Killer Beach Reads

by Gemma Halliday Publishing

  "Is that…" Kelly gaped.

  "A dead guy?" I planted my hands on my hips. "Yes. I've called 9-1-1. Kelly, go get the manager, and hurry. Before someone ignores the sign on the door, like you two did, and comes in and sees this. " I motioned to the dead guy again.

  Kelly hurried out of the room.

  Mandy was quiet. Too quiet.

  "Are you alright?" I asked. Mandy was my receptionist. Seeing a dead body wasn't in her job description. While I'd only come across a dead body once before now, during my training, I was still a bit more prepared.

  "That, that's Derek," she stuttered. I turned to look at her.

  Her face was pale, and she swayed on her feet. I grasped her arm and backed her up to lean against the sink for support.

  "As in your handsy dance partner Derek?" I asked.

  She nodded and swallowed hard.

  "What happened to him?" she asked.

  I turned back to the body, but kept a safe distance away as I looked it over. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Are you sure this is Derek?"

  "Yeah. Same clothes, same hair, same face." She nodded emphatically. "Except when I saw him last, he was a lot less…dead." She waved a hand halfheartedly in his direction.

  "I think someone strangled him," I said, more to myself than to Mandy. "Look at that nasty red mark around his throat." I pointed.

  "Why would someone strangle him?"

  "I don't have a clue." I shook my head. "Did he talk to anyone while you were with him tonight?"

  "No. Well, yeah, for a second. A guy came over to him while we were dancing. He whispered something in Derek's ear and pointed toward the door."

  "And?"

  "Derek looked toward the door, frowned, then when I asked if everything was alright, he grinned and said everything was fine."

  "You didn't see what he was looking at?"

  She shook her head.

  Could Derek have been looking at the person who killed him?

  I stepped back. A moment later Kelly rushed in with the manager and two police officers in tow.

  The manager and officers came to stand beside Mandy and myself and looked into the stall. The manager was the first to speak. "Oh my God! There's a dead guy in there!" he practically shouted in my face. "How did he get there?" He pointed a shaky finger at the stall. His mouth continued to move, flapping like a flounder out of water, as he tried, but failed, to form more words. "Th-That's a dead guy," he finally managed to sputter.

  "How should I know?" I shrugged. "I just came in to use the restroom and found him that way."

  "Are you the one who called this in?"

  I nodded. "I'm Barb Jackson."

  "I'm Officer Jenkins. This is my partner, Officer Roberts."

  "You seem awfully calm for someone who just found a body, Ms. Jackson."

  "I'm a private investigator. I've been trained to see this kind of thing." I was leaving out the part where this was only the second dead body I had ever seen. He was already looking at me as if I was full of it. I didn't need to add fuel to the flames.

  "We're going to need to ask you and your friends some questions and get a statement from you." Officer Jenkins said.

  "I'll take care of that."

  I whirled around and came face-to-face with my maybe-boyfriend, detective Tyler Black.

  He looked as yummy as ever in a dark blue T-shirt, jeans, and boots. His black hair was a bit disheveled and his strong jaw held a five o'clock shadow. If we hadn't been standing in the presence of a dead guy in the middle of the women's restroom, I might have had trouble keeping my lips to myself.

  The officers nodded and immediately backed away.

  "Clear this place out and get it shut down. A forensics team and the medical examiner are already on their way." Tyler barked orders at the officers.

  He glanced at Kelly and Mandy, then back to me. "Are you alright?"

  "We're fine."

  He reached out and pulled me into his arms for a brief, hard hug, then sat me away from him with his hands still on my shoulders. "Tell me what happened."

  "We came to the club tonight for a girls' night out. We were about to leave but I needed to use the restroom. I noticed the toe of a man's shoe sticking out from under the stall door. I had an uneasy feeling, so I pushed the stall open and found him." I pointed to dead Derek.

  He nodded. "None of you touched anything, did you?"

  I shook my head. "Only where I pushed the door open." I pointed to where I'd placed my fingertips on the door to open it.

  Tyler removed his hands from my shoulders and turned toward the body. He stepped inside the stall, and against my better judgment, I stepped just inside the stall door.

  Tyler looked closely at the body, but didn't touch him. "Did any of you three know this guy?"

  "I danced with him," Mandy said from her perch against the sink. "I had to use the restroom, and we were supposed to meet back at the bar, but when I came out I couldn't find him so I went back to the table with Barb and Kelly."

  "What do you think happened?" I asked.

  Tyler stood and placed his hands on his hips. "I can't say for certain, but it looks to me as though someone strangled him. Look at the ligature marks around his neck and how badly his eyes are bloodshot."

  I nodded. "I thought the same thing."

  He raised his eyebrows. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

  "I said I didn't touch anything. I never said I didn't look. I am an investigator, you know. It's in my nature to solve a mystery."

  Tyler herded me out of the stall. "I understand that, really I do, but what do you say you let me handle this one?"

  I peered up into his glittering blue eyes. As much as I wanted to know what happened to Derek the dead guy, I hadn't been hired to work this case. I'd just so happened to stumble upon a dead body, so letting the cops do their job and take this one was fine with me.

  "I say fine. You can handle this one, but only because I'm not getting paid," I teased. I know, standing over a dead body was totally not the time to tease and be coy, but I couldn't help myself. Tyler had a way about him that sent my good senses flitting about.

  "Good," he chuckled. "Now that that's settled, I'm going to have to ask you all some questions."

  We all nodded.

  "Where's the body?"

  We looked toward the door as the forensics team streamed into the restroom carrying big cases of equipment and wearing paper booties on their feet.

  "Let's move this out to the main room." Tyler put his hand against the small of my back, waved Kelly and Mandy toward the door, and guided me from the room.

  The club had emptied quickly. I guess the mention of a dead guy in the ladies' room killed the party mood.

  The club was actually a bit eerie without the music bumping and the dance floor filled with laughing, happy people, and, in the bright light, it wasn't nearly as attractive. The black floor wasn't glittering with the reflection of multicolored lights, and the leather couches lost some of their sex appeal.

  Tyler led us to the bar. We took a seat on stools. Tyler stood in front of us and pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen.

  "Alright, so one of you tell me why you were here tonight."

  "Barb works too much so we thought we'd take her out for a girls' night," Kelly answered.

  Tyler looked up from his notepad. "I can't argue with you there."

  "I thought you were questioning us about the dead guy, not my work habits."

  The corner of his mouth tilted up momentarily before he rubbed his finger over his lips as though trying to rub away the hint of a smile.

  "Right." he put his cop face back on. "So you were having a night out and then what?"

  "We all danced. I was dancing with some schlub, Barb with some Brazilian, and Mandy was dancing with the dead guy, Derek," Kelly continued.

  "Brazilian?" Tyler pierced me with a glare.

  Apparently, alcohol loosened Kelly's tongue. That was definitely a piece of information that I n
eeded to file away for future reference.

  I rolled my eyes. "His name was Rocco, he wore too much cologne and was after more than a dance. I, on the other hand, was only interested in a dance. I kind of have this cop that I'm seeing." I winked at him.

  I could've been mistaken, but I thought I saw a hint of relief in his expression before he schooled his features. "You said you danced with the victim?"

  Mandy nodded. "Only a couple of times."

  "Did you two talk?"

  She nodded. "Only a little bit. He said he wasn't married and that his name was Derek. I didn't get a last name."

  "Is that all?"

  "No."

  Mandy told Tyler what she'd told me earlier about Derek being approached by someone and his reaction to what, or whom, he was looking at near the entrance.

  "You didn't see what he was looking at?"

  She shook her head. "No. The place was so crowded."

  "How did the two of you lose touch?" Tyler scribbled on his note pad.

  Mandy wrung her hands in her lap. "He said he wanted to talk, get to know each other a bit more. I excused myself to the restroom and was supposed to meet him back at the bar, but when I got back he was gone. I waited around a few minutes, then gave up and met back up with Barb and Kelly at our table."

  Tyler nodded his head, his expression deep in thought. "He didn't happen to say if he was here with anyone, did he? Friends, coworkers?"

  Mandy shook her head. "No, he said he was alone."

  I immediately wondered if Derek had lied to Mandy. If he were in fact alone at the club, why would someone approach him and draw his attention to the door? The person who approached him had to have been someone he knew. But why would he lie?

  "Can you think of anything else?"

  She shook her head.

  "Did you notice anything strange?" he asked me.

  "Not really. I've had an uneasy feeling since just before we came in, but I chalked it up to this place not being my cup of tea. I guess I should've trusted my gut and went home earlier."

  "I wish you would have." He ran his fingers through his hair. "It tends to complicate things when your girlfriend finds a dead body." He flipped his notebook shut and shoved it back into his pocket. "You'll each have to fill out a written statement. Normally, as late as it is, I'd let you wait until morning, but I need you to do it now while everything is still fresh in your minds. I'll finish up here and drive you to the station."

  "We can drive ourselves," I said. "We brought Kelly's car. Just meet us at the station if you get out of here before we finish up there."

  "I'll call and let them know that you're coming. I might be a while here. There are several more people to question."

  I hopped off the stool and slung the strap of my purse over my shoulder. While Kelly and Mandy followed suit, Tyler pulled me to the side.

  "Are you sure you're alright?"

  "I'm fine, really," I assured him, but his expression remained grim. "Is there something I should know?"

  He pressed his lips together then blew out a breath. "No, not yet, but with your friend having spent time with the victim this evening, and quite possibly being the last one to see him alive, things could turn ugly for her if she doesn't have a solid alibi for the time of the murder."

  "But she was with us, and Mandy can't kill a fly without crying a little. There's no way she killed Derek."

  "She wasn't with you the entire time," he said. "She said she needed to use the restroom, then when she came out, he was gone. The body was found in the restroom shortly after she exited it and met back up with the two of you. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

  Unfortunately, I did. Mandy was away from Kelly and myself for at least thirty minutes. If Mandy didn't have a solid witness to state that she wasn't with Derek at the time of his death, then she could, and most likely would, be named a suspect in his murder. Neither Kelly nor I knew exactly where she'd been during Derek's murder, so our word was zero help. Even we had lost track of her for a short time.

  All we could do was hope that the medical examiner determined Derek's time of death was after Mandy met back up with us at the table. I bit my lip, then reached into my purse for a piece of gum but came up empty.

  "Here."

  I looked up and found Tyler holding out a piece of my favorite watermelon Bubblicious.

  Chewing gum for me was like smoking for some people. It calmed my nerves and helped me think.

  "When did you start chewing bubblegum?"

  "I don't. But you do." He smiled, but it barely reached his eyes.

  I wanted to take a moment to revel in how sweet it was that he'd started carrying my favorite gum, just in case I needed it, and how moments before he'd called me his girlfriend, but I couldn't. The reality that Mandy could be in real trouble if this mess wasn't sorted out soon was sitting heavy on my chest like an anvil from one of those old cartoons.

  "Thanks." I tried to smile, but I'm sure it came off more as a grimace.

  "We'll get this sorted out." He stepped closer to me and pulled me into his arms. "I'll question everyone I can get my hands on. Someone has to have seen Mandy while Derek was being killed."

  I melted into him for a brief moment. The feel of his strong arms around me made me feel safe and eased my tension, if only briefly. I stepped back and looked up at him. "Surely this place has surveillance. Mandy has to be on the tape somewhere." My hopes were that the surveillance tape would show Mandy…preferably not killing anyone.

  "I'm going to find out. Until then, get down to the station and give your written statements. I'll call you as soon as I know something."

  I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss on his lips. "Be careful."

  "You too."

  I turned away from him, motioned to Kelly and Mandy, and headed toward the door. We exited the club and made our way to the valet at the curb. One of the officers we'd talked to in the restroom nodded to the valet, and he rushed off to get Kelly's car.

  "What did Tyler say?" Mandy asked.

  I wanted to tell her that there was nothing to be worried about, but I couldn't bring myself to lie to her.

  "You were, as far as we know, the last person to see Derek alive." If she wasn't pale before, she certainly was now.

  "But the last time I saw him, he was alive. Very much alive."

  "I know that, and you know that, but if we can't prove that you were back at the table with us at the time of Derek's murder…"

  "She could be named a suspect," Kelly finished for me. "But that's ridiculous. There's no way Mandy could kill anyone, and she and Derek appeared to be having a good time. Anyone Tyler questions that saw them together would have to have seen that."

  The valet pulled up with Kelly's car, and we all piled inside.

  "Let's just get to the station, fill out our statements, and head back to my place. Tyler is questioning everyone and said he is going to look at the surveillance tapes as soon as he can. He's good at his job. He'll prove that Mandy was with us, and everything will be just fine."

  Mandy leaned back against her seat and sighed. "You're right. I didn't kill Derek, and Tyler will prove it. There's nothing to worry about."

  But my gut said otherwise. I couldn't stop thinking about what Mandy had said about the man who approached Derek. What or whom had he pointed at, and why?

  Nothing was adding up, and when things didn't add up, innocent people tended to get hurt.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Even after Tyler had called ahead to let the station know that we were coming in to give our statements, there was still a three-hour wait and a line a mile long. Apparently, there were several other patrons of the club who'd been instructed by other officers to give their statements as well. My mind eased a fraction. Surely one of those people would have seen Derek enter the women's room with someone other than Mandy.

  We'd been ushered into a cramped room, given a paper and pen, and told to write down everything we remembered about the night, about D
erek, and about finding the body.

  "I don't ever want to do that again." Kelly groaned as she kicked off her shoes and trudged through my living room toward the couch where she collapsed on her stomach, her feet dangling over the arm, her left arm dangling off the side.

  "It was a bit crazy," Mandy agreed as she too kicked off her shoes and fell into my favorite oversized chair. "Have you heard anything from Tyler?"

  "No," I made my way to the kitchen and the coffeepot. There was really no reason to go to bed just yet. We hadn't left the club until after one o'clock, and then spent the next three hours at the station. It was nearing five o'clock in the morning, and despite the long night we'd just had, my mind wouldn't shut off. I knew that this wasn't my case, but Mandy was my friend, and if there was even a slight chance that she was in trouble, I wanted to do all that I could to help her.

  I prepared the coffeepot and took three mugs from the cabinet before making my way back to the living room.

  "Do you think they'll name me as a suspect?" Mandy nibbled her thumbnail.

  "No. They have to have some kind of proof before they can name you a suspect, and since you all you did was dance with the guy, there isn't any evidence to find," Kelly answered.

  "Not necessarily."

  All eyes were on me. "You were all over each other, and while that's not a crime, I can't remember seeing either of you with anyone else tonight. People saw you two together. Then there's the matter of you disappearing on us."

  "Disappearing on you? I didn't disappear on you." She raised her eyebrows.

  "Okay, maybe disappeared was the wrong word, but there was a short period of time where neither of us knew where you were. When we got back to the table we scanned the floor but couldn't find you."

  "I was in the restroom. You must've at least seen Derek at the bar where I left him."

  I shook my head. "No. He wasn't there, but just as we were about to leave the table to come look for you, we saw you leaving the bar. I know you said you and Derek were supposed to meet there." I held up a hand before she could interrupt me. "But whether any of us like it or not, there's a window, albeit a small window, of time that you weren't with us, and that's something the police will latch onto if they don't find the real killer right off the bat."