by Rose Pressey
I needed to feel the sunshine as I cruised down the highway. Plus, I figured a convertible might be a stress reliever. Though with my career, if I wasn’t careful, I would get myself killed and there would be no need for a convertible. The woman in the red convertible behind me wore a fancy scarf over her head and big black sunglasses. She looked oh so glamorous.
I whipped my car into the parking lot and pushed thoughts of a fancy car to the back of my mind. For now. The red convertible zoomed down the road past my office. I wondered where she was headed. Probably somewhere equally as glamorous.
Dorothy’s car wasn’t in the lot yet. I hoped that Morty hadn’t dropped her off. The less he drove the better off we’d all be. The morning sun would be blinding for him.
I grabbed my things and slipped out of the car. I had a new strategy for dealing with the seagulls that Dorothy fed. Yes, they still swooped down and begged me for food. But I’d decided to ignore them. What was the worst they could do? Peck my head apart? Yes, that was bad, but it was a chance I had to take. Shooing them away wasn’t working. Feeding them only made it worse, so I had to just ignore them.
As I headed toward the door, my thoughts turned to my office being broken into. What if somebody had broken in again? I sure hoped not, but there was a chance it could happen again. I still didn’t know why they had been in my office in the first place. I needed to spend more time figuring out what that file had contained. There had to be some kind of connection to the break-in. I pulled out my key and unlocked the door. Since the door had been locked, I assumed Dorothy hadn’t been dropped off.
I flipped on the bright overhead light and headed over to my desk. Sitting in my metal chair, I shifted from one side to the other while staring at the old metal file cabinets, wondering if there was any way I would ever figure out what the file had contained. In the meantime, I opened up my laptop and did a little bit of searching. I wanted to find out who the man was from last night was. However, I had no idea where to even start.
I knew what he looked like, just not his name, of course. What were the odds that he had been arrested recently? He looked like the kind of guy who had been up to no good, considering he had murdered someone last night. I searched for recent arrests. Okay, that was a lot. It would take a while to sift through all of them. There had to be a better way.
I was just about to give up and move on to something else when I spotted the photo. I recognized the name. This was the man who had been shot. Well, at least he had the same name. I had hoped to find the man from bingo. I supposed this info was better than nothing though. His name was Justin Cisco. I stared at his icy blue eyes. At least now I had some info I needed. It even had an address listed for him. That made my job extremely easy at the moment. I just needed to track him down. Should I go right now and just leave a note for Dorothy? She would be extremely upset with me if I pulled that kind of stunt.
She would insist on going along with me for this kind of case. I supposed I would just have to wait for her. If she didn’t show up soon though I would have no choice but to go without her.
I figured I might as well do a little more research while I waited. I typed out his name, but found nothing so far, other than the arrest record, which was for disorderly conduct and terroristic threatening. That was kind of serious. I was almost ready to call Dorothy when a noise sounded. It was like a thump, thump, thump against the side of the wall. What could that be?
Getting up from my desk, I walked over to the door and stepped outside. I stood there for a moment, looking around. So far nothing seemed unusual. Luckily the seagulls hadn’t been alerted to my presence. I thought for sure it sounded like the noise had come from the side of the office building. I supposed I’d have to take a look over there just to make sure that no one was lurking around.
I moved over to my left and around the side of the building. So far nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Maybe the sound had come from another building and the sound had just carried over to me. I walked around the back of the building and nothing was out of place there either. I supposed this had been all for nothing, though it was always nice to take a short little walk outside. Traveling around the other side, I headed toward the front of the office. I was thankful that the noise had turned out to be nothing.
I’d almost made it to the front of the building now. When I arrived, I hoped that I found Dorothy’s car in the parking lot. If not, I’d already made up my mind that I’d go without her. I was too anxious to wait any longer.
I was headed around the side of the building when someone grabbed me by the shoulder. Screaming out, I spun around with my hands up to push my attacker away.
Chapter 14
When I saw who was behind me, I lowered my hands. Dorothy screamed too.
She held her hands up in defense. “Don’t shoot me. Don’t shoot me.”
I clutched my chest and tried to catch my breath. There was no way I could speak right now because I was too full of adrenaline. Dorothy’s eyes remained wide and her hands up for several seconds while I caught my breath.
Finally I was able to speak. “Dorothy, what on earth are you doing grabbing me like that?”
“I didn’t want to scare you,” Dorothy said.
“What? That’s exactly what you did,” I said. “You should have just called out my name instead of checking to make sure my heart is working.”
“I tell you, Maggie, you really shouldn’t be so tense. That’s why you jump whenever somebody touches you.”
“Never mind that,” I said. “Now that you’re here, I have to tell you about finding the guy’s information. The one from the park.”
“How did you do that?” Dorothy asked.
I flashed a smug smile. “I’m good, that’s how.”
Dorothy placed her hand on her hip. “No, seriously. How did you find out?”
“Hey,” I said. “I am good. How else would I find out?”
Dorothy stared at me blankly.
“Okay, maybe it was a touch of luck, but the fact that I searched the site in the first place shows how I have a natural knack for this,” I said.
“All right, quit patting yourself on the back and tell me about this guy. What did you find out about him?”
“I found his address, so you know what that means.” I winked.
“That means we’re going to find this guy and you’re not going to tell me to stay here and answer phones,” Dorothy said.
“You’re right. I figured what’s the point? You’re just going to argue that you should come and help me out, so I’ll just tell you to come from the start.”
Dorothy raised an eyebrow. “I’m suspicious. You’re up to something. That was too easy.”
I held my hands up. “I’m not up to anything. I’m being completely honest.”
“Well, you’d better not get me into any dangerous situations.”
“Of course not,” I said.
I couldn’t guarantee that, but like I said, she would have insisted on coming so there was nothing I could do about the dangerous situations. “Let me get my bag and I’ll be ready to go.”
I reached the side of the building, but I paused, halting Dorothy behind me.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Someone is over there in the parking lot. They’re acting suspiciously.”
“How is that?” Dorothy asked.
“They are kind of pacing around the car.”
“Your car?” she asked.
“Yes, I think she's looking in it.”
“Well, maybe we should go ask her what the heck she thinks she's doing,” Dorothy said.
“I’m not sure about that. I’ll wait a few minutes before I do that. She could be some kind of crazy lunatic.”
“You seem to attract crazy lunatics.”
“What can I say? It’s a talent,” I said. “Some people paint, sing, or play an instrument, I attract loonies.”
It was too far to get a good look at the woman. Something seemed familiar
about her though. I knew I’d seen her somewhere before.
“Dorothy, does she look familiar to you?” I asked.
Dorothy leaned closer. Her body was pressed against mine as she strained to get a glimpse.
“I don’t recognize her,” Dorothy said.
“What is she doing?”
“I think she’s trying to steal your car.”
“I don’t know about that, but it does seem as if she is looking for something,” I said.
Dorothy and I continued to watch the woman. She was peeking in all the windows of my car.
“This is making me uneasy,” I said.
Maybe she really was trying to steal it. But why my car? At least now she knew my little Ford Focus was locked since she ended up trying all the doors.
“It looks as if she is up to no good,” Dorothy said.
“Yes, I suppose I should call the police.”
No. I was a private investigator. I could handle this on my own. I just had to brace myself for a confrontation. I hated to do this, but what else could I do when she was acting this way. She gave me no choice. Why couldn’t people just be nice? I hate confrontation, drama, and all of that, but sometimes it had to be done. Enough of watching her. It was time to take action.
Just as I was ready to step out from the side of the building and ask her what she thought she was doing, she stepped away from the car. She turned to face us. She hadn’t noticed that we watched her. Now she moved across the lot as if she was headed for the office door.
Dorothy and I watched her a little bit longer. I planned on stepping out from the side of the building and surprising her. Wouldn’t she be shocked.
“Dorothy, you wait here while I talk to her,” I said.
“No way, I’m your backup. It’ll be two against one. She can’t do anything with both of us there.”
“I suppose you’re right. Okay, on the count of three we’ll surprise her.” I held up three fingers.
The woman was getting close to the front door now. I wouldn’t allow her to break in. I had no way of knowing what she wanted for sure, but I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to ask her. This woman had a lot of nerve coming here and trying to take my car.
Just as I stepped around the building, she noticed our movement. She looked right at us. I immediately recognized her. This was the woman from the spa. The one who had given me all the info about Kayla and the man having an affair with Vivian. Why was she at my office? Did she have more information for me? Alicia was her name, I thought.
“Hello?” I called out.
Her eyes widened. A look of panic appeared on her face. She knew that she’d been caught.
“Are you looking for me?” I called out.
Maybe she had information for me. Fingers crossed she’d come here to tell me who had killed Vivian. She didn’t answer. Instead, she turned around and ran across the parking lot toward the sidewalk.
“Get her,” Dorothy yelled.
“Yeah, right, like I’m going to chase her down the sidewalk.”
I did run a little bit though in her direction. Maybe she’d get into a car or someone was waiting to pick her up. When I reach the sidewalk, I spotted her. She was just running down the sidewalk. I had no idea how far she had come to reach my office. She could have parked her car quite a distance away.
“Maybe we should get in the car and go after her,” I said.
“Well, it’s worth a shot.”
“I still have to get my things,” I said.
Alicia made a left turn. She could be going to her parked car down there. I knew there was a parking lot, but I had no idea why she had been here looking for me. I planned on finding out though.
“It looks like we’ll have to make another trip to the spa,” I said.
“Oh, I don't think I can afford that fancy place anymore,” Dorothy said. “Plus, I really didn’t notice much of a difference in my skin. I’m not sure it’s worth the price.”
“We don’t have to get treatments this time. We can just demand to know why she was here and why she looked as if she was attempting to take my car. It was almost as if she was looking for something inside. If she knew me, she’d know that I have nothing of value inside my car.”
“Nothing of value outside of your car either,” Dorothy said.
“Well, now that the action is over here, I suppose we should get back to our original plan.”
“Talk about an adrenaline rush,” Dorothy said. “I may need ice cream after this.”
“We’ll get ice cream, Dorothy. It’s on me.”
“Oh, no. I don’t want you paying for me.” She waved her hand.
Dorothy never wanted me to pay. Sometimes I wanted to do something nice since Dorothy was always trying to do things for me. I’d have to insist on buying the ice cream this time.
“I want extra sprinkles,” she added.
“Definitely extra sprinkles. Maybe even cookie crumbles too.”
Chapter 15
I hurried into the office while Dorothy waited for me outside. After getting my bag and keys, I rejoined her in the sunshine. The woman from the spa hadn’t returned, but things didn’t go exactly as planned. I spotted a red convertible car by the office. That wouldn’t have been a big deal if not for the man sitting in the passenger seat. I sprinted toward the car.
“What in the world is going on, Maggie?” Dorothy asked in a panic.
“The man in that red convertible is the killer. We have to catch up with him.” I pointed toward the street.
“Get in the car.” Dorothy raced over to the passenger side and jumped in.
Once both of us were in the car, I zoomed out onto the street. The car was only a short distance ahead. Now all I had to do was catch up. I hoped one of the red lights would catch him.
I handed Dorothy my phone. “Call Jake and tell him we’re following the killer. I need the police here right away.”
“Got it,” Dorothy said, taking the phone from my hand.
I had to focus on the road. There was no way I could call Jake right now. Thank goodness I had Dorothy with me. Of course she would love to brag about catching a killer to the other Sunny Acres residents. They already thought Dorothy was a badass.
I zipped around a gray Toyota and now was right behind the red convertible. A woman was behind the wheel. Did she know that she had a killer in the passenger seat? I was close enough to read the license plate number. Even if they got away, I would have a way to track them down.
Dorothy held the phone up to her ear. “It’s ringing.”
The longer I followed this car the more anxious I became. The pressure was on for me to keep up with the car. When the light turned green, she took off. I hoped she didn’t realize I was following her.
“Jake, it’s Dorothy. We’re trailing the perp on Biscayne. Maggie needs backup. As many units as you can send.”
Listening to Dorothy leave the message made me a chuckle a bit.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “Nervous, I guess.” I didn’t want to tell her that I thought she was adorable. “Where did you learn to talk like that?” I punched the gas to keep up the pace with the Mustang.
“Talk like what?” Dorothy asked.
“Perp? Send all units?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, that? TV. I can’t remember which show.”
“I’ll sure Jake will appreciate it,” I said.
Dorothy raised an eyebrow as if she couldn’t tell if I was being serious or if I was mocking her.
In that short time that I’d glanced over at Dorothy, the red convertible Mustang had now disappeared.
“Where did the car go?” I asked in a panic.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention,” Dorothy said.
Oh, great. This was an epic private investigator failure. How could I have let the car get away? Had they turned to the left or to the right? I had just a couple seconds to make my decision. I picked the right.
/> As I made the right turn, I said, “Look back there and see if the car made a left turn.”
If they had turned left would Dorothy be able to see them on that side of the road or would they have already gotten too far away?
“No sign of them back there,” Dorothy said.
Unfortunately there was no sign of them up ahead either. How had they gotten away so quickly? I hadn’t thought there was that much time for them to get away. Maybe they had pulled over and I hadn’t even noticed. Should I loop back around?
“At least I have the license plate number,” I said. “They won’t get too far. Now we just need Jake to call you back so you can give that to him.”
“I’m sure he’ll call back soon.”
At the next light, I made a right turn so that I could loop back around at the next block. I hurried back around to the same location where I’d lost them. “You check that side of the street and I’ll look on my side.”
“I’m on it,” Dorothy said.
Cars were parked along the street, but there was no sign of the red convertible.
“Do you see anything?” I asked.
“Nothing, Maggie,” Dorothy said.
I sighed. “Well, at least we tried. Like I said, I have the license plate number.”
Just then my phone rang.
“Oh, it’s Jake,” Dorothy said.
The light turned red, so I was able to speak with him.
“What is going on, Maggie? Is Dorothy okay?”
I glanced at Dorothy out of the corner of my eye. She was watching me expectantly to hear what I said to Jake.
“We were in pursuit of a car, but I lost it. The killer was in that car. Luckily I got the license plate number.”
“I don’t like that you followed the car, but it’s great that you got the number. How do you know the killer was in the car?”
“It was a red convertible with the top down, and I got a good look at him.”
“All right, give me that plate number and I’ll track it down. Good work, Maggie,” he said.
I smiled. “Thank you.”
