Chapter 9

 

Dorothy and I arrived at the bar. She had insisted on going with me. She said if I got into trouble I would need her help. I supposed she was right about that. It was always good to have someone who had your back. My goal for this trip was to not get into any kind of trouble. It was probably wishful thinking, but I would try my best.

My date with Jake was supposed to be in an hour, but somehow Dorothy had convinced us to go to her Bunco game instead. So I had to make this a quick trip. Dorothy wore a dark wig that she said she’d borrowed from Nina Warner, who lived next door to Dorothy in the retirement village. Dorothy said she’d had to promise Nina a sack full of yarn just to get her to allow her to borrow the wig. Why Dorothy wanted to wear a disguise was a whole different story. She didn’t want the doctor to recognize her. I figured that wouldn’t be a problem since he’d barely looked at us when we’d met with him. There was one other issue though. Dorothy had a long blonde wig as well and insisted that I wear it.

“Dorothy, I look ridiculous.” I peeked in the car mirror for the hundredth time.

“No, you look just like Veronica Lake. You look glamorous. Besides, you don’t want the doctor to recognize you.” Dorothy shifted the wig on my head.

So now I wore a long blonde wig and big dark sunglasses. It looked as if I was trying to hide from the paparazzi. The hair color would take getting used to. Plus I didn’t think it was much of a disguise. It just looked like me wearing a wig. I’d decided on that red dress I’d bought a while ago and never had a chance to wear. It was sad that this was the only place I’d gotten a chance to wear the dress. Dorothy said it would be fine to wear it to Bunco. I wasn’t so sure about that.

Stucco covered the front of the building with intricate trim around the windows and entrances. Towering palm trees with immaculate landscaping decorated the front and sides. The place was nice, with valet parking and of course the building’s elegant façade.

I pulled my car up to the entrance. Dorothy and I got out and walked over to the valet station. The young blond guy didn’t even look up at us, as if we were invisible. He was typing away on an iPad. He didn’t even look as if he was old enough to have a driver’s license.

I tapped on the podium. “Excuse me. I need to have my car parked, please.”

After another couple seconds elapsed he met my stare. “Keys.” That was all he said.

I handed the keys to him and he gave me a ticket. There was no other conversation exchanged.

“He was a friendly guy,” Dorothy said sarcastically as we walked away.

“He was just disappointed that we weren’t driving a Ferrari,” I said.

“Maybe we can borrow another one like last time,” Dorothy said.

“No more borrowing cars.” I held the door open for Dorothy.

Dorothy and I stepped into the bar. Blinking, I allowed my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dim light. Dorothy marched over to the end of the bar, closest to the exit. I hoped she kept to our plan. We had already decided that we would act as if we didn’t know each other. Dorothy was hoping her disguise would fool the guy. It would probably work because I doubted he would even look up. He was already at the bar just as Cora had said he would be, and he seemed focused on nothing other than the drink in front of him.

The space wasn’t large, but it had a glamorous and luxurious feel. Dark leather seating and wood trim dominated the inside decor. There were even gorgeous chandleries dangling from the ceiling. It was different from other places around town with their ocean themes. This felt more like old Hollywood. It was a nice change.

The doctor was staring straight ahead, not paying attention to anyone around him. Was he looking at his reflection in the mirror that filled the wall behind the bar? That was a little creepy.

I sat down on the stool right beside the doctor. So far he hadn’t looked up to see that I was even there. He had to sense my presence though. He was too busy checking out himself in the mirror or nursing the bourbon in his glass. I placed my purse down on the counter. I tossed my hair from my shoulder in a flirtatious flip of my wrist. Still nothing from him. I cleared my throat, thinking that he would take the hint and look over at me. Nothing.

Maybe he was just hoping I would go away. Surely he didn’t recognize me. The more I stared at my reflection, the more I thought my wig was actually a pretty good disguise. Being a blonde totally changed my appearance. I bet even Jake wouldn’t recognize me.

I attempted to make eye contact with the bartender. He didn’t look at me either. Was I invisible? No one was paying attention to me. Except for Dorothy. I felt her stare from the other end of the bar. I just hoped she didn’t say something and blow our cover. I tried not to make eye contact with her just in case.

After a few more seconds the male bartender came over and stood in front of me. “What can I get for you?”

I didn’t drink often so I wasn’t sure what to order. I decided to keep it simple.

“I’ll have white wine, please,” I said.

The man nodded and turned away. As I waited for my drink I cast a peek at the doctor in the mirror. That was when I caught him looking at me. So he had noticed me now. My heart sped up wondering if he had recognized my face. Surely he saw a lot of patients and wouldn’t remember one encounter with me. Though it might have been one of the more memorable encounters.

It had been Dorothy’s idea to stuff my bra. I was glad that I’d done it now. Surely he would have remembered my chest. Could he tell that my bra had tissue paper inside? Was he that good? After all, he had a trained eye for that kind of stuff. Okay, now I was being too paranoid.

The bartender returned with my wine. He placed the glass down in front of me.

“Thanks,” I said.

Would the doctor recognize my voice? I hadn’t even thought to try to disguise my voice. That was a rookie mistake. I’d been doing the private eye thing for months now. I should be better at it than that.

I sipped on my drink and tried to calm my nerves. Since I didn’t drink often, I would have to watch my intake. If I got tipsy then I would be more likely to blow my cover. I peeked in the mirror again and noticed him watching me. Okay, this was becoming awkward. No, it had reached that level some time ago. It looked as if I was going to have to start the conversation. Cora had been wrong. He wasn’t interested in talking with me.

Though the way he was looking at me in the mirror was a bit curious. It didn’t seem like a look of recognition. It was more checking me out. Now I was feeling a bit uneasy.

I was just about to start a conversation when he said, “Are you waiting on someone?”

“Actually, I’m here alone,” I said.

He cast a look my way. “What’s a beautiful woman like you doing all alone? You must have a date for the evening.”

Wow, what a smooth talker. Of all the ways he could have started a conversation he decided to go with that? Oh, well, at least he was talking. This was definitely a start.

“No, I’m here alone. I wanted to have a drink after work.”

Oh, now I knew what question he’d ask next. And I hadn’t prepared an answer for that either.

“Where do you work?” he asked.

I took a sip of my wine to buy time to think of a good answer. I couldn’t tell him I was a private investigator. That would send him running in a split second. I needed to relax and get down to the reason I was here. He didn’t remember me. If I told myself that enough times maybe it would be true. Wouldn’t he be shocked if he knew the truth? I’d just seen him a short time ago and he had suggested the surgery. Now I was sitting right next to him—ironically, with a fake chest.

I had stalled all that I could. Now I had no choice but to answer him. I placed my glass down and flashed a coy smile. “I work in marketing.”

I knew that was vague, but something told me that he really didn’t care what I did for a living. He’d only asked because that was what he was supposed to do.

“I’m a plastic surgeon,” he said.

“Really? That’s nice.”

He frowned a little. Maybe I didn’t seem impressed enough. I took another sip of wine. My cell alerted me to a text. Now Dorothy was texting me from the other side of the room.

Smile more. He doesn’t seem that interested.

Dorothy was making me nervous by watching my every attempt at seducing this man. I tried to force Dorothy’s advice out of my head.

“So what’s your name?” he asked.

I supposed he needed to know that so he wasn’t left calling me Hey, You. Dorothy had suggested I use the alias Bertha. I decided to go for Jane Harmon. At least I’d skipped Doe.

“Jane Harmon,” I said, extending my hand.

He took my hand in his, but instead of shaking it he placed his cold lips against my skin and kissed me softly. Another text from Dorothy.

Gross.

Ever since Dorothy got the unlimited data plan she texted her every thought.

We locked eyes and he stared for a lingering moment. My heart sped up, but it wasn’t because he was a charmer. I was just worried that he would somehow recognize me. Maybe the memory would come flooding back. I would have a tough time explaining myself out of this situation.

“Do you come here often?” he asked.

He was hitting all the pickup lines.

“Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Because you must be an angel.”

If he used one more then I wouldn’t be able to contain my displeasure.

“No, this is the first time I’ve been here,” I said.

Another text from Dorothy.

Is he saying something bad? Otherwise I don’t know why you aren’t smiling.

I forced a smile on my face. Now he probably thought I was strange for smiling for no reason. He didn’t though. This seemed to make him like me even more.

He winked at me. “I come here often. I knew I would have seen you if you came here.”

Dorothy sent another text. When he wasn’t looking I glared at her, but I didn’t think she took the hint.

Touch his arm when you talk to him. Men like that.

This was starting to creep me out. I just didn’t think I could keep up the flirting for much longer. Though I supposed some people would question if what I was doing would really be called flirting.

“So would you like to go out sometime?”

That was where I drew the line. Solve the case or not, I just didn’t think I could go on an actual date with him. Besides the fact that he could be a murderer, he was just a little too friendly for me. Cora had warned me this would happen, but I hadn’t taken her seriously. I needed to ask questions about the murder and then get out of there. He was obviously a smart man, he would be able to make the bomb that had killed Robert. I’d already asked him about the boat, I couldn’t bring that up again.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Dean said. “Do you like boats?”

Well, I supposed I wouldn’t have to worry about bringing up the boat. I would agree to a date now just so that I could get out of this situation.

“Yes, I do like boating,” I said in a sweet voice.

“You could go out on the boat with me,” he said.

Why? So he could push me overboard?

“When did you have in mind?” I asked.

“Perhaps we could go out some evening and watch the sunset?”

I wanted to ask about Cora. How quickly he had dropped Cora.

“That sounds lovely. Do you take your boat out in the evening often?”

“I suppose,” he said.

“I bet the view out on the water is gorgeous.”

“It’s magnificent.”

“You know what would be even prettier?” I asked.

“Prettier than having you with me on the boat?” he asked.

If Dorothy had heard that comment she probably would have said, Gross.

I chuckled and tried to not sound too grossed out. “Actually I meant that the sunrise would be amazing in the eastern sky there in the Atlantic.”

“Yes, that it is,” he said.

“Do you ever go out in the mornings?” I waited for his answer with bated breath.

“I do enjoy going out in the morning.”

This was leading me right where I wanted to be.

“So when was the last time you enjoyed the sunrise?” I offered a big smile and hoped now wasn’t the time he remembered my face.

He studied my face for a moment and I thought for sure that I had been caught.

“I usually go out to the boat every morning,” he said.

So I wasn’t as smooth at asking questions as I’d thought. One thing I’d discovered though was that it wouldn’t be unusual to find him at the scene of the crime.

Movement caught my attention. My stomach dropped when I saw who had just entered the bar. My cell phone immediately went crazy with text messages. I knew Dorothy was freaking out.

Jake had entered the bar. So far he hadn’t looked over in our direction. I hoped Dorothy didn’t give us away. I glanced over at her. She was staring at me with wide eyes. Now we had to get out of here.

“Well, it was nice talking with you, but I really need to be going,” I said as I pushed to my feet.

He grabbed my arm. I didn’t like that one bit. Never grab a woman by the arm like that. Didn’t he know that? I pulled my arm away.

“Are we still on for the boat trip?” he asked, unfazed by the fact that I’d yanked my arm away.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Jake. He had scanned the bar. He was looking for someone. Could he be looking for me? How would he know that I was here? I hoped that Dorothy hadn’t sent him a text. I’d have to hide her phone.

“Sure, give me your number and I’ll give you a call.”

He paused. I knew he wanted me to give him my number. He handed me a card. “Call me any time.”

“I will,” I said with a forced smile.

When I glanced over Jake had his eyes on me now. It was time to get out of there as quickly as possible. I rushed toward the door, trying to keep from looking at Jake. I sensed he was walking toward me though. I thought I looked totally different with the blonde wig. When I glanced over at Dorothy and she got up from the bar.

“Hey, you forgot to pay for the wine,” the bartender said.

Oh, damn. The doctor hadn’t even offered to buy me a drink. If he had I wouldn’t be in this situation. I hurried over to the bar and tossed down a ten-dollar bill.

“Thanks,” the bartender said in a happy voice.

When I turned around Jake was right behind me. Our eyes met. Still I didn’t speak to him. I pretended as if I had no idea who he was. I hurried toward the door. Jake set his sights on Dorothy now. I rushed out the door. When I glanced back, Jake was right behind us.

“He’s following us,” Dorothy whispered. “I don’t think you can hide from him any longer.”

I sighed. Dorothy was right. He obviously knew who we were. How would I explain this? I supposed I had no choice but to tell the truth. After all, I had been hired to look into the case, so I had every right to be at this bar. Plus, I could wear a wig if I wanted to. There was no law against that.

I whipped around and stared right at Jake. “Okay, fine. You caught us. Now please explain how you knew I was here. Have you been following me?”

Jake was known to follow me. He thought I couldn’t handle myself and that I would only get hurt. So far I thought I’d done a pretty good job of showing him otherwise. Jake looked as if he was holding back laughter.

“This isn’t funny,” I said. Did I really look that bad in the wig?

He stared at me for a moment longer. “You look good as a blonde, but better with the dark hair.”

I tried to hold back my laughter. So maybe my wig was a bad attempt at a disguise. Nevertheless, it had fooled the doctor.

“I was following up on a lead. I had no idea that you would be here,” Jake said.

“Oh,” I said through pursed lips.

“I’m glad I came though.”

I bet he was.

Jake glanced over at Dorothy. “Good evening, Dorothy.”

She smiled widely. She was always a softie for Jake.

“Can I ask why the disguise?”

“It’s a long story and I’d rather not share right now.”

If the doctor came out and saw me talking with Jake then he might break my cover.

“What kind of lead are you following up on?” I asked.

“I can’t give that information,” he said.

It didn’t matter. I had talked with the doctor first. I was confident that Jake didn’t have any other information than what I already had. I turned and walked toward the car.

“So I’ll see you soon?” I asked.

“I’ll be there,” Jake said with laughter in his voice.

“Don’t be late for Bunco,” Dorothy said with a wiggle of her finger.

Jake walked toward the bar’s door. He turned to watch as I pulled out from the parking lot. Would he tell the doctor about me? No, Jake wouldn’t want to compromise the case like that.

I felt nervous about leaving Jake to talk with the doctor. Now I was worried about Jake getting hurt. I supposed I understood why he was always following me around now. Not to mention we were usually trying to solve the same cases.

“So how did it go in there?” Dorothy asked as she popped a peppermint in her mouth.

“Dean asked me to go on the boat with him.”

Dorothy shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m sorry, Maggie, but I can’t allow you to do that.”

“Don’t worry, Dorothy, I’m not going to do it,” I said.

“Is that all you found out?”

“Well, he says he is usually at the boat docks in the mornings, so that means he might have been there. Though he said he wasn’t. Guilty people lie though,” I said. “Now we need to prove that he was there.”

“Is there a way to prove that he made the bomb?”

“If there’s a way I will find it,” I said.

“This could be dangerous,” Dorothy said.

I didn’t want to tell her just how dangerous it could really be.