Читать книгу Flirting With Disaster - Sherryl Woods, Sherryl Woods - Страница 11

Maggie hated nothing more than having her curiosity aroused and then not satisfied. Once the impact of Josh’s touch finally wore off sometime in the middle of the night, she recalled why he’d deliberately set out to distract her. He’d wanted her to forget all about his inadvertent mention of his past.

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do this morning to track down any answers. She was scheduled to open the gallery at ten and was hoping to hear from Ellie that everything was quiet at her studio. With any luck at all, Brian had gotten the message that he wasn’t to return.

When she arrived at the gallery, she found Dinah already waiting on the doorstep. Maggie regarded her suspiciously.

“What brings you by this early?” she inquired as she unlocked the door and turned off the security system.

“You called last night. I just came by to see what you’d wanted.”

“How did you know I called? I didn’t leave a message,” Maggie said.

“That’s the wonder of modern technology. Answering machines reveal all sorts of things. Cord insisted we have a top-of-the-line machine so we could screen calls.”

“Were you home when I called?” Maggie demanded, suddenly irritated. What good were best friends if they didn’t pick up the phone when you needed them most?

Dinah blushed. “We were, but we were otherwise engaged.”

Maggie knew she should have seen that one coming. “Is this honeymoon of yours ever going to end?”

“Goodness, I surely do hope not,” Dinah replied, a grin spreading across her face. “So, what did you want? I figured it couldn’t be that important since you didn’t leave a message.”

“It was an emergency, as a matter of fact,” Maggie retorted. “So I had to call someone who actually answers the phone when it rings.”

“Warren?”

“No.” Maggie hesitated, then reminded herself that she was dealing with Dinah, the intrepid reporter who’d made world leaders squirm. There would be no peace until Maggie revealed who she’d turned to. “Josh.”

Dinah’s eyes widened. “Really? How absolutely fascinating!”

“Is that all you can say?” Maggie asked in disgust. “Aren’t you the least bit curious about the emergency?”

“Did Josh handle it?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s all that matters. I’m more interested in why you chose him.”

“He had technical expertise I required, along with a truck.”

Suddenly Dinah looked worried. “You weren’t disposing of a body, were you?”

“Good Lord, no. You really do need to rein in that imagination of yours.” She frowned at Dinah. “And what on earth makes you think Josh would have the technical expertise needed for that? What kind of background does he have, anyway?”

Dinah shrugged. “He’s an edgy kind of man. Something tells me he has all sorts of dark secrets.”

“And yet you’re encouraging Amanda O’Leary to get all cozy with him,” Maggie said wryly.

“I am not encouraging anything between him and Amanda,” Dinah said impatiently. “That’s your imagination working overtime. The woman made an offhand comment about how hot Josh is, and you’ve pictured some sort of relationship blossoming ever since. Since you claim you’re not interested, I have to wonder why it even matters to you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Maggie insisted irritably. “At least, not the way you mean.”

“Is there some other way it could matter?” Dinah asked, amusement dancing in her eyes.

“Would you just drop it?”

Dinah chuckled. “Happy to, now that I’ve got the answer I was looking for.”

“You don’t know squat.”

“That’s what you think,” Dinah replied mildly. “So what happened that had you calling for reinforcements?” she asked, pushing to get the topic back on her track.

Maggie described the scene she’d come upon when she’d gone to visit Ellie. “I wanted to get a new lock installed and those paintings of hers away from there before that Neanderthal came back and tried to destroy any more of them.”

“They’re here now?”

Maggie nodded. “Secured in the vault in back. I’m not taking any chances that he’ll figure out they’re here and decide to come by to ruin a few more.” She shuddered at the memory of the fury in his eyes just before he’d stormed out of Ellie’s studio. “The man’s scary.”

Dinah studied her with increased concern. “For you to say that, Maggie, he had to have been awful. Notify the police.”

“I can’t. I promised Ellie I wouldn’t do that, at least for now.”

“I think you’re being foolish. At least tell them to keep a closer watch on the gallery,” Dinah pleaded.

“The vault’s secure enough,” Maggie insisted.

“And the rest of this place? If he can’t get to Ellie’s work, he might take it out on the gallery.”

“I don’t think he’s that stupid or that crazy,” Maggie said, though her certainty was shaken by Dinah’s concern. “This is personal between him and Ellie. He’s jealous of her talent.”

“Really? Her paintings are that good?”

Maggie’s enthusiasm for the paintings overcame the last of her irritation at Dinah for shutting her out the night before. “They’re fabulous,” she confirmed.

Dinah’s eyes gleamed the way they did when she was on the scent of a great story. “May I peek?”

Maggie grinned. “Are you asking as a reporter or as a friend who’s capable of keeping a secret?”

“As long as you promise me an exclusive when the time comes, I’ll keep your secret,” Dinah bargained.

“Okay, then,” Maggie said, knowing that she could trust Dinah’s promises. They’d both kept silent about an awful lot of youthful misadventures. “Come with me.”

She opened the vault and switched on the overhead light, then gestured at the individual storage bins. “The paintings are in those.” Then she waited, holding her breath for Dinah’s reaction.

The hundred-watt bulb in the humidity-controlled vault was nothing compared to what the gallery lighting would be when it came time for the show, but Dinah gasped at the first painting she pulled out to view.

“Oh my, she really is talented, isn’t she?” Dinah said in a hushed voice, stepping closer to the still life. “Not that I’m half the expert you are, but this is amazing.”

Maggie beamed as relief flooded through her. “Don’t sell yourself short, Dinah. The art collection your folks have is nothing to sneer at. You grew up being able to tell a masterpiece from junk the same way I did.”

Dinah gently retrieved each painting from its protective bin. At last she turned back to Maggie. “When’s the show?”

“I want to take my time planning it, so I’m thinking September at the earliest, maybe October,” Maggie replied. “That will give me time to create a certain amount of buzz and maybe lure a few art critics down here from New York.”

Dinah regarded Maggie with evident curiosity. “What did Josh think? I assume you paid close attention to his reaction.”

“He seemed impressed,” Maggie said carefully. “But he was more interested in getting these things out of Ellie’s place and tucked away here than he was in examining them.”

“So he’s not an art lover.” Dinah studied her. “Is that a problem?”