Body of Evidence

by Pickart, Joan Elliott; Davis, Justine; Merritt, Jackie

  Josh reached across the table and stuck his finger into a curl. “It’s incredible,” he said softly. “Believe me, it doesn’t look like any mop I’ve ever seen.”

  Okay, she hadn’t expected this! Not in a public place, at any rate. She backed away from his hand. “If we’re leaving, let’s get moving.”

  “Sure, why not?”

  They stood, picked up their bags and left the building.

  Maggie drove her own car and followed Josh in his.

  Josh was thinking with something other than his brain. In truth, his blood was running hot and fast. He would tell Maggie about the Gardner funeral service, of course, but that would use up about three minutes and what else could he talk about to hold her interest? He could always ramble on about the case, of course. He could mention Desmond Reicher…ask if she’d read Colin’s report on the man…talk about the shadow that possible underworld ties had cast on the whole affair…things like that.

  “Damn,” he said, wishing he’d hung around her apartment a while longer last night, even though in his estimation they hadn’t gotten along all that well. But maybe the feelings she had admitted to having for him years ago still meant something today.

  Wait a damn minute! What was that remark she’d made about her crush lasting forever?

  Josh’s pulse rate quickened as he went over their conversation again, or tried to. It had occurred in starts and stops, he remembered that clearly, which made it nearly impossible to recall it word for word. But the gist of it all made a crazy kind of sense. Maggie felt the same about him now as she had ten years ago!

  “You are imagining things,” he told himself flatly, refusing to believe that a woman with her looks, intelligence and magnetism would carry a torch for a guy who’d never done anything but kid around with her and treat her as the teenager she’d been back then.

  Driving behind him, Maggie’s thoughts were practically in the same ballpark. She’d said far too much last night. Nervous again because of Josh’s rare display of affection and watching the back of his vehicle, Maggie kept thinking of his philosophy toward women in general. After that hair compliment—or forked-tongue flattery—she probably should worry that Benton had decided she was worthy of one of those brief affairs he had professed to prefer. Or else he had put it all together and that was the reason he was being flirty and cute today. She had made herself easy prey, giving him the impression that she would go wherever he led her.

  She truly felt like bawling. Yes, she’d run off at the mouth, but not just to lure Josh into a cheap affair.

  Or had that been her motive all along?

  Maggie gasped. Of course that had been her motive! Why else had she contrived a dinner party with Josh as the only guest? For God’s sake, stop lying to yourself! You want to make love with him so much that you would do just about anything to get him into bed. You’re just afraid of how he’ll take his being the first!

  It was the painful truth, and she wished ardently that she had slept with some guy, any guy, just so she wouldn’t be in this ludicrous place now.

  Maggie gave her head a small shake. Josh had made a quick right turn and she didn’t want to lose him. He had invited her to ride with him just before leaving the gym, but she had thought it best if she took her own car. How silly could she get? She was so damn cowardly with Josh it was a wonder he didn’t kick her off his team at the Bureau.

  Maggie’s lips thinned in further self-reproach. Wasn’t it time she acted her age in Josh’s presence? In every other area of her life she was independent as hell and afraid of nothing. The mere thought of how she behaved around Josh sickened her. Her adolescent ploy to get him to her apartment last night was bad enough, but then she’d chickened out and called Natalie. Then she’d drunk too much wine and made a fool of herself.

  There’ll be no more of that, she thought grimly, squaring her shoulders. From this moment on she was off silly games and pretense. If she felt like saying something, she would say it.

  Josh pulled his vehicle to the curb and parked, and Maggie followed suit. She was getting out when she saw Josh walking toward her.

  “It’s Sunday,” he said with a look of chagrin on his face. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but Sammy’s Hamburger Haven is never open on Sunday. That’s why we had no trouble with curb parking. I should have remembered, but I guess I was thinking of other things.”

  “Oh…well, no problem. We can do it some other time.” She got settled behind the wheel of her car again. “Do you want to talk right here about the case? You said you had something to tell me.”

  “Yeah, guess so, though I don’t mind admitting I was all set for one of Sammy’s cheeseburgers and I’m feeling disappointed as hell. I’ll get in, okay? It’s too cold to stand out here.” He shut Maggie’s door and walked around the back of her car to reach the passenger door.

  She realized that she hadn’t agreed to him getting in her car, but so what if he did? With lunch together out of the picture they were back to a business-only basis.

  That was fine, too, she thought with a sigh, although she couldn’t help being at least as disappointed over the missed cheeseburger as Josh had said he was. But her sense of loss was more focused on what might have been said and done while they ate. Who knew where a simple lunch together might have gone?

  Damn, was she back to grasping at straws?

  Josh got in and pulled the door closed. “This cold goes straight to a man’s bones,” he said with a slight shiver.

  “I’ll start the car.” Maggie turned the ignition key and the heater came on immediately.

  “Thanks,” Josh said and proceeded to tell her about the funeral service on Tuesday.

  “I think we should be there, too. I’d like to see the Gardner family for myself, for one thing. They seem to be an odd lot, if you read between the lines of Waters’s and Wilson’s reports about them.”

  “You may be right,” Josh murmured. He turned his head to look directly at Maggie. “Can we talk about us now?”

  She blanched. “Us?”

  “Yes, us, as in you and me. I told you the latest information on the case, but I don’t want to just drive off now in one direction and watch you driving off in another.” He saw the color return to her face and knew he’d really given her a jolt. “I’ve changed a lot this week,” he said quietly. “I’ve changed because of you.”

  She swallowed and realized how dry her mouth had become. Remembering her vow to be herself with him, she said, albeit hoarsely, “I…I’ve changed, too.”

  “Because of me?”

  “Yes.” She turned in the seat to face him. “It’s always been about you.” She watched the changing expressions on his face and within the depths of his incredible gray eyes. “Whenever we’ve been together I tried to act as though it didn’t matter, but it does matter.”

  Their gazes locked and nothing short of an atomic blast could have broken their admiration of each other.

  “I want to make love to you,” Josh said thickly.

  “I want to make love to you,” she whispered, and had to forcibly stop herself from saying too much. It would be better for him to find out her last and final secret for himself.

  “Your place…or mine?” Josh asked.

  “Which is the closest? I don’t know where you live.”

  “Yours.”

  “Then we’ll go there.”

  “Maggie…” He leaned forward, cupped the back of her head and touched his lips to hers, once, twice, a third time. And then he really kissed her, letting go of every inhibition and overwhelming them both.

  She felt his tongue, the movement of his lips on hers. She inhaled his scent and realized how much bigger than her he was. The desire racking her body caused her to tremble, and she actually wondered if women ever fainted from this kind of passion.

  He raised his head and looked into her eyes. “Drive safely,” he said, and heard in his own voice how deeply affected he was.

  “You, too.”

&nb
sp; “Follow me again.” He got out hurriedly and strode to his own vehicle.

  “I’ll follow you anywhere,” Maggie said as a tear spilled from her eye and coursed down her cheek.

  Once they got to her apartment building, she couldn’t remember actually driving home. Her mind had gotten stuck on that kiss and what they were going to do in her bed. She’d felt feverish one minute and chilled the next. Anxiety had eaten at her one minute and more happiness than she’d known existed had warmed her soul the next. She was eager and she was frightened. But most of all she was swirling in a sea of the kind of excitement she’d only been able to imagine before today.

  Finally they were both parked and in her apartment. They tore off their heavy jackets and dropped them on the floor just inside, right near the door, and then they fell into each other’s arms and began kissing hungrily.

  Josh picked her up and mumbled two words. “Your bedroom.”

  “Next to the bath.”

  “I know.”

  He set her on her feet next to her bed and began undressing her. It was lovely and startling and arousing for Maggie, all at the same time. No man had ever undressed her before, and looking at Josh’s face between hot, passionate kisses and the almost magical way he made her clothing disappear, she saw a reflection of her own feelings. This was as exciting for him as it was for her! How could that be? He certainly wasn’t a novice to…

  No, she wasn’t going to think about his previous lovers. She adored him, and she loved every striking feature of his handsome face. She suddenly felt the need to see the rest of him, all of him, and she shoved the bottom of his sweatshirt up and pressed her lips to the hot skin of his bare chest.

  He helped by grabbing the back of the shirt and yanking it over his head. Naked to the waist, he concentrated again on getting Maggie out of her clothes.

  “Maggie, do you even know how beautiful you are?” he asked in a ragged shard of a voice.

  She was pushing down his jeans and fitted boxers, and she didn’t care how beautiful she was, she only cared how beautiful he was. The sight of his hard belly and manhood weakened her knees. She stepped backward, to the bed, and quickly threw back the covers. Then, with him watching intently, she took off her bra and panties and lay down.

  He was on her in the very next second, covering her body with his, covering her lips with his, and managing to whisper again and again, “Maggie…Maggie…Maggie.”

  Nearly overcome by the pleasure of having his body on top of hers, with his arousal nestled in the perfect spot between her legs, Maggie ran her hands up and down his back and kissed every part of him she could reach with her lips. “Josh…oh, Josh,” she whispered. “My beautiful man, my love.”

  Josh brought himself down so he could kiss her breasts. When he lavished attention to her nipples, he heard her moan softly and felt her twine her fingers into his hair. From the movement of her hips and the way she was rubbing herself against his erection, he was certain she was as hot as he was for the real thing.

  He moved up again, took her mouth in a long, feverish kiss and slid into her. Or tried to. Startled, he raised his head and looked at her. “Maggie…”

  “Don’t say one word. If you stop now I will never forgive you.”

  “But…” She turned her head on the pillow, but he still saw the tears. “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he said in a hoarse, emotional voice. “You should be proud. You’re giving me the only gift a woman can give once in her life.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll be gentle, little love,” he whispered.

  And he was. He caressed her back to writhing passion, and when he finally entered her she was so breathless and needy that she barely noticed any discomfort. Fully inside of her, he began an easy rhythm. In seconds she was riding the same crest of passion that he was on. It built, not hurriedly but steadily, and the first spasms of completion were so amazingly pleasurable that she dug her fingertips into his back and began moaning. The sounds coming from her would not be held back; she heard herself and realized that the mere thought of control at this point was laughable.

  She wasn’t laughing, though. She was soaring far above the mundane world that had been her life for twenty-six years. She was in love, and being loved, and nothing else that had ever happened to her could compare. When Josh moved faster and breathed harder, she went with him. And incredibly delicious minutes later, when he yelled her name, she was only strong enough to whisper his. He had taken her to the stars, and she was in no hurry to come back down to earth. She clasped him tightly and vowed that she would never let go of him. It seemed to be a completely reasonable oath in her dazed and bedazzled brain.

  But it was over, and she was floating. The sensation of dreamy satisfaction she felt was certainly a close second on the pleasure-list, with the actual act of lovemaking being the first.

  “I never knew,” she said softly.

  Josh moved his weight from her to the bed and lay up against her. “Tell me why you never knew, Maggie,” he said softly while stroking her damp hair back from her face.

  She looked into his eyes. “I guess I waited for you. I love you. I’ve always loved you. It wasn’t a kid’s crush, after all. It was the real thing, and maybe I knew that.”

  He was overcome with emotion and tears filled his eyes. “I love you, Maggie.”

  She snuggled closer and pressed her lips to his before whispering, “I’ve never been happier.”

  Josh and Maggie went—in the same car—to the Pines Cemetery on Tuesday morning. They talked about the case, but they also kept smiling at each other. They had spent last night together, and while they hadn’t yet discussed marriage, they each knew they were heading in that direction.

  “At least there’s a little sunshine today,” Maggie said as they exited the vehicle.

  “Very little,” Josh said with a quick glance at the weak sun hanging in the sky.

  “Spring has to be just around the corner. I, for one, can hardly wait.”

  “I, for two, feel exactly the same.” Josh took her arm as they approached the group standing around the open grave. He stopped about twenty feet away. “This is close enough,” he said under his breath. “Look at each face. Who do you recognize?”

  Maggie named some of the bigwigs in the Chicago government that were present.

  “The woman seated is Cecelia Gardner, Franklin’s mother,” Josh said. “Lyle, her eldest son, is sitting on her right. Stephen, Franklin’s son, is sitting on her left.”

  “Oh, there’s Colin and Darien.”

  They were on the other side of the small crowd, doing exactly what Josh and Maggie were doing, checking out the attendees.

  “And there’s Desmond Reicher,” Josh murmured. “The man standing right behind Mrs. Gardner. Do you see him?”

  “Yes.”

  “I wonder if any of those men is left-handed,” Maggie murmured.

  “Because?”

  “Even though I still can’t make out a clear design of the killer’s ring from Franklin’s facial bruises through photo enhancement, I’m certain that the person who delivered the brutal blows is left-handed. I did a report detailing the proof of that opinion but I need to verify one piece of it before I put it in the file for Detectives Waters and Wilson to follow up on.”

  Josh looked at her. “You’re amazing.”

  “So are you, my darling, in bed and out.”

  “Are you asking for trouble, my sweet?”

  “Umm, could be.”

  “Then let’s go and find some.” With a wicked smile he tucked her hand around his arm and walked her back to his vehicle.

  Epilogue

  The news that night did a special on the Gardner family, with emphasis on their good deeds in the Chicago area.

  Snuggled together on the sofa, Josh and Maggie watched the report. They both snapped to attention when the special segment was followed by a statement from the anchor.

  “Desmond Reicher, COO of the Gardner Corporation, was taken into police custody today and ch
arged with the murder of Franklin Gardner.”

  Josh and Maggie looked at each other, each of them conveying shock. “Is Reicher left-handed?” Maggie asked in a hushed, startled voice.

  “I think we had better find out, don’t you?” Josh got up and went over to the phone. In a moment he had identified himself and asked, “Which facility is holding Desmond Reicher?” After another moment he said, “Thanks,” and broke the connection to place a second call. “This is important, Sergeant. You’ve got Desmond Reicher in a holding cell. Is he left-or right-handed?”

  Josh turned to look at Maggie. “He doesn’t know,” he told her. “But he’s checking.”

  She sat without moving, tense as a coiled spring, waiting to find out. Finally Josh said, “Thanks, Sergeant,” and put down the phone. “Reicher’s right-handed,” he said quietly.

  “They’ve arrested the wrong man!”

  “Yes, they have, but I would bet anything that Colin and Darien are already on top of it.”

  Maggie relaxed some. “You’re right. But if it’s as simple as which hand the killer used to pummel Gardner, wouldn’t Reicher have been released by now?”

  “There are complications in the case still to be ironed out, Maggie.”

  Maggie sighed and put her head back. Josh resumed his place on the sofa next to her and took her hand. She smiled at him.

  “There’s something I’d like to tell you,” he said.

  “Feel free.”

  “I led you to believe I never even got close to a genuine commitment with anyone and that’s not true.”

  Maggie sat up straighter. “You don’t have to…I mean, you’re entitled…”

  “You’re dying to know all about my life during the past ten years, so don’t get phony on me now, sweetheart.”

  “All right, fine. Go ahead and bare your soul.”

  “Well, my soul is hardly overburdened with deep, dark secrets, so my little story isn’t apt to leave me naked and bleeding.”

  “Aw, heck. And there I thought I’d finally see the real Josh Benton.”