by Rose Pressey
“I’m not leaving my car here,” I said, looking at him like he’d lost his mind.
He blew out a deep breath and then said, “Okay, well let me follow you home.”
Yeah, he’d like that, wouldn’t he?
“Private eyes don’t have escorts home. I’m tough. I can handle it,” I said with determination in my voice.
I wouldn’t let him think I was a damsel in distress. I was a professional and I wanted him to treat me as such.
The women had gone back into the condo. The police still lingered around. I was just thankful that Jake hadn’t thought to have my car towed as evidence. He’d have even more of an excuse to drive me home then.
I climbed behind the wheel and closed the door. Jake leaned down and stared at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You’ll tell me if anything else like this happens?” he asked.
I crossed my fingers so that he couldn’t see them. “Of course I will.” I smiled.
“Why don’t I believe you?” he asked as he looked at me suspiciously.
I shrugged. “I guess you have trust issues.”
He smiled.
Chapter Twenty-Three
While on my way home that night, the creepy sensation of someone following me had overcome me. I’d been careful and not taken the usual path home. I’d even watched in the rearview mirror, and never saw a car following me, or so I’d thought. Still, that feeling was stuck with me.
I’d finally found a spot on the street and jumped out, looking around the dark night. Palm fronds brushed against tree trunks and a ruffling of bushes nearby made me jump. I hurried out of the car and up to my apartment. I glanced over my shoulder multiple times. I was just being paranoid. I pulled my gun out of its holster just so I’d be prepared if anyone showed up and tried to cause me a problem.
Once inside my apartment, I secured the door and peeked out the window. I scanned the area. When I looked to my right, I spotted movement around the palm trees. Someone stepped out of the shadows and walked away from the apartment.
So someone had been watching me after all. The person wasn’t as muscular as the bodybuilders, so I knew it wasn’t them. Unfortunately, it was dark and I couldn’t make out any features, only that I knew it was a man. I sleep with my weapons by the bed. Things were getting too scary. What would my father have done in this situation?
I kicked off my shoes and cranked the AC up. I considered myself lucky that the place had air conditioning—even if it didn’t work well. It made a groaning noise all night long, as if it just wanted me to put it out of its misery, but I’d gotten used to the noise after a few days and now it was almost soothing in a weird way. I collapsed onto the bed and the next thing I knew, morning broke across my face.
When I stepped through the door of my office, Dorothy was waiting for me by the door. I clutched my chest. “What are you trying to do? Scare the hell out of me?”
“I saw you coming across the parking lot.” She grabbed my arm. “Come on. We have a mission and it involves going to that gym and finding those men.”
How could I say no to that?
At least we hadn’t been followed on our way to the gym. Well, I was pretty sure no one had followed us. I glanced around the parking lot as I hurried across, but so far it seemed safe. Though an abundance of people working out filled the room, there was no sign of the men when I stepped into the gym. .
“There you are.” Erich pointed at me as I made my way across the gym. “I figured you’d never come back again. Was my workout too much for you?” he asked with a creepy smile.
“Yeah. I had a leg cramp,” I said, pointing toward my leg.
“You’ve just got to work through it,” he said, while looking me up and down.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Look, I’m not here to talk about working out,” I said, while glancing around to see who might be watching us.
His face lit up and I instantly knew that this guy thought he was getting laid. He probably thought I was going to slip into the locker room with him and do it right there. He stepped closer and I backed up a couple steps.
I’d printed off one of the pictures I’d taken of the goon who’d been following me.
I pulled the photo from my pocket. “Do you recognize this guy?”
He frowned and took the photo from my outstretched hand. His brow drew together in concentration as he studied the photo. Finally, he looked up at me. His expression had changed. It was no longer at ease.
He shook his head. “I’ve never seen him.”
I studied Erich’s face. I knew he wasn’t being truthful with me, but what could I do? I couldn’t force him to tell me the truth.
I gave him the widest, sweetest smile. “Are you sure you’ve never seen him?”
He frowned and shook his head frantically. “Nope.”
Okay, I hadn’t really expected him to fall for the fake smile.
“I have another client. I have to go.” He turned and hurried away, disappearing into the men’s locker room.
“Coward,” I called out across the gym.
No one even looked up at my comment. They were still too consumed by their pecs.
“Having problems?” a male voice asked from over my shoulder.
I spun around to find the guy who had landed face first off the treadmill.
“Yeah, you could say that,” I said around a sigh.
“That guy isn’t much of a personal trainer, huh?” he asked with a slight smile.
I shook my head. “No, not really.” With the guy still staring at me, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask if he’d seen my suspect. “Have you seen this guy?”
He took the photo from my hand, but his expression didn’t sink the way that my trainer’s had.
“Yeah, he’s in here all the time. Why are you looking for him?” He met my gaze.
“It’s a private matter,” I said.
He shook his head. “Fair enough.”
“So I see you didn’t have any lasting damage from the other day.” I pointed at his legs.
He chuckled. “That was not one of my finer moments.”
If he’d seen this guy, then I had to push for more details.
“Do you happen to know this man’s name?” I asked innocently.
He stared at me for a moment. “You have his picture, but you don’t know his name?”
I looked around the room to see who might be listening to our conversation. Then I remembered where we were and I knew that no one would bother to listen in.
But I lowered my voice just in case. “Okay, fine. I’m a private investigator and I’ve been hired to find him.”
That wasn’t entirely a lie. I was a private eye, but I didn’t want him to know that this guy had been stalking me. But now I had turned the tables and was stalking him.
His eyebrows rose. “Interesting. A private investigator. That’s cool. His name is Chuck, but I don’t know the last name. Sorry.”
I stuffed the picture back in my pocket. “Thanks. That helps a lot.”
“No problem,” he said as he ran his hand through his hair. “My name’s Keith Manchester.”
“Maggie Thomas,” I said with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said with a smile.
Keith had only offered the man’s first name, but it was definitely better than nothing. I needed to act on this newly discovered information right away.
“Well, thanks for the information and it was really nice talking with you, but I have to go now,” I said as I motioned toward the door.
As I walked away, he asked, “Will I see you again?”
I looked back and smiled. “Maybe.”
Now I had his first name, but what would I do with that? As I walked by the front desk on my way toward the gym’s door, an idea popped into my head. Adrenaline raced through my body at the thought. I looked around to see if anyone was watching me. Keith had climbed back on the treadmill, so unless he fell off ag
ain, I didn’t think he’d notice what I was about to do.
The gym’s computer was behind the counter. The members of the gym scanned their cards when they walked in. I just had a temporary guest pass. All member information must be stored in that computer.
Giving one last glance around the room, I hurried behind the desk. The employee who was supposed to be manning the desk was asleep on the floor in the office. I heard his snoring and peeked in. He was practically asking for me to steal the information. I leaned over the keyboard and typed the first name into the search box. I was no expert at computers, so I prayed that I didn’t mess the whole thing up. I typed in the name Chuck. Unfortunately, Chuck was a common name. Maybe Chuck was short for Charles? I’d have to check that name too. There were about twenty Chucks that popped up. How would I know which one was my stalker? There had to be a way to narrow it down. I was running out of time. Soon someone would notice that I wasn’t supposed to be behind this desk.
Just then the main door opened and a member walked through the door. I froze, unable to take my eyes off this bulky man. Would he say something? Ask me what the hell I was doing back there?
He nodded and said, “What’s up?”
Before he even gave me a chance to respond, he walked on through to the main area of the gym. Whew. He must have thought I worked there. I focused my attention on the screen again and scanned the options. That was when I hit pay dirt. There was an option to feature the gym member’s photos. I glanced over my shoulder and clicked the mouse, praying that I wouldn’t be caught red-handed.
Tiny photos appeared next to each name. The pictures were small, but I recognized his face right away and clicked to enlarge it. A larger image of his face appeared along with his last name and address. I grabbed the pen and pad of paper next to the computer and scribbled down the details, then rushed from around the desk. It was kind of disturbing to know just how easily I’d discovered this man’s address.
When I made it to the door, I glanced back. That was when I noticed Keith watching me. He frowned and climbed off the treadmill. I turned around and rushed out the door, not giving him a chance to ask what I’d been doing. He was awfully nosy. Why was he so interested in what I was doing?
Making my way across the parking lot, I hurried back to the car.
When I jumped in breathlessly, Dorothy asked. “Did you find him?”
“Not exactly, but I found his home address.” I waved the paper through the air.
“What are you going to do with that?” She looked at me with wide eyes.
“Well, I figured I’d send him a birthday card. What do you think? We’re going to his house.” I cranked the engine.
She waved her finger in my direction. “Don’t you be sassy with me, young lady.”
I sighed as I shoved the gearshift into reverse. “Sorry.”
She shook her head. “I can’t allow you to go to his home. It’s just too dangerous.”
She couldn’t allow me? There wasn’t much she could do to convince me not to go.
I steered the car out onto the street. “Now Dorothy, you already know that I’m not going to listen to you and will immediately drive straight to his house.”
“You are too stubborn for your own good,” she said around a sigh.
Within a few minutes, we pulled up to the apartment building. I prayed that my GPS had taken me to the right place. It was a stucco building that contained six different apartments.
“His apartment is number six. I’m going to knock on his door and see if he’s home,” I said as I opened my door.
“I want no part of this,” she said, taking her needles out of her purse.
She wouldn’t even look up at me. What a way to make a girl feel guilty.
“Oh, Dorothy, don’t be mad at me,” I pleaded as I climbed out of the car.
She scowled and shook her head, but said nothing in return. I didn’t have time to discuss it right now. She’d get over it. This was part of my job.
Palm trees lined the street and shrubs edged the sidewalk. I stepped up onto the stoop and turned around to look at Dorothy as she sat in the car. She was watching me until she realized that I had turned around, then she looked down and feverishly went back to her knitting.
I sucked in a deep breath and opened the door leading inside the building. Once in the little hallway, I marched over to the door marked number six. For a moment I thought about turning around and making my way back to the car before he caught me standing at his front door, but then I realized this was something that I had to do.
With my fist, I knocked on the door loudly. I glanced down and noticed a doorbell so I pushed it. Nothing happened, so I knocked again. The hallway was well lit with a line of mailboxes on the opposite wall. I noticed his last name marked on the number six, so that reaffirmed that I had the right place.
What was taking this guy so long? I’d thought I’d heard movement from the other side of the door. Maybe he’d seen me and decided not to answer the door.
I pounded on the door again, but this time it opened with the force of my fist. I stepped back and looked around.
“Hello, is anyone home?” I called out.
No one answered. Was this guy just playing games with me? I pushed the door open wider with my foot and called out again. Still no one answered and I didn’t hear any more sound from the other side. Dorothy would have a fit when she found out what I was about to do, but it had to be done. I eased inside the door, stopping at the threshold.
“Is anyone home?” I asked again.
The room was sparsely decorated with a blue sofa on the wall closest to me and a large TV across from it. A glass coffee table sat in the middle of the room. Clothes were strewn across the sofa and empty food containers littered the table. It looked like he was a huge Taco Bell fan.
I had no idea —now that I was in the apartment—what I was going to do. Why had I come inside? I guess the fact that the door had been open made me wonder if I’d step inside and find another dead man. I prayed that wasn’t the case this time. Two bodies were enough for me.
I peeked down the hallway into the bedroom, but didn’t see anyone. I started to get the creeps now, so I figured I needed to get out of there fast. As I turned around, I noticed a piece of paper on the kitchen table. I stepped closer and picked up the paper. The only thing written on the page was an address, but I recognized it right away. It was the address for the law firm. This was the clue that I needed. It linked him to the murders in some way, but how exactly? I clasped the page in my hand.
When I turned around to leave, I jumped and clutched my chest. The piece of paper flew out of my hand. Dorothy was standing beside me.
“You scared the hell out of me,” I said, trying to catch my breath.
She pounded me on the back to help me breathe normally as if I was choking.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Well, I came to save your butt,” she said as she looked around the messy apartment.
“What makes you think I needed saving?” I asked, picking the paper up from the floor.
“Just a hunch,” she said sarcastically.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here before we get caught. I don’t know how I’d explain the fact that we’re standing in this man’s house,” I said as I headed toward the door.
As we made it to the door, a sound came from behind me. When I looked over my shoulder, I say the guy standing in the hallway with a towel draped around his waist. He’d been in the shower, of course. Why hadn’t I realized that water had been running? Darn.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” he yelled.
The muscle man ran toward us, but with his movement, the towel fell to the floor.
“Whoa,” Dorothy said as she glanced back.
How had I ended up in a naked man’s apartment? Oh yeah, I’d walked right in like a fool. He didn’t seem to mind that he was now fully exposed. His bottom half wasn’t nearly as large as the top half. As I fumb
led with the doorknob, trying to get it open, he lunged at me. Thank goodness his hand didn’t make contact with me.
The guy ran after us as we spilled out into the hallway. I should have confronted the man considering he had been following me around, but he seemed awfully angry at the moment and I didn’t have my gun or stun gun on me. What if he really wanted to kill us? I didn’t want to endanger Dorothy’s life any more than I already had. By the shade of red covering his face, I figured he’d snap me in two if he got his hands on me. With any luck, he wouldn’t get the opportunity.
When I finally got the main door open, I pushed Dorothy out first, then I slipped out of the apartment building right behind her. The distance from the building to my car seemed a lot longer now that our lives were in danger. I glanced over at Dorothy to make sure she was all right, but she was already ahead of me. How had she run so quickly? I pushed the key fob, unlocking the doors and Dorothy scurried inside. I yanked the driver’s side open and jumped in, locking the doors behind us. The man was still running toward us, and still in his birthday suit. The muscles must have slowed him down because two out of shape women had just outrun him. I cranked the car and managed to pull out, leaving the guy standing in the middle of the parking lot.
“Well, that was a close call,” Dorothy said, blowing a few loose strands of hair out of her eyes.
“I think I really pissed him off,” I said.
“You’d be angry too if your manly parts shrank in the shower,” Dorothy quipped.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The next day before going into the office, I headed to Sam Louis’s address. I called Dorothy and told her I’d be late, but I didn’t explain where I was headed. She thought I was going shopping for more detective supplies. I’d told a little fib, but it was for her own good.
When I pulled up to the large house, a car was pulling out of the driveway. It was Sam Louis. If he wanted out of the driveway, he’d have to go through me first. I pulled my car up behind the driveway and blocked him from pulling out. He wasn’t going anywhere until I asked him a few questions.
When I stepped out of the car, he jumped out of his.