by Rose Pressey
“Your coffee’s ready,” the barista said, handing me the cup.
I picked up my coffee and headed out the door. I’d already caused enough of a scene.
“Thank you,” I said, and then hurried across the café toward the exit.
Of course plenty of people stared at me as I left. The show was over though so no reason to stare. I attempted to smile. Finally, I stepped out onto the sidewalk. Thank goodness April wasn’t waiting for me. She would probably come up with some other scheme before she tracked me down again. I needed to call Courtney right away and tell her what had happened.
Chapter 27
Luckily, I avoided Oscar when I walked through the office. As soon as I sat down at my desk someone called out my name. I peeked over the cubicle and a co-worker was pointing me out to a man with a dozen roses.
“Chase Charley?” he asked when he approached.
“Yes?”
He shoved the vase toward me. “These are for you.”
I took the flowers and placed them on my desk. “Thank you. Just a second.” I grabbed my bag and pulled out a few dollars and handed him a tip.
He turned and walked away. I glanced over at the flowers and then at Ruth. She smirked, but went back to her work.
Who had sent them? This was a pleasant surprise. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a flower delivery. My ex-husband had given me flowers for my birthday once. Not since then had he bought me flowers. He said it was a waste of money that we should spend on important things like a new car for him or a boat. Needless to say, he could have a car and boat on his own. We’d divorced not long after that.
I stepped closer to the vase, and leaned down, taking a big whiff. The perfumed scent filled my senses. The red flowers hadn’t quite bloomed yet, so I would get to enjoy them for a number of days.
There was a card sticking up from the middle of the flowers. I pulled it out and ripped open the envelope. I couldn’t wait to see who had sent the flowers. When I read the card, I was no closer to knowing who had sent them then I was before.
All the card said was, I am looking forward to seeing you.
Who was I supposed to see? I didn’t have a date. I would have to call and ask. It would be awkward if I called Marc and he hadn’t sent the flowers. But surely if I called he would mention it right away.
Since I knew it was either Marc or Dangerfield, I had to call. My curiosity would not let it go. I had a feeling that the flowers were from Dangerfield. But why would he send me flowers? He didn’t seem like the sentimental type.
Unfortunately, during my call to Dangerfield he didn’t mention the flowers. I might have another mystery on my hands. Could the flowers be from the same man who’d left the notes? I hoped not, but it was looking like that was the case.
Before I had a chance to call Marc, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my purse. Marc’s number was displayed on the screen.
I knew my voice sounded nervous as soon as I spoke. “Good morning.”
“I hope you’re okay this morning,” he said.
I thought about Dangerfield’s kiss, and then I remembered that he meant about the notes and almost being hit by a car.
“I’m fine, thank you,” I said.
“I have some information for you,” he said.
“Is it about the stalker who tried to run over me?” I asked with hope.
“Unfortunately, no, but you will be interested.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“We found Tim’s car. There was a gun inside and we believe it was the murder weapon.”
“Wow. That is great news. Why would the killer leave the murder weapon?”
“I’m not sure, but that’s not all,” Marc said.
“You arrested someone?” I asked.
“Well, not exactly, but there were fingerprints on the gun that we matched with a suspect.”
My heart rate sped up. “Who is it?”
“The man’s name is Jeff. He hasn’t been apprehended yet though.”
I almost dropped the phone. “I saw him. At Haley Swanson’s house.”
I knew Marc would want to know why I was at Haley’s house. Then I would have to tell him that I was there with Dangerfield. I just hoped that he didn’t ask.
“You saw him?” Marc asked.
“Yes, I spoke with him. Well, he was confrontational. He wanted money from Mrs. Swanson. She said that he wanted to borrow money from her husband, but Tim refused. I guess Jeff has a different story though. All I know was he wasn’t happy and seemed ready to snap.”
“It sounds like he already snapped,” Marc said.
“So that means the case is solved then?” I asked.
A wave of relief washed over me. I couldn’t wait to tell Haley. I wondered if the police had already contacted her. Now I just needed to find out who tried to run over me. Haley could relax though. She needed that after losing her husband.
“I don’t know if we can say the case is closed just yet considering he hasn’t been arrested. We still have work to do.”
“Why hasn’t he been arrested?” I asked.
“Jeff hasn’t been found. We don’t know where he is. That’s why I am shocked to find out that you saw him.”
“He couldn’t have gotten too far then if he was just at Haley’s house.”
“We’re on the case and have officers out looking for him. Please let me know if you have any other run-ins with him,” Marc said.
“I hardly think I will see him again,” I said.
At least that was what I told Marc. Of course, now I needed to see if I could find Jeff. I wondered if Courtney was ready for a little detective work. I wasn’t about to call Dangerfield. It was safer to keep my distance from him. I’d solve this case on my own and avoid his kisses.
I hung up with Marc and immediately started thinking about what I should do next. Marc had warned me not to do anything that would get me in trouble. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep that promise.
Chapter 28
As soon as I hung up with Marc, I dialed Haley’s number.
“I guess you heard the news,” she said when she answered.
“Yes, I just heard. It’s scary to think that we were just talking to Jeff.”
“He probably came to kill me. You saved my life,” she said.
I hadn’t thought of that until now. I really was glad we’d shown up when we did.
“I just can’t shake this feeling though,” she said.
“That’s understandable after all you’ve been through,” I said.
“It’s not that, it’s just that I don’t think Jeff did this.”
I was shocked to hear her admit that. “What makes you say that?” I asked.
She sighed. “Like I said, I don’t know, it’s just a feeling. I’m sure it will go away. The bad part is they haven’t found him.”
“That’s where I come in,” I said. “I figured since it’s Sunday and I have the day off I can try to find him. Do you know where he lives?” I asked.
“I called someone I know and they said he left for Gulf Shores,” she said.
“He must have left right after he was at your house. I just hope he really is gone and the police catch him before he come back,” I said.
“Me too,” she said.
I knew by her voice that she still had something on her mind.
“Maybe I should go to Gulf Shores and see if I can find him,” I said.
“You know, Tim’s sister Kristine lives there. She knows Jeff too. I hope he wasn’t going to see her.”
“Have you called her?” I asked.
“I tried, but she didn’t answer. I know she is getting ready to come here for the funeral. Maybe she already left.”
Since it was just over a three-hour drive, I figured I’d go check it out. “I’d better hurry if I’m going.” I wrote down the address for Tim’s sister and then hung up.
My next call was to Courtney. “It’s time for a road trip. Are you busy?” I asked.
“Gulf Shores,” I said.
“The beach? I’m in.”
“It’s not exactly a vacation,” I said.
“With you that was already a given,” she said. “But still, I will be able to see the water. When do we leave?”
“Right now. I’m on my way to pick you up.”
“I definitely don’t need my bikini?” she asked.
“Sorry, I don’t think so.”
“I’ll see you in a few,” she said.
I hung up and immediately grabbed my purse.
“You haven’t been home a lot,” Mrs. Perkins said when I stepped out of my apartment. “Does this have anything to do with that strange man who’s been coming around here?”
“Well, since I don’t know who the strange man is, I can’t say for sure,” I said. “Has he been back around?”
She nodded. “I saw him stop by just yesterday.”
I locked my door. “Thanks, Mrs. Perkins.”
It was concerning that this man was coming around, but right now I had other things to worry about. Could this man be the one who had tried to run over me? That was a scary thought.
After I picked up Courtney, we set out for our road trip. Courtney cranked up the music to try to take my mind off what had been going on the past few days. I took this time to tell her about what had happened with Dangerfield.
“Is he a good kisser?” she asked.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“What about Marc?” she asked.
“I don’t know what to think. I guess I don’t have to make a decision right now. I can keep ignoring the situation and maybe the decision will be made for me,” I said.
“Yeah, because that always works out,” she said.
Before we knew it we had arrived. There was one road leading into down and it ended at the beach. I used the car’s GPS to find Tim’s sister’s house. It was about three streets back from the beach. There was a busy highway between her house and the beach, but you could still see the water from the deck of her house. The house was light blue with no grass in the yard, only sand.
“Do you think she’s here?” Courtney asked.
“There’s a car in the driveway,” I said as we climbed the stairs up to the front door.
I knocked and after a second, a woman opened the door.
“You must be Chase,” she said. “Haley called and told me you were stopping by.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said. “Kristine Michaels, this is my friend Courtney.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said. “Would you all like to come in?”
“Sure, thanks for taking the time to talk with me,” I said.
We stepped into the house. It was basically one open space with the living room at the front and the kitchen and dining area at the back. The smell of incense lingered in the air.
“Do you feel like you’re in danger?” I asked.
Kristine looked down at her feet. “I mean, my brother was killed, so of course it is natural for me to feel that way.”
“You mentioned you thought someone was trying to kill you. Why did you think that?”
She avoided looking at me. “I’m not sure what was going on. Apparently, it was just my imagination. As you can see, nothing has happened to me.”
She looked over at me and I felt there was something she wasn’t telling me. How would I get her to be honest? I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t being completely honest with me, but I knew there was more to this story. Just as Marc said. I felt it too. She wasn’t telling me everything.
“Are you sure there isn’t something else you would like to tell me?”
She shot me a frustrated look. “There is nothing else.”
I knew she was getting angry with me, so I didn’t want to push any more. If I was wrong, then it would be terrible to continue to harass her with questions. The whole thing seemed strange though. If she knew her brother had been killed then why would she keep secrets? It wouldn’t help her, would it?
“Someone tried to run you off the road a year ago?” I asked.
“Yes, but it was probably just a crazy driver.”
“Was there something else before that?”
“You know, I really don’t want to talk about this.”
I couldn’t understand why, but I couldn’t force her to tell me everything. If she thought it was connected to her brother’s killer wouldn’t she want to do everything to find that person? If I was in that situation, I would want to track down every clue. It was frustrating to have something potentially helpful, but not being able to know everything. Like it was just out of my reach.
A noise sounded from my right. A dark-haired man walked toward us. He wore blue shorts with no shirt. His skin was tan from time on the beach. He was thin with little muscle.
“This is my husband, Dean.” Kristine gestured.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, sticking his hand out to shake.
“Would you like to sit down?” Kristine asked.
“Thank you,” I said.
Courtney and I sat on the sand-colored sofa.
“I have to tell you right away that Jeff came by here,” Kristine said.
I slid forward on the sofa. “What did he say?”
“I don’t know, we didn’t answer the door.”
“That’s probably a good thing.”
“Of course Dean wanted to confront him.”
“He has no business here,” Dean said.
“I guess he doesn’t know that the police are looking for him. Do you think he is still in town?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Could be.”
Dean walked closer to where we sat. “He likes to fish. I bet he’s probably at the pier.”
“Thanks for talking to us,” I said. Courtney and I walked over to the door.
“We’re headed to New Orleans. Please keep us posted if you find him.”
I nodded. “I will.”
Courtney and I made it back down to the car.
I got behind the wheel and fastened my seatbelt. “I guess we will go to the beach after all.”
“Well, we did drive all this way. We have to look for him. After all, that’s the reason we came here in the first place.”
I started the car. “Yes, that is the reason. We can have a quick look around town.”
We pulled out onto the main highway and headed in the direction of the pier.
“We should stop for water,” Courtney said, pointing to the store on the right across from the beach.
The sun had heated up the day and sweat formed on my face. I pulled into the parking lot and we hopped out. Once on the deck of the store, I looked across the street toward the beach. In between the tall condo buildings, I spotted a sliver of the water. The blue sparkled, inviting me to come closer. Courtney looked over longingly.
“Let’s get our water and back to work,” I said.
We stepped into the air-conditioned space. A few people wearing beach attire and flipflops wandered around the store. The woman behind the counter waved at us. Courtney and I grabbed bottles of water and headed for the register.
“You two don’t look like you’re headed for the beach,” she said as she rang up our purchase.
I handed her a couple dollars. “Actually, I have a question for you. Have you seen this man?” I handed her the photo I’d printed off from my computer.
She took the paper and peered down for a moment. “As a matter of fact, I saw him this morning. He came in here and bought bait.”
I exchanged a look with Courtney.
“Thank you,” I said as I grabbed the water and took the photo back from her.
She watched us as we walked outside and climbed into the car.
“Dean was right about the fishing. I hope he’s still there,” I said as I started the car.
Courtney looked at her watch. “It’s two now. It’s been a while, so he m
ight not be there.”
I pulled out onto the highway and drove the short distance down the road to the pier. We parked across the street. After a few cars passed, Courtney and I ran across the highway toward the pier. People were still by the water fishing, but I knew that a lot had probably already left for the day. We walked across the sand and reached the pier.
“We should walk all the way down,” I said.
“I’ll look on one side and you look on the other,” she said.
We studied faces as we made the walk all the way to the end, but Jeff was nowhere in sight.
I brushed the hair out of my eyes. “Looks like he’s already gone.”
“Maybe we can go to a few other places in town and see if he’s been around,” she said.
I nodded. “It can’t hurt.”
Courtney looked out across the beach longingly. “I need a vacation.”
“You and me both.” I looped my arm through hers and guided back toward the road.
We’d made it halfway across the beach when I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Look who it is,” Courtney said at that exact moment.
“Maybe if I act like I don’t see him he’ll go away,” I said.
“He’s looking right at us,” she said.
She was right, Dangerfield was staring at me as he walked across the beach. He had that sly smile on his face. There was no way to get away from him.
“Well, imagine seeing you here,” he said as he approached us.
“Are you following me?” I asked.
Dangerfield looked to Courtney. “Good afternoon.” He smiled at her and she practically swooned. “I talked with Haley Swanson and she told me you were coming here.”
“We didn’t find Jeff, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“You should have told me you were coming,” he said.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing,” I said.
“The woman at the store said she sold Jeff bait this morning. We figured we might find him here fishing,” Courtney said.