Chapter 3

 

 

“Are we still on for tonight?” Jake asked.

I dodged another seagull and opened my car door. “Absolutely.”

I hoped that I didn’t sound suspicious. Usually when I’d done something wrong it was noticeable in my voice.

“Great, I’ll pick you up at seven,” he said.

“I’ll be ready,” I said, trying to sound cheery.

I just hoped he didn’t bring that scooter contraption to take me out. I would have to volunteer to use my car if he did. I’d had to drive that thing for some time when I’d wrecked my vehicle and Jake had loaned it to me. It wasn’t fun and I didn’t want to do it again. And the wreck had had nothing to do with my driving skills either.

I slipped into the car and shoved the key into the ignition. The car chimed when I started the engine.

“Are you on your way home already?” he asked.

Now Jake sounded suspicious of me.

“Dorothy had a date, so I figured we could just call it a day.”

His silence let me know he doubted me already. The day’s antics came out in the sound of my voice without me even mentioning what had happened. Not a good quality for a private eye. I needed to change the subject.

“I have some errands to run, so I’ll see you at seven,” I said, trying to sound casual.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” he said with suspicion in his voice.

I hurried and clicked off before he could ask any other questions. As I sat there in the car contemplating my next move, I realized I still had a couple hours before it was time to meet Jake. I could go to the beach and just relax for a while or I could go back to Brigette Whitmore’s house and find out if she’d gone there with her lover. After all, as fun as the beach was, frolicking in the water wouldn’t pay the bills. Pulling out of the parking lot, I pointed the car in the direction of Brigette’s address.

After fighting the traffic, I pulled my car up to the house on the dead-end street. It was typical for the area with white stucco and palm trees in the yard. No cars were in the driveway. Either Brigette wasn’t there or she’d parked in the garage. Probably to keep me off her trail. What if she knew I was after her? She could’ve realized I was watching her at the pool. Maybe I wasn’t so clever after all. I’d thought the hat and sunglasses were a perfect disguise.

Slipping out of the car, I headed for the nearest palm tree. I’d parked a bit down the street so that with any luck I’d go unnoticed. I supposed a palm tree wasn’t the best hiding place, but it was the best I had until I could make it over to the other car parked along the street in front of her house.

Once at the tree, I hid behind it. Beads of sweat formed across my face from the humid air. I pressed my body against the smooth trunk of the tree. A car drove by and I tried to act casual. How casual could I act though while hiding behind the landscaping? Maybe I should have worn camouflage. I had to make my move for that other car. I counted to three and then hurried out, heading toward the red sedan parked close to my subject’s driveway. My next feat would be inching my way closer to the house without being noticed. Which really just involved praying and hunkering down a bit. Walking out in the open for anyone to see me was risky.

Okay, yeah, now I was crouched down behind the car and perhaps this would look even more suspicious than if I was just walking around. I hadn’t been as worried about the neighbors as I had been about Brigette seeing me. However, when I looked over and saw the woman in the yard next to me, I realized I should have definitely worried about the neighbors.

The woman with salt and pepper hair stared with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She was probably a couple seconds from pulling out her giant cell phone and dialing 911. I had to offer some kind of explanation quickly. I stood from my crouched position and waved at the woman. She still had her glare focused on me.

“Just checking the tire pressure,” I said, kicking the rubber.

She lifted an eyebrow.

“Everything is good.” I gave a thumbs up.

This could cause lots of problems. I needed to get out of the situation. I’d head toward the house as if I totally belonged there. I hoped the neighbor didn’t have Brigette’s phone number and call her immediately. I definitely hadn’t planned on that, although I should have. Why did I blunder my way through every case? At least that was the word Dorothy used to describe my case-solving skills.

I hurried toward the house, all the while trying to figure out what I would do when I reached the door. Should I ring the doorbell and say, “Hi, I’m the private investigator checking on you?” Brigette would slam the door in my face. Or perhaps hit me.

I had a few private investigator gadgets that might work nicely. Like the one I’d used earlier to find out that she was going to the pool to meet her lover. I’d come to her house earlier and worn a disguise, pretending as if I was selling something. That was how I’d been able to eavesdrop on her telephone call. But I definitely wouldn’t be able to pull that off this time. Even with a different disguise.

A big window was at the front of the house. As I made my way to the door I figured I’d take a quick peek inside. There wouldn’t be any harm if I just happened to walk by and see something. Not that I would peep in there or anything on purpose—that would be totally wrong. I glanced over my shoulder to see if the neighbor was behind me. Thank goodness she was gone. Either she’d bought my excuse or she’d gone to call the police.

Too bad there were so many bushes in front of the window. Brigette should totally cut them down so that I could get a better look. Okay, enough of my joking around—I really needed to get serious about this. Actually, it didn’t take much for me to see that something had gone horribly wrong inside Brigette’s house.

Toward the back of the room a body lay on the floor. Brigette stood over it. Her arms were by her sides with her fists clenched. She looked like a zombie standing there. Were my eyes deceiving me? My heart sped up and I was momentarily frozen. Brigette’s lover Luke Padgett lay lifeless on the tile. Since it was hard to see in full detail from where I stood on the other side of the window, I couldn’t be sure, but it looked as if he wore swim trunks and his hair was wet. Brigette had a pool? Why would she bother going to the pool club if she had one at home? Never mind that right now, I reminded myself.

Unfortunately, Brigette looked up at that exact second and saw me. Our eyes locked. Instinctively I wanted to scream but somehow, I stopped myself. Had she just killed him? In the blink of an eye she ran for the front door. I knew she was coming after me so I sprinted across the front lawn and away from the house. I hoped to make it to my car before she caught me.

I’d only made it halfway across the yard when Brigette tackled me from behind. We tumbled to the ground. A groan escaped my lips as I landed.

“Are you with the NFL?” I asked breathlessly.

That was a seriously impressive move. Somehow, even though Brigette had her arms wrapped around my waist, I managed to get to my hands and knees. If only I could crawl back to my car. Where was that neighbor when I needed her? She really would be surprised if she saw this scene.

“Get off me,” I yelled, as if that would really help.

Brigette was trying to kill me, so just telling her to get off wouldn’t work.