The two women entered the offices of Solutions Incorporated one behind the other. They were an interesting study in contrasts. The leading woman was graceful, elegant, sophisticated, and stunningly beautiful. The second woman was solid, blunt, earthy, and exceptionally plain. The second woman was studying the first woman like she was an unusual specimen at the zoo.
Claudia frowned on seeing the two women. Magus had no appointments that day and he didn't like clients to just show up at the office. She said, "Darla Darling. To what do we owe this unexpected visit?"
"I am here to thank Magus for his able assistance," Darla answered. In less than a week he had managed to clear up her problem.
Claudia said, "Have a seat. I'll see if he's available."
Magus shouted, "Claudia, is that Miss Darling?"
"Yes," Claudia shouted.
"Send her in," Magus shouted.
Claudia gestured towards the door. Just once she wanted to see Darla sitting on one of the uncomfortable chairs waiting for Magus. Trying to sound as bored as possible, she said, "Go in."
Darla entered the office. The voice of Magus trickled out, "Ah, Miss Darling. It is such a pleasure to see you again."
"My dear Magus, the pleasure is all..." The door closed cutting off the rest of the conversation.
The plain woman crossed her arms across her chest and looked down at Claudia with a thoughtful expression. She frowned and glanced at the door. She leaned over and grabbed Claudia's left hand.
Claudia pulled her hand back and asked, "Who are you?"
"There's no wedding ring," the woman said.
"I'm not married," Claudia replied. "Just who are you?"
Ignoring the question, the woman said, "Miss Darling must be a high priced call girl or a madam. I think she's a madam. She's wearing perfume. A high priced call girl wears men's cologne if she wears any kind of scent at all. Yes, she's a madam for high priced call girls. Am I correct?"
"I won't discuss the business of a client," Claudia said.
"She is a madam. I can understand why Magus reacts that way to her," the woman said with a curt nod of her head. She added, "Her mother must have entered her in beauty pageants as soon as she could walk. That kind of poise, style, and attention to appearance has been drilled into her from a very young age. She doesn't even think about it. She must have had a real miserable childhood."
"Who are you?" Claudia asked. She was pretty sure that the woman had an over active imagination.
The woman looked at Claudia and said, "You are a real puzzle. I bet you were a cheerleader in high school. I wouldn't be surprised if you had been the head cheerleader. It is obvious that you were raised in the Midwest — corn country. You're divorced or else you wouldn't be sitting in that chair."
"How do you know that?" Claudia asked. She began to have her doubts about the woman having an active imagination.
The woman waved a hand drawing a blank stare from Claudia. She answered, "Magus has rescued every receptionist he has ever hired from an abusive relationship. However, you don't look like you've been abused. There are no scars. You don't flinch around sudden movements. That suggests to me that you had a protector while you were married. I bet it was your father. You strike me as a Daddy's girl. You are a Daddy's girl. I bet he called you Princess. He must have been quite a physically intimidating man to keep your ex-husband from striking you."
"Daddy is a big man. Harry was terrified of him," Claudia said staring at the woman. Her father did call her Princess.
The woman stared up at the ceiling moving her hand as though she was trying to fit a piece into a giant jigsaw puzzle. She suddenly grinned and said, "You must have decided to leave him because he was cheating on you. That would have driven him into a rage, but he didn't get to you. You must have gone to Magus about your marriage problem before your ex-husband was aware that you were going to divorce him."
"Whoa."
"You must have been hired while Magus was running his business in the Midwest. He moved before he had a chance to get you married off to one of his clients. You moved here when he moved his office," the woman said. "I bet he set you up with a job back home, but you followed him here. He probably scurried under his desk on seeing you here."
"How do you know that?" Claudia asked. This woman was scarier than Magus in terms of knowing too many things.
"That is what makes you a puzzle," the woman said. "Magus does not feel comfortable around extremely attractive women. Why did he keep you as a receptionist rather than send you back home?"
It was as if Claudia could see the wheels turning in the other woman's head. She backed away from the woman. The way that she was studying her was creepy.
"Ah, you are dating someone close to Magus. It must be Phil," the woman said triumphantly. She smiled, "That is the only thing that makes sense."
"Damn, you're good," Claudia said. "Are you one of those people who talk to dead people? Is my grandmother telling you all that stuff?"
"No. I'm the best criminal profiler in the country. I can get into someone's head and know what they are thinking. I've studied Magus for years, but I only have a superficial understanding of how his mind works," the woman said.
"Who are you?" Claudia asked.
"I'm Denisa Moran."
"You're the lady from Los Angeles who is dating Detective Parnell," Claudia said.
Denisa held out her left hand to show off the smallish diamond ring that adorned her finger. She said, "I'm engaged to Detective Parnell."
"Congratulations," Claudia said looking at the ring. She said, "Now if I could get Phil to give me one of those I'd be happy."
Denisa leaned over and said, "Next time you are alone with Phil in your place, you should wear your cheerleader outfit and no underwear. Surprise him. Give him a real good cheer about how much of a stud he is. Make sure that all of your best parts are bouncing around when you do it. The proposal will be out of his mouth before he knows that he is talking."
"Really," Claudia said.
"I know Phil. He won't be able to resist it."
Claudia said, "He'll be mine by midnight tonight."
Denisa said, "Would you do me a favor? I'm going to step over to the side. When Miss Darling comes out of the office, would you step into his office and announce that a woman is here to see him? Don't mention my name."
"Why?"
"I want to see how he reacts," Denisa said with a grin. She stepped to the side of the reception area where she wouldn't be visible from Magus' office door.
After a few minutes, the office door opened and Darla stepped out. With a dainty motion, she wiped the sides of her mouth with a thumb and forefinger. It was an almost obscene gesture. She called into the office, "Until next time, Magus."
"Until next time, Miss Darling," Magus answered.
Darla smiled at Claudia and licked her lips. She said, "Now that is a man with excellent taste."
"Uh," Claudia said nearly tripping. She was trying to decide exactly what Darla meant by that and decided that she didn't like the answer.
"Just remember, I can get you two thousand a night," Darla said.
Doing her best to ignore Darla, Claudia stepped into Magus's office. Magus shouted, "Keep your distance woman. You know the rules. You aren't allowed in my office."
"There's a woman here to see you," Claudia said.
"Send her in," Magus said.
Darla was ready to leave until Denisa pointed a finger at her and said, "You stay here until I have a chance to talk to you."
"Why should I do that?" Darla asked.
"The three of us are going out to lunch," Denisa said in an imperial voice.
"Why would I want to have lunch with you?" Darla asked looking at the frumpy woman. She couldn't get five hundred dollars a night on her best night.
"To discuss Magus, of course," Denisa said. She headed into the office shutting the door behind her.
Darla looked at Claudia and said, "I guess we're having lunch."
"I guess so."
Shaking her head, Darla said, "I hate cops."
"How did you know that she worked with the police?" Claudia asked.
Darla rolled her eyes and answered, "Did you see her clothes? She looks like she's been on a stake out for a month. Those wrinkles and mustard stains don't happen by accident."
Claudia said, "I must be the only unobservant person around here."
"You are."
"I went to your website," Claudia said.
"So you are thinking of coming to work for me," Darla said. She rubbed a finger along Claudia's jaw line. "You can make two thousand a night easily."
"I wanted to see a picture of Margo White," Claudia said.
Darla grinned and said, "Fix her hair a little differently, get her a little breast augmentation, and she could be your twin."
"I've got to know what Magus did on his 'date' with her," Claudia said.
Darla said, "In my business, we don't talk about our clients. I'm sure that you understand the need for discretion."
"It is just a little weird thinking that he spent the night with a woman who looks just like me," Claudia said.
Darla grinned and said, "If you come work for me, you can find out yourself."
"Why should I have to work for you to find out?"
Darla said, "That's the only way you're going ever get close to Magus."
The door opened and Denisa could be heard to say, "I'm going to lunch with your receptionist and Darla Darling."
"I hope you have a great time," Magus said. He knew that Denisa expected him to argue against them going out. It was also a fact that it wouldn't have done any good.
"You still surprise me after all these years," Denisa said after giving a small screech of disappointment. "Do you know how much that bugs me?"
Magus shouted, "Claudia!"
"What?" Claudia asked stepping over to the door. She looked around Denisa at Magus.
"Enjoy your lunch with Denisa and Darla. Don't let Darla talk you into coming to work for her. You won't like it," Magus said.
"Don't worry about that," Claudia said.
Denisa said, "Magus, I'm going to get inside that head of yours one day. You won't have any secrets when I do."
"Impossible," Magus said. "Run along. Eat, drink, and be gossipy."
Denisa said, "Come along ladies. We have a Magus to discuss."
Magus listened to the women leave. He mumbled, "I really shot myself in the ass this time. I can't believe that I made it possible for her to move here."
The table was cluttered with the remains of a substantial lunch composed entirely of salads. Glasses that had once held tropical fruit drinks loaded with alcohol littered the table. There were at least four glasses for each woman at the table. It should be noted that lettuce is not particularly well noted for soaking up alcohol. None of the women were obviously inebriated, but then none of the women had tried to stand up.
After an hour of discussion Denisa had not learned a single thing about Magus that she didn't already know. Finally, she asked, "Has Magus ever told you where he was born?"
"No," Claudia answered. "I've only got a few hints of the places he's lived: New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., and the five Millvilles area. Now he's in Boston."
"You can add Los Angeles, Denver, and Seattle to the list," Denisa said.
"He gets around," Darla said.
"Does he have a girlfriend?" Denisa asked.
With an edge to her voice, Claudia answered, "Not unless you count Margo White."
At Denisa's raised eyebrow, Darla said, "She works for me."
"She must be gorgeous," Denisa said.
"She looks almost exactly like Claudia," Darla said. Claudia growled. She grinned at the attractive blond woman and said, "I think it is kind of humorous."
"Interesting," Denisa said. "I wonder if he does anything with her."
"I can't comment," Darla said smiling at Claudia.
Denisa said, "He wouldn't have a problem going to bed with an escort. He would probably hold back if she looks like someone he sees every day. On the other hand, that might be an attraction."
Darla said, "All I know is that Margo raved about her evening without telling me any details."
"He's very good in bed," Denisa said. She covered her mouth as soon as the words were spoken.
"How would you know?" Claudia asked.
"From experience," Denisa answered. She smiled and said, "He's about the best that I've ever been with."
"You slept with Magus?" Claudia asked.
"Don't look so shocked. I'm not a beautiful woman like you. He has no problem dating women who look like me," Denisa said.
Claudia said, "Some attractive woman must have really done a number on him."
"I doubt it," Darla said.
"I'm sure that he figured out very quickly that beautiful women can get smart men to do very stupid things for them. I doubt he has ever let a beauty like either of you close to him," Denisa said.
"Unless she's a paid escort," Darla said.
"That goes without saying," Denisa said.
"Why does that go without saying?"
"Because an escort's interest in him ends when the money stops. He can end it at any time by stopping the money. No matter how beautiful she is, she's not going to have a chance to dictate the terms of the relationship. He knows that he can always rent a woman just a little prettier any time he wants one," Darla answered.
Denisa said, "I still don't know any more about him than I did fifteen years ago."
"Where did you meet him?" Claudia asked.
"Seattle," Denisa answered.
Claudia asked, "Were you a client of his?"
"Heavens no. As far as I know he has never dated a client," Denisa answered. "I met him at a security trade show."
"Oh," Claudia said. "He never goes out."
"Really? That doesn't sound like the Magus that I know," Denisa said sitting up a little straighter in her chair. This was the first hint of something new about Magus she had heard the entire lunch.
Claudia frowned and said, "I don't know if Magus has gone out once in the entire time I've known him. I'm pretty sure he hasn't."
Denisa said, "I bet you have no idea what he does during his evenings and weekends."
"That's true," Claudia said, "but I know who to ask."
"Phil," Denisa said with a grin.
"Exactly," Claudia said. She stood up and then sat right down again. Surprised, she said, "My legs don't work."
"No wonder, you had four drinks," Darla said.
"So did you," Claudia said pointing at the four empty glasses in front of Darla.
Darla didn't remember ordering a second drink, much less the fourth one. She said, "I never have more than one drink."
Denisa looked at the four empty glasses in front of her and asked, "How did that happen?"
"Ladies," Phil said stepping over to the table. "Magus sent me to take you home. He said that none of you would be in any condition to drive."
Wondering how long Phil had been around, Claudia asked, "How did he know we were here?"
Darla couldn't believe that she had actually gotten tipsy. In her line of work it didn't pay to get inebriated. She asked, "How did he know we were going to have too much to drink?"
"I don't know," Phil said.
"Don't worry ladies, the lunch was my idea. I'll pick up the bill," Denisa said. She realized that she had spent most of the lunch telling the others what she knew about Magus and not much time listening to what they knew.
"By the way, the bar bill is compliments of Magus," Phil said with a grin.
"He did it to me again," Denisa said with frustration evident in her voice. "He knows that when I drink I talk too much."