Chapter 24

 

Before going to the office, I headed out for a walk along the beach. Okay, really I wanted to go back to the scene of Henry’s murder. I knew there wouldn’t be evidence there because of the water, but maybe just being in the surroundings would spark an idea. Seagulls circled in the sky above me. At least they weren’t swooping down for my head. Looking to my left there was a white surf guard tower, although no one was there. Beyond that a couple strolled hand in hand. To my right a man jogged by the water, moving farther away. Straight ahead in the distance, a cruise ship traveled across the ocean. I took off my shoes, carried them in my hands, and walked over to the water. I’d still been trying to track down information about that surf shop pin. It was definitely for Roland’s shop. That was no coincidence, but I couldn’t prove anything.

I let the foamy water rush against my legs and the sand sink between my toes. The crash of the surf was such a soothing melody. It was ironic that such a violent crime had been carried out in this calm and tranquil backdrop. Had Henry been lost in thought and peering out at the sea when he was murdered? I didn’t believe it was a planned killing because the murderer surely would have picked a more secure location if he knew he was going to commit such a horrendous crime. The sun was rising, casting red streaks across the blue sky. A gentle breeze came off the water and onto my skin.

“What are you thinking about?” the male voice asked from over my shoulder

I spun around.

Jake was right behind me. “Sorry if I startled you.”

I studied his handsome face. “The boat going by must have concealed you.” I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t on my toes. Yes, I had something to prove. “Just enjoying the sunset, I guess. What are you doing here?”

“Same thing,” he said.

“Oh, you know why you’re here and you know why I’m here. We’re both trying to solve this case,” I said.

“Learn anything new?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Not really. What about you? Oh, wait. You can’t tell me, right?” I hadn’t intended on sounding so smug.

“Nothing new here either,” he said.

I was surprised that he had been honest with me. I believed him.

“You never told me who called you the other day when we found Brett,” I said.

Angela had been snooping around on Kevan Willoughby. It seemed like she was trying to play a little bit of the P.I. as well. She’d seen him go into the house after Brett.

“It was Mike Archer.”

“Now that makes sense. Angela called me.”

Jake smiled. “I told them I didn’t need the help.”

“Did you get any answers from Roland, Kevan, and Kenneth?” I asked.

“They denied it. No one else on the scene recognized them.”

That included Dorothy. I’d told her she needed to have her eyes checked again.

Jake stared out at the water. “The water sure made it hard to get any evidence.”

“Yeah, too bad about that. What about the paper? The one with my info? Did you get anything from that?” I asked.

A smile spread across his face. “You just want me to tell you what kind of clues I have.”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “I’m offended by that.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners again. “Well, don’t be offended.”

I tried to hide my smile so that he would take me seriously.

“Well, we know Henry certainly wasn’t dressed for the beach, so I’m guessing that he met someone here. Like Penelope.”

“There was more video of her at a different store at the time of the murder,” Jake said.

“Yes, but I’m convinced the man she met was Roland. He probably killed Henry.”

“I suppose anything is possible,” he said.

“I have a feeling Henry ran into someone else here. I say the person killed him during some sort of heated argument.”

Jake ran his hand through his hair. “We didn’t identify the fingerprints we got off the card either. Unfortunately, whoever left the fingerprints doesn’t have a criminal record, so we don’t know who they belong to.”

“Any ideas?” I asked.

“I have my suspicions that it’s someone on my suspect list, but I have so far been unable to compare the fingerprints.”

“Meaning you haven’t been able to get the fingerprints from your suspect? Can’t you just ask them for that?”

“We don’t have probable cause just yet.”

“What about if you got it from something they touched?” I asked.

“Sure, we’ve been trying, but we’ve had no luck so far.”

This really had me thinking. What if I could get the fingerprints and then I could make a match? That would still be me solving the case, although technically, I hadn’t gotten the fingerprints from the card to begin with, but that was just a technicality. As long as I solved the case, I was happy.

“I can do it,” I said.

“You can do what?” he asked.

“I can get fingerprints for you,” I said.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“What? You think I can’t do it?”

“No, I know you can do it, and that’s the problem. Just how much trouble will you get into in the process?” he said.

“There you go again, offending me,” I said.

“You know I’m telling the truth. What do you have in mind?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t know exactly, but I will come up with something. Look, Jake, you have your hands full. This is something I can do for you. Besides, it’s not like I won’t do it just because you tell me not to,” I said.

“You know this is dangerous.”

“I’m well aware of the danger. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear any of this conversation.”

“Fine, we didn’t have this discussion,” I said. “Don’t be surprised if you get something from me soon.”

“I’m not listening,” he said.

My cell phone rang and I had to take the call. “I just need to answer this real quick.”

Dorothy had been texting me. Since I hadn’t answered her, I knew that the next step would be her calling Jake.

After a few seconds, I said, “I have to go. Apparently, Dorothy needs me.”

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine. It’s probably some sort of emergency where she needs to go to the store for more yarn or something. Nevertheless, I should get there. I am a little late.”

“It was good seeing you, Maggie,” Jake said.

He wasn’t walking away and neither was I. I supposed I had to make the first move, so why was I staring at his gorgeous face? Why was he staring at me? I wondered what was on his mind. A couple of seconds later, I realized what was on his mind as he moved forward. Jake was kissing me. And this time it was way more thought-out than the last one had been. The last kiss had been more of an impulse move, but this time it seemed as if he had put some thought into it. The kiss was soft and gentle. The ocean behind us made this an extremely romantic scene. My phone rang again, breaking up the blissful moment.

The corner of his mouth turned up in a grin. “I should let you get to Dorothy now.”

“Yeah, I should go.” Were my cheeks flushed?

He received a text. “It’s Dorothy. She wants to know where you are.”

“Tell her I’m on my way.” I headed out across the sand toward my office.