by Rose Pressey
It was too late to get away. They were staring right at me. They got out of the car and walked over to where I stood. I swallowed hard, wondering what they would do to me.
The men smiled, but it seemed forced. I didn’t think they’d invite me to lunch. If they did I’d probably be going in the trunk of their car.
One had dark hair and was probably six foot. The other guy had short blond hair and stood a few inches taller. Both wore black pants and blazers.
“Good afternoon,” one of the men said.
I placed my hand on my hip. “What do you want?”
The black-haired man said, “Do you know Bill Dangerfield?”
I tapped my chin with my index finger. “Dangerfield, Dangerfield.”
“We saw you talking with him,” the black-haired man said.
So they had been following me too. This was disturbing.
“Look, I don’t know why you’re following me, but I can call the police right now.” I pulled my phone out.
“That won’t be necessary.” The man reached out and grabbed my phone.
I was so screwed. “Obviously, you know that I know him, so why did you ask?”
“We’re here to ask you for a favor.” He focused his dark eyes on me and smiled with a tight malevolence.
“A favor? Why should I do that for two strangers who just stole my phone?”
The men smiled. Did they do everything in unison? “You can have your phone back, but after you agree to help us.”
Something told me I didn’t want any part of this proposition.
“What are your names?” I demanded.
They exchanged a look. More than likely they wouldn’t give their real names if they told me any names at all.
The dark-haired one pointed at the blond. “That’s Russ, and I’m Doug.”
I tried to subdue the angry snarl that was forcing its way onto my mouth. “What is the favor?”
Doug pushed the windswept hair from his forehead. “It’s simple. We just need to you follow Bill Dangerfield.”
What were they up to? “Is he in some kind of trouble?”
Doug glanced at his phone. “No, not that we are aware of.”
“Then why do you want me to follow him?” I asked.
“We just need to know his whereabouts every day,” Doug said.
I shook my head. “I can’t agree to that. Now can I have my phone back, please?”
They stared and I didn’t know what their next move would be. I didn’t know what my next move would be either. I wondered how fast they could run.
“We’ll stop by to see if you change your mind.” Russ handed me the phone back.
How would they stop by to see if I changed my mind? Did they know where I lived? Of course I was on television, which made me easy to locate.
“I won’t change my mind,” I said.
He nodded. “We’ll see about that.”
This guy was so confident. I was even more stubborn though. When I said I wouldn’t do something I meant I wouldn’t do something. Even if it meant getting dirt on Dangerfield.
Of course, now I had to know what he was up to.
Doug and Russ turned around and climbed back into their car. I released a deep breath when they pulled away from the curb. I hoped I never ran into them again. I probably should warn Dangerfield that the men had asked me. It was the right thing to do. Maybe he would tell me why they were following him. Yeah, that was highly unlikely.
With a shaky hand, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my cousin’s number. She picked up on the first ring. It sounded as if she was in her car.
“Are you talking and driving again?” I asked.
“No, I pulled over, thank you very much.”
“Are you busy for lunch?” I asked.
“I have time. What’s up?” An edge of worry filled her voice.
“I think Dangerfield is in trouble.”
“With his ratings? You should sound happier about that,” she said.
“No, a couple men were following him and then they tracked me down.” I wondered if that sounded as crazy to her as it did to me.
“I’ll met you in the usual spot in ten minutes.” Courtney ended the call.
Chapter Seven
It only took me five minutes to walk to the café. It was a place that we frequented a lot. Gigi’s Bistro was at the corner of Bourbon and Royal Streets. I liked to sit at the outdoor tables and Courtney liked to sit inside. Unfortunately for her, there were no available tables inside today. I placed our orders and got the last table outside. We always got the same thing. I’d have the fish on rye and she’d have a grilled cheese. A nice breeze blew by and we’d have the shade of the building to keep the sun off of us while we ate.
When I looked up I saw her walking down the street. She wore a yellow sleeveless dress with pink and white flowers across the fabric. Courtney had always loved bright colors and dressing up. She marched toward me in her yellow wedge heels.
“Sorry there were no tables inside.” I gestured toward the building.
She peeked inside the window and then smiled. “Just had to make sure that you weren’t trying to trick me.”
Courtney sat across from me and the waiter brought our plates.
“So tell me everything,” she said and then took a big bite of her sandwich.
I filled her in on what had happened as I nibbled on my sandwich. I was a little too upset to eat.
“I have to say that is one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard. But then again, nothing really surprises me with you.”
I waved my sandwich in her direction. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“So what are you going to do?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I guess I’ll tell Dangerfield about what happened.”
“You guess? I think it is kind of important that you tell him.”
I waved off her comment and took a drink of water. “Sure. I just hope he tells me what they want.”
“So did you find any more voodoo in front of the neighbor’s place?”
“No, thank goodness.” I stabbed the food with my fork.
“Just be on the lookout and make sure they don’t leave it in front of your door.”
I was contemplating her words when I saw a man across the street. “Okay, don’t panic, but one of the men who was following me is across the street.” If I remembered correctly, his name was Doug.
She started to whip around to look, but I grabbed her hand and she stopped.
I didn’t take my eyes off him. “Don’t look yet. I want to see what he does next.”
“Maybe we should get out of here,” she said with panic in her voice.
I took a sip of my water. “We have to act casual.”
“Don’t you think that he knows you’ve seen him?” she asked.
“He doesn’t act as if he knows,” I said.
Before I had a chance to get up, he started to walk away.
“He’s leaving.” I placed my glass on the table.
She turned around and watched. “Have you ever seen him before today?”
I shook my head. “No, never.”
“Maybe you should call the police,” she said.
“After my encounter with Phillip West?” I paused. “Although there was the one who gave me the card and said to call if I needed anything.”
“The good-looking rookie? Marc Marquez?”
“That’s the one,” I said.
She placed her napkin on the table. “You should definitely call him.” She pushed to her feet. “You can call as we walk out of here. I’ll drive you wherever you need to go, but I don’t want you to walk right now. Not with that guy following you.”
We walked toward her car. She couldn’t stop looking back over her shoulder. “Is he still back there?”
I looked back. “No, he’s not there.”
“This has to have something to do with the investigative reporting.”
“I help people get m
oney back for products that don’t work. I hardly think it would be worth having someone follow us around.”
She opened the car door and slid behind the wheel. “Well, you just never know what people are capable of,” she said as I got into the passenger seat of her little convertible.
As she pulled away, I looked back. The streets were crowded, so it would be impossible to know if anyone was back there. “Things have been strange since I saw the cop dumping the body in the trunk.”
“Do you think the men following you are somehow related to that?” she asked.
I reapplied my pink petal lipstick. “I hadn’t thought about it until now, but Dangerfield was there that night. I think he knows more than he’s telling me.”
“With Dangerfield I’d say he probably does.”
Chapter Eight
After I climbed out of the car, I walked into my office building and dialed his number. My heart sped up. I didn’t even know what to say.
It rang several times. At this point I assumed that he wouldn’t answer.
Finally he picked up and said, “Officer Marquez.” His voice was just as sexy as the rest of him.
“Officer Marquez, this is Chase Charley. You pulled me over for… well, I’m not sure why, but I need to speak with you.”
“Of course I remember you. I’m glad you called. What can I do for you?”
I wanted to ask if he’d gotten new cards yet. Anyway, it was time for me to get to the point.
“You probably don’t know this, but I’m an investigative reporter.” I paused. “And, well, I wanted to know if you could get information about a license plate for me.” I rushed the last sentence.
Better to just get the question out there. Quick, but definitely not painless. I held my breath waiting for his answer. He released a deep breath. That wasn’t a good sign.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I hope you understand.”
I didn’t understand anything. Most of all, I didn’t understand why the bad cop had stopped me. Correction, I did understand—because the cop was trying to hide something. But I hadn’t seen anything other than a wrapped-up body that he claimed wasn’t a body at all.
“Are you still there?” Officer Marquez asked.
“Yes, I’m here.”
He could probably tell by my voice that I was frustrated. I had a bunch of questions and was getting zero answers.
“I want to help you any way I can, but I can’t just give out information like that. Are you in some kind of trouble?” he asked.
His voice was sincere, so I believed that he wanted to help me. He could help me by looking up the info and by telling me what his partner was hiding. I wondered if Officer West knew that Officer Marquez was talking with me. Probably not. What would Officer West say if he knew?
This conversation was getting me nowhere. I should have known that calling wouldn’t do any good. I had to try though because I was fresh out of ideas.
“Are you sure you aren’t in trouble?” Officer Marquez asked again.
“No, I’m not in any trouble, per se.” My voice didn’t sound all that confident. “I do have another question though.” I knew it was a long shot that he would answer this either.
“Okay, what is the other question?” His voice was tinged with concern.
“What about the cop who stopped me? Officer West? He must have said something about me.” I rushed the words out as if that would make Officer Marquez answer truthfully.
I knew by his pause that Officer West had, but would Officer Marquez be truthful and tell me what he had said?
“I really don’t know much about what is going on with him. We haven’t been working together very long. As you probably remember.”
Oh, yes, there was that card thing again. In spite of myself, I found myself fascinated by this man. And I wasn’t even sure why. I didn’t know him, but maybe that was what I was fascinated about.
“That is kind of a vague answer, but I will take that to mean that he did tell you something about me. Does it have anything to do with what I saw the other night?” I asked.
“Can we meet?”
I rolled his question around in my mind for a couple seconds. I needed to question him, but what if he was just as bad as the other cop? “No, I don’t think I can do that today.”
“Okay, what about tomorrow?” he asked with a sweetness to his voice.
I switched the phone to my other ear and waved as a colleague walked by. “I think I am all booked up.” Why was I telling him no? Maybe if I met with him I could get him to reveal what he knew. After all, that was my goal, right? That was if he really knew anything.
“If you’re sure you don’t have time, I know this great little place where we could have dinner tonight,” he said.
I paused and then said, “Wait. Let me check my schedule.” I held the phone away from my ear for a second and pretended to check my calendar. “Oh, it looks like I’m free after all. Dinner would be okay.”
After much debate, I convinced myself that this was a good idea. Maybe I would regret that in the end.
“Great. I’ll pick you up at eight?”
I glanced at the time on my computer screen. “Actually, I can meet you there. I have a few things to take care of first.”
“That’s fine. Just name the spot,” he said.
“I thought you said you knew a great place?” I switched the phone to my other ear.
“There’s a little place called Bayona, have you heard of it?”
“Yes, I know the place. I’ll meet you there at eight?”
“Sounds great. See you then.” With that he hung up the phone.
When I hung up, I realized that I had just agreed to meet him at one of the most romantic restaurants in New Orleans. I hoped he didn’t get the wrong impression.
After hanging up, I made a phone call and found out that the home I’d been to last night no longer belonged to the actor Bentley Miles, but had been sold to a man named Michael Hook. Now I’d have to find out about this man. I finished up work, shut off my computer, and eased out of the office. Oscar was on the phone, so he didn’t notice me. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to avoid him forever.
As I walked down the street, I looked over my shoulder to make sure Doug and Russ weren’t back there. I still needed to call Dangerfield. That was one call I was not looking forward to placing. He would be so smug about the fact that I’d called him.
And now I was on my way to dinner with Officer Marquez. I still couldn’t believe that I had convinced myself that meeting with him was a good idea. What if Phillip West was with him? I definitely didn’t want to run into him again. He probably didn’t want to see me either.
Chapter Nine
Courtney helped me select a dress for this evening. The dress she pulled out of my closet hit just above the knees and had cap sleeves and a small ruffle around the collar.
“I told you it isn’t a date.” I shimmied into the black dress and then added my pearls.
“It doesn’t matter. You can’t go out with a good-looking guy wearing your favorite t-shirt and gym shorts.” Courtney lounged in the cream-colored chair by my bed.
I suppose she did have a point. After slipping into my black heels, I spun around. “How do I look?”
Courtney spritzed the Lauren for Her by Ralph Lauren perfume in my direction. “Fantastic. Now have a great time.” Another classic from the eighties.
We walked toward the door. I eased open the door and stuck my head out. Mrs. Perkins was nowhere in sight and the voodoo stuff wasn’t there either.
“Looks like it’s safe,” I said, motioning over my shoulder.
“How long do you have to hide from her?” Courtney asked as she followed me outside.
“Until someone stops leaving stuff by her door, I guess.”
Courtney hugged me. “Call me if anything exciting happens. Even if it’s early in the morning.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not likely. It’s a business dinner.”
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Courtney waved over her shoulder as she walked the opposite direction toward her car. “If you say so.”
I tossed my vintage Gucci satchel handbag onto the passenger seat and then climbed into my car for the drive to the restaurant. There was no way I was walking that far in these heels.
I would be embarrassed if he showed up dressed more casually than me, which was a very distinct possibility. After the short drive to Canal Street, I parked in front of the place and walked in.
The restaurant had a patio with black tables and chairs with umbrellas on each one. I scanned the area, but didn’t see Officer Marquez. I walked into the restaurant. There were tables and chairs scattered about the room. The place was full so it would make it very difficult to pick him out of the crowd.
The hostess looked up and greeted me.
“I’m looking for Mr. Marquez.” I felt bad that I couldn’t even remember his first name. It was on the card, but I didn’t want to pull it out of my purse right there.
She looked down at a piece of paper, trying to find his name. I took that opportunity to scan the crowd again. That was when I spotted him across the room at a little table beside the kitchen door. This may have been Officer Marquez’s favorite place, but that obviously didn’t mean that he got special seating. He was looking right at me. The host pointed toward the small table across the room. Officer Marquez waved and I waved back.
“Thank you, but I found him.”
She’d barely looked up from her paper when I made my way across the room toward Officer Marquez. I was in trouble if I didn’t think of his first name soon.
He stood as I neared the table. Officer Marquez looked dashing in his black pants and black shirt. The solid black outfit accentuated his mysterious aura. His black hair was military short, but still thick and nice to run fingers through. Officer Marquez was blatantly sexy with his dark bedroom eyes and sensuous full mouth. The promise of hard, lean muscle teased me from underneath his clothing.
He pulled out the chair for me. “I’m glad you made it.”
“Sorry I was a little late.” I sat, placing my handbag on the table next to me.