The Private Eye (20 page)

“Is that right?” Josh abruptly slowed the Toyota. He
turned off the road and pulled into a secluded parking area. A thick stand of
fir shielded the car from the view of passing drivers.

“What are you doing?” Maggie glowered across the seat
at him.

“I want to talk to you and it's hard to do it at the
manor. Too many people around.” Josh switched off the ignition and sat for a
long moment, his brooding gaze on the rain-spangled sea.

Maggie sensed that their conversation was about to
change significantly. “Josh? Is something wrong?”

“What did you think of it, Maggie?”

“What did I think of the way you talked to Clay? I told
you what I thought of it. I thought it was rude. It was pure machismo in
action. And it didn't make me feel especially valuable, either. I know for a fact
I'm one of the few single women under the age of fifty here in Peregrine Point.
It's not as if the two of you chose me out of a crowd and decided I was worth
squabbling over.”

“Forget the scene with O'Connor.” Josh rested his hands
on the steering wheel. “What did you think of the book?”

Maggie studied his harsh profile. “The book?”

“You're the only one who's read any of it, so far. Last
night while I was downstairs messing around with that furnace you had time to
read quite a bit of it. How far did you get?”

“Josh, I'm sorry I read what you had written. It was
very wrong of me to pry like that. But you have to realize that I was afraid
I'd been conned.”

“How far did you get?” Josh repeated, spacing each word
out carefully for emphasis.

“A couple of chapters,” she admitted.

“So what did you think?”

Maggie smiled slightly. “I thought it was terrific,
Josh.”

His head came around quickly, his eyes intense. “I want
the truth.”

“The truth is that I have read an enormous number of
mysteries and I can assure you that what I saw of yours is as good as the
best,” she said quietly.

He exhaled deeply. “You really think so?”

“I really think so. Your main character, Adam Carlisle,
is wonderful. He tries to go through life with a protective coat of cynicism,
but underneath he's a born hero. That's very appealing. He's the good guy. The
one who will fight for the weak and the innocent, even while he's grumbling
about how being a hero doesn't pay. He's a lot like you, isn't he. Josh?”

“Hell, no. He's Just a figment of my imagination.”

“I think he's more than that,” Maggie replied. “He's
your alter ego. He gets to solve the kind of clear-cut cases you got into the
business to handle—the kind where there's an innocent victim and a real villain.
The kind where there's no question about right and wrong. He gets to do battle
against genuine evil and win.”

“It's always so simple with Adam Carlisle's cases,”
Josh agreed softly. “And he gets to step over the line occasionally to make
certain justice gets done.”

“He gets to play hero. Deep down, readers love real
heroes and they love it when justice is done. More than that, I think readers
need those kinds of stories. They satisfy something deep inside. You're writing
straight to the heart of that market, Josh. You're going to be a success.”

“You're not just saying that?”

“Josh, I can't believe you've actually got any doubts.
You’re always so sure of yourself.”

His hand moved in a small gesture of dismissal. “like I
said, so far, yours is the only opinion I've had—besides my own, of course.”

“Tell me something. Is Adam Carlisle going to have a
girlfriend who gets to help him solve the cases? I love mysteries that feature
a strong relationship between the main character and someone else. I hate it
when there's only a single male protagonist who goes around sleeping with all
his female clients. I mean, that just really bugs me.”

Josh turned to her, a gleam of amusement in his eyes.

He unbuckled her seat belt and wrapped a hand around
the nape of her neck. He pulled her close.

“You said I was a lot like Adam Carlisle. In some ways
you may be right. He does not sleep around with his female clients any more
than I do.” He brushed his mouth tantalizingly across hers.

“Glad to hear it,” Maggie breathed tremulously.

“I believe I will think seriously about giving him a
permanent female companion.” Josh tugged her closer. The white paper sack from
the pharmacy crackled beneath his weight.

“What was that?” Maggie asked, glancing down.

“Nothing.” Josh urged her back into his arms.

“Hang on. We're liable to crush whatever you've got in
there.” Maggie picked up the paper bag and started to set it on the floor. It
slipped from her hand. “Oops.”

“I'll get it.” Josh moved swiftly to scoop up the
contents of the sack—but not swiftly enough.

Maggie saw the brightly colored box of condoms that had
fallen out. “Josh. You didn't. Tell me you didn't just buy those in the
Peregrine Point Pharmacy. How could you?”

“It was easy. I just opened my wallet and took out some
cash. Next thing you know, the entire box was mine.” Josh shoved the offending
box into the sack and tossed it into the back seat. “What's the big deal? We
are sleeping together, remember?”

“One time.” Maggie's head came up sharply. “We slept
together one time. Josh.”

“So?”

“So now everyone in Peregrine Point will know,” she
shouted, “How many times do I have to tell you this is a very small town? How
could you do this to me?”

“I thought it added credence to the cover story,” Josh
said innocently.

“Cover story?” Maggie's mouth fell open. Fury welled up
inside her. She reached for his throat with both hands.

Josh caught her wrists and chuckled softly. “Maggie,
Maggie, take it easy. I was just teasing you.” “This is my reputation you're
playing with. I don't consider it a fit subject for teasing,” she snapped.

He smiled soothingly. “Sweetheart, in a day or two
everyone will hear we're engaged, and that should take care of the gossip.”

“But we're not engaged. Not really.” She squeezed her
hands into small fists. Frustration burned within her. “Damn, this is getting
so complicated.”

“Maggie, will you stop worrying? I've told you I’ll
take care of everything.”

“Oh, sure. I've got news for you. Josh. Your big plan
to pretend we're actually engaged for a while and then just fade off into the
sunset isn't going to work.” Maggie grabbed her purse, opened it and jerked out
a tissue. She blew her nose, furious at the tears that were threatening to
fall. She wouldn't cry a second time, she vowed silently.

Without a word Josh pulled her close against his chest.
He said nothing as she began to cry in earnest.

“This is so humiliating.” Maggie sniffed and wiped her
eyes on Josh's shirt. “I don't know why I'm acting like this. I think I've been
under too much stress lately.”

“Probably.” Josh continued to hold her dose. He didn't
seem to mind the fact that she was dampening his shirt. “Maggie, it doesn't
have to be a fake engagement.”

“What?” She stirred against him, finding comfort in the
warmth and strength of his arms.

“I said, it doesn't have to be a fake engagement. We
could make it a real one.”

Maggie went still. Then she slowly lifted her head to
stare at him. “A real one?”

He smiled slightly and caught her chin in his hand. His
thumb slid over her lower lip. “Why not? It seems to me we've got a lot going
for us. We're attracted to each other. Why don't we try? I think we could make
it work.”

She drew back slowly, struggling to comprehend what he
was saying. “My God. You're playing hero again, aren't you?”

He frowned. “What the hell does this have to do with
playing hero?”

“You are.” Maggie scrambled back to her side of the
car. “You're playing hero. You're offering to make the engagement a real one because
you're beginning to realize how much the fake one is upsetting me. You feel
responsible. Well, I won't have it. Josh.” Maggie straightened her shoulders
and rebuckled her seat belt. “Absolutely not. I've got my pride, you know.” She
finished drying her eyes and dropped the crumpled tissue into her purse. “I
don't need rescuing that badly. I am not some weak, innocent, helpless victim,
you know. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it just fine, so far.”

Josh leaned back into his comer and studied her from
beneath half-lowered lashes. “You think I'm made of such sturdy sniff that I'd
actually commit myself to marriage just to play hero? Better think again, Maggie.
I've told you before, my days of playing hero were over long ago.”

She heard the cold anger in his voice and shuddered.
Warily, she glanced at him and saw that he was not in a good mood. In fact, he
looked extremely dangerous. “Then why did you suggest we make the engagement
something more than a cover story for this case?”

“I told you why. I think we've got enough going for us
to make a marriage work. Hell, I'm nearly forty. It's time I settled down.
You're almost thirty, and so far, you haven't encountered any real-life hero who's
going to sweep you off your feet and put a ring on your finger.”

“I do have some possibilities,” she flared. “I'm not a
lost cause. There's Clay, for example.”

“Come on, Maggie. You can't be serious. You were
already getting bored with O'Connor when I arrived on the scene.”

“How do you know that?” she demanded, furious.

“It was pretty damn obvious when you came back from
that date with him,” Josh retorted. “You were grateful to me for getting rid of
him.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn't have to say it. I'm a private investigator,
“remember? I pick up clues real good when they're right in front of my eyes.”

“Is that so? Welt, here's a clue for you, Mr. Private
Investigator. When I finally decide to get engaged for real, it will be because
I'm in love and because the man involved loves me. It will not be because the
romance happens to be a useful cover story. Nor will it be because the guy has
an overdeveloped sense of responsibility or because he thinks he should settle
down and he's not going to do any better. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you.” Josh tapped one finger against the
steering wheel.

A long, heavy silence fell inside the vehicle. The rain
had reached the shore now and was drumming relentlessly on the roof of the Toyota.

Maggie began to fidget nervously. She wished she hadn't
gotten so emotional about the whole thing. She wished she were a more
devil-may-care sort of person. She wished she could simply enjoy the romance
and passion and adventure that had so unexpectedly come her way. She wished
last night had not seemed so monumentally significant. She wished for a lot of
things; but most of all Maggie wished she hadn't fallen in love with Josh January.

“So,” Josh went on after several minutes of apparent
contemplation of the problem, “do you think you might be able to fall in love
with me one of these days?”

Maggie considered the two alternative responses to that
question. She could either scream and sob hysterically at the injustice of a universe
that had created such an insensitive species as the human male, or she could
compose herself and react in a mature, sophisticated manner. With a great
effort of will, she chose the latter.

“Who knows? I've got so many other things on my mind at
the moment, I haven't had time to consider it.”

Maggie managed a bright little saccharine smile and
glanced at her watch. “Don't you think we'd better be on our way? It really is
getting rather late.”

Josh regarded her in acute silence for another long
moment and then, without a word, he switched on the Toyota's ignition with a
decidedly savage twist of the wrist.

MUCH LATER THAT NIGHT Josh sat alone in his room and
put the finishing touches on his plan to trap the Peregrine Manor intruder. His
scheme was simple, as was the case with most such schemes. If his suspicions
were correct, he wasn't dealing with a criminal genius. No point in getting
fancy.

Another consideration was Josh's own gut-level feeling
that he had to move quickly to put an end to the harassment. He had sensed the
escalating level of danger after the incident with the furnace. Whoever was
coming and going in the basement was either getting bolder or more desperate.
He had to be stopped.

When he was eventually satisfied with his plan, Josh
made the decision to put it into effect the following day.

That left him with nothing of particular interest to do
tonight. Maggie had already gone to bed and showed no signs of sneaking across
the hall to his room a second time. And he didn't feel like working on the
book.

But it was a cinch he wasn't going to get to sleep
easily—not after that conversation with Maggie in the Toyota this afternoon.
Not after the way Clay O'Connor had tried to warn Maggie about getting chummy
with strangers. Not after the way Maggie had blithely refused to admit she was
falling in love.