Chapter 23

 

 

Should I mention to Jake that I thought Abby might be responsible for this? No, I should keep that to myself for the time being. She was a likely suspect. I mean, I didn’t know anyone else close to Jake who would have even thought about getting the key from him. Or know what it was for.

“Where did you keep the key?” I asked.

“With all the other keys on the ring,” Jake said.

Soon the other officers arrived, spreading out around the space to take fingerprints. Would they actually find anything? I hoped so, but what would come of this if it actually was Abby? And why would she even attempt this? Maybe she wasn’t looking for anything at all, she just wanted to damage my office. Maybe she was sending me a message that she wasn’t happy about what happened back at Annie Jensen’s house.

Abby and I didn’t get along, but I’d never thought she would attempt something like this. I really didn’t think that was in her character, but she had been acting awfully strange lately. Maybe I didn’t know her well at all. Yes, that was probably the case. We’d never spent much time together. There was no reason to.

Jake stood close to me as he talked with another detective. They were telling him that they hadn’t found any fingerprints so far. If it was Abby she was probably much too savvy to leave a print behind. Had she been worried that I would come in while this was taking place? Unless she knew my whereabouts and knew that I wouldn’t be back at the office for quite some time. I hated to sound all paranoid, but what if she’d been tracking me? After all, she thought that I was maybe guilty of murder.

My phone rang. When I saw the number, I didn’t recognize it right away, so I answered. “Maggie Thomas, P.I.”

“Good afternoon, Maggie Thomas, this is Reynold Mitchell,” he said.

I hadn’t expected to hear from him so soon… if at all.

“I was just wondering if you were available for dinner tonight? Maybe we can discuss the case. I think I have something you’ll find interesting.”

Well, now I was torn between saying yes to find out more information or saying no because I was dating Jake. It just wouldn’t be right.

“I’m gonna have to call you back,” I said.

Jake watched me as I talked. I didn’t want him to hear the conversation since I knew he was eavesdropping even though he was still talking to the other detective. He probably was suspicious. My face said it all.

“Who was that?” Dorothy asked.

I shook my head, letting her know that I couldn’t answer right now. Unfortunately, Jake saw that and now he seemed even more curious as to why I hadn’t completed that conversation. I hated to keep things from him, but this wasn’t something I thought I should share.

I’d just tell Reynold Mitchell that I had a boyfriend and if he had important information to share he could tell me over the phone. Then he’d know right up front that there was nothing romantic between us. I just wanted to solve the case. I wouldn’t let him get away with any of his ladies’ man shenanigans.

Dorothy must have figured out who the phone call was from because a sly smile appeared on her face. She enjoyed the fact that the ladies’ man was doing his typical antics.

Jake stepped away from the detective and joined me.

“Did you find out anything?” I asked.

“Not yet, but we’re working on it. With any luck we’ll have answers soon. I need you to go through everything and see if anything is missing though.”

I released a deep breath. “Yeah, that’s going to be a lot of work.”

“I’ll help you,” Jake said.

“I’ll help too,” Dorothy said.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you all,” I said.

“Well, you might not have this mess if I hadn’t lost the key,” Jake said.

“Please don’t think that,” I said.

I didn’t like that Jake felt bad. What if there was something missing? Did forget something? I hoped that whatever this was I figured it out soon so that Jake wouldn’t feel bad. Plus, I hoped it wasn’t Abby because I knew that would really upset Jake.

After the police had gone, we stepped inside the office and looked around at the mess.

“I’m not sure where to start,” I said, pushing the hair out of my eyes.

“You should probably look through the papers and files there,” Jake said. “I’ll make sure the furniture is upright and unbroken.”

I certainly had plenty of places to start.

“I hope the furniture isn’t broken,” I said as I picked up some of the papers.

I really needed to go all digital. I’d said I would change that when I inherited the agency, but so far, I hadn’t.

“If it needs to be repaired I’m your man,” Jake said with a wink.

“I just hope they didn’t bother my knitting needles,” Dorothy said.

I knew this break-in had to be directed at me, not Dorothy. Having her stuff broken or taken would make me feel even worse. I started sifting through the files, but I found nothing out of the ordinary. Everything seemed to be in place.

After I picked up everything up, I placed back them the filing cabinet. I turned around to survey the room. Thank goodness it all looked the way that it had before this had happened. I was so relieved that I almost cried.

“I can’t believe that we got this all back together. And in such a short time,” I said.

“Well, the room is small,” Dorothy said.

“Was anything missing?” Jake asked.

“No, everything seems to be there. That’s why I don’t understand what the reason for this was.”

“I think it was just to make you have to clean it up,” Dorothy said.

“I guess I made someone mad.”

Jake ran his hand through his hair. “I know what you’re thinking, Maggie. I know you and Abby had a rocky start, but I don’t think she did this.”

Part of me believed that as well, but then another part of me was a little upset that he was kind of defending her. I guessed I just wanted him to find the answer before he defended her. I mean, it was possible that she had done this.

“I didn’t say that she did, but I just want to keep an open mind to the possibility, I guess.”

“It’s my job to keep an open mind, Maggie, and I will, I promise.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Jake wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in for a hug. “You know, maybe you should have security cameras installed. After all, you are a private investigator. I just don’t want anything else to happen.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said.

I didn’t want to tell him that it was too much money. Besides, everything would probably be fine. We’d find out who did this, and it wouldn’t happen again. At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

“I’ll see you tonight? You’re going to leave soon?” Jake asked.

“Yes, we’re leaving right after you,” I said.

“All right, just be careful.”

“You know I will.”

Jake watched me for a moment and then walked out of the office.

“You know, he has a good point about the cameras,” Dorothy said.

I didn’t want to tell Dorothy that I thought they were too expensive.

“Are you ready to leave now?” Dorothy asked. “I’m meeting Morty later for dancing.”

Morty and Dorothy had been spending a lot of time dancing since he’d taken those salsa dancing classes. Dorothy didn’t need classes. She was already good, but she went along with Morty so that he wouldn’t be embarrassed. He’d insisted on classes because he didn’t want Dorothy teaching him and adding to his embarrassment. I didn’t understand but Morty was set in his ways.

“Is there anyone else who could’ve done this other than Abby?” I asked. “Who else would know Jake has a key? This is really bothering me.”

“Maybe some other officers would know. They know you’re dating so maybe he mentioned the key to them,” Dorothy said.

I locked the door behind us and then walked with Dorothy over to her car.

“I think it comes down to anyone he may have mentioned to that he had your key,” Dorothy said.

Then hit me. “You know, the day of the first murder, I was talking with Jake and he mentioned that he would stop by the office and use his key. Someone could’ve overheard that.”

“Now you have to think about who was standing around and if they overheard.” Dorothy opened her car door.

I hugged Dorothy. “I’m sure I’ll be thinking about that all night.”

“Well, don’t worry too much and get some rest.”

“You don’t dance too much,” I said.

“I’ll be fine,” she said as she slipped into the car.

I waved to Dorothy as she pulled out of the parking lot. Once in my car I sat there for a bit until I finally pulled out my phone. I wanted to do a search while I sat there. My mind was in gear to figure this out. I kept thinking about the neighbor Annie Jensen, so I searched her name again. After some scrolling through I found a court case. It was a divorce filing. It looked as if she’d recently divorced. It listed her husband’s name. Maybe I could speak to him.

I typed in the husband’s name. I found quite a bit of information about him, like his address and where he worked. Now maybe I could pay him a visit and get information about his ex-wife. I just felt like her behavior was strange. I’d ask him if this was out of the ordinary for her or if she was just that type of person all the time.

Yet another thing I’d have to follow up on in order to solve this case. It might not bring anything, but it was definitely worth a shot. I’d try anything at this point. I went back to the divorce papers, scrolling down to the bottom. I was stunned at what I saw. The lawyer’s name was listed as Adam Boles. Annie Jensen’s ex-husband’s lawyer was the one murdered.

What were the odds of that? There had to be some kind of connection. I never believed in coincidences. Not now and not in the past. This was turning out to be a tougher case than I’d anticipated. I definitely had to go visit Annie’s ex. I pulled up his address again and checked the directions. I didn’t have a lot of time before meeting Jake, but I wanted to go right now. I had to get answers.

As far as I knew, Jake wasn’t even looking at Annie. After her behavior with me, I just couldn’t ignore it. Lucky for me this man’s house was only about five minutes away. Well, with traffic it was probably more like ten.

I pulled out into traffic and followed the directions leading me to this man’s house. I finally found parking above and headed down the sidewalk, counting down the addresses until I located the right one. Footsteps sounded from behind me, but when I looked over my shoulder I didn’t see anyone. The tree-lined street was shady with plenty of places to hide. Yet I didn’t see anyone hiding anywhere.

Nevertheless, it was still spooky. I finally reached the building and walked into the lobby moving over to the elevators. I pushed the button and the doors opened. I stepped inside just as a man approached. He wanted me to hold the door for him, but I pushed for the door to close. Thank goodness he didn’t get inside with me. A strange vibe came off him and I didn’t want to be alone in the elevator with him. He would just have to wait until it came back for him.

The elevator stopped on the second floor and I stepped out. I hurried down the hallway to the man’s door. After ringing the doorbell, I stood there awkwardly waiting for him to open the door. I was still running through what I would say in my mind. The more I thought about it the more anxious I became.

He probably thought this was totally random that I was here asking about his ex-wife? Then again, he might not be surprised since it was his ex. Obviously they’d had issues. Annie Jensen acted so strangely around me I was curious about what her ex would say. The door unlocked and then opened. A dark-haired man stood in front of me. He didn’t speak. This was awkward.

“Um, I came to speak with you about Annie Jensen. You’re Michael Jensen?”

His once-emotionless face now displayed a scowl. “We’re divorced and I don’t know where she is, nor do I want to know.”

“Well, I just need to ask some questions regarding a murder investigation. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but your lawyer was murdered and so was the paralegal employed by Mr. Boles.”

His eyes widened. “I had no idea. When did this happen?”

“This week,” I said. “I’m trying to find out who would do this to them.”

“What does this have to do with Annie?”

“She lives next door to where the paralegal’s body was found. Not to mention she had a connection to Mr. Boles through you.”

“I see,” he said. “You think Annie killed them?”

“I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this. I’d like to rule her out.”

I wanted to make him feel more comfortable speaking with me because it seemed as if he was growing tenser by the minute.

“Annie is a stubborn woman, but I don’t think she would have killed anyone.”

“You never knew her to be violent?” I asked.

He looked down at his bare feet. “Well, she had a temper, but still I don’t think she would have killed anyone.”

“What kind of things did she do? You know, when she was mad?”

“I had to take out a restraining order,” he said.

That stunned me.

“What happened?”

“I suppose when the marriage was over she had a hard time accepting it. We grew apart, you know. We were both in the army and spent a lot of time apart.”

“Really?” This was another twist that I hadn’t expected. “Is there anything else?”

“I really don’t know. I have to go now.” He shut the door in my face.