A touch of love (19 page)

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"Enough," Jesse ordered. 'There has to be another way."

"If there was, the police would have found it." Aubrey picked up the tape recorder as she swept by Jesse and went on down the hallway to the boys' bedrooms. She walked into the first, and held her breath, but like the rest of the house, her only impression was one of immense sorrow. She tarried only a minute in the second bedroom, and then turned to find Jesse waiting at the doorway.

"Nothing?" he asked.

Aubrey's brow furrowed slighdy with concentration. "There's definitely a presence here, but it's merely a mist of sadness. It's as though the house knows it's empty and misses the Ferrells." Aubrey shut off the recorder. "Perhaps I'm romanticizing things, or projecting my own emotions into this."

Jesse had never wanted to hold a woman more to simply offer the comfort of his presence rather than sex, but the chill of the house was giving him the creeps, and he wanted to leave. "I've walked through the house several times, but if it's holding any clues, neither the police nor I could find them."

A math book was open on the desk, and Aubrey laid her hand on it, but felt only the cool slickness of the paper rather than the happy noise of a classroom. "The police have a substance in a spray that can detect the presence of blood even after it's been washed away. I saw it in a TV movie once, and the effect was stunning. Did they try it here?"

"I believe it's called luminol, and yes. It was used here, with absolutely no result. But there are plenty of ways to kill people without splattering the walls with blood."

"That's a pleasant thought." The chill had begun to sink into Aubrey's bones, and she rubbed her arms briskly. "Come on. Let's cover the furniture and go."

They completed the chore quickly, but as Aubrey made a final pass through the kitchen, she glanced out the window at the double car garage. "Let's go out the backdoor and check the garage."

Jesse felt as though he had already asked too much and reluctantly followed her outside. He was suffering from a strange combination of disappointment and relief, and was anxious to go. The garage was padlocked, but he sorted through the keys his aunt had given him and found one to unlock it. He then moved to the center, grabbed the handle, and raised the heavy wooden door. Two cars were parked inside, a silver Toyota van and a white Chevrolet Camaro.

"How many cars did your cousins own?" Aubrey asked.

"Just these two, which made the police's insistence that they'd probably skipped town all the more absurd. They checked the records of the taxi companies and airport vans, and none had made a pickup here. There were no airline nor bus reservations in their names.

"Their disappearance wouldn't have been noted as quickly as it was had there not been a PTA meeting that night. When Marlene didn't show up, one of her friends came by and saw all the lights on, but no one answered the door. When the boys didn't arrive at school the next day, she was so worried she called the police, but there's been no progress from that day to this."

"I'm sorry I couldn't find anything."

"You needn't apologize."

Aubrey had hoped to sense or find something others had overlooked, and hated to walk away without making every effort to do so. She took a step into the garage and shivered, but it was no longer due to the chill of the air. She closed her eyes, and after a moment, an eerie wail coiled through her mind. Something awful had happened

there, and the memory still mingled with the dust motes floating in the air.

She turned and reached out for Jesse. "Come stand here beside me and tell me what you feel. I swear I can hear the silent screams you heard at Andersonville. Can you?"

Jesse came forward and gripped her hand tightly. He closed his eyes in an effort to suppress the background noise from the neighborhood. There was the annoying whine of a leafblower as a gardener cleaned up a yard, and farther up the street a dog was barking out low, lazy howls.

The well-tended landscape at Andersonville had been silent save for the chirping of the birds, and surrounded by acres of low grave markers, Jesse had been immersed in the site's former horror. The sorrow there had rolled up against him in waves, but here, he had to fight all the outside distractions to touch what couldn't be seen. He deepened his breathing, coaxing the presence forth, and just as he was about to give up the attempt as futile, he heard it, too.

Tears instantly flooded his eyes. "It's Marlene. She's begging them not to take the boys. Oh, God." What Jesse felt then was a sorrow so intense he could barely remain on his feet, and had Aubrey not pulled him back out onto the sunlit driveway, he surely would have collapsed. Badly embarrassed to have cried in front of her, he hastily wiped away his tears, then bent over and rested his hands on his knees while he struggled to catch his breath.

"I told you the power was in you, Jesse, but you didn't believe me. Maybe we each have only a particle of what it takes to function as a psychic, but together, it's enough for brief flashes of insight."

When Jesse straightened up, he felt drained, as though he had aged ten years in a matter of minutes while Aubrey

was as cool and composed as she was during her seminars. 4 Just what did you hear?"

''Merely an anguished cry. You're the one who identified the source, and understood the plea. We are dealing with monsters here, Jesse, and their own arrogance will be their undoing."

She projected a confidence Jesse envied, and he quickly closed the garage, then looped his arm around her shoulders as they walked to his truck. "Let's just go home and rest this afternoon. I don't know what to do next, but maybe something will occur to us tomorrow."

Aubrey had already volunteered to be bait, but Jesse was far too upset to remind him of that now. "Would you like me to drive?"

"Are you kidding? Hell, no. I'm not that shaken up." But Jesse couldn't recall another instance when he had felt so emotionally drained. He gave Aubrey's bottom a playful swat as she climbed up into the Chevy's cab, and then quickly circled around to the driver's side. As he unlocked his door, an engine's low rumble caught his attention and he glanced up in time to see a gold Corvette swing around the corner.

He yanked open his door, and leaped in. "Did you see that?"

"What?" Aubrey had been touching up her lipstick.

Jesse slammed the truck into gear and peeled away from the curb. "There was a gold Corvette parked up the street and that can't have been a coincidence."

"We're being followed?"

Jesse didn't respond, he just turned the first corner as sharply as he could and the next in a skidding slide. "If he beats us back to the freeway, we'll never catch him." He swore under his breath, but when they left the subdivision and turned out onto the thoroughfare, the Corvette

A TOUCH OF LOVE 181

was nowhere in sight. Jesse swore a bitter oath. "We've lost him."

"I should have been more alert."

"It's not your fault. At least we know that as long as whoever's following us stays close, he can't have tampered with anything at your home."

"That's some consolation," Aubrey mused, but she kept a close watch on the adjoining lanes as they drove back toward Pasadena. When they got home, she didn't argue with Jesse when he insisted upon going inside first, but as soon as he motioned for her to enter, she pulled a box of Pillsbury Lemon Cheesecake Bars from the cupboard and tied on an apron.

"You're going to cook?" Jesse asked incredulously.

"Yes. It's marvelous therapy. Besides these are delicious and I'm hungry. What about you?"

"Yeah. I could do with some lunch. Shall we steam up a bucket of squash?"

Aubrey was already greasing a retangular baking pan. "I've a can of tuna. I'll make sandwiches. "Just give me a minute to get the lemon bars in the oven."

"I can mix up a can of tuna," Jesse insisted. "I wouldn't have survived this long if I couldn't cook the basics."

"Tuna is definitely in that category." Aubrey moved out of his way so that he could get a small bowl, and soon he was prowling the refrigerator for things to add. "Bell pepper is good along with celery, and I always add a few pecans."

"Pecans?" Jesse winced. He liked just plain tuna and mayonnaise but apparently Aubrey couldn't open a can of tuna without turning it into a gourmet treat. "You're one hell of a woman, Ms. Glenn."

Aubrey slid the pan of lemon bars into the preheated oven. "Where did that come from?"

"It just popped out." He nudged her with his hip and began to chop celery on the counter. "My mother wasn't

the best cook in the world, so I began fending for myself real early. To this day I can't stand the sight of meatloaf."

"That wasn't one of her best recipes?" Aubrey carried the mixing bowl to the sink and filled it with water.

"Hers more closely resembled an adobe brick than anything edible. It's a wonder we didn't bust our teeth trying to chew it."

Aubrey couldn't help but be amused. "What did your father say about your mother's cooking?"

"Well, he wasn't what anyone would describe as particular, and I don't believe he ever noticed. He was fond of snacking on beef jerky, which will tell you a lot about his tastes."

Aubrey tried to imagine what his parents must look like, but even observing him for inspiration, they refused to come clear. "Are your parents still living?"

Jesse diced a couple of slices of bell pepper before replying. "No. They're both gone. They died within a couple of months of each other a few years back. Hand me a spoon for this, will you?"

Aubrey quickly supplied a mixing spoon, then not wanting to hover, she sat down at the breakfast table and sorted through the paper. Larry had never expressed any interest in cooking, and it was a pleasant change to have Jesse help prepare a meal. She stole frequent glances at him as he finished making their sandwiches. He muttered about the mayonnaise when he discovered she had the fat-free variety, but once he sat down with her and took a bite of his sandwich, he ceased to complain.

"This is delicious," Aubrey said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I have to admit the pecans add an unexpected crunch," Jesse replied. He would have liked a big handful of potato chips, but hadn't found any in the cupboard and supposed they lacked sufficient nutritional value to justify Aubrey's buying them. "I probably ought

to go by my aunt's place this afternoon. I don't have much to report, but—"

"Don't tell her about the pool," Aubrey urged.

"I won't even be tempted, but I sure wish I did have something tangible to report."

Aubrey paused in mid-bite. She had always known Jesse would be returning home soon, but the prospect of his leaving in another day or two was surprisingly painful. They had made no real progress, however, and she knew he could not remain with her indefinitely. That she would even consider the possibility amazed her.

"I really enjoy your company," she suddenly blurted out, "but even if we had met under different circumstances, I doubt anything would have come it. So please don't delay your return home because of me."

This comment, coupled with her earlier one about their not having a future together, made Jesse wonder if Aubrey weren't saying what she thought he wanted to hear. "I don't know about that," he argued. "They say opposities attract, and we're about as opposite as two people can be."

Aubrey took exception to his sly grin. "I'll grant you that people can sometimes be attracted to a complete opposite, and those relationships are generally passionate, but they're also brief. It's people with similar interests and tastes who remain together."

"Doesn't that strike you as the perfect formula for boredom? I'd rather be by myself than with a woman who was exacdy like me. Hell, she'd just get in my way." Jesse got up and carried his plate over to the dishwasher. "I like women with spirit, who'll teach me something new, rather than women who are so eager to please, they lose themselves in every man they meet. That's Shelley's problem. She's all wrapped up in that worthless rat. What's his name?"

"Ricky Vance."

4 'Yeah. Wouldn't it be nice if you could buy courage in a can and spray it up and down Shelley's spine?"

"Or Ricky's. He's the one who needs a boost of character in my view." Aubrey wasn't certain how they had digressed to Shirley's miserable lovelife, but having made so many mistakes herself with Larry, she did not want to pursue it. Fortunately the timer on the stove began to chime, and she had to get up to remove the lemon bars from the oven.

"These really need to cool slightly, but I think I'll just go ahead and cut them while they're still warm and you can take some over to Edith."

'They sure smell delicious. It's a shame all pretty girls can't cook."

"You made the sandwiches from scratch. I baked these from a mix, but what if I were to say what a terrible shame it is that all handsome men can't cook?"

As Aubrey picked up a knife, Jesse moved around to the other side of the cooking island. "Handsome men usually have other talents," he claimed in an engaging drawl.

"So do pretty girls, but why are we talking about men and girls, instead of men and women?"

"I think you better hurry and slap those cookies on a plate before I get myself any deeper into trouble here."

"You see? If we're not focused on finding your missing cousins, we don't get along well at all."

Aubrey ran the knife blade over the lemon bars, gendy scoring the golden top before she began to slice. Jesse waited until she was finished to comment. "It's never wise to argue with a woman, "he stressed the word, "with a knife in her hand, but we sure didn't lack for compatibility last night."

Aubrey could feel the heat of a blush rise in her cheeks, but forced herself to be equally flippant. "No, we didn't, but I've already warned you not to make more of it than it was."

1 'Ah, yes, just one of those life-affirming lays after coming close to ending up dead like that singed opposum?"

Aubrey placed half a dozen lemon bars on a plate, and covered them with plastic wrap. That hadn't been her thought at the time, but she let him believe that it had. "You guessed it." She shoved the plate toward him and he took it. "Please tell your aunt hello for me."

Jesse looked down at her, his expression mirroring his confusion. He had never wanted anything permanent with a woman, so why was he arguing with Aubrey when she dismissed the possibility? That was just plain stupid, unless she was a whole lot more clever than the women he usually met and was using reverse psychology on him. Because that theory was flattering as well as probable, he flashed a ready grin.

"I won't stay long, sweetheart. Keep the doors locked and don't let anyone in." He grabbed a lemon bar and moaned with contentment on his way out.

"I'll be fine," Aubrey called after him, but he hadn't been gone ten minutes before she picked up the telephone, dialed information, and got Harlan Caine's number. She made a note of it, then ate a couple of the delectable lemon bars while she gave what she wished to do thorough consideration. Jesse had not offered a revised plan when their visit to his cousin's house had failed to yield more than heartrending cries no one else could hear. Therefore, it was now up to her to proceed.

With that justification well in mind, she dialed the number and greeted Harlan warmly. "Mr. Caine? My name is Aubrey Glenn. I know you've undoubtedly been questioned innumerable times about the disappearance of the Ferrell family, but I wonder if you have time tomorrow to speak with me about them? It's a mere formality, really. The family asked my help in locating the Ferrells, but I've no training as a detective, and as soon as I can assure

them I've done what little I could without result, they'll be content/'

She wrote down the time and address Harlan supplied, and thanked him profusely before saying good-bye. Her hand shook as she replaced the receiver, but the appointment was made, and she knew Jesse would go with her. The only problem would be in admitting that she had called Harlan without discussing it with him first, but she felt certain he would eventually come around to her way of thinking. Eventually.

She still didn't have a clear plan, but any effort was better than calmly waiting for a second attempt on her life. She slid the lemon bars into the refrigerator, then went upstairs to put on her bikini. It was a lovely afternoon, and she didn't want to waste another minute of it.

Harlan Caine stared at the telephone for a long moment before turning the full fury of his anger on John Gilroy. "The bitch called me!" he shrieked. "I told you to get rid of her, and here she is calling me as sweet as a cherub. You bet I have time to see her.

"That pool stunt was pathetic. If you can't do any better than that, I'll find someone who can, and you can file for unemployment. There's got to be plenty of work at other firms for bungling fools; there's so damn many of you."

John moved to the front of his chair and gestured helplessly. "Calm down, Mr. Caine. Give her a tour of the construction site. There are a million ways for her to break her neck there."

Harlan left the chair behind his desk and began to pace alongside it. "Don't you think that's a bit obvious? The police can't pin a damn thing on me, but if corpses start piling up there, they're bound to get suspicious!"

John cowered back in his chair. "Give me a few days to come up with something good/'

Harlan came to a halt and fixed him with a threatening stare. "You have until eleven o'clock tomorrow morning, and not a minute more. Now get out of here. I'm sick of looking at you."

John bolted out the back door, then slowed so that it wouldn't slam shut behind him. Harlan couldn't stand to have his door slammed, and he didn't dare upset him any further than he already had. He wiped the sweat forming on his brow on his sleeve and squared his shoulders. Harlan was just loud, that was all. The man couldn't possibly want to replace him when he knew so much.

Buoyed by that thought, John strode out into the sunlight, certain he would have a damn good plan ready long before tomorrow.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Is Edith upset by our lack of progress?"

Jesse hadn't expected her to play innocent, but it was a convincing act. "No. She's grateful that we've tried to do what we can, so she's definitely not the problem. You are," he stressed. "Hasn't it occurred to you that I could just as easily have been Harlan Caine just now? What if he had caught you napping and rather than a kiss, plunged a knife clear through your belly?"

Jesse had just given Aubrey the perfect opening to reveal that she had made an appointment with the developer, but knowing he was unlikely to be pleased, she dared not do so when he was already upset with her. "Guinevere would have barked had a stranger come to the gate, and he wouldn't have caught me napping."

"She didn't notice my presence the first time I came here until you spoke to me."

Aubrey leaned down to scratch her hairy pet's ears. "That was unlike her."

Exasperated that he was getting nowhere, Jesse got to his feet. "I suppose I should be grateful I didn't find you in the pool."

Aubrey glanced toward the sparkling water and found it wonderfully inviting. "Well, now that you're here to call the paramedics, should I need them, I think I will go for a swim."

Aubrey rolled off the opposite side of the chaise before Jesse could catch her, entered the pool with a flat, racing dive, and started swimming toward the deep end with quick, graceful strokes. She had more problems than she cared to count, but forgot them all in the simple joy of exertion. When she returned to the shallow end, she looked up to find Jesse removing his shirt. She turned and continued swimming. It wasn't until he overtook her that she swiftly discovered he hadn't bothered to don trunks.

"What are you doing?" she gasped.

"What does it look like?" Treading water, Jesse came close and with a couple of rapid tugs, untied the top of her bikini and tossed it up on the deck. "This is a private pool. Why do we need bathing suits?"

He had seen her nude, so feigning modesty seemed absurd, and yet Aubrey feared things were already dangerously out of hand. "Let's hope the pool man was here this morning, or the pool won't be nearly as private as you've assumed."

Jesse tossed his head to flick the water from his hair. "I'll risk it." He dipped beneath the surface and pulled Aubrey down with him. His hands circled her waist, and when she struggled to get free, he yanked away the bottom half of her bikini. When they came up for air, she swung at him with a playful swat, but he just waved the bright pink bikini bottom like a flag.

Aubrey would have relieved him of his trunks had he been wearing them, but unable to turn the tables on his trick, she dunked him with a savage lunge. She then swam out of his reach and headed for the shallow end. He overtook her again, grabbed her foot, and pulled her back down under the water, but his grasp was light, and she easily escaped him.

Aubrey circled, intent upon revenge, and when Jesse continued to elude her, she dived deep, and coming up under him, grabbed his knees to pull him down with her. They rose to the surface in a lazy spiral, but the gleam in Jesse's eyes warned Aubrey she was in trouble. She hit the water with the heel of her hand to splash him in the face. "You started this!"

"I'll finish it, too!" Jesse surged forward and caught Aubrey in a bear hug. He kicked to propel them to the side of the pool where he could still stand easily, while she couldn't touch bottom with her toes. He pressed up against

her, molding his body to hers, and nibbled her earlobe. She tasted faintly of chlorine, but that scarcely diminished his pleasure.

Aubrey had to hang on to Jesse's shoulders to keep her head above water. They were so close she could not mistake his state of arousal. "Jesse, please. This isn't a good idea."

"It's the best one I've had all day," he breathed against her lips. He kissed her before she could offer any further protest, and slid his hand down her thigh to encourage her to wrap her legs around his waist.

Aubrey grabbed a handful of Jesse's hair, but slippery wet, it slid right through her fingers. "Not here!" she scolded.

"Perfect place," Jesse argued before kissing her again, and again.

Surrounded by the seductive warmth of the water and Jesse's fiery heat, Aubrey was tempted to give in to the madness of his desire, but she could not forget, as appar-endy he had, that the consequences could be dire. "Jesse," she hissed. "Stop it!"

Jesse leaned back slightly to search her expression for more than her words revealed. "Why?"

"Damn it. You know why. Let's go inside where we can protect more than our reputations."

Jesse moaned way back in his throat. Aubrey's whole body was caressing his with what he had mistaken for abandon, but when he raised his hand to cup her breast and brushed the tightly puckered nipple with his thumb, her steady gaze didn't soften. He knew she was right, but being right had never been much fun.

"Okay," he gave in reluctandy. "I'll let you go if we can go straight to your room and continue this there."

"It's a deal, but try not to drip too much water on the rug."

Jesse stepped back and pulled her along with him toward

the shallow end. When she stood, he watched the smooth undulation of her hips as she climbed the steps to the deck and thought no artist's version of the birth of Venus had ever been more enchanting. She stopped to grab the towel on the chaise, dried off quickly, and then, apparently comfortable nude, tossed the towel to him. He wrapped it around his hips and followed her in the side door.

"Do you want something to drink?'' she asked as they entered the kitchen.

Jesse took hold of her upper arm and guided her toward the stairs. "Better keep right on walking, or I can no longer be responsible for my actions." He almost asked if she paraded around nude when she had been married to Larry, but caught himself before he ruined her enticing mood with wretched memories.

As they entered her bedroom, Aubrey tried to recall the last time she had made love in the afternoon, if ever. Jesse began to sling the pillows heaped on her bed every which way, and she reached out to grab one as it came flying by. "Careful," she chided, but he ripped back the beribboned comforter with the same urgency and then turned toward her with a desperate glint in his eye.

She threw the pillow at him, and their game began anew with skillful dodges and sudden dashes around and then up and over the bed. They were both laughing, and their spirits so high that when Jesse finally caught up with Aubrey and pulled her down on the bed, she made no further attempt to elude him. Instead, she yanked away his towel and slid down over him, spreading a trail of kisses that brought him to the brink of rapture before allowing him a moment to grab one of the condoms he had left on the nightstand.

Their lovemaking had been slow and sweet last night, but that afternoon they came together in a heated rush that spun them with a tornado's fury, and then left them

fully sated in each other's arms. Aubrey clung to that shared bliss as she fell asleep to the comforting rhythm of Jesse's breathing, but when he awakened her later, the loving warmth of their erotic interlude was quickly chilled by thoughts of Harlan Caine. She sat up slowly and pushed her tangled curls from her eyes.

The sunset's last rays lent the bedroom a rosy glow but her mood was no longer mellow. Jesse was already dressed, and feeling at a distinct disadvantage, Aubrey pulled the sheet up over her bare breasts. Thinking she would be better off to get her confession over with quickly rather than draw it out, she made a hasty announcement. 'T made an appointment with Harlan Caine for eleven tomorrow morning."

A look of horrified disbelief crossed Jesse's face. "You did what?"

"You heard me. We were out of ideas, so I called him after you left for your aunt's. I doubt we can inspire him to admit to his crimes, but something good might come from meeting with him face to face."

"Is your husband still the beneficiary on your life insurance?"

Jesse was taking Aubrey's news better than she had expected, or so she hoped. She knew he had been making a pointed joke, but she provided a serious answer. "No. I removed his name when I filed for divorce and changed it and my will to leave everything to my parents."

"I doubt the money will brighten their retirement." Jesse was so angry he didn't know what to do with her. "I should just wring your neck and be done with you. I told you we'd not goad Caine, but you went behind my back and did just that."

"It wasn't behind your back. You weren't here, and I didn't know when you might return."

Jesse swore a particularly bitter oath. "That's a damn lie

and you know it. Why didn't you tell me this when I first got home? No. Don't bother to answer, because it's plain you knew I wouldn't sleep with you if you did."

''Jesse, really. That wasn't what I thought at all, and you're the one who's to blame for distracting me."