by Rose Pressey
I released a deep breath of relief as I traveled down the road. Now I was headed for the neighbor’s house. I was pretty sure she wouldn’t speak to me and maybe she would call the cops. But it was the only option I could think of at the moment. I certainly hoped to come up with a better idea because this probably wouldn’t lead to anything good.
Was I actually headed to the home of a possible killer? After all, she’d been in the area for both murders. I should ask Brigette if she thought the neighbor had any way of getting into the house and potentially murdering Luke. What would be the motive for the murders? I supposed I still needed to connect them together in order to find a motive.
This case was proving to be tougher than I had ever imagined. I pulled up in front of the house and cut the engine. I stared at the houses for a moment, wondering if this was what I really wanted to do. I had to make my move, so I mustered all my courage and opened the car door. I thought back to Abby and wondered if she would follow me here. She would call Jake. I really hoped that I didn’t get arrested for all of this. I had no explanation to give them as to why I was here. Though it was pretty obvious.
I got out of the car and headed toward the house, looking over toward Brigette’s and wondering if she was there. Maybe I could take a quick visit to her place as well. I stopped in front of the houses, looking to the left and to the right. Which one should I try first? Since the neighbor probably wouldn’t talk anyway, I’d go there first. Brigette might be more open to talking to me, but not if she realized that I had been working for her husband. Only if she thought I would help her with getting off on the charges.
Nevertheless, I pushed my legs forward, moving toward the neighbor’s house. I was prepared to run if I had to and I definitely didn’t want to go inside. I would just talk to her right there on the front doorstep. My nerves made me shaky as I stood in front of the door. Peeking inside would be a bad idea too after what happened. So I would just knock on the door and take my chances. I pushed the doorbell, but nothing happened. Oh, great, it didn’t work. Now I had to knock and hope that she heard me. I had a weak handshake and my door-knocking ability was even worse. I tried anyway, hoping she heard.
“What should we do if she doesn’t answer?” Dorothy asked behind me.
Naturally this startled me, and I screamed, almost falling off the front doorstep.
“What are you doing here, Dorothy?”
“I knew you’d come here so I decided to help you out. You don’t need to do these things alone. That’s what assistants are for.” Dorothy shifted her large straw pocketbook from one arm to the other.
“Is that what assistants are for? I thought they were for knitting me crochet smartphone holders and shoving peppermint candies in my mouth,” I said.
Dorothy narrowed her eyes. “Such sassiness. Did you have enough coffee this morning?”
“Never mind that. We can’t argue on this woman’s doorstep. She’s probably listening now,” I whispered.
“We could take a little looksee in the windows.” Dorothy wiggled her eyebrows.
“I definitely don’t think we need to look in the windows,” I said.
Dorothy stared at me.
I pushed my shoulders back. “No, really, we shouldn’t do that. It’s just crazy and it won’t solve any of our problems.”
Dorothy continued to stare at me.
“What good would it do?” I asked.
“We can find out if she’s really in there.” Dorothy quirked an eyebrow.
“If she sees us she’ll call the police,” I said.
“Or you might see something suspicious,” Dorothy said in a singsong voice.
“All right, one little peek around the side of the house.” I pinched my index finger and thumb together to indicate how much. “I’m not going to the back of the house.”
Unfortunately, she wasn’t coming to the door. I didn’t know if she wasn’t home or she was just avoiding us. The longer we waited in front of the door the more nervous I became, thinking that Jake would show up. Or even worse, Abby would come. What if the whole SWAT team appeared because the neighbor had called them and told them a murderer was on her front porch?
Dorothy held her hands up. “Oh, come on, Maggie, you know you want to.”
“Of course I want to, but I’m trying to stay out of trouble. And you’re not helping at all,” I said.
“I didn’t say do anything like breaking in, just take a look around.”
“All right, we have to hurry up,” I said, motioning.
When I reached for Dorothy’s arm to help her she pushed me away. “I’m not ready for a walker yet.”
“That step is steep. I was just trying to help.”
“If I need help I’ll let you know,” she said. “Besides, you’re the one who almost fell.”
Dorothy and I headed around the side of the house. The entire time I prayed that the neighbor wouldn’t see us. When we reached the first window Dorothy and I stopped. The blinds were open, which meant that if the woman was inside she could definitely see us.
Maybe it was a good idea if we got out of here. Before anything bad had a chance to happen, I moved forward, but noticed a black car pull into the driveway. It looked as if it was too late for us to get away. Had they sent the undercover police after me? I froze on the spot, unsure of what to do next. If I ran, I would definitely look guilty, but if I stayed, I would be arrested.
Two men got out of the car. They wore matching black suits and dark sunglasses. Was it the Men in Black? This wasn’t an episode of X-Files. My legs shook and I felt it difficult to breathe. I didn’t know if they were watching us because of the sunglasses. I assumed they were considering they were headed right for us. The slam of car doors echoed through the hot sticky air. Their footsteps sounded as the men walked along the stone paved path toward the house.
I tried to remain calm and not completely crumble right there on the spot. They stopped and peered around but didn’t remove the sunglasses. I really wished they’d take those things off so that I could read their expressions. Dorothy and I waited around the side of the house watching what we could only assume were police officers.
“What do we do now?” Dorothy whispered.
“I’m pretty sure we should hide, but I don’t know where,” I said.
“Why don’t we just stand here and not stare at them? Maybe they’ll go away.”
That was probably a good idea because I didn’t want to go in the backyard for fear of the unknown. There was no telling what was back there. The homeowner could have a big dog and that was the last thing I needed. Dorothy and I pressed our bodies up against the brick of the house and waited. My breathing was heavy and my heart rate up. Maybe they’d already seen us and knew where to find us.
Silence lingered for a while. I held my breath waiting for the men to appear around the side of the house. Instead we heard knocking at the door. Momentarily I released a deep breath. But when the woman didn’t answer the door I knew it would be over. They’d come around here and find us. The men waited. I was surprised they weren’t talking. A piercing ring sliced through the silence. It came from right beside me. Dorothy fumbled for her phone.
“Dorothy, when will you learn to turn that thing on silent?” I whispered.
“I can’t always feel it in my purse when it’s on silent.”
She had the ringer on full blast so that she could hear it. Now I knew for sure the men would come looking for us. All we could do was wait and hope they hadn’t heard it or run for our lives. Who was I kidding? There was no way they hadn’t heard that ring. Everyone had probably heard it, including the neighbors around us.
“How fast can you move?” I asked.
“Well, my hips have been pretty good today,” she whispered.
Actually, I knew she could move pretty fast. Just as fast as me. I needed to work on yoga or something to stretch out my muscles. Dorothy did her yoga almost every day at the at the retirement village community center. If I mentione
d yoga she’d want me to join her just as I’d joined her for the bingo games.
“All right, here’s what we’re going to do,” I said. “We’ll jump in the car and take off. We’re not going to show them anything.”
I hoped the men weren’t listening to us talk about making plans to flee the scene. Surely that would land us in jail. Jake wouldn’t want to get me out either. He might just toss up his hands and say that he gave up. I supposed I could see where he would be frustrated with me, but again, I was only doing my job.
Chapter 13
Dorothy and I made our move toward the car. I held her arm as we hurried away from our hiding spot. Our escape plan was short lived though. At the same time, the men headed around the side of the house. Dorothy and I came face to face with the men.
“Are you Annie Jensen?” the man asked.
I stared at him, momentarily speechless. If I didn’t hurry up he would think that I was Annie Jensen. Whoever that was.
“No,” I mumbled.
Did he believe me? Who was Annie? Was it the woman who lived here? Did I finally have her name? At least that would help me with the investigation. Jake didn’t want to tell me her name, but I had my ways of finding out. Wouldn’t he be surprised?
“Is Annie home?” the other man asked.
“I have no idea. I’m just selling magazines,” I said.
Again I used that line. But hey, as long as it worked why not use it, right? They stood there staring at me for a bit as if they didn’t believe me.
“She can show you her ID if you don’t believe her,” Dorothy said.
What? Why had she offered that? I really didn’t want them to have my name and address. Also, I should ask them who they were before I gave any identification. After all, they hadn’t asked for it specifically yet.
“Who are you anyway? Perhaps I shouldn’t show you my ID.”
At the same time the men pulled out their wallets and flashed badges. That meant nothing considering they’d moved so quickly and I hadn’t gotten a good look at them. Dorothy used her Walgreens shopping card all the time as a badge. Well, I supposed she’d learned that from me.
“My ID is in my car,” I said, hoping that they would just let it go.
“If you wouldn’t mind showing it to us that would be great,” the taller of the two men said.
Dorothy and I set off toward my car. We’d have to leave Dorothy’s car parked along the street and come back for it later. There was no way I’d get in the car with her driving. The men walked behind us. Adrenaline raced through me at the thought of what we were about to do. It would be a miracle if we actually pulled it off.
“I’ll show you my identification too,” Dorothy said with a smile.
The men remained expressionless. When we reached the car, I moved around the front to the driver’s side while Dorothy opened the passenger side door. Dorothy and I opened the car doors at the same time. Signaling to her, I nodded.
We leapt into action. Dorothy slid into the passenger seat and I jumped behind the steering wheel. When they realized what we were doing the men ran toward the car, yelling for us to stop. I cranked the engine and shoved it into drive.
“Go, go, go,” Dorothy screamed.
Until now I hadn’t thought about the fact that the men could just trace my license plate number. They’d know where to find me. I supposed I’d worry about that when or if it happened.
“Are they back there?” I asked without looking in the rearview mirror.
I was almost afraid to find out.
Dorothy strained to see over her shoulder. “They’re not coming.”
Releasing a deep breath, I temporarily relaxed, but I knew it wouldn’t last.
“Thank goodness. Maybe they’ll stay away,” I said. “What do you think they wanted with the woman? Apparently, Annie Jensen was her name.”
“I don’t know, but I’m just glad they were asking for her instead of me.”
“Maybe I should’ve showed them the ID after all,” I said.
“These peppermints aren’t going to cut it, Maggie,” Dorothy said. “I think we need something stronger. We need to stop for ice cream.”
I glanced over at her. “Ice cream? We’ve just been running from strange men. They could be with the FBI for all I know and now you want ice cream?”
“Well, why not?” Dorothy asked.
I sighed. “I suppose it’s a good idea. There’s a Dairy Queen right up the road.”
A few seconds later we pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot. When my phone rang and I glanced at the number, I knew I was in trouble.
“Oh, no, it’s Jake. Maybe I shouldn’t answer,” I said.
“He’ll just come find you. Go ahead and get it over with.” Dorothy moved her knitting needles in rhythmic sync.
I picked up the phone and tried to sound casual. “Hey, gorgeous.”
Okay, that sounded suspicious. I was terrible at this.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
At least I could be honest and say I was getting ice cream. That sounded innocent enough.
“Dorothy’s with me,” I added.
She waved her hands. “Don’t put me at the scene of the crime.”
What crime? There had been no crime. How long would it take before Jake mentioned Abby and the incident with the jacket? And maybe the men looking for Annie Jensen had already tracked down my license plate number. No, that was too soon.
“What are you up to right now? I guess you know I got a call from Abby,” Jake said.
I remained silent for a moment, trying to figure out exactly the right thing to say.
“I assumed she would call you,” I said. “She’s a rat.”
“What were you doing, Maggie?” Frustration filled Jake’s words.
“You know what I’m doing, Jake. Don’t play dumb.” I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel.
“Oh, I know what you’re doing. I just want you to tell me exactly what you did,” he said.
“My client has asked me to look into Luke’s murder. Now I think the second murder is connected.”
“He wanted to confirm his wife was cheating and now he wants to confirm that she didn’t murder her lover? I have to tell you, Maggie, that sounds awfully suspicious. Maybe I should check into your client even more.”
“Maybe you should. No, wait. Don’t do that. He’s completely innocent. He was nowhere near the area where either of the murders occurred. You need to look into the neighbor, Annie Jensen,” I said with a click of my tongue.
Sure, I sounded a bit smug. I was proud that I’d gotten her name. Jake would know that I had legitimate investigative skills. I’d lucked into getting her name, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Annie Jensen seemed really upset about what happened,” Jake said.
“Oh, and you believe that? I could see right through her act. She was into something, Jake. Where was she the whole time we were in the lawyer’s office?” I asked. “She was probably getting rid of evidence.”
Dorothy stretched her hand out, offering me a peppermint. I waved it off. She’d probably force it in my mouth soon.
“Why would she come back if she’d already gone?” Jake asked.
“I think she came back maybe to kill us,” I said.
“She said she ran out of the building when she saw you. If she wanted to kill you she would’ve done it then,” Jake said.
“Well, I just know she’s guilty of something,” I said.
“I know you’re trying to help, Maggie, but I don’t want you to jeopardize this case.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said.
“I’m getting another call. I have to let you go, but I’ll see you soon,” Jake said.
“I knew he wouldn’t buy it,” I said when I ended the call.
“What was that about?” Dorothy asked.
“He doesn’t want me investigating anything. Seems like he thinks I’ll mess up anything they have going on.”
“Well, he has a valid point, don’t you think?”
I frowned. “Whose side are you on, Dorothy?”
“Yours of course, dear.”
Trying to forget the call, Dorothy and I headed into the Dairy Queen. Dorothy would get her usual vanilla and I wanted a chocolate peanut butter something. Dorothy and I devoured our treats in silence. We were too busy for talking. While our treats made things momentarily better, when the ice cream was gone the feeling of dread returned. Plus, now I had a huge chocolate stain on my shirt from melting ice cream. It had been good while it lasted though.
“What’s next?” Dorothy asked, wiping her mouth with the paper napkin.
“I think we should visit one of Luke’s friends. I have to know more about Luke and find out any connection between the murders.”
Luke’s friend worked at a horse farm about a thirty-minute drive from where we were currently. Dorothy and I hurried back to the car and headed toward the farm. It was kind of odd that we were so close to town, yet in an area that was full of trees and fields for horses. We pulled down a long gravel driveway. On the left a white house stood back from the road just a bit. I drove down the dirt path toward the house. A black fence with a few horses grazing behind it was on the right.
“Be careful. There are alligators and snakes out here.” Dorothy pointed.
“The alligators wouldn’t come up here, would they?” I asked.
“Look at all the trees. There are plenty of places to hide,” Dorothy said with a wave of her hand.
I pulled to a stop. “Why don’t we just go together to the door and we’ll keep an eye out for each other.”
“All right, but just be careful and keep a lookout,” she warned me again.
We’d barely made it up to the house when I felt someone watching us. I looked to my left and saw a man staring at us. He didn’t offer to speak, but instead he eyed us up and down. This was extremely awkward.