The Private Eye

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?”
    “Yes, sir, I've got a plan. But I could use some backup help here inside the house. I want someone to take care of Odessa and Shirley just in case things go wrong. It’ll mean staying awake most of the night.”
    The Colonel looked pleased. “Be honored to assist you sir. I'm still capable of doing sentry duty. And I've still got my old service revolver upstairs, you know. Been a while since I used it, of course, but I reckon there are some things you don't forget.”
    “If everything goes as planned, you won't have to use it. But I'll feel better knowing you're awake and armed upstairs tonight.”
    “Certainly.”
    Josh folded his arms on the table. “Now, here's how it's going to go down. Colonel. Maggie and I are going to leave town on an overnight trip to Seattle. As soon as we're out of the house, I want you to call Dwight Wilcox and tell him you're worried about the furnace. Tell him it gave you some trouble again and you want him to double-check it. Make sure he knows that Maggie and I are out of town.”
    The Colonel narrowed his gaze, “You really think Wilcox is the one behind these incidents?”
    “I think he's the one who's been staging them, yes.”
    “Don't suppose the oil companies are paying him, do you?”
    “Uh, no. No, in all truth, I don't think anyone's after your research, sir.”
    The Colonel nodded. “Well, it was just a theory, of course. Hate to say it, but Odessa's right. That boy just doesn't seem bright enough to plan this kind of thing without getting caught.”
    Josh smiled grimly. “That's the whole point. Colonel. He is going to get caught. Tonight.”

    AT FIVE MINUTES TO eleven that night, Maggie got up on her knees in the front seat of the rental car Josh had chosen for the stakeout. He had told her his black Toyota was too well-known in the area.
    She reached into the back seat for another bag of potato chips.
    “Only one more large bag left,” she reported.
    Josh wistfully eyed the sweet curve of her bottom which was nicely outlined in a pair of snug-fitting jeans.
    “That's okay. We've still got the cheese crackers and the jalapeno dip. And we haven't even started on the chocolate bars.”
    “Do you always eat like this on a stakeout? I've never seen such a collection of junk food.” Maggie turned around and dropped back onto the front seat.
    “I told you surveillance is boring. I like to reward myself.” Josh took a swallow from the can of cola in his hand. He leaned back into the comer of the seat and turned his gaze toward the manor.
    The big house was visible through the stand of trees where he had parked the nondescript rental car two hours ago. The manor looked like a Gothic castle in the pale, watery moonlight. Its fanciful architectural embellishments made Josh think of pictures he had seen in old children's books.
    From amid the trees, he could keep an eye on the kitchen door and the small ground-level windows of the basement. He could also watch the only approach to the old house, which was from the main road.
    “You think he'll just drive right up to the manor, hop out and do his dirty work?” Maggie asked as she popped a potato chip into her mouth.
    “Well, he sure as hell isn't going to make his approach from the other side of the house. The beach is too dangerous this evening because of the high tide and the storm that's on its way in. Even if he made it as far as the manor from that direction, he'd still have to find the cliff path at night and climb it. Too tricky. My hunch is that Wilcox will take the easy way.”
    Maggie slid him a sidelong glance. “I suppose you operate on hunches a lot in this business, don't you?”
    “Uh-huh.” Josh