“Your phone is ringing,” Dorothy said.
“Well, I’m a little busy right now. They’ll have to leave a message. I’m trying to save myself from the sharks,” I yelled.
Dorothy rolled her eyes. “I’ve never seen anyone freak out as much as you. You should be ashamed.” She wiggled her finger.
Really? Dorothy was shaming me right now. I was in the middle of the freaking Atlantic Ocean. Personally, I thought she should have already called the Coast Guard. How the heck was she going to help pull me up onto the boat?
With lots of kicking and struggle, I made my way over to the boat again.
“Aren’t you going to give me a hand?” I asked breathlessly.
“Can’t you just use the ladder over there?” Dorothy pointed.
“Yeah, I guess that would be the more practical way of getting back on the boat. Forget about calling the Coast Guard.”
She snorted. “I wasn’t going to call them anyway.”
After what seemed like an eternity, I made it to the little ladder on the side of the boat. I was sure I felt a shark brush past my legs again. Dorothy ran over to me as I climbed up onto the boat. I hoisted one leg over the side and then the other.
“You really shouldn’t have leaned over the side like that,” she said with a frown.
“Yeah, that’s sage advice that I will make sure to file away for future reference.”
My phone rang again and Dorothy and I exchanged a look. It was a look that said we knew we were doing something that we never wanted to tell anyone about. It would be our little secret. No one had to know what had happened out there today.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I was shocked that my purse hadn’t somehow tumbled over the side of the boat too. I reached in and grabbed the phone. When I saw the number on the screen, I almost tossed the phone over the side of the boat. Why was Jake Jackson calling me now? There was no way he knew what we were doing…or did he? I looked around for another boat. I refused to believe that he could have discovered our little plan.
“Who is it?” Dorothy leaned closer.
“It’s Jake.”
“Aren’t you going to answer?” she asked.
“I’m afraid he’ll know what we’re doing,” I said.
“He can’t possibly know,” she said.
I sucked in a deep breath and clicked on the phone.
“Are you okay?” he immediately asked.
I glanced around again as if I expected him to be standing behind me on the boat. “Yes,” I said, my voice wavering. “Why do you ask?” I chuckled nervously.
“I got a call from another detective who happened to be at the marina. He was out on his boat and said he thought the boat you went out on was doing circles in the water. Is that possible, Maggie?” he asked.
Oh heavens. Did Jake have spies all over town? There was no point in lying because I knew he’d find out the truth.
“Well, if you must know, then yes. Dorothy and I went out on a boat,” I said with confidence in my voice.
He snorted.
“What is so funny about that?” I asked as I stood soaked from falling in the water.
“Who was driving the boat?” he asked.
“Dorothy.”
Dorothy tugged on my shirt. “Who is it?”
“Oh…are you back on dry land?” he asked with a worried tone.
“Well, not exactly, but we’re on our way,” I said.
“Do you need help? Should I call the Coast Guard?” he asked.
“No, I don’t think so, we’ll be fine. I’ll call you soon.” I hung up before he had a chance to ask any more questions.
“I think this trip is definitely over. We have to abandon our mission. Besides, the boat is long gone, anyway,” I said.
I hurried over and jumped onto the seat behind the steering wheel before Dorothy had a chance to claim it again. I didn’t know if I’d be any better at driving, but I wanted to give it a try.
“Well, if you think my driving is so bad then we’ll just see how you do. It’s not as easy as it looks,” Dorothy said with a flip of her hand.
“I never said it looked easy because I think it looks hard. Why do you think I was worried from the beginning?” I asked.
I maneuvered the boat and after some struggle, it was headed in the right direction. I’d lined it up with the dock and had a straight shot in. All I had to do was coast forward. When I finally had it in place, I realized I’d been holding my breath. It was a wonder I hadn’t passed out from lack of oxygen.
“I thought you said you knew how to drive a boat,” the man said with a frown when I handed him the key.
“Dorothy told you she knew how. I never said anything like that,” I said as I walked away from him.
When Dorothy and I reached the end of the dock, Jake was standing there, waiting for me.
“Oh, great, are you here to arrest me? I swear I had permission to use the boat. Well, Dorothy had permission, unless she made that up.” I looked at Dorothy.
“Of course I didn’t make it up. Would I ever do something like that?” she said with an innocent smile.
Jake stepped closer. “Are you okay?” He brushed the wet hair off my forehead.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“You look like hell,” he said.
I glared at him. “Thanks for confirming what I already suspected.”
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” he asked.
I started walking toward the parking lot. I needed out of the wet clothes. “Dorothy isn’t a very good driver, that’s what happened,” I said.
“Did you actually fall off the boat?” He looked me up and down.
I nodded. “Yes, I did. All the way in the water.”
He chuckled and I cut him a look. “Sorry. What were you doing out there?”
“We had a lead on the boat that I saw that night.”
“Why didn’t you call me? I could have checked it out for you. I thought we were going to share info now,” he said.
“You were serious about that?”
He stared at me as if he was a little offended that I would even ask that question. “Of course I was serious. Did you find the boat?”
“No, after I fell off the boat we abandoned the mission,” I said.
“That’s probably for the best,” he said. “Give me the information you have and I’ll check it out, okay?”
I shrugged. “I guess I can do that, but you’d think you could find out some of this on your own.”
I leaned against my car and Jake stepped closer.
“I’m glad you’re okay. You had me worried,” he said.
I met his gaze. Jake leaned in and placed his lips on mine. The air was sucked from my lungs more so than when I was under water. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. I broke away when I heard the car door behind me.
When I glanced over my shoulder, Dorothy was already sitting in the car with taking her knitting needles out of her purse. She waved when she noticed us watching her. Jake laughed.
“I guess I should drive Dorothy home,” I said, motioning toward her with a tilt of my head.
“No more boat rides tonight?” he asked.
I nodded. “No, I need to get out of these clothes.”
Jake soaked up my appearance and my heart sped up. After a minute, he touched my cheek and I opened the car door.
“I’ll call you,” he said.
I nodded. “Talk to you soon.”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Dorothy said when I got into the car.
“That’s quite all right,” I said as I turned the ignition.
“It’s about time you stopped avoiding your feelings for him,” she said.
“I don’t know what my feelings are, but I’m not ignoring them,” I said.
“Well, you’d better figure them out soon before you lose him,” she said.
I dropped Dorothy off at her home and made my way back over to my apartment. I tried
to think about my next move. As much as I tried to think about the case thoughts of Jake popped into my head. His kiss lingered on my lips.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The next day, Dorothy and I drove the short distance to the jewelry store to pay a visit to Mr. Grant. I hadn’t spoken with him since the first day, although we’d exchanged voice mails. I really needed to speak with him in person.
Mr. Grant was the only person I had left to ask about the woman and man in the picture. We circled around the block a few times until I found a parking space near, and then made our way down the sidewalk. Dorothy was walking just a little faster than usual.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” I asked with a smile.
Dorothy didn’t look at me. “I’m just curious to hear what he has to say.”
“Yeah, sure, that’s why you’re in a hurry,” I said.
She snorted, but didn’t refute my statement. The jewelry store was small, but the inventory was fairly jam-packed. There was a large selection. We stepped in to the store and looked around for Mr. Grant. There were a handful of customers and a few employees assisting them.
“I’m not a fan of diamonds,” Dorothy said as we looked around.
“Oh yeah, why?” I asked.
“Just seems like an overrated stone to me. I’d rather have a ruby,” she said.
We made eye contact with one of the employees. He nodded, letting us know he’d be right over to help us. I didn’t want to take him away from a paying customer, but I couldn’t get Mr. Grant’s attention.
Dorothy was most interested in what Mr. Grant was doing. She inched closer to the back of the room in order to get a better look at him.
“He does look handsome in his suit, doesn’t he?” she asked.
I nodded. “He does look nice.”
We went from display case to display case and I began to think that maybe we should come back at a different time. Maybe I should have called first to let him know we were on our way. I just needed to ask him about the picture and I would be on my way. It was probably a wasted trip anyway because what would he be able to tell me about this picture? It was very little to go on.
Nevertheless, I hoped that maybe he could provide more details about his granddaughter. Any little detail might be just the clue that I needed to crack this case.
Dorothy and I were still looking around the store when she poked me in the side. I glared at her.
“Do you see that man over there?” she asked?
I glanced over to her left. “The one with the spikey blonde hair wearing a tie?”
She nodded. “Yeah, that’s the one.
“What about him?” I asked.
Dorothy looked to her left and then to her right as if to see if anyone else listened to our conversation. When she was satisfied no one was listening, she leaned closer to me. “I think he is going to rob this place.”
My eyes widened. “What on earth makes you think that?” I asked.
“Just look at the way he’s looking at all the stuff and then he keeps looking around at all the people.” Dorothy said, pointing at him again.
“I think they could say the same thing about us,” I said.
Dorothy stared at me for a moment, and then finally she waved her hand. “Don’t be silly. I am serious. You should keep your eye on him.”
I had no idea why Dorothy was suspicious of this man. So what if he was looking around. He may have been looking for help with the jewelry.
Dorothy motioned over her shoulder. “We should follow him around.”
“I don’t think we should follow him around. He will call the police and tell them that a couple of women are stalking him. Maybe he’ll think we’re trying to rob him.” I shook my head. “I don’t want that to happen.”
“What if we stop him from robbing this place and we save the day? Morton will be so happy. Don’t you want to make your customers happy?” she asked.
“Yes, of course he will be happy. And yes, I want to make my customers happy, but I really don’t think that will happen,” I said.
And I thought I had a vivid imagination, but Dorothy had me beat.
Dorothy stepped closer to the man and then she motioned for me to come over where she stood.
I reluctantly went over there. “What is it?”
“See that, he has a gun.” She pointed with a tilt of her head.
I looked at the man and, sure enough, noticed the gun at his waistband. “I’m pretty sure he’s probably a policeman,” I said. The gun was poking out from under his shirt.
“I don’t think so. Did you see his beady little eyes?” She narrowed her eyes.
“No, I didn’t,” I said.
“Well, you should look a little closer.”
Before I answered, Dorothy marched over to the man. I prayed that she wasn’t going to confront him. When she tapped him on the shoulder, I figured we were in trouble. We’d get kicked out of the store before I had any of my questions answered. I rushed over to try to stop her before it got out of hand.
“What are you doing, Dorothy?” I asked through a fake smile.
“Oh, I’m just talking to this man,” she said with a wave of her hand.
He stared at us. I couldn’t read his expression. I didn’t know if he was mad or just confused. What had she said to him?
“We should leave the man alone,” I said.
“I’m just helping him pick out jewelry,” she said with a smile.
I stared for a beat, and then said, “Well, I really need your help.”
“That’s okay, I think I know which one I want. You can help her,” he said.
I pulled on Dorothy’s arm. “What did you say to him?” I asked when we stepped away.
“I asked him who he was buying jewelry for and he didn’t have an answer,” she said.
“He doesn’t have to answer you,” I said. “Maybe he’s just not that friendly. It happens.”
Dorothy tapped the first employee she found on the shoulder. The man turned around and looked at her.
“May I help you?” he asked.
“I just wanted to alert you that that man over there has a gun. I think you need to contact the police right away.”
The male employee smiled. Just then the other man started walking toward us. Suddenly I just wanted to get out of the store. I needed an escape door or something. Unfortunately, I didn’t have one, so I’d have to deal with this situation.
The man approached. “I’m sorry for upsetting you, ladies. I work security for the store.”
I stared at Dorothy. “See, I told you he was fine.”
She blushed. “Oh, I’m sorry. But you do have those beady eyes.”
It was time to get Dorothy away from there. We needed to speak with Mr. Grant and then get out of there.
“Again I’m sorry if I frightened you, ladies,” he said.
I waved my hand. “That’s okay. We’re just being vigilant. The employee had stepped way.
“We’re just going to step over here and look around. Thanks again,” I said with a wave of my hand.
He nodded. “I told you he wasn’t robbing the place.”
“Well, you can never be too careful,” Dorothy said.
We made our way all the way to the back of the store and there was nowhere else for us to go unless to the back office. We had to wait patiently which Dorothy was having a hard time with that.
After another minute, we made eye contact with a woman. She smiled and hurried over.
“May I help you?” she asked with a squeaky voice.
Her hair was a bright blonde and she wore a tight blue pant suit. Her lips were painted a bright red. She was probably a little younger than Dorothy, but they were almost the same age.
“We’re here to see Mr. Grant,” I sad.
“Oh, is he expecting you?” She looked from me to Dorothy.
“We don’t have an appointment, but I know he’ll want to see us,” I said.
“Yes, he’ll be happy to see
us,” Dorothy added, eyeing the woman up and down. Uh-oh. I knew that Dorothy didn’t like this woman already.
“I’m sure he’ll just be a few more minutes,” the employee said.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Have you known Mr. Grant long?” she asked.
I exchanged a look with Dorothy. “We have business with him,” I said.
She stared at me for a moment and then said, “Oh, are you the private eye? He told me all about you last night when we went to dinner.”
The expression on Dorothy’s face changed instantly. No, Dorothy didn’t like this woman one bit.
“So you know about his granddaughter?” I asked.
“Oh yes, of course, it is just terrible. I know he tried to help her, but some people just don’t want help, you know? She seemed to be doing so well though. I think she had her own demons, but then don’t we all,” she said.
I nodded. “I suppose.”
“My name is Annie Merrick, by the way. I’ve been working here with Morty for a long time.”
I glanced over at Dorothy. She was pretending to look in one of the display cases, but I knew she was all ears.
“So you’re close friends with Mr. Grant?” I asked. Dorothy looked over when I asked that question.
“Oh yes, we’re very close.” Annie smiled coyly. I didn’t want to be rude and ask if they were an item. It didn’t look as if she was going to offer the information either.
“Morty is such a wonderful man,” she said.
Apparently, she had a nickname for him. This didn’t look like it was going in Dorothy’s favor. Dorothy’s face had turned a shade redder.
“I do hope you can help him. I hate to see him so upset,” Annie added.
“Well, it’s understandable considering he just lost his granddaughter,” I said.
Annie nodded. “Yes, but I’m glad you’re trying to help him.” She smiled. “You know, I can help you. I always wanted to be a private eye.”
I stared at her.
She nodded. “If you need anything just let me know.” Maybe I’d take her up on that offer. Since it seemed that she was so close to Mr. Grant, maybe she could offer information as well. It was worth a try, although I knew Dorothy wouldn’t be happy with that. It was always good to have inside information.
Murder is a Beach (Maggie, PI Mysteries) Page 12