For Old Crime's Sake (Chase Charley Mystery Book 1) (4 page)

The next morning, I slipped out of the building without my neighbor noticing. I wouldn’t be able to avoid her forever.

A few fluffy white clouds dotted the blue sky, but the heat hung over the city like a blanket reminded me that the day wouldn’t be perfect, as if I needed a reminder. Nonetheless, it was still a beautiful morning to walk to work.

I wasn’t going to let anything get me down today. My boss had no reason to call me into the office this morning. I’d stayed late last night getting him the pyramid scheme story that he wanted.

I walked the short distance to Café Mojo. It was a double-latte kind of morning. I was going to treat myself.

When I stepped into the shop, I froze. Dangerfield was here.

Of all the people to run into. Was he following me? Sure, he had to get coffee too, but couldn’t he find it at another shop? I was feeling particularly territorial.

So far Dangerfield hadn’t seen me and I wanted to keep it that way. Dangerfield wore a white shirt, blue tie and neatly pressed tan trousers. Of course he looked picture-perfect. It took me hours of preparation to look that pulled-together.

He was standing at the counter ordering. I could have just walked out, but that little voice at the back of my mind told me not to leave. That voice usually got me into trouble. I’d be better off if I went with my first instincts, but I rarely did.

I eased out the shop, stepped around the chalkboard menu, and stopped by the side of the doors. A few people walked by and looked at me as if I was crazy. In my line of work, I was used to those types of looks. I just hoped that Dangerfield didn’t see me because this would be embarrassing. He’d probably think I was following him.

He paid for his coffee and then walked across the shop floor. I ducked behind the door as he turned out the door and down the sidewalk. It was a good thing he had turned the other way or he would have seen me hiding behind the door. 

There would have been no way to lie my way out of that one.

I peeked out as he made his way down the street. He was headed to work too. Just then, a couple men stepped out from the alleyway and followed him. Dangerfield didn’t turn around, so I figured he had no idea that they were back there. Something gave me a bad vibe about the men.

I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was following me. Thank goodness I didn’t notice anyone. There were a few people back there, but they weren’t concerned with me at all.

Now I really wanted to know what the men were doing, so I decided to follow all of them. I hoped they didn’t turn around and notice me. If they did, I would try to act casual, as if I wasn’t trailing them.

What kind of trouble had Dangerfield gotten himself into this time? He was just lucky he had me to watch out for him. And he didn’t even know it. If these guys meant him any harm, I would be there to save him.

Dangerfield turned into his office building. The men stood around for a few seconds, probably trying to figure out what to do next. They turned around and I ducked into the alleyway. I held my breath as they walked by. They were headed in the direction of Café Mojo again. I decided it would be best if I followed.

I made it all the way back to the café without the men noticing me. I was pretty proud of that accomplishment. When they stopped at a black Ford, I stepped over behind a sign. I wasn’t sure if it would be enough to hide me, but I had few other options at the moment. They didn’t look back, so it seemed I was in the clear.

The men climbed into the car and pulled away from the curb. I pulled out the phone from my pocket and snapped a photo. The license plate number was all I needed.

I had a friend who could sometimes make a call and find out the info on a license plate number. But she was worried that she would get in trouble, so I didn’t want to ask just yet. If it came down to a life or death situation, I would ask her, but right now I didn’t think it had escalated to that level. I certainly hoped that it didn’t happen. I was just glad that they hadn’t seen me. How would I find out who the men were and what they wanted with Dangerfield? What was Dangerfield into now?

That was when I remembered the business card for the rookie cop in my purse. Officer Marquez had given me his number in case I needed anything. But I couldn’t call him up and ask for a favor when I didn’t even know him. Or could I? No, it would be the wrong thing to do. But I could ask him about the cop. Would he really give me any dirt on his partner? It was highly unlikely. Maybe I could trick the information out of him. Yeah, that plan wouldn’t work either. I wasn’t clever enough to fool him. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t try though. I’d give him a call the first chance I got.

As I walked toward my office, I spotted a black Ford ahead. Sure, it was a common car, and that didn’t mean that it was the men who had just followed Dangerfield. What would they be doing parked in front of my office building? I didn’t know if I should continue on to my office, or turn around and run away.

When one of the men looked in his rear-view mirror, I made my decision. I decided to run away. Well, it was more like a fast shuffle. No need to freak out the other people sharing the sidewalk with me. I turned in the direction that I’d just come from and ran as fast as I could.

I ran for several seconds without turning around, but when I finally did look back the men weren’t back there. That was a close call. Maybe they hadn’t been after me.

I paused on the sidewalk to catch my breath. My boss wasn’t going to be happy with me for being late yet again. That one report I’d done yesterday wouldn’t make up for this.

I had a strange sensation that someone was watching me. I looked over my shoulder, but didn’t notice anyone paying any attention to me. When I glanced to my left, the black car with the two men had pulled right up to the curb beside me.

It was too late to get away. They were staring right at me. They got out of the car and walked over to where I stood. I swallowed hard, wondering what they would do to me.

The men smiled, but it seemed forced. I didn’t think they’d invite me to lunch. If they did I’d probably be going in the trunk of their car.

One had dark hair and was probably six foot. The other guy had short blond hair and stood a few inches taller. Both wore black pants and blazers.

“Good afternoon,” one of the men said.

I placed my hand on my hip. “What do you want?”

The black-haired man said, “Do you know Bill Dangerfield?”

I tapped my chin with my index finger. “Dangerfield, Dangerfield.”

“We saw you talking with him,” the black-haired man said.

So they had been following me too. This was disturbing.

“Look, I don’t know why you’re following me, but I can call the police right now.” I pulled my phone out.

“That won’t be necessary.” The man reached out and grabbed my phone.

I was so screwed. “Obviously, you know that I know him, so why did you ask?”

“We’re here to ask you for a favor.” He focused his dark eyes on me and smiled with a tight malevolence.

“A favor? Why should I do that for two strangers who just stole my phone?”

The men smiled. Did they do everything in unison? “You can have your phone back, but after you agree to help us.”

Something told me I didn’t want any part of this proposition.

“What are your names?” I demanded.

They exchanged a look. More than likely they wouldn’t give their real names if they told me any names at all.

The dark-haired one pointed at the blond. “That’s Russ, and I’m Doug.”

I tried to subdue the angry snarl that was forcing its way onto my mouth. “What is the favor?”

Doug pushed the windswept hair from his forehead. “It’s simple. We just need to you follow Bill Dangerfield.”

What were they up to? “Is he in some kind of trouble?”

Doug glanced at his phone. “No, not that we are aware of.”

“Then why do you want me to follow him?” I asked.

“We just need to know his whereabouts every day,” Doug said.

I shook my head. “I can’t agree to that. Now can I have my phone back, please?”

They stared and I didn’t know what their next move would be. I didn’t know what my next move would be either. I wondered how fast they could run.

“We’ll stop by to see if you change your mind.” Russ handed me the phone back.

How would they stop by to see if I changed my mind? Did they know where I lived? Of course I was on television, which made me easy to locate.

“I won’t change my mind,” I said.

He nodded. “We’ll see about that.”

This guy was so confident. I was even more stubborn though. When I said I wouldn’t do something I meant I wouldn’t do something. Even if it meant getting dirt on Dangerfield.

Of course, now I had to know what he was up to.

Doug and Russ turned around and climbed back into their car. I released a deep breath when they pulled away from the curb. I hoped I never ran into them again. I probably should warn Dangerfield that the men had asked me. It was the right thing to do. Maybe he would tell me why they were following him. Yeah, that was highly unlikely.

With a shaky hand, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my cousin’s number. She picked up on the first ring. It sounded as if she was in her car.

“Are you talking and driving again?” I asked.

“No, I pulled over, thank you very much.”

“Are you busy for lunch?” I asked.

“I have time. What’s up?” An edge of worry filled her voice.

“I think Dangerfield is in trouble.”

“With his ratings? You should sound happier about that,” she said.

“No, a couple men were following him and then they tracked me down.” I wondered if that sounded as crazy to her as it did to me.

“I’ll met you in the usual spot in ten minutes.” Courtney ended the call.

It only took me five minutes to walk to the café. It was a place that we frequented a lot. Gigi’s Bistro was at the corner of Bourbon and Royal Streets. I liked to sit at the outdoor tables and Courtney liked to sit inside. Unfortunately for her, there were no available tables inside today. I placed our orders and got the last table outside. We always got the same thing. I’d have the fish on rye and she’d have a grilled cheese. A nice breeze blew by and we’d have the shade of the building to keep the sun off of us while we ate.

When I looked up I saw her walking down the street. She wore a yellow sleeveless dress with pink and white flowers across the fabric. Courtney had always loved bright colors and dressing up. She marched toward me in her yellow wedge heels. 

“Sorry there were no tables inside.” I gestured toward the building.

She peeked inside the window and then smiled. “Just had to make sure that you weren’t trying to trick me.”

Courtney sat across from me and the waiter brought our plates.

“So tell me everything,” she said and then took a big bite of her sandwich.

I filled her in on what had happened as I nibbled on my sandwich. I was a little too upset to eat.

“I have to say that is one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard. But then again, nothing really surprises me with you.”

I waved my sandwich in her direction. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“So what are you going to do?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I guess I’ll tell Dangerfield about what happened.”

“You guess? I think it is kind of important that you tell him.”

I waved off her comment and took a drink of water. “Sure. I just hope he tells me what they want.”

“So did you find any more voodoo in front of the neighbor’s place?”

“No, thank goodness.” I stabbed the food with my fork.

“Just be on the lookout and make sure they don’t leave it in front of your door.”

I was contemplating her words when I saw a man across the street. “Okay, don’t panic, but one of the men who was following me is across the street.” If I remembered correctly, his name was Doug.

She started to whip around to look, but I grabbed her hand and she stopped.

I didn’t take my eyes off him. “Don’t look yet. I want to see what he does next.”

“Maybe we should get out of here,” she said with panic in her voice.

I took a sip of my water. “We have to act casual.”

“Don’t you think that he knows you’ve seen him?” she asked.

“He doesn’t act as if he knows,” I said.

Before I had a chance to get up, he started to walk away.

“He’s leaving.” I placed my glass on the table.

She turned around and watched. “Have you ever seen him before today?”

I shook my head. “No, never.”

“Maybe you should call the police,” she said.

“After my encounter with Phillip West?” I paused. “Although there was the one who gave me the card and said to call if I needed anything.”

“The good-looking rookie? Marc Marquez?”

“That’s the one,” I said.

She placed her napkin on the table. “You should definitely call him.” She pushed to her feet. “You can call as we walk out of here. I’ll drive you wherever you need to go, but I don’t want you to walk right now. Not with that guy following you.”

We walked toward her car. She couldn’t stop looking back over her shoulder. “Is he still back there?”

I looked back. “No, he’s not there.”

“This has to have something to do with the investigative reporting.”

“I help people get money back for products that don’t work. I hardly think it would be worth having someone follow us around.”

She opened the car door and slid behind the wheel. “Well, you just never know what people are capable of,” she said as I got into the passenger seat of her little convertible.

As she pulled away, I looked back. The streets were crowded, so it would be impossible to know if anyone was back there. “Things have been strange since I saw the cop dumping the body in the trunk.”

“Do you think the men following you are somehow related to that?” she asked.

I reapplied my pink petal lipstick. “I hadn’t thought about it until now, but Dangerfield was there that night. I think he knows more than he’s telling me.”

“With Dangerfield I’d say he probably does.”