The Private Eye (22 page)

“Yes, sir, I've got a plan. But I could use some backup
help here inside the house. I want someone to take care of Odessa and Shirley
just in case things go wrong. It’ll mean staying awake most of the night.”

The Colonel looked pleased. “Be honored to assist you
sir. I'm still capable of doing sentry duty. And I've still got my old service
revolver upstairs, you know. Been a while since I used it, of course, but I reckon
there are some things you don't forget.”

“If everything goes as planned, you won't have to use
it. But I'll feel better knowing you're awake and armed upstairs tonight.”

“Certainly.”

Josh folded his arms on the table. “Now, here's how
it's going to go down. Colonel. Maggie and I are going to leave town on an overnight
trip to Seattle. As soon as we're out of the house, I want you to call Dwight
Wilcox and tell him you're worried about the furnace. Tell him it gave you some
trouble again and you want him to double-check it. Make sure he knows that
Maggie and I are out of town.”

The Colonel narrowed his gaze, “You really think Wilcox
is the one behind these incidents?”

“I think he's the one who's been staging them, yes.”

“Don't suppose the oil companies are paying him, do
you?”

“Uh, no. No, in all truth, I don't think anyone's after
your research, sir.”

The Colonel nodded. “Well, it was just a theory, of
course. Hate to say it, but Odessa's right. That boy just doesn't seem bright
enough to plan this kind of thing without getting caught.”

Josh smiled grimly. “That's the whole point. Colonel.
He is going to get caught. Tonight.”

AT FIVE MINUTES TO eleven that night, Maggie got up on
her knees in the front seat of the rental car Josh had chosen for the stakeout.
He had told her his black Toyota was too well-known in the area.

She reached into the back seat for another bag of
potato chips.

“Only one more large bag left,” she reported.

Josh wistfully eyed the sweet curve of her bottom which
was nicely outlined in a pair of snug-fitting jeans.

“That's okay. We've still got the cheese crackers and
the jalapeno dip. And we haven't even started on the chocolate bars.”

“Do you always eat like this on a stakeout? I've never
seen such a collection of junk food.” Maggie turned around and dropped back
onto the front seat.

“I told you surveillance is boring. I like to reward
myself.” Josh took a swallow from the can of cola in his hand. He leaned back
into the comer of the seat and turned his gaze toward the manor.

The big house was visible through the stand of trees
where he had parked the nondescript rental car two hours ago. The manor looked
like a Gothic castle in the pale, watery moonlight. Its fanciful architectural
embellishments made Josh think of pictures he had seen in old children's books.

From amid the trees, he could keep an eye on the
kitchen door and the small ground-level windows of the basement. He could also
watch the only approach to the old house, which was from the main road.

“You think he'll just drive right up to the manor, hop
out and do his dirty work?” Maggie asked as she popped a potato chip into her
mouth.

“Well, he sure as hell isn't going to make his approach
from the other side of the house. The beach is too dangerous this evening because
of the high tide and the storm that's on its way in. Even if he made it as far
as the manor from that direction, he'd still have to find the cliff path at
night and climb it. Too tricky. My hunch is that Wilcox will take the easy
way.”

Maggie slid him a sidelong glance. “I suppose you
operate on hunches a lot in this business, don't you?”

“Uh-huh.” Josh reached into the bag on her lap for a
potato chip.

“Josh?”

“Yeah?” He munched on the chip.

“I was just wondering. Do you plan to stay in this
business for the rest of your life?”

The question startled him. He turned his head to find
her watching him intently in the shadows.

“What?”

“I was just wondering if you would want to keep running
Business Intelligence and Security, Inc. after you've sold your book.”

“Selling the book is not a sure thing, Maggie.”

“I think you will sell it.”

Her confidence gave him a quiet thrill. Josh stretched
his shoulders and resettled himself in the seat. He studied the approach to the
manor while he thought about her question. “I don't know what I'll do if I sell
the book.”

“Do you still like your work?”

“What's liking it got to do with anything? It's a job.
I'm good at it. It's a living. A fairly good one, to be perfectly honest.”

“Yes, but does it give you any real satisfaction?”
Maggie persisted gently.

Josh slanted her a curious glance. “What are you trying
to say?”

She crunched another potato chip. “Nothing,”

“Maggie, don't give me that. You're after something.
What is it?”

She stirred uneasily. “It's just that I've had this
feeling for several days now that you're kind of burned-out. I was wondering if
maybe that's the real reason you came over here to the coast for a month.”

Josh groaned. “You and McCray. A couple of amateur
psychologists.”

“It's true, isn't it? You're here because you burned
out back in Seattle.”

He exhaled slowly. “Yeah. It's true.”

“What really happened in that “accident” that had you
on crutches when you first arrived?” she asked softly.

“A kidnapping case went sour. Things got a little rough
when I went in after the jerk who had taken the girl. He was trying to use her
as a shield.”

Maggie looked suitably horrified. “What happened?”

“The girl is safe. The jerk's back in jail,”

“My God, Josh, you could have been killed!” Maggie
frowned. “You were playing hero again, weren't you?”

“I told you, it never pays. The kid I rescued was only
seventeen. She didn't even thank me. In fact,

she hated me for saving her. The guy who had her was
her boyfriend, you see. She thought they were going to run off together and
live happily ever after. She didn't believe me or her father when we told her she
was in love with a two-bit ex-con who planned to take the ransom money and run.
Last I heard, she now blames me for ruining her entire life.”

“Little twit. I don't suppose it's any consolation to
know that in a couple of years she'll be thanking you.”

“I don't need her thanks. I was just doing her father a
favor. Good public relations. He's head of a large corporation that uses BIS services.
He came to me after he got the ransom note because he didn't want any publicity.
I should never have agreed to help. Jobs like that are always messy.”

“What's going to happen when you go back?”

“What do you think will happen? I'll go back to work.”

“What about the book?”

“I'll work on it when I can.”

“Josh, maybe you need more than a month off,”

Maggie said hesitantly. “You know, when you think about
it, you really haven't even had the month off you had planned to take, anyway,
have you? Here you are, back at work. This is just another job.”

“Believe me,” Josh growled, “this is not just another
job.”

“Well, you can hardly call it a vacation.”

He thought about that. He had gotten a good start on
his novel, he had found the woman with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his
life and he was on a stakeout, waiting to catch Dwight Wilcox in the act of
breaking and entering. “You're right. It hasn't exactly been a vacation. But it
has been interesting.”

She coughed delicately and stuffed another potato chip
into her mouth. “So maybe you should take an extra month or so here at the
coast after you wrap up this case.”

Josh went still as it finally dawned on him she was
trying to say something very important. “Here?

You think I should spend the extra month hanging around
Peregrine Point?”

“You said yourself it would be a good place to write
your book. And you fit in very well at the manor. You’ve been extremely
helpful, to tell you the truth. If you're about to catch Dwight Wilcox in the act
of staging some mischief tonight, then it strikes me that I'll be in the market
for a new handyman tomorrow morning.”

Josh nearly choked on his cola. He finally managed to
swallow the laughter and the soft drink.

“Maggie, are you by any chance offering me a two-month
job as handyman here at the manor?”

“It wouldn't be much of a job because I can't afford to
pay very much. Room and board is all it would amount to, I'm afraid. At least
until I get the manor back on its feet financially.”

“Think of it as sort of a change of pace,” she
continued eagerly. “It might do wonders for your burned-out condition if you
spent a couple of months doing something entirely different for a while. And you'd
have plenty of opportunity to work on your book. Who knows? You might even get
to like it out here. Look at me. I love it here.”

Josh finished the cola and carefully set the can on the
floor of the car. He said very softly, “So do I.”

Maggie stopped munching potato chips. Her eyes widened
in the shadows. “You do?”

“Your offer is tempting, Maggie.”

“It is?” She watched him anxiously.

“Yeah. But there's only one way I can accept it.”

“What's that?” she demanded instantly.

He turned his head finally to look at her. His stomach
was clenched with anticipation. Josh was afraid that he was moving too fast
again. But he reminded himself that she had been the one to start this crazy
conversation. He also reminded himself that opportunity didn't always knock
twice. All his instincts were clamoring for him to make the move; and he had
always been inclined to follow his instincts.”

“The only way I could accept your offer, Maggie, is if
you agreed to let our engagement story stand while I'm living at the manor.”

She looked stunned. “But, Josh—”

“I'm serious, Maggie. I'm too old to play games-If I
stay, I'm going to be spending the nights in your bed. And I won't have the
Colonel, Odessa, and Shirley— as well as everyone in Peregrine Point—think we're
just having an affair. I've got my pride and so do you. This is a small town.
People will talk.”

“Oh, Josh, I understand.” She threw herself against
him, her arms curving tightly around his neck. Her eyes were wide and searching
in the shadows. “You want to protect me from the gossip. It's the gallant side
of your nature. It's really very sweet of you.”

Josh grinned slowly. “I've got news for you, Maggie. I
am not sweet. I've told you I want to give the engagement a chance. That's my
price for staying on around here as your handyman.”

Maggie was quiet for a long moment. He could tell she
was torn between doubt and desire. Josh knew she wanted him but she was still
trying to wade in the shadows of their relationship. She was wary of going
deeper because she still didn't know him very well. She needed time. He
understood that.

Maggie took a deep breath. “All right. Josh. All right,
I'll do it. We'll give our engagement a chance while you're here.”

Josh felt a wave of relief wash over him. He had two
months to work on her now, he thought in triumph. In two months´ time, surely
she would get to know him well enough to feel secure about his intentions.

“You've just hired yourself a new handyman,” Josh said.
He lowered his head and began to kiss her slowly, letting her feel the depth of
his need.

Her response was instantaneous. Maggie's desire for him
was a heady thing; it set a match to his own passion.

Josh groaned and twisted slightly in the seat so that
he could ease Maggie's slender, supple body between his thighs. She smiled at
him in the moonlight and crowded close. Josh could feel the warmth and the
softness of her against his hardening body, and the sensation sent shudders of
desire through him.

“Maggie—” Josh froze as he glimpsed a shadowy movement
from the comer of his eye.

“Josh?”

“Bingo.”

Maggie tensed. “What's wrong?”

“It's Wilcox. He's here. Early, too. Must have decided
that as long as you and I were gone, it would be safe. He's figuring that the
Colonel and the others will be in bed by now.”

Maggie sat up quickly, peering into the darkness.

“Are you sure? I don't see anything.”

“He didn't drive up to the manor. He walked. Must have
parked his car farther down the road. I caught a glimpse of something under his
arm. Tools, probably. Damn it to hell.” Josh disentangled himself from Maggie
and opened the car door. He had disconnected the interior lights of the vehicle
earlier.

“Josh? Be careful. Please.”