Dead in the Water: A fun and fast-paced private investigator cozy mystery/beach read (Maggie PI Mysteries Book 5)

by Rose Pressey

  I didn’t want to tell him that it was too much money. Besides, everything would probably be fine. We’d find out who did this, and it wouldn’t happen again. At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

  “I’ll see you tonight? You’re going to leave soon?” Jake asked.

  “Yes, we’re leaving right after you,” I said.

  “All right, just be careful.”

  “You know I will.”

  Jake watched me for a moment and then walked out of the office.

  “You know, he has a good point about the cameras,” Dorothy said.

  I didn’t want to tell Dorothy that I thought they were too expensive.

  “Are you ready to leave now?” Dorothy asked. “I’m meeting Morty later for dancing.”

  Morty and Dorothy had been spending a lot of time dancing since he’d taken those salsa dancing classes. Dorothy didn’t need classes. She was already good, but she went along with Morty so that he wouldn’t be embarrassed. He’d insisted on classes because he didn’t want Dorothy teaching him and adding to his embarrassment. I didn’t understand but Morty was set in his ways.

  “Is there anyone else who could’ve done this other than Abby?” I asked. “Who else would know Jake has a key? This is really bothering me.”

  “Maybe some other officers would know. They know you’re dating so maybe he mentioned the key to them,” Dorothy said.

  I locked the door behind us and then walked with Dorothy over to her car.

  “I think it comes down to anyone he may have mentioned to that he had your key,” Dorothy said.

  Then hit me. “You know, the day of the first murder, I was talking with Jake and he mentioned that he would stop by the office and use his key. Someone could’ve overheard that.”

  “Now you have to think about who was standing around and if they overheard.” Dorothy opened her car door.

  I hugged Dorothy. “I’m sure I’ll be thinking about that all night.”

  “Well, don’t worry too much and get some rest.”

  “You don’t dance too much,” I said.

  “I’ll be fine,” she said as she slipped into the car.

  I waved to Dorothy as she pulled out of the parking lot. Once in my car I sat there for a bit until I finally pulled out my phone. I wanted to do a search while I sat there. My mind was in gear to figure this out. I kept thinking about the neighbor Annie Jensen, so I searched her name again. After some scrolling through I found a court case. It was a divorce filing. It looked as if she’d recently divorced. It listed her husband’s name. Maybe I could speak with him.

  I typed in the husband’s name. I found quite a bit of information about him, like his address and where he worked. Now maybe I could pay him a visit and get information about his ex-wife. I just felt like her behavior was strange. I’d ask him if this was out of the ordinary for her or if she was just that type of person all the time.

  Yet another thing I’d have to follow up on in order to solve this case. It might not bring anything, but it was definitely worth a shot. I’d try anything at this point. I went back to the divorce papers, scrolling down to the bottom. I was stunned at what I saw. The lawyer’s name was listed as Adam Boles. Annie Jensen’s ex-husband’s lawyer was the one murdered.

  What were the odds of that? There had to be some kind of connection. I never believed in coincidences. Not now and not in the past. This was turning out to be a tougher case than I’d anticipated. I definitely had to go visit Annie’s ex. I pulled up his address again and checked the directions. I didn’t have a lot of time before meeting Jake, but I wanted to go right now. I had to get answers.

  As far as I knew, Jake wasn’t even looking at Annie. After her behavior with me, I just couldn’t ignore it. Lucky for me this man’s house was only about five minutes away. Well, with traffic it was probably more like ten.

  I pulled out into traffic and followed the directions leading me to this man’s house. I finally found parking above and headed down the sidewalk, counting down the addresses until I located the right one. Footsteps sounded from behind me, but when I looked over my shoulder I didn’t see anyone. The tree-lined street was shady with plenty of places to hide. Yet I didn’t see anyone hiding anywhere.

  Nevertheless, it was still spooky. I finally reached the building and walked into the lobby moving over to the elevators. I pushed the button and the doors opened. I stepped inside just as a man approached. He wanted me to hold the door for him, but I pushed for the door to close. Thank goodness he didn’t get inside with me. A strange vibe came off him and I didn’t want to be alone in the elevator with him. He would just have to wait until it came back for him.

  The elevator stopped on the second floor and I stepped out. I hurried down the hallway to the man’s door. After ringing the doorbell, I stood there awkwardly waiting for him to open the door. I was still running through what I would say in my mind. The more I thought about it the more anxious I became.

  He probably thought this was totally random that I was here asking about his ex-wife? Then again, he might not be surprised since it was his ex. Obviously they’d had issues. Annie Jensen acted so strangely around me I was curious about what her ex would say. The door unlocked and then opened. A dark-haired man stood in front of me. He didn’t speak. This was awkward.

  “Um, I came to speak with you about Annie Jensen. You’re Michael Jensen?”

  His once-emotionless face now displayed a scowl. “We’re divorced and I don’t know where she is, nor do I want to know.”

  “Well, I just need to ask some questions regarding a murder investigation. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but your lawyer was murdered and so was the paralegal employed by Mr. Boles.”

  His eyes widened. “I had no idea. When did this happen?”

  “This week,” I said. “I’m trying to find out who would do this to them.”

  “What does this have to do with Annie?”

  “She lives next door to where the paralegal’s body was found. Not to mention she had a connection to Mr. Boles through you.”

  “I see,” he said. “You think Annie killed them?”

  “I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this. I’d like to rule her out.”

  I wanted to make him feel more comfortable speaking with me because it seemed as if he was growing more tense by the minute.

  “Annie is a stubborn woman, but I don’t think she would have killed anyone.”

  “You never knew her to be violent?” I asked.

  He looked down at his bare feet. “Well, she had a temper, but still I don’t think she would have killed anyone.”

  “What kind of things did she do? You know, when she was mad?”

  “I had to take out a restraining order,” he said.

  That stunned me.

  “What happened?”

  “I suppose when the marriage was over she had a hard time accepting it. We grew apart, you know. We were both in the army and spent a lot of time apart.”

  “Really?” This was another twist that I hadn’t expected. “Is there anything else?”

  “I really don’t know. I have to go now.” He shut the door in my face.

  Chapter 24

  My visit to Annie’s ex-husband hadn’t been the best visit, but it wasn’t too shabby. I’d discovered a few details. It had been another long day. I was home now and all I wanted was a chance to destress before I resumed the investigation tomorrow.

  Since the pool looked so inviting and relaxing, I decided to take a dip. Stars twinkled in the pitch-black sky. I couldn’t help but think about what had happened when I swam last time. Nevertheless, I decided to do it again. I wouldn’t let this person intimidate me and keep me from doing the things that I enjoyed. Plus, I’d had no indication that they had been around again, so I figured it would be okay.

  I put on my swimsuit, grabbed a towel and headed for the water. The pool was the best thing about my apartment building. Night time was when I enjoyed swimming the most. I didn
’t have to worry about sunburn, plus I had the pool to myself. I placed the towel down and then stepped into the water. It was warm and soothing over my skin. I began swimming laps.

  I made it to the other side of the pool and then just floated on the water. After a minute I decided to rest and lean my back against the side of the pool. I looked out over the shallow end. A noise sounded from right behind me. Someone was back there, over by the big palm trees. I spun around in the water, scanning the area. So far, I saw no one, but after the last time, I wasn’t sure that I was alone here. Maybe the person had returned. Had they been watching me?

  Panic set in and I decided I should get out of the pool. As I swam over to the steps the noise came again. I hoped that I wasn’t attacked right there in the water. When I stopped and looked over my shoulder I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I knew for sure that someone was back there.

  “Hey, who’s there?” I yelled out.

  I wanted him to know I was aware of his presence.

  A person jumped out from behind the bush and ran away from the pool area. I’d known someone had been back there. I was just thankful that I hadn’t had to fight the person off. What were they doing back there? I decided to go after him. I hadn’t gotten a good look at the person’s face, but I knew it was a man. It was too dark to see anything else.

  I raced out of the water. There was no time to grab my towel or my flip-flops. I took off out the gate, sprinting across the way toward where the man had run. This was probably a crazy thing to do and Jake would be upset with me. But I wanted a better look at this person. Once and for all we were going to get to the bottom of this. I wasn’t going to put up with somebody creeping around me.

  I made it all the way out to the road before I stopped by the sidewalk. When I looked to the left and to the right, there was no one in sight. I’d lost him, unless he was hiding somewhere now and watching me. He was probably laughing that he’d gotten away with it. I was so angry. If I could just get a hold of him I would probably shake him and make him tell me what he was doing. I stood there for a bit longer, hoping to catch sight of him.

  He might have jumped in a car and taken off. He wasn’t that fast on foot, although I’d wasted some time getting out of the water. That had probably given him the time he needed to get away. I supposed my night-time swims were over now though. At least until this was solved. What a bummer. I’d said I wouldn’t let it stop me, but now maybe I would.

  Cars went by and the drivers stared at me now because I was standing on the sidewalk soaking wet. I supposed the person was gone now and I needed to go back in and dry off. After one last look I headed back toward the pool, but I kept on guard. I needed to call Jake and report this. I wouldn’t play games with this person and chance something serious happening. After all, there had been two murders and I wasn’t going to be the third.

  I reached the pool, slid into my flip-flops, and grabbed the towel, wiping off the remaining water. I was still on alert as I headed toward my apartment.

  “Hello,” a male voice said from over my shoulder.

  I screamed and spun around, tossing the towel up in the air.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you,” Reynold said as he picked up the towel.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked as I grabbed the towel from his hands.

  I hadn’t expected for him to show up here and frankly it was kind of creepy. He must have realized that I was a bit freaked out by his presence because he took a couple steps back.

  He gestured toward one of the doors across the courtyard. “My friend lives right over there. I just dropped him off. We went out to dinner to discuss a case.”

  “Oh, really, and who is your friend?” I asked as I wrapped the towel around me.

  After all, he was the ladies’ man. I tapped my foot against the ground as I waited. I knew at least the first name of everyone who lived in this building. Since it was so small, it was easy for me to meet everyone. We all knew each other, so if he didn’t come up with a name within the next two seconds, I was calling Jake.

  “His name is Blake,” Reynold said.

  Okay, he was off the hook momentarily. That was my neighbor’s name. Though Reynold could have done research and found that out. I still had to be suspicious of him.

  “Well, it was nice seeing you,” I said, turning toward my door.

  “Wait a minute,” he said. “Would you be interested in going for a drink? Like I said, I have some information that you might be interested in. You never called me back.”

  I quirked an eyebrow. Was he just saying this to get me to go out for drinks with him? Besides, I was waiting for Jake.

  “There’s a place right around the corner.” He pointed.

  Against my better judgment, I said, “Okay. Just one drink though. I need to change quickly. I think it would look strange if I went in my swimsuit and a towel.”

  “Of course,” he said. “I’ll wait for you by the pool.”

  Should I mention to him that someone had been creeping around the pool earlier? Maybe later. There was no need to get into that now. I headed inside my apartment. Once inside I checked out the window to see if he was waiting by the pool. He was in fact sitting out there by the water waiting for me.

  I slipped into shorts, a tank top, and put on my good flip-flops. After applying some lip gloss and brushing my hair, I grabbed my bag. I wanted to check my email on my way out the door since I’d been waiting on an email, but there was no time right now. It would have to wait.

  When Reynold saw me step out of my apartment, he jumped up from the lounge chair and hurried out the pool’s gate to meet me.

  “Ready?” I asked.

  “Absolutely,” he said as he fell into step beside me.

  We headed around the corner of the courtyard and out to the street.

  “Do you visit this place often?” I asked.

  “I’ve been there a few times, but I wouldn’t say I’m a regular,” he said around a laugh. “What about you? Have you been there?”

  “Never,” I said.

  “You don’t drink?”

  “Not really. I have business and can’t be distracted by things like that. Anyway, do you want to tell me why we’re going to a bar just to tell me what you found out?”

  “Well, I figure maybe we can get a drink first.”

  He had better have something to tell me. I wasn’t playing his game either. Did he have a quota to meet for his dates for the month?

  I received a text message. Jake wanted to know if we were still on for dinner.

  Of course. Just meeting someone now. I’ll be in touch soon.

  He didn’t need to know exactly what kind of business because he would frown upon this meeting. A boyfriend wouldn’t like the idea of his girlfriend going out for a drink with a known ladies’ man, right?

  “Something important?” Reynold asked as he looked over at my phone.

  “Just another meeting,” I said with a smile.

  “Oh, I get it,” he said with a grin. “You have a boyfriend.”

  “Yes, I do have a boyfriend,” I said.

  “I totally expected that,” he said. “Since you’re pretty, smart, and fun.”

  Oh, no. Here he went with the ladies’ man talk. He didn’t know me, so how would he know if I was anything other than what he saw on the outside?

  We finally reached the bar. He opened the door, and gestured for me to go first.

  “After you,” he said.

  I stepped into the dark room. The bar along the left wall stretched across the whole space. The rest of the room had tables and chairs. It was a tiny space with only a few people sitting at the tables. One man was at the bar. The bartender acknowledged us with a nod of his head.

  “Would you rather sit at the bar or table?” Reynold asked.

  “The bar is fine,” I answered.

  “You lead the way,” he said, motioning for me to step over to the stools.

  A couple women sitting at a nearby ta
ble checked out Reynold. He didn’t act as if he knew they were watching him. I picked the closest stool and sat down.

  He sat beside me then smiled widely. “You seem tense. Are you sure everything’s okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said. “Still a little startled that you showed up, I guess.”

  “I really am sorry about that. I guess I wasn’t thinking that it would scare you.”

  The bartender stepped over. “What can I get for you all?”

  “I’ll just have white wine, please,” I said.

  “A beer for me,” Reynold said.

  As the bartender stepped away, I said, “It’s just that I had an encounter tonight with someone right before you came up to me.”

  He frowned. “What happened?”

  “Someone was watching me while I swam in the pool,” I said.

  “Are you serious? Was it someone who lives in the complex?” he asked.

  “I didn’t get a good look at the person, but I don’t think they live there, no. It was dark and he wore dark clothing. I think it has something to do with the recent murders.”

  His eyes widened. The bartender came back over with our drinks, placing the wine glass down in front of me and the bottle in front of Reynold. “Anything else for you?”

  “No, we’re good,” Reynold said. “So you think this has something to do with the murders?”

  I took a sip of wine. I didn’t want to go into all the details just yet because I didn’t know Reynold. He could’ve been the one creeping around. “I have some evidence that leads me to believe the person has been there before when I was swimming.”

  “That’s unsettling,” he said. “Are you worried about that?”

  “Obviously, yes.”

  He took a drink of his beer.

  “I’m hoping that I’m wrong obviously. But I’m being cautious nevertheless.”

  “I should hope so. Have you discussed this with the police?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to tell them about the second incident since it just happened. But I intend to,” I said, taking another drink from my glass. “So what information did you find? Maybe that’ll make me feel better about all of this.”