I grabbed my drink and headed for the door, but stopped in my tracks when a man entered the room. He looked me up and down. I couldn’t gauge his expression, but finally he smiled at me.
“Hello. My name is Justin Mack.” He stuck out his hand. He wore black pants, a white shirt and a tie.
I shook his hand. “I’m Maggie Thomas. I’m a new waitress here.”
“Nice to meet you, Maggie. I’m the owner of this place,” he said.
I wondered if he noticed my shocked expression. “Oh, it’s nice to meet you. I wondered if we’d meet.”
He quirked a brow. “What makes you say that? You wanted to meet me?”
I chuckled. “No, I just heard about you and I thought maybe you weren’t real.”
He frowned. I think the more I talked the less he liked me.
“Well, I’d better get back to work,” I said, gesturing toward the door.
“Your name sounds familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?” He frowned.
“No, I don’t think so.” I looked at the door and wished that I could leave now before he figured out that my name had been in the newspaper article about Kristen’s death.
“You don’t look familiar, but your name…” He stared at me.
I decided I would use this time to gauge his reaction to the mention of his partner’s name, since it didn’t seem like I would get away from him anytime soon. “Do you run this restaurant all by yourself? That’s a lot of work.” I eyed him for his reaction.
He frowned. “No—well, I do now, but I had a partner. She died recently.”
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. Did he have a connection to the boat that I’d seen? “You must really like boats since you have the restaurant right at the marina.” I stared at him.
He looked at me with a long pause, then said, “Yes, I do like boats.”
“Do you have a boat?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes, I have a boat. You ask a lot of questions.”
I chuckled. “Oh, I’m just too talkative, I guess. My father had a boat too.”
He didn’t respond—well, not with words at least. His expression looked as if he wanted me to stop talking to him.
“I guess I’d better get back to work.” I gestured over my shoulder.
Once he nodded, I hurried out of the room. I was pretty sure he was still staring at me.
Chapter Fifteen
I’d been back at work for only a few minutes when I spotted Jake coming in the restaurant. How did he know I was there? He looked handsome as usual in a pair of beige pants and a white shirt. It appeared that he was alone and I was thankful that he hadn’t brought a date to the restaurant. I knew I looked like hell and I smelled like shrimp. He was standing by the door and I didn’t think he’d noticed me yet. He looked around when the hostess asked him a question.
To my chagrin, the hostess was now bringing Jake in my direction. I had to hide. Grabbing a nearby tray, I raised it to hide my face and hurried across the room. I weaved around a couple tables and almost tripped over a chair. Thank goodness I didn’t fall face first onto the floor. The thought had barely slipped from my mind when I stumbled over my own clumsy feet and dropped the tray.
A loud clang rang out as I steadied myself. I hadn’t fallen, but the tray had hit the edge of the table on its way down and had knocked over a glass of water. I was afraid to look over because I knew everyone including Jake would be watching me.
Avoiding him was no longer an option and I glanced over. Sure enough, Jake’s gaze was fixed on me. He frowned and then hurried over to me. “What are you doing here?”
He looked me up and down. There was no way to hide the fact that I was wearing the uniform. I instinctively looked over at the bar and noticed Dorothy watching us. She was shaking her head at my obvious blunder. Jake followed my gaze and noticed Dorothy. His eyes widened. She waved at him.
“What’s Dorothy doing behind the bar?” he asked.
I grabbed Jake’s arm and pulled him to the side. “We’re undercover,” I whispered.
His expression didn’t change for a moment, and then he burst out laughing.
I scowled. “What is so funny?”
When he finally stopped laughing, he said, “The fact that you’re undercover.”
I glared at him. “I don’t think it’s funny. I’m trying to get to the bottom of this crime and help my client.”
He nodded and regained his composure. “Okay, you’re right, it’s not funny. I just want you to know that I don’t approve of what you’re doing, but since I know you’re hard-headed, I won’t tell you to stop.”
“Well, it’s a good thing because I wouldn’t have stopped anyway. So what are you doing here?” I asked.
“I came for dinner.” He smiled widely.
I quirked my brow. Now that I thought about it, Jake had been here the night I saw the boat. Maybe he wasn’t being completely honest with me.
The manager was shooting dirty looks at me from across the room. “I guess I have to go back to work.” I gestured over my shoulder.
“I hope I get to sit in your section,” he said with a smile.
That was the last thing I wanted.
“Is everything okay over here?” the manager asked when he approached.
“Yes, I was just telling him about the specials for the day,” I said with a smile.
Jake held back a laugh.
“I think your customers are waiting for refills,” the manager said with a frown.
He walked away and Jake gave me a pitying look.
“It’s all in a day’s work,” I said.
“Just stay out of trouble, okay?” He searched my eyes.
“You know I will,” I said over my shoulder as I walked away.
While I filled my tray with sodas, Jake went back to the hostess and thank goodness she didn’t put him in my section. I’d have to thank her for that later. The whole time I waited on the tables I felt Jake’s eyes on me.
When the crowd began to thin out, Jake came over to me. “You’ll call me if you need anything?”
I nodded as I picked up dirty dishes from a table. “Yeah, I’ll call you. Everything will be fine, Jake.”
He ran his hand through his hair and nodded.
“Did you find out anything else about Kristin’s murder?”
He looked around the room and then back at me, but he didn’t answer my question.
“You didn’t come here for dinner, did you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”
“Are you going to tell me why you came here?”
“Well, Ms. Grant was co-owner of this place.” He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the table.
“Yeah, I know. But there’s more to your visit than that. You’re not telling me everything,” I said as I picked up a plate from the table next to us.
“I can’t tell some things.” Jake frowned.
“Can’t or won’t?” I asked.
“What time do you get off?” he asked.
I glanced at the clock on the wall. “In an hour.”
“I’ll call you, okay?” He touched my hand softly.
I nodded and watched as Jake walked out of the restaurant.
Chapter Sixteen
After finishing up the last table, I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Not just because I wanted to talk with Jake either.
I’d just changed out of my uniform when the waitress walked into the room. I’d finally found out her name was Megan Cass. I had to get this woman to talk with me so that I could confirm that she was the one that I’d overheard.
“It was busy tonight, huh?” I asked as I shoved my uniform in my bag.
She looked at me and nodded. I knew she could talk, so why was she refusing to speak to me?
“My name is Maggie, by the way.” I stuck out my hand. I wasn’t going to stop until she spoke.
She stared at me, then finally took my hand. “My name is Megan.”
&n
bsp; When she spoke I knew it was the woman I’d overheard. I recognized her voice. This was my chance to ask questions.
I tossed my bag onto my shoulder. “So have you worked here long?”
“Um, yeah, a little while.” She opened a locker and didn’t look at me.
Okay, so that question hadn’t gone over as well as I’d hoped. I’d try again. “Are you from around here?”
That was a stupid question, but her icy demeanor was throwing me off. Just as I was about to ask yet another question, her cell phone rang. She picked it up at record speed. Yeah, I knew she was relieved that she’d been saved by the ring.
“Hi, Mom,” she said.
I knew when I’d been defeated, so I headed out into the dining room area again. Dorothy was still talking to people at the bar, so I decided to step outside. I’d almost made it to the door when I saw him. It was the man from the boat outside on the deck again. I hurried to the door and rushed outside.
When I rounded the corner, he had vanished. He couldn’t have gotten very far. I glanced back to see if his boat was there, but I only saw one small boat on the dock. If he’d come here on a boat it wasn’t the one I’d seen him on before. Why was he back here again?
One thing was for sure: I had to go after him. I raced down the sidewalk and made my way out to the parking lot. I scanned the area, but he was nowhere in sight. How could he have gotten away so quickly? Had he gotten into a car? I hadn’t seen one drive away. I moved over behind the building and looked around. There was nothing back there but a Dumpster. It looked as if he’d gotten away.
When I moved back around to the sidewalk, I spotted him. He was sitting inside a car talking with another man. The man had his back to me so I couldn’t tell who it was.
I inched my way down the sidewalk so that I could get a better look. The last thing I needed was for the men to spot me so I moved behind a car. I had a nice view from there and could watch the men. That was when I got a look at the other man’s face. It was one of the other employees. So he did know someone at the restaurant. And this was the guy who had been talking to Megan. This wasn’t a coincidence. I had to find out who the man was and why he was talking to the employees.
My attention was so focused on the two men in the car that I didn’t notice the manager when he popped out from the restaurant.
“What are you doing?” he asked with a scowl.
I hurried over to him. “Did you need something?”
“You forgot to close out your tickets,” he said.
Now I wouldn’t get the chance to find out what the men were talking about. Reluctantly I followed the manager back into the restaurant. Just before I headed through the door, I glanced back at the men. They were still engrossed in their conversation. Maybe if I hurried, I could get back out there before they left. Should I have called Jake?
After closing out the tickets in record time, I rushed back outside onto the sidewalk. Neither of the men were in the car, although the car was still in the same spot in the parking lot. I’d have to find the employee tomorrow and uncover what his connection was with that man, plus figure out who that man was.
Dorothy was still inside, so I’d have to drag her away from the customers who liked to hang around the bar too long after we closed. Of course she loved to entertain them with her stories and they seemed to love to hear them.
I stepped over to the bar and noticed another employee. It wasn’t the waiter who’d been talking to the man outside, but I knew this guy seemed to be friends with everyone in the restaurant.
I gestured over my shoulder. “Did you happen to see a man outside? He’s tall with dark hair and one of the other servers was out there talking to him.”
He looked at me with a scowl. “Sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about. There are a lot of men with that description.”
Yeah, he was telling me. The employee walked away and I turned back to the door. I ran my hand through my hair and contemplated my next move. It seemed as if my investigation was going nowhere. I’d better come up with something soon if I wanted to help Mr. Grant. Speaking of which, I needed to pay him a visit. Would he know the women in the photo?
The sound of footsteps walking up behind caught my attention and I whipped around. Another male employee had stepped up behind me. He was probably around twenty-one years old and had shoulder-length blond hair.
“How are things going since you started working here?” He smiled widely.
I was shocked that he’d taken the time to speak to me. Everyone seemed to think of Dorothy and me as strangers. I mean, we were, but still…Dorothy’s laughter carried across the room. She was laughing with some of the employees and I realized that I was the only one who they were treating as a stranger. I hoped that she was getting some useful information out of them. I shrugged. “It’s been a little stressful, but I guess I’m getting the hang of it.”
“Have you waited tables before?” he asked with a frown.
It was probably obvious that I hadn’t. “A little,” I answered vaguely. “Hey, by the way, I noticed some of the boats out there. Did you happen to notice one with Vida written on the back?”
His eyes widened. “Yeah, I’ve seen that one.” He looked around. “I’ve heard rumors about that boat.”
I leaned in closer. “Really? Like what?” This might be the break I’d been waiting for.
“I heard that the boat carries drugs,” he whispered.
My eyes widened. Now that was something. “Does it come by here often?” I asked.
“Yes, a lot. I think the owner is friends with a couple of the employees.”
Immediately Megan and the male employee came to mind. I suspected as much since the man from the boat had been talking to him. I couldn’t ask too many questions because this guy would be suspicious. Plus, when I glanced up I noticed that Megan was watching us. Did she suspect what we were talking about?
He glanced over his shoulder, and then said, “I think the guy keeps his boat over at the marina. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
I met his gaze. Why was he giving me this information? “Are you working tomorrow?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes. Listen, I think my ride is waiting for me. I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked with a big smile.
“Sure, I’ll see you then.”
Megan continued to watch me as I walked over to the bar, but I pretended not to notice her. Dorothy and I needed to get out of there. If only I could get her away from her captive audience long enough.
“Oh, hi, Maggie. How were your tips tonight?” she asked with a giggle. The other employees looked at me.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked. When the others weren’t watching me, I motioned with a tilt of my head toward the door.
Dorothy scowled, and then she finally realized what I was trying to tell her. “Oh, well, it’s getting late and I have knitting to catch up on. I’ll see you youngsters later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“See you later, Dorothy. Thanks for the drinking game,” one of the guys said.
“I don’t think we should get too friendly with everyone,” I said as I walked toward the door.
“How else do you think I’ll get any information out of them?” She placed her hands on her hips.
“I know, but if we get too friendly they’ll start asking a lot of questions, then you’ll have to answer those questions. The more we tell them the harder it is to keep track,” I said.
Actually the harder it would be for her to keep track, but I didn’t tell Dorothy that.
“I found out that the boat comes here a lot. Apparently it has something to do with drugs. The man is friends with those two we overheard in the break room. I have to find this guy and go to him,” I said.
“You can’t see a drug dealer,” she said.
Dorothy and I made our way across the parking lot. “I have to go,” I said. “Besides, just because I go doesn’t mean I’ll talk with him. It just means that I’ll snoop around.”
“That’s even worse. It’s an easy way to get yourself hurt.”
I waved off her concern. “I’ll be just fine.”
“Have you shared any of this info with Jake?” she asked.
“No, and I don’t intend to.”
“This isn’t a competition. Maybe if you share with him he will share with you.”
I frowned. “I doubt it.”
“I thought he said he would help you.”
“Yeah, well, just the same, I’m not telling him just yet. I want to see what I can find out first.”
She shook her head. “I just hope you don’t get yourself into a pickle. What did he mean when he said drugs were involved?”
“I don’t know. I guess selling them?” I pulled my car keys from my purse.
“How would Kristin have been involved in that?”
“I don’t know. Do you think she was buying the drugs from him?” I asked.
“Anything is possible, I’m afraid. That poor Mr. Grant. I wish there was a way we could shield him from all of this,” Dorothy said with a frown.
As I neared my car, I noticed a black shadow around the front of the car.
“Someone is messing around with my car,” I said as I took off across the parking lot. The sound of Dorothy’s shoes clicking behind me echoed across the night. “Hey, you! Get away from my car,” I yelled.
Was this person trying to steal my car? I knew I should have parked it under a light. Everything was dark, but I guessed that this was a man. The person looked up and noticed us running toward him. I looked back and noticed that Dorothy was swinging her pocket book through the air. I guess that was her warning signal that this person had better run for their lives.
The man took off across the lot so quickly that there was no way I would catch up with them. When I made it to my car, I looked around, but everything seemed to be okay…for now.
Chapter Seventeen
Murder is a Beach (Maggie, PI Mysteries) Page 7