed to forget about it. I had work to do.
Derek ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’m not sure that I believe this guy. Something tells me we’ll see Justin Mark again soon.”
Chapter 15
Derek’s cell rang and he picked up. He often received a lot of calls from his friends. My friends rarely called because they didn’t know how to use their cell phones. But I digress.
When Derek ended the call he looked at me and said, “That was Russell. He said he is sure that Morgan is at the casino right now.
“Now? Wow. That’s odd that she would disappear and then just show up there as if nothing happened. We’re going there right now, right?” I asked.
“Damn skippy we’re going.” He motioned for me to follow him.
I grabbed my bag and raced out of the office. Next thing I knew, we were in Derek’s SUV headed toward the casino. Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic slowing us down.
“I hope we get there before she leaves,” I said. “What was she doing? Did he say?”
“He didn’t say. He just told me to get there as soon as possible.”
We wheeled up to the casino forgoing the valet parking this time. We needed to get in there as quickly as possible. After pulling into the first spot Derek found, we hopped out.
Without saying a word, Derek and I ran toward the casino. As we neared the entrance, we slowed down so that people wouldn’t think something was seriously wrong. I didn’t let the lights and sounds get to me this time. I was on a mission.
Once in the casino, we rushed over to the desk to ask for Russell. The woman from before wasn’t there today. Luckily, someone else helped him. Derek returned while we waited for Russell to show up. I scanned the crowd to see if I spotted Morgan. It would be impossible to pick her out. The place was packed.
After a couple minutes, Russell approached. I hoped it hadn’t been so long that she’d left. When I saw the look on his face, I worried that was exactly what had happened.
“Hey, where is she?” Derek asked.
Russell shook his head. “She left right after I called you.”
My heart sank. Now what would we do? Would Morgan go to her house? She must know that the police were looking for her. That was why I was shocked that she’d come to the casino.
“What was she doing while she was here?” Derek asked.
“Well, I only saw her from behind.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “He never actually saw her? This was questionable.
“You only saw her from behind? How do you know it was her?” Derek asked.
At least we was thinking the same thing.
“I think I would recognize her,” Russell said.
“Did anyone else see her?” Derek asked.
“I’m not sure, but I can ask around. I just wanted to call you right away.”
We really appreciate that,” I said.
I was glad that he had called, but it looked as if this would be another dead end. “I can tell you that she went that way.” Russell pointed toward the casino exit.
“She left?” Derek asked.
Russell nodded.
“We’ll be right back.” Derek motioned for me to follow him.
There was no way she would still be outside. Nevertheless, I followed him anyway. We stepped outside and scanned the area. Sure enough, no one who matched her description was around. Of course, it was busy out there too, so it would be easy to miss her. If in fact it was Morgan, she had probably been long gone.
“What now?” I blew the hair out of my eyes.
“Let’s go back and talk with Russell.”
I hated to break it to Derek, but I didn’t think there was anything else Russell could tell us. Unless he had info on a slot machine that was paying out.
Maybe there would be something else about the person that Russell would remember. I really wanted to know if it was Morgan.
Russell was still waiting by the door for us when we returned.
“Did you find her?” he asked.
Derek shook his head. “It’s kind of crowded out there.”
“Sorry again that I couldn’t stop her.”
“Was there anything unusual about her? Was she acting strange?”
I couldn’t ask if she looked strange because he’d only seen her from behind. That was what made me think he hadn’t really seen her at all.
“Nothing unusual. Other than the fact that she was alone. Usually she was with Amber.”
Well, it was kind of hard for her to be with her now.
“Did she only come here with Amber? Was there ever anyone else?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Sometimes with a man. Big muscular dude.”
“That must have been her boyfriend,” I said.
“Anyone else?”
Russell pointed. “You know, a few weeks ago I saw her with another woman. It was the guy and another woman. I remember because I thought the other woman was hot.”
Derek nodded and I quirked an eyebrow at him.
He cleared his throat, “Yes, well anyway, thanks for the info, man.”
I had my suspicions that the hot woman was Tabitha. It seemed as if Steve and Tabitha spent a lot of time together. That would be a reason to get rid of Morgan, but why Amber? Maybe her disappearance was unrelated to Amber’s murder. She could have simply wanted to disappear.
Russell spoke and snapped me back to attention. “Not a problem. You don’t think it was her, do you?” Russell looked at me.
Way to put me under pressure. How would I answer? Finally, I shook my head. “No, I don’t think it was her. But it’s better to call us even if it turns out not to be her.”
Derek shook Russell’s hand. “She’s right. Better to call us. Hey, let’s get a beer later.”
It was sweet how Derek was trying to make Russell feel better. Even in his macho guy kind of way.
“Thanks again.” I waved at Russell as we headed out.
He looked like a disappointed teddy bear standing back there. Or like a small child being dropped off at school for the first day.
“Does he always have those sad eyes?” I asked.
“Yeah, he’s okay. He’s used to being right. On the rare occasion when he’s wrong, it gets to him.” “Yeah, I guess that happens to the best of us, I said as we walked to the SUV. “I think it was Tabitha and Steve with Morgan here at the casino.”
“That doesn’t mean anything nefarious was going on,” Derek said as he pushed the key fob and unlocked the door.
I opened the passenger door and peered at Derek as he stood on the other side with the door open. “No, I suppose not, but I didn’t know that Morgan and Tabitha would have been such close friends. Did you ask Paige about that?” Derek slipp
ed behind the wheel. “No, but I will.”
If he wouldn’t I would. Maybe I’d have to give her a call in case Derek forgot.
Chapter 16
When the pounding noise disturbed my sleep, I pulled the covers up over my head. The sound continued though and I finally realized someone was knocking on my front door. I peeked at the clock. Six-thirty in the morning? I hoped it wasn’t my neighbor with breakfast. Sure, it was a nice thought, but it was way too early to think about eating. The pounding continued. Someone really wanted me to try her eggs Benedict this morning.
Even pulling the pillow over my head didn’t work. Strangely, the knocking sounded as if it was too loud to be Mrs. Whitman. Groaning, I stumbled out of bed and over to the front door. The knocking continued. I would worry about waking the neighbors, but they’d probably already been awake for hours. What if this was an emergency?
There was no way I would call out to the person on the other side of the door. It could be the killer had tracked me down and he didn’t need to know I was at home. Would a killer knock though? Not a smart killer.
I peeked out the little hole in the door and spotted Derek standing in front of me. He had that familiar warm smile on his face that hinted at his wild side. What was he doing here so early? I glanced down at my pink shorts and white tank top. I smoothed down my tousled hair and licked my lips in some attempt not to look hideous.
I eased the door open. “What do you want?”
“You really aren’t a morning person, are you, Cece?”
“Not in the mornings, no,” I said.
He looked me up and down. There was no way to hide my appearance, although I tried to use the door as a shield.
“Are you hung-over?” he asked with a devilish smile.
I sighed and rubbed my temples. “Hardly.”
“A long night of bingo?”
“Don’t look at me like that.” I waved my finger.
He held his hands up. “I didn’t say a word.”
“You didn’t have to, it’s all in your eyes.”
He held back a grin. “Do you mind if I come in?”
“Why? Are you making breakfast? Why are you here?”
His mouth twisted into a devilish grin. “We’re going to the gym.”
