The Private Eye

or treasure... anything of interest. Yeah, right. That kind of thing. Call me back when you've got something. Take it easy.”
    “Well?” Maggie gave Josh a challenging look as he came back to the table and sat down. “What did that McCray person find out about Dwight?”
    “Not much.” Josh glanced down at the page on which he had written his notes. “Wilcox was in some trouble with the law a few years ago.”
    Shirley stared at him. “Our Dwight is a crook?”
    “Not much of one, by all accounts.” Josh tore out the sheet of paper, folded it in half and stuck it into his pocket. “He got picked up on a robbery charge. Did eighteen months. He's been clean ever since.”
    “Robbery?” Maggie put down her grapefruit spoon. “Are you sure?”
    Josh nodded. “At this point it doesn't mean much. He was just a kid at the time and he didn't get away with it,”
    “Not surprising,” Shirley muttered. “Told you he wasn't all that bright.”
    “Still, it may mean the young man has criminal tendencies,” Odessa observed. She frowned at Maggie. “Perhaps we shouldn't have him do any more work around here, dear.”
    “Who else are we going to get?” Maggie picked up a piece of toast. “It's not like Peregrine Point is full of handymen.”
    “Nevertheless, perhaps we should start advertising for someone else,” Odessa stated.
    Maggie put down her toast. “Aunt Agatha hired him, didn't she?”
    The Colonel nodded solemnly “That's right. About two years ago. Shortly after he moved to town. She was always quite satisfied with his work.”
    Josh held up a hand. “Look, there's no point discussing what you're going to do about Dwight Wilcox right now. I don't want Maggie making any changes in the way things are run around here yet. It would alert whoever is behind the incidents that we suspect they are more than just incidents.”
    The Colonel nodded again-”Quite right, January. We must all continue to give the impression that we think we've suffered from nothing more than bad luck around
    “Bad luck is right.” Maggie got to her feet and started toward the sink. She thought about the horrendous dose of bad tuck she had experienced earlier that morning when she'd walked out of Josh's room and ran straight into Odessa. “There certainly has been a lot of it around here lately, hasn't there?”
    “Nothing we can't handle,” Josh responded dryly.

    THAT AFTERNOON Maggie found herself sitting beside Josh in his black Toyota. She hadn't asked for an escort into town. Indeed, she had done her level best to try to talk Josh out of accompanying her. But he had been in one of his insistent moods. Maggie was learning that when Josh decided to do something, it was extremely difficult to deflect him from his chosen course.
    “I don't need help picking up the groceries. Josh. I could have handled the shopping on my own.”
    Maggie stared out the window at the gray ocean. A new storm was coming in fast. She could see the rain sweeping over the sea. It would hit land in another half hour.
    “No problem.” Josh's hands were relaxed and competent on the wheel of the Toyota. “I need to pick up a few personal items myself.”
    “I could have bought shaving cream or blades for you,” she muttered.
    “Yeah, but I felt like the outing.” Josh slanted her a glance. “How come you're sulking today?”
    “I am not sulking.”
    “Bull. You've been in this mood since you ran into Odessa and the others outside my room this morning. Hey, you're not still worried about our phony engagement, are you?”
    “What if I am?”
    “Maggie, I've told you, everything's going to work out just fine. Leave it to me, okay?”
    “I left it to you and look what happened.” Maggie turned her head to glower at him. “This is all your fault, Josh. Some private investigator, you are. You could have at least checked to see that the coast was clear this morning before you shoved me out the door. But, oh, no. You couldn't wait to get me out of your bedroom.”
    “You really are mad, aren't you?” Josh threw her a surprised look.
    “Yes, I am. I do not like this. Josh. I do not like any of it.”
    “Take it easy, Maggie. In a few days, I'll have this thing sorted out.”
    “Oh, that's just ducky. Then what happens? What am I supposed to tell the Colonel and Odessa and Shirley when you leave town?” Maggie wailed. “They'll think I've been abandoned. They'll feel sorry for me.”
    Josh studied the road ahead. “Tell them you