For Old Crime's Sake (Chase Charley Mystery Book 1) Page 9

  He took another drink. “You wouldn’t do that.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Oh, no? Want to bet?”

  When he looked over at me my stomach danced. He stared for a moment and didn’t speak. Then he said, “I guess I really could use some help.”

  I stared straight ahead. “Well, I guess we should get going then.”

  The way he said it made my body tingle. I wondered if he knew he had that effect on me.

  “So is this where you wanted to take me? How could you if you just found out where we’re going?” My suspicions were running high.

  “Again with the questions. I was waiting on a call from my source. I figured I would pick you up while I waited.”

  “How thoughtful of you. What do we do about the cop?” I asked.

  Dangerfield looked in the rear-view mirror. “Apparently nothing. He’s gone.”

  I whipped around in my seat. The cop’s car wasn’t there. I scanned the parking lot and didn’t see him anywhere. “I don’t trust him.”

  “You shouldn’t.” Dangerfield pulled the car out onto the road.

  “Where is it we’re going?”

  Finally, Dangerfield pointed the car away from the gas station. When I looked back, the cop car still wasn’t there. I figured Officer West would follow us though. It wasn’t likely that he would let this go that easily. Not until he was sure I would be quiet—or he made me quiet permanently.

  Dangerfield tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “Bridgewater Tennis Club.”

  “That’s an odd place to find him,” I said.

  “I guess he likes tennis.”

  “How will we know what this man looks like? What is his name?” I asked.

  Dangerfield handed me his cell phone. “My source sent me a text with the man’s picture.”

  I took the phone and studied the photo. Clearly I needed a new source. The man in the photo had gray hair and light blue eyes. He looked to be in his sixties. Wilson Branson was the name written under the photo.

  “His name is Wilson? I thought Michael Hook owned the house now.”

  Dangerfield took the phone when I handed it to him. “Was that the name written under the photo?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  He shrugged. “I’m just going by what my source told me.”

  We whipped into a parking space and Dangerfield cut the engine. The parking lot was full and I had no clue how Dangerfield thought we would find this Wilson Branson. But Dangerfield claimed to have a plan. I was not looking forward to this ridiculous plan. How would we get in this club? It was strictly members only.

  After a couple seconds, Dangerfield pointed. “Look, there’s a back door. We can slip right in there and blend in with the crowd. No one will notice us and we can look around for the guy.”

  “Oh, you make it sound so easy.” I shook my head. “You can’t be serious. I think someone will see us sneaking in a back door. We’ll be arrested and Phillip West will make sure we are charged with something far more serious.”

  I scanned the parking lot to see if the cop had followed us there. So far there was no sign of him.

  “I promise you we won’t get arrested.” Dangerfield held his hand up.

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I warned with a wave of my finger.

  He leaned his head back against the car seat. “Okay, I won’t make promises I can’t keep.”

  We slipped inside the door. It came out into the kitchen. There were a lot of people back there working, but no one even looked our way. We needed to do something though or they would notice we looked out of place.

  Dangerfield looked around for a second, then said, “Wait right there.”

  “What are you doing?” I said.

  Dangerfield rushed over to a bench and grabbed the pile of clothing. “Uniforms. We can act like we work here.”

  “This is not some movie. That never works,” I whispered.

  He shoved clothing at me. “We won’t know if we don’t try.”

  “I can’t dress right here.” I clutched the clothing to my chest.

  Dangerfield grabbed my hand and pulled me into the closet.

  “I’m not dressing in front of you.” I shook my head. “No way.”

  “I’m not looking. I’ll face the other way.”

  I reluctantly stepped inside and began to change into the pants and shirt. I slipped on the pants, and then pulled the shirt over my head. When I looked up, Dangerfield was glancing my way.

  “You were looking, weren’t you?” I whispered. I couldn’t yell at him because someone might hear us.

  He held his hands up, but faced the wall. “I was not looking at you. My eyes were on this wall the whole time.”

  “You are such a liar. I saw you looking this way.”

  “I was not. I thought I heard something. Now finish getting dressed so we can get out of here.” He inched over to the door and placed his hand on the knob.

  I stepped behind him. “I will get you back for that.”

  Dangerfield twisted the knob and stuck his head out. “You have been saying that quite a lot.”

  I poked him in the back. “You keep doing things that make me mad, so what can you expect?”

  He motioned for me to follow him. “Maybe it just doesn’t take much to make you mad. Did you ever think of that?”

  “I thought of it, and I decided that you are a jackass.”

  He eased down the hallway toward the kitchen.

  “What is going on?” I couldn’t see from where I stood behind him.

  “Nothing has changed. Everyone is still racing around like they don’t know what they are doing. Just follow me,” he said as he motioned over his shoulder.

  Why did I listen to this man? He should be listening to me. It was time that I was in charge because he made bad decisions.

  When we stepped into the kitchen, no one seemed to notice. A dark-haired middle-aged woman walked by and I thought for sure she’d tell us to get out. She stopped in her tracks as if it had just registered that we weren’t supposed to be there. Suddenly she whipped around and looked straight at us. We were in trouble now. I’d like to see Dangerfield get us out of this one.

  Dangerfield made eye contact with the woman. I should have turned around and made him do this alone, but I didn’t want to face everything that was happening on my own. Great, now I was stuck with Dangerfield. I needed to take over this lousy plan right now before it was too late.

  “What are you two doing standing around? There are tables that need service. Get going.” She waved her hand, then stomped away.

  I exchanged a look with Dangerfield. “What have you gotten me into?”

  “Let’s do this.” Dangerfield headed toward the door that led into the restaurant area. Unfortunately I followed him. Once through the door, Dangerfield grabbed a couple trays on a nearby table and handed me one.

  “We’ll just make our way over to the exit door. I think it leads into the area where the dressing rooms are and then on to the indoor and outdoor courts.”

  I had no idea what his plan was once we made it there. The odds of finding this Wilson guy were slim. We weaved our way around staff members and made our way across the room. We’d almost made it to the door when I stopped in my tracks. The man I’d seen in the photo, Wilson Branson, was across the room.

  “It’s him,” I said.

  I poked Dangerfield in the side and he wobbled the tray. Finally, he righted himself. “What did you do that for?”

  “Pay attention. The man we are looking for is right over there.” I pointed.

  We followed Wilson out of the room and down the hallway. A man was walking toward us, but he stopped and talked with Wilson. We froze and then finally Dangerfield pushed me into a small hallway to the right.

  “We need to hear what they’re saying,” Dangerfield said.

  “We can’t stay here for ever,” I whispered.

  He leaned against the door. “I don’t think we’ll have
to.”

  “It’s time you got out of my way.” I pushed Dangerfield to the side. I leaned out and looked. “Yeah, okay, the men are still there.”

  “I told you.” Dangerfield peeked out into the hallway. “Looks like they are walking away.”

  “Great, now we’ll lose him,” I said.

  Dangerfield stepped out into the hall and of course I followed him. Apparently I hadn’t learned my lesson yet and was still assuming that he wouldn’t get us into trouble. The men stepped through the door that led outside.

  “We’ll follow them out there,” Dangerfield said.

  When we emerged onto the patio, I spotted the man out of the tennis court. He was playing tennis. I looked to my left and Dangerfield wasn’t there. Had he left me here to fend for myself?

  After a couple seconds, Dangerfield pulled on my arm. “Here, I got this for you.” He shoved what looked like clothing at me.

  “What is this?” I took the items from his arms. “More uniforms?”

  “I found tennis outfits for us.”

  I snorted. “What am I supposed to do with it? And how do you keep finding clothes?”

  He shrugged. “I have my ways.”

  “What’s your game plan here, Dangerfield?” I examined the outfit he’d handed me.

  “Well, we can get more information in the tennis outfits. If that woman from the kitchen spots us out here still wearing these uniforms, she’ll put us back to work.”

  I paused. “Good point. Where are we going to change?”

  “The locker room is right over there.” He pointed. “What do you think? Are you with me?”

  After a couple seconds, I said, “Yeah, I’ll do it.”

  I had to admit I loved tennis outfits, but as hard as I tried, I was a lousy tennis player. I reluctantly walked into the dressing room. I was glad that it was empty. For all the cars in the parking lot, I wasn’t running into a lot of people, but that was a good thing. I still didn’t know why I had agreed to put this outfit on although I guess we would blend in with the people more.

  I looked at myself in the mirror. The white skirt and matching shirt were cute. Lucky for me, I was already wearing tennis shoes. I swung my arm back and forth to gauge how I would look while playing. I was sure the outfit looked much better than my tennis moves.

  I heard the door and I whipped around. No one was there. I was just glad they hadn’t seen me making those ridiculous moves.

  I stepped out of the dressing room and Dangerfield whistled. It would have been one thing if he was sincere, but he was just trying to annoy me now.

  “You look good in that outfit, but can you play tennis?”

  I quirked a brow. “Can you play?” I asked.

  He snorted. “Can I play?”

  All the courts were full. I was thankful for that because now maybe I wouldn’t have to actually play. We were there just to find Wilson Branson. He was probably gone now anyway.

  Dangerfield and I stood on the sidelines. I was waiting for Dangerfield to think of our next move and he was waiting for me to come up with a good idea.

  A woman sat on the nearby bench. She smiled and I returned the smile. After a couple seconds, she walked over to me.

  “Hello. My name is Virginia Branson. I just noticed your outfit. I have one just like it.” She pointed at my clothing.

  I cast a glance at Dangerfield and he just smiled. He’d probably taken the outfit from her locker.

  “Would you all like to play with us?” She pointed at the court.

  Was she really asking us to play with Wilson?

  “Sure, we’d love to play,” Dangerfield said.

  I wanted to kick him in the leg and that was being polite. He handed me a racket. Where had he gotten the rackets? No doubt I wouldn’t want to know. I reluctantly stepped out onto the court.

  Wilson approached and shook our hands. Dangerfield and I stepped back on the court, taking our positions to play. How were we going to ask him any questions if we were playing tennis?

  The ball zoomed by my head. I furrowed my brow and glared at Wilson Branson. His wife had a scowl on her face. It looked as if they were ready to play and it wasn’t going to be a friendly game. What had Dangerfield gotten me into this time?

  “What was that?” Dangerfield whispered as we waited for the man to serve the ball.

  I propped my hand on my hip. “I never said I was any good.”

  “You didn’t tell me you were blind either. Didn’t you even see the ball?”

  I pointed the racket at him. “You’re no pro, so I don’t know why you are making fun of me.”

  “Just try not to lose, okay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll do my best.”

  I’d never run across the court that much in my life. But finally we won the game. Now maybe we could ask some questions before I collapsed. Dangerfield and I approached the net.

  “Good game,” Virginia said in a not-so-friendly tone.

  “Are you new members?” Wilson asked when he approached.

  I exchanged a look with Dangerfield.

  “Yes, we are,” Dangerfield said.

  I glared at him. Either he was going to ask some questions or I would. I wanted to get out of here and get water before I ended up in the emergency room.

  “The name is Percy Shufflebottom and this is my wife Sherry Shufflebottom.” Dangerfield gestured toward me.

  Wilson and his wife stared at us.

  Dangerfield tapped his chin. “I think I have heard of you before. Don’t you own the house on Royal Street?”

  I wanted to kick him. Not a very subtle way to ask.

  The man wiped his forehead. “Actually, we sold that house to Bentley Miles, the actor. How did you know?”

  I’d like to hear Dangerfield get out of this one.

  Dangerfield studied his tennis racket. “Oh, that must have been another house. Sorry about that. Good game, though.”

  So much for getting information. I had almost had heat stroke for nothing. As Dangerfield talked, I inched my way backward across the courtyard. Dangerfield wouldn’t be happy that I’d left him there, but it was better than being caught.

  I’d made it back to the closet where I’d hidden my clothes. I prayed that they were still there. I wasn’t going to take the time to change, but I’d mail the tennis outfit back to the club and hope that they found the owner.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Dangerfield asked as I headed out the door.

  I waved my hands. “I’m getting out of here.”

  “Were you going to steal my car?”

  I looked over at him. “Of course not.”

  “Then how were you going to leave?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess walk, but it’s better than staying in there.”

  “Well, just so you know, I got the name of the new owner,” Dangerfield said.

  Darn it. He was really getting all the information.

  I walked past his car. He grabbed my arm. “Please let me drive you home. I promise no more shenanigans tonight.”

  Darkness had taken over the sky and my legs ached from running around the court. I wasn’t sure I would be able to get in touch with Courtney and getting a taxi would probably be impossible. “Okay, just this once.”

  “I’m glad you decided to get in. It’s not a good night for walking, Mrs. Shufflebottom.”

  I hid my smile. “You are twisted, do you know that?”

  He stared straight ahead as I climbed into the car, but I saw the smile on his face. I had to admit that when I saw him smile, I couldn’t stop my mouth from turning up in the same fashion.

  By the time we reached my apartment all I could think about was a shower and bed. Dangerfield walked me inside even though I insisted it wasn’t necessary. My neighbor was peeking out her front door when Dangerfield and I walked in the hallway. She shook her head disapprovingly, but shut her door.

  Dangerfield leaned against my door frame. “Are you going to invite me in?”

&nb
sp; If he thought his smile and handsome face was going to get to me he was wrong.

  “Not a chance,” I said, and then closed the door.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Courtney and I had decided to hang out for the rest of the evening at my apartment. We’d watch a couple of movies and she was going to make her famous pasta.

  We had just stepped back inside my building when I noticed the twigs in front of the door. I was hoping she wouldn’t see them, but there was no way to avoid that.

  Courtney stopped in her tracks. “This is not good, Chase. You have to get rid of them.”

  “Okay, calm down. We can get rid of them. First thing tomorrow.”

  Clearly that was not the answer she wanted to hear. She was getting ready to freak out. She gathered the twigs up in a cloth as if she was handling fine china, stuffed the twigs into her bag and headed for the door. “We’ll get rid of this now.”

  As we walked back to the car, she said, “We have to find out where this stuff came from. I could set up a camera to see who leaves them.”

  “Maybe that’s not such a bad idea. I’ll look into it,” I said.

  After a quick trip to the water, and more littering, Courtney and I returned to my apartment. Courtney insisted that we speak to my neighbor about what had been happening. We entered my building and Courtney marched over to my neighbor’s door.

  She motioned for me to follow. “Come on over here.”

  Once I was standing next to her, Courtney knocked on the door.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked as we stood in front of the door.

  “We have to find out what she knows.” Courtney knocked on the door.

  It was as if Wanda had been standing right by the door because she immediately opened. She eyed us up and down, but didn’t speak.

  I said, “Hello, Mrs. Perkins. We wondered if we could ask you a few questions.”

  She tapped her foot against the hardwood floor. Her pink slipper squeaked with the movement. “Well, what is it you want to ask?”

  I glanced at Courtney and she urged me to go ahead. “I’ve noticed the twigs and stuff you found a few days ago have been here a couple times. They were in front of my door this time. Did you move them?”

  “I haven’t touched the darn things and I won’t touch them either.” Mrs. Perkins waved her hand.