Maxine Skye, Private Eye

by Monique Smith

  “You're taking me back home?” “Yes.” “What about your job? Lucy?” I asked excitedly. “Let me worry about that.” he said. “But I do have a favor to ask.” “What?” “Are you planning on telling them where you were and who did this?” I thought for a minute. “No.” I said. “Why not?” I thought again. “Because I've decided I like you too. I'm really sorry for your loss and I can appreciate you wanting to do something good with your life. It sounds like you've found yourself.” “Thank you.” he smiled getting up. “Your eye...is that really what happened to it? An accident?” “Yes. It happened when I was trying to get to the hospital to say goodbye to my wife. Go ahead and get yourself ready. We'll leave in fifteen minutes.” I wanted to cry for him. Knowing his story gave me a kind of respect for him. “So how did a woman like you come to be a private investigator?” he asked on the ride back. “I just wanted to do something exciting I guess. I wanted some adventure. I used to work as a secretary in the detectives unit of the Hadley police department. I would sit and file away the cases, and take notes and phone calls and listen to the detectives talk about their cases. I thought I could make a difference. So one day I said a prayer and stepped out on faith...and here I am.”

  “Was this adventurous enough for you?” he laughed. “Yes it was.” I laughed too. “I lost faith after my wife died.” “Sounds like you're getting it back.” he smiled. “I would take you to your door but I have a feeling your place is being watched. I can't take the chance.” “Don't worry, I could use the walk anyway. This street is fine.” He pulled over and I prepared to get out. “Oh here.” he said handing me my purse. “Your phone and iPod are in there. Oh and your car is in the Hadley airport parking lot...the long term area.” “Thanks. Good luck with culinary school Mitch.” “Good luck with your PI business. And by the way, my real name is Mitch.” I smiled, closed his door and watched him drive slowly away. I took a deep breath and sucked in the sweet smell of freedom. I started laughing and crying at the same time. I felt like a crazy person. I fumbled through my purse to find my cell phone. It was dead. I tried to walk but my legs felt like stale celery sticks. I started to take small steps at first but I felt stronger with each step. Before I knew it I broke out in a run and I was standing in my doorway trying to keep my hand steady enough to open the door. Once inside I fell to the floor and cried uncontrollably. Seconds later the door was busted open and four men were standing over me. They were talking but I couldn't understand what they were trying to say. My mind was a blur. “Baby! Baby!” I heard someone yelling.

  “Oh my God!” Lance yelled. He grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. He was rocking back and forth and crying. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” he asked. “No...I'm...fine.” I managed to say. He started kissing me all over my face. “We need to ask her some questions.” “Not now man, give us some space. I'll bring her down to the station later. Just give us some time right now.” The men left and closed the door. “Oh my God!” Lance said again. “I missed you so much! I was so worried about you.” he said kissing me again. “I missed you too.” “I started looking for you the second I got here and you weren't here. I knew something was wrong.” “I know you did.” “Where were you? What happened?” “Can I just breathe for a minute?” “Yes baby, sorry. Yes.” he said. “Can you just hold me for a little while?” “Of course.” he said wrapping his legs and arms around me. We sat in front of the door for over an hour in silence listening to our breathing and heartbeats. “I'd like to take a bath.” I said. “Okay. Let me run your bath water.” I went to my room and sat on my bed. It felt surreal being back home. Even though it wasn't a tortured situation, it was still scary. Being with a complete stranger afraid for your life. It was something I would never forget. But God was with me the whole time.

  Lance ran me a warm bath and poured me a glass of chardonnay. I slowly sat down in the water and suds and closed my eyes. “I'll leave you to relax.” he told me. “Okay.” “I'll be right outside of this door.” Lance literally meant right outside the door. He was sitting in the chair waiting for me to come out. “Wow.” I said. “I'm not letting you out if my sight.” I put on my night gown and Lance laid next to me. The familiar rhythm of his heartbeat matched mine. I fell asleep in his arms. I screamed. “What? What's wrong?!” Lance yelled. “Nothing, it was a bad dream...I was dreaming.” “Oh.” Lance breathed deep. “I'm here...I'm right here.” he said pulling me closer. “Good morning.” I said swiping Lance softly on the nose. “Good morning. How are you feeling?” “I'm okay I guess. Just to happy to be back with you.” “You have no idea how much I missed you Max. I was scared to death.” “I know. I'm sorry.” “Why didn't you tell me what you had planned to do?” “I don't know. I figured you would try and talk me out of it. I just wanted to see this through.”

  “You're right I would have talked you out of it. I told you this woman is out of her mind.” “I know Lance. But I didn't think that John would be in on it too. He didn't strike me as that type.” “He's probably just like his sister. They both probably are.” “No babe, I don't think so. John looked scared like he really didn't want to be involved.” “Do you feel like talking? About what happened?” I sat up in the bed. “Yeah I can talk about it.” “Okay.” Lance sat up too. He held my hands and I told him the whole story. I told him about John and I starting off with a regular meeting. Then the man with the eyes and how he'd started off being scary but cooked good food and wound up being a nice guy. “If it wasn't for him I'd probably still be held captive. But he took good care of me. He told me all about his wife dying of cancer. He said he took care of her and that I reminded him of her. He turned out to be cool.” “Come on with the Stockholm Syndrome shit Max!” Lance yelled. “He was a nice man? How is that exactly when he held you captive for two days? Just because he cooked for you and gave you some old books his wife liked does not make him a nice man.” “I know you're upset but you weren't there. He could have tried anything with me, we were alone. But he didn't do anything to me.” “Good. Good for him he didn't try anything with you. He did enough! I didn't know what the hell was going on!” he said getting up out of bed.

  “I lived it Lance!” I screamed. I didn't know either. All I was trying to do was my job. What I was hired to do, that's all.” I said. I started crying. Lance hugged me. “I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you baby. But you mean everything to me. If something happened to you...I don't know what I would do.” “But by the Grace of God nothing did happen to me.” “What was this man's name?” he asked. “Mitch.” “Mitch what?” “I don't know.” “Well with those eyes and a first name we'll have a good start to finding this asshole.” “No Lance.” “What do you mean?” “I promised him that if he let me go I wouldn't try to find him.” Lance shook his head. “Okay. Okay. He did give you back, unharmed, and in one piece. That counts for something.” So, what happens now?” “They want you to come down to the station to answer some questions.” “Okay.” “Since you don't want to divulge any information about 'Mitch', you'll have to say you don't know anything at all about him. Not even how he looks...nothing. Okay?” “Yeah I got it.” “Okay get dressed so we can get this over with.” “We also arrested John Hall.” Lance told me on the way to the station. “What did he tell you?” “Nothing. He said he didn't know anything.” “He didn't. Mitch said that he wasn't in on the particulars because he would have cracked like an egg.” “I bet he would have. The cops found your pepper spray on the ground in the parking lot.” “They did?” “Yes.” Lance said handing it back to me. “Smart move dropping it like that.” I smiled.

  “Hello Maxine.” Gina said. “Follow me please.” I gave Lance a scowl. He knew I couldn't stand this chick. “Please have a seat and I'll be right back. Can I get you some coffee, tea, water?” she asked. “Ginger ale if you have it.” I said. “I'll get you one out of the machine.” Lance said. He brought the pop and she still was not back. “Why does she have to question me? I thought she was dispatch.” “She is still dispatch, but s
he's in training for detective. She probably went to get Josh.” “Who's Josh?” “He's the head of the detectives unit. He trains everyone who transitions.” I took a deep breath and prepared for questioning. “Hi Max, how are you doing?” Josh said extending his hand for me to shake it. “Hello.” I said shaking his hand. “Hey man, how's it going?” he asked Lance. “I'm so sorry to hear about your ordeal. You're very lucky. Sometimes we don't see people walking and talking after an incident like this.” I nodded.

  “So let's get started then.” he said snapping his pen. Gina sat down opposite Lance and Josh was opposite me. “Can you tell me exactly what happened?” “I had a meeting with John Hall.” I started. “He said he had additional information to give me about his brothers case. So I met with him at his office in Lakeville Thursday afternoon.” “What kind of case are you working on?” “I was originally hired by his sister, Lucy Knight. She said she was having a problem with missing money. My original investigation turned up facts pointing to Steve being the thief. She had him arrested and the case was closed. But then Steve hired me to help him clear his name. So that's what I was doing. I'd met with John once before. He gave me all kinds of information. But then he backed out and didn't want to help. I told him to give me a call if he changed his mind. So Thursday he called and I went to meet him.” “Then what happened?” “When we began our meeting, a man showed up. He took my purse, iPad, cell phone and car keys. I asked John what was going on and he just dropped his head without answering me. “What did this man look like?” “I didn't get a good look at him.” I lied. “He was wearing sunglasses and a hat.” “Was he black or white? Short, tall?” “He was medium height I lied.” “A black man.” “What was he wearing?” “Black jeans and a red t-shirt, tennis shoes.” I lied again. “What kind of tennis shoes?” he asked. “I'm not sure, maybe Adidas.” “Did his t-shirt say anything?” “No.” “Did he talk to you at all?” “Not really.” Another lie.

  “You spent two days with him and he didn't talk to you?” Gina asked. “I said not really. He didn't talk much. Is that so hard to believe?” Gina held her hands up. “Can you remember how long the drive was to get where you were being held?” “About an hour and a half.” “Could you see any street signs? Anything unusual stand out to you?” “I couldn't see anything. The car windows were nearly black.” “What about when you stopped? The place you went to, what kind of place were you held in?” “I was wearing a scarf around my eyes. My captor led me to the house and up some stairs, I was put in a room with a bed and a chair and a book shelf. No windows. There was a bathroom.” “Was it a big room, small room?” “It was a medium sized room.” “And your kidnapper never said anything to you at all?” “Like I said, not really. I tried to ask him questions, get him engaged, but he wouldn't bite.” “So what made him let you go?” Gina asked. “I don't know.” “Did he ever say anything about the job?” she asked. “Of course not.” I said angrily. “Are we done here?” Lance asked sensing my tension. “Yes we're done for now.” Josh said. “Uh, one more thing.” Gina said. “How did you get back?” “He drove me back.” “Right to your door?” “Yes.” “So he never told you why he was shortening your stay or why he decided to drop you off right at your door?” “I wasn't dropped off right at my door.” I scowled at her. “Oh, yes, right. You were in walking distance.” she said sarcastically. I got up slowly and pushed the chair under the table.

  “Thank you for this interview and fuck you.” I said to her. “You're very welcomed.” she said smiling. Lance grabbed my hand and we walked out. “What was all that?” he asked when we got outside. “You already know what it was all about.” “Are you still upset about the comment she made when we first met?” “No. I'm not.” “Then what?” “The comment she made about you belonging to her was only the beginning. I ignored her because I knew she was childish. But then she would say things so I could hear her. She would say that you could never be with anyone like you were with her. She would say no other woman would ever measure up to her.” “Why didn't you ever tell me any of this?” “Because I'm a grown woman. I chose to show her better than I could tell her.” “But she's still got you if every time you have to deal with her you're angry.” “I guess I'll be angry until one, she dies, or two, I get to beat that ass.” “Well let's hope it doesn't come to either. The funny thing about all of it is, I never even slept with her. We went on two dates, right after I broke it off with Keisha. And one of the dates was to the company Christmas party. And that date happened on a dare. She liked me more than I liked her. Obviously. When you came along, she and I were long done. You were all I could see then and you are all I can see now.” I had to smile because I knew he loved me. “Thank you.” “For what?” “For just being you.”

  “What's going to happen with John?” I asked. “He's being charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and being an asshole.” I laughed. “So the fact that he doesn't know anything?” “That's his problem.” Steve's trial was tomorrow. I'd call him and let him know what happened. “Hello Maxine!” Steve said sounding truly happy to hear from me. “What happened? I know they arrested my brother but he's not allowed to have any visitors.” “He was instrumental in my kidnapping.” “Your what!?” he yelled. “I was kidnapped at John's office. The day we had that meeting I told you about. He lured me there and there was a man waiting for me. It was Mitch. He took me to some house for 2 days and then he drove me back yesterday.” “Oh my God Max, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault. If I hadn't asked for your help, this would never have happened.” “It's not your fault Steve. I assumed this responsibility when I decided to become a PI. But if you want to blame someone, blame your lunatic sister.” He laughed. “You're right.” “So, what's happening with your case?” “I spoke with Mark today, he said there's not much else he can do to help me. He doesn't have any evidence that proves I'm innocent.” “I might be able to help you with that.” I said. “Maxine, thanks, but you've done enough for me.” “You asked me to help you right?” “Yes.” “So let me help you. Trust me.”

  I knew the only way Steve would be free of this mess is if I spoke to John and got him to talk. He isn't the kind of man who likes to be locked up and I'm sure he wants to get back to his family and his music. If I could help him do that I'm sure he'd want to deal.

  Chapter Fifteen-Dealing John “I'd like to see John Hall.” I told Lance. “What?” “You heard me.” “Why?” “I need to talk to him.” “Max, you don't need to talk to somebody who helped you get kidnapped.” “I do need to talk to him if I believe he can help with my case.” “He proved to you that he didn't want to help you already.” “Maybe...but that was before he got arrested. Thanks to you, he's behind bars, the one place he does not want to be. I can talk to him and see if he wants to deal. His testimony helps Steve, he goes free. Charges dropped.” “That simple?” “I would like to think I can make it happen.” “Well you're not going to see him alone.” “That's fine. I didn't expect you to let that happen.” “Alright. I'll get it set up for tomorrow.” “It has to be today. Steve's trial is less than 18 hours away. I have to talk to him as soon as possible.” “Okay, let me make a call.” Lance got me in to see John within the hour. He looked like hell. He hadn't even been in jail a full 24 hours and he looked beat. When he saw me his face said everything from being ashamed to scared to death.

  “Hello John.” I said to him as he sat down in the chair across from me. “Hi Max.” he said in his slow drawl. “How's it going in here?” I asked. “Not good. You know I didn't have anything to do with what happened to you.” “No?” I asked sarcastically. “I didn't.” “You may not have been the one who did it, but you helped it to happen. You knew about it. You set me up John. I was just trying to help your brother. Something I thought you would want to do too.” “Don't you see? I can't help him. I can't.” “Why?” “My sister is vengeful and vindictive. If I helped him, she would stop at nothing to make my life a living hell.” “So you'd rather be in here? We
aring an orange jump suit and slippers? Not out in your element making music?” “At least in here, I'm safe.” “If your sister wants to get to you, sounds like that's what she's going to do. No matter where you are.” He sat and thought for a minute. “What do you want from me?” “I want you to testify tomorrow on your brother's behalf. In exchange for your testimony, all the charges against you will be dropped.” “I can get out of here then?” “Yes.” “What will happen with Steve?” “Your testimony proves that Steve is innocent. He'll be fine, he has a good attorney. His life will go back to normal.” “And Lucy?” “Lucy will more than likely face her own set of charges.” “Can I think about it?” “You have five minutes.” “Five minutes?” “Five.” I repeated. It was as if I could see the wheels turning in his head. Finally he said yes.

  I called Steve with the good news. He sounded overjoyed. He said his attorney would want to meet with John to prep him for trial. I told him I would be there. Steve's trial started at 8:30 in the morning. I was dressed, as usual, in my professional attire. I was not privy to any of the conversations that went on with Steve, his attorney or John. For now, my job was done. I sat in the back of the court room and listened as John recounted the same story he told me. Although I had been in court rooms numerous times before, I had never been in one that involved a case I was so close to. The jury deliberated for three hours and came back with a unanimous verdict of not guilty. Steve broke down in tears crying and his attorney and wife gathered to support him. I gave a wink to John as he was taken back into custody. A woman dressed in all black and dark sunglasses quickly exited the court room. My curiosity got the best of me so I followed close behind her to see who she was. Just as I suspected, it was Lucy Knight.