Chapter 1

 

 

My day started perfectly. It felt as if I was in paradise. This lasted approximately five minutes before utter chaos surrounded me.

Allow me to explain. The sun beat down on me, bathing my skin in warmth. The endless blue sky stretched out above me. I lay on my back, allowing the calm to engulf me. The boat swayed back and forth in rhythm with the water. I wore my newest yellow bikini—my collection of swimwear had grown significantly since arriving in Miami. To shade my head I wore a large floppy straw hat. Oversized black sunglasses covered my eyes, not to mention half my face. This was the life.

Since taking over my uncle Griffin Thomas’ detective agency I’d encountered numerous dangerous situations and even solved a few cases. I’d dodged bullets, been involved in car chases, and almost been eaten by a shark. They’d said it was seaweed stuck to my leg, but I wasn’t convinced. When I took over the business I’d thought I’d have a few insurance fraud cases, or maybe follow cheating spouses. It had been much more than that. For that reason, I was enjoying a chance to unwind and relax. Sunning on a boat off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean seemed like a little slice of heaven. Yes, Thomas Detective Agency was all mine now. Maggie Thomas, P.I.—that was me.

Of course, I wasn’t alone on this boat. That was another wonderful part of my day.

Detective Jake Jackson had come into my life like a whirlwind after the first murder case. After solving that case, there had been others, and he seemed to be there for every one of them. Lucky for me Jake had been there. Not only was he dashingly handsome, he’d helped me out of a jam a time or two. It was always nice to know someone had my back. Although I still felt as if he doubted my detective skills, but I didn’t care right now. I was enjoying our time together.

It had been Jake’s idea to take me out on this boat. He said we both needed to unwind after that last dangerous investigation. With him currently shirtless and behind the wheel of the boat, I admired Jake’s sculpted physique. His broad shoulders tapered down to a trim waist. I’d known that underneath those dress shirts and trousers he always wore for work he was hiding a buff body.

Normally Jake’s short dark hair was never out of place, but today the wind had given it a wild, unkempt look. Jake’s skin glistened with a golden glow in the sunlight. He glanced back and flashed his pearly white teeth. His eyes matched the color of the dazzling blue water.

Things had been happening nonstop since I’d arrived in Miami. At least I wasn’t alone in my agency. My assistant Dorothy Raye made every work day interesting. She liked to spend her time knitting and shoving peppermint candies covered in lint at me or anyone who would take one. Crossword puzzles and Bunco were also some of her hobbies. More about her later.

I moved my big sunglasses down and peeked at Jake. He was at the front of the boat. I was glad he was navigating instead of me. I sat up and looked around at the water. It was easy to feel like nothing more than a tiny speck in the immense universe out here on the ocean. There was another boat not too far away though. It was much bigger than Jake’s cuddy cabin, but his boat was the perfect size for us.

Jake certainly enhanced the scenery and that was saying a lot considering the surroundings of the vast ocean around us. His arm and back muscles flexed as he navigated. I was still learning about boats, but I’d figured a few things about them since meeting Jake. Jake liked to fish, but I was more of a relaxing-in-the-warm-sun kind of girl.

As I watched the other boat, a huge bang echoed on the wind. A plume of flames shot skyward. The boat had exploded right before my eyes.

I screamed out in shock. Jake raced back to me, almost slipping as the boat moved with a wave. His first instinct was to check on me. No need to worry about me. I was fine, but I couldn’t say the same for the poor people on that boat. If I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it. I'd seen things like this in the movies, but that was make believe. This was real life, although it seemed surreal at the moment. My heartbeat thumped in my ear. After seeing something like that my adrenaline was pumping. All that was left was the debris from the once large white boat.

“Maggie, are you hurt?” Jake asked.

I stared at what remained of the boat. Flames came from what was left of the thing. “I’m okay.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off that boat. Who was on it? What a horrific event. Why would the boat have blown up? Boats didn’t just blow up. At least not that I knew of. Would our boat blow up next? Maybe I should abandon ship. Jake pulled out his phone and called for help. Next he headed in the direction of the boat.

“Do you think anyone survived?” I asked.

“It’s unlikely with the level of explosion.”

We moved closer to boat. It was basically nothing more than debris. Pieces floated in the water around the larger section that remained. I had no idea what anything was. It would be hard to make out what the pieces had once been. It was a horrific scene. I didn’t see bodies, but that didn’t mean they weren’t in the water on the other side of the boat wreckage. 

“I have to take you back to shore,” Jake said.

“What do you mean you have to take me back to shore?” I asked.

“The police will be here soon. It’s too dangerous out here for you. What if there’s another explosion?”

“I don’t think there’s anything left to explode on that boat.” I gestured.

Did he mean his boat? If that was the case maybe we should go back.

“With the flames there could be another explosion,” Jake said.

Okay, whew. Maybe he wasn’t talking about our boat. The faint sound of crackling carried across the wind. Other than that things were peaceful again on the water. A stark contrast to the scene of the exploding boat.

“What do you think happened?” I asked Jake, standing beside him at the front of the boat.

“I don’t know. Maybe there was a malfunction.”

That made me nervous considering we were currently on a boat. What if this one had a malfunction? What did that even mean? What kind of malfunction?

Jake sped toward the shore. It looked as if I didn’t have a say in this. Though I supposed he was the police and I was only a private investigator. I watched the scene as we moved farther away from the accident. A short time later, Jake and I were back at the dock.

We’d barely gotten off the boat when the sirens sounded. Police cars descended around the shore area and boats converged on the ocean, headed for the flames. They had almost stopped now. I wanted to tell Jake that there had been no other explosions, but I figured I’d bite my tongue and not mention that detail.

Even with chaos around us, Jake managed to keep his cool as usual. He tied the boat up at the dock. Water slapped against the hull of the boat. People had started to gather around now. I suppose the explosion and flames had attracted attention. It was hard not to look. I couldn’t stop thinking about whoever had been on the boat. Jake approached me, snapping my attention back to my surroundings.

“Maggie, can you walk back to your office? I can come by after I’m done here.”

I furrowed my brow. “Why would I do that? I’m hanging around here. I have to help with this, since I saw it happen. You understand, right?”

“Yes, I saw it too. I’m sure the other officers will want to speak with you.” He touched my arm. “Eventually.”

Was this that whole ‘protect Maggie’ thing that Jake liked to do? When would he learn that I was tough and could handle tough situations? Sure, I got myself into a pickle every now and then, but I was still alive and kicking.

“I’ll call you soon.” Jake watched my face for a reaction. He probably sensed that I was upset with him.

Without saying a word, I turned and headed down the sidewalk in the direction of my office. This was probably the angriest I’d ever been with Jake.

When I glanced over and spotted Jake’s partner I grew even madder. Abby Zahn and I made eye contact. She probably wasn’t shocked when I glared at her. She acted as if I was nothing more than an annoyance. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore a white blouse and gray slacks. Everything she wore looked elegant and effortless. I turned my attention away from her. I wouldn’t even look back at Jake.

I tried to push the thoughts from my mind. Allowing the warm breeze to caress my skin, I walked along, as if I didn’t have a care in the world. I didn’t want to give Abby the satisfaction of thinking she had any kind of effect on me. The heat from the sun warmed my skin and the sound of the waves carried across the wind. 

I took my time walking to my office. I had a lot of things on my mind. Okay, just one thing—Jake and his refusal to let me stick around for this investigation. What if I just took it on myself to investigate this crime? After all, I was a private investigator and I had that right. It could have been nothing more than something wrong with the boat, but I was awfully suspicious that this was more than just an accident.

How would I find out? Jake probably wouldn’t tell me anything if he thought I was trying to investigate. Maybe I needed another friend at the police station. Perhaps a leggy blonde who was partners with Detective Jake Jackson. After all, I hadn’t given Abby much of a chance to be friendly. I could invite her out for a lunch date and we could get to know each other. Maybe we’d become friends. Yeah, right.

Palm trees swayed with the wind. The sun beat down on me as I walked down the sidewalk. How much longer could I hold out before I glanced over my shoulder? I counted down in my mind. One, two, three… If I made it to one hundred then I figured one quick look wouldn’t hurt. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen… I peeked over my shoulder. Okay, so I hadn’t made it to one hundred. I had no self-control. Or did I? Sometimes I really could be stubborn. This just didn’t happen to be one of those times. It didn’t matter though because I didn’t see Jake or Abby. I was getting further away now and I wouldn’t be able to make out any of the activity anyway.

When I turned the corner into the parking lot adjacent to my office building, I spotted my assistant Dorothy Raye with her boyfriend Morton Grant. They were standing beside his shiny new red scooter and Dorothy was laughing. Apparently Morton had told a hilarious joke. Dorothy had fashioned her gray hair in her usual helmet style. It wasn’t totally business as usual though. Today she wore a new shade of bright pink lipstick. Her toenails had been painted to match the lipstick. They peeked out from her white sandals. Morton had a slight stature. I believed Dorothy was maybe an inch taller than him. He was decked out in shorts and a button down shirt with sandals… and socks. They looked like tourists who were about to board a cruise ship.

I couldn’t believe that Morton was driving the scooter. He had cataracts and he couldn’t hear out of his left ear. I just hoped he kept the thing on the sidewalks, though anyone walking might be in danger if he was nearby. They hadn’t even noticed that I was approaching. The lovebirds were busy staring at each other.

I’d inherited Dorothy along with the agency. She loved peppermints and tried to force them on anyone she came in contact with. She constantly fed the seagulls and denied it, even though they continued to attack me. I swatted at the birds as I walked closer to my office door. Dorothy loved knitting and she used the needles as if they were swords sometimes. She was sassy, opinionated, and told me what to do most of the time.

However, I loved her for all those reasons. Dorothy and I were not just work partners, but friends. With no family to speak of, it was nice having someone who was like family to me now.

Morton and Dorothy still hadn’t noticed and I supposed I would just let them have their fun. I might have to put my foot down if she tried to get on the back of the scooter with him.

My office was small, but I liked to call it cozy. If I looked out the tiny window I got a sliver of a view of the beach. I still hadn’t been able to update the furniture in the place. It looked like an office straight out of the sixties. I sat down behind my desk to go over some of the files I had on measly cases. I loved that I had work, don’t get me wrong. I was happy to have the measly cases, but I was still fuming that I couldn’t get involved on the big case—the one that would lead to something substantial.

A couple seconds later Dorothy walked through the door. She was practically skipping.

“Well, aren’t you happy,” I said with a click of my tongue.

Dorothy stopped in her tracks. “I can see by the frown on your face that you’re not. What happened?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She placed her bag down and grabbed her knitting needles. Without saying a word she started knitting, but then stopped. Dorothy grabbed her handbag. “If you’re sad then you need a mint.”

She ran over and handed me one. After unwrapping it, I popped the candy treat into my mouth. I was so sick of these things.

“Oh, there was an explosion and Jake wouldn’t let me see what happened,” I said around the mint.

She dropped her knitting needles. “Have you lost your mind? He doesn’t want you to be hurt. What exploded?”

“A boat.” I yawned.

“Oh, is that all?” Dorothy stared at me. “And you watched this happen?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t seem concerned. Are you angry about something?”

“I’m angry that I couldn’t hang around and watch what happened,” I said.

“So that’s what this attitude is all about. What’s stopping you from going back over there?” she asked.

“Hmm. Nothing I suppose. I should go back over there, right?”

“No,” Dorothy said.