The Private Eye (5 page)

Piece of cake. In the meantime, he could sit back and
get himself waited on, hand and foot. Maggie's cooking was excellent, if this
first meal was any indication.

Josh polished off his second helping of the very tasty
vegetable-and-cheese casserole. He was considering a third serving when Odessa,
with the unfailing graciousness of the born hostess, offered it to him.

“Do have another helping. Josh. A gentleman recovering
from a serious accident needs to build up his strength.” Odessa smiled warmly.

“You talked me into it.” Josh scooped out some more of
the casserole. “I'm ready to listen to your theories now. Why don't you start,
Odessa?”

“Certainly.” Odessa put down her fork and pursed her
lips in a disapproving fashion. “I am convinced that one of my nephews is
behind the effort to close down Peregrine Manor. I have three, you know.
Nephews, that is.”

“Why would any of your nephews want to close down the
manor?”

“Retaliation for my having recently written all three
of them out of my will, of course,” Odessa stated. “A nasty, ungrateful,
selfish lot, those nephews. I have finally decided not to leave any of them a
single share of my gold-mining stock. I hold a considerable interest in a
company called Lucky, Inc. 1 fear my nephews have learned about my intentions
to disown them. They think they can terrorize me into changing my mind,”

Josh managed not to smile at that. It was highly
unlikely that any lady who held a “considerable amount” of valuable stock would
be wearing a gown as faded and worn as the one Odessa Hawkins had on tonight.
Odessa may have been wealthy at one time, but the air of faded elegance about
her now was unmistakable. He was certain someone had hocked the diamonds in her
massive dinner ring years ago. That was glass glittering on her finger. He
would bet on it.

“I, however, have a different theory,” the Colonel
intoned portentously from the head of the table. “I believe I mentioned earlier
that I am conducting some experiments down in the basement. I don't mention the
fact to just anyone, but the truth is, I am something of an inventor. I have
been making tremendous progress on a potentially valuable alternative fuel that
would make oil-based fuels obsolete. I venture to say it will revolutionize the
automobile industry, as well as the manufacturing sector of our economy.”

“Interesting.” Josh abruptly swallowed an oversize bite
of casserole and remembered the disconnected smoke-detector batteries down in
the basement. Just what I need, he thought ruefully-A month spent in a mansion
with a crazy inventor who likes to play with flammable substances.

“Naturally, I've suspended all experimentation until
you get this matter sorted out for us,” the Colonel went on. “Can't risk the
results of my experiments falling into the hands of the wrong parties.”

“No,” Josh agreed quickly. “Can't take the risk.
Suspending your experiments for the time being is very wise. Wait until I’m out
of town before you go back to playing inventor.”

“Well, I don't happen to think these incidents have
anything to do with Odessa's terrible nephews or the Colonel's experiments,”
Shirley announced. She peered shrewdly at Josh through her rhinestone-studded
glasses. “It's him. He's sending me a warning.”

Out of the corner of his eye Josh saw Maggie nibble
anxiously on her lower lip. A sure sign that she was uneasy. Josh wondered what
it would be like to nibble on Maggie's lip, himself. The idea was very
appealing.

He forced his attention back to Shirley. “Who's sending
you a warning, Shirley?” he asked patiently.

“Ricky.” Shirley's eyes suddenly filled with tears.
“Excuse me. Didn't mean to make a scene.” She yanked off her glasses and dabbed
at her eyes with her napkin. “It's just that every time I think about him, I
get scared.”

Josh sighed and turned to Maggie. “Do you know who this
Ricky is?”

“He's a gangster,” Maggie muttered, looking
embarrassed. “Shirley says she used to be his, uh, girlfriend.”

“That's right,” Shirley sniffed. “Ricky 'The Wrecker’
Ring. Twenty years ago they didn't call him 'The Wrecker’ for nothin', you
know. But he was a gentleman, through and through. Always treated me like I was
a queen. Until the day they hauled him off to prison, that is. I know he
probably thinks I betrayed him, and now he's going to get revenge.”

Maggie coughed discreetly. “Shirley says she changed
her last name fifteen years ago when she moved out here to the coast. She's
been worried ever since that Ricky would find her when he got out of prison,”

Josh lifted his brows. “When was he due for release?”

“He was supposed to get out a few years ago,” Shirley
replied, wiping her eyes again. “I expect it's taken him this long to find me.
But now he has and he's lettin' me know he's going to get even for what he
thinks I did. I'd run if I could, but I can't afford to go anywhere. Peregrine
Manor is my home.”

Josh wondered whether he should mention to this little
group that if a powerful mob figure wanted to kill someone like Shirley Smith,
the job would probably have been done by now. Then he reminded himself that he
had a whole month ahead of him here at the manor.

He didn't want to start punching holes in his clients'
theories too quickly. They might fire him if they thought they didn't need him.
He had a hunch it wouldn't take much to convince Maggie she could dispense with
his services.

“All right,” Josh declared in an authoritative tone
that clients generally responded to quite readily. “That takes care of three of
your theories.” Privately he had begun to reflect on the possibility of
dessert, but forced his attention back to the matter at hand. “What's your explanation
for the incidents, Maggie?”

“Perhaps I should go over it with you later, Josh,” she
said hastily. “You've been given enough to analyse for the moment. Dessert, anyone?”
She jumped to her feet and began clearing the table with quick, anxious
movements.

Josh watched her with amusement. Her gaze slid away
from his as she loudly stacked dishes. It was clear she realized that the pet
theories of her fellow residents at Peregrine manor were ridiculous. She wasn't
anxious to give him another explanation to mock.

“Dessert sounds great.” Josh was surprised to discover
he actually felt quite content sitting in Peregrine Manor's dining room surrounded
by the engaging bunch of eccentric lunatics.

Things were looking up. Either that or be was losing it
fast.

“Always did like a man with a healthy appetite,”

Shirley remarked as she got to her feet. “Now, never
mind those dishes, Maggie. You know the Colonel and me are the ones who do the
clearing up around here.

You know, my Ricky would eat like a horse. 'Course, he
needed a lot of energy in his line of work. Expect you do too, eh. Josh?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Josh agreed. “I lost my appetite for a
while after my accident, but I seem to be getting it back.” He deliberately
caught Maggie's eye. “For a lot of things.”

“I'll get the apple pie,” Maggie said. She vanished
into the kitchen as if pursued by small demons.

Odessa smiled knowingly at Josh. “You're having quite
an effect on our Maggie.”

The Colonel gave Josh a man-to-man look. “You go easy
with her, sir. Don't tease her unless you're serious. Our Maggie is a
small-town girl. She isn't used to dealing with men of your stamp.”

“Men of my stamp?” Josh arched an eyebrow.

“Now, you know what I mean,” the Colonel continued
calmly. “You've got the look of a man who's accustomed to going after what he
wants. All I'm saying is, don't go after our Maggie unless you're real sure you
want her. We're right fond of our Maggie. Wouldn't want to see her get hurt, if
you take my meaning.”

“I take your meaning.” Josh leaned back in his chair
and eased his injured foot carefully out in front of himself under the table.
He tried to recall the last time he had been warned off a woman but could not.
“You all know Maggie well?” he asked casually.

“Oh, my, yes,” Odessa offered. “We all saw a lot of her
when she was growing up. Her parents lived in Washington. Maggie spent most of
her summer vacations here at Peregrine Manor. Haven't seen as much of her in
recent years, of course. Not until Aggie died and left her the manor. But we've
all kept in touch. Her folks have retired to Arizona but they get up here at
least once every summer.”

Josh fiddled idly with his coffee cup as he delicately
probed for information. The technique was second nature to him after all these
years in the business. “What's she been doing with herself in the past few
years?”

“After she got out of high school she went off to
college and became a librarian,” Odessa explained. “She's been working at it
ever since in a couple of different towns around the state. She gave up her
last position when she inherited this place. Her folks were against the notion,
but Maggie insisted.”

“Her boyfriend must have had a few thoughts about
Maggie changing careers and moving here to Peregrine Point,” Josh observed. He
realized he was suddenly tense, waiting for the response that would tell him if
Maggie was involved with someone.

“Boyfriend? Maggie doesn't have any boyfriends.”

Shirley gave a snort. “Not unless you count that Clay
O'Connor fella.”

“O'Connor?” Josh repeated gently.

“New in town as of last year,” the Colonel said,
looking concerned. “Opened up a real-estate office.

Seems to be doing fairly well. He and Maggie have
started going out to .dinner together lately. Took in a movie last week”

Josh listened to the nuances in the Colonel's tone.

“You don't approve of O'Connor?”

The Colonel shrugged. “Nothing wrong with the boy, I
guess. Polite. Successful. Just seems a bit soft around the edges, if you know
what 1 mean. The kind who should have done a stint in the military to toughen
him up.”

“'Soft around the edges' is right. Not the kind of man
my Ricky would have wanted behind him in a fight,” Shirley declared forcefully.
“Maggie can do a lot better than Clay.”

“I'm not so sure about that,” Odessa countered with a
small sigh. “Clay is really a very nice man, as Maggie says. No different than
most men these days and better than a lot of them. At least he's got a steady
job and he knows his manners, which is more than I can say about some.”

“That don't say much for men in general these days,”
Shirley muttered. “A good job and slick manners don't necessarily make for a
good man. Like I said, Maggie can do better.”

“Maybe you're all a bit overprotective of Maggie,” Josh
suggested thoughtfully.

The Colonel smiled with just enough steel to remind
Josh that the man had once trained other men for war.

“Maybe we are. Like I said, we're a family.”

Chapter 3

SEVERAL HOURS LATER Josh lay propped against the overstuffed bed
pillows and stared sleeplessly up at the chintz canopy overhead. It cut off his
view of the high ceiling, but he probably could not have seen much there,
anyway. He had opened the heavy velvet drapes earlier but a dense cloud-cover
was obscuring the moon tonight. There was almost no light coming in through the
window.

His thoughts shifted restlessly back and forth between
three subjects: Maggie in the room next door, the book, and the idiotic case he
had accepted here at Peregrine Manor. Of the three, it was his awareness that
Maggie was sleeping in the room next door that was having the strongest effect
on him-Inwardly, he sighed.

He was too old to be reacting to a woman with this kind
of sudden, intensely erotic need.

But the truth was. Josh admitted, he had been strangely
fascinated by her from the moment he had opened her crazy letter. Perhaps it
had been the incredible audacity of her appeal for help in exchange for a
month's free rent that had intrigued him. And most people would never have
approached a major security firm for this ridiculous little situation here at
Peregrine Point.

No doubt about it, it had taken nerve to write that
letter. Josh admired nerve.

He turned on his side, wincing as his bruised ribs protested.
He listened for sounds from the room next door. All was silent. Earlier he had
heard the water running in the tiny bathroom and his imagination had fed him
tantalizing images of Maggie getting ready for bed.

He tried to decide what it was about her that appealed
to him. She wasn't stunningly beautiful. She had a surprisingly sharp tongue
for a sweet little small-town girl. And Josh just knew that she was going to be
one of those demanding clients who wanted a lot more than they were willing to
pay for in the way of service.

But something in her had struck a responding chord
within him and the more he thought about it, the more he was afraid he knew
just what that chord was. He recognized in Maggie the same naive, misplaced
desire to ride to the rescue of the weak and innocent that had once driven him
into his present line of work. That explained what she was doing here trying to
keep this white elephant of an inn going, of course. She was going to do her
best to protect the home of those three aging eccentrics down the hall.