Mistress of Magic Read online

  “No! I want her far from the action when it happens. Daphne swears she wasn’t trying to hurt Reggie. And she won’t say anything more until she’s convinced that she’s safe.”

  “I just pray it’s over shortly.”

  “Then I’ll tell Reggie everything.”

  There was a lot Wes wanted to tell Reggie that he hadn’t told her yet. He wanted to make her see his past life so that she would believe in him, really believe in him. He didn’t want her refusing him the way she had refused Caleb. And he wanted her to believe that he’d be giving up nothing if he left San Francisco behind and moved here. He wasn’t an artist. He did know a hell of a lot about business management and security. Max was anxious for him to stay. He hoped that Reggie would feel the same.

  She was just now appearing on the stage in the garish red dress and the black fishnet stockings. She was singing about the benefit of her evil ways in such a funny fashion that the audience was vibrant with laughter. Wes watched Joseph. The hardened little tyke had his eyes set hard on Reggie.

  “That’s her?” he said to Wes.

  “Yep. Reggie Delaney. She drew the first Dierdre Dinosaur and made a puppet out of her when she was just about your age. Don’t you think that’s fun?”

  Joseph stared at Wes with his wide blue eyes. “Yeah, well, it’s all right. You’ve gotta understand, a lot of the guys my age think puppets are kind of sissy.” He smiled suddenly. “Except that everyone was impressed that I got to come here. The rides are awesome. And—” He hesitated a minute, looking at Reggie. “She’s really beautiful. Does she always dress like that?”

  Wes cuffed Joseph lightly on the head.

  Actually, the fishnet stockings and garish red made up one of his very favorite outfits for Reggie, one he thought of with great affection.

  “Naw, it’s just a costume. You know that.”

  Joseph grinned. He liked to lead grown-ups along, but it was in good fun. He had a tough armor, but there was a lot inside that was still soft and gentle. So far, he’d eaten hot dogs and ice cream with an amazing capacity, and right after, he’d gone on the worst of the dino-twisters without blinking when Wes had been praying that he wouldn’t throw up himself. Puppets might be sissy, but Joseph was having a heck of a good time with them anyway.

  “Look, here she comes,” Wes said.

  Reggie was on her way down the aisle. The boa was fluffing over various faces in the audience. She stopped and chatted here and there with a delightfully funny sleazy accent, then moved on.

  Wes backed up behind the support beam and watched as she came across Joseph.

  Yes, he did, he knew Reggie.

  He watched as her elegant green eyes widened and softened. A slow smile curved her lips, and she ruffled his hair with her boa. “Well, now, this one here is a handsome one!” she called back to Bob. “Maybe we can get a ransom on him. What do you say, son? You gotta mind to ride off on a dinosaur into the sunset?”

  Joseph was laughing, but he quickly assured Reggie, “You can’t get any ransom on me, Miss Patricia. There’s no one to pay it.”

  Wes saw the emotion flick through her eyes. She knew instantly that the boy wasn’t lying. “Hmm!” she said, skipping only a beat. “Guess we’ll just have to keep this one, Bob!” She whirled around. “Well, there’s just gotta be some old—or young!—geezer out here to make some kind of a profit off!”

  “You’re slipping, Patricia!” Bob called to her.

  “Oh, do leave them all alone!” Alise said in a syrupy sweet young heroine’s voice. “Miss Patricia, you are supposed to be reforming Bob and yourself and going on to lead a good life.”

  “Oh, I will, I will! Eventually!” Reggie promised. “It’s just such a big world. And so many men!”

  She turned again.

  She started to sit on Wes’s lap.

  Then she saw his face, even as she landed warmly on his lap.

  Wes began to smile.

  But then, to his absolute amazement, Reggie hauled off and slapped him. Right across the face.

  There was silence in the audience.

  And silence on the stage.

  Bob broke the silence. “I don’t think that’s the way to get money out of him, honey.”

  Thankfully, the audience started to laugh then, convinced that Wes had to be part of the show. In the roar that followed Wes jerked her close to him. “What the hell was that for?”

  But she was already up, turning away. “Some you kiss, and some you slap. You’ve just gotta keep ’em on their toes!” she announced, hurrying to the stage.

  Bob stepped down. He was proposing to Reggie. They were going to lead a good life at last. The show was almost over.

  Joseph looked at Wes politely. “Are you absolutely sure that she likes you?”

  “Funny, kid, funny,” Wes murmured. He stroked his cheek. It stung.

  “Does she always greet you like that?”

  The show was over; the audience was filing out.

  He shook his head. “No. You wait here for a minute. It will be all right. I’ll be right back, okay?”

  “Sure. This is your ball game, mister,” Joseph said matter-of-factly.

  “Don’t leave, all right?”

  Joseph grinned. “Hey, I want to come back. The rides are fun, the food is great. And you’re all right.”

  “Thanks,” Wes acknowledged.

  He left Joseph sitting at the table and hurried around back. He was going to have to hope that Alise would forgive him bursting into the dressing room because that was exactly what he intended to do.

  But he didn’t have to. Reggie was already on her way out. He hadn’t even gotten backstage before he ran right into her.

  “Excuse me!” she told him icily. “I have things to do.”

  She was going to try to walk right by him!

  He caught her arm. Caught it firmly. “What the hell is this all about?” he demanded.

  “I haven’t time to talk about it now.”

  “Well, I have time now. All the time in the world.”

  “Let go of me.”

  “No.”

  “I can scream—”

  “Go right ahead. This is your park, remember?”

  Her eyes flashed a wild, emerald fire. She was shaking with emotion.

  But she wasn’t going to scream. She stood still, her jaw rock hard, twisted and set. “You tell me what’s going on. Mr. Blake, are you just like the others? Like Player and Ozzie Daniels? You all had fixations on Max’s wife—now you’re turning them on his sister?”

  “What?” he demanded sharply.

  “Don’t lie!” she snapped. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you’d been sleeping with Daphne?”

  So that was it. How had she learned about it?

  Maybe he should have apologized right away. Something inside him rebelled. After everything, she should have trusted him a little.

  “I’ve slept with a number of women. I didn’t know that I was required to give you a roster of their names.”

  “Daphne!” she stressed, her eyes narrowing.

  “I knew her before your brother did, but there was really very little between us. They hit it off right away.”

  “So you lied to Max, too—”

  “No, Miss Delaney, Max knew the score right from the beginning.”

  Her eyes narrowed further. “Right. And Max married her. And Max is accused of killing her. But she’s alive—and you’re the one she calls!”

  Damn. She’d recognized Daphne’s voice, even muffled. He should have told her.

  He just didn’t want her getting hurt. Didn’t want her there when he tried to meet Daphne tonight.

  “Damn it, Reggie—”

  “Get out of my way, Wes.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, Reggie. I’ll get out of your way. You just judge blindly, and nothing that’s been said or done matters. Fine.”

  She started to walk past him. His fingers tightened around her arm.

  “Reggie—” />
  “I’ve got things to do!” she claimed.

  She strained against him. This time he let her break free.

  He heard the doors to the theater slam as she left.

  A moment later, Joseph was behind him. “I don’t know, Mr. Blake. I wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings or anything, but I really don’t think she likes you.”

  “She loves me, kid.”

  “Sure, if you say so.”

  “Mmm, and she’ll say so, too. Just as soon as I get a chance to see her alone. To give a good—”

  He broke off, looking at Joseph.

  “A good shaking.”

  Joseph grinned. “Actually, I think you’d do a hell of a lot better if you’d kiss her. And you should have told her that you were sleeping with Daphne.”

  “Yeah, and I should wash your mouth out with soap.”

  Joseph offered Wes a hand. “It’s gonna work out. I have a feeling. But stick with the kissing. Trust me, I know.”

  “Oh, yeah? And just how do you know?”

  He smiled. “Trust me!”

  Wes felt his temper ease. She’s going to like you so much, kid, if she’ll just give us both the chance! he thought. He smiled. But then his smile faded.

  Where was she heading?

  Daphne was still alive.

  But Reggie was still in danger.

  He paled. He had to get someone to watch Joseph for the moment.

  Because he didn’t dare let Reggie get too far ahead of him.

  God alone knew just what she might do.

  Chapter 14

  Harry’s Hot Dog Stand was well lit, almost blindingly so. Reggie had admitted to herself that she had been a little worried about meeting Ozzie Daniels—she wasn’t exactly sure why—but once she reached the painfully bright fast-food restaurant, she felt much more at ease.

  And Ozzie was there, waiting for her.

  He was nicely dressed, and if she hadn’t known him, she might have thought that he was a fairly appealing individual.

  But she did know him.

  He met her at the door. “How do you like your franks?” he asked immediately. He looked like a reporter. He was wearing a dark trench coat over a dark suit. Maybe it was supposed to rain. Reggie wasn’t sure.

  “I can get—”

  “Oh, come on, Miss Delaney. Surely, you’ll allow me the honor of buying you your franks! After all, the dinner invitation was mine.”

  She shook her head. “I’m just not hungry. I was going to get a soda and an order of curly fries. You’re more than welcome to get them for me, if you like.”

  She waited at one of the bleached white Formica tables while he went for the food. When he came back, he had her fries and soda and three hot dogs for himself, one piled high with chili, one with sauerkraut and one with melted cheese. He grimaced at her. “I couldn’t make up my mind,” he told her. She almost smiled.

  If he weren’t out for Max’s jugular, she might not have disliked him so intensely.

  “There’s no one haunting the park,” she told him.

  He arched a brow and bit into one of his dogs. “Getting right to business. Not, how are you Ozzie, what ya been up to, or anything of the like.”

  “You’ve been up to maligning my brother and the park. What do you want from me?”

  He shook his head. “Not much, I guess. All right, no one is haunting the park. So what is going on?”

  Reggie shook her head. “I don’t really know. But I’ll tell you something—I don’t think that my brother could possibly be guilty of Daphne’s murder.”

  “And why is that?”

  “I don’t believe that Daphne’s dead.”

  His left brow flew up. Was it an act? Or did he know that Daphne was alive and well? Had he been in on this with her?

  After all, he was the one who had discovered her missing.…

  He was either innocent, or a very good actor.

  He lifted his root-beer bottle and drank from it. “You should have seen her apartment.”

  “I did.”

  He shrugged. “Well, who knows. So what is going on in the park?”

  “Just a prankster, nothing more.”

  “Would you care to go on about that?”

  She shrugged, as casual as she could possibly be. “Someone was dressing up like one of the robotronics. It was silly, really.”

  “See, the way that I heard it,” Ozzie told her, “Daphne came flying out of the darkness—after you. Or Daphne’s ghost.”

  “No ghosts were after me.”

  “Just cute little snuggly dinosaurs, right?”

  “I told you—”

  “You called the police.”

  “Of course. We frown upon pranksters in the park.”

  “You’re not giving me anything, Reggie.”

  “Yes, I am. I’m giving you the truth. Want to try to print it for a change?”

  To her surprise, he glanced at his watch instead of pressing her. “Did you like the picture of your boyfriend?” he asked her suddenly.

  Her fingers tightened around her soda bottle. She hoped she didn’t give anything away with her expression. “Wes is a handsome man,” she said softly. “He always photographs well.”

  “And Daphne was—is—beautiful.”

  “Daphne is very beautiful.”

  “Maybe they’re in this thing together.”

  “For what?” Reggie asked him.

  He smiled. She had given something away. He touched her fingers where they lay on the table. “Wes Blake discredits your brother. He’s got big bucks. Your brother steps aside, Wes Blake steps in. Then he’s got it all, lock, stock and barrel. He even has the boss man’s wife.”

  “Gosh. And I had rather thought you were busy coveting Daphne yourself,” Reggie said lightly.

  “Ah, but then there’s Rick Player.”

  “Yes, there is.”

  “So?”

  He left the question open, grinning. Then she noticed that he glanced at his watch again. He did have another appointment. Well, so much about being concerned for her virtue. She could have picked any spot to meet him.

  “I’d better get going,” she said, baiting him.

  “Yeah. Yeah, well, me, too. I’m glad you met with me, Reggie. I appreciate it. And I’ll try to print what you’ve told me.”

  She nodded and watched him walk out, puzzled. Then she jumped up suddenly, determined to follow him.

  He was leaving the parking lot as she reached it. She hopped quickly into her car and drove onto the highway, following him.

  For some reason, it didn’t surprise her terribly to find that he was headed toward the park.

  Reggie did likewise.

  She was able to keep almost directly behind him until she began to come to the lanes for the park. There was one for parking, one for employees, one for the hotel and one for buses. Reggie swore softly as she realized that she had lost him.

  She pulled to the side of the road, frustrated for a minute. She leaned her head back. She had met with him. She had told him all kinds of stuff—with and without words. And she hadn’t learned a thing about Wes and Daphne.

  With a sigh she brought her motor to life, ready to turn around and go home. She knew that she was going to have a real live argument with Wes, the kind she couldn’t walk out on.

  Either that …

  Or he wouldn’t be there at all. Not after the way she had acted today.

  She realized suddenly that she had started the car and that she was driving very mechanically into the employee parking lot.

  She was about to turn around when she realized that Max’s car was still in the lot.

  So was Wesley’s.

  She drove up beside Max’s car and parked.

  When she approached the entrance to the park, she noticed that there was no guard on duty there.

  Was security slipping?

  “Hello!” she cried out.

  Even the cleaning crews were gone. Her voice echoed eerily in the stu
cco cave. Where was everyone?

  Reggie slipped through one of the turnstiles. Where were Max and Wes? Her heart was thumping, and she tried to assure herself that there was certainly no reason for either of them to be at the front of the park, expecting her.

  Reggie tried the door to the front offices. It was locked. She had her keys and could have opened it, but if Max or Wes had been upstairs, the door wouldn’t have been locked.

  Maybe they were in their private offices.

  She tried the next door. The downstairs doors were open, and her brother’s computer terminal was on. Max was nowhere in sight.

  Reggie frowned, but she definitely felt more relaxed. Max was somewhere near her.

  She closed her eyes for a moment, just because she was weary. Imagine! She had thought that she should go home.

  She’d even thought that Wes might be worried.

  Wes had never even gone home. Wes was here somewhere.

  Wes … and Max.

  What was it that no one was telling her?

  The costume shop.

  The idea entered unbidden into her mind. That’s where Max was. She knew it, just as she sometimes knew that Max was in trouble. It had to do with their being twins, even if he was five minutes older.

  She left the offices and started across the park for the costume shop. She glanced at her watch. It was nearly eleven o’clock. She’d had no idea that it had gotten so late. The cleaning crews had probably finished.

  Still …

  She suddenly had a very uneasy feeling as she moved through the empty park. Figures of dinosaurs that loomed big and friendly during the day seemed eerie and menacing in the dimmed, artificial light of the night.

  The sound of her loafers against the cement walkways echoed with a chilling ring as she moved along.

  “Max!” She meant to call his name out. Loudly.

  It was little more than a croak.

  She was glad a moment later.

  For she heard another set of footsteps. They weren’t loud against the pavement.

  They were furtive. Someone was moving toward her. Toward the costume shop.

  He or she was not using the pathways, but rather walking on the fringe of the foot roads, through the beautiful plants and shrubs.