Case of Imagination by Jane Tesh Read Free Book Online Page B

can. Just be careful.”
    “I will, thanks.”
    He jerked a thumb toward my apartment building. “Gonna move out?”
    “I don’t think so. It depends on how things go in Celosia.”
    “You get ready to move, let me know. I’ll come help you.”
    “Thanks.”
    Buddy gave another gap-toothed grin. “Jerry still seeing Olivia?”
    “Apparently.”
    “She’s a mean little squirt.”
    “I believe she won Miss Mean Little Squirt in ’82.”
    “Always knew the boy wasn’t right. Tell him he better treat you like he should.”
    “He does. We’re really good friends.”
    Buddy’s little eyes twinkled. “All the same, if you need me to straighten him out, you give me a call. If the boy wants to communicate with the dead, I can arrange that.”
    ***
     
    I drove to my office, which was still hot and dead. But my phone and the answering machine were alive. No messages. Time to call the phone company and see what was going on. Maybe there’d been a power outage.
    “Thought I saw you come in.” Reid grinned from the door. “It’s hot in here, Madeline. Can’t you afford some air conditioning?”
    I was determined not to let him rile me. “Just checking my messages.”
    As usual, he parked his rear on my desk. “Oh, you got some cases?”
    “Two.”
    “At the same time? A true test of your detecting skills.”
    “They’re in Celosia.”
    “A hotbed of crime.”
    “Legitimate cases.”
    “Some farmer lose a cow? Grand Theft Bailer?”
    “I’m not going to discuss my cases with you. I just stopped by to pick up some things.”
    He got up. “Well, good luck. There’s quite a backlog of cases next door should you run out of things to do.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind.”
    The phone company said there hadn’t been any service interruptions lately. They’d be happy to send somebody by tomorrow to check my phone, but suggested the problem might be in the answering machine and I might like to return it. I called Nancy’s friend Gloria and left a message, apologizing for missing her and asking her to please call again.
    I was almost to my car when I realized I’d left Gloria’s card on my desk. I’d need it if I wanted to try to get in touch with her from Celosia.
    When I came down the hallway, Reid was coming out of my office. He stopped, his expression pure guilt.
    “What were you doing in there?” I asked.
    “Just stopped by to see you.”
    “I locked that door.”
    He tried to bluff his way out. “It was open.”
    I was absolutely sure I’d locked the door. I’d even jiggled the doorknob. “You’ve been going in my office, haven’t you? You’ve been intercepting my messages and then erasing them.”
    “Why would I do that?”
    “Because you’re a sneaky bastard, that’s why. You’ve been stealing my clients so I’d think I was a failure and come back to you.”
    He knew he was caught. He grinned. “Is that so bad?”
    I pushed past him into my office. I looked around and decided there wasn’t a damn thing I couldn’t live without. “That’s it,” I said. “I’m leaving.”
    “Leaving?”
    “You can come in here as much as you like. Hell, you can dance naked on the desk. It’s all yours.”
    He followed me down the hall. “Madeline, come on now. It just shows you how desperate I am to have you back.”
    “I’ll find another office, and you can find somebody else to cheat.”
    “It was just a joke. I’ll give you one of my clients.”
    I stopped and whirled around. He skidded to a stop. “You’re not going to give me anything. I’m going to make this work on my own terms.”
    “Like your marriage?”
    I swung out, but he jumped back. My fist barely missed his nose.
    “Okay, okay,” he said. “Violent beauty queen on the loose. Go ahead and leave. When you get tired of playing detective, I’ll take you back.”
    I knew if I said anything else, I’d explode. Then I’d be facing murder charges. I left Reid still grinning that shit-eating grin, got in my car, and