Hot Off the Press (A Hailey Webb Mystery, Volume 1)

by Deany Ray

  As I jumped off the final boat, I looked up to savor the view of my Jeep—so close. Instead, my eyes met Mike’s. He blinked at me in surprise as I made the leap. Things happened quickly after that. I felt my feet and then the rest of me submerged in the cold lake.

  Water rose into my nose and into my gaping mouth, and the small, accumulated scrapes from my ordeal began to sting as the water hit them. As I flailed to the surface, my clothes seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. The choppy water pulled me back down below. The boats loomed above me, appearing strange and massive as I struggled once more to the surface.

  There I found an outstretched hand. Mike. Reach for Mike. Gasping, I grabbed on and clung to his hand tightly, waiting for my breath to calm. I thought about my phone and keys and threw them onto the dock to safety, although I knew by then the phone was most likely toast. My ankle throbbed in time with my heartbeat as I managed at last to scramble to dry land.

  Those blue eyes of Mike’s were dancing with their usual amusement. “Next time, may I suggest you try an indoor pool?” he teased. “They have calm and easy waters. And they’re temperature controlled.”

  I began to cough as he dragged me to a bench. “Thank you for the help,” I managed to get out when I caught my breath. He’d seen me at my most idiotic, but I was glad he was there.

  “Between nearly drowning out here in the lake and tripping over corpses, your life does not lack for excitement. It would wear me out,” he told me with a grin.

  “I’ll try to tone it down. And I wasn’t drowning. You just startled me.”

  “So what are you doing here?” He had the same air of befuddlement as the woman on the boat.

  I glanced over at the scene of my recent terror, but the cops were far away and seemed focused on O’Connell’s boat, not me. You would have thought my plunge into the water would at least have made them look.

  Mike followed my gaze. “That isn’t a place you should have gone alone. Or even gone at all.” The sense of fun had left his eyes.

  I stared at my dripping shoes.

  “Find out anything?” he asked after a pause.

  I looked up at him. “So now you want to know what I found out?”

  He put his hands up in defense. “Hey, I didn’t make you come here.”

  “True that.” I smiled. “No, I didn’t find out anything useful. I was . . . well, I was busy making sure the other person on the boat didn’t find me.” A chill ran through me at the memory.

  His face turned white. “What do you mean the other person? What other person?”

  I explained the ordeal very briefly and told him that I’d hoped to find something there that would be a clue. Then I told him about the other visitor and me hiding in the closet. My eyes moved back to the cops. “I can’t say that to them. Do you know how suspicious that would make me?”

  Mike’s expression turned stern. “Hailey, that could have very well been the killer on that boat with you. The fact that he was searching the boat is a bad sign. Now I know I’m the last person to have anything against some poking around, but still . . . you gotta be careful.”

  “I didn’t know someone else was going to decide to step on that boat,” I said.

  There was a moment of silence, as I processed the thought of what could have happened. By Mike’s expression, he did the same thing.

  “So you just decided to drive out here on a whim and go onto the boat?” he finally asked.

  I still couldn’t explain it. “I don’t know. I mean, yes, I know; that’s what I did. I just pulled out of the office, and something drew me here.” I paused. “I could ask you the same thing.” I tried for a lighter tone. “What brings you out to the lake on this fine starry evening?”

  I wondered if a source had tipped him off that the cops were here, but it was his turn to look sheepish.

  “Aha!” I said to him. “You came here for the same reason I did. You wanted to check out that boat.”

  He laughed. “I might have gazed at it from the outside, but that’s a little different, don’t you think? Plus, for me it’s different, Hailey. I have to be here for my job.” He gazed out at the water. “Still, it’s kind of like you said. It’s like a little voice told me to come here, to take a drive out to the boat.”

  “Then you know how I felt,” I said. “Weird coincidence for sure.”

  “I don’t believe in that stuff, and I never have.” His eyes went to my torn shirt. “Snooping’s not so easy on the wardrobe, huh?”

  I glanced down at my top. At least this time, my bra wasn’t showing for all the world to see.

  “Yeah, I think some dry clothes would be nice. And I’m starting to freeze so I’ll be going now.” I looked down sadly at my phone. “I guess I have to buy a new one. Maybe I’ll wait until I have my first paycheck. And use my telepathic powers until then.”

  My last job hadn’t brought in big bucks, not by any stretch, but this was still new to me, this barely getting by.

  Mike gave me a wink. “You’re resourceful, Hailey. I have faith in you.” He stood. “Let me walk you to your car. Just in case that guy from the boat is still lurking around, although with the cops here, I doubt that.”

  “Unless he doesn’t have much sense. That would be a good thing, though. He might be easier to catch.”

  Mike laughed as we made our way to our cars. His truck sat next to my Jeep.

  “So, you knew I was here before I made my graceful leap,” I said.

  With a smile, he nodded, and there was a moment of silence as we were looking into each other’s eyes.

  “You’re still on the tax-evasion story?” I asked.

  “Yes, I am. It’s shaping up okay. Course, the murder story is the more intriguing bit of the whole Pearlrover thing. Now it even comes with girls leaping into lakes right off strangers’ boats.”

  “Very funny,” I teased.

  We laughed together as we both got into our cars.

  Before I drove away, I turned the heat way up. The warm air and the silence slowed my heart rate as the darkened roads led back to my apartment. Still, my thoughts went back to the stranger I’d encountered on the boat. Who could he have been, and what had he hoped to find? Most importantly, what would have happened to me if someone hadn’t called him at the moment they did? Best not to think too much about it.

  Home at last, I took a nice, hot shower. I was looking forward to a glass of Cabernet and some TV time to celebrate the end of a week I was glad to put behind me. I’d dried my phone off in the car with the edges of my ruined shirt and tried to turn it on. Not surprisingly, it didn’t respond. The world would have to wait to get in touch with me.

  It felt kind of freeing to know I was out of reach for the few sweet hours that remained of my Friday night. The next day I’d go shopping. Broke or not, a girl has to have a phone. In the meantime, I was through with thoughts of phones and boats and murder. All of that could wait. Almost getting killed and then swan diving into the water—in front of Mike, no less—had surely earned a girl the right to let her mind go blank.

  Chapter Eighteen

  For some frustrating reason, I was wide awake at 7 a.m. when morning rolled around. I snuggled under the covers and tried to will myself to sleep. Wouldn’t a body need sleep after the week I had?

  The answer seemed to be a resounding no, so I got up and made coffee, thankful that at least I could sip it at my leisure and not rush into work. I got out some eggs for breakfast. As I broke them into a bowl and mixed in some milk, I wondered how much this new phone was going to set me back. I settled on the couch with my cheesy eggs. I flipped the TV to some interview with a crying girl who insisted she was ready for a brand-new start. What had happened to her? Intrigued, I turned it up, hoping her new start was not as complicated as mine was turning out to be. Watching someone else’s drama play out on TV gave me a little thrill, of which I wasn’t proud, but I had to get my mind off what was going on with me. I didn’t want to think about the murders. I didn’t want to think abo
ut what kind of fraud—or worse—could have been perpetrated by a man I would have woken up with on that very morning if I had not walked into that room at my rehearsal dinner.

  The show went to commercial, and I refilled my cup. I made myself comfortable again in front of the TV, but my mind wasn’t on the show. In my head I heard the footsteps of the stranger on the boat. This weeping chick on the TV? She had nothing on me when it came to “heart-stopping revelations,” as promised in the lead-up after the commercial break.

  Giving up on the idea of losing myself in a bit of schadenfreude, I headed to my closet to get ready for the day. Might as well be productive, I decided, and buy myself a darn cell I could not afford. I pulled on a summer dress, determined that if I had to spend a bunch of money I didn’t have, at least I would look cute when I was doing some more damage to my credit card. I put on a pair of sandals and was reaching for my styling gel when the doorbell rang. Hmm. I was not expecting company that day.

  Filled with curiosity, I opened the door to a guy from UPS who handed me a box. “Package for Ms. Webb.”

  I thanked him, confused. Griffingate Hailey used to love to fill up those online carts. Broke Hailey understood that could no longer be a thing. I tore into the package right away, and inside was a cell phone, along with a note from Mike. Try not to send this one swimming. I’ll send the bill to Jerry.

  I read the note again. Mike bought me a phone? And would the paper really pay? I sensed that part was a joke, but I really couldn’t do my job without a cell. Or my life. I pulled it out to look at it more closely, extracting it from its place nestled in with the instruction book and the charging cord. It was exactly like my ruined one. Mike had paid attention. He was good.

  I plugged the phone in to charge while I did my hair. Then I took it to the service provider to get the number switched to the non-drowned phone. Feeling good about having that chore done—at no cost to me—I decided I might like to go out that night and do a little something. Once I got back in the Jeep, I punched in Kat’s number and put the call on speaker as I pulled out of my space.

  As soon as she answered I could tell something wasn’t right. “Hailey, what the hell? Tell me you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine. Why would I not be fine? Something happened, Kat?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me. I’ve been calling since last night, and your phone is turned off.”

  I sighed. “Oh, okay, I get it. Long and crazy story, but everything is good. So sorry, Kat. I had no idea a thing like that would send you into a panic. Besides, I imagined you’d be busy. New man and all that.”

  “Well, given the fact your life has gone into creepy mode, I thought something bad happened. Again.” Her voice turned sheepish. “That’s why I’m heading to your place right now. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  I laughed. “That gives me comfort, Kat. If I fall one day and can’t get up, I won’t have to wait too long for you to burst in to help.”

  “Better yet, I’m bringing bagels, and I got that walnut cream cheese you like. And chocolate croissants, of course, because . . . you know . . . well, chocolate.”

  “When it comes to friends, I know how to pick ’em.” I thought about how strange it was for her to panic, which brought me to my second thought. “Damn. I’ve got to go, but see you in a bit, okay?” I hung up and called my mother.

  As Kat had done before her, she answered right away. “Thank God you’re alive!” she gasped into the phone.

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Dramatic much? I’m fine, Mom.”

  “I’ve been calling you since last night!” I could hear her voice rising an octave. “You don’t have three seconds to call your mother back? I swear, one of these days, you’re going to give me a heart—”

  “Mom! I’m sorry. You’re right. I didn’t think.” I realized I should have been grateful that she worried, it’s just that . . . why couldn’t she be like Kat?

  “What did you do anyway?” my mother continued. “I didn’t think your social life was that interesting.”

  I felt a headache coming on. “I broke my phone, Mom. That’s it. But I have a new one now and everything is good.” I often found it best to keep things simple when explaining my life to my mother.

  “So are you okay?” she asked.

  “You could have started with that.” I sighed. “I’m good, Mom. I swear.”

  “Good.” She let out a breath of air. “I think I need to lie down now. I spent so much mental energy on this. This was stressful to me, Hailey.”

  Then she hung up with no mention of the reason for all of those missed calls.

  Fifteen minutes later, I opened my door to Kat and the aroma of warm bread. A part of me registered the fact that Kat, if she really, truly thought I was in major trouble, wouldn’t have stopped for bagels. The other part of me was thinking, Oh, chai lattes too.

  “About a million things have happened since I saw you last,” I said as I pulled her in, and we settled on the couch.

  “Something else has happened?” My friend’s eyes had grown huge. “Two bodies are enough, girl. Just stop it with the weirdness.”

  “You want to hear it or not?” I teased.

  “Give it to me,” she said, taking a deep breath.

  We made ourselves comfortable on the couch and I dug in. I told her everything that’d happened, with full-on impressions too. When I finished, she looked at me with her mouth half-open.

  “I can’t believe you had this many adventures without me!” she said. She pulled her second treat out of the bag and unwrapped it with an air of ceremony. She settled eagerly against the cushions, as if this recitation of my day were some kind of show.

  I laughed. “Right. Sorry. But I don’t think two people could have fit in that closet.”

  “Wow. Just wow. I don’t know where to begin.”

  “Tell me about it,” I said.

  “Why didn’t that Joan person ask her boyfriend about the money?” Kat asked.

  “Because let me put it this way. I don’t think there were a lot of pleasantries exchanged between those two,” I said.

  “But that has to be important, right?” Kat asked. “Sounds fishy to me, especially if the money was a lot.” She took a slow sip of her latte.

  “It’s very fishy,” I said and paused. “You should have seen it, Kat. She had a yard sale going on when we drove up to the house. It was so sad that she didn’t even have enough to bury her guy.”

  Kat swallowed hard. “That does break your heart. I used to love a yard sale, in the richer neighborhoods. If you get really lucky, you can score designer bags for nothing, but now I drive on by. More often than not, there’s an undertone about these things. You’re thinking something must have happened to make them sell their stuff, like they got fired or had to move. Or someone is getting a divorce or you’d end up walking off with some pink Chanel couture whose owner just died. Gives me the creeps. I lost the thrill of the hunt because of that.”

  “I get what you’re saying.” I took a bite of bagel.

  “Okay, so you smashed Mike’s mirror and you drowned your phone all in one sitting, sort of,” Kat said. I could see she tried to stifle a laugh.

  “Well, at least I didn’t hit a person with that freaking arrow!” I put my hands up in the air. “Who leaves a crossbow ready to launch on the table?”

  “Someone who is very very sick?” Kat and I both dissolved in laughter.

  “Okay, but serious now,” Kat said, “the fact I can’t get over is you almost getting caught on that boat by who knows who! Why why why did you go there? I mean, you said why, but still. You realize that was a close one?”

  “Hell, yeah,” I said. “If anyone realizes that, it’s me.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t trip and fall into body number three,” Kat said and took another sip of latte.

  “Same here, only I’m the one who came real close to becoming one.” I gulped.

  “No.” Kat shook her head. “Don’t say that. Don’t
even go there.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “So what do we think about all this?” Kat asked. “How does it all come together?”

  I leaned back on the couch. “I have no idea. What am I missing here? I know there’s something about the murders and about the boat and about Connor that’s somehow connected. That second visitor on the boat wasn’t finished looking when his cell or whatever went off. Clearly, he wants something specific and couldn’t find it yet.”

  “Wish we knew what it was,” Kat said. “And Connor? That lowlife piece of junk manages to mess things up even now after your breakup.”

  She was right about that. I wondered how my day would have gone if I were Connor’s wife. Would I have started to suspect at that point he had a darker side, or when the story broke, would I have been left in shock by a headline—or a call from jail?

  “I don’t know what’s worse,” I said. “Cheating on your almost-wife the night before your wedding or evading taxes with fake start-ups in the Bahamas, and your almost-wife finding out about it?”

  Kat looked intense. “Hailey, you don’t think that Connor . . .?”

  “My mind went there as well. Mike tells me that for now, there’s no connection that they know of between the tax evasion and the . . . bodies that I found. But who knows if that will change.” I sighed. “Could I have married someone, Kat, who could kill another person? Could I have been that clueless?”

  She grabbed my hand. “You’re jumping to conclusions now. A jerk is a jerk, but a murderous, crazed felon is a whole other thing.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I picked a spot on the floor and stared at it, my mind drifting to places I didn’t want to drift.

  Kat gave my hand a squeeze. “You did nothing wrong, Hailey. Connor Whitacre thankfully no longer has a thing to do with you.” She paused. “We’ve all been known to get derailed by some sexy eyes, and Connor hid his devil ways behind a lot of charm.” She looked up at me. “Smile for me, okay? Don’t you see you’re free? The hunt for a worthy man is on, and your jerk detector from now on will be on high alert. No jerks need apply. You have done your time.” She tilted her head and gave me a smile. “You know, nearly every story you tell me is centered on this Mike.” She moved her eyebrows up and down.