The Private Eye

neck.
    “You're not accustomed to making quick decisions about people the way I am. You don't know how to look into a person's eyes and see if you're being lied to. But me, I'm an old hand at it. I've been sorting out the lies from the truth for so long that it's second nature.”
    “You're right,” Maggie replied breathlessly. “I don't have that skill. So, how will I know if you're telling me the truth about yourself?”
    “For starters, you can make the call to McCray,” he said gently.
    That brought Maggie down to reality with a thud, she stepped back quickly and Josh let her go. “No, thanks. Then I'd have the added problem of not knowing if I could trust McCray, wouldn't I?”
    “Like I said, he can supply proof to back up anything he tells you.”
    Maggie smiled nervously. “Excuse me, I'd better get started on your home-cooked breakfast. Wouldn’t want you to say I'd stiffed you out of your fee.”
    He chuckled. “Right. Word of mouth travels in my business, same as it does in yours. You might have trouble hiring another investigator in the future if you don't pay me.”
    Odessa appeared in the doorway. “Squabbling again, are we, children? My, my. Never saw two people strike sparks off each other the way you two do.”
    “She started it,” Josh said cheerfully.
    Maggie groaned. “And here I was just beginning to think you were man enough to take responsibility for your own actions.”
    Josh sipped his coffee. “Depends on the actions.”
    “Now, now, my dears, that's enough of that sort of thing.” Odessa bustled about the kitchen, selecting grapefruits from the tray on the counter and a knife from a drawer, “Stop teasing her. Josh.”
    “Yeah, Josh.” Maggie arched her brows- “Stop teasing me. Your threat is meaningless, anyway. You know dam well I'm hardly likely to ever need a private investigator again in my entire life. What do I care if I get blacklisted by your union for nonpayment of your fee?”
    “You never know,” Josh murmured. “A lot of women are using investigators these days.”
    Odessa gave him a surprised glance. “Why on earth would young women be going to private investigators?”
    “To have background checks run on the men they're dating,” Josh explained. “BIS gets requests all the time, but since we focus on corporate security, we generally refer the potential clients to smaller agencies.”
    Maggie was startled. “You're serious, aren't you?”
    “I’m always serious when it comes to business,” he assured her.
    Odessa looked thoughtful. “What kind of women go to investigators to have their boyfriends checked out?”
    “Smart women.” Josh shrugged. “One major group of female clients are women who have established careers and are financially independent. They're at risk of being married for their money, same as men are.
    They want to make certain they're not marrying con artists who will clean out their bank accounts and then split. Another growing group of clients are women who want to be sure they're not dating men who are secretly bisexual or using drugs.”
    “Makes sense to me,” the Colonel remarked from the doorway. “In the old days a young woman's parents and neighbours knew a lot about the man she wanted to marry. They did the background checks, you might say. But these days there's no one to protect the ladies.”
    “Or they won't listen if you do try to protect them.”
    Josh slid Maggie a meaningful glance. “Give a lady a little friendly advice these days and she takes the bit in her teeth and runs in the opposite direction.”
    “Speaking of running.” Maggie set her cup down on the counter with a loud thud. “We'd better get breakfast on the table, hadn't we, Odessa? I'm sure Josh is eager to get started on his inquiries. Colonel, would you like to show him around Peregrine Manor this morning? You could point out all the places where we've had problems. He might be able to find a clue or something.”
    “Certainly,” the Colonel agreed. “Be delighted.”
    “A clue.” Josh looked politely enthusiastic. “What a good idea. Clues are very helpful in my line of work.”
    “We'll just have to hope you can recognize one when you see it, won't we?” Maggie murmured as she pulled a frying pan out of the cupboard.
    “Not to worry,” Josh retorted. “I brought along my handy-dandy official private investigators' manual. I believe there's an entire chapter devoted to finding and recognizing clues.”
    “A manual, you