by Rose Pressey
“Hold on a second.” I saved the photo and then send it over in text message.
“Got it,” he said. “So this is the guy?”
“That’s the one,” I said with satisfaction in my voice.
“All right, let me make a few calls and I’ll get back to you,” he said.
“I’ll be waiting,” I said.
This was definitely an adrenaline rush. I couldn’t wait for the police to find this guy. Wait until he saw his picture plastered all over the TV. Nevertheless, I couldn’t let my guard down. I had to keep up my search.
I sat back down at my desk and stared at the photo. There had to be something about this that would lead me to the guy.
“What have you got going on in that head of yours?” Dorothy asked.
“I’m trying to decide if there’s something about him that will give us another clue.”
“Well, it’s not going to jump out of the phone at you. You have a photo and now we just have to wait and see if anything else turns up from that.” She kept her eyes focused on her crossword puzzle book.
“Oh, Dorothy, Dorothy, Dorothy, Dorothy,” I said.
She lowered the book and raised an eyebrow. “One Dorothy was enough.”
“You don’t think I’m going to give up that easily, do you? I can’t just wait around for this maybe to be solved. I have to keep pressing forward. I have to give it all I’ve got.”
“That’s a motivational speech you just gave there. I’m ready to go,” she said with a pump of her fist.
“Now you’re just mocking me,” I said.
“Never,” Dorothy said.
“Well, I’m not ready to take off just yet. I haven’t thought of anything else, but mind you, I will. I just need to concentrate. So you have to be as quiet as a mouse.”
She shook her head and went back to her crossword puzzle. I went back to studying the photo. I scrutinized every inch of this guy, from his shoes up to the top of his head. Next I went back to the search of other photos. Maybe the car had been captured in a snap. After a couple seconds I discovered another picture.
The picture had been taken possibly earlier, at the time the man was grabbing Dorothy’s bag. But now I had a picture of the car with only the driver. That was when I realized the driver behind the wheel was Justin Cisco, the one who had been murdered at the park by the killer who had been at the bingo game. How had they found me? They had to know that I was Maggie P.I. Somehow, they had broken into my office and taken those papers on purpose. I believed that they’d grabbed Dorothy’s purse only to get the key, not knowing that she had that money in there. That was just an added bonus for them. Now I had to figure out why they wanted the file. I knew it was connected to Vivian’s death. Now Justin was gone so I wouldn’t have cooperation from him.
I jumped up from my desk. “Look what I found, Dorothy.”
Dorothy tossed her book in the air. “Oh, don’t do that.”
“Sorry,” I said. “Here, have a peppermint.” I handed the candy to her then showed her the phone screen. “It’s the car. The one the guy who took the purse got into.”
“Let me see that,” Dorothy said.
“The guy behind the wheel was Justin. He was the one who was killed at the park. It looks as if at some point they were on friendly terms.”
“They were partners in crime.”
“The killer had to get rid of Justin for some reason. Maybe he was going to come forward and tell what had happened.”
“Could be.”
“Now we just need to find the killer. It may not seem significant, but I think we’re getting closer. We’ll just keep chipping away at it. Eventually we’ll unearth the killer. Don’t doubt me on this, Dorothy.”
She held her hands up. “I didn’t say a word. You’re doing enough talking for the both of us. The look on your face tells me to believe that you’re having some doubts yourself.”
“I am not,” I said defensively. “You have doubts?”
“Of course not,” she said, picking up her book.
“At least now I know exactly what kind of car I’m looking for,” I said.
“Well, that won’t help much because you see a lot of those cars. Plus, that’s not the car the murderer was driving. And the murdered guy wasn’t driving that one either.”
“The car he was driving the night he was murdered was a stolen vehicle. It wouldn’t be a surprise to find out that the one he’s driving in this photo was stolen too.”
“I still say it’ll be hard to track down that car,” Dorothy said.
“I suppose you’re right, but we could check and see if there are any cars reported stolen that match this description.”
“True. That could definitely be a good clue,” Dorothy said.
“Now you’re talking, Dorothy.”
“You know, Maggie, I think you can find almost anything on that phone of yours. What else can you figure out?”
“I can figure out it’s time for us to get lunch,” I said, looking at the time on the phone.
Dorothy picked up her bag. “That sounds like a good idea to me. How about we go for burgers?”
“I guess I could go for a burger,” I said, picking up my purse.
I was a bit anxious though and I wasn’t sure I would be able to eat much. I was too excited about possibly finding the killer. Dorothy would force me to eat something.
We drove over to a nearby burger joint. Dorothy and I got out of the car and headed toward the restaurant. The rev of an engine caught my attention. When I looked to the right, I spotted a red Mustang convertible. The top was up, and I couldn’t make out who was behind the wheel. The car pulled away from the curb with a squeal of its tires. The driver wanted me to see them. They wanted me to know that they had been watching us. Had they followed us? How would I have missed that?
“What was that all about?” Dorothy asked. “I almost sensed that the driver was mad.”
“I think the driver was mad. Maybe mad at me,” I said.
“Why? Did you take their parking space?”
“I’m not sure, but it makes me uncomfortable,” I said.
“Me too, though I’m not sure why,” she said.
“Come on, let’s get our food and forget all about it.”
I told Dorothy to forget about it, but I knew that I wouldn’t forget about it anytime soon. How could I? I had to tell Jake about this. What was I thinking? I’d tell him that a car sped away from the curb? That sounded ridiculous. Even though I had a strange feeling about the incident, that meant nothing. I had no proof that the car had followed us.
Dorothy and I stepped inside the restaurant. The smell of grease from the grill lingered in the air. A counter with stools ran the length of the room with booths against the window-lined walls.
“Sit anywhere you’d like,” the woman said as she zoomed by with a tray in hand.
“How about by the window?” I gestured.
This would give me a view of the street outside. I could look for that red Mustang. Not that it would return, but just in case, I’d be ready. Dorothy and I slid into the booth. Dorothy picked up the menu, but I scanned the outside surroundings.
After a few seconds Dorothy lowered her menu. “What are you doing? You need to eat. Now pick up that menu and pick out something before I pick for you.”
I grimaced. I never liked Dorothy’s choices. Therefore I grabbed the menu and quickly decided on the Miami burger. Lost in thought, I was still debating on whether I should tell Jake about this. I mean, it was kind of connected with the other stuff, so that warranted further consideration, I thought.
“What are you thinking, Maggie?” Dorothy asked as she placed the menu down.
I opened my mouth to speak when the waitress came over. Maybe I’d get out of telling her. Dorothy and I placed our orders. Luckily, Dorothy started talking about her foot issues, so she’d forgotten to ask what I’d been thinking about earlier. The rest of the time Dorothy and I were in the restaurant there was no si
gn of the car. Soon I figured that it had been nothing. Like I’d said, there were plenty of red Mustang convertibles in town. However, I remained on edge when walking back to the car. thank goodness nothing happened. I figured that I had just overreacted.
Chapter 26
Jake’s boss Lloyd had been taking some time off. Forced time off. He was still considered a suspect of course. Therefore, I couldn’t rule him out and I needed to speak with him. That was probably something Jake would frown upon, so I would just do this without telling him. Some things just had to be done that way.
I parked in front of Lloyd’s house. sitting there for the moment, staring at it, before preparing myself to actually go up to the door. From what I’d heard he was kind of an intimidating man and not that friendly, so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this visit. I blew the hair out of my eyes. Okay, this had to be done. I might as well get on with it. I unbuckled the seatbelt and got out of the car. The hot air hit me as I stepped away from the car.
I also wanted to find out his explanation for why Dorothy’s bag had been found at his house. Minus the money, of course. I made my way up to the door. I was practically shaking in my flip-flops. I shouldn’t let him intimidate me that much, but it was hard to stop it. Plus, I was sure Jake would find out about this. I stepped up to the door and rang the bell. I stood there and rehearsed what I would say in my mind. But more than likely it would come out nothing like I intended.
After a few seconds, the door opened. Lloyd stood in front of me with a blank stare for a moment as if he was trying to figure out who I was.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said. “Detective Jackson’s girlfriend, right?"
Well, that greeting was even worse than I’d expected.
“Nice to see you too,” I said.
Okay, that sarcastic comment had come out without my intention. I had to keep those thoughts in my head. Oh, well, it was out there now. And he kind of deserved it for being so rude.
“He has that large photo of you on his desk. Hard to miss. Anyway, what can I do for you, Maggie Thomas P.I.?” I could tell he wasn’t exactly thrilled to see me.
“I wondered if I could ask you some questions.”
“I only speak with the police on this matter.”
“Is that right?” I said. “Well, you might want to reconsider that because I think the police look at you as a suspect. I’m trying to find the real killer so it might behoove you to actually speak with me instead.”
Wow, I was sassy today.
He frowned and stared at me for a moment. I knew he was contemplating what I’d said. He stepped out of the way and motioned for me to come inside. “All right, I’ll talk to you, but I don’t have much time.”
Exactly what did he have planned that was so important that he couldn’t speak to me for a long period? Not that it would take long, but still. I stepped inside the house and of course my eyes went directly over to the spot where the body had been found. I wasn’t sure if I’d be up to stay here if I had been in the same situation. I wouldn’t be able to go into the kitchen without thoughts overwhelming me. Nevertheless, I supposed everyone handled things differently. I wasn’t exactly strong emotionally for things like that.
I stepped into the beautifully decorated living room with Lloyd right behind me. My eyes were on alert for anything unusual. I wished I could get another look in the kitchen. However, I knew he would say no to that. Oddly there wasn’t much in the room. I thought it had been full of more furniture the night Jake and I had been in there. Now there was the sofa in the middle of the room. It seemed as if something was missing though. I suppose I would never know. The whole space smelled strongly of cleaning supplies.
“Take a seat,” he said.
I did exactly as he was told. Not because he’d ordered me, but because I was trying to be polite. Catch more flies with honey and all that. I sat on the sofa, but on the edge in case I needed to make a quick getaway.
He stood by the window looking out. “So what do you want to know? If I killed my wife?”
“I don’t think you killed her. After all, I told you I was looking for the real killer.”
“Go on,” he said.
“I want to know why my assistant’s purse was found at your house.”
“If I knew that then I could probably tell you who killed my wife because those things are connected. It seems kind of odd to me why the police aren’t looking at you more as the killer. After all, you were here and so was your assistant’s bag.” He flashed a smarmy smile.
I couldn’t believe that he had turned this around and made it about me. I was trying to help him. Nevertheless, I was doing this for Jake, Dorothy, and myself. I would just ignore his comments.
“I think you know that Jake and I had nothing to do with this as well. After all, you invited us over to dinner and then claimed to forget about it.”
“I did forget about it.” He clenched his fists. It looked as if Jake’s boss had anger issues.
“Nevertheless, we shouldn’t argue over these small details. Is there anyone that would want to do this to your wife?”
Lloyd relaxed just a bit. “Well, things hadn’t been that great with us lately. And as you probably know, she had been seeing someone else.”
“That’s what I heard,” I said. “So you think that the boyfriend did this to her?”
“I believe so, yes,” he said.
“Why would he do it?” I asked.
“Because he’s a sick son of a bitch is the only excuse I have.” His face turned red.
“Being evil isn’t exactly going to help me get him arrested and convicted. So I have to figure out why. I believe that the person who took Dorothy’s bag was your wife’s killer. It was the man I saw in the park. There has to be a connection to Justin Cisco. Can you tell me about your wife’s assistant? Her name is Kayla.”
“I don’t know much about her. Vivian kept most of her business quiet. She didn’t like to discuss work.”
“But you met Kayla, right?”
“Yes, I’d met her before.”
“Do you know where I can find her?” I asked. “What about a last name?”
“Kayla Carmichael. No address.” He stared.
No address? Something seemed odd. Did he want to find the killer or not? It would be tricky, but I’d try my best to find Kayla’s address.
“With so little information to go on I’m afraid this might turn into a cold case,” he said.
“I believe they only took the bag because they wanted to get the key to my office. And the money just happened to be there, so that wasn’t the reason for stealing it.”
“I suppose that makes sense, but why did they want the file?” he asked. “What was in there?”
“Your wife’s name was in that file. Apparently, she was involved in a murder case a number of years ago. Do you know anything about that?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, but I really don’t have any more information about that. I just can’t help you anymore and I really do have somewhere else to be.”
Where else could he possibly have to go that was so important that he couldn’t take the time to find his wife’s killer? I mean, that was my number one priority right now and I wasn’t even being paid for it. I could be doing other cases that would actually make me money.
I studied his face for a few seconds longer, and then said, “Well, thanks for talking with me.”
“I’ll show you to the door,” he said.
“That’s really not necessary,” I said. “I can find it.”
Yes, I was a bit mad and I wasn’t even hiding it. I didn’t care if he knew. I stood from the sofa and walked over to the door. Just as I had asked, he didn’t follow me over to see me out. Which was fine with me. I glanced over at him as I reached the door. He was still looking out the window. I didn’t speak to him as I started to step outside.
Something captured my attention though. I backtracked and stepped over to a small table by the chair next to the window. He had
moved away from the window and was headed across the living room toward me.
His eyes widened. “May I help you, Ms. Thomas?” His voice was full of agitation.
“Sorry, but I just happened to notice something, and I had to check it out.” I picked up the silver picture frame. “This guy. That’s the one who was driving the car. It’s the guy who was murdered. Justin Cisco. Didn’t you know that?”
His eyebrows pinched together as he stepped over and took the photo from me. He stared at it. “That’s a long-time friend’s son. My wife was friends with Justin’s father for years.”
“Well, he was somehow involved in her murder. I don’t know that he did it, but he was with the guy when he took the bag. He was driving the getaway car.”
“That can’t be,” he said.
I pulled out my phone. “You see this photo? It shows the getaway car. That guy behind the wheel is your wife’s friend’s son. You can also see his photo in the newspaper as being the murder victim.”
“I suppose I haven’t seen the news. They’ve kept me out of the loop on the case. Why would he do this?” he asked.
“That’s something that we have to find out because unfortunately now we can’t ask him.”
At least now I thought he was actually believing me.
“How did you find out all of this?” he asked.
“Good old-fashioned detective work,” I said. “Who was Justin’s father? Maybe he knows more about this?”
“Allen Cisco.”
“I remember that name. His name was in the file. What can you tell me about him?” I asked excitedly.
Finally I felt as if I was getting somewhere.
“I have to go now.” He placed the frame down on the table.
And now I felt as if I was getting nowhere. In a split-second everything had changed.
“I’ll be in touch,” I said angrily.
There was no point arguing with him when he wouldn’t cooperate.
He nodded and then headed across the living room floor toward the kitchen. I glanced at the picture one more time and then headed out the door once again. I’d have to tell Jake I was here. Maybe he’d find it charming and quirky that I’d come here without him. Yeah, probably not.