Wipe Out: A fun and fast-paced private investigator cozy mystery/beach read (Maggie PI Mysteries Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  WIPEOUT

  A Maggie, P. I. Mystery

  By Rose Pressey

  “Rose Pressey’s book are fun!”

  Janet Evanovich

  Praise for Me and My Ghoulfriends by Rose Pressey

  “Rose Pressey spins a delightful tale with misfits and romance that makes me cheer loudly.” Coffee Time Romance

  “Her characters are alive and full of quick witted charm and will make you laugh. The plot twists keep you turning the pages non-stop.”

  ParaNormalRomance

  “I absolutely loved this book! It had me chuckling from the beginning.”

  Fallen Angel Review

  A man is found murdered on the beach in Miami, and the contact information of a local private detective is found on his body.

  Now P.I. Maggie Thomas is thrown into the case. Why had the murdered man been looking for her? But there's more than one murder to solve, and she's determined to prove that she has top notch detective skills, despite what handsome detective Jake Jackson thinks.

  Lucky for Maggie she has the help of her orthopedic shoe-wearing assistant Dorothy Raye. Knitting needles make good weapons in a life or death situation, and Dorothy's not afraid to use them!

  Rose Pressey’s Complete Bookshelf (click title to preview/buy)

  Paranormal P.I. Series

  What the Hex?

  The Hex With It

  Chase Charley Series:

  Book 1: For Old Crimes Sake

  Book 2: Seems Like Old Crimes

  Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Series:

  These Haunts are Made for Walking

  A Walk on the Haunted Side

  Haunt the Haunt, Walk the Walk

  Walk this Way, Haunt this Way

  Take a Haunted Walk With Me

  Hauntin’ After Midnight

  Haunted Vintage Series:

  Book 1 – If You’ve Got It, Haunt It

  Book 2 – All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt

  Book 3 – Haunt Couture and Ghosts Galore

  Book 4 – Haunted is Always in Fashion

  Book 5 – If the Haunting Fits, Wear It June 2017

  Maggie, P.I. Mystery Series:

  Book 1 – Crime Wave

  Book 2 – Murder is a Beach

  Book 3 – Wipe Out

  Book 4 – Coming August 2017

  The Halloween LaVeau Series:

  Book 1 – Forever Charmed

  Book 2 – Charmed Again

  Book 3 – Third Time’s a Charm

  Book 4 – Charmed, I’m Sure

  Book 5 – A Charmed Life

  Book 6 – Charmed Ever After

  Book 7—Once Upon a Charmed Time

  Book 8 – Charmed to Death

  The Hadley Wilds Series:

  Book 1: Dead Girl’s Guide to Style

  The Rylie Cruz Series:

  Book 1 – How to Date a Werewolf

  Book 2 – How to Date a Vampire

  Book 3 – How to Date a Demon

  The Larue Donovan Series:

  Book 1 – Me and My Ghoulfriends

  Book 2 – Ghouls Night Out

  Book 3 – The Ghoul Next Door

  Book 4—Ghoul of My Dreams

  The Mystic Café Series:

  Book 1 – No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells

  Book 2 – Pies and Potions

  Book 3 — Spells a la Carte

  The Veronica Mason Series:

  Book 1 – Rock ‘n’ Roll is Undead

  A Trash to Treasure Crafting Mystery:

  Book 1 – Murder at Honeysuckle Hotel

  Book 2 – Honeysuckle Homicide

  The Haunted Renovation Mystery Series:

  Book 1 – Flip that Haunted House

  Book 2 – The Haunted Fixer Upper

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, places, and brands are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Dedication

  This is to you and you know who you are.

  Acknowledgements

  To my son, who brings me joy every single day and is the love of my life. To my mother, who introduced me to the love of books. To my husband, who encourages me and always has faith in me. A huge thank you to my editor, Eleanor Boyall. And to the readers who make writing fun.

  Index

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 1

  Move to Miami, I’d thought. It would be great, I’d thought. That plan wasn’t going as well as I’d hoped.

  My uncle Griffin Thomas hadn’t made the healthiest of choices in life. He’d suffered a heart attack and left me his private detective agency, not to mention his orthopedic-shoe-wearing assistant Dorothy Raye. Now the Thomas Agency was all mine. Maggie Thomas, private eye, at your service.

  Visions of enjoying long walks along the shore with my toes in the sand had popped into my head when I’d learned about my inheritance. Unfortunately, there had been no time for relaxing since I’d arrived. There had been no time to wear my new red polka-dot swimsuit either. The tags were still attached. With three murders in three weeks, the work hadn’t been as easy as I’d thought. My old telemarketer job didn’t seem so bad now.

  A slight breeze blew my hair as I stoo
d at the public access to the beach. Normally, there would be people on the sand and in the water. A news helicopter buzzed overhead in the distance. Now there was just law enforcement and one dead body on the sand. I’d just solved one case and now there was another death. I didn’t want to be a part of this one too.

  Jake Jackson stood next to me. His thick dark hair made me want to run my fingers through it. His chiseled features and piercing blue eyes remained me of the good-looking actors who played the homicide detectives in movies Jake wasn’t playing a part though. He was really working a homicide case.

  Jake wore his usual black dress slacks and white button-down shirt. I bet he had identical shirts all meticulously lined up on hangers in his closet. Why was I daydreaming about these random thoughts? Lack of sleep was beginning to get the better of me. I’d sent a few sleepless nights thinking about my last case. Plus, Jake’s kiss had been a bit distracting too.

  Jake was a detective with the Dade County Police Department. It seemed as if I ran into him everywhere I went since I’d arrived in town. He had been skeptical of my private eye abilities at first, but I was two for two right now. That wasn’t luck. Eventually I’d get him to admit that. As it turned out, maybe I had some natural detective skills after all.

  As Jake studied my face, I wondered if he’d thought about our kiss last night. It had been hard for me to forget.

  Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. When I glanced over, a leggy blonde was headed our way. She wasn’t dressed in beach attire. Instead she wore black slacks and a white shirt too. What was going on here? Her eyes were focused on me. I stared right back. She shifted her attention to Jake. A few seconds later she was standing next to us.

  “Maggie, this is my new partner, Detective Abby Zahn,” Jake said.

  Well, I hadn’t seen that coming.

  After a couple seconds, I said, “Nice to meet you.”

  “What have we got?” Abby eyed me up and down.

  I supposed her question had been directed at Jake. So why was she staring at me? I knew that meant this was serious business.

  A brief discussion ensued. Jake was easy on me. His partner… not so much.

  Her posture remained rigid as she focused on my face. “So tell me why the dead guy right out there on the beach has your name and address written on a piece of paper clutched in his hand.”

  For a moment, I remained speechless. That wasn’t good because I would appear weak in front of Jake.

  “I run a business. It’s certainly plausible that someone would have my information,” I said in a calm and steady tone.

  On the inside I smiled, proud of myself for such a logical explanation.

  “Why did the paper say that he was supposed to meet you at the exact time he’d been shot?” Her voice almost seemed angry.

  Wow, she was brutal. How was I supposed to know? I didn’t even know the dead guy. Surely a piece of paper wasn’t enough to make me a suspect.

  “Maggie, do you have any idea why he had your name?” Jake asked in a soft tone.

  Abby smirked, although Jake missed her negative reaction.

  I blew the hair out of my eyes. “No clue.”

  But since I was now a PI, it was kind of my job to find out.

  In the looks department, Abby and I were opposites. She was tall. I was short. She had blonde hair and I had dark hair.

  The coroner had arrived ready to take the body away. If they’d let me go, I could proceed with trying to figure out this puzzle.

  Detective Zahn stared at me with her gorgeous green eyes. “I suppose she can go, but we’ll need to ask her more questions later.”

  Since when was she in charge? She was a real sweetheart, and I meant that in the most sarcastic way possible. She turned on her heel and walked away, high heels clicking against the pavement of the sidewalk.

  Jake pulled me to the side. “You really have no clue?”

  I shook my head. “Never seen the man before and I don’t know the name either. I most certainly wasn’t meeting him this morning.”

  As much as I wanted to ignore the new partner situation, my curiosity got the better of me.

  “So you have a new partner?” I asked.

  Jake walked over to the tiny window and peered out at the sliver of a beach view. Was he looking for her?

  “Yes, I do,” he said.

  “When did this happen?”

  “This morning.”

  “She seems really nice,” I said through a fake smile.

  I was trying to act as if I was fine with her, but something about her rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps it was her gorgeous smile, or just her way of looking at me that was completely annoying. Did he believe me when I said she seemed nice? Probably not. I was a terrible actor.

  Jake studied my face and said, “Maggie Thomas, are you jealous?”

  I scoffed. “What? Jealous? No. What makes you say that?”

  A big smile spread across his face. “Maybe the way you’re acting?”

  Darn it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide it from him. I should’ve kept my big mouth shut. Now I would have to try to lie my way out of it.

  “I just don’t want someone messing around with any of my cases,” I said.

  He folded his arms in front of his chest. “Like I mess around with your cases?”

  “Well, you’ve been known to do that on occasion, yes.”

  “Some might say it was the other way around. That you mess with my cases,” Jake said.

  “Oh, some might say that? Ha.”

  “Yeah, that’s right,” he said. “Forget about that right now. Why don’t you go out with me tonight? There’s a park where they play old movies.”

  “I love old movies.”

  That actually sounded like a lot of fun. I suppose there was no reason why I couldn’t go. Just as friends. I wouldn’t let that one little kiss get in the way of friendship. Dorothy said I needed to make more friends around here anyway.

  “So you’ll go?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I guess that would be fun,” I said.

  “Great, so what do you say around eight o’clock? I can pick you up?”

  Jake’s phone beeped that he had a text message. He held it up to look at it, but a slipped from his hands and tumbled to the ground right in front of my feet. I reached down to pick up the phone. I thought I’d be helping him out. That idea changed when I saw the words on the message.

  You shouldn’t get involved with someone who could be part of an investigation. You’re not going ask her out, are you?

  The name on the screen read ‘Abby.’

  I handed the phone back to Jake. He got a funny look on his face. He knew that I’d seen the text.

  “You know, I just remembered something I have to do tonight. The movie will have to wait. So sorry,” I said.

  He watched me with his gorgeous blue eyes and said, “Okay, I’ll call you later.”

  A feeling of electrical charge ran through me every time our eyes met. I wished the sensation would fade, but since meeting Jake it had only amplified. He was sadly mistaken if he thought he would call later and I would mysteriously be able to tell him who the guy was. I knew Jake was watching me as I walked away. My flip-flops made a loud squeaking noise. I left a completely different impression than Abby in her heels. Did he think I was lying to him?

  Allowing him to kiss me had probably been a mistake. Our relationship should be strictly business. From here on out I would keep it that way. No more kisses that left me weak in the knees. The temptation to look over my shoulder stayed with me the entire time I walked away, but I controlled myself until I reached a good distance from the scene. My willpower faded and I took a quick peek. Jake was talking with a couple officers. At least he wasn’t still keeping an eye on me.

  I scanned the surroundings for anything unusual. Of course, the police would take it from here, but that didn’t stop me from wondering why the dead man had wanted to get in contact with me. Had he been fearful th
at someone wanted to kill him and that was why he wanted to speak with me? That would be the most likely explanation under the circumstances. From the position of the body, I guessed the man had just been walking along the beach. What if this had just been a random attack? A robbery? I suppose anything was possible. I really hoped police weren’t suspicious of me.

  I studied the faces of the people around me. No one stood out as anyone I recognized. Sometimes the killer stayed around or came back to the scene of the crime. They liked to get a sense of what was happening or they enjoyed watching the police search for clues.

  Did Jake think that I had something to do with this? Just because the man had wanted to meet with me didn’t mean that I was the killer. Although I wouldn’t blame Jake for being suspicious of me. The thought had to have crossed his mind. I would probably think the same in that situation. I had to find out what had happened. It looked as if I would have my work cut out for me. What evidence would the police find? It was doubtful that Jake would let me in on those details. I’d uncover as much as I could with my newly developed private eye skills.

  I thought back to anything strange that I might have noticed. Nothing stuck out to me. And to think I had almost left early this morning for a walk on the beach. I could have been killed too. Or if I hadn’t been killed, the police would have found me at the scene of the crime. That would have been difficult to explain.

  People had gathered and were standing behind the police tape. They watched me as I approached, probably wondering why I was on the other side of the cordoned off area. The more I thought about what had happened along the shore this morning, the more my anxiety grew. The victim had almost made it to my office. If that was in fact where he’d been headed. Maybe if he left a few minutes earlier he would have arrived. There were a lot of what-ifs. I scooted under the crime scene tape. The scrutiny of the crowd remained on me as they watched. Nothing to see here, folks, move right along.

  Just one more time I had to stop and look back. The police were still moving around the beach. The coroner had arrived and would take the body away soon. I spotted Jake again. He was speaking with Abby. I thought she’d left. Apparently she sensed me watching her. She turned and looked in my direction. Thank goodness Jake didn’t look my way. He would think I was watching them on purpose, and that totally wasn’t the case. I quickly looked away. It really was time for me to get out of there. I moved my way through the crowd, back toward my office. Was Abby trying to convince Jake to have me arrested?