by Rose Pressey
“As for tonight, I don’t think there’s anything else you can do,” he said, taking the newspaper and folding it up.
He placed it across the table away from me so that I wouldn’t continue reading. I supposed I would try to put it at the back of my mind for now. But that wouldn’t be easy. And first thing tomorrow morning I was going to give this one hundred percent of my attention. Well, maybe not one hundred percent—I still had the opening of the office. But as much as I could, I would try to figure this out.
After the waiter dropped off our plates Jack and I started eating our meals. I talked to Jack about the things that he’d been doing since we arrived in Miami. I just wished that I could take a little bit of time off. Not only was I trying to open the office, but I was also trying to solve a murder as well.
As I enjoyed the food I looked out over the crowd. People walked up and down the sidewalk taking in the restaurants and the beautiful weather. A couple seconds later I spotted Melinda of the mermaids’ trio.
I touched Jack’s arm. “Look who it is.”
He followed my direction and spotted the mermaid. We watched her as she walked a short distance down the sidewalk and then she stopped. She started talking to a guy. As she spoke she gestured with her hands. He listened intently as if being scolded. Next, they pulled out their phones for what looked like an exchange of numbers. Maybe she wouldn’t need my help getting a date after all. I would say that would be a good thing, but I needed this in order to get more information from her.
They stopped talking. She walked in the opposite direction. I wished I knew where she was going. The guy was headed toward us. Maybe I could find out who he was. But how? It wasn’t like I could stop him and start asking why he was talking to her.
“I know what’s going on in your head,” Jack said. “But I don’t think you should stop the random guy and start questioning him.”
Jack knew me a little too well, obviously.
Chapter 7
“I’ll be totally casual about it,” I said as I pushed to my feet and navigated around the tables.
I didn’t look back to see if Jack had gotten up to stop me. It was better not knowing. I stepped out onto the sidewalk and headed right toward the man. I was pretty sure he hadn’t noticed me yet. With every step I took it felt as if someone was walking behind me. Right behind me. I looked over my shoulder. Jack was coming toward me as well. He should have just let me handle this by myself.
When I got close enough to the guy, I said, “Excuse me, sir. Can I ask you a question?”
He finally locked eyes with me.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” a man yelled from behind us.
I looked over my shoulder and saw the waiter from the restaurant yelling at us. I guess he thought we were dining and dashing.
The guy looked completely panicked. He froze on the spot. I was standing right in front of him now, but he wasn’t acknowledging me.
“The woman you were just speaking with. Are you friends with her?” I asked.
He didn’t answer. Instead he bolted down the sidewalk. I stood there staring for a moment. The guy from the restaurant was still yelling at us. I turned around and Jack had stopped right behind me.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
The guy hadn’t even looked around when he darted away.
“No clue, but apparently he didn’t want to talk to you,” Jack said.
The waiter had now come over to the sidewalk to retrieve us.
“We weren’t leaving without paying, don’t worry,” I held my hands up.
“Well, it sure looks that way to me,” he said. “I don’t want to be stuck paying your bill.”
Jack and I went back over to the table with the waiter following us. Of course, everyone at the restaurant was staring at us. I was kind of used to having an audience though. I always did something that attracted attention.
“See, we haven’t even finished our food yet,” I said, gesturing toward the plates.
The waiter looked at us skeptically but then walked away.
“What do you think that was all about with the guy?” I asked as we sat down.
“I don’t know, but it was certainly odd. Maybe you just startled him.”
“All I asked was about the woman he was talking to. And he was acting strange as soon as he saw me. It was almost as if he knew me or had heard about me.”
“So he had heard about you and immediately ran away?” Jack asked with a smile.
“That’s not funny.” I couldn’t hold back my smile.
Jack and I finished the food. Although I only took a couple more bites because I was completely distracted now. As if I wasn’t before, but this really had me perplexed. Jack paid for the food and I gathered up the newspaper again.
As I waited for him I stood on the sidewalk reading the article again for like the tenth time. It felt as if someone had their stare on me. I took my attention away from the newspaper and looked around to the left and to the right. People were all around, but I didn’t notice anyone paying attention to me. I went back to the article, staring at the man’s face in the photo. The feeling didn’t go away though. It still felt as if someone was watching me. That strange sensation wasn’t going away.
I looked up from the newspaper again. When I peered to the left, near another one of the cafés, I spotted her. It was the mermaid and she was looking right at me. When our eyes met she looked away. This was really odd. I didn’t see the guy around anywhere, but I was going to go talk to her. Something weird was going on with her.
I headed down the sidewalk toward her, but then she rushed away. She hadn’t looked back to see me, but I had a feeling she knew I was coming to speak with her. This was going to make finding her a date difficult. I mean, if she was going to act weird how would I find her date? Not mention the fact that I thought she could possibly be involved in a murder investigation. I needed to speak with police about this.
“Rylie, where are you going?” Jack called out.
Since it looked as if I wasn’t going to catch up with the mermaid I stopped and watched her as she headed down the way and around the corner. She never looked back, but she had to know I was there. Why else would she take off?
Jack caught up with me. “Why are you taking off again? I can’t keep up with you today.”
“The mermaid was there again,” I said, pointing. “But she took off when she saw me.”
“I guess she didn’t want to talk to you either.”
I turned to face him. “Why is everyone dodging me right now?”
“I wouldn’t read too much into it,” Jack said.
Well, he wouldn’t, but I sure would.
Jack draped his arms around my shoulders. “Come on. Let’s go have some fun.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I guess fun would be good.”
“Well, don’t get too excited about it,” he said around a laugh.
Chapter 8
What was taking Jack so long to pay for the food? When I turned around to see if he was on his way out. I gasped when at that exact second, he ran out the door. With wide eyes and slightly disheveled hair, he seemed quite frantic. Jack raced over toward me and I met him halfway.
“What’s wrong, honey?” I touched his arm.
He released a deep breath. “Two guys just tried to rob me, I guess.”
“Inside the restaurant?” I asked in shock. “Did they get your wallet? Did anyone see it?”
“They didn’t get anything from me. I don’t know if anyone else saw them. After it happened I just took off.” Jack waved his arm.
“Where are the guys now? I scanned the area.
“They took off too.” He ran his hand through his hair. “At least I managed to get away from them.”
“What do you mean you managed to get away from them? Did they try to grab you?” I asked.
“It certainly seemed that way,” he said. “They each grabbed an arm.”
“What makes you think they w
ere trying to take your money?” I asked.
Jack ran his hand through his hair. “Why else would they grab me like that?”
That was a good question. Nevertheless, this was making me a bit suspicious.
“What did they look like?” I asked.
“It all happened so fast and out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t get a good look at their faces,” he said. “But they both had dark hair and we’re probably my height.”
“Do you know what they were wearing?” I asked.
“Dark clothing.” He gestured toward his shirt. “Dark black T-shirts and jeans.”
Guys never really paid much attention to detail. And Jack’s description didn’t narrow it down much. A bunch of people fit that description. I looked around to see if anyone resembled Jack’s attackers. No one wore dark shirts or jeans. Mostly everyone wore shorts and light-colored clothing because of the heat. Nothing unusual stood out to me. However, something crossed my mind. Jack’s description kind of sounded like the guy we’d seen talking to Melinda. What if it was him and a friend?
I decided not to mention this to Jack because it was probably nothing. He just needed to relax right now.
“Well, if you’re sure you’re all right.” I hugged him.
Jack kissed me lightly on the lips and then said, “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“Do you think we should call the police and report this?” I asked.
“If you think we should,” Jack said.
“Maybe the police have had other cases of this happening around here and they’d like to know that it happened again.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he said.
Dialing the police just as I had when reporting the mermaids, I’d have them come out and take a report. After placing the call, Jack and I waited on the bench outside the restaurant. We watched as people carrying beach towels and umbrellas moved along the sidewalk in front of us. Seagulls cried overhead as they searched for food. A mix of coconut-scented sunscreen and briny sea air drifted across the breeze.
I was a bit antsy wondering if the men would return. Jack seemed to be on edge too, looking around for any sign of them. I nervously tapped my fingers against the bench while Jack shifted in his seat. I checked the time on my phone, wondering how much longer it would take the police.
A couple seconds later I spotted the police officer headed our way—the same one who had been at my office to take the report about the mermaids. And apparently, he recognized me right away. His face scrunched in an unpleasant frown. Now I another wacky story to share with him. How would I explain that my boyfriend may or may not have been a target of a mugging? Or possibly someone trying to kidnap him. Sure, that probably wasn’t the case, but the assault made me suspicious.
Jack and I stood from the bench to meet the police officer.
“What seems to be the problem?” he asked, looking right at me with his dark brown eyes.
“We just thought we’d report that someone possibly tried to steal my boyfriend’s wallet.” My lack of confidence came through in my voice.
However, he couldn’t possibly think what I’d said was outlandish, right? Just because he’d encountered me once before meant nothing about the current incident. Based on the look on the officer’s face, apparently, I was wrong.
“Is that right?” he asked with a raised bushy eyebrow. “So exactly what happened?”
The officer shifted his attention to Jack.
“Well, officer, I was in the restaurant paying for our meal. I put my wallet away and went back to the restroom. When I came out, I guess a couple guys had been waiting in the hallway and they grabbed me. There was a bit of a struggle and then they took off running. They went out the side door of the restaurant.” I pointed toward the side street.
“Did anyone else see this happen?” the officer eyed me again.
“I don’t think so,” Jack said.
“I was waiting outside,” I said.
“Okay, what did the men look like?” the officer asked.
Jack gave him the same description that he’d given me.
“Have there been any other reports of this happening here?” I asked.
The officer didn’t peer up from his notepad as he took notes. “It’s a busy area. People get pickpocketed. It happens.”
So basically, there was no reason to call the police was what he was saying? I hoped I didn’t have a reason to call the police again while I was here in Miami because I was already on this officer’s radar. If I called, perhaps I could ask for a different officer. This cop had taken a disliking to me. No doubt because I’d burst out my office door toward him. But that was an honest mistake. I thought he’d be able to forgive me for that. I had forgiven him.
“I’ve got their description,” the officer said. “And thanks for calling.”
He turned on his heel and headed back toward his car.
“Well, that’s that,” Jack said, looking at me.
“Yes, I suppose it is. We should just get out of here before something else happens,” I said.
The faster we got out of there the better off we’d be. I could tell that Jack was still upset about what had happened. And I hoped that he felt better soon. I hated that this it happened to him.
Chapter 9
I wasn’t sure that I was ready for a nightclub in Miami. The anxiety could lead to a hairy mess. Literally. Nevertheless Jack, Jennifer, and I were headed over to Shelby’s so that she could take us to this club where we would meet the mermen.
Tonight I wore a red dress that I had stuffed into my suitcase at the last minute just in case we had an evening out. Jennifer insisted that shorts and a t-shirt weren’t good enough. Honestly, I hadn’t been counting on going anywhere fancy.
Even though I was anxious in crowds I told myself that things would be fine and that I shouldn’t worry about being in a crowd of people and having to dance. I just worried that I would have a werewolf outbreak and things would get hairy. Jack wore black slacks and a blue shirt. He looked handsome of course.
“How long is it going to take Jennifer to be ready?” Jack checked the time on his phone.
“Well, you know how she is. She probably went through everything in her suitcase. Good thing for me I only packed one suitable dress, so I didn’t have any options.”
When Jennifer knocked on the door I opened it right away. She had decided on a blue dress and white sandals.
She looked me up and down. “You look really great. Now aren’t you glad I made you bring that dress?”
“Of course… You look fabulous as always,” I said. “I love that dress on you.”
“Okay, enough with the compliments. You both look beautiful. Let’s get out of here,” Jack said.
“I’m really curious about these guys,” Jennifer said as we walked out of the hotel lobby and toward the car. “What do you think they’ll be like?”
“Normal, nice guys, I hope. With any luck they’ll be comfortable with this plan of ours.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. The mermaids are pretty, so there is that,” Jennifer said.
“Yeah, pretty mean. And they could be killers too,” I said.
We got into the car and drove over to pick up Shelby. She wore a black dress and black shoes. She had on red lipstick and a red purse to coordinate the outfit. She slipped into the backseat of the car. She smelled like roses.
“Wow, you all look really great,” Shelby said.
“Yes, we do clean up well, don’t we?” Jack laughed.
Shelby gave the directions to Jack and we headed over to this club. The parking lot was full when we arrived, which meant that the inside would be packed as well. I wasn’t sure why I was feeling so anxious about this, but it was making me nervous. Jack found a parking space and we all got out of the car, heading toward the entrance. Of course, there was a line around the side of the building of people waiting to get in, so I wasn’t sure how long we would have to wait. We stood in line and more people came be
hind us.
“Do you think they’re already inside?” I asked.
“They told me they would text when they got here. Supposedly they can help us get in, so we shouldn’t have to wait in the line too long,” Shelby said.
“That would be fantastic,” Jennifer said. “Because my feet are already tired.”
We’d only been there a couple more minutes when Shelby got a text message.
“Is that them?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “They’ll be here in five minutes. I told them that we’re waiting in line so hopefully they’ll see us.”
“Will they recognize you?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. Actually, one of them used to date a friend. But I haven’t seen them for a few years, so maybe they won’t recognize me. I told them I’m in a black dress. Plus, I told them about you guys.”
We moved up a couple spots. Waiting was the worst part.
“Why couldn’t they have just met us at Starbucks?” I asked.
“Don’t worry, Rylie, you’ll have a great time once we get inside,” Jennifer said as she checked her lipstick in her compact mirror.
Jennifer always was one for the nightlife more than me. I just liked to stay home with a good book, but she enjoyed dancing.
I watched every car that drove down the street next to the club to see if it was them. When a black car with tinted windows slowly cruised by I had a feeling that it was them. I watched the car as it pulled into the parking lot.
Three guys got out. Of course that didn’t confirm it was them, but I liked the odds. The men were strikingly handsome… like model handsome. Yeah, I would be surrounded by four dashingly handsome men. Maybe this night wasn’t so bad after all. One of the guys in particular seemed to notice Jennifer as he walked up the sidewalk toward us. The men stopped next to us. This irritated the people around us who thought they were cutting in line. Each taking turns, the men hugged Shelby.
“You guys look great,” Shelby said as she eyed them up and down. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen you.”
“You’re not looking so bad yourself,” the blond said.
