Chapter 6

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.