Chapter 21

 

Dorothy and I were in a fabulous restaurant. It was definitely five-star quality. The dining room was dimly lit with fine china and glassware on the tables. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. The menu made my mouth water at first glance. Unfortunately, it looked as if our dining experience would be cut short. That was fine with me because we hadn’t planned on eating anyway. I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford it. We were only here because we were staking out someone. And it looked as if he was ready to leave.

Dorothy and I were going to follow him. With any luck, he wouldn’t notice we were even here. Even though he wore black sunglasses and a black Fedora hat I’d thought for sure it was Kenneth. We’d followed him from the surf shop. I got the feeling he was trying to disguise himself, but I wasn’t sure why. Plus, I’d thought he’d take off the sunglasses and hat once he got in the restaurant.

“I still can’t believe you brought me out looking like this. What’s next? I have to leave the house in my hair rollers?” she asked.

“We have no time for dressing up right now. We’re watching what’s-his-face,” I said.

“Yes, and don’t you think we’re a little obvious? That we don’t belong here dressed like this?”

“What? Your outfit is perfectly presentable.” I stared at her bright orange shirt. She’d wore white Capri pants and orange sandals to complete her outfit.

“That may be so, but your choice of T-shirt and shorts isn’t the best option. Although I will commend you on selecting one that didn’t have a stain on the front.”

“Okay, that’s enough about my fashion sense. He’s getting up. We have to make a move.” I held the menu up as if that would disguise me.

As soon as the guy walked past our table, Dorothy and I got up and hurried out to the lobby. I spotted him headed toward the door.

“Come on.” I motioned for Dorothy.

Once outside, I spotted him handing his ticket to the valet. I did the same thing. I looked around to see if I spotted who owned one of the fancy cars parked out front. The cars ranged from Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Rolls Royces to Porsches. I would take any of them. Instead, I waited for the valet to bring around my Ford Focus. But hey, the car got me where I needed to go, so I couldn’t complain, right?

“We should try to stop him before he gets in the car. Your Ford had a hard time keeping up with his… whatever he drives. Maybe it’s just your driving.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my driving. People comment all the time about what a good driver I am.”

“Wishful thinking,” Dorothy said.

“I don’t know what to say to him.”

“Well, why did we come here if you’re just going to stand there and stare at him like a creepy stalker person?”

“Would you stop saying the word ‘stalker’?” I asked.

A red Ferrari was headed toward the covered area and I assumed that it belonged to someone else. That wasn’t the car he drove here in. The valet motioned to him as if indicating his ride was ready.

“You’re missing your chance,” Dorothy said.

She was right. I had to do something, so I mustered up all of my courage and headed over to the guy. At the same time he started walking toward the valet. A guy pulled my car up to the front. The object of my stakeout walked over to the Ferrari. Something caught his attention though. Who was he watching?

“I got your Focus right here,” he said, waving his arms wildly.

Everyone turned to look at me, including the man I was following. Instead of getting into the Ferrari, in a flash, the man ran over to my car, shoved the valet out of the way, and jumped behind the wheel. Before I could even think to make a move, he had taken off in my Focus. Yes, that was definitely Kenneth. Why would he do something like that? I mean, especially when he had such a beautiful automobile just waiting for him. He hadn’t arrived in that car. Now they acted like he had driven it here. Why would he want mine? Plus, I only had a small amount of gas left. He was definitely going to have to stop at the nearest gas station.

The valet looked at me and said, “He just took your car.”

“Yes, I realize that. Why did he do that?”

“I think he must be stealing it,” the valet said.

“Again, I have to ask, why would he do something like that?”

“Well, his car is right there. You should take it. His Ferrari is better than your car,” the valet said with a chuckle.

“That’s not such a bad idea,” Dorothy said.

She grabbed the keys from his hand and took off toward the Ferrari.

“Dorothy, what in the hell do you think you’re doing? Get back here.”

Dorothy raced over to the Ferrari. Again, I had no idea how she moved that fast. I really needed to look into those vitamins she was always talking about. She opened the car door, jumped in, and yelled at me to get in too.

I shook my head. “I can’t do that.”

“Get in or I’m leaving you here.” She revved the engine.

What were my options? I could call the police and tell them that my car had been stolen, or I could get in the car with Dorothy, which was stealing a car also. The guy had left it though. Did he want to do some kind of exchange? No, that didn’t make sense. Why would he want to exchange for my car? What was wrong with his car that he wanted mine? This made no sense. Why had he switched from the other car he had driven?

“Get in now,” Dorothy yelled.

She was making me nervous. As confusion whirled in my head, I ran over and jumped into the passenger side. It all happened so quickly it had left me in a bit of daze. I hadn’t even gotten the door closed when Dorothy pulled away from the valet station, squealing the tires as she made the turn. It was a good thing that we had the green light because I had a feeling Dorothy wouldn’t even stop for the red light. She just went sailing right through the green light with a look of madness on her face. Both hands clutched the steering wheel tightly.

Speaking of clutching tightly, I had my hand on the door so that I could brace myself for impact.

“Dorothy, have you lost your mind?” I asked. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“We have to get your car. He didn’t have permission to borrow it, so we’re using his to track him down. I have to hurry before we lose sight of him.”

Up ahead, I spotted my car. Perhaps Dorothy was right. We could catch him and find out what he was doing and get an answer about why he didn’t take his car. Was this really even his car?

“You’re driving like a maniac though,” I said. “Is it really necessary to drive like that?”

“I’m an excellent driver,” she said as she shoved the car into the next gear. “I’ve had many people compliment me on my driving skills.”

Now she was just mocking me. Regardless of her driving, being in the car was like eating a slice of delicious chocolate cake with double chocolate frosting. Complete heaven. Except for when Dorothy ground the gears. I bucked forward in my seat as if I was on a bronco. Dorothy weaved through traffic and neared my car, riding its bumper. He sped up and a red light turned for her. Unfortunately, she didn’t stop for the red light. She ran right through it.

“All right, that’s enough. This is dangerous and you’re breaking I don’t even know how many laws. You just need to pull over and we’ll call the police. They can handle my stolen car and we’ll return this one before they put us in jail.” I didn’t even want to look over at the speedometer to see how fast she was going.

“No need to pull over and call the police,” Dorothy said. “Because they’re already behind us.”

Panic surged through my body when I peeked in the side mirror. I spotted the unmarked car behind us and recognized the face behind the steering wheel. It wasn’t Jake this time, but his partner. Oh, great, the last person I wanted to see. The blue light twirled.

“Oh, I think she wants us to pull over,” Dorothy said.

“You think, Dorothy? Do you think that’s what the blue lights are for?” I said.

“Don’t get snippy with me, missy.”

“I have a right to get snippy with you. We’re in a stolen car, being followed by the police. Abby of all people.”

“It’s not stolen,” she said. “Borrowed. He borrowed yours, and we borrowed his.”

“Borrowed? He isn’t borrowing mine. He stole it.”

“Okay, he stole yours, and you borrowed his.”

“Will you pull over the car?” I yelled.

“I’m pulling over right now,” she said. “I have to go with the traffic.”

Dorothy merged over, using her turn signal, and keeping her hands on the wheel, as if she was following the drivers’ manual. Where was that behavior a few seconds ago? My heart beat faster as I watched in the rearview mirror. Jake’s partner got out of the car and approached us. When she got to the window, she motioned for Dorothy to lower it.

“Why, hello. I didn’t expect to see you here,” Dorothy said with a smile.

I rolled my eyes.

“License and registration, please,” Abby said.

Oh, for Pete’s sake, she knew who we were. Why was she doing this?

“Someone stole my car.” I leaned down and looked her in the eyes.

She eyed the Ferrari. “It looks like you took someone else’s car too. Or is the private eye business going well for you?”

“We were trying to catch up with the person who took my car. He took it by mistake, so we’re going to give his back to him.”

“Don’t you have a Ford Focus? I’m pretty sure that they know the difference between a Ferrari and a Ford Focus.” She smirked.

I sighed. “Okay, the truth is I think that he had bad intentions by taking my car.”

Abby stared at me. “I’m going to need to see that license and registration, please.”

“You know we don’t have the registration for this,” I said.

“All right then, I’m going to need you to step out of the car and move to the back of the vehicle.”

“Oh, what? Now you’re going to arrest us? For what?”

“Step out of the car, please.” She used her most authoritative voice.

“Stop arguing with her,” Dorothy said.

“You got me into this mess,” I whispered.

I opened the car door and climbed out as I was told. I moved to the back of the vehicle. Now I was waiting for her to put the handcuffs on us.

Before any of that happened though, he sound of a bullet whizzing by made me drop to the pavement. Abby ran behind the car, bringing Dorothy with her.

“Stay down,” Abby screamed.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Dorothy said. “Thank goodness I wore my good underwear. I wouldn’t want to die wearing the ones with holes in them.”

Abby pulled out her gun and I instinctively grabbed mine too. I probably wasn’t even supposed to do that, but it was instinct. Like I said, if somebody was shooting I had to defend us. Though I should have probably left that to the professionals. Hey, what was I saying? I was a professional now.

Several more shots rang out. We had no idea where they were coming from, but I had a feeling it was the black Ferrari that just drove by. The men were aiming right at the red Ferrari.

Yeah, that made sense. That was why Kenneth had taken my car. He had to have known someone was coming for him, but how? I had no idea, but he had put my life in danger. At least the shots had stopped. Abby got on her radio and called for backup, letting them know that we had been fired at.

It seemed like an eternity, but in reality, it was only about a minute until the other officers arrived. Thanks goodness we weren’t alone out there any longer. When I looked to the left I immediately saw Jake. He ran toward us, but Abby jumped up and met him before he reached me. I supposed she was explaining what had happened. There was no telling what she told him that we’d done. Probably that we had stolen the car on purpose. I hoped he didn’t believe that. He kept glancing over her shoulder, as if he wanted to talk to me. Other officers had arrived and were asking us questions now. Finally, Jake got away from Abby. I wasn’t expecting for Jake to take me in his arms and hug me as soon as he reached me. That took me by surprise, and I thought everyone else was shocked as well.

“Maggie, are you all right?”

My stomach flipped when he asked. He was making it extremely hard to hide my emotions. For a brief moment, I laid my head on his chest and it felt so good that my problems momentarily faded away. His smell was intoxicating. Then I had to bring myself back to reality. It was no time for romance or feelings like this right now.

“I’m okay,” I said, avoiding his stare.

Jake looked to Dorothy. “How about you, Dorothy? Are you okay?”

She brushed her hair out of her eyes. “I’m just peachy thanks to your partner.”

Dorothy reached out and grabbed Abby, embracing her in a huge hug. Abby’s eyes widened, as if she didn’t know what to do. I got the impression she wasn’t used to showing affection that way. Now that we had established everyone was okay physically, I knew Jake would want me to explain the situation. I would have preferred to talk to him privately, but it didn’t look like I was going to have that opportunity with Abby watching me. Dorothy was still trying to give Abby a mint.

Abby waved her arms. “I’m good, thank you.”

“You should just take it. She won’t stop until you do,” I said.

Abby reluctantly reached out and took the peppermint. She scowled when she noticed a bit of fuzz on it.

“That stuff just melts right off. You won’t even notice it after a while,” I said. “Trust me, I’ve gotten used to it.”

Abby gave a look of displeasure as she placed the mint in her mouth.

Jake once again focused his attention on me. “Maggie, can you explain exactly what happened?”

Summing up the event as much as possible, I explained the details to Jake.

“So let me get this straight. He took your car and you took his. Then you followed this person in order to get your car back.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That pretty much sums it up.” Dorothy handed Jake a mint.

Jake took the candy and asked, “So why didn’t you just call the police instead of stealing a car?”

“Well, it was much better to drive the Ferrari,” Dorothy said. “Besides, obviously he wanted us to take it, right?”

Jake shook his head. “Yes, and look what happened when you did. You were almost killed.”

Dorothy wiggled her finger. “You do have a point. We were almost killed, but Abby saved my life.”

How many times was I going to have to hear about how Abby had saved Dorothy’s life?

“Maggie always seems to get me in some sort of dangerous situation,” Dorothy said.

Oh, now she was going to make it my fault? And that Abby had saved her. Just wait. I was taking back that big bag of mints I’d bought for her. I glared at Dorothy. She gave me a wide-eyed innocent look.

“So do you think you can find my car?” I asked.

“Well, maybe, but it’s no guarantee,” Jake said.

“And there’s no guarantee what condition it’ll be in when we do find it,” Abby added. “We’ll be on the lookout for it though.”

Another officer came over and talked to Jake and Abby. They kept glancing back at Dorothy and me. After a few seconds, they came over.

“Do you have any idea whose car that is?” Jake asked.

I shook my head. “Kenneth?”

“No,” Jake said.

“Well, if I knew I would’ve just called the person and asked for my car back,” I said.

“That is a drug dealer’s car,” Jake said. “I don’t know why Kenneth had it.”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound good,” Dorothy said.

“It’s not good,” Jake said. “He abandoned this car because someone was coming after him. He knew they would be shooting.”

“So in other words, they thought I was him in the car,” I said.

“Most likely, yes. We’re going to impound the car and hopefully find them. We’ve been looking for the owner for a long time anyway.”

“Well, you’ll find one of them in a Ford Focus,” Dorothy said.

“Okay, I suppose we are about wrapped up here,” Abby said.

“How the heck are we going to get back to the office?” Dorothy asked. “We don’t have any wheels.”

Dorothy didn’t need any wheels. Not after the way that she had driven that car. I’d known I shouldn’t let her get in the Ferrari. Though it hadn’t seemed at the time as if I had a choice. She was so stubborn. Way worse than me.

“I can give you a ride back to the office,” Jake said.

Abby frowned. I noticed the expression even though she had tried to hide it. She definitely wasn’t happy with Jake’s offer, but she had no say in what Jake did.

“That would be lovely. Thank you, Jake,” Dorothy said.

Dorothy marched toward his car and got in the backseat. I slid in the front seat. Jake got behind the wheel.

After we took off, I said, “I’m sorry about all of this. I really am. I’m just trying to do my job.”

“Does your job involve you getting in trouble all the time?” Jake cast a glance at me.

“Well, obviously it does,” I said.

“Yeah, Jake, she’s just trying to do a job,” Dorothy said from the backseat.

“Honestly, if I had known it was a drug dealer’s car I wouldn’t have taken it. Well, Dorothy maybe would have, and I suppose I had to keep her out of trouble.”

“You two seem to get each other in trouble a lot,” Jake said.

“But you have to admit I’m pretty good at solving crimes.”

He didn’t look over at me, but I knew he was smiling just a little bit. We pulled into the parking lot for my office and got out of the car. Jake walked us up to the door. Dorothy went on inside and I stood next to Jake at the door. He studied my face for a moment and I got that same feeling in my stomach again. I couldn’t help but think about his lips and that delicious kiss. Not to mention the way that he’d held me. The feel of his arms around me and my head on his chest.

“Look, Maggie, I’m sorry your car was stolen. If I was being harsh on you it’s because I was worried about what might happen.”

“No, I completely understand,” I said. “It’s just bad that I don’t have a way to get around now. I guess I’ll have to rent a car.”

“Well, I hope we’ll find your car. I’ll give you a call, okay?”

“All right,” I said. “Thank you.”

He leaned down and kissed me. I almost fell to my knees. Yes, it was that perfect. I practically floated inside my office and got behind my desk.

“Maggie, what’s wrong?” Dorothy asked. “Why do you have that smile on your face?”

“What smile? I don’t have a smile on my face.”

Dorothy pulled out a mirror from her purse and showed me my reflection.

“Okay, so I have a smile on my face.”

“It’s Jake,” Dorothy said.

I remained silent. I didn’t want to admit it, but yes, it was Jake.

A short time later a knock came at the door. I hurried over to open it, even though I’d left the door unlocked. Jake was standing in front of me with a big grin on his face.

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” I said.

He motioned to the parking lot. “I brought you something to drive.”

“I don’t see anything,” I said.

“Right there.” He pointed.

“The scooter?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s a bike.”

“Looks like a scooter to me. Don’t I need a special license to drive one?”

“Not if it’s less that fifty cc… that’s cubic centimeters. That’s volume of cylinders in the engine,” Jake said. 

“Right. How fast does it go?”

“Thirty-five to forty miles per hour.”

And I thought he wanted me to be safe. “I’ll get run over going that slow.”

His brow furrowed. “Do you normally drive fast?”

“Me?” I scoffed. “Nope. Slowly, well, not to slow. Just the right amount of speed.”

Dorothy came out from the office. “Oh, cool, a scooter.”

“It’s a bike,” Jake corrected.

He could call it whatever he wanted, but it was a scooter.

Dorothy headed toward it.

I ran over and blocked her. “Oh, no, the Ferrari was enough. There’s no way you’re getting on this thing.”

Dorothy glared at me and then turned around. She stomped back to the office without saying a word.

“She seems upset,” Jake said.

“She’ll get over it.”

“In the meantime, why don’t you get on?” Jake asked.

“I need to get on that?”

“Yeah, that’s the point. You’re going to drive it until we find your car.”

“I don’t know… Walking is good for me.”

“You’ll look cute on it.”

“Just what I need to be taken seriously… to look cute,” I said.

“Get on.” He motioned.

I sighed and then walked over to the scooter.

Climbing on I asked, “What am I supposed to do now?”

“Start the bike and take it for a little spin.”

“Just like that?” I said.

“Yeah, you can ride a bicycle, right?”

I nodded.

“Then you’ll be fine,” he said.

I turned the ignition, put the helmet on, and then drove in circles around the parking lot. Finally, I moved back up in front of Jake.

I laughed. “That was kind of fun.”

“That was pretty good,” he said.

I had to admit I was a lot more fun than I thought it would be, but there was still time for a crash. Meaning a car could run over me.

“So you’re going to just let me drive this around? What about Dorothy?”

“She can ride on the back.”

“Oh, my God, this is going to be a sight to see,” I said. “Two wacky girls on a scooter.”

Jake picked up the other helmet and then got onto the scooter. Or bike, as he called it. “Hop on the back. You have to give me a ride home.”

“You mean I’m going to have to drive that thing back after I drop you off?”

“By the time you get home you’ll be good at it.”

“I hope that’s true,” I said.

I climbed on the back and he took off out of the parking lot. Dorothy was at the door. I waved to her as we took off. We zipped through the streets. Jake was naturally much better at this than I was. I was still nervous about how I was going to get it back without someone crashing into me and killing myself or destroying his scooter.

We pulled up in front of his place and I got off the scooter. Jake turned off the scooter and then removed his helmet.

He touched my hand. “Would you like to come in for a bit?”

Now it really was decision time. Should I say yes and follow my heart? Or do the wise thing that my head was telling me and say no?

In spite of myself, I found myself nodding. “Yes, just for a little bit.”

What was I getting myself into?

Jake and I headed toward the front door of his condo. A couple palm trees stood sentinel at the front entrance. Sprinklers twirled across the lawn as we went up the sidewalk. All the condos looked the same of course.

He unlocked the door and gestured. “Please come in.”

It smelled like oranges and lemons.

“Do you have fruit in here?” I sniffed.

“Oh, that’s the air freshener.” He placed his keys on the table next to the entrance.

He flipped the switch on the wall. A soft glow eliminated the living room straight ahead. It was kind of romantic, which was bad news for me. Jake hurried over to the living room and grabbed the remote. Yeah, it was just like a guy to go for the remote right away. So much for it being romantic. He flicked on the TV.

“This is no park, but I do have an old movie.” He pointed toward the TV.

Casablanca popped up on the screen.

Jake hurried back to the kitchen and held up a package of microwave popcorn. “I have snacks and soda too. What do you say? Are you up for a movie?”

Had he planned all this? If so, then that was incredibly romantic. I took back what I’d said about it not being romantic.

I couldn’t hold back a smile. “Sure, a movie would be great. Is that buttered popcorn?” I asked.

“Absolutely.” He pulled a big bowl from the cabinet.

After placing the bag in the microwave, he opened the refrigerator. “What would you like to drink? I have bottled water, Diet Coke, and I think there’s a beer left.”

“Water is fine,” I said.

The microwave beeped and he opened the door. I stepped into the kitchen and grabbed the bowl. Jake’s smile was warm and genuine. He was more relaxed here in his place, as if he could for once let his guard down. He opened the bag and poured the popcorn into the bowl. Jake placed the water bottles and bowl of popcorn on a tray and carried it toward the living room.

“Please sit anywhere you’d like.”

I knew if I sat on the leather sofa he would sit next to me. My better judgement deserted me. I wanted to be next to him. Just his mere presence made my stomach dance. I settled onto the sofa and Jake sat next to me. He handed me the water bottle. I scooped up a handful of popcorn while he turned on the movie. Jake leaned back on the sofa. We watched the movie in silence. He smelled good, like caramel and cinnamon. Mixed in with the air freshener and this was making me hungry. That probably hadn’t been Jake’s goal. 

“Have you seen the movie before?” Jake asked.

I nodded. “Yes, but it’s been a few years. I always love it though.”

“Old movies are great,” Jake said. “I love the old detective movies. Classics like The Big Sleep and Murder, My Sweet.”

“Me too!” I said with a little too much excitement. “Don’t forget about Tony Rome.”

“Oh, I could never forget that movie. The Miami P.I. who outsmarts the bad guys.”

I laughed. “It makes a good story, right?”

I loved that I’d discovered that we had something else in common. I didn’t want my attraction to him to be purely physical. As the movie played, Jake and I somehow ended up closer and closer to each other. My leg was touching his leg. Soon he reached out and touched my hand. I looked over and our eyes met.

Jake leaned in closer, lowering his lips until they hovered just above mine. My heart sped up and my body tingled. After what seemed like an eternity of anticipation our lips met. I savored the sensual movements of his mouth. I ran my hand through his thick hair, just as I’d envisioned many times. A jolt of sexual energy zinged between us. I hoped I wasn’t the only one feeling it. The kiss had heated up when a loud knock came at the door. Jake groaned, and the kiss was over.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

I attempted a grin. He pushed to his feet, grabbed the remote, turned down the TV, and then walked over to the door. Who was at the door? Was it Jake’s partner? I hoped not. That would be the quickest way to end the romance that Jake and I had going. When Jake opened the door I saw Dorothy standing there.

I jumped up and ran over. “Dorothy, what are you doing here?”

She was about the last person I’d expected to see. “Is everything okay? How did you know I was here?” I bombarded her with questions.

“You left with Jake on the scooter, remember?” Dorothy said.

“Oh, right,” I said.

“Dorothy, is everything all right?” Jake asked.

“I’m sorry to bother you two, but I just thought it was important.”

“You’re not bothering us, Dorothy. Tell me what’s wrong?” Jake asked with concern in his words.

“I answered a call and the person I guess thought I was Maggie. He said he was coming after me if I didn’t stop investigating the case.”

“Did you get the number?” Jake asked.

“No, it was on Maggie’s business line.” Dorothy looked shaken up.

“It’s okay, Dorothy,” I said, reaching out to hug her. “I’m fine.”

“Well, at least I know you’re still with Jake.” She wasn’t so scared that she didn’t give me a devilish smile.

I wanted to tell her it wasn’t what it looked like, but the fact was, I didn’t know what it looked like. It was probably exactly what it looked like.

“How did you get here?” I asked.

Dorothy gestured over her shoulder. “Morton brought me. What will you do now?”

“We’ll find out how did this,” Jake said. “Maggie, are there any other cases you’re working on right now?

Oh, this was an embarrassing question.

“Um, not that I think would warrant any call like that.”

“Well, you never know,” Jake said. “You can let me know the other cases just so I can make sure.”

Dorothy waved her hand. “Oh, she doesn’t have any other cases. Don’t waste your time worrying about that.”

Thanks a lot, Dorothy. I glared at her.

“Anyway, Morton has to leave. I told him you could give me a ride home.” She looked at Jake.

Sadly, I figured Dorothy was scared. I knew she’d feel better if Jake gave her a ride home and checked out here place. Saying that Morton had to leave was just an excuse.

“I think that’s a good idea,” I said. “Jake, you can follow me home too? We’ll catch that movie later?”

Jake grinned. “I’ll give you a ride home, Dorothy.”