The Private Eye

people who had been caught redhanded.
    Their first assumption was that the person who had caught them might be interested in making a deal. The theory was that everyone else had the same kind of morals as they did. Just good business. “They want to put in a world-class resort and spa here on the coast,” Clay eagerly explained. “Big development companies like the ones behind this deal have to keep a low profile when they go into a new area to pick up land. If people know they're buying, the prices start shooting up in a hurry. Keeping quiet is Just good business. That's all.”
    “Just good business.” Josh closed the file, wondering how often he had heard that excuse over the years.
    “But in this case there wasn't going to be any business at all, was there? Because you couldn't talk Maggie into selling. And you sure as hell didn't want to tell her how much the manor was really worth. If you couldn't get it cheap, you couldn't do a deal with the New Yorkers.”
    “The manor is worthless to them. It's just an old house. What they want is the land.”
    “So you decided on a plan. You'd drive Maggie into selling by making it appear that the manor was falling apart around her. If you could convince her that it was too expensive to keep it going and that business was going to fall off, she'd have to let it go. But Maggie can be stubborn, can't she?”
    “Damn stubborn. You don't know what I went through trying to get her to sell. I had to pretend I was falling for her. I was willing to take her to bed, if necessary. What the hell. No big deal. It probably would have been mildly amusing. She's kind of cute—if you like the sweet, innocent type.”
    Josh jumped out of his chair in a flash. He barely noticed the pain in his ankle as he whipped around the comer of the desk and grabbed a startled O'Connor by the collar.
    “What the hell...” O'Connor's eyes flared wide with fear and anger.
    “You got desperate tonight, didn't you?” Josh slammed O'Connor up against the wall. He leaned in dose. “You decided to take drastic action. Any idea what the penalty is for arson in this state, O'Connor?”
    “Arson? I don't know what you're talking about. I told Wilcox to stick to mechanical stuff.”
    “Yeah, well, he didn't. Apparently you pushed him a little too hard. Tonight he tried to torch the manor.”
    O'Connor looked genuinely astounded. Then he looked ill. “My God! What happened?”
    “Nobody got hurt, if that's what you mean. You won't be facing murder charges.”
    “Murder.” O'Connor looked more nauseated than ever. He started to crumple. He licked his lips. “Look, you said everybody's okay. Nobody got hurt. So why don't we cut our losses and make a deal? Huh? Where's the harm? I'll split the finder's fee with you if we can convince Maggie to sell. Come on, January. You're sleeping with her. Everybody in town knows it. Surely you can talk her into selling.”
    “Forget it,” Josh said. “Your problem, O'Connor, is that once in a while when I'm real bored, I like to play good guys and bad guys. Guess who gets to be the good guy tonight?”

    SHORTLY BEFORE DAWN Josh let himself into his room. The manor was silent. Everyone else had apparently retired while he was busy talking to the local sheriff.
    He didn't bother to turn on the lights. Instead he stripped off his clothes in the darkness, yawned, and pulled back the quilt on the big, canopied bed.
    “Hi,” said Maggie in a soft, sleepy voice. “I was wondering when you'd get home. Lot of paperwork in your business, I guess.”
    Josh smiled slowly as he looked down at her. A sense of deep happiness and satisfaction welled up inside him.
    “I'd have finished the paperwork a lot faster if I'd known you were going to be here in my bed waiting for
    “Where else would I be?” Maggie opened her arms and smiled. Love glowed in her eyes. “Welcome home, hero.”
    Home, thought Josh as he gathered her close. That was where he was now. Home.
    He lost himself in Maggie's sweet warmth. Nothing had ever felt so right.

    “I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT,” Odessa declared for what must have been the hundredth time the next morning. “He seemed like such a nice young man.”
    “I never did like him,” Shirley announced. “Always said O'Connor was soft around the edges.”
    “Dwight's the one I feel sorry for;” Maggie said, carrying a plate of crumpets and honey over to the kitchen table. “He was virtually blackmailed into doing what he did. I