Murder is a Beach (Maggie, PI Mysteries) Read online

  I looked him up and down. He wore tight dark blue shorts and a white-and-blue striped shirt. A gold chain was around his neck and a matching gold bracelet on his right wrist. The less I engaged with this man the better.

  “Only when it’s necessary,” I said, returning his glare.

  After a minute, Jake returned. I was thankful that my staredown with this guy was over.

  He shook his head. “We’re sorry we bothered you.”

  The man gestured with a tilt of his head. “No problem.”

  I glared at Jake and he motioned for me to follow him off the boat. I hesitated, but then followed him back to the restaurant’s deck.

  “What happened?” I asked as I walked along beside him.

  “There was nothing down there. No woman and no signs of anything out of the ordinary. I’m sorry, Maggie, if there’s nothing there then I can’t arrest the man just because you thought you saw something.” Jake held the door open for me.

  “I told you I know I saw something,” I said, stepping back into the air-conditioned restaurant.

  He nodded. “I believe you, Maggie, really, I do.”

  I definitely wasn’t in the mood for food now. I needed a long bath and an episode of Magnum, P.I. right away. Jake paid his bill and I picked up my food, then we headed out toward my car. This wasn’t how I’d thought my evening would end. To be honest, I’d thought my evening would end with me eating a fish sandwich while watching TV. But my new job was throwing a few curve balls into my routine.

  Chapter Three

  I placed the food in my car and turned around to face Jake. “Thanks for checking out that guy’s boat for me,” I said.

  Jake stared at me. “I’m sorry that I didn’t find anything.”

  I shook my head. “You did all you could. Maybe I’m overreacting, but it was just disturbing to see the woman in distress and not be able to help her.”

  “I completely understand.” He reached out and touched my hand, giving it a squeeze.

  I met his gaze and his hand lingered on mine. His skin was warm against mine. It had been a long time since I’d had butterflies in my stomach.

  “I guess I’d better go. I have to be up early in the morning,” he said, motioning toward his car.

  “Me too.” I watched him walk a few spaces over to his car.

  Jake got behind the wheel of his car. He paused for a beat before starting the engine, as if he’d wanted to say more. I watched as he pulled out onto the street.

  As I sat there in my car, I took in a deep breath and relished the sea air. I needed to clear my head, so I figured one of the best ways to do that was to take a walk along the beach. Dorothy had already sent multiple text messages—she wanted her fish sandwich. First, I had to take Dorothy her food, but right after that, I was heading back to the scene of the possible crime.

  After driving back to the location where I’d seen the boat yesterday, I locked my car door and made my way out onto the sand. The beach wasn’t as hot underneath my feet now that the sun had set. I hoped that a crab didn’t dash across my feet though. I could deal with big tough guys, but not one of those little scurrying things.

  I walked out to the shore and let the water splash against my legs. The moon was bright and reflected against the water. It was a romantic scene, so why had I sent the one guy who had shown any interest in me home?

  I took off down the shore. At the time I thought I was the only one on the beach. It was peaceful and a little scary at the same time. I’d made it a short distance down the shore when I noticed a group of people gathered up ahead. It looked as if they were standing over something.

  When I got closer I realized that something was definitely lying on the shore. The waves lapped up against it. My stomach turned and my heart rate sped up. I prayed that what I thought I saw wasn’t really what was there.

  It looked as if a body was lying on the beach. And since the body was face down, I didn’t think this person was relaxing in the sand.

  I hurried my steps but once I got close to the group, I stopped. There were three women and two men. They all appeared to be about my age. A dark-haired woman turned to look at me with a terrified look in her eyes.

  “She’s dead,” the woman said matter-of-factly.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Yes, we’re positive. There’s no pulse.”

  There was definitely a woman lying face down in the on the shore. She was wearing a white bikini. My legs went weak when I realized that the woman who had been on the boat had also been wearing a white bikini. It couldn’t be her, right? Unfortunately, I knew that not only could it be her, it was more than likely her.

  “Are you okay?” the woman beside me asked.

  I didn’t know what to say. First thing I needed to do was call Jake, but I’d left my phone in the car.

  “You’re sure they checked the body?” I asked. “What if she is still alive?”

  “Yes, he checked.” She pointed at the blond man.

  Either way, I needed to get help there right away. I stepped closer to the body and knew right away that they’d been telling the truth. She was no longer alive. Her body had already started to take on a bloated appearance.

  Without saying another word to the woman, I ran back to my car to get my phone. This whole thing seemed surreal. My hand was shaking so badly that I couldn’t even get the door open. Finally, I grabbed my phone from my purse and punched in Jake’s number. I wasn’t looking forward to explaining how I’d stumbled on yet another body. What were the odds? At least I hadn’t been the one who found her first. I should have just gone home instead of taking a walk.

  Jake answered on the second ring. “I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” he said.

  There was no need to sugarcoat this for him. “I have a problem,” I said matter-of-factly.

  It seemed as if that was the only reason I ever called Jake and I felt bad about that now, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked with anxiety in his voice.

  “I was walking on the beach and there’s a woman on the shore. I know she’s dead,” I said breathlessly.

  “What?” His voice was beyond shocked.

  “It’s the woman I saw on the boat.” I spoke the words, but still couldn’t believe it.

  “What were you doing on the beach? I thought you were having dinner with Dorothy?” he asked.

  “I decided to go for a walk on the beach,” I said, not hiding my annoyance.

  “I’ll be right there,” he said and then the phone went dead.

  I stayed by my car while I waited. I could have gone back out there with the people, but honestly, I wanted time to wrap my mind around what I’d seen. Or at least attempt to wrap my mind around what I’d seen. How had this woman gotten there? Had the man just tossed her overboard?

  Chapter Four

  Time dragged on forever until Jake showed up. Just when I thought he wasn’t coming, his car turned in and sped across the lot. The light on the top of his car flashed and the siren was blasting. Other police cars were right behind him with their lights flashing and sirens sounding too.

  “What happened?” Jake asked as he ran over to me.

  I gestured toward the beach. “She’s out there on the shore. At least she was when I left her. There’s a group of people who found her.”

  He took off toward the water with the other officers following him. I stepped over to the beach access and watched from afar. I’d been around too many dead bodies and crime scenes recently. I didn’t need to see another one. But curiosity finally got the best of me and I ventured closer to the scene.

  I’d only barely made it back to the beach when I spotted the reporters headed our way. I recognized one of them from the nightly news. She held a microphone in her hand. They saw me looking at them and we made eye contact. I hoped they didn’t come over to me, but as she stepped closer with a laser-like focus on me, I knew she was head
ed my way. I looked around for somewhere to escape, but there was nowhere to go other than jumping into the water. Since that wasn’t an option, I was stuck.

  They would pretty much just be wasting their time by talking to me because I didn’t anything to tell them. I scanned the area for Jake, thinking maybe if I spoke with him they’d leave me alone, but he was talking to the other officers.

  A crowd of people had gathered nearby. They were my only chance to escape because I could hide among them. Why hadn’t the reporters decided to talk with someone else? As I ran toward the crowd of people, a reporter called out to me.

  “Excuse me,” she said.

  I stood next to the crowd, not looking over my shoulder. Someone else could talk to the reporters, although now that I thought about it, I could just tell them I didn’t want to talk with anyone. No comment. I could explain that I was camera shy. But knowing me, I would have started talking even if I hadn’t wanted to. I had a tendency to get chatty when I was nervous. Avoiding them altogether was a much better idea. The crowd was discussing the grisly discovery, all speculating about what had happened to the poor woman.

  After a couple seconds, I felt someone behind me. I made the mistake of turning around only to find the reporter was standing right behind me.

  She brushed a lock of her blonde hair from her shoulder and smiled widely. “Do you know what’s going on here?”

  Just as I’d expected, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and said, “They found a dead woman on the beach.” I pointed toward the body.

  Her eyes widened. “Did you find the body? Are you a witness?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Well, I saw the body and I walked up to the other people who had found her first.”

  “Do you know which of these people found her first?” She gestured.

  I shrugged. “Not really. It’s dark and I was more focused on the dead body.”

  “Would you mind if we interview you?” she asked with little enthusiasm, as if I wasn’t first choice.

  I found myself nodding without even realizing it. Before I knew it, I’d stepped away from the group of people and she had shoved the microphone in front of my face. The man with her had a light shining on me and I knew when the police saw them they’d probably tell them to get lost.

  “So you found the body?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No, I was here when a group of people found the women. The police weren’t here yet.”

  “Do you know the woman?” she asked.

  I shook my head again. “No, I don’t know her.”

  “How long do you think she’s been here?” she asked with a little too much fervor.

  I glanced over my shoulder, looking for Jake. “Well, I don’t know, but I’d say not long considering this is a public area. I was here earlier today.”

  “You were here earlier today?” She frowned as if totally confused by what I’d said.

  “They were looking for a woman earlier today and we were at this spot.” I gestured over my shoulder.

  Her eyes widened. “So this is a woman they had been looking for?”

  I had already said too much. “I don’t know.” I wanted to add ‘no comment’ to my last statement.

  “And who are you?” she asked.

  “My name is Maggie Thomas. I’m a private investigator here in Miami.”

  What was I doing, a commercial? She hadn’t even asked that question. I should have kept my mouth shut.

  She smiled widely, apparently happy with the info she’d gotten from me. “Thank you.” Finally she motioned for her film crew to follow her. I assumed she was off to find the next interview victim.

  Jake approached after what seemed like forever. But he wasn’t alone. A man in a gray suit walked beside him. Their focus was fixed on me. Jake’s expression was much softer than the other man’s though. When they stopped in front of me, the other guy looked at me with a scowl. Now that he was standing in front of me I recognized him. He was the detective who had questioned me when my client’s killer had fallen off a balcony in a struggle with Jake.

  “Can you tell us what you were doing when they found her, Maggie?” Jake asked.

  I nodded and then recounted the whole scene. Their expressions were stoic through the entire story. I knew it was pretty crazy, but it was the truth.

  When the other detective got a phone call, Jake leaned in close to me. “I thought you were going home,” he whispered.

  The other officer raised his brow and clicked off his call. I looked from the detective back to Jake.

  “I already told you that I decided to take a walk along the beach. It’s relaxing,” I said.

  Jake stared for a moment, then nodded. “We’re trying to find out who she is.”

  “I know it’s the woman who I saw on the boat,” I repeated as if he hadn’t heard me the first time.

  “You’ve got really bad luck,” the other detective said. “I mean, finding these dead bodies.” His gaze was locked on my face.

  “My luck isn’t nearly as bad as the people I found,” I said.

  When I returned his stare, he looked away from me. I was good at staring too and could match his intensity dollar for dollar.

  After a moment, he looked at me again. “You have to admit that it’s suspicious that you made the call about the woman and now she shows up on the beach.”

  I ran my hand through my hair. “Is it okay if I go home now? It’s been a long day.”

  Without another question, the detective walked away. Now it was just Jake and me. He leaned close. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’m getting used to this now.”

  He stared at me as if trying to tell if I was being completely honest with him. Finally it worked and I said, “Oh, who am I kidding? I could never get used to it.”

  He grabbed my hand and it lingered for a moment. I let go and got into my car.

  “I’ll call you later,” he said softly.

  I waved as I took off. I was glad to be away from that scene. That man on the boat had to have known we were looking for the woman he had probably pushed overboard. I had no way of knowing that he’d pushed her for sure, but it was the first thought that had popped into my mind when I’d seen her lying there on the beach.

  Chapter Five

  I hadn’t thought of going back to the restaurant until my car was pointed in that direction. It was as if I’d subconsciously just taken off on that course without even being aware of it.

  The odds of the boat still being at the restaurant were slim, but if I didn’t go check it out I would always wonder. Within a few minutes I pulled up to the now empty parking lot. It looked as if even the employees had already gone home. I knew this was a pointless trip, so why was I getting out of my car and walking across the parking lot? The answer to that question: because my curiosity always won.

  If the restaurant was closed then the boats would be gone now too, but I’d driven all the way there—I supposed there was no harm in just taking a look. Besides, maybe being back in the location where I’d seen the boat up close would spark something in my memory. Maybe I’d seen something that I hadn’t thought was important at the time.

  I took my time walking up to the restaurant. It felt strange to be back there by myself so soon after having such an odd evening with Jake. I’d made it to the side of the restaurant when my phone dinged, indicating that I had a text message. I stopped and pulled it out of my pocket.

  I’ve been thinking that maybe you should ask Jake out on a date.

  The text was from Dorothy. How had she figured out how to send a text on her giant old lady phone?

  I typed back. No.

  I stuffed the phone back into my pocket. It immediately dinged again, but I ignored it. Dorothy would have to wait until tomorrow to continue her matchmaking games. Obviously I didn’t mention the little detail that I’d stumbled on another dead body. I’d ruin her night’s sleep if I told her now. She’d find out soon enough.

  I
made my way around the deck and to the back of the restaurant. Unfortunately, there was a small iron fence around the boat dock area. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness, but as far as I could tell there were no boats there now. I should have just turned around right then, but no, I always had to push things.

  I stepped closer to the fence and gauged the height. It was at my waist so I was pretty sure I could get across without killing myself, although it had been only a short time ago that I’d gotten my shorts caught while trying to climb someone’s gate. I’d almost thought I’d have to call Jake to rescue me. Luckily, that hadn’t been the case because it would have been more than a little embarrassing.

  The sign on the area specifically stated that there was no entering when the restaurant was closed, but I had to ignore that warning. I prayed that I didn’t get caught and that no one called the police if they saw me.

  Just as I suspected there were no boats at the dock. I walked over to where the boat had been just a few hours ago. I stared out into the darkness. Water lapped up against the wood and stars dotted the immense black sky. The wind blew my hair and the salt air tickled my nose.

  After standing there for a couple minutes, lost in thought, I figured it was time to go home. I turned to leave and that was when I spotted something shiny on the deck. The object was just lying there as if someone had dropped it. I looked around, but of course as far as I could tell no one was watching me.

  There was only a faint glow in the restaurant and I assumed it was a light that they kept on all the time. I stepped closer and realized that the object was a gold bracelet. I reached down and picked it up. It was large, so I figured it was a man’s. Could the man from the boat have lost it?

  I had noticed his gold bracelet. It had to be his, right? There had been a lot of people out there on the deck, although he had been one of the last tonight. If the bracelet had been lost earlier in the evening someone would have found it before now. I studied the bracelet closer, flipping it over. That was when I noticed the name ‘Sam’ engraved on the back. I stuffed the bracelet into my pocket and headed across the empty parking lot toward my car.