When She Dreams (Burning Cove #6)(66)

“Look on the bright side,” he said. “If it wasn’t an accident—if someone really did try to take me out of the picture—we can eliminate several suspects.”

Maggie stopped and turned to face him. “You mean Dr. Oxlade and Guilfoyle?”

“Yes. You’re their alibi. You saw them onstage during the performance and again immediately afterward. Neither of them would have had time to jump into a car and race over to the hotel parking lot to wait for an opportunity to run me down.”

Maggie’s expressive face tightened. “What about Dolores Guilfoyle?”

“Wasn’t she at the demonstration?”

“She introduced the dream reading, but I didn’t see her again until Guilfoyle and I walked into the lobby. After she greeted the audience she could have driven over to the hotel parking lot and waited for you to come out to get the car.”

He thought about that. “She was in the lobby of the Institute after the demonstration.”

“Yes, but when did she show up there?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I wasted several minutes in the parking lot of the Institute trying to find a Ford with a hot engine.”

“And I was stuck in the theater with Arthur Guilfoyle.”

“The timing would have been tight, but it could have worked for her,” Sam agreed. “She would know where to conceal the car on the grounds of the Institute, and she would know all the back-door and side entrances of the main building.”

“What about the three dream guides?” Maggie asked. “One of them might be mixed up in this.”

“Did you see them during the demonstration?”

“I saw all three at the beginning when they seated us. I didn’t see any of them again until Guilfoyle and I returned to the lobby.”

“Larry and Jake were acting as valets for the guests when I arrived to pick you up, but they were coming and going very quickly,” Sam said. “One of them could have returned from the hotel parking lot and made it look as if he was fetching a car for a guest. But again, the timing would have been tight—a matter of planning and a bit of luck.”

Maggie squared her shoulders and got what he now recognized as her fiercely determined expression. Stubborn was another word for it. She was about to take another sharp turn.

“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.”

“A simple case?”

“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.

“Not trying, Mr. Sage. I am firing 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.”