The Private Eye Read Online Free PDF

She
    owned this place for forty years. Died last year and left the manor to Maggie, here.”
    Josh absorbed that. Maggie could see questions in his eyes but he didn't ask them. Instead, he focused on his
    original line of inquiry. “Okay, let me get this straight. There have been a series of small but annoying mechanical and
    electrical problems here at the manor. The inn started getting a bad reputation and you decided to close the place
    down except for your three regular guests, here.”
    Maggie blinked at him in surprise. “Odessa, Shirley and the Colonel are not guests. They are permanent residents.
    The manor is their home, too. Aunt Agatha made that very clear.”
    The Colonel nodded. “Had an understanding, don't you see? We're a family. Agatha's gone, rest her soul, but now
    we've got Maggie.”
    Josh eyed Maggie. “Uh-huh. Just one big happy family.”
    Maggie frowned. “The point is, we don't believe all the incidents over the past few months have been due to sheer
    bad luck. We want you to find out who or what is behind them, and what his motive is. Before you begin, you should
    know that we alt have different theories you really ought to check out.”
    Josh sipped his whiskey. “Would anyone mind if we ate dinner before we explored these theories? I'm hungry. I
    was promised home-cooked meals, if you'll re call.”
    Maggie stood abruptly and managed a tight smile .
    “Not at all. If you'll excuse me for a minute, I’ll go check, on the casserole.”
    “I'll come with you,” Odessa said.
    The Colonel rose gallantly as the two women headed for the door. “Maggie and Odessa do the cooking around
    here these days,” he explained to Josh. “Had to let the chef and kitchen help go when we closed down for the winter.
    Shirley and I clean up.”
    “Just one big happy family,” Josh murmured again.
    “Don't knock it,” Shirley remarked. “It works.”
    Maggie glanced back over her shoulder as a thought occurred to her. She paused in the doorway, wondering how
    a man could simply take off for an entire month. “Do you have a family. Josh?”
    “No,” said Josh. “The only one I have to worry about is myself. I like it that way.”
    Maggie shivered under the wintry chill of his words and hurried down the hall after Odessa.
    “What do you think of him?” Maggie hissed under her breath when she caught up with the older woman.
    “Seems quite a capable young man,” Odessa answered cheerfully as they entered the kitchen. “I feel we're in good
    hands, dear.”
    “Capable? The man's on crutches, for heaven's sake. And he doesn't seem all that professional to me. His attitude
    seems wrong. And he doesn't even carry a gun. I thought all private eyes carried guns.”
    “Perhaps that's only true in those novels you're always reading, dear. Have you ever actually met any private
    investigators?” Odessa opened the refrigerator door and removed the tossed green salad she had prepared earlier.
    “Well, no. But I've read enough mysteries to have a good idea of what to expect in an investigator.” Maggie
    grabbed a set of hot pads and opened the oven door.
    Fragrant steam wafted upward. “It occurs to me that maybe Josh January accepted this job because he thought the
    manor might be a nice place to recuperate from his accident. He probably thinks our problems will make for a real cushy
    assignment.”
    “I wonder what happened to him?” Odessa tossed the salad greens with the dressing that had been made from her
    own secret recipe. “Do you suppose it was an accident?”
    “More likely someone got really annoyed with him and pushed him down a flight of stairs.” Maggie muttered
    darkly as she hoisted the casserole out of the oven.
    “You're not far off,” Josh said from the doorway. He leaned with one shoulder propped against the wall, both
    crutches in one hand. Somehow he managed to though he was precariously balanced.
    “Someone did get really annoyed with me.”
    Maggie set the casserole down