Chapter 20

 

 

We pulled up in front of the office building and I shoved the car into park. I turned off the ignition.

“Well, here we are,” I said.

“Yes, here we are,” Dorothy said. “Now let’s make this visit count this time.”

“What do you mean, this time?” I asked. “Don’t I always make it count?”

“No, not so much,” she said.

“Oh, never mind that.” I pulled the key from the ignition. “Let’s go visit this supposed ladies’ man.”

“Yeah, I bet he’s a real looker,” Dorothy said with sarcasm dripping from her words.

“Yeah, I bet he has two heads.” I giggled.

Dorothy and I headed up the path to the office entrance.

“I suppose we’ll just go in and ask for him,” I said.

“Sure, if he’s open for business,” Dorothy said.

I wrapped my hand around the door knob, twisted, and then pushed the door open. Air-conditioning blasted us in the face. It also smelled like cologne… too much cologne.

“Oh, no, I can see where this is going.” Dorothy waved her hand in front of her face.

No one was in the lobby area, so I called out. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

“I’ll be right with you,” the male voice said.

“Well, he sounds normal enough.”

“What was he supposed to sound like? An ogre?” Dorothy said.

I giggled again. “Perhaps.”

We already had our opinion of the man and we hadn’t even seen him yet. Maybe he was a nice guy. I had to give him a chance before just assuming that he was a scumbag.

“That cologne is making me dizzy. Someone really needs to tell him a little goes a long way.” Dorothy waved her hand in front of her nose.

“Well, if the subject comes up I’ll try to work that in,” I said.

I checked the time on my phone. What was taking them so long? I had to stick to my schedule.

When he stepped out of the office and came down the hallway toward us I almost fell over.

“Well, come to Mama,” Dorothy said.

Now I know why Mr. Vandiver said he was a ladies’ man. The guy was gorgeous. There was no way around it. He had a gorgeous smile and dimples on each side of his mouth. His short dark hair was perfectly styled. He was fit and healthy. I bet he had a six-pack under that white dress shirt. I couldn’t see one flaw, not one. And I was looking for something, trust me. I couldn’t take my eyes off this guy. His smile went from ear to ear. His blue eyes sparkled and danced in the light.

What was the matter with me? I had to get a hold of myself. I was acting like I’d never seen a gorgeous guy before. I mean, after all, I was dating Jake. He was gorgeous. Dorothy and I both had our mouths dropped open.

The guy stopped in front of us. We continued to stare at him without saying a word. He frowned just a bit, which was equally as gorgeous.

“May I help you?” he asked.

Finally, I was able to say, “My name is Thomas Maggie, I mean Maggie Thomas, and I’m a private investigator. This is my assistant…”

“Dorothy Raye,” she said with a frown.

“Right, Dorothy Raye.”

I was stumbling over my words. He was making me nervous by smiling at me like that. Why was he smiling? He was friendly, but still.

“It’s nice to meet you, Maggie. My name is Reynold Mitchell.”

“Yes, I already know that,” I said with a giggle.

When I glanced over at Dorothy she rolled her eyes. I couldn’t help it. It was as if the giggle just slipped out.

“A private investigator? Wow. What do I owe for this visit?” he asked with a flash of that gorgeous smile again. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“Actually, I suppose it is serious, but nothing to do with you exactly,” I said.

“That’s a relief,” he said with a smile.

“I’m investigating a couple recent murders and I believe you knew the lawyer who was killed.”

“Oh, right. It’s terrible what happened,” he said.

“I’m wondering if you could tell me more about the woman who was harassing him. Do you happen to know her name?”

“No, actually, I don’t, but I’ll help you any way I can,” he said.

“Maybe you could explain what happened.”

“He said that it started about a month ago when the woman first followed him. He had made her lose money in a case and I guess that made her really upset with him. She even broke the window in his office.”

“That sounds serious. Did he tell the police about that?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” Reynold said. “I hope that I can be of some help with this case. I mean, investigating a murder is dangerous.”

“Well, yes, I’m used to that. It just comes with the job, I guess.”

“Maybe we can get together and work on this case some time. I can give you any other inside information.”

Was he asking me on a date? No wonder the guy said he was a ladies’ man. He’d barely met me a few minutes earlier and now he was asking to see me again. It could be an innocent invitation, but with all the smiling, I thought he was flirting with me.

“Well, I can let you know if I have any other questions or if I need information,” I said.

He reached over to the table and grabbed one of his business cards. “Here’s my phone number. If you need anything call me anytime.”

I took the card from his outstretched hand. His fingers lingered as he touched my hand.

I had to admit it made my hand tingle just a bit. My cheeks were probably blushing.

“Thank you again,” I said. “We should be going now.”

“You’re more than welcome. I hope to hear from you soon,” he said. “Nice meeting you, Dorothy Raye.”

Dorothy giggled. “Charmed, I’m sure.”

After grabbing Dorothy by the arm I hurried out of the office.

“Wow, he really was flirting with you. I guess he is a ladies’ man. He must flirt with everyone.”

“Thanks a lot, Dorothy. Maybe he just found me irresistible.”

Dorothy snorted. “Yeah, that’s probably it.”

“Never mind that. But maybe he could help with something.”

“You’re not actually going to meet him again, are you?” she asked.

“No, of course not, but if I have other questions at least I know he’s willing to answer them.”

“He’s willing to do a lot more than that,” Dorothy said, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Oh, Dorothy, stop,” I said.