Rose Pressey - Chase Charley 02 - Seems Like Old Crimes (13 page)

“We’ve worked on an investigation together.” Maybe if I didn’t offer any other explanation he would let it go for now. Or I could change the subject quickly. “Why aren’t you dating anyone? Or are you?”

He chuckled. “I’m not good at dating.”

“What do you mean?”

“I usually attract people who aren’t my type.”

“What’s your type?” I asked.

He studied me with his big brown eyes. “Down to earth with a sense of humor. Dark hair with hazel eyes. Someone who is totally lost in the eighties.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “You’re not attracting that type?”

“I hope I am now. The last woman I went out with brought wedding magazines on our first date.”

“Ouch. That’s definitely second date material.”

He laughed.

Marc and I talked and laughed about movies for a couple hours. We sat on the sofa together and I completely lost track of time.

Finally he looked at his watch, “I had better go. You need rest and I have an early shift.”

“I’m going to hold you to watching
Weekend at Bernie’s
with me,” I said as I stood from the sofa.

Marc walked to the door. “It’s a date.”

As I stood at the door, Marc stared at me. I knew what he was thinking. The next thing I knew he leaned down to kiss me. His lips were warm and tingled against mine. My eyes were closed and I was lost in the moment. Finally, he backed away and looked me in the eyes.

“I had a nice time tonight,” he said.

I nodded. “I had a great time too. Thank you again for coming over.”

He touched my hand. “I’ll see you soon.”

I watched as he walked out the main door. I hadn’t thought about Dangerfield all night, but now that Marc had gone, he crossed my mind. I didn’t know how I felt about the two men. I hated that I had to make a decision. At least I didn’t have to make that decision tonight though. Another plus was that Mrs. Perkins hadn’t come out during our kiss.

I thought about the man who’d tried to hit me with his car and wondered when he might show up at my place tonight. I rushed to close the door and lock it. At least I hoped that would keep him away.

Haley had finally given me information for the one other employee that Haley and Tim had employed. Kelly now worked at a boutique in the French Quarter over on Magazine Street. At least I had an excuse for going into the shop. I could look at the clothing and pretend I was shopping while I asked Kelly questions.

The shop was my first stop this morning. I’d even skipped my morning coffee at Café Mojo. I reached the shop and stepped through the door. The place was full of trendy clothing. The theme seemed to be light colors at the moment. A tall blonde was at the back of the store and spotted me. She waved and headed my way. I figured I would ask about clothing at first. At least pretend that I was a customer.

Since I saw nothing in the shade of red in the store, I said, “I’m looking for a red dress.”

This would keep me from having to purchase anything. My car needed a few repairs and I didn’t need to spend money on clothing at the moment. 

She frowned. “I’m sorry, we don’t have anything in red right now.”

I touched a white blouse next to me.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” she asked.

I looked at the name tag on her shirt and saw that she was the Kelly I was looking for.

“I do have one other question. My name is Chase Charley.”

She waved her finger in my direction. “Yes, I thought I recognized you from TV.”

I smiled. “Yes, that’s me. Is it okay if I ask you a question?”

She crossed her arms in front of her waist. “Sure, what can I help you with?”

“You worked at the voodoo tour with Tim and Haley Swanson?”

Her expression changed. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

“I’m looking into Tim Swanson’s murder,” I said.

She glanced around the space as if she wanted to flee.

“Did you notice anything strange when you worked there?”

“Like what?”

“Well, I know he was having a disagreement with a friend named Jeff Hecht. Can you tell me anything else about their relationship?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. I tried to stay out of it. I know Jeff wanted to borrow money and Tim wouldn’t let him. Jeff was fired for stealing.”

“Did you see him steal?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes, I did. He took cash. Tim didn’t call the police, he just let him go.”

“Is that all?”

“I can’t think of anything else,” she said.

“Well, thanks for answering my questions. I appreciate your help.”

“Oh, there was that Dean guy. He used to call a lot but Tim would always tell me to tell him he wasn’t available. I don’t know what that was all about,” she said.

Hmm. Neither did I, but I intended to find out.

“Thanks again for everything,” I said.

“You’re welcome.” Kelly smiled.

I turned to leave, but that was when I saw the man who’d tried to run me over on the sidewalk right out in front of the store.

“Oh, no.”

“Is everything okay?” Kelly asked.

“Actually, no. Do you see that man out there? He’s been following me.”

“What kind of creep is he?” she asked.

I moved over behind her. “I need a place to hide. I don’t want him to see me. Where can I go?”

“How about the dressing room?” She pointed. “If he comes in I will tell him that you aren’t in here.” 

I would have just confronted this man, but when I thought about how crazy he could actually be, I thought it wasn’t a good idea. He was definitely crazy since he was following me around. I stepped into the dressing room and closed the door. I leaned against the wall of the room, hoping he wouldn’t come near and see my feet at the bottom of the space. I had no idea what I would do if he didn’t leave.

The bell on the door dinged and I held my breath.

“Hello,” Kelly said.

I leaned closer to the door, waiting to hear him speak.

What was he doing? Had he already killed her? Panic set in and I started to freak out.

“Are you looking for something in particular?” she asked.

At least I knew he hadn’t done anything to her yet.

“Are you looking for your wife?” she asked.

Did the guy know how to speak? I pulled out my phone and got ready to dial 911. My finger was just about to push the digits when he said, “I do have a question.”

He spoke in a low hushed tone. He sounded just as creepy as he looked. I felt terrible for doing this to the poor woman. Kelly was just trying to work and now she had to deal with this. 

“Yes?”

“I saw a woman come in here. She has dark hair and was wearing a blue dress.”

I looked down at my outfit. Yep, that was me. Now I had to hope that Kelly wouldn’t tell him where to find me. What if she silently pointed me out?

“I’m sorry, no one fitting that description has been in this morning. My boyfriend is in the back room. I can ask him if he’s seen anyone fitting that description.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he said in a clipped tone. I knew that he didn’t believe her.

Was her boyfriend really in the back or had she just told him that? I hoped he would leave now that she had told him no, but so far the door hadn’t sounded, indicating his exit.

“Does she buy clothing here?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” Kelly asked. What a weird question.

“Does Chase Charley shop here?” he asked, clearly more irritated now.

It totally freaked me out to hear him mention my name.

“I have no idea,” Kelly muttered. It seemed that question had caught her off guard too.

“So you don’t know if she shops here?” he repeated. He certainly was persistent.

“No, I don’t know who you are talking about,” she said.

I really needed to buy clothing from Kelly if she worked on commission because she was doing me a huge favor. Silence filled the air again and my anxiety grew by the second. I was back to my earlier plan of calling the police. If I didn’t hear him leave in the next couple seconds I was placing that call. I figured that her boyfriend wasn’t in the back room because he probably would have come out to the front by now.

“She is on the news here in New Orleans,” he said as if Kelly had asked.

“That’s nice,” Kelly said.

I was sure she was trying to think of a way to get rid of him. She probably also was thinking of ways to tell me to get lost once I came out of the dressing room. I wasn’t sure I’d be ready to come out even if he did leave.

“Well, sorry if I bothered you,” he said.

Now I wished I’d told her to ask his name. Why hadn’t I called Marc right away? He could have come here and asked this guy what he wanted. I guessed I had panicked. I couldn’t let him leave without doing something. I had my phone, and figured I could snap a photo. Of course I didn't want to open the dressing room door. I leaned down and positioned my phone to snap a photo from under the door. Once I touched the screen, the flash lit up the tiny space. I prayed he hadn’t noticed the light. I checked the picture, but realized the camera had been reversed and I'd taken a not-so-flattering selfie
.

The door dinged again and I held my breath, hoping that he had truly left.

“You can come out now,” Kelly said.

I sucked in a deep breath and twisted the doorknob. I eased the door open and peeked my head out just a bit. “Is he really gone?”

Kelly nodded. “Yes, he left. Who is that guy? He is creepy.”

“I don’t know who he is. Now that I think of it, I wish I had told you to ask his name. Then again, I didn’t need to get you involved in this. I am sorry I asked you to cover for me like that.”

“Don’t worry about it, he was a creep. You don’t need to talk with him.” She stepped over to the window and looked down the street.

“Do you see him?” I asked.

I was scared to go outside. This was crazy. I shouldn’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder everywhere I went.

“Is your boyfriend really in the back room?” I asked.

She waved her hand. “Oh, no, I just told him that because I didn’t want him to think I was here alone.”

“That’s a good idea.” I stepped over to the door. “Thanks again for covering for me.”

“No problem. Just be careful out there.”

I opened the door and headed outside onto the sidewalk. I took a step and stopped. A piece of paper lay on the sidewalk. I reached down and picked it up. I hadn’t expected for Bill Dangerfield’s name to be written on the card. The guy had to have dropped it. That was too much of a coincidence. Now I had to know why he had Dangerfield’s name and number. Was he following Dangerfield too? Or had Dangerfield put this guy up to following me all along?

I scanned the area to see if the man was still around. When I didn’t see him I headed toward my apartment and pulled out my cell.

“Dangerfield,” he said when he picked up the phone.

“Did you send someone to follow me?” I asked.

Surely Dangerfield wouldn’t do something like that. Especially considering the guy had tried to hit me with a car.

“What are you talking about? It’s a little early to be drinking, Charley.”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” I said.

“I won’t if you tell me what you are talking about,” he said.

“That man followed me into a store. I managed to hide from him.”

“Where are you now?”

“Never mind that. I need to find out where he went,” I said.

“What did you do after you saw him?”

I glanced to my left and to my right. “When he left I went outside to look for him.”

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Dangerfield said.

“Actually, I think it was a good idea, considering I found your name and number on a card in front of the store.”

“You’ll have to explain a little more because I’m not following.”

“Obviously the guy had your info and dropped it. Are you sure you didn’t send him to look for me?” I said.

“I didn’t send anyone after you. Why would I do that?” He sounded a little upset with me.

“Then why did he have your info?” I asked.

“Maybe it was on something you had and it fell out of your bag.”

I thought about what he said for a moment. Then I figured it wasn’t possible. I didn’t remember having a card with his info on it.

“Don’t be mad at me, Charley, I did nothing wrong.”

I released a deep breath. “Then why did he have your info?” I asked.

“That’s what I’d like to know. Who was this guy?”

“If I knew that I wouldn’t have even called you. Wait, yes, I would have because I am mad.”

“Don’t be mad at me. You said it’s the same guy from the other night?” Dangerfield asked.

“Yes, I’m sure of it. I didn’t know that guy then and I don’t know him now. He asked about me and then left the store. I would have followed him but he was gone when I went outside,” I said. 

“It’s a good thing he was gone. He could be dangerous. Maybe you have a stalker.”

Now I was starting to freak out all over again. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one was following me.

I released a deep breath. “I suppose I did jump to conclusions. I’m a little stressed. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Dangerfield said. “Now are you going to tell me where you are?”

“I just got to my place. Why do you ask?”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Do you think I’m in danger?” I asked.

He paused, and then said, “Yes, if this guy is following you around, I think he is dangerous.”

Now that Dangerfield said it out loud it made it even more real. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but I had to face the reality. I unlocked my door and hurried in and locked the door behind me.

“Okay, I’m inside and safe now.”

“You’ll call me if you need anything?” he asked.

“I promise I’ll call if I need you.”

I might need to place a call for help sooner rather than later.