Page 84 of When She Dreams

“We need to talk,” she said.

“We are talking. I keep coming back to the fact that two of the people involved in this thing disappeared right at the beginning—even before the beginning in one case—and haven’t been seen since.”

That succeeded in distracting Maggie for a moment. “You mean Lillian Dewhurst and that actress who was playing the part of Aunt Cornelia?”

“Phyllis Gaines, right.”

“I know you’ve got questions about Lillian, but we saw Miss Gaines leave town the first night of the conference.”

“How do we know she left town? She’s an actress who wore a wig and some glamorous clothes for her performance. She looked like a very different person when we saw her packing up her Ford.”

Maggie’s eyes widened. “It was a Ford sedan, wasn’t it?”

“A lot of those around,” he said. “My point is that no one would recognize her if she drove across town and checked into a hotel or a bed-and-breakfast.”

“Hmm. I see what you mean. About the Ford—”

“It’s one of the most common cars on the road.”

“This may be even worse than I thought,” Maggie said. She straightened her shoulders again. “At first I believed it was a simple case of blackmail.”

“Asimplecase?”

“The next thing I know we’re dealing with an imposter. Then a woman is found dead. Drugs are involved. A homicide detective asks you to become an undercover agent.”

“One cop asked another ex-cop for a favor, that’s all.”

She ignored him and swept out her hands. “The situation keeps deteriorating. Now we know the Guilfoyles are a couple of con artists who want to get their hands on Oxlade’s ghastly enhancer.”

“Damn it, Maggie, we’re getting off track here.”

“We’re talking about a killer who has targeted you. I never intended to put you in the path of a murderer.”

A chill of alarm shot through him. “Maggie, I can do without the drama tonight.”

She raised her chin. “You may consider this investigation concluded. You will take the train back to Adelina Beach in the morning. Please send your bill to the Sunset Lane address at your earliest convenience.”

For a couple of seconds he thought he had not heard her correctly. Then the full impact of the words hit him.

“Are you trying to fire me?” he said.

“Nottrying, Mr. Sage. Iamfiring you. If you stay on the case someone may attack you again. If that happens, I will feel personally responsible. I do not want your death or serious injury on my conscience.”

“Because it would give you nightmares?”

“Yes, damn it. You don’t want drama? I don’t want a load of guilt.”

“So you’re firing me because I might cause you a few bad dreams?”

She shot him an accusing look. “You’re twisting my words.”

“No.” He got to his feet and started toward her. “I’m clarifying them. I want to make sure I understand exactly what you meant.”

She watched warily as he closed the space between them, but she did not retreat. “Do you understand, Mr. Sage?”

“Perfectly, Miss Lodge. For your information, you can’t fire me.”

“Why not?”

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