Mistress of Magic (2 page)

A little boy chortled with laughter. “She’s got your pen, mister!”

“You’ve got to give her a hug if you want it back!” another youngster warned.

“Hug a dinosaur?” he said in disbelief.

“Yes, yes!”

“Yeth!” the toothless child told him.

He shook his head in dramatic disbelief, then walked to the waiting dinosaur. Inside the costume, Reggie grinned at his whisper.

“There is a woman in there, I hope?”

Dierdre Dinosaur did not speak to the crowd. It was part of her magic, and that was the premise of the park—magic. The magic of the imagination, the magic of wonder. The magic of fantasy and the magic of belief.

“Please, have mercy, will you? You are a woman, right?” the man asked.

Dierdre Dinosaur gave him a slow nod. Then she realized that this stranger was a showman whether he had suspected it or not, for he threw his arms wide and enveloped her—massive costume and all—into a giant bear hug.

The children roared.

“Now, creature, my pen, please!” he commanded.

Dierdre gave him the pen. As he turned and started to walk away, she placed her three-toed hands together and set them palpitating over her heart. Once again, the children roared.

The man turned. Of course, by then, he was far too late. Dierdre was standing just as innocently as a creature of latex and foam could possibly stand.

“She wants a kiss goodbye!” a child called out.

“A big kith!” added the toothless one, passionately.

“You want me to kiss a monster?” the man asked.

“She’s not a monster!”

“She’s Dierdre Dinosaur!”

“And she loves you!”

“She loves everyone!”

“Hey, mister, don’t you know? She’s Dierdre Dinosaur!”

He knocked his palm against his head. “Of course! I know that! A kiss goodbye, huh?”

Through the big gauze eyes, Reggie could see his only slightly disconcerted expression as he walked toward her.

“You swear you’re a woman, right?” he said again.

He was so damned uncomfortable. She should shake her head. Make him really sweat. But she didn’t. She inclined her head instead.

“You’ve got me at one heck of a disadvantage, lady!”

She presented her cheek for a big kiss.

He sighed and planted a big kiss on it. “I don’t kiss monsters for just anybody,” he said.

She lifted a hand, indicating the gathering of children.

“You’re right!” he said very softly. “Kids are just kind of worth it, huh?”

She started to nod, but he was wagging a finger at her in warning. “Still, lady, you’ve had me at a disadvantage. Remember that!”

Then he turned and walked away. The kids were laughing and calling.

Dierdre Dinosaur stood still for a moment, watching him.

Then Dierdre lifted her three-toed hand and beckoned to a little boy, and suddenly she was thronged with children.

Dierdre signed autographs awkwardly.

But the woman inside the dinosaur costume kept watching the man. She watched him as his broad shoulders and sandy head disappeared into the crowd.

The sun seemed to disappear behind a cloud, right along with him; the day had grown a little bit darker.

I don’t even know him! she scolded herself. And there were so many serious things to worry about today.

But just like Dierdre, she felt as if her heart was palpitating hard against her breast.

And the day had, indeed, grown darker.

Fifteen minutes later she had managed to slip into the dinosaur cave from which she had come. As much as she loved playing Dierdre—and as well as the suits were crafted—the costumes could become unbearably hot in the kind of weather they were having, even though it was still early, not even summer yet. The rocky barriers of the cave gave way to one of the costume shops and to two dressing rooms, marked by some fun-loving employee as Dino Gals and Dino Guys. Dolly Duckbill—another of Reggie’s favorites of their character creations—had come into the cave behind her. Already removing Dolly’s headpiece was Dan Laredo, an old friend, a good friend, one who had been with her and Max from the beginning.

“Damnation, but it’s going to be a scorcher!”

“Hot as Hades,” Reggie agreed solemnly, “and watch that language with the kids.”

Dan shrugged. He was dark, with a crinkled, good-humored face. He let out an expletive that seemed to let her know how he felt about the whole day—no children could hear him here.

She grimaced, but laughed at his exaggerated, pained expression. Then she sobered quickly. “Thanks for still being here, Dan.”

“And playing a female dinosaur, at that!” he moaned.

“That should be the very least of your worries,” she told him. Dan was a good friend, all right. And a long-time employee. He and she were both playing dinosaurs this morning because so many of the employees had already resigned.

It was going to be a long day for him. Just as it was going to be a long day for her. The
big
meeting was scheduled to take place at noon.

The fate of the park was at hand.

“How true,” Dan said. Touchingly, he reached out a felt-clad hand. “Reggie, I will be here, you know. Till the very end.”

Something hollow seemed to echo in her heart. Dan seemed to believe that there would be an
end.
Soon.

Well, everyone believed that. Everyone who heard the story. And the story was becoming very widespread. There were so many whispers going around. So much was rumor.

So much was truth.

And Max. Max was being made to pay for it all.

For the thousandth time, Reggie damned her ex-sister-in-law. Then she was sorry she did so, and she silently, quickly prayed that the woman might be all right.

But something was wrong. Dreadfully wrong. Her ex-sister-in-law was missing.

Nothing had ever been enough for the woman. Nothing had ever been right. She and Max had seemed mismatched from the start. And Reggie had stayed away, determined never to let Max know her feelings. Never to be even the ghost of a note of discord between them. But then things had exploded on their own, the messy, sticky divorce had come about and now …

And now the woman was missing, and the police thought she was dead.

And they were making everyone think Max was responsible.

And while the rumors surfaced, the resignations began to pour in. Financial backers were pulling out. The park was in the midst of a crisis. Max’s silent partner was planning on making an appearance at the meeting, Reggie had heard, and she was nervous. She had never met W. D. Blake, but she could picture him—a stuffy old millionaire, ready to pull the curtains on Max.

But it wasn’t true. Max Delaney would never murder anyone. He might have been furious. He might have hated his ex-wife. And he might have put his fist through a wall, but he would never, never hurt a woman. Reggie knew her brother.

He hadn’t killed anyone. Until her dying day, Reggie would swear that Max had had nothing to do with the woman’s disappearance.

But that might not matter, not so far as the park mattered. The park might die anyway, just like Dan seemed to think.

“Reggie—” Dan began.

But she didn’t want to talk about it. She’d have to face it sooner or later. Sooner. The meeting would come soon enough. And for now, the depression was wearing down on her already.

Any more misery was going to have to wait!

“You were a wonderful Dolly Duckbill!” she told him cheerfully. “And I’m roasting! Scoot. I’ll see you later.” She gave him a shove toward the Dino Guys room and started for the Dino Gals. But as she started walking, she realized that there was a small tear along one of her felt-striped arms. She took an automatic turn toward the costume shop. Once inside the empty large room, she closed the door, then walked to one of the small sewing cabinets and set Dierdre’s head down while she rummaged in a drawer for a needle and thread.

She could leave the costume for later; she could also just go ahead and mend it now. It suddenly seemed important that she mend it. She and Max were going to have to save money. Despite the fact that it was summer, that the schools were out, people weren’t flocking here the way they had last year.

How could they? Speculation was out that Max Delaney might have murdered his ex-wife.

She couldn’t quite fix the tear with the costume on. She looked around, but only costumes and dinosaur eyes stared back at her. Impatient, she wriggled out of the costume and stood barefoot in her bra and underwear, the costume heavy in her hands. Brows knit, she tried to concentrate on the tear in the costume and not on the very serious issues that were plaguing her life.

She was good and quick with a needle. When she and Max had started out, they had made all their creatures by themselves, by hand. She had learned to sew, cut and baste, and she had done it all lovingly. It had been wonderful to see these creatures spring forth from their imaginations to become real before their eyes.

There was the slight sound of a movement—a shuffle?—something, and Reggie felt as if the hair on the back of her neck pricked up. She stuck her finger with her needle, and automatically issued a sharp, “Ouch!” Fool! If someone was spying on her, she needed to be silent!

There might be a murderer loose in the park, she thought suddenly. Since Max was
supposed
to be the murderer, and she knew that Max was innocent, then …

The costume shop was off limits to anyone but certain employees. In fact, once she had been inside, once that door had closed behind her, anyone would have needed a key to follow her.

“Who’s there?” she called out, hoping to sound authoritative. But her voice quavered.

“It’s all right,” came a voice in reply.

She froze. Not
a
voice.
His
voice. The man—the stranger from the crowd.

For a moment, she didn’t see him. Then she saw him standing between a costume of Tyrannosaurus Tex and one of the large industrial sewing machines. If she had turned before, she would have seen him.

“You!” she whispered.

What was he doing there? He must have been in the back when she had arrived. He had come up on her silently. He had been in the costume shop just as if he belonged there. As if he had every right to be there.

And he was serious once again. Very serious. Not even a hint of a smile touched the taut, grim contours of his mouth. The hard, almost world-weary look was in his eyes. Gold and hard, they stared at her, judging her.

He obviously hadn’t expected her to be here.

But he was the stranger! She was the one dressed up as Dierdre Dinosaur—No. She
had
been dressed as Dierdre Dinosaur. Now she was standing here barefoot in crimson bikini panties and a lace-frothed bra.

Absurdly, she was glad that she had drawn out matching underwear that morning.

Absurd, indeed! This man had no right to be here! And he certainly had no right to stare at her so, his handsome face so cold and hard.…

But then the look was suddenly gone. His hands were on his hips and a sizzle was in his eyes as he looked her up and down. A grin tugged at his lower lip.

“You
are
a woman,” he said softly.

Softly, and still the voice was a haunting one. So masculine. Now that she was practically naked, it seemed to touch her all the more, starting at the nape of her neck and stroking the length of her spine. Touch upon touch. A rasp of rough velvet …

“What in God’s name are you doing in here!” she managed to rasp out suddenly.

His brow arched high. He was silent for a beat, and she hurried on.

“You’ve no right to be in here! This is off-limits to anyone but employees. You have to get out. Now! Right now!” she emphasized indignantly.

If she had been dressed—if she hadn’t felt his eyes, and his voice, so keenly—would she have been so upset? She didn’t know, and she didn’t get a chance to know.

Because he wasn’t in a big hurry to leave. He was sauntering slowly toward her, and he seemed amused. Tremendously amused.

Suddenly he stood right in front of her. Only the costume held awkwardly in her hands stood between him and her near-naked form. He lifted a hand from his hip. A finger wagged just beneath her nose. “You were enjoying yourself out there, weren’t you? Tousling the hair, getting me to kiss a latex cheek and so on.”

She pulled the costume close to her chest with what she hoped was a great deal of dignity. “I was trying to entertain the children—”

“And I was at the disadvantage. I couldn’t see the face. Or the form.”

Her eyes narrowed on his hazel ones. “Well, you have seen both now. And you are not supposed to be in here! Now, if you don’t leave quickly, I’ll—”

“You’ll what? Call the dino police?” he asked lightly.

Her gaze sizzled. “We do have park security,” she warned steadily. He was behaving atrociously! He should be apologizing and hurrying out. He should be making up some sort of excuse for being where he shouldn’t be, in a place that was clearly marked out-of-bounds to park guests!

He was still staring at her.

“If you don’t—” she began.

“Indeed, you are a woman!” he murmured. There was amusement in his voice. It was annoying.

It also caused a whole new wave of tremors. The tone of his voice was still sexy. Dangerous, in a way.

Irritating.

And still … Sexy. Just like the way he watched her.

“Every inch a woman.” His eyes didn’t leave hers, but she knew he was remembering everything he had seen when his eyes had traveled over the length of her.

The finger wagging beneath her chin suddenly touched it. She felt as if his touch burned and seared her. As if she would feel it forever—Why was she letting him touch her?

She didn’t really think or wonder long, because as quickly as that touch had come, it was gone.

“I told you that
I
would have an advantage,” he said softly. “I hadn’t planned this, but …”

Now his eyes did roam the length of her. “You are at the disadvantage. And it’s been my most sincere pleasure.”

Her face reddened to crimson despite herself. Her voice lowered to a furious whisper.

“If you don’t—”

“I’m going,” he told her. But he still wasn’t in a hurry. He inclined his sandy head slightly. His mouth was still curled into a small grin of amusement. He stepped slowly around her. She turned, her eyes following him.