The Private Eye (25 page)

“Spoken like a born innkeeper,” Maggie said. “I think
you'll go far in the business, Josh,”

IN SPITE OF the short notice, most of Peregrine Point
showed up for the double wedding celebration at the manor. The cars filled the
small parking lot and stretched in a line all the way down the driveway to the
road. The guests swarmed through the first floor of the big house, filling the
beautiful rooms with laughter and chatter.

Midway through the reception, Josh finally found
himself alone for a moment. He stepped out onto the front porch and glanced
down at his watch. He frowned. McCray was rarely late. Just as that thought
flickered through his mind. Josh heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway.
He grasped the porch railing and leaned forward to watch as a familiar blue
Oldsmobile came to a halt in front of the manor. There were two men in the front
seat.

McCray got out first and came around the hood of the
car.

“Well, hell, January. Don't you look spiffy.” McCray
cast a perusing eye over Josh's black-and white formal attire.
“Congratulations, pal. Are we in time for the party?”

“There's still plenty of champagne left.” Josh glanced
at McCray's passenger, who was just getting out of the car.

The man looked to be in his late sixties. Obviously
still hale and hearty, he was built like a mountain.

The gray trench coat he wore was stretched across shoulders
that appeared to be a yard wide.

“That's him?” Josh asked quietly.

“That's him. Sorry we're late. Took me a while to find
him. He was in the middle of one of his literacy classes. But when I told him
who was waiting for him, he dropped everything and got into the car.”

The big man lumbered up the steps and stuck out a hand.
“You're January?”

“I'm January.” Josh shook the beefy hand. “Thanks for
showing up here today.”

“I don't mind telling you, I'm a little nervous. After
all these years...”

A high-pitched feminine shriek interrupted the big
man's words.

“Ricky!”

Josh turned to Bee Shirley standing frozen in the
doorway. She was resplendent tonight, having chosen to wear nearly every
rhinestone in her extensive collection. Her eyes were filled with shock as she took
in the sight of the huge man in front of her.

“Hello, Shirley-” Ricky “The Wrecker’ Ring stood
uncertainly in the porch light. “Been a long time, honey. You're just as pretty
as I remembered.”

“Ricky, it is you, I ain't dreamin'?”

“I figure I'm the one who's dreamin',” Ricky said in a
hoarse voice. “Thought you'd have found someone else a long time ago. Someone
worthy of you, Shirley. I couldn't believe it when this here McCray showed up
telling me you were living on the coast and had never married.”

Shirley took a hesitant step forward. “I thought you
hated me. I thought you believed I was the one that ratted on you all those
years ago.”

Ricky looked genuinely startled. “Hell, no, honey.
You’d never turn rat. I knew that. You were always loyal and true-blue. It was
the feds who nailed me. They used wires and tapes. All that newfangled technology.
I never stood a chance. I was always an old-fashioned kind of guy. I realized
the day they put me away that when I got out, I was going to have to find a new
line of work. I'm not cut out for carrying on the old business under modern
conditions, if you know what I mean.”

“Ricky, are you sayin' you've gone straight?” Shirley
was obviously overjoyed.

“Straight as an arrow, honey. Record's clean from the
day I got out of prison. I know I'm not what you deserve. I knew it back in the
old days, too. I didn't contact you after they sent me up 'cause I didn't want
to mess up your life again. Told myself you deserved a chance to start fresh.
But these guys flay that as long as I'm clean, you might be interested in
takin' me back.”

“In a hot minute, Ricky.” Shirley hurled herself into
his arms, her rhinestones flying. “Lord, I missed you, lover. You were the best
there ever was. I never stopped thinking' about you. Not once.” “I never
stopped dreamin' about you, honey.” Ricky's arms closed around her.

“I think we ought to leave these two alone,” Josh
murmured to McCray. He opened the front door of the manor “Yeah, kind of makes
you misty-eyed, doesn't it?”

McCray glanced inside at the crowd of people milling
about. “So, what do you say you introduce me to your bride? I'd like to meet
the lady who is about to make me sole owner of BIS.”

Josh smiled as Maggie materialized from a throng of
well-wishers. She came toward him, looking glorious in yards and yards of white
lace and satin. He thought he had never seen anything half as beautiful in his
entire life. She was everything he'd been searching for all his life. She was
his future.

“There you are. Josh. I've been looking for you. It's
time to cut the cake.” She tilted her head to look at McCray. “Are you his
ex-partner?”

“I'm McCray. And I just want to say. Miss Gladstone—”

“Mrs. January,” Josh corrected dryly.

McCray chuckled. “I just want to say, Mrs. January,
that I am very impressed with you. Never thought any woman would be able to
take the chill out of this guy. All I can say is that you must be some kind of
female.”

“Heavens, Josh is not the least bit cold,” Maggie said,
laughing gently. “He just likes to hide his true nature behind that tough-guy image.”

“Is that so?” McCray arched an ironic brow at Josh who
smiled blandly back.

“Yes, indeed. You only have to get to know him to
realize—” Maggie broke off as she caught sight of the couple out on the porch.
“Who on earth is that with Shirley? She's kissing him.”

“Ricky Ring,” Josh explained. “I had McCray check him
out. He's been clean for years. Turns out he never forgot Shirley. Just figured
he wasn't good enough for her. That's why he hasn't contacted her.”

Maggie's eyes widened in astonished delight. “So you
arranged to bring him here to be reunited with Shirley? Josh, that was
wonderful of you. You are so sweet. Isn't he sweet, McCray?”

“Sweet enough to give you cavities,” McCray agreed.
“Would somebody mind pointing me in the direction of the champagne?”

“Straight down the hall,” Josh advised. “The other
groom is pouring. You can't miss him. He's wearing the same kind of funny suit
I've got on. You can call him Colonel.”

“I'll find him.” McCray slapped Josh on the shoulder
and ambled off to find the Colonel.

Maggie turned to Josh. “Shirley looks so happy out
there. It really was nice of you to go to the trouble of tracking down Ricky
Ring. Do you suppose she'll be leaving us to go live in Portland, now?”

“Wouldn't surprise me. I think we'd better go cut that
wedding cake. Odessa and the Colonel will be waiting.” Josh took Maggie's arm,
aware of a satisfying sense of possession. She's Mrs. Joshua January now, he
reminded himself. She was his wife. Life couldn't get any better than this.

“You know, Josh, I've been thinking.”

“About what?”

“About our partnership,” Maggie said. “It's got so many
possibilities.”

“Yeah, I think the inn is going to do just fine.” Josh
already had a lot of plans for the place. McCray was buying him out of BIS, and
Josh planned to invest some of the cash in Peregrine Manor.

Maggie looked up at him, her eyes bright. “I wasn't
talking about the manor. I was talking about opening Peregrine Point's first
private-investigation agency.”

Josh came to an abrupt halt. “What the hell are you
talking about?”

“Josh, I'm sure I've mentioned this before.”

“No. I don't believe you did,” Josh said grimly.

“Well, why not?” Maggie smiled enthusiastically.

“We can give you an office right here in the manor. You
can work on your Adam Carlisle mysteries when you aren't working on a
case—which will be most of the time, because there won't be many cases to work
on here in Peregrine Point.”

“Oh, I expect we'll get the odd job now and again.
Human nature is the same in small towns as it is in big dries. And once in a
while you're going to feel the urge to play hero. It's your nature.”

“Maggie...”

“I was thinking we could call the agency January
Investigations. When I'm not busy running the manor, I'll give you a hand on
your cases.”

“Gosh, thanks.”

“I'm really looking forward to learning the ropes of
the private-investigation business. Josh.”

Josh couldn't help it. He started to laugh. He was
still grinning a few minutes later when Maggie cut into the wedding cake and
found the little box hidden inside.

The look on her face when she opened it and discovered
Agatha Gladstone's emerald brooch was priceless.

“Josh!” Maggie's eyes were shining as she looked up at
him. “You found it. You found Aunt Agatha's brooch. How on earth did you do
it?”

“I keep telling you, I'm a trained investigator. I'm
real good at spotting clues.”

She threw her arms around his neck as the crowd of
reception guests cheered. “You're a perfect hero,” she whispered against his
throat as she hugged him tightly.

“Yeah. Well, I've learned that once in a while it
pays.”