The Private Eye (21 page)

Josh chewed on all three annoying occurrences for a
while and then got to his feet. He went over to the window and stood looking
out at the night-shrouded sea.

Why was Maggie fighting her feelings for him? Josh
wondered. He'd been asking himself that same question since early that morning.
He'd been so sure of her last night. She had given herself to him in wholehearted,
loving surrender. A woman like Maggie couldn't fake that kind of sweet passion.
Besides, she respected herself too much to get involved in short-term affairs.
Josh was certain.

But when he had calmly agreed to the engagement under the
watchful eye of the Colonel, Maggie had been furious. Josh had been forced to
fall back on the excuse that an engagement would be useful cover for him while
on this case. That gambit had apparently only enraged her further.

What Josh couldn't understand was why she had been so
upset in the first place. If he had read the signals right, she was
head-over-heels in love with him. And she was a woman who believed in commitment.
So why had she gotten so riled up over the idea of being engaged to him, he
wondered bleakly.

Josh moved restlessly away from the window. Maybe
McCray was right. Maybe he wasn't very good at dealing with women. Maybe he
lacked a sense of romance, or something.

Josh gave up that depressing line of thought in favor
of something more practical. He would do another tour of the house. He had already
checked all the locks on the windows and doors once tonight, but doing it a
second time wouldn't hurt.

He let himself quietly out of the room and went down
the stairs. His ankle no longer twinged very much when he walked and his ribs
only protested when he rolled over in bed. It was a relief to feel almost normal
again.

Josh went through each first-floor room and then
double-checked the small basement windows. When he had stalled as long as he
could, he went slowly backup the stairs to the second floor. He came to a halt
outside Maggie's room. Unable to resist, he cautiously tested the knob. To his surprise,
the door opened easily.

“Maggie? Don't be afraid. It's me.”

She sat up in bed. “I heard you walking around.” She
sounded wary but not frightened. “Checking locks?”

“Yeah.” He closed the door and stood watching her in
the shadows. “Everything's fine downstairs.”

“Good.”

“Maggie?”

“What is it, Josh?”

He tried to think of a way to introduce the topic of
their relationship. Words failed him. But he couldn't bring himself to leave
her bedroom just yet. He struggled with another approach, another reason to
stay for a while.

She looked so inviting there in bed with her hair loose
and soft around her shoulders. There was just enough pale moonlight filtering
in through the window to enable Josh to see her. The sight made him ache with
need. He wanted her so much it hurt.

“I, uh, I've made the plans for the trap I'm going to
set,” Josh finally said. He began wandering around the room, examining things
in the shadows-He touched the perfume bottle on the dresser and ran his fingers
along the spines of some books. Mysteries, no doubt, Josh thought, unable to
read the titles in the darkened room. Maybe one day his book would be on her
shelf. She liked what she had seen so far of it. It had been an enormous relief
to hear that this afternoon.

“Tell me about your plans,” Maggie urged softly.

He went over to the bed and stood looking down at her.
“I'm going to need your cooperation,”

“How?”

“I want to make it look as though the two of us have
left town for a few days. I want people to think we've gone off together.
Seattle or Portland. Anywhere. It's important that everyone thinks we're out of
the area.”

“I see.” She sounded thoughtful and distant. “I suppose
this is what you meant when you said a phony engagement would be a useful cover
story?”

He forced himself not to react to that. “Let's not talk
about the engagement. Just tell me if you'll help me make it look as though
we've taken off for a few days.”

“All right. I might as well. My reputation is in
shreds, anyway. What does it matter if everyone in Peregrine Point thinks I'm
off having a wild weekend. Heck, it may do wonders for my image around here.

What happens after we take off for a passion-filled
holiday?”

“I come back here at night and set up a stakeout.”

“A stakeout!” Now she sounded genuinely interested. “A
real stakeout? Just like in a mystery novel?”

“A real stakeout,” he confirmed, amused by her en “You
think the intruder will strike when we're out of town?”

“I think it's a good possibility. I think the guy is
getting desperate and frustrated. I think he'll make a move with a bit of
encouragement from us.”

“This is exciting,” Maggie said. “I'll help you bait
the trap. Josh, on one condition.”

“What condition?”

“That you let me come with you on the stakeout.”

He winced. “Stakeouts are not a lot of fun, Maggie. They're
incredibly boring, for one thing. And I'll be doing it in a car. There are
certain, uh, physical

needs that have to be attended to from time to time.
It's easier for a man to handle a stakeout like this, if you see what I mean.”

“Nonsense! I used to go camping when I was a kid. I can
use the bushes when I have to.”

Josh sought for a stronger argument. “I'm hoping to
catch the guy, Maggie. If he shows up, I'm

going to try to grab him. At the very least, I plan to
get dose enough to ID him. Things could get rough.”

“Then you'll need a partner along to cover your back,”
she declared. “You can't talk me out of this, Josh. I'm the client, remember?
I'm giving the orders around here. If you're planning a stakeout, I insist on being
allowed to help.”

He eyed her narrowly. “You promise you'll follow
orders?”

“I promise,” she said eagerly.

“I mean it, Maggie. If you come with me, you'll do
exactly as you're told and you won't take any risks. Understood?” Josh swore
softly. “All right, you can come along.”

“Oh, Josh.” Maggie leaped out of bed and threw her arms
around him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't tell you how much this
means to me.” She hugged him fiercely. “A real stakeout.”

The feel of her soft breasts pushing gently against his
chest was enough to turn the smoldering need in Josh into a raging fire. After
his first startled reaction to her hug, he recovered instantly and started to pull
her closer.

But Maggie was already dancing out of reach. “You'd
better get some sleep, Josh. Sounds like we might be up all night tomorrow.
We'll both need plenty of rest. See you in the morning.”

She was right. That was the hell of it. “Yeah. Sure.
See you in the morning,” It took an astounding amount of willpower to let
himself back out the door and into the hallway.

It was better this way. Josh told himself as he stalked
back to his own room. At least she was feeling enthusiastic and friendly again.
If he was careful, he could recover the territory he seemed to have lost this
morning with his brilliant notion of a phony engagement.

A thought struck him then that made him smile.
Stakeouts were usually very long and extremely dull. A man and a woman trapped
for hours together in the front seat of a car had to do something to pass the
time.

Josh was feeling much more cheerful—even optimistic —when
he finally undressed and got into bed. He fell asleep at once.

Chapter 10

JOSH WAS WAITING a discreet distance down the hall from
Odessa's bedroom door the next morning at five. He cleared his throat politely
and glanced pointedly at his watch when the Colonel emerged in a bathrobe and
slippers.

“Right on time. Colonel.”

The Colonel looked up, alarmed. Then he scowled
ferociously, his mustache twitching. “What the devil do you think you're doing,
young man?” he demanded in a soft growl.

“I wanted to talk to you privately,” Josh murmured. “I
figured this would be the best time to catch you. Besides, I figure after that
little stunt the three of you pulled on Maggie yesterday morning, a little
rough justice was in order.”

“Stunt?”

“The timing was a little too perfect to be sheer
coincidence. All three of you emerged from your rooms simultaneously. It was a
neat little ambush, Colonel, and you might as well admit it. I decided to set
my own this morning.”

The Colonel sighed. “Odessa and I have always been so
discreet. How did you find out?”

“I'm an early riser. And I've got real good hearing.”
Josh grinned. “Hey, I know just how you feel. Come on downstairs-I've already
got the coffee going. Heck, I'll even fry us a couple of eggs, Me, I've been
sleeping the sleep of your typical chaste and gallant gentleman, but I'll bet
you've worked up quite an appetite.”

“No respect for your elders. That's what's wrong with
your generation. If you'd served, under me. I’d have straightened you out in
that department.” The Colonel tightened the tie on his bathrobe and followed Josh
toward the stairs. “You won't, uh, mention this to Maggie, will you?”

“Why? You afraid she might demand that you do the right
thing?” Josh shot the Colonel a dry look.

The older man had the grace to blush. “I suppose I did
rather put you on the spot yesterday morning, didn't I?”

“You sure as hell did. And I don't mind telling you it
was lousy timing. Colonel. Because of your little surprise foray, I damn near
lost the war.”

The Colonel eyed him sharply. “What do you mean by
that?”

“I mean,” Josh said, “that the business of playing the
heavy-handed patriarch outside my bedroom door has made Maggie skittish. She's
spent the past twenty-four hours thinking up reasons why she can't marry me.
You'd be amazed at her creativity.”

“Can't marry you?” The Colonel glared at him as they
reached the bottom step and headed for the kitchen, “Why can't she marry you?
See here, you haven't already got a wife and half a dozen kids stashed away somewhere,
have you? Because if so, sir, I can personally assure you that I will not
tolerate this behavior of yours.”

“No wife and no kids.” Josh went into the kitchen,
which was already smelling nicely of freshly

brewed coffee. He grabbed the pot and filled two mugs.
“But you rushed things yesterday morning. Maggie's nervous now. I've got a job
ahead of me, undoing the damage you did.”

“Nonsense.” The Colonel accepted his mug and sat down
at the small table. “She'll come around. You just see to it you do what's right
and proper by her. She's a small-town girl at heart. Kind of oldfashioned in a
lot of ways, And don't you forget it.”

“My intentions are honorable,” Josh drawled. He sipped
his coffee and watched the Colonel carefully. “They have been from the start.
Which is more than I can say about yours, isn't it?”

The Colonel's head came up proudly and his eyes
flashed. “What the devil is that supposed to mean?

Now see here, if you're talking about my intentions
toward Odessa, you can apologize at once. My intentions toward her always have
been and always will be honorable.”

“They why haven't you married the lady?” Josh asked
calmly.

The Colonel heaved a sigh. “It's that damn gold-mining
stock of hers. I'm afraid she'll think I'm marrying her to get my hands on it.
I've got my pride, sir.”

“Have you considered going to a lawyer and getting a
prenuptial contract that would protect her assets?”

“I raised the subject once. Delicately, you understand.
But my Odessa is a romantic at heart. She doesn't care for the notion of
prenuptial agreements.”

Josh decided to take a chance. “How about if I told you
that Odessa's stock isn't worth the paper it's printed on?”

The Colonel looked shocked. “Are you certain of that,
sir?”

“I had someone research it back at the office. I wanted
to check out Odessa's theory that her nephews were after the stock. The mining
company she bought twenty years ago went bankrupt nineteen years ago. The mine
was never worth a damn thing.”

“I've always wondered about that stock. She never
seemed to get any income from it as far as I could tell. But a man hesitates to
inquire into a woman's finances. Extremely bad form, you know.”

“Private investigators do it all the time,” Josh
explained wearily. “A lot of investigations boil down to money.”

“An interesting thought.” The Colonel brightened. “Are
you saying this one is going to boil down to money, too?”

“That's my hunch. I've ruled out alt the other motives.
It's either money or a psycho case. Frankly, I'd prefer money. I like nice
clean motives when I can get them. The nut cases make me nervous.”

“Yes, I can understand that.” The Colonel leaned back
in his chair and peered at Josh. “So, what's the plan? You do have a plan,
don't you? I assume that's why I found you waiting for me outside Odessa's door
this morning?”