Pier Pressure Read online

  There was an area by the pool that was enclosed by concrete walls. It held the pool equipment and pool pump. The person tossed me inside the area like a bag of trash. Once I landed on the ground I looked up at the person who had tossed me inside. To my surprise, it was Garrett Smith, the man who I’d thought had kidnapped Cora. Now he was kidnapping me? Why was he doing this? Was he upset because I was trying to solve the case? He didn’t speak to me as he placed tape over my mouth.

  I tried to overpower him, but he grabbed my hands and tied them together with more duct tape. Next, he put the tape on my ankles. What did he have planned for me? Had he been the one responsible for Robert’s death? Fear rippled down my spine. He walked out of the room and left me there alone. Even if my mouth hadn’t been covered with tape I doubted anyone would hear me because the pump was so loud. I wiggled my arms and tried to get the duct tape off. It was on my wrists tight.

  I looked around the small space to see if there was anything that would help me get out of the restraints. There was a net to fish things out of the pool. That wouldn’t help. The sound of footsteps came from the other side of the door. Garrett came back into the small area.

  He stared at me. “I guess you want to know why I have you here?”

  I nodded. His voice sounded strange, as if he was trying to disguise it. That didn’t make sense. He spoke deep, as if using the lower part of his throat.

  “Well, too bad. I can’t tell you that right now.”

  Now he was playing with me. What a sick man. He walked out of the tiny space.

  What was he doing out there? This left me alone with my thoughts again. I didn’t want to be remembered as a bad detective. But honestly, it would look like I was pretty bad at the job when they found me murdered in the pool pump house. I just couldn’t win in this situation. I had to get away. But what could I do? I had to get my wrists untied first. Just as I was about to try again he came back into the room.

  “I guess you want to know what I’m waiting for before I get rid of you?”

  I shook my head again. Although by no means did I want to rush it.

  “I’m waiting for someone to help me. We’re going to take you out of here. I can’t decide if I should kill you here or wait until we get you out of there. I suppose I will discuss it with the person who’s here to help me.”

  Who was going to help him? I wasn’t in any hurry to find out. The faster I found out, the faster they would kill me.

  “Okay, wait right there and I’ll be right back.” He held up his index finger and then walked out of the area again.

  Yeah, right. Where would I go? I probably only had a few seconds until he would return. I had to do something fast. Again, I looked around to see if I missed something.

  I scooted over to the pool pump. Once next to it I placed my wrists against one of the pipes that had a sharp metal piece sticking out from it and wiggled them up and down. I was hoping that this would break the tape around my wrists. To my surprise, it was actually working. The tape was getting looser. A tiny spark of hope filled my thoughts. Unfortunately, the door rattled and I scurried back over to the spot where he had left me.

  When he stepped into the room he scowled. He was suspicious of me. I just hoped he didn’t check the tape around my wrists. If he knew I had them loose he would put even more tape around them. Before he had a chance to say anything his cell phone rang.

  “Where are you?” he asked when he picked up.

  He walked out of the room. I scooted over to the pool pump again. My anxiety was high as I worked on the tape again. I only had a few seconds to get this done before he would be back again.

  I wiggled my wrists up and down again. Finally, the tape broke free. I didn’t have time to get to the tape on my feet though. He was coming, so I scooted back over to the spot. He peeked into the room at me. His eyebrow rose. He was still on the phone. I supposed he was satisfied with what he saw because he backed out of the room. He had forgotten to take my phone from my pocket. I slipped it out and tried to dial a number. He was coming back though. So I had to put it back into my pocket and pretend that I was still tied up.

  I shoved my hands behind my back. I kept that terrified look on my face as he stared at me. As soon as he walked away from the door, I pulled the phone from my pocket again. The screen was showing that I had dialed someone. I guessed I’d made a butt dial. Unfortunately, it was Dorothy. I knew she would be freaking out now.

  “Can’t talk now, Dorothy, I’ll call you back.”

  I ended that call and hit redial for Jake’s number. The rings seemed endless while I waited for him to answer. When he didn’t pick up I panicked a little. I was sure the voicemail I left sounded panicked.

  “I’m in a pool house at the Miami Blue Towers. Garrett Smith is trying to kill me.”

  I clicked off the call and bunny-hopped toward the door. This wouldn’t work. I had to get the tape off my ankles. I knew he would return at any second. Reaching down I picked at the tape. Once I got it started I ripped the piece off. He’d done a sloppy job with that one. Without looking, I rushed out the door. Many emotions overwhelmed me as I escaped the pool area. Fear, hope, and anger. The closer I got to my car the angrier I got. How dare he try to kidnap me?

  When I glanced back to see I he was back there I spotted him watching me from pool’s gate. He held the phone up to his ear and kept his focus on me. Darkness had taken over the sky now. Instead of heading to the police station I pointed the car toward that beach house. I had to know what was going on at that house.

  Chapter 26

  Thank goodness I had my sneakers in the car because they would come in handy if I needed to run. Flip-flops weren’t the best getaway shoes. Where I was going might require a quick getaway. This wasn’t for a relaxing moonlight stroll. I needed to go to that beach house and figure out who lived there. The palm tree fronds swayed as I walked past, as if warning me not to go. I had no choice and I wouldn’t listen to the warning.

  The night air was warm and the stars twinkled in the pitch black sky. I scanned the area to see if anyone was watching me. This was something I did all the time now. With my line of work someone could have it out for me at any time. Being a private eye meant sticking your nose into things that would make some people extremely angry. I hadn’t called Dorothy back yet to let her know that I was coming here tonight. I didn’t want to put her in danger. At least this time I didn’t have to get past that alligator. I’d just drive on past. He was like the gatekeeper for that place.

  When I reached that dirt road again, I eased the car down the path. Flashbacks of running for the car with Dorothy and Morton flooded back to me. I felt a little guilty for not telling her what I was doing, but I knew it was for the best. I drove past the area where that alligator liked to hang out.

  “You can’t get me this time, big guy,” I said.

  My anxiety increased the closer I got to the house. I reached the other little dirt path. I turned off the headlights. I inched the car toward the beach house. The slower I drove the less chance that they would hear me pull up, though I doubted they’d hear anything with the crash of the waves. There were two other cars parked by the house. I didn’t recognize either one. I parked back from the house a bit, hoping that no one would see my car.

  I shut off the engine. Releasing a deep breath, I opened the car door and got out. 1t was eerily quiet and more than a little spooky. It was darker than dark and I supposed I still had that alligator on the mind a little. Plus, who knew if there could be a killer in this house?

  I moved toward the house, inching my way and trying to hide behind some of the tall seagrass and a palm tree. Someone could have been watching me out there and I would have no idea. It was too dark to see much of anything. I couldn’t believe that I was sneaking up to this house. What would I do if they caught me? What if there was more than one person in the house?

  Based on the two cars parked nearby I suspected there were at least two people inside. Steps at the back of th
e house led to the wraparound porch. I had to make my way up there so I could peek inside the windows. I put one foot on the first step and a rustling noise caught my attention. I held the gasp inside, but my heart sped up. Was it the alligator? I looked around but saw nothing. That was a good thing. I inched my way up the rest of the steps. There was a light on the side of the house, but the one at the back door was either off or not working. That was lucky for me.

  I had to avoid that side of the house. There were lights on in the house. As long as I stayed away from that light they wouldn’t see me. I moved to the left side of the house. I stopped just before the first window. I kept my body close to the house. Now I had to get up enough nerve to peek in the window. After all, this was the whole reason I’d come here in the first place. I steadied my nerves and then peeked over just a bit.

  The inside of the house was beautiful. I’d checked to see who owned the place. It was a rental owned by a company and I couldn’t get any information from the rental company. There was no one in the room. Now I had to go to the next window. This was a dining area. They were probably in the living room area. As I moved close to the next window I heard voices. I froze on the spot. Was someone outside? I listened. No it was coming from inside the house. I moved toward the window again. When I reached the window I stopped once again.

  Before even looking into the window I heard the voice again. Shock overwhelmed me. I recognized the voice. It was the strange voice that had called me on the phone. I would recognize it anywhere. Now I couldn’t wait to get a look at the person behind the voice. Finally I would know who had pushed me into the water.

  This made me even more nervous though. I realized just how serious this was. This was it. I had to look. I peered into the window. There were two people in that room. One of them I recognized, but I knew that it wasn’t her voice. I had heard Cora’s voice many times now. The man with her spoke. I couldn’t make out exactly what he said, but I knew that he had been the one who’d called me and told me to meet him at the pier. He was the one with the high-pitched voice. Why was Cora here at this house? Maybe this man had lured her here? Maybe he had told her that he had info for her too? Maybe I had this all wrong and she wasn’t behind the murder at all.

  The thought quickly left my mind though when they moved closer to each other. The embraced and then kissed. Okay, so she wasn’t here against her will. Her hands were all over this guy.

  Just as I was moving away from the window, because I couldn’t stand to look at them making out, I hit the window. They looked at the window, but I had moved away. I saw his face. It was Garrett Smith. So that was her boyfriend. They had been in on this together all alone. That was why he’d tried to kidnap me. It explained why his voice had sounded strange. He’d been trying to hide the fact that he’d been the one to call me. Why bother? He’d planned on killing me anyway. Obviously Garrett wasn’t rowing with both oars.

  How had he gotten here so fast? I guessed he hadn’t taken a wrong turn and gotten held up in traffic. Now they would come out to see what had happened. They would see the car and I would be caught. I had to get out of here. If I got to the car before they saw me then I could get out of here.

  I ran for the steps. Moving down the stairs, I almost got to the bottom step, but then I stumbled from running so fast. I fell forward and landed on the sand. Groaning and pushing back the pain in my arms, I hurried up from the sand and raced toward the car. I only made it a few steps when someone grabbed me from behind. I fell forward. The person grabbed me up from the ground. He spun me around and now I was looking directly into his dark eyes.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Garrett asked in a high-pitched voice.

  Cora stood behind this guy. She was glaring at me.

  “Cora, what is going on here?” I asked.

  “Take her back up to the house,” Cora ordered.

  He dragged me toward the house. I didn’t want to go up there. If they got me up there I probably wouldn’t leave alive. I jerked my body to the left and managed to break his hold. I ran to the left toward the water. I had no idea what I would do from there. It wasn’t like I could just go in the water to get away from them.

  Running through the sand was really hard. If I got out to the wet sand it would be much easier. I didn’t want to look back and slow down my pace, but I wanted to know just how close they were to catching me. How far would they chase me and how long could I run? I could run to the next house. It was a bit down the way, but it was my only hope at the moment. Where was that alligator when I needed it?

  I only made it a couple more steps though before Garrett grabbed me from behind again. He spun me around. Cora raced up to us.

  “Why did you do this?” I asked.

  “Does it really matter?” She glared at me.

  “You won’t get away with killing me. The police know I was coming here. They will be here at any moment.”

  Did Jake know I was here? I hadn’t heard from him since leaving the voicemail.

  She stared at me. Garrett looked at Cora. An evil smile slid over her lips. Then she started laughing. He followed her.

  “Do you really expect me to believe that?” she asked.

  I had expected maybe she would believe it. I’d thought I’d said it rather convincingly. He pulled me back toward the house.

  “We can kill you and dump you in the water. You will be shark food and they will never find you,” Cora said.

  It sounded as if she had this all planned out. How many other people had she gotten rid of that way? We reached the house and then they forced me to climb the stairs. The man held onto my arm. He was on my left and Cora was on my right. Escorted by criminals. We reached the top of the steps. I looked around for a way out of this, but I saw none. He pushed me through the door.

  “Take a seat.” Cora gestured toward the sofa.

  “Why not just kill me outside? Isn’t that what you want to do?” I asked with a smirk.

  Why I was being cocky I had no idea. What did I have to lose though?

  “Be patient.” An evil smile slid over Cora’s lips.

  “Who was the woman at Garrett’s apartment? She looked just like you. I know my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me,” I said.

  “That’s my sister. We’re not twins, but we look alike, don’t we?” Cora winked.

  “Are you going to tell me why you did this? Was it because you wanted to be with him?” I gestured toward Garrett.

  “That’s part of the reason,” Cora said with a click of her tongue. “Insurance money was the other. Now we can live the life we want… together. I hired you so that you would find someone else as a suspect. I figured you could convince your little detective boyfriend to get the heat off me. It hasn’t worked out well so far. You are a bad detective.”

  I narrowed my eyes. How dared she call me a bad detective?

  “So now since you’re so lousy I decided to kill you too.”

  If only I could cause a distraction, then I could try to get away. But how would I do that? I glanced around the room.

  “What are you looking for?” Cora frowned.

  “Did you buy this house with the insurance money?” I asked.

  I knew the answer, but I had to stall until I could think of something.

  “Not yet, but we plan on it,” she said.

  “It’s okay,” I said with a smirk.

  She narrowed her eyes. “You’re really trying to push my buttons, aren’t you? Why would you do that?”

  A noise sounded from somewhere outside. It sounded as if it had come from the porch.

  “What was that?” Cora asked.

  “I told you that I’d called the police. You wouldn’t believe me. They probably have the whole place surrounded.”

  “If that’s the case then none of us are leaving this house alive, got it? So I suggest you tell them to leave,” she said.

  “What do you mean none of us are leaving alive?” Garrett asked. “I didn’t sign up for that.”
/>   “It’s a little too late to think about that now,” she said.

  Now they were arguing. This was a good thing. Maybe that would cause the distraction that I needed. Though I wanted to know what that noise was outside. I knew I hadn’t called the police, but what if for some reason they’d showed up anyway? I couldn’t get that lucky. Another sound came from the front porch area.

  “Go see what that is,” she ordered him.

  “Why don’t you go see what it is?” he asked.

  Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise. They glared at each other. Neither of them budged.

  “I can go look.” I held my hand up.

  “You stay put,” Cora ordered.

  “It was worth a shot,” I said.

  Another noise came at the window. It sounded as if someone had thrown something and it had hit the glass.

  “Fine, if you won’t go see what it is then I will.” Cora walked over to the door and paused.

  Garrett didn’t budge when she looked back at him. She glared at him, but then opened the door and stepped out into the salty sea night air. Too bad I’d dropped my phone outside. Now that Cora was out of the room perhaps I could have sneaked in a call. Though cell coverage was spotty out here by the ocean. A few seconds passed and Cora still hadn’t returned.

  “Don’t move,” Garrett said as he walked across the room.

  If he went outside then I was definitely making a run for it. I’d go out the back door even if I had to break it down. I’d break a window out if I had to in order to escape. Unfortunately, he stopped at the door.

  “Aren’t you going out there to check on her?” I asked.

  His gaze remained focused on the darkness outside. “She’s a big girl, she can handle herself.”

  “Are you sure? It’s been a long time. She should be back by now. What if something happened to her?”

  He turned to face me. “Do you think I’m that stupid? You just want me to leave you alone in here so you can do something.”