Rose Pressey - Chase Charley 02 - Seems Like Old Crimes (20 page)

“No, of course not,” I said. “Kristine didn’t act as if she wanted to discuss it though. I’ll have to look into that more.”

“Yes, we will.” The moonlight showcased Dangerfield’s smile.

A man appeared beneath the house next to Kristine and Dean’s. I jumped and clutched my chest. He was a small man with thinning gray hair. He wore tan shorts, a short sleeve button-down yellow shirt, and flip flops.

“I’m sorry if I startled you,” he said.

“That’s okay. Are you friends with Kristine and Dean? Your neighbors.” I gestured for clarification.

“Not really. It’s a shame about her brother, especially with all that money,” he said.

I frowned. “What money is that?”

I figured he was talking about the trust funds, but I wanted to hear what he had to say.

“Oh, they both have trust funds. Loads of money.”

“The sister too?” I asked.

“Yes, she gets money every month. Like I said, it’s a shame what happened.” The man placed the bag of trash into the can. “Well, nice talking with you.”

Dangerfield and I continued our walk.

“So they both had a lot of money,” Dangerfield said as we walked along.

“But why would Jeff think he would get any of that by killing Tim?” I asked.

The ocean breeze floated across the night air. I caught a whiff of Dangerfield. He smelled delicious.

“Haley said he did want to borrow money,” Dangerfield said.

“That’s true. I would think that would definitely put Kristine and Dean in danger too. I think this is something I should tell the police,” I said.

It was nice having Dangerfield with me for this and not being alone. I felt safer as he strode beside him.

Dangerfield shrugged. “If you think so.”

I would have to call Marc right away. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to explain why I was in Gulf Shores with Dangerfield. The truth was the only way to go.

“What do you think is going on?” Dangerfield asked as we walked along the road back to his car.

It felt as if we were being watched. The blackness of the night usually had that effect though. I shrugged it off and tried to focus on his question.

“I guess it’s just that Jeff got angry at Tim and killed him. It’s only a matter of time until he’s caught.”

“I just hope that no one else is hurt before the police arrest him,” Dangerfield said.

It was at that moment when I realized just how dangerous this whole thing was. Why had I ever gotten involved?

We finally reached the parking lot where Dangerfield had left the car. The lot had cleared out a lot, but there were still cars. I guessed a few people were waiting for the last call.

“I hope we can find a place to stay,” I said as we approached his car.

“I guess we’ll have to sleep on the beach if we don’t.” The corners of his mouth tipped up. He had that smile down pat.

“I don’t think so. I don’t like those crabs.” I scanned the ground looking for one.

He opened the car door for me and I climbed in. “I wouldn’t worry about it just yet. We’ll find a place.”

Even if we did then I would have to worry about whether they had enough rooms. I wasn’t about to share one with Dangerfield. What would be the consequences if we shared a room? I knew what would potentially happen. What if I succumbed to his good looks? I’d toss my clothes off faster than I could say one-night-stand. No, that wasn’t what I wanted.

Dangerfield hopped in his car. “Do you know the place Dean mentioned?”

“Yes, I know where it is, but there are no lights out there. It will be hard to find the street.”

“Is that your passive-aggressive way of telling me to drive carefully?” He pulled out onto the main road. “I promise I will be as safe as possible.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” I gestured for him to switch lanes.

We made it across town and turned down the secluded road that led out to old Fort Morgan that had been used during the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

“You weren’t kidding about it being dark,” Dangerfield said, turning on the car’s high beams.

“I’ll try to tell you when you’re getting close to the street, but it’s been a while since I’ve been down this road. The sign will probably glow when we get near, but it’ll probably be too late to turn then.” I shifted in my seat, tapping my fingers nervously against my leg.

The bay was on the right and the gulf was on the left. Between the water and the road were lots of trees with houses sprinkled about. The longer we drove down the road the spookier it got. Darkness stretched out as far as we could see. Vegetation made it impossible to see anything. The further we went the more it would clear out, but the street we were looking for was about midway down the road.

Not only did darkness surround us on each side, but the vast night sky stretched out endlessly above us. Millions of stars twinkled. If not for the fact that I was searching for a killer, it might have been kind of romantic. Did I want romantic with Dangerfield? Now wasn’t the time to worry about such things anyway.

“Okay, slow down, I think we might be getting close.” I motioned.

Dangerfield slowed the car down. Luckily, there were no other cars behind us. That made the isolated feeling even worse. We were out there all alone.

The small green road sign came into view. The reflective edges glowed, guiding us toward our turn.

“There it is.” I pointed.

Dangerfield whipped the car to the left and turned onto the narrow road. “You weren’t kidding when you said we might miss it.”

I held onto the seat as Dangerfield made the turn. “I warned you.”

Each side of the road was cloaked by palm trees and other greenery. It felt like the vegetation was closing in on us. A serial killer could easily jump out at any moment. It didn’t help that we were actually looking for a killer. My anxiety grew as we inched down the deserted road. I shifted in the seat.

“Is this making you nervous?” Dangerfield asked.

“Just a little. What about you?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” he said.

Of course he wouldn’t tell me if he was nervous. That wasn’t a guy kind of thing. The thought crossed my mind that maybe we shouldn’t be out there on this isolated road. What if we did find Jeff out here in the dark? Then again, I guessed it didn’t matter if we saw him here or in town. More than likely it would have the same outcome.

Dangerfield parked the car on the side of the road when we’d reached the end. Once the pavement stopped, sand led out onto the beach. The brush had thinned out, but the dunes were high and I still couldn’t see the water yet. Ahead of us was a small wooden bridge and a swamp.

“Do you think there are alligators out there?” I asked as I looked out the window into the dark night.

He didn’t have to answer that question. I knew they were out there. The creatures were probably watching us as I spoke.

“Yes, there are,” Dangerfield said as he opened the door.

“What? You were supposed to tell me no,” I said.  

“You didn’t say you wanted me to lie to you.” The moonlight highlighted his handsome face.

I swallowed hard and opened the car door. I peeked to my left and right before getting out. I wasn’t sure I could outrun an alligator. Dangerfield was waiting for me at the front of the car.

“You think it’s down there on the beach?” He pointed.

I brushed the hair out of my eyes. “If it’s the house I think he was talking about, then yes.”

Dangerfield and I set out down the highway. A slight breeze carried across the air. The sound of soft waves hitting the sand carried across the dunes. We continued down the road crossing the wooden bridge. The planks creaked under our feet. I couldn’t help but look to the left and the right. I didn’t know what I would do if an alligator slithered up on the road.

“What are you looking for?” Dangerfield asked.

I scoffed. “You know what I’m looking for.”

“As long as you don’t go out into the swamp I’m almost sure you will be fine,” he said.

I glared at him. “Thanks for that.”

“No problem,” he said.

We reached the dunes. A path was cut out in the middle that led to the beach. I hoped once we reached the top we’d be able to see the house. Moving past the sea oats, I stepped out onto the sand. The stars stretched on forever. The water lapped at the sand.

“This is beautiful,” I said.

“Yes, it is,” Dangerfield said softly.

For a moment, I forgot why we were there. I envisioned walking along the water in my bare feet. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time for that now. I glanced to the left where I thought I’d remembered seeing the house in the past. There weren’t a lot of houses along this section, which was why it stuck out in my memory. As many times as I’d walked along the beach there, it was hard to forget.

“There’s the house,” I said, pointing down the beach.

It was a short walk, but walking through the sand would be tough.

“Let’s check it out,” he said.

He reached out and grabbed my hand. I looked over at him.

“I didn’t want you to fall while walking across the sand,” he said.

“Thanks.” I smiled.

We walked hand in hand across the sand. His skin was warm against mine. It was a good thing he’d taken my hand because it was uneven and I probably would have fallen. I felt like a cat burglar as we crept through the night. Even though it was dark, I still noticed that the house was picture-perfect, blue with white shutters and trim. 

Soon we were at the edge of the house. What would we do now that we’d come all this way? We stopped and looked up at the house. It was dark, not a single light on. The place seemed lonely.

“Either everyone is in bed or there isn’t anyone home. It could be a vacation home only. Heck, Jeff could be staying there illegally.”

“We’re about to find out if he’s there,” Dangerfield said.

I let go of his hand. He didn’t say anything, but he gave a quick look my way. We walked up the steps of the house to the deck. We moved around to the door and knocked.

“What the heck are you going to say if anyone answers?” I asked.

Now I was hoping no one would answer.

“We can tell them we are lost,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. Lucky for us, no one answered. As much as I wanted to find Jeff, I also didn’t want to get killed. I moved over to the windows and pressed my face close to the glass, peeking in. I didn’t see anything.

“I don’t think anyone is staying there,” I said. “We should get out of here.”

He nodded and we headed down the steps back to the sand. As we moved closer to the path that led back to the road, I heard a noise from the brush. My breath caught and I froze. “What was that?” I should have taken off running for the car.

Dangerfield looked around, but shrugged.

“We should get out of here.” The thought of alligators came rushing back to the front of my mind. This time I grabbed Dangerfield’s hand. I practically pulled him all the way back to the path.

I released a sigh of relief when we reached the paved road again. The only problem was we still had to pass that wooden bridge and the swamp. I supposed I’d made it safely the first time—I would made it this time too. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out.

“Okay, let’s do this,” I said.

I hurried my steps and made it to the bridge. There was no time to waste.

“What’s your hurry, Charley?” Dangerfield called out from behind me.

“Alligators,” I said over my shoulder.

The car was in my view now. Only a short distance and I would be safe again.

That was when I heard a splash. When I glanced over, I saw the green slithering thing on the bridge. For a moment, I thought I stopped breathing.

“Alligator,” I yelled.

“Don’t make any sudden movements,” Dangerfield called out.

I didn’t listen to him as I ran toward the car. All I could think about was getting in the car. If Dangerfield had locked the door then I was a goner. Finally, I reached the door and yanked on the handle. Thank goodness it opened and I jumped in the car. Dangerfield was running toward the car. I couldn’t see where the alligator had gone. Finally he reached the door and jumped in. He looked straight ahead. I was still trying to catch my breath.

“You could have gotten us killed,” he said.

“Yeah, but I didn’t,” I said.

He shoved the key into the ignition. “I think it’s time to go.”

“You think?” I said.

Dangerfield pulled out onto the road and up a little. The narrow road required that he make a U-turn so that we could get out of there. Thank goodness the doors were locked and the alligator couldn’t get to us. I’d have nightmares featuring alligators.

As he straightened the car around, a shot rang out. I ducked down in the car. A scream may have escaped my mouth. With the panic coursing through my veins, I wasn’t sure if it had actually come out, or was just in my head.

“My God, someone is shooting at us,” I said.

My heart pounded and my body shook.

Dangerfield punched the gas as another shot rang out. The sound ricocheted through the air. Now we really were going to get killed. Who would be firing at us unless it was Jeff back at that house?

When I peeked back in the side mirror, I spotted a man in the middle of the road.

“Don’t look up. The shooter may fire again.” Dangerfield reached over and tried to force me down in the seat.

I couldn’t tell exactly what he looked like, but by his size and shape it wasn’t Jeff. If not him, then who was shooting at us? The man stepped forward and for a split second the moonlight hit him. It happened so fast, but there was something familiar about him. Dean flashed in my mind.

We raced down the road and lost the guy. If he had a car he might have chased after us, but I hadn’t seen a car anywhere. I was just thankful to be out of there.

Now that we were on the main road, I inched up from the bottom of the car. “Do you think it’s safe to come out now?”

Dangerfield looked back in the rear-view mirror. “I think it’s safe.”

“I don’t see any cars, who do you think that was?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. We’re lucky to be alive though.”

“For a second, I swear maybe it was Dean.”

Dangerfield glanced over at me. “What are you talking about?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. Just something made me think maybe it was him.”

“I don’t think that’s possible. We left him at his house. Is there a shortcut to the beach house?”

“Not that I know of,” I said.

“I thought you knew this town,” he said.

“I don’t know everything about it.”

I couldn’t believe how close we’d come to being shot. This was getting more dangerous by the second. How would we get out of this?