The Case of the Missing Secretary

Diana Palmer

Logan Deverell has infuriated Kit Morris for the last time. She's had enough of her boss's temper, his ingratitude and, most of all, his complete oblivion to her feelings for him. But she certainly manages to get his attention when she quits and joins the Lassiter Agency as their newest detective.Once he gets over his initial anger, Logan feels lost and miserable without Kit. Realizing what he needs to do, Logan vows to get Kit back…but he'll have to offer a lot more than a job–he'll have to give her his heart.

Dear Reader,

I really can’t express how flattered I am and also how grateful I am to Harlequin Books for releasing this collection of my published works. It came as a great surprise. I never think of myself as writing books that are collectible. In fact, there are days when I forget that writing is work at all. What I do for a living is so much fun that it never seems like a job. And since I reside in a small community, and my daily life is confined to such mundane things as feeding the wild birds and looking after my herb patch in the backyard, I feel rather unconnected from what many would think of as a glamorous profession.

But when I read my email, or when I get letters from readers, or when I go on signing trips to bookstores to meet all of you, I feel truly blessed. Over the past thirty years, I have made lasting friendships with many of you. And quite frankly, most of you are like part of my family. You can’t imagine how much you enrich my life. Thank you so much.

I also need to extend thanks to my family (my husband, James, son, Blayne, daughter-in-law, Christina, and granddaughter, Selena Marie), to my best friend, Ann, to my readers, booksellers and the wonderful people at Harlequin Books—from my editor of many years, Tara, to all the other fine and talented people who make up our publishing house. Thanks to all of you for making this job and my private life so worth living.

Thank you for this tribute, Harlequin, and for putting up with me for thirty long years! Love to all of you.

Diana Palmer

DIANA PALMER

The prolific author of more than one hundred books, Diana Palmer got her start as a newspaper reporter. A multi–New York Times bestselling author and one of the top ten romance writers in America, she has a gift for telling the most sensual tales with charm and humor. Diana lives with her family in Cornelia, Georgia.

Visit her website at www.DianaPalmer.com.

The Case of the Missing Secretary

Diana Palmer

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

With love to SPC Tracy Adams 4th MMC,

13th COSCOM—please write!

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter One

Kit Morris was just barely lucid as she stormed into the Lassiter Detective Agency, her short black hair falling in wet strings around her face, her blue eyes huge and red-rimmed. Her tall, slender figure was clad in a gray suit that had been immaculate just that morning, paired with a soft white blouse and an extravagant silk blue-patterned scarf. Now the whole outfit was a dripping mess—like Kit’s nerves.

It was Tess Lassiter’s day substituting for her husband Dane’s receptionist, so she was the first person Kit saw when she dragged into the office. Kit and Tess had been best friends for years, long before Tess married Dane Lassiter, who’d been Tess’s boss at the time. Kit and Tess had a lot in common. Not that Kit had a single bald chance of ever marrying her boss. Her ex- boss, that was. At the moment, Kit would much rather stand him up against a mesquite tree and put a fountain pen through his black heart than walk down the aisle with him.

“What happened to you?” Tess exclaimed. “My goodness, Kit, you look terrible!”

“Of course I look terrible! He put me out of the car on Travis Street!”

“That’s five blocks from here,” Tess mumbled. “He who?”

“Can’t you guess?” Kit wailed. “It was him! My boss! My ex-boss,” she corrected furiously, shaki