by Nora Kane
Katrina took off her shoes so she could feel the sand on her bare feet. Dean had a lot of faults, but his ability to pick real estate wasn’t one of them. It only took her minutes to go from standing on the deck in their backyard to standing where the Pacific Ocean was touching her toes.
Katrina loved watching the waves break in the moonlight and tonight's nearly full moon made for excellent viewing. She also loved the feeling of being alone on the sand. During the day, such a thing was nearly impossible, even on the secluded beaches behind the house. They weren’t private but easy access unless you owned some property was non-existent.
This didn’t mean surfers and sun-worshippers looking for less-crowded sand and waves didn’t make the effort. With the sun long gone, however, she had the beach to herself or so she thought, until she noticed a shadow moving through the moonlight.
She told herself it was probably someone like her, someone who enjoyed listening to the waves crash in solitude. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d encountered another late-night beach walker. In the past, since both parties had been down here to be alone, they had ignored each other. There was, after all, miles of sand in either direction. This shadow, however, kept getting closer.
Because of her husband’s business, Katrina kept a gun in her purse, a Walther P22. Some would scoff at the stopping power of the twenty-two caliber round, but it was light and easy to shoot and she didn’t see anyone volunteering to be target practice. She reached in and wrapped her fingers around the handle with her right hand while she drew her phone with her left.
Katrina turned on the flashlight on her phone and lifted it towards the approaching shadow.
“Who’s there?” she asked.
The shadow didn’t answer.
As it came closer, the shadow became a tall, thin man. He looked to be easily over six and half feet tall.
“Hello?” Katrina said.
“Katrina, Katrina Stone,” he replied.
“Do I know you?”
The thin man said nothing. He lunged at her and had his hands on her throat before she could react. By the time she started fighting back, she was already pinned under him on the sand with his hands clamped tightly around her neck. She drew the gun, put it to his head, and pulled the trigger, but she had yet to chamber a round. She was in the process of doing so but she was too slow. With his hand around her neck and his body weight on her chest it was impossible for her to draw air into lungs. By the time she pulled back the slide, the lack of oxygen getting to her brain made everything go black.
Chapter 1
“What do you want, Ames?”
“It’s Detective Ames and I’m here to give you a chance to get ahead of this.”
“Get ahead of what?” Margot asked the two detectives standing at her door. It was still early and she was feeling the whiskey on ice she used to settle down after an eventful night.
“Can we come in?” Ames’s younger partner asked.
Margot didn’t know him, he must have joined the department after she left.
“Are you fucking kidding?”
“I don’t appreciate that kind of language, ma’am.”
Margot looked at Ames, “Is he fucking kidding?”
“No, on either count. I think this would be a conversation better had inside.”
“Yeah, well, no.”
“Do you have something to hide, Ms. Harris?” the younger detective asked.
Margot wasn’t going to answer that.
“We could have this conversation at the station in a nice interrogation room if you’d prefer,” Ames told her.
“Am I under arrest?” she asked.
“No, not yet.”
“Do you mind telling me what you think I did?”
“Out here?”
“My neighbors keep to themselves.”
“Katrina Stone.”
“Who?”
“You look guilty when you play dumb. We know you know her. You were following her on behalf of her husband.”
“I was?”
“You were and if you were following her last night, you’d know someone strangled her and left her on the beach.”
“Are you saying I strangled this woman?”
“I’m saying you were involved.”
“Are you going to arrest me?”
“Not right this minute.”
“Then I’m going to shut the door.”
“You’re playing this wrong. The way it stands it looks like Stone paid you to kill his wife after you found out she was cheating on him—or more likely, you subcontracted the job to Mal Raines. If you tell me differently right now maybe I’ll believe Raines and Stone arranged this without you.”
Margot shut the door.
She made a few calls and didn’t reach anybody. She did leave a message with a lawyer she did some business with. She hoped he got the message since Detective Ames knocked on the door again an hour later. This time he was standing there with a pair of handcuffs hanging from his index finger.
“Margot Harris, you’re under arrest for conspiracy to murder Katrina Stone. You have…”
“I know my rights. Are you going to put on the bracelets or can we act like adults?”
“You have a history of violence, Marge. I think we’re going to need the cuffs.”
“Call me Marge again and I break your nose.”
“This is what I’m talking about.”
Chapter 2
Yesterday[SC1]…
“Do you always meet your clients in a bar?” Dean Stone said as he pulled up a stool and took a seat opposite Margot. Since it was mid-afternoon they were the only customers at Lefty’s Beach Bar and Grill
“I like to think of it as a restaurant that serves drinks,” Margot said to the tanned slab of muscle and tattoos sitting across from her.
She knew Dean Stone looked more like a dive bar bouncer or an ex-con than a successful businessman, but his looks were deceiving. She also knew his commercial fishing business wasn’t where he made most of his money. Stone specialized in moving contraband over the border. He was good enough at it to still be a free man at an age when most in his business are either behind bars or dead. Other than a few nights in the drunk tank when he was younger, Dean Stone had never spent the night jail.
“Are we drinking?” Stone asked looking at the glass of water in front of Margot.
“I’m not. I’m working. Lefty would like it if you did.”
“You can’t afford an office?”
“Not yet.”
“You’re not making a strong case for me to hire you.”
“You’d rather I’d lie?”
Stone nodded. He liked that answer.
“Being a private detective is different than being a cop,” he said, more as a statement than a question.
“It’s different, I still need to follow the law. How’d you know I used to be a cop?”
“Knowing things is kind of my business.” Stone smiled. “If I needed someone who didn’t have to follow the law, I know some people.”
“I bet you do.”
“You know my reputation?”
“Knowing things is kind of my business too. What else do you think you know about me?”
“I know they forced you out of the police. I know you were dating a fellow officer, against the rules but forgivable if that fellow officer isn’t dirty. Unfortunately, yours was.”
“Is that so? I don’t remember it that way.”
“That would make you the only one. I also know you used to fight some, mixed martial arts. You never got close to the big time, but you were good enough no one ruined your pretty face.”
Margot let that go and asked, “What can I do for you, Mr. Stone?”
“I’m out of town a lot.�
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“I figured as much.”
“My wife doesn’t go with me.”
“Okay.”
“I’m more than a little concerned about what she does while I’m gone. When a man makes a lot of money, sometimes he can play out of his league and find himself with a younger, prettier woman. Some men convince themselves it’s not the money. I’m a little too self-aware to believe that. Over time, sometimes that money isn’t enough.”
“You think your young wife is seeing someone else?”
“I do.”
“Did you ask her about it?”
“I did, but unlike you, I don’t think she’s very honest. Then again, she might be. In truth, I’ve never caught her lying before. I’m paranoid. If I were in another business, I might be institutionalized, but in my chosen field it’s served me well.”
“Probably not the basis for a good relationship.”
“No, it’s ruined more than a few of mine, so I figure, why not get some confirmation one way or the other before I do something stupid and ruin something good?”
“Do you have anything specific that makes you think she’s being unfaithful?”
“No, only my instincts, which are rarely wrong. I’ll be gone for the next week, I figure if you keep an eye on her you’ll either catch her or prove my instincts aren’t as on the money as they used to be.”
“Just observe and report?”
“Of course.”
“It won’t be cheap.”
Margot produced the standard contract with the daily rate for this kind of work.
“I didn’t expect it to be. You want a week in advance?”
“Yes, if I find what you’re looking for in two days, I’ll refund the difference.”
Stone signed the contract and then pulled a wad of cash from his pocket.
“I prefer a check or a direct deposit.”
“I don’t,” he said as he held out the cash, “I’m old school that way. I’m not much for phone conversations either. Whatever you find, you can tell me in person when I get back.”
“That’s fine with me,” Margot said as she took the money. She didn’t bother to count it before she put it in her purse between the mace and short-barreled Smith and Wesson.
“Since we’re no longer doing business, how about a drink?”
“Thanks, but I’m going to pass. I’m still on the clock.”
“Clock doesn’t start until I leave tonight. Drink with me. You’re not a cop anymore. Live a little.”
“You’re not my only client, Mr. Stone,” Margot told him. It wasn’t a complete lie, though this job didn’t pay. She reminded herself to call Mal so he could get started trailing Mrs. Stone while she took care of her other business.
Stone shrugged, “Maybe another time. Who knows, maybe depending on what you find, we could make it a regular thing. Maybe it doesn’t even matter what you find.”
“I don’t think I’d make good arm candy, Mr. Stone.”
“You’re selling yourself short. Plus, it’d be nice if the candy on my arm could put a beat down on some punk or put a cap in his ass if necessary.”
“I appreciate the flattery,” Margot said as she stood up, “but I’ve got places to go.”
Stone smiled again, “Suit yourself.”
Chapter 3[SC2]
Randy stood up and stubbed out his cigarette when he saw her coming.
“I don’t know what your sister told you but…”
Margot already had the telescoping baton in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, it extended to its full length. She smacked him across the knees before he figured out what was going on.
She raised it like the next blow was going for his head. He put his hands up to defend himself and she kicked him in the groin. After taking a shot to the knees and the balls all it took was a little shove to put him on the sidewalk.
“Please don’t hit me anymore,” he said as Margot stood above him.
“Is that what my sister said?”
He did his best to ignore that and kept pleading.
As expected, his wailing brought out his mom. She was holding her Sig Sauer at her side.
“He beat up your sister again?” she asked as she recognized Margot.
“Yeah.”
Mom nodded and looked at her twenty-five-year-old son. She shook her head at him and went back inside.
Randy watched his mom go back inside. He looked more hurt by her leaving than he did by Margot’s blows. He looked back to Margot, “That was a cheap shot.”
“We fight in different weight classes. I’m guessing when you gave my sister a black eye you didn’t start at separate corners and wait for the referee's signal.”
Randy didn’t have anything to say to that.
“You want a few minutes to rest? And then you can try again?” Margot said as she slapped the baton in her hand. More than a few people were out of their houses watching now. No one looked like they were going to step in and help Randy.
Randy seemed to be considering trying his luck, but then he thought better of it and shook his head no as he said, “Just leave me alone.”
“Stop using Melanie as a punching bag and you’ll never see me again. I’d suggest just to be safe, you stay away from my sister.”
“She called me.”
Margot raised the baton, “Next time don’t answer.”
She left Randy laying on the sidewalk and walked back to her car. She kept looking back in case Randy got brave or worse decided to go get his mom’s gun. He didn’t do either. She dialed Mal as she drove away and put him on speaker.
“Anything going on with Katrina Stone?”
“Yeah, looks like Mr. Stone’s paranoia is on the money again.”
“Already? I was hoping to at least get a few more days’ pay out of him.”
“He doesn’t have to know when we found out.”
Margot sighed. “No, we play it straight.”
“Stone is a crook, he’s done worse than pad a bill.”
“I’m not setting my standards by the likes of him. Just because we’re in a dirty business is no reason not to stay clean.”
“Alright, you’re boss. It might not be what I think anyway. At this point, it looks bad, but it could be innocent.”
“What exactly do you have right now?”
“She met a dude at your favorite beachside bar. They’re sitting in the back corner drinking cocktails; I’d say they ordered food, so her lover might have some class. He’s buying her dinner first anyway.”