Chapter 29

 

“How did I manage to walk in on you and a guy with no clothes on?” Jake asked.

“There’s a good explanation for that,” I said.

Jake smiled. “I’d love to hear it.”

“Well, he was apparently getting in the shower when I walked in the bedroom.”

“So you just came in? Maggie, that’s very dangerous. You shouldn’t do that. Why are you in his apartment?”

“The door was open. It was like an invitation. I called out to him, but he didn’t answer because he was too busy singing. I just let myself in.”

“Why did you do that?” Jake asked.

“I wanted to ask him where he took Dorothy. I know he has something to do with it and I want answers.”

“Maggie, there are just certain ways you have to do things, and walking into someone’s home isn’t good. Not to mention when they have no clothes on is probably not the best timing.”

“Duly noted,” I said. “What is taking him so long?”

Jake checked his watch. “I don’t know. It is taking a long time.”

Worry set in. What if he’d gotten away? There was a window he could’ve gotten out. Why hadn’t I thought of that first? We should have never left him alone. He’d been nude when I’d walked in, so he surely could’ve dressed in front of me. I’d already seen all he had.

“I’m going to check on him.” I couldn’t just stand back and wait for him.

Jake stopped me. “I’ll check.” Jake wrapped his hand around the door knob and turned. “How’s it going in there?”

When he didn’t get an answer he opened the door all the way and walked in. I hurried in right behind him. My gaze went straight to the window. Sure enough, it was open.

“I knew it. We shouldn’t have left him here alone,” I said.

Jake looked back toward the bathroom and closet area, but the guy wasn’t there. I hated to make Jake feel bad, but if he’d have let me handle the guy Kenneth would still be here now. Jake ran over to the window and looked out. Too bad it was the first floor. If Kenneth had tried to jump out the second or third floor maybe we could’ve caught him. I was surprised that I hadn’t heard any noise in there. I’d known it was too quiet. When it was quiet people were doing things they weren’t supposed to. I couldn’t help but feel a bit defeated right now. Now this guy knew we were looking for him, and no way would he return. Where would I find him now?

I stared out the window over the parking lot. “Do you see him anywhere?”

Jake stood beside me. “He’s gone.”

“Where could he have gotten away to so quickly? Do you think he dressed before he took off?”

“If he has no clothes on then we’ll probably get some calls,” Jake said. “Most likely he dressed though.”

“Maybe some of the neighbors saw him,” I said. “Now we know he definitely has something to hide or he wouldn’t have taken off.”

“He probably realizes he can’t hide from you.” Jake managed to keep a straight face while he said that.

When I took one step forward, I ended up getting set back two.

“Where is your partner?” I asked.

“She had some other things to do,” he said.

Thank goodness for that. I really didn’t want to deal with her attitude right now.

“We should get out of here,” Jake said, gesturing toward the door.

“At least I got the cigarettes for you and the fingerprints. I told you I would.”

“Yes, and I told you I didn’t want to know how you did it. Then I walked in on it.”

“I can’t help it if you came here. Besides, why are you here?” I asked. “Are you checking up on me again?”

“I just happened to be in the neighborhood,” he said.

“Right.”

Jake scanned the apartment. Nothing seemed unusual so we walked to the door.

“So what happens now?” I asked as we stepped outside.

Once outside I surveyed the area, just in case Kenneth was hiding somewhere and waiting for us to leave. So far I hadn’t spotted him anywhere.

“We’ll issue an arrest warrant. We need to get him down to the station and we can question him.”

“I’d like to be there for that,” I said.

“I bet you would,” Jake said. “I see a lot of your uncle in you. From what I’ve heard he didn’t always have the most ethical ways of getting information, if you know what I mean.”

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” I said. “Furthermore, my uncle only did what needed to be done.”

“Abby told me what you did for her back at the building.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I figured she wouldn’t tell you anything about that.”

“Abby may have a funny way of showing it, but she really does appreciate it. And I do too. I know that you two don’t exactly get along.”

“I have nothing against her. She’s just a little standoffish.”

“Yeah, that’s just her nature.”

“If you say so,” I said.

“But anyway I want to thank you.”

“She already said thanks… kind of,” I said.

“Maggie, you’re always getting yourself into danger. Seems like when I tell you not to do something you do the exact opposite.”

“So maybe you should start telling me to get into danger.” I smiled.

He laughed. “Now you might have an idea.”

“I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do from here, but I can’t go back to the office and just sit around. I hope we will find her.”

“I know we will.”

I just hoped that it wasn’t too late.

My cell rang, but I didn’t recognize the number. I picked up anyway, just in case it was something important.

“Maggie, P.I.,” I said.

“We have your friend,” the man said.

My stomach dropped. “Where is she?”

“You have to come get her,” he said.

“Why do you have her?”

“We want to talk to you,” he said.

“Tell me where to go. I’ll be there right now.”

Jake stepped closer since he noticed the distress in my voice. The guy gave me the address and then the phone went dead.

“What is it, Maggie?” Jake asked.

“The man said they have Dorothy.”

“Tell me where to go.” Jake grabbed my arm and rushed me toward his car.

“They said not to bring the cops.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” he said.

“I don’t want Dorothy to get hurt,” I said.

“I promise I won’t let that happen,” Jake said as he opened his car.

I had to trust that he was telling the truth.

After jumping into his car, we took off out of the parking lot with the sirens blaring and the lights swirling. Thank goodness he hadn’t argued that I couldn’t come along. Jake had practically insisted I come along by the way he showed me to his car.

We navigated the streets to the address. I was so nervous about what I would find once we arrived. When Jake pulled the car up to the curb I opened the door before he even got the engine turned off.

“Maggie, wait for me,” Jake said.

I had to get to Dorothy. There was no time to slow down now. Once I reached the porch I slowed down though. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to go in there by myself. I had no idea who was in there waiting for me. They obviously wanted something from me. They weren’t going to turn Dorothy over for no reason. Jake and I walked up toward the house. He had his hand on his gun as we reached the door.

“They probably won’t open the door if they see me,” he said. “You’ll have to knock on the door and stand there so that they open for you.”

I hoped he had a plan after that happened. It sounded like I was the bait in this situation. I knocked on the door and within seconds, Roland Bailey opened it. The room was dark. Roland stood in front of me, eyeing me up and down. Then he motioned for me to come in. I stepped forward, but at the same time surreptitiously peeked over at Jake. He gave a nod.

I turned my attention to the darkened room again and spotted Dorothy. I had to hold back the tears. I couldn’t let Roland know that I was upset or afraid. That would give him the upper hand. I had to keep calm and remain in control. Of course that was easier said than done with Jake standing next to me with a gun, and who knew how many men inside the house with guns.