Jude Deveraux (15 page)

Turning,
she faced McBride. 'As you can see, no one has searched my room. That's because
they have no interest in me. If you look in
your
room, you'll probably
find it's been torn apart. Now, Mr. McBride, I'm going to take a shower, then
I'm going to meet a man I'm beginning to like a great deal. So if you'll excuse
me, I'll — '

She
wasn't prepared for Jared's lightning-fast movement. She had the door half
closed when his arm reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her out of the room.
He half threw her behind the door. 'What — ?' she began but didn't finish her
sentence because McBride nearly leaped into her bedroom. Was someone hiding in
there? She put her hand to her throat and her heart raced. When she heard no
sound from him, her heart calmed down and she tiptoed around the door. McBride
was standing in her room, staring at her bed. The covers had been thrown back,
but as   far   as   she  
could   see,   there   was   nothing
unusual. Straightening, she walked into the room. 'There's no one here,' she
said.

Jared
held out his arm to keep her from getting any closer to the bed. 'Go down to
the end of the hall,' he said quietly and calmly, 'and get a broom. No, get two
of them, then come back here. Don't make any noise and move slowly.'

She
wanted to ask questions, wanted to make him explain himself, but then she saw
her bedcovers move. Something was alive and under the covers! She backed out of
the room slowly, then ran down the hall to the closet that held the brooms and
the stairs down. The door was open, and two brooms and an old mop were halfway
out, but, as far as she could tell, no one but the two of them had been down
the stairs. It was so unusual for a staircase to lead out of a broom closet
that the intruders hadn't checked.

Grabbing
two brooms with sturdy handles, she went back to the bedroom. McBride hadn't
moved. In the middle of the bed was the head of a snake. It seemed to be warm
and cozy under Eden's covers and in no hurry to leave. It was staring up at
McBride as though it wanted to say hello.

Without
looking at her, Jared reached out his hand for the brooms. 'Would you please go
to that far window, open it, then go downstairs?' he said in a quiet, even
voice.

Eden
walked slowly toward the window, her back against the armoire that was against
the wall. The snake turned to look at her, but it didn't otherwise move. It
seemed to have chosen McBride as its prey, and Eden was of little interest. At
the window, she had to push upward hard. The wood in the windows had been
replaced as was necessary to keep them from rotting, but they were still over
two hundred years old — and they were a pain in the neck to work. More than
once, years ago, Eden had looked at the ads for Pella and Andersen windows with
longing.

Finally,
the window was up. There were no weights inside it so it wouldn't stay up. She
grabbed one of the blue boxes on the floor and stuck it in the window — she
hoped it was the spy's manuscript. Once the window was open, she made her way
back to the door, keeping against the wall and the furniture. As far as she
could tell, McBride hadn't taken his eyes off the snake. They seemed to be
hypnotized by each other.

Eden
left the room but stayed just outside the door and watched. As though he were a
snake charmer, McBride used a broom in his left hand to attract the snake's
attention. With his right, he eased the second broom down under the snake's
body, which had begun to emerge from under the warmth of the covers. It took
time and patience, but soon he had the broom handle under the snake. When Jared
lifted, the snake wrapped itself around the handle, and Jared quickly walked
toward the open window. It was only a few steps but it seemed to take an hour.
In one quick movement, he reached the window, then he dropped the enormous
snake outside.

Relieved,
Eden opened the door and started back into her bedroom, but McBride put his
hand up to stop her. 'Let me check the place out,' he said, then began a slow,
systematic search of her bedroom, then her bath.

He
found a little copperhead inside the big armoire at the foot of her bed. It
liked the warmth of the TV set and had curled up under it. Eden would never
have seen it until she was bitten as she reached for something inside the
cabinet. Under her bed, inside her gardening shoes, was a red-bellied moccasin.
In her bathroom, behind a stack of towels in a cupboard, was a cottonmouth.

She
stood at the door, growing weaker every time McBride pulled another poisonous
snake out of her room. She figured a sack full of them had been released in her
bedroom, then the door closed. She watched as he turned over chairs, stripped
the bed, lifted the mattress and springs. He climbed on a chair and looked on
top of the armoire, and on top of the mirror over the dresser. He lay down on
the floor on his back and scooted under her bed, looking over every inch of it
with a flashlight.

When he
was sure that her room was clean, they went to his bedroom and he began to
search it. There were no snakes in his room. Only in Eden's.

At
last, she sat down on the old chest in the hallway and sighed. 'Someone wants
me dead.'

'It
would look that way,' he said quietly, looking at her in speculation. 'You and
I have to figure out what you know or who you know. We have to — '

Everything
that was happening to her was so out of everyday life, that she couldn't really
deal with it. If she thought about what was happening now, she'd start thinking
about what happened to her when she was just a girl, and that would lead to
thinking about Mrs. Farrington's son. No, it was better to try to keep her life
as normal as possible. She looked at her watch, then jumped up and started
running for the stairs. 'I have to meet Brad!'

'Ms.
Palmer,' Jared called out, running down the stairs after her. 'You can't go
anywhere. It's too dangerous. Eden! Wait!'

She
paid no attention to him. As she ran through the hall downstairs, she grabbed
her handbag and her car keys and kept running toward her car.

'I have
to search your car. You cannot go! Do you hear me?'

Eden
unlocked her car door, then stood by it for a second. 'Mr. McBride, I am
forty-five years old and I've had to deal with loser men all my life. Now, at
last, I think I may have possibly found a winner. If you think that the FBI, a
bunch of murderers, and a few poisonous snakes are going to deter me, then all
I can say is that you don't know
anything
about women.'

Jared
barely made it into the passenger seat before she spun out of the driveway and headed
into Arundel.

'You
are a truly remarkable man,' Eden said as she used the rearview mirror of the
parked car to put on lipstick. Just down the road, she could see Brad's car at
the John Deere dealership. She could also see a long-haired young man standing
beside him, and from the stiffness of their bodies, she could tell they weren't
having a good time. Eden had pulled off the road to take the cosmetics she
always carried with her out of her bag and do her face. Her hair was a mess,
but thanks to a good New York cut, she could make it look all right. She lined
her eyes, curled her pale lashes, and coated them with mascara.

'It
would be too much for me to hope that that was a compliment,' Jared said. 'I
want to know what you're going to tell Granville about why I'm with you — and
planning to stay glued to you.'

'You're
remarkable because I've never heard anyone complain as much as you do. You've
not taken a breath between your complaints since we left the house.'

'I have
to use words because my department frowns on their agents using force on a
person they think might be an ordinary citizen.'

'I am
ordinary,' Eden said, glancing from the mirror to the dealership down the road.
Now Brad was gesturing at the young man. She'd better hurry before they resorted
to fisticuffs.

Jared
followed her glance. 'Don't you know that men don't like to be chased?' he
said.

She
gave him a look. 'Women do the choosing and every man knows that. You know,
you're beginning to sound jealous.'

'Not
quite. It may surprise you to know that outside of work I have a private life.
I even have a girlfriend.'

'I'm so
glad for you. Not for her, but for you.' She gave herself one last look in the
mirror, saw that it was the best she was going to be able to do, then turned
the key in the ignition and started the car.

'What
are you going to tell him about me?' Jared asked again. 'And you'd better think
of something, because I'm not going to leave your side. You get killed under my
watch and I'll never get my pension.'

She
gave him a quick look to see if he was kidding. 'Who could imagine that
you
have
a girlfriend?' she muttered.

In
seconds, she was at the tractor dealership. She parked the car at the far side
of the lot and walked toward Brad. She was determined to ignore McBride and to
forget all about what they'd been through that morning. She wasn't going to let
Brad know anything about spies or the FBI or men who tore up her house. She
knew the people of Arundel; they maybe have forgiven her for an illegitimate
child, but whatever had happened in her life to make the FBI interested in her
might be too much.

On the
short ride into town, McBride hadn't shut up about how serious the matter was,
and how they had to figure out what she knew and why Applegate had swallowed
her name. He told her that she should stay away from Granville until this was
settled. When he'd pointed out that if those sapphires were ever found, she, as
Mrs. Farrington's heir, would be the owner of them, Eden's eyes sparked fire.
'Are you hinting that Braddon Granville is after what I own — if it were even
to be found, that is? Are you saying that he doesn't like
me
but what I
may have inherited?'

Jared
had backed down after that.

Now, as
she walked toward Brad, wishing she'd thought to grab some clothes other than jeans,
she was trying to think about how she was going to explain McBride's presence.
What was she to say about why he was with her? That she felt so guilty about
hurting him that she was adopting him? How was she to explain that he intended
to follow her everywhere? At least that's what he was saying he was going to
do. He said he was going to remain in her house and search her room every day,
and that he was going to set up surveillance equipment outside. He said he was
determined that she wasn't going to get killed while he was in charge of her
safety. She would have been flattered by his concern if he hadn't said it in a
way that made her think that her death would be nothing more than a blot on his
record.

'I'm
sorry I'm late,' Eden said, holding out her hand to shake Brad's. She was very
aware of McBride behind her and of Brad's questioning eyes on him. Brad 
look her hand, but  men he leaned forward and kissed her cheeks, one after
the other in the European way. Eden wanted to throw her arms around his neck
and tell him of all the horrible things that had happened to her that morning.
But she didn't. She kept calm and looked past Brad at the tall young man behind
him. He was handsome, but he also looked angry and sullen.

'You
must be Mr. Robicheaux,' Eden said, extending her hand.

'Yeah,'
he said, taking her hand but looking confused as to who she was and why she was
there. He also looked at the man behind her.

'McBride,
isn't it?' Brad said, extending his hand to shake Jared's. 'Are you looking for
a tractor to buy?'

'Actually,
I'm following Eden. We're cousins,' McBride said.

Eden
didn't look at him. She kept her eyes on Brad and gave him a weak smile, and
had no idea what to say.

But she
didn't have to worry, as McBride took care of the explanation. She should have
known that he was a fabulous liar in all aspects of life. 'Third cousins, so
we're not really close. On her mother's side, so the names are different. We
were truly amazed to find the connection, but then I was told that I had
relatives out this way, so that's why I came here in the first place. My
mother's people knew Eden's mother, but our families weren't close. You know
how that is.' Halting, he gave Brad a huge smile.

Slowly,
so she wouldn't erupt in anger, Eden turned to Jared. 'I think we have other
things to talk about than our, uh, relationship,' she said calmly. 'And I don't
think Mr. Granville wants to hear about our family connection, such as it is.
Mr., uh, Jared, why don't you go inside and get yourself a Coca-Cola? I'm sure
there's a machine inside.'

'Only
if you go with me, cousin dear,' he said, smiling at her. Taking a step toward
her, he put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. 'Imagine my delight in
finding my own cousin. After all these years apart, now I can't bear to be away
from her for even a minute.'

Eden,
her eyes on Brad's, kicked sideways, knowing that she'd hit the pistol strapped
to McBride's ankle and cause him pain. He covered his wince of pain well, but
his fingers dug into Eden's shoulders until tears came to her eyes. Twisting,
she got out from under his grasp. 'Maybe we should talk about the business at
hand,' she said.

'Yes,
well, uh,' Brad said, looking from Eden to Jared and back again.

Eden
turned to the young man who'd been watching all of this with the same
sullenness, but now there seemed to be a hint of amusement in his eyes. He is
one good-looking young man, she thought, and she could see why Camden Granville
had fallen for him. The sullen, angry look wasn't something that would appeal
to her, but she could imagine that some girls would like it. 'What has Brad
told you about me?' she asked, turning her back on Brad and McBride, who were
glaring at each other like dogs about to fight.

Reluctantly,
Remi took his eyes away from the men. He seemed to be enjoying his
father-in-law's discomfort. 'Not a word, ma'am,' he said in that accent of deep
Louisiana. Cajun.

Oh,
yeah, Eden thought. She understood Camden completely. She headed toward the
small tractors, away from the quarter-of-a-million-dollar combines, and Remi
followed. Behind them, Brad and McBride walked slowly, side by side.

'I've
had some experience in designing eighteenth-century-style gardens,' she said to
Remi. 'So Brad thought that maybe you and I could work together. Do you think
that's possible?'

'If
you're willing to put up with my father-in-law's tightfistedness, and his
constant complaining, yeah, sure. What do I know about designing fancy gardens?
At home we let the Lord grow what we eat.'

She
smiled at him. 'If I plant okra will you make me a pot of gumbo?'

'Why,
shore, sugah,' he said, drawling. 'I'll cook you anythin' you want.'

Yes,
indeedy, Eden thought. Understand it well. 'If you don't know about garden
design, what do you know about landscaping?'

'If you
ask my father-in-law, not a damned thing, but I know about the land and plants
and about machines. What else do I need to know?'

'Nothing,'
Eden said and almost added 'darlin'.' 'Can you set fence posts? Lay bricks in concrete?
Most important, can you take orders from a woman?'

'Been
doin' it all my life in one way or another,' he said, smiling at her in that
soft way that only Southern men can. 'And if I don't know how to do it, I can
learn. Maybe you'll teach me.'

'Maybe
I will,' she said in the same tone. Oh! But it was good to be back in the
South!

She had
no way of knowing until she'd actually worked with him, but she thought that
maybe she and Remi were going to get along well after all. Her worry had been
that he'd want to interfere in the designing. What she needed were some strong
young men and some machines, not budding designers. 'I don't know about you,
but don't you just love that tractor over there?'

He
grinned at her. 'Looks good to me. If you can get ol' man Granville to part
with the money, that's more than I can do.'

'Maybe
he can't afford it,' she said softly, remembering the evil that McBride had put
into her head.

'He can
afford it,' Remi said. 'He could buy everything on this lot with what's in his
checking account. Remember when Compaq computers was going bust? He bought a
lot of their stock then. When they came out with a new computer that outsold
everything on the market, he sold his stock. He made millions. Multimillions.
He can afford anything. He just thinks that I'm a lower class than he is,
that's all. I'm an embarrassment to him.'

Frowning,
Eden turned to look back at Brad. He was standing beside McBride, and they were

talking
earnestly. She wondered what lies McBride was telling him. They were two very
handsome men. Brad was an inch or two shorter, but he was built more
powerfully, with a thick, broad chest that tapered down to a small waist and
trim hips. McBride was leaner, darker. Brad had gray hair that made him look
distinguished. You could see that he was a man of importance. McBride had dark
hair and eyebrows, and he looked as though he'd be at home in a sports car with
a model beside him. Two very different men.

She
looked back at Remi. When she was his age, she too was disgusted at the unfairness
of parents. When she was twenty-five, she'd had a boyfriend who was from a
rich, educated family. He was sweet and kind and she'd liked him a lot — until
she met his family. They'd quizzed her relentlessly, and she'd failed with
every answer she gave. After that, it had only been a matter of time before the
boy quit calling. At the time, Eden had hated the injustice of it all. The
parents hadn't judged her on herself but on where she'd come from and what had
happened to her to make her a mother at eighteen years old.

But as
Melissa had grown up and started dating, Eden had changed. She'd wanted the
best of the best for her daughter. When Melissa had dated a boy who rode a
motorcycle and had tattoos, Eden had been nearly hysterical. Melissa had accused
her of being a snob and a bigot.

Now,
looking at Remi, she could see his side and Brad's. Brad had wanted what he
thought was the best for his daughter, but she'd married a man who — Eden
smiled to herself. 'Made her bones rattle.' That's what a coworker had said
once, that she wanted a man who 'made her bones rattle.'

'Can
you work that tractor?' Eden asked Remi.

He gave
her a look that said, Just try me.

Coming
toward them was a salesman, and Eden asked if Remi could test-drive the
tractor, which had a front-end loader and what looked to be a half a dozen
attachments sitting beside it. She glanced back at Brad and McBride. They were
now talking in a relaxed, friendly manner. Their earlier animosity seemed to
have gone, and they now had smiles on their faces. They looked as though they
were planning to do something together. Play golf?

The
salesman got the key to the tractor, and minutes later Remi was in the seat,
giving a demonstration of what he could do. He knew the controls on the tractor
as though he'd invented the machine. If he was half as good in other aspects of
landscaping as he was on the tractor, she knew they weren't going to have a
problem.

When
Eden glanced at Brad, she saw that he'd given a cursory look at his son-in-law,
but he seemed to be mostly interested in whatever he and McBride were
discussing.

Suddenly,
Brad looked at his watch, and an expression of panic crossed his face. He
turned to Eden. 'I have to go. The big meeting with the buyers is today. You'll
go with me, won't you?'

It 
was   all   Eden   could  
do   to   not   look   at McBride for
permission. But the truth was that she wanted to do most anything in the world
rather than go back to the house she loved so much. Visions of the secretary
sprawled across the hall floor, and the snakes in her bedroom, ran across her
mind. Part of her knew she should return to Farrington Manor and start going
through those manuscripts piled in a corner in her bedroom. She needed to start
on them for her publishing house's sake, but she also needed to start looking
for anything she could find out about that spy who had eaten her name. Just the
thought of it made her stomach turn. It was one thing to watch such things on
CSI,
but quite another to think that your name had been found inside a man's
stomach. She was sure it was irresponsible of her, but right now she couldn't
bear the thought of going back home.