For Old Crime's Sake (Chase Charley Mystery Book 1) (11 page)

“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?”

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.

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.

“So you didn’t move them?” Courtney said.

“That’s what I said. I get tired of looking at the junk every day. You’re not supposed to leave trash in the hallway, you know,” Mrs. Perkins said with a frown.

“What do you mean look at it every day?” I asked.

“There has been a lot of that debris left here. I saw the man who left it too. I assume he’s been the one who did it each time.” She adjusted the tie on her robe. “I tried to stop him, but he didn’t look very friendly, so I didn’t follow him.”

“What did he look like?” I asked.

“Give me a minute and I’ll show you. I took his picture with my cell phone. My grandson showed me how to use the thing.”

Courtney and I exchanged a look and then chuckled. Mrs. Perkins shuffled back with her cell in hand.

She shoved the phone at us. “That’s him. That’s the guy.”

As soon as I saw the picture I recognized the man right away. “That’s Doug. He’s the one who has been following me.”

“I know that guy,” Courtney said.

My mouth dropped. “You know him? By the look on your face, I take it you don’t like him.”

She waved her hand. “I don’t know him per se, I just know who he is.”

Wanda tapped her foot again. “Is that all?”

“Yes, thank you, Mrs. Perkins,” I said.

She didn’t say another word as she shut the door.

“Well, what do you think we should do?” I asked.

“I have a plan.” Courtney motioned for me to follow her.

We headed out of the building and down the street toward her car.

“Do you have any idea why he would leave this?” I asked.

“My guess is that he doesn’t like you.” She pulled out her car key.

“Thanks,” I said.

“It doesn’t matter why, it just matters that he stops.”

That made sense to me. And I wanted Doug or whoever the person was to stop doing this more than anything.

Courtney and I climbed into her car and headed down the street. The sun had slipped away brining the first hints of darkness. Streetlights began to switch on in synchronization. 

“So what is this plan?” I asked.

Courtney merged onto the highway. “I know someone who can tell us about this stuff.”

I released a deep breath. “Well, I guess it’s worth a shot.”

We pulled down the dirt driveway. Dust kicked up from the tires followed behind the car. At the end of the driveway was a white clapboard house. There was an old green truck in front of the house, but other than that the house was quiet. We parked behind the truck.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked.

“It will be fine. I can ask her more about this spell.”

I pushed my shoulders back and opened the car door. I still didn’t think this was such a good idea, but since we were here I couldn’t back out now.

Courtney and I stepped closer to the front porch, but sound caught our attention. It was coming from the back yard. As the moon made its way toward fullness, I wondered if walking around someone’s home at night was such a great idea. Against my better judgment we headed around the side of the house. Once at the edge of the house we paused and looked out into the back yard. The women were standing around in a circle. If they heard our car, they didn’t turn to look. It was as if they were in a trance. I wasn’t sure we should be here. It seemed like an event that was invitation-only.

“What are they doing?” I whispered.

“Some kind of spell,” Courtney answered.

“I really think we should give them some privacy then.” I motioned for her to follow me.

She grabbed my arm. “Give it just a minute so I can see what they are doing.”

“We should turn around and leave right now,” Courtney whispered. “This is something we shouldn’t get involved in right now.”

“I don’t want to get involved with it at any time.” Sure, I didn’t believe in voodoo, but I wasn’t going to take my chances either. The power of suggestion was everything. I tugged on my cousin’s shirt. “Let’s get out of here.”

As we turned around to leave, I glanced over my shoulder and saw a woman watching us. I had so hoped to get out of there without being noticed.

We made it down the driveway before the woman called out to us. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted the woman coming toward us. She didn’t look happy that we had interrupted their event. I wasn’t happy that I had interrupted either. There were many other places I would prefer to be at the moment.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw the woman walking from around the house. She was staring right at us. There was no way that she hadn’t seen us. It would be impossible to sneak away now.

My cousin cranked the engine but the car did nothing.

“I told you to get your car maintained, now look what happened.”

“Now is not the time for a lecture.” She hit the steering wheel with her hands.

“Okay, then remind me later,” I said.

“Yeah, I’ll make sure to do that.” She tried the ignition again, but it still wouldn’t turn over.

When I looked ahead, the woman was talking with a younger dark-haired man. He glanced our way and then hurried in our direction. This wasn’t a good sign. He looked angry with the fact that we were trespassing. Muscles bulged underneath his black T-shirt and I knew it wouldn’t take much effort for him to get rid of us.

Within seconds he was beside our car. He looked at us with a glare that I thought would cause a hole in my head. He opened the car door and motioned for my cousin to get out. “You all need to come with me.”

Something told me he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He glared at us and signaled for us to get out again. Since Courtney’s car wouldn’t start, it didn’t look as if we were getting out of there anyway. I exchanged a look with my cousin and knew that she was thinking the same thing.

He pointed for us to walk toward the house. I wondered what he would do if we ran. I wasn’t brave enough right now to find out. He gestured for us to walk ahead of him. We started for the front of the house. I glanced over my shoulder to see if he was still behind us. He stared at me when I looked at him.

“Lovely weather, isn’t it?” I said.

Courtney flashed me a ‘shut up’ look. Sometimes I knew that I should think before talking, but I just couldn’t help myself.

The house was dark, but then again the moon had quickly disappeared behind a cloud. The living room was on the right and a bedroom on the left. A sofa and a couple of chairs sat in the middle of the room. The white curtains were pulled closed, and only a small lamp illuminated the corner of the room, making the dim room even darker. My anxiety was increasing with each passing minute. I had never been a fan of creepy places, much less when it was dark. Just beyond the living room was a small kitchen. Apparently that was where we were headed.

The woman was sitting at the small kitchen table. She looked straight at us and then offered a little grin.

“Please have a seat,” she said as she motioned toward the chairs around the table. She placed her hands on the table and watched as we sat across from her. “My name is Larissa. What brings you to my house?”

I waited for my cousin to answer her. Courtney was the one who’d brought us here, so she could do the talking. Besides, I wouldn’t know what to say.

Courtney pulled out the picture of the twigs we’d found from her purse. “We found twigs at Chase’s home. I think I know who left them.”

Larissa nodded and brought out a piece of white fabric. “I can do a spell to help get rid of this negativity.”

“Do you think it is something to do with a bad spell?” Courtney asked.

Larissa smiled, but I wasn’t sure I trusted her. She folded the cloth and didn’t look up at our stares. This was just weird. I waited anxiously for her to say something, anything.

She nodded and then said, “I can get rid of this for you.”

“We need to know why it was left in the first place.”

Larissa shook her head but didn’t look up at us. “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you,” she said.

That was easy for her to say. She wasn’t the one on the receiving end of the weird sticks. If it was up to me I would have thrown the things away and forgotten about it. Then I wouldn’t be here.

Larissa stood from the table without saying another word. We watched as she walked over to the back door and opened it. She didn’t look back at us as she walked out. I had no idea what she was doing. She left us alone in the room. I looked around to see if the man was still there, but thank goodness he wasn’t around. Now maybe we could get out of there.

I pushed to my feet and walked over to the small table against the wall.

Courtney looked over her shoulder. “I don’t think you should touch anything. It’s not a good idea.”

Of course I didn’t listen to her. Curiosity got me and this would take my mind off my anxiety. It wasn’t like I was being snoopy. After all, the woman had left these things out so I was sure she wanted us to see them. That was why people had photos out, so that people could look at them.

I picked up the picture and studied it. That was when it hit me that I recognized the man in the picture. My stomach sank. I turned to look at Courtney. “It’s the man who has been following us. It’s Doug, the one Mrs. Perkins claims left the stuff.”

Courtney’s face dropped. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Unfortunately, yes, I am sure. We have to get out of here,” I said.

My cousin pushed to her feet. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“What were you thinking by bringing us here?” I asked.

“It was all I could think to do at the time. I didn’t know she was connected to that man.”

I glanced around. The guy still wasn’t there so I knew it was our chance to get out of there.

Thank goodness the man who had escorted us inside wasn’t around.

Once inside the car, Courtney said, “It has to be a relative of hers. Why else would she have his photo?”

“Either a relative or a family friend. Either way it isn’t a good thing for us. What are the odds that we would come here and she would be involved with that man?” I said.

“Unlikely, but somehow we managed to beat those odds.”

“Lucky us,” I fastened my seatbelt.

“But why is he leaving the twigs at your door? Do you think she knows that he is doing this? If she knows, then why would she offer to get rid of whatever he left at your door?”

“Do you really believe in all this? I just think he is trying to scare me.”

“Well, is it working?” she asked.

Courtney had me there. It was freaking me out a little, but I still didn’t believe. Regardless, I guessed the person leaving the items believed, so that was the most important part.

Courtney navigated the street. “When did this start?”

I contemplated for a moment and then said, “As a matter of fact, it was the next morning after I saw the cop. So do you think there is a connection between the two?”