Joan Pickart - Body of Evidence

After drinking the entire pot of coffee and going through the Sunday paper, Josh shuffled back to his bedroom, threw the blankets over his bed, which was how he made it every morning, then continued on to the bathroom for a shower.

Even that didn’t bring up his mood, but he knew something that would. He got dressed in comfortable old jeans and an ancient Chicago Cubs sweatshirt. He was in his outside jacket and ready to leave when his house phone rang.

He almost left without answering, but that was only because of his bad mood. He went to the nearest extension phone and said a gruff “ Benton.”

“The decision to release Franklin Gardner’s body for burial was just made. Mrs. Gardner has planned the funeral for Tuesday morning. I expect you’ll be attending the service?”

“Yes, sir,” Josh said to his commander, even while thinking about how quickly that newspaper article had jacked everyone up. “Detective Sutter and I will both be there. Do you know the exact time and place?”

“Eleven o’clock at the Pines Cemetery. The church service before that is private. Family only. But the graveside service will be open to Franklin ’s many friends.”

“Mrs. Gardner’s words, I take it?”

“Precisely. I’ve some other calls to make. Have a good day.”

“You, too, sir.” Josh put down the phone, then wondered if he should call Maggie now or delay telling her about the funeral until he saw her at work tomorrow.

The mere thought of talking to her on the phone caused what felt like a low-voltage electrical shock to leap through his body. It left him feeling a bit numb but it didn’t surprise him. His whole damn system was out of sync because of Maggie Sutter.

She was becoming a larger-than-life person to him, making him rethink attitudes and standards that had seemed pretty much settled years ago. God, he was even beginning to think that getting married and having kids wasn’t such a bad way to go.

Cursing out loud, he grabbed his athletic bag and left the apartment. He drove to the gym that most of the cops used, changed into shorts and running shoes, then hit the indoor track.

Two hours later he had run at least five miles, worked out with weights, showered away the perspiration and donned his bathing trunks to finish his workout in the huge indoor swimming pool. He was at the door to the pool area with a towel around his neck when his heart actually skipped a beat. Just getting out of the water, climbing one of the far ladders, was Maggie.

She was wearing a plain black one-piece suit, she was dripping wet and she was, without a doubt, the prettiest sight he’d ever seen.

He knew when to admit defeat. You’re a gone goose, Benton. Be a man and admit it.

Entering the echoing pool room he walked straight to Maggie. She was drying off with a big soft-looking towel, and when she saw him her eyes got very big.

“Hello,” he said with a smile.

“Uh, hi,” she said, unable to conceal her surprise.

“Do you come here often? I don’t remember seeing you here before.”

A spurt of her normal gumption prompted a wry retort. “Since you didn’t even recognize me until the night of Gardner ’s homicide, why would you have noticed me here, at the gym?”

“Maybe because you’re very noticeable.” Before she could hit him with another zinger he said, “There’s something I need to tell you about the Gardner case. How much longer are you planning to be here?”

“Not long.” She had used six different exercise machines and finished her regimen with about twenty laps in the pool. “After a shower, I’m out of here.”

“I was going to swim a few laps, but I don’t have to. I’ve been working out for over two hours already. That’s enough for today. So, how about meeting me in the lobby in about what? Ten minutes? Fifteen?”

“Fifteen. I need to dry my hair.”

“Great. See you in fifteen.”

They went in different directions, Maggie to the women’s locker room, Josh to the men’s. She hurried through a shower and then drying her hair, wondering all the while if he really had something to tell her about the case or was using some feeble tidbit as an excuse to lord it over her one more time.

She groaned, because she wasn’t thinking clearly. Josh had his faults, but insisting on being king of the hill wasn’t one of them. Besides, why on earth would he want to spend time with her today for anything remotely personal when he’d had ample opportunity only last night to haul her willing if incredibly ignorant butt to bed?

He has absolutely no wish to haul any part of you to bed! Good Lord, you’re the one with the completely insane imagination, not him!

And you told him everything last night…all the secrets hidden in your foolish brain for so many years.

It was true, Maggie realized with a sinking sensation. She hadn’t revealed her secret passion for him in one long uninterrupted confession, but anyone with half a brain could connect the dots. Not only did Josh Benton possess a full and complete brain, he was an exceptional detective. The only thing that would prevent his grasping the content of her alcohol-induced blathering last night was a lack of interest. He just might not give a damn.

Also, exactly how mature was it for a woman to confess to the object of her affection that she had worshipped him from afar for ten damn years?

Groaning because she was behaving so out of character these days, Maggie unplugged her hair dryer and put it in her bag. She hadn’t brushed the natural curl out of her hair as she did on workdays, and her head was a mass of dark red curls. Yesterday, because of her dinner party-Maggie pursed her lips over that phrase-she had taken the time to actually give herself a hairdo, leaving some curl in strategic places, brushing it straight in others. Today she had taken no such pains.

Nor would she put on makeup, she thought spitefully. Why should she care if her face was practically colorless? Josh probably wouldn’t even notice.

And then she remembered what he’d said by the pool. Maybe because you’re very noticeable.

Did she have this thing all wrong? Was she reading Josh wrong? Where was her intuition, her instinct, her normal good sense?

Grabbing a small zippered case from her carryall bag, she went to a mirror and applied a touch of blusher to her cheeks and put on a bit of lipstick.

She was ready. “Go forth and face the enemy,” she said under her breath, wishing she knew for certain if Josh was a friend or merely her current working partner. Truthfully, she wished for more than that. If only she could read his mind just once and learn how he really felt about her.

“Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” she muttered.

A few moments later Josh saw her coming toward him. The large lobby contained a snack bar and some small tables, one of which he had held for their usage. He got to his feet and smiled. Maggie arrived and set her bag on the floor next to his.

He motioned to the other chair. “Have a seat. How about something to eat? And drink?”

“Thanks, but I’m not crazy about the snacks in this place.”

“Too healthy?” Josh asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Something like that, I suppose, though I prefer to call them tasteless. I’ll have one of those tropical fruit drinks, though. They’re pretty good.”

“Maybe we should leave this health-nut place and hit my favorite cheeseburger hangout,” Josh said with a little laugh.

He was surprising Maggie, she realized, teasing her, maybe even doing some flirting. Talking like a man did to a woman he liked. A thrill she couldn’t control rippled through her system, and her pulse began fluttering as she wondered if maybe she had somehow attained the power to read his mind after all.