Chapter 10

 

Sadly, I’d lost track of Brett and never found him again at the races. Now I had to make other plans. I knew that most of the time it was wise to look to relatives or friends first when someone had been murdered. Jake would be doing the same thing. I wondered if I could beat him to it.

Bumping into relatives would be a delicate situation, since loved ones would still be dealing with the horrific news. Though they would probably be eager to help find the killer. Unless of course one of them happened to be the killer. I’d be able to tell a lot just by how they responded to my questions. 

I grabbed my keys and headed for the door. A visit to Henry’s place was all I had at the moment.

Dorothy shoved her knitting needles into her bag. “Where are we going?”

I stopped at the door. “I need you to stay here and answer calls.”

“Again, there aren’t that many people calling.” She picked up the phone, and pressed a few buttons. “There. Now the calls will be forwarded.”

“You call me for help with your TV remote, yet you can forward phone calls?”

She looped her bag over her shoulder. “What can I say? I guess I’m tech-savvy now.”

I knew she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Dorothy and I climbed into the car and headed over to the address for Henry. We pulled up in front of the house and got out. Before I even got a chance to knock on the door it opened and a woman almost bumped into me.

“May I help you?” she asked.

“My name is Maggie Thomas,” I said. 

Her eyes widened. “Oh, you’re Maggie. I’m Angela Archer.”

Well, this was a good turn of events.

“Nice to meet you.” I stuck out my hand to shake, but instead she embraced me in a hug.

Next, she looked at Dorothy.

“This is my assistant Dorothy.”

Angela reached toward Dorothy, but Dorothy rushed toward her at the same time. They hugged. Dorothy hugged anyone who would allow it. 

“Any news?” Angela asked. “I was just here going through a few of my brother’s things.”

I glanced over her shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the inside of the house. “I’m working on a few leads. So he lived here alone?”

“Skye had planned to move in with Henry. My brother owns a few rental houses. He was quite successful.”

“How was Henry and Skye’s relationship right before she was murdered?”

“You know, they fought often. I told him I was uneasy around her. There was just something about her that made me fearful… for him. Funny she was the one murdered first and next it happened to my brother.”

“Again, I am so sorry,” I said. 

“Maggie, I need you to find my brother’s killer. Someone had been threatening him. Plus, he wanted to find Skye’s killer. We know he was innocent. That was why he wanted to speak with you. He had to find out who had killed her. Now we’re looking for his killer.”

“How did your brother find me?”

“I believe he knew your uncle. He found out that your uncle had passed. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Luckily, you took over the business.”

Angela might have more confidence in me than I deserved.

“Do you know anyone who might have wanted your brother dead?” I asked.

“He didn’t tell me much. I guess he didn’t want to scare me. I think he talked to our brother more. You should probably speak with him.”

“Where can I find him?” I asked.

“He works at a boating shop.” She looked at her watch. “He’s getting off work soon. This would be a good time to speak with him,” she said.

“Are you sure he’d be willing to talk with me?” I asked.

“Yes, of course. He’s really upset about our brother’s death and will do anything to find the killer.” She gave me the address of her brother’s work.

“Thank you. I’ll contact you as soon as I find anything,” I said. 

After hurrying back to the car, Dorothy and I headed to the brother’s work right away. A short time later, we arrived at the boat shop. I found a parking spot and whipped the car in. As Dorothy and I walked across the lot toward the shop, I noticed a car driving slowly along the other lane. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but it felt oddly like someone in that car was watching us. I didn’t mention this to Dorothy because I didn’t want to startle her. I kept glancing over as we walked in case the car made any strange moves. I wanted to know if someone got out of that car.   

As we neared the shop, the car pulled out of the parking lot and drove off. I supposed I was just being paranoid.

We reached the shop and I asked the man behind the counter if Mike Archer was working. He went to the back to get him. After a minute, a blond man came from the back room.

He made eye contact with me. “May I help you?”

“My name is Maggie Thomas.”

His eyes widened. I saw the family resemblance with his sister. She’d had the same reaction.

“I’m investigating your brother’s death. I spoke with your sister. She told me you might be able to give me more information. Do you know how your brother knew my uncle?” I asked.

“I believe your uncle did a few cases for my brother’s friend. My brother said his friend spoke highly of your uncle.”

I smiled. “That’s nice to know. I’m sorry about your brother and I’ll do everything I can do find the killer.”

“I spoke with the detective earlier. What was his name? Oh yeah, Detective Jackson.”

At the mention of Jake’s name my stomach danced.

“I explained to him that my brother thought someone was after him.”

“Why did your brother think this?” I asked.

“For the past few days before his death a car had been following him everywhere.”

A flash of the car I’d just seen in the parking lot popped into my mind.

“Did he mention who may have been doing that?” I asked. “What did the car look like?”

“The car was black, I believe. Henry had a few people who said he had cheated them out of money, but that simply wasn’t true. Skye was the one who was bad news. She was involved with shady people.”

“Do you know who those people are?”

He ran his hand through his hair. “No, I don’t have names. I wish that I did. I just feel sick about it. We talked every night. I asked Henry, but he never wanted to share this information with me. He said that I shouldn’t get involved.”

In light of what had happened Henry probably had been looking out for his brother.

“So do you think you can find the person who killed him?” Mike asked.

“If anyone can do it Maggie is the person,” Dorothy said.

The man eyed me up and down. “That’s good to hear. You’ll let me know if you find anything?”

“Absolutely. If I have more questions I’ll give you a call.”

Mike wrote down his number. Now I had to find out who had been following Henry. Of course, I assumed it was probably the same person who had killed him. I would track them down before they did this to anyone else.

“Is there anything else you can think of?” I asked.

He ran his hand through his hair. “No, just look into the girlfriend. I know she was doing something she shouldn’t. Just a gut feeling, I suppose.”

“I’ll make sure to check her out. Thanks again.”  

Dorothy and I headed back outside toward the car. I didn’t want to alarm her, but I spotted that same car again. It was across the street parked along the curb. Maybe the person was just doing business nearby, but after Mike had told me his brother feared being followed, my mind was in overdrive.

“You seem stressed. What’s wrong?” Dorothy asked.

“Oh, nothing, just thinking about solving the case,” I said, trying to sound casual.

“Why are you walking so fast?” Dorothy asked. “It’s like you think someone is after us.”

“Of course not.” I laughed nervously.

Dorothy eyed me suspiciously. Luckily, she didn’t press the issue. Dorothy and I got into the car and I locked the doors right away. Like that would stop someone from getting to us.

“I swear you are acting strange,” she said as she buckled her seatbelt.

“We just need to go find out more about Skye,” I said, starting the car.

I was nervous that the car parked along the street was waiting for us. I didn’t know what I’d do if it starting following me. I supposed I could drive right to the police station. Lucky for us, the car remained along the street. I supposed it was just me being paranoid.