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

  The palm fronds rustled in the breeze. The faint sound was slightly spooky as it whispered through the air. It was probably my nerves playing tricks on me, but the sense of someone watching me surrounded me—following me all the way to my car.

  This day had been so bad that not even an episode of Magnum, P.I. would make me feel better. Moving away from the city, I left the flashing lights behind and turned onto my slightly less noisy street. By some miracle, I found a space next to my apartment building and parked the car at the curb. I grabbed my purse and made my way to my front door. The surrounding buildings looked similar to my place. I was surprised that I hadn’t accidentally walked in to someone’s apartment thinking it was mine. The neighbors were rarely out and about. I’d only seen the man in the apartment next to mine for the first time yesterday. He’d flashed a tiny grin and nodded as he hurried into his place.

  Kicking off my sandals, I tossed my purse onto the bed and then curled up on my tiny sofa. I watched a couple of my favorite episodes of Magnum and finished off the jar of peanut butter. I’d tried to focus on the show, but my mind had been distracted.

  It was times like this, when everything was quiet, that I wondered about what had really happened to my father. Dylan Thomas had been murdered in the line of duty when I was young. His murder was still unsolved. Would my life have been different if he was still alive? My mother was still in Vegas with her most recent husband. Sure, Stan wore too much cologne and had a serious comb-over, but he was a nice enough guy. Heck, I kind of even hoped that my mother kept him around. At least I hoped she kept him around longer than she had the others.

  My mother had begged me not to take over my uncle’s agency. But I’d needed a change, and nothing she could have said would have stopped me.

  I stood from the sofa, stretched, and then sat at the tiny desk on the other side of the room. While I waited for my laptop to turn on, I jotted down notes for my father’s case. I’d been researching it for some time now.

  I had names of people my father had arrested when he’d been a police officer back in the small town in Kentucky where I’d been born. It was a long shot, but I had to research every name on my list. Maybe something small, no matter how minute, might give me a clue that would lead to the killer.

  A gang of men had claimed they had killed my father, but the police had looked into it and ruled them out. I’d found a couple of them were now in prison for burglary and attempted murder and the other two were still living in that small town. Maybe I’d get a chance to pay them a visit. That would be risky, and if my father was alive he probably wouldn’t want me to do it, but I usually didn’t follow people’s advice, even if I knew they were more than likely right.

  After about an hour, I shut off the computer and climbed between the sheets. The air conditioner hummed noisily in my ear. I couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the boat. If only I’d seen her sooner. Maybe then the police could have found her in time.

  It took a while, but I eventually drifted off to sleep while making a mental list of things I needed to do the next day. The very last thought in my mind when I fell asleep was Jake Jackson.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning my phone woke me up. It wasn’t the text message this time, but a full-on loud ring in my ear. I had a feeling it was Dorothy when I looked at the clock and realized that I’d overslept yet again. Could anyone blame me though? I’d had nightmares about all the dead bodies and had a hard time staying asleep.

  I grabbed the phone mostly just to make the annoying noise stop.

  “What in the hell is going on? Are you a magnet to dead people? I’m beginning to wonder if I should hang around you, Maggie Thomas.”

  Uh-oh. How had she found out about last night? “Did you call Jake?” I asked.

  Dorothy scoffed. “No, I most certainly did not, and I am offended that you think I would do such a thing.”

  Dorothy didn’t need to give me that fake offended thing, because I knew that given the opportunity she would definitely call Jake. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

  She wiggled her finger in my direction. “That’s not what the morning paper says.”

  I shot up in bed. “What does the paper say?”

  “It has the story about the young woman found on the beach. It says right here in black and white that a private eye named Maggie Thomas found the body while out for a stroll along the beach. You were alone on the beach? I thought I told you to ask Jake out last night? What did you do to him?”

  I fell back on the bed. “I didn’t discover another dead body. I just happened to walk up when a group of people found her. The newspaper has it all wrong. Plus, you thought I discovered a body and all you’re worried about is my date?”

  “Well, of course not, but the thought did cross my mind. What were you doing out there?” she asked.

  “Just like the article said, I was taking a walk,” I said with exasperation. Why did everyone keep asking me that?

  Dorothy released a heavy sigh. I couldn’t believe that they’d written my name in the paper. I definitely didn’t want to be involved and having my name listed in black and white as finding the body was not the way to do that.

  “I’ll be there soon, Dorothy,” I said, hanging up the phone.

  After jumping out of the shower, I slipped on a pair of khaki shorts and a green shirt. Green was my favorite color because someone had told me that it brought out the green in my hazel eyes. I slid into my flip-flops and rushed out the door. I was in a hurry to get to the office, but I was in an even bigger hurry to get coffee—a large cinnamon vanilla latte actually.

  There was a coffee shop close to the office and it wouldn’t take long to pop in and grab a cup. What was another few minutes when Dorothy had waited this long? I was standing in line ready to place my order when I felt eyes on me.

  “Looks like you’re a celebrity.” Jake was staring right at me with a copy of the morning paper in his hands.

  I groaned. Luckily, the man behind the counter took my order and gave me a few seconds’ reprieve before I had to respond to Jake.

  “I take it you’ve seen the newspaper,” he said.

  I stepped to the side so that the person behind me could place their order. “Yes, I saw it,” I said in a hushed tone, taking the paper from his hands. “Do you have to wave it around for everyone to see?”

  “You’re lucky they didn’t put your picture in there. No one will recognize you without the photo.” His lips parted in a dazzling smile.

  “Yeah, lucky me, but my name is in there and that’s bad enough.” I grabbed my coffee.

  Jake touched my arm. “Listen, I just wanted to tell you that it was nice to see you last night before all the craziness started.”

  A grin spread across my face and I said, “It was nice seeing you too.”

  Lately, there had been a little too much craziness though. Jake ordered his coffee and then turned to face me.

  “Did you find out who she is yet?” I asked, taking a sip from my cup.

  After receiving his order, Jake and I were at the front of the store. He looked as if he was about to tell me something when he stopped and looked over at the man at the counter. I wasn’t sure how Jake had known, but the man suddenly pulled out a gun and then pointed it at the person behind the register. It was as if Jake had sensed what was about to happen. The young man behind the counter placed his hands in the air. I couldn’t believe the place was being robbed right there in front of us. I had a feeling this criminal was about to realize what a stupid mistake he’d made.

  Jake pressed his arm in front of me and pulled his gun out from its holster with his other hand.

  “Get down, Maggie,” he whispered.

  I crouched down behind the table that we’d been standing beside. It wouldn’t provide much protection if bullets started flying. I looked around at the other terrified faces. They’d already taken cover behind tables and chairs. Some people had been lucky enough to esca
pe. I prayed that no one got hurt in this situation. The poor guy at the register was struggling to get the thing open and hand over the cash.

  Jake jumped up and moved over to the counter where the man stood. He aimed his gun at the perp. The man must have noticed the change of expression from the guy behind the counter because he started to turn around.

  “Put your hands up,” Jake yelled.

  The man slowly raised his hands above his head and then turned around to face Jake. His eyes widened when he saw Jake behind him with the gun aimed right at him. I bet he hadn’t expected that to happen. Like I said, he’d picked the wrong shop to rob today.

  “Don’t make another move,” Jake ordered.

  I was close to the door and noticed an older woman approaching I didn’t want her to walk in on this situation. I eased up from the spot and over toward the door. When I thought she was close enough to see me, I waved my arms through the air to try to get her attention. She scowled at me and opened the door anyway.

  Jake turned around to see what the commotion was. That was when the thug took the opportunity to try to get the gun from Jake. The woman screamed when she realized what was happening. I’d tried to warn her. She’d probably just thought I was crazy.

  The lady froze on the spot. She had a deathly hold on her pocket book. Her eyes were focused on Jake and the other man. I was worried that the gun would go off and she’d be in the line of fire, so I reached over and grabbed her. She screamed out again. This time she probably thought I was actually attacking her instead of trying to keep her safe. The woman struggled with me, but I eventually got her safely behind the table.

  “Don’t worry. The policeman is taking care of it,” I said.

  When I looked up and saw Jake still struggling with the guy, I wasn’t sure what to think. They’d moved to the ground and I knew they were in a battle for the gun. I had to do something before Jake was hurt.

  I’d just placed my hand on my gun to pull it out, when Jake snatched the guy up from the floor and slammed him into the counter. It looked like Jake was able to take care of the situation after all. Jake pulled the man’s hands behind his back and secured his wrists in the handcuffs. Thank goodness this situation hadn’t ended badly.

  Jake had looked as if he’d wanted to tell me something, but now it looked as if that would have to wait.

  “Are you okay?” I asked the woman who I’d pulled to the floor.

  She released a deep breath and nodded. “I guess I’m okay.”

  I took a hold of her arm and helped her to her feet. “I’m sorry that I grabbed you like that.”

  She adjusted her purse and smoothed down her gray hair. “Oh, that’s okay. You were trying to keep me safe and I appreciate that, so thank you.”

  I smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  The next thing I knew, police officers had descended on the area. The customers were quickly filing out of the shop. I guided the woman over to an officer and then turned my attention to Jake.

  He was still holding the guy and hadn’t noticed my eyes on him. Finally, an officer approached Jake and took the perp by the arm. He walked him across the room and toward the door. Of course, I couldn’t help but glare at the guy as he walked past. He’d terrified a bunch of people and that made me furious. Our eyes met for a moment, but he quickly looked away. There was something in his eyes that looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure why. I knew I’d never seen him before though. I watched as the officer escorted him out the door and toward the police car.

  Someone touched my arm and I jumped. Jake was standing next time. I was so consumed by watching the criminal that I hadn’t heard him approach. My jumpiness wasn’t a great private eye move. I needed to be aware of my surroundings all the time.

  “Are you okay?” Jake asked.

  I nodded and offered a grin. “I’m fine. What about you?”

  He ran his hand through his hair. “Much better now.”

  “How did you know what that guy was doing?” I asked.

  Jake shrugged. “Sometimes you can just pick up on the vibes. He looked nervous. I figured it wasn’t from drinking too much coffee.”

  People stared at us we stepped out of the shop. I was thankful that Jake had been in the place at just the right time. The situation could have ended tragically.

  Jake walked with me outside to my car.

  “About what I said before, did you find out who the woman is?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “We don’t have a positive identification, but we are looking for the boat.”

  “I’m glad to see that you finally believe me.” Satisfaction was evident in my voice.

  He touched my chin with his finger. “I always believed you.”

  I couldn’t hide my smile.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” he warned.

  I quirked a brow. “What are you talking about?”

  “Maggie, I don’t think you should get involved with this case. It could be dangerous.”

  “You know more than you’re telling me.”

  He took a drink of coffee, avoiding my gaze, and then said, “I didn’t say that…”

  His phone rang which got him off the hook for the moment. “I’ll call you later,” he said as he grabbed his phone and headed toward his car.

  I wouldn’t let Jake Jackson remain silent for long. We would definitely revisit this topic soon.

  Chapter Seven

  Dorothy was knitting when I stepped into the office. She didn’t bother to hide the needles anymore. If you looked at just the right angle my office had a view of the ocean. I’d banged my knees more than a few times on my desk became of the cramped space, but other than that I liked the cozy space. I still hadn’t found the time to change the writing on the front door. Soon I’d replace the name Griffin Thomas with the name Maggie Thomas, Private Investigator. I really liked the sound of that.

  Dorothy kept knitting and didn’t look at me. I knew that she wasn’t happy. Today she wore a white blouse with a large yellow tropical flower print and coordinating yellow capri pants. Yellow bangles and big hot earrings accessorized the outfit. “It’s about time you showed up,” she said.

  “I had to stop for coffee.” I waved my cup in her direction.

  She placed the needles on the desk and looked at me. “Well, you actually got a call this morning, other than the reporters who wanted to talk with you.” She pushed to her feet, grabbed the little slips of paper with the phone messages and placed them on my desk. She tapped them with her bright red painted fingernail. “You have an appointment today.”

  “I do?” I asked as I picked up the papers.

  “Yes, he’ll be here in an hour,” she said as she walked back to her desk.

  I had to recount last night’s events several times in that hour before my appointment arrived. Mostly Dorothy just wanted to hear about seeing Jake at the restaurant. She was convinced we’d had some secret rendezvous. I’d also read the news article several times while I sat at my tiny desk. When my phone rang, Dorothy and I exchanged a look. After another ring, I answered thinking it was probably my appointment calling to cancel. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  “I got information that I thought you’d want to know,” Jake said.

  “Oh yeah. What’s that?” I asked.

  “We have a positive identification on the woman. Now Maggie, I’m sharing this with you because I believe you won’t tell anyone else.”

  “I’m listening.” I leaned back in my chair.

  “Her name was Kristin Grant.”

  I jotted down the name. At least this was a start and I was shocked that he’d shared the information. Right on time there was a knock at the door.

  “Thanks for the info, Jake. I have to go.” I rushed my words.

  After hanging up, I hurried over and eased the door open. An older man stood in front of me.

  “Are you Maggie Thomas?” he asked.

  I looked down and noticed the newspaper in the man’s hand. Dorothy ha
dn’t asked what this man wanted, so I now became instantly suspicious. Was he some kind of crazy? Maybe he was a reporter and he’d tricked Dorothy into an interview. There was nothing left for me to say about what had happened, so I hoped he wasn’t expecting many answers.

  “Yes, I’m Maggie Thomas, may I help you?” I asked.

  He wore a beige button-down shirt and brown pants. He looked to be about Dorothy’s age with gray hair and bright blue eyes. “I’m in need of your services.”

  I stepped out of the way and gestured for him to enter. “Please come in and have a seat at my desk.”

  Dorothy looked at the man and gave a bashful grin which was completely unlike her.

  I gestured. “This is my assistant, Dorothy Raye.”

  He tilted his head. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  “The pleasure is mine,” she said softly.

  The man sat in front of my desk and placed the newspaper down in front of me. It was face up to the article about my discovery the evening before. I glanced down and then back up at him. What kind of game was he playing?

  “My name is Morton Grant. That was my granddaughter,” he said in a weak voice. “The police informed me of what happened this morning.”

  My stomach turned. “I am so sorry.”

  “We hadn’t spoken in a while. She had cut off contact with the family, but I love her and want to know what happened. She had her demons, but I loved her just the same,” he said.

  I nodded. “I understand.”

  “When I saw your name and that you’re a private investigator that was when I knew I had to ask you to help.” He pleaded with his eyes.

  “Why not let the police find out what happened?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “They have too much going on. If they don’t find something right away they will give up. I need someone to focus all their attention on finding out what happened. I won’t rest until I have answers. Will you help me?” he asked.