In Too Deep

by Rose Pressey

  When I glanced down, I spotted a key on the table. I recognized this key. At least I was almost sure I recognized it. It looked like the key to my office. Could that have been the key in Vivian’s hand? Maybe I was crazy, but I grabbed the key and stuffed it into my pocket.

  Chapter 27

  The next day I was at the office. I tried the key in the lock. Sure enough, it was Dorothy’s key. I’d tried to call Lloyd and ask him what he’d had the key. He wouldn’t answer my calls.

  Standing outside the office, if I hadn’t been paying attention, I would have missed it. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Just a car pulling out of the lot across the street. Nothing unusual about that, except for the type of car—a red convertible Mustang with the same girl I’d seen before behind the wheel. She wasn’t alone either. In the passenger seat was the woman who owned the salon across the street. The driver of this red Mustang convertible was the same woman who had been driving the killer around.

  Dorothy was in the office. There was no time to go inside and get her. I had to jump in my car and go after the Mustang. Dorothy would be extremely unhappy with my decision, but I’d make it up to her later with a basket full of peppermint candy, yarn, and crossword puzzle books. What would I do if I caught up with this car? Ask them what they were doing? If she knew the killer? This was risky.

  I peered across the street at the salon. The sign on the door was turned to closed, but oddly, the door was open. Maybe I’d have better luck going inside the salon? Traffic was busy at this time of day. I’d probably have a hard time catching up with them now. This was a tough decision. Ultimately, I decided to walk across the street. Maybe I’d find nothing, but I’d give it a shot.

  When there was a break in traffic I sprinted across the street. I paused at the door and peered around to see if anyone watched me. No one was in sight, but I almost felt as if this was a trap. Nevertheless, I eased the door open farther. No alarm went off when I placed one foot inside. What if they had a silent alarm? I’d be arrested for breaking and entering.

  Once inside, I’d say I’d gotten lucky. I had to move quickly. The women could return at any moment. I scanned the desk at the front of the room. A coconut scent lingered in the air. Was that shampoo? It was nice. I needed to find out the brand.

  First, I checked the appointment book. Perhaps the woman in the red Mustang had had an appointment. The last appointment though had been two hours ago and for just a haircut. It was unlikely a haircut would take two hours. The rest of the day had been blocked off. At least this led me to believe that they wouldn’t be back soon, though I couldn’t let my guard down.

  I glanced down and spotted a phone. Someone had left their phone behind. That meant they’d be back soon. It also meant I might be able to find some info. I grabbed the phone and immediately started searching. This was the salon owner’s phone. I had hoped it belonged to the driver of the Mustang.

  I checked her email on the phone, but just a quick glance told me nothing. I searched her Instagram posts and spotted a photo. Liz Murphy and the driver of the Mustang. Liz had the Mustang driver’s name listed too. Kayla. I almost dropped the phone. So Vivian’s killer had been involved with Kayla. I’d suspected the assistant was involved with Vivian’s murder when I talked with the spa worker.

  Unfortunately, that was all the info I found on the phone. There was no more time to search. I had to get out of there. I’d known the salon owner had acted weird when I asked about the surveillance video. Now I knew my feelings had been right.

  When I glanced out the front window, I spotted Dorothy step out from the office. She stood out front, peering around. Obviously, she was looking for me. If I didn’t get back over there soon, she’d call the police. I placed the phone down and dashed toward the front of the salon.

  When I reached the salon’s door, I glanced to my left. In the top corner of the wall I spotted the surveillance camera. The owner would know I’d been in the salon. Oh, well. She shouldn’t have left the door open.

  Dorothy had walked back inside the office before she saw me crossing the street. No doubt she was contemplating calling the police. I’d left my phone in the office. How many text messages had she sent before she realized my phone was right there in the office with her? Now that I was back across the street I glanced over at my car. I wasn’t sure why I’d looked that way. However, I spotted a piece of paper sticking underneath the windshield wiper. Someone had left me a note. It hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.

  I rushed over and pulled the paper from its spot under the wiper. It had been neatly folded two into two squares. Once unfolded I found the words written in red ink. The message was for me, but it wasn’t about me.

  Your beloved assistant will suffer the consequences if you don’t stop. You saw me murder someone. That’s what will happen to Dorothy.

  My hand shook. I almost dropped the paper. There was no way I could let Dorothy see this. However, the police had to know about this. I’d just remain calm and sneak away to call the police so that Dorothy wouldn’t hear. Until I found out who was responsible for this, I would have to keep my eye on Dorothy. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

  *

  Once back at the office, I’d explained what had transpired to Dorothy. Just as I had suspected, Dorothy had been unhappy that I had gone into the salon without her, but what was done was done. Of course she was even more suspicious when I grabbed my phone and told her I needed to get something from my car. Her eyebrow was raised skeptically as I walked out the door.

  I hurried over to my car and slipped behind the wheel. There was no need for me to look over at my office. I knew Dorothy was watching from the window. Dialing Jake’s number, I put the call on speakerphone. I pretended to be looking for something in the car so that Dorothy wouldn’t see me talking. Unfortunately, Jake didn’t answer. I’d have to leave a message.

  “Jake, I got a note on my car. It’s threatening Dorothy. Call me back as soon as you get this message.”

  I hadn’t even told him about the roses yet. I’d have to do that later. Right now, keeping Dorothy safe was my main concern. I couldn’t wait out here for Jake to return my call. I’d have to go back inside the office. If he called me back, I’d have to make up another excuse to come back outside with my phone. As soon as I stepped up to the door of my office it opened.

  Dorothy eyed me up and down. “Everything okay?”

  “Sure, why wouldn’t it be?” I hoped I didn’t sound as if I was up to something.

  “I know you, Maggie. I know when you’re up to something. I’d say this is one of those times.”

  “Oh, Dorothy, don’t be silly,” I said with a dismissive wave of my hand.

  “Deny it now, but sooner or later, I’ll figure it out.”

  Moving across the room, I sat down at my desk trying not to look over at Dorothy. I knew she was staring at me. Now I had to conceal my nervousness. No tapping of my pencil. No fidgeting in the chair. That was how I released my nervous energy. Now what would I do? Focus on the case. Yes, that would help keep my mind off the note.

  Opening up my laptop, I tried to find more info on Kayla. Apparently, she had worked at the salon across the street before becoming Vivian’s assistant. Billy had been living at Justin’s other home. How was he involved in all this?

  “Dorothy, I have a question for you,” I said.

  “What’s that?” she asked, pausing her knitting project. Currently she was working on pink booties for her friend’s great-granddaughter.

  “That day at the bank. Did anyone see you go to your car or drive here? Did you interact with anyone other than the teller?”

  She stared straight ahead at the wall. “You know, now that I think about it, there was someone.”

  “Was there anything to suggest that it was either of the guys who took the bag?” I asked.

  “I guess I didn’t pay attention. I was coming out and one of the men bumped into me. I dropped my bag. He picked it up. I said thank
you, but I didn’t really pay attention to him. I suppose I never even looked at his face.”

  “That’s interesting that he bumped you. I’m suspicious that he did that on purpose.”

  “Do you think he wanted to get my bag then?” she asked.

  “I’d almost bet on it,” I said. “After they didn’t succeed with their plan, they probably devised this other plan. They probably followed you all the way to the beach.”

  “Without me even realizing I was being followed?” Dorothy asked with wide eyes. “How could I let this happen?”

  “What’s done is done. At least we know now. We just have to catch the killer before he does it again.”

  “Oh, is that all,” she said, “Well, easy peasy.”

  “We’ve made progress,” I said.

  “Yes, I suppose you could call it that,” Dorothy said around a sigh.

  I went back to my computer, hoping to find more clues. After just a few more minutes of digging I found what I was looking for. I hadn’t expected to find Justin’s other address. Not now. Not after I’d been looking for so long. Now I saw there had been a transfer of deed from Vivian to Justin. Good thing I’d thought to look for her name on a property search.

  “Let’s take a trip,” I said.

  When I jumped up from my desk, Dorothy tossed her knitting needles in the air. “For heaven’s sake. You scared me again. When are you going to stop doing that?”

  “Sorry, Dorothy.” I grabbed my bag. “Never mind, you should stay here and answer the phone. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Wait, where you are going?” she asked as she stood from her desk.

  Now that I thought about it, I really didn’t want Dorothy to go because of the note. Or did I? If I left her here alone maybe that wouldn’t be safe either. I had no idea what to do. I wished I could hide her away until it was safe for her to come out.

  “I don’t think you should go because this could be dangerous,” I said.

  “You tell me where you are going right now, Maggie Thomas.” Dorothy placed her hands on her hips.

  I sighed. “Okay, I found the address. I have to go there.”

  “What address?” she asked.

  “The address for the guy,” I said, trying to be vague.

  “The killer?” she asked with wide eyes.

  “No, but close enough. The dead guy’s other house. The one where this Billy guy lives.”

  “Well, what good is that going to do?” Dorothy asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe we can get in and look around and find out what was going on with these two.”

  “This is definitely risky.” She shook her head.

  “You got that right,” I said.

  “Jake would give you a big no on this one,” Dorothy said.

  I looped my purse over my shoulder and headed for the door.

  “Though you’re not going to let that stop you though, not in the least, are you?” Dorothy asked.

  “Nope.”

  When I glanced back at Dorothy’s sweet face, I couldn’t do it. No way could I leave her here alone. It was too risky. She was giving me that guilt stare too.

  A short time later, Dorothy and I arrived at Justin’s other house. The out-of-the-way place sat at the end of a secluded dirt road. Large pine trees covered the area. The small white house had a porch that ran the entire length of the house. Nothing was on the front porch and the place almost looked abandoned. Did he even really live here? I suppose I was about to find out. I pulled up to the circle drive and shoved the car into park.

  “This place is kind of spooky, not to mention I think there might be alligators,” Dorothy said.

  “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time we encountered one,” I said, shutting off the car.

  “I had hoped that would have been our last time,” she said.

  “It’ll be all right, Dorothy,” I said, grabbing my gun from my bag. “Just stick with me. Better yet, maybe you should just stay in the car.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding. As if that’s really going to happen.”

  “One could only hope,” I said.

  She unbuckled her seatbelt. “What’s that supposed to mean, young lady?”

  “Just that I think it’s too dangerous and I’d prefer you not get out of the car. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I’ve been around a lot longer than you and I can handle myself, thank you very much.”

  Oh, no, now we were going to have this argument again.

  “Yes, Dorothy,” I said. “Forget I said anything. Of course you can take care of yourself. We should get to it.”

  I unbuckled my seat belt. Dorothy was right. I’d again momentarily forgotten that I probably shouldn’t leave her out of my sight. Though I was torn on which was worse. Being around me or being far, far away. Why hadn’t Jake returned my call yet?

  “We’re going to find this guy.” Dorothy pumped her fist.

  Now she was feeling feisty.

  There were no cars at the house, and I wondered if we would be able to get in at all without breaking in. But I had ways of accessing places when I wasn’t supposed to be inside. Dorothy said one of these days I would get in big trouble. But I had a good luck streak going and I hoped it stayed that way.

  The smell of pine encircled us. There were no other houses in sight. It was too secluded and overgrown. Dorothy and I slipped up to the front door of the white house. The wooden steps squeaked under our feet. There were no chairs on the porch, no flowers, or no welcome mat.

  “Do you really think you’ll get lucky enough to find anything?” Dorothy asked.

  “No, probably not, but I would be dumb not to try this first, right?”

  “I suppose,” she said around a sigh.

  Of course, I knocked, but I received no answer. When I wrapped my hand around the doorknob and twisted, the door didn’t move.

  “No such luck. It’s locked,” I said.

  “Did you seriously think you’d get that lucky?” Dorothy asked.

  “Maybe,” I said.

  I shook the door just in case maybe the lock would open. It didn’t budge. I pushed my body against it with no luck there either. Why couldn’t the person have left a door mat with a key underneath? That would have made my job so much easier.

  Dorothy shook her head. “That’s not going to work.”

  “Can’t blame a girl for trying,” I said.

  Luckily, there were no curtains on the dirty windows. Maybe now I’d get a good look at what was inside.

  I walked over to the window, cupped my hands around my eyes, and pressed my face against the glass. The place was kind of a mess in there. Other than a few pieces of furniture there were just some newspapers scattered around, dirty laundry, and the overflowing trash can. I was almost sure the police had been here already.

  Grunting, I tried to open the window, but it wouldn’t budge either. The place was locked down tight.

  “You’re going to hurt yourself acting that way,” Dorothy said.

  “There’s probably a back door. We should try that,” I said.

  “I have a feeling we’re not going to get into this house.”

  “I have a feeling we will,” I said. “Never doubt me, Dorothy.”

  “Don’t break a window or anything,” Dorothy warned.

  “I would never do anything illegal.” I motioned for her to follow me down the porch steps.

  “Going into that house is illegal,” she said, trailing behind me.

  “Well, I would never do anything illegal other than that.”

  She shook her head.

  Dorothy clutched onto my arm as we walked around the side of the house. The only sound came from the insects and nearby birds in the trees. We weren’t that far from town, but it felt as if we were cut off from the world. Like no one would find us if we called out for help. The thought sent a shiver down my spine.

  I knew Dorothy was on the lookout for alligators. Not that I wasn’t, because
I was definitely afraid that we’d run into one, but there were all kinds of things to be afraid of around here. What if the killer showed up here? He probably wouldn’t, I reminded myself. What would be the reasoning for that? But the thought had still popped into my mind.

  We made it to the back of the house. A small porch sat at the back with a door I assumed led into the kitchen. I moved up a couple of steps and then raised my hand to knock. When my fist made contact with the door it opened. My eyes widened and I looked back at Dorothy. Her eyes were as big as saucers too.

  “Well, I will take this as an invitation to go on inside.” I eased the door open.

  She grabbed my arm. “Maggie, are you sure we should do this?”

  “Absolutely,” I said. ‘Now come on, let’s go.”

  I motioned for Dorothy to follow me inside. I knew she’d come in with me. She didn’t want to stay outside with the alligators. And she didn’t want to be in the car alone. She was anxious, but I knew she wanted in on the action. Dorothy loved this as much as me.

  “What exactly are we looking for?” Dorothy asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I guess we’ll know it when we see it,” I said.

  Dorothy and I stood in the middle of the kitchen now as if we had been dropped down in the middle of this place without a clue where we were. Light oak cabinets lined the walls with white countertops and appliances. The space was barely enough room to turn around in. A mishmash of small appliances dotted the countertops. A small table with two chairs was pushed up against the wall. A cuckoo clock was on the wall above the table.

  It was currently five minutes until the top of the hour. Quite a few dirty dishes filled the sink. I’d probably have to stop Dorothy from actually trying to wash them. I glanced back and caught her eyeing the sink.

  “Don’t even think about it, Dorothy,” I said.

  “But,” she said.

  I shook my head. “No time.”

  I had to think of a plan. Where would we look first? I supposed I would check some of the cabinets, but what would I find in there? Plates and dishes? I looked through some of the drawers, but there was nothing other than junk, like scissors, bottle openers, and random bottle caps. Things that should have been thrown away.