Chapter 28

 

I went back to the surf shop to find someone to give me answers about that building and who was responsible for all of this. Yes, I was angry and I was determined to get answers. I hadn’t told Jake about this trip. He would just tell me to wait for him or other officers to go check it out. I didn’t have time for that. I would handle this on my own. After all, this was my job. Just as I wheeled into the parking lot I spotted Kenneth come out and hop into his car. I wasn’t about to let him get away.

He seemed to be in a hurry. Where did he think he was going? But would he lead me to Dorothy? Luckily, he hadn’t seen me watching him. He was probably too consumed with his thoughts of crime to notice his surroundings. What a loser. That was good for me though because his ineptness would with any luck lead me straight to Dorothy and most likely the murderer too.

He sped out of the parking lot. I had to race to catch up to him. I wanted to be able to keep my distance though so he wouldn’t see me. Since he was driving like a lunatic I had to as well. I was pretty soon someone would call the police on us. Jake would somehow get word that I was driving like a lunatic around town. He might not actually be surprised by that—unhappy, but not surprised.

Kenneth made a couple of turns and I used my best maneuvers to keep up with him. Maybe he did know I was back there after all, but something told me he always drove like a jackass. I was just hoping that he stopped soon. I didn’t want to keep driving like this for long. If he kept it up there might be an accident. I wouldn’t be a part of that. I should call Jake and have him pull the guy over. He could arrest him for driving too fast. Or I could just make a citizen’s arrest on my own, I supposed. For now I would keep following.

A short distance farther he pulled into the apartment complex and drove slowly around the building. I kept my distance and hoped that I would be able to find him. This place wasn’t nearly as congested as the roads, so I couldn’t stay right on him or he would see me right away. When I turned around the side of the building, I didn’t spot him. Then I realized he had parked so I whipped into the first spot that I saw.

I watched as he got out of the car and walked over to an apartment. He shoved the key into the lock and opened the door. I jumped off the scooter and headed over toward his apartment. I assumed since he had the key that it was his place. I didn’t know what I was going to say to him, but I wanted answers and he was going to give them to me right now.

Sure, this was a bit of a crazy move, but I had to do whatever it took to find Dorothy. He had left the door open. I figured he’d thought it was closed. I didn’t care. I was going to be as intimidating as possible in order to get answers from him. I opened the door further and peeked inside. He was nowhere around, so I stepped inside the apartment.  

I had my gun with me if he decided to start shooting or something, although I was technically breaking and entering his home, I supposed. But those were minor details. Singing came from the back of the apartment. He was really lousy at it too. It sounded more like an injured animal. I walked to the bedroom door and spotted him standing there. Unfortunately, he had no clothes on. I knocked on the doorframe. Kenneth screamed and spun around. In the process he tumbled to the floor.

“What the hell are you doing in here? Have you lost your mind?” He grabbed the blanket from the bed and attempted to cover up. “I knew you were nuts.”

“I want to know where my assistant is. I know you have something to do with her disappearance.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m calling the cops.” He reached toward the nightstand.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I said with a wave of my hand.

What was I thinking? He stopped and stared at me with wide eyes. He wasn’t a tough criminal. I couldn’t believe he was actually doing as I told him.

“Look, tell me what you know and I will leave,” I said.

“I told you that I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I stared at him. “You and your father are involved with this. How do you know Kevan Willoughby? Why did he kill Brett McGraw?”

He seemed nervous and not just because I was standing in his bedroom. No, I got the impression he knew more and was pretending innocence.

“I don’t know,” Kenneth said.

“We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way. It’s your choice,” I said.

He scoffed. I knew he couldn’t tell if I was being serious.

“You want to test me?” I asked.

I scanned the room. I spotted a pack of cigarettes on the dresser. I eased over to the piece of furniture, keeping my eye on him in case he decided to make a move.

I picked up the pack of cigarettes. “These yours?”

“Yeah, you can have them if you’ll just leave,” he said.

“No, thanks, I don’t smoke. I don’t want the wrinkles.”

He shrugged.

“It’s funny.” I held the pack of cigarettes up.

“What’s funny?” he asked.

“This is a lesser-smoked brand of cigarettes. It’s not that common.”

“So what?” he said with an attitude.

“It just so happens that I discovered this same kind of cigarette outside my office. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.” I stepped closer to him.

He moved a little closer to the nightstand. Did he have something in there that he was trying to reach?

“Why don’t you tell me why you were at my office? Where is Dorothy?” I demanded.

“I don’t know,” he yelled.

This was getting me nowhere. I had to be tougher with him. Jake wouldn’t be happy with me if he found out about this. That meant that I couldn’t let him find out about this. In one swift movement, I reached out and grabbed the blanket, ripping it off of Kenneth. He gasped and covered his front area with his hands. If I hadn’t been so mad and wanted to find Dorothy I would’ve laughed at his reaction.

I was losing my patience with him though. This was getting me nowhere. Maybe he really didn’t know anything about it, but his reaction just sent off strange vibes to me. What else could I do to him? I couldn’t threaten him more. I would have to just leave. That was upsetting considering the discovery of the cigarettes.

Maybe Jake could match fingerprints from the cigarettes that I’d found at my office to the pack I’d just taken from his dresser. That was better than nothing. I supposed that made me feel a little better about this trip. Not a complete success, but better than nothing.

A sniffle sounded across the room. He whimpered and wiped at his eyes. Actual tears ran down his cheeks.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

This was really awkward. I didn’t know if he was just trying to trick me or this was real emotion. I didn’t know what to do next. He didn’t answer me. I moved back for the door so that I could get out of there. I would give the cigarettes to Jake and maybe he could help me go from there.

“Look, I’m leaving, okay? So you can stop crying now.”

He sat on the floor with no clothes on and crying. What had I done? I’d scared him so much he was having an emotional breakdown. I wasn’t sure if this was part of the private investigator thing. He wiped his tears from his cheeks. If he was acting then he deserved some sort of award for that. Nevertheless, I was getting out of there.

As I backed up I bumped right into somebody. I couldn’t help but scream. When I turned around I realized Jake was standing right behind me. How did he know where to find me? Needless to say he had a funny expression on his face, considering I was in a room with a man with no clothing on and who was still sniffling.

“Oh, hi, Jake,” I said.

His right eyebrow lifted slightly at my casual greeting. “Should I even ask what’s going on here or would you like for me to give you two some privacy?”

The look on his face was similar to the one I gave Dorothy when I caught her tossing breadcrumbs to the seagulls. It sounded as if he was a tad upset. I supposed I had some explaining to do.

“I came here to get answers from the guy.” I gestured with my thumb.

“She’s crazy. She has me trapped in this room. Can I please have the blanket now?” he asked.

Jake stepped into the room and grabbed the blanket. He tossed it to the guy. Kenneth hurriedly wrapped the blanket around his waist.

I handed Jake the pack of cigarettes. “I found these. They match the butt I found in front of my office. It’s not a usual brand, so I think that there’s a connection.”

“What can you tell us about this?” Jake held the pack of cigarettes up.

“I told her I don’t know anything,” Kenneth said.

“I saved the cigarette butt so that you can take fingerprints off that and compare them to the ones on that package,” I said. “Then you would know for sure if he’s telling the truth.”

The guy got a funny look on his face. “Okay, I’ll tell you what I know.”

Now we were talking.

“Can I put on some clothes first at least?” the guy asked.

“We’ll be right outside this door. Hurry up,” Jake warned.

We stepped out in the hallway in order to let him dress. Soon enough Jake would put the cuffs on him. At least that was the way it played out in my mind.