Chapter 5

 

Dorothy and I were at the boat dock now. This was where Cora said her husband had kept his boat. Jake had already talked with people around the dock, but now it was my turn. Maybe there were details people had left out or forgotten.

Seagulls circled the bright blue sky in giant loops. Maybe they’d gotten word that Dorothy handed out treats. Boats swayed up and down in rhythm with the choppy waves. Sunshine blanketed the air with warmth. I’d gotten used to the Miami weather now. Though I still got hot and my makeup always slid off my face. It was tough to look glamorous doing this job anyway. I wasn’t sure how Abby managed it. Though glamor seemed to be totally natural.

“Maggie, are you listening to me.” Dorothy waved.

I snapped back to attention.

“Where do we start?” Dorothy asked.

“I suppose with the first person we spot who looks willing to speak with us,” I said.

“That sounds like a terrible plan,” Dorothy said.

I scoffed. “It’s not so bad.”

“It looks as if everyone is hiding from us.” Dorothy scanned the surroundings.

“They don’t know who we are. Why would they hide?”

Though I was beginning to have my suspicions too. We walked closer to the boats, but I still hadn’t spotted anyone. If I left without talking with anyone I would be really upset. There was an empty slip and I wondered if that was where Robert’s boat had been. I didn’t know exactly what I would be looking for exactly. It was a good thing I wasn’t searching for a specific boat. They all looked alike, although Jake had told me there was a difference between the boats. They were all large and white. The only variation being a trim color and a name on the back. When I glanced over I caught Dorothy easing something from her purse.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said sheepishly.

“What’s in your hand?” I motioned for her to show me.

Finally, she opened her fist and the breadcrumbs tumbled to the ground.

“You’re obsessed,” I said.

“Have you seen their sad little faces?” She tossed some of the crumbs.

“Actually I have—when they’re attacking me.”

“There are people over on the pier.” Dorothy said, changing the subject.

The pier was down from the docks and a few people were fishing. Since I hadn’t spotted anyone on the boats, I figured it might be a good idea to go over there. “Okay, let’s go over there.”

Dorothy and I walked over to the pier. Halfway down Dorothy grabbed my arm.

“What is it? Did you see something? Is there someone I should talk to?” I asked.

Dorothy’s face had turned a pale shade of green. She wobbled a little.

“You don’t look so good,” I said.

“Maggie, have I ever told you that piers make me sick?”

“What are you talking about? Why would they make you sick?” I asked.

“It’s the water,” she said breathlessly. “There’s so much of it.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Dorothy. You’ve been boating, surfing, paddleboarding, and scuba-diving. None of that bothered you.”

Dorothy kept her death grip on my arm. “Don’t forget waterskiing.”

“Maybe I should take you back to the car. This doesn’t seem like a great idea.”

“No, no, I’ll be fine,” Dorothy said with a wave of her hands. She attempted to stand steady. “Now where to?”

I stared at her for a moment. “If you’re sure.”

“I suppose you want to speak with that man at the end of the pier?” She pointed. “All the way at the end of the pier.”

“Sounds good.” I held Dorothy to steady her.

“Why can’t he fish right here at this end of the pier? Now we have to go all the way out there.”

“Why don’t you stand right here and wait for me? It’ll just take a second.”

Dorothy shook her head. “No way. I need to be there in case you need me.”

I knew she wasn’t about to give up. The only way she’d get off the pier without me was on a stretcher. Dorothy managed to walk all the way to the end of the pier with me, although I had to hold onto her arm. I asked anyone who would make eye contact with me if they knew Robert. Everyone shook their heads no. I wasn’t sure if they were doing that because they didn’t want to talk or if they really didn’t know him. Although this wasn’t the boat area, so it was likely they wouldn’t know him.

I wanted to get back to the boats so I could see if anyone had shown up yet.

“All right, we’ve talked to enough people,” Dorothy said. “Let’s get back on dry land.”

I still couldn’t understand how she did all of the things in the water. The pier was the one thing that scared her. I guessed everyone had their quirks. We made our way back over to the dock, and luckily this time there were a couple of people out. They were near the empty slip where I figured Robert’s boat had been. No one was looking at us. It was as if they were avoiding eye contact. They wouldn’t get off that easily though.

A man with salt-and-pepper hair and wearing no shirt was working on his boat. As I approached he looked up.

“Good afternoon,” I said in a pleasant tone.

He eyed us up and down. “May I help you?”

“Do you happen to know the man with the boat that was kept over there?” I pointed. “The one that exploded.”

“Yes. I already talked to the police,” he said.

“I know, but I’m a private investigator looking into the case. Can you tell me about him?”

“Like I told the cops, I saw the wife over there early in the morning. It just seemed odd that she would be there at that time in the morning.”

“Why do you think it was odd?”

“It’s just she never went out on that boat. So for her to be there at such an early hour was unusual.”

“Why were you here?” I asked.

“I just came over because I was going fishing. Otherwise I would have never known she was there. That would have been bad for the case.”

“Right, so you were convinced that she is the one who did this?”

“Who else could it be? She didn’t like the boat much anyway from what I could tell.”

“I thought you said she never came over here? How would you know?” I asked.

Dorothy crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Yeah.”

“Well, when I say never, I meant not often. She was over enough that I knew who she was, but when I did see them together they were fighting,” he said.

“Do you know what they were fighting about?” I asked.

“No, I tried to mind my own business.”

Dorothy snorted. “Yeah, by watching them.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” I asked.

He looked over at Dorothy. I supposed he was wondering who she was. I needed to remember to introduce her. She would be angry about that. This guy hadn’t given us much information anyway though, so I’d keep our conversation to a minimum if possible.

He shrugged. “No, I don’t think there’s anything else.”

“Are you sure there weren’t any other people around on the day this happened?” I asked.

He stared off into the distance. I supposed he was thinking about it. A couple more seconds passed and he said, “Oh, there were other men.”

“Yes?” He’d piqued my interest. “Who are they? What do they look like?”

“One question at a time,” Dorothy reminded me.

“I told the police. The guy who was here I’d seen with Robert’s wife in the past. She wasn’t with him this time. Though like I said, she had been here earlier on her own. A few minutes after she left, the young guy came by. I also saw an older man stop by. I’d seen him around a lot too. I think he was friends with Robert and his wife.”

“Did they say anything when they were here?” I asked.

“I never spoke with them. They both got on the boat though.”

So now I had three suspects. Jake believed it was Cora. Had he even questioned the other two men?

“You have no idea who these men are?” I asked.

“Someone told me the older man’s name is Dean Perriman. He’s a doctor.”

With that kind of detail I’d surely be able to find him.

“Thanks for the info,” I said.

He nodded. “I hope they catch whoever did this.”

“We hope they catch them too,” Dorothy said.

I glared at her. “I’ll catch who did this.”