Born to Bite (17 page)

Eshe groaned at the suggestion, thinking she wasn’t eating in the diner again while she was here. The last time had been bad enough. Now…well, she wasn’t given to blushing at her age, but felt sure that would be the most uncomfortable meal of her life.

Sighing, she took a sip of coffee and then grimaced at the bitter taste and turned to open the refrigerator and look for cream for it. The coffee she’d had the first morning here had been much nicer, but Mrs. Ramsey had put cream and two sugar cubes in it. Eshe poured some cream in and then put the container back in the fridge and began to look for the little bowl of cubes.

“Speaking of Mrs. R.,” Bricker said idly, “she mentioned that Armand has hired someone to replace his old manager.”

Eshe glanced at him with surprise. “He did? When?”

“While we were out questioning Harcourt. I guess he went to the diner for dinner and left having hired a new man. She said he is the son of one of his neighbors. A good boy. Hard worker. Armand’s out showing him around right now.”

“Hmm.” Eshe smiled. That would mean he’d have more free time and they could—

“What the hell are you looking for?” Bricker asked as she began to root through cupboards.

“Sugar,” she muttered.

“Here.” Bricker picked up a bowl of little white cubes and offered it to her, asking, “So what’s the plan today?”

Eshe stared at him blankly for a moment before realizing that it wasn’t going to be dragging Armand into bed. She had a job to do. Shaking her head to try to clear her thoughts, she murmured her thanks for the sugar he held out and dropped two cubes into her cup. She found a spoon to stir her drink as she tried to recall what they
should
be doing today. Well, really what they should have done yesterday, she supposed, and frowned as she realized they’d lost a day while she and Armand had been in bed.

“We still have to question Susanna’s brother and sister,” Eshe said finally, relieved she could think at all. This life mate business really messed with an immortal’s head, and not wholly in a good way, she decided.

“Not gonna happen,” Bricker announced, and when she turned a questioning eye his way, explained, “I went past the Maunsells’ farm last night and then again tonight. I only got back five minutes or so before you came down. Both times the house was dark and the vehicles gone and there was no answer at the door. I’m beginning to think they’ve gone away or something.”

“You went there by yourself?” she asked with surprise.

Bricker made a disgusted face. “I was sent to help you, Eshe. You were otherwise engaged, so I thought I’d go question them myself. However, as I said, they aren’t home.” He raised his eyebrows. “Is there anyone else we can question?”

Eshe considered the question, but shook her head. “Those are the only people Armand mentioned to me when explaining the deaths of his wives.”

“What about Rosamund’s family?” Bricker asked.

Eshe glanced at him with surprise. She hadn’t even considered Rosamund’s family, but now she did and shook her head. “I doubt they were around when he was with Susanna.”

“Why not? The Harcourts were,” Bricker pointed out. “How did he say he’d met Rosamund?”

“He said they were friends before they married,” Eshe said slowly, recalling his words.

“Friends?” Bricker asked, one eyebrow rising. “She was what? Twenty when she died?”

“Twenty-one, I think,” Eshe murmured.

“And they married a year before that, so she was twenty then.” He raised his other eyebrow. “And they were friends? How?” Bricker shook his head. “I bet he was a friend of the family just like he was with Althea.”

Eshe sighed, irritated with herself that she hadn’t thought to ask about Rosamund’s family. They might have been in Armand’s life for quite a while before he and Rosamund married, and might be able to tell them something of use. It was certainly worth finding out.

“Right.” Bricker clapped his hands together and then paused to ask, “I know you’re the one in charge here, but may I make a suggestion?”

Eshe nodded her head reluctantly. “What’s that?”

“Since we can’t question the Maunsells today, I think you should go out and talk to Armand to find out everything you can. Not just about Rosamund’s family, but if there is anyone else who’s been in his life these last five hundred and sixty-odd years.”

“But he’s showing the new manager around,” she reminded him.

“It’s evening, Eshe. He won’t make the kid work at night, he’s just showing him what’s what so he’s on the ball for tomorrow and then he’ll let him settle into the house while he does whatever it is I should have done last night for the animals.” He grimaced at the thought of these unknown things, and then added, “If they aren’t done already, they probably will be soon, so why don’t you go change and I’ll make a picnic lunch for you to take out to him as an excuse, and then you can grill him on what we need to know.”

“Change?” Eshe asked with a start, glancing down at herself. She’d donned one of the new pairs of jeans and one of the new T-shirts when she’d gotten dressed. It was all she had besides the leathers. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“It’s fine,” he said quickly. “I just thought you’d want to look…er…”

“Yes?” she prompted, glaring at him now.

“Never mind,” Bricker muttered, turning to begin opening cupboards and pulling out items. “Why don’t you find something to pack the picnic in while I make it, then, if you aren’t going to change?”

Eshe continued to glower at him briefly, but her mind was on to the fact that he didn’t think she looked nice. She peered down at herself and supposed the outfit wasn’t all that titillating. On the other hand, she was supposed to be asking Armand questions. Wearing something titillating wasn’t going to get her answers. It was difficult to talk with his mouth on hers. Not that she needed to wear anything titillating for that to happen. This life mate business really was something of a nuisance at times, she admitted with a sigh as she started to search for a suitable container to pack a picnic in.

Bricker definitely knew his way around a kitchen, Eshe acknowledged as she headed out the back door of the house some fifteen minutes later with a cooler in hand and a blanket folded over her arm. The man had been quick and efficient and packed a rather delicious-looking meal for the two of them. She’d left him seated at the table, selflessly devouring the apple strudels he’d made for her, all so that she didn’t spoil her appetite and they didn’t go to waste. He was such a selfless guy, she thought with amusement as she stepped off the back porch and quickly crossed the fenced yard to a small gate.

Eshe pushed through that and headed for the barns, her gaze sliding to the manager’s house as she passed. There were several lights on in the building, and she saw someone moving around in the front room, so supposed that meant Armand had finished with the new guy and would be alone when she found him. That was a good thing…sort of. The other man’s presence would have kept them from trying to jump each other’s bones, which would have been handy, but he was also new, uninitiated, and would have seriously hampered her ability to ask the questions Eshe needed to ask. She could hardly start asking about Rosamund’s parents and if they were still in his life, and who might have been in his life over five hundred years ago, with a mortal around.

Eshe guessed that meant she’d have to be strong, seriously strong, and not allow her body to rule her head for a change when she was with Armand. It would be difficult, she knew. But if she wanted to solve this case and save Nicholas Argeneau, it was seriously necessary. And Eshe definitely wanted to solve this case. She’d started out wanting to because Nicholas was an enforcer like herself, but now there was also the fact that he was Armand’s son, and she suspected Armand would never forgive her if his son was executed and he found out she had been there investigating to try to save him and had never told him the truth. He wouldn’t care that it was because Lucian had ordered it. He would see it as a betrayal, and probably rightly so, she thought with irritation. She was his life mate; she should be telling him the truth and really saw no reason not to now that he had been pretty much crossed off the list of suspects.

Pausing halfway between the house and the first barn, she set down the cooler that held their picnic, laid the blanket on it, and quickly retrieved her phone from her pocket. Eshe punched in the number to Lucian’s house. It rang three times before he answered, and he sounded less than pleased to be receiving a phone call. Eshe was guessing she’d interrupted him and Leigh or something, but simply took a moment to arrange her thoughts and then said, “We’ve checked at John and Agnes Maunsell’s several times over the past few days, but they weren’t in. Bricker suspects they may be out of town. We did talk to William Harcourt, however, and he was with Armand when Rosamund died so Armand couldn’t have been involved in her death. And William assured us that Armand couldn’t have killed Althea because he didn’t know where they were,” Eshe said, and then quickly explained the tale of Althea’s death.

“So Armand probably didn’t kill Althea and definitely didn’t kill Rosamund,” Lucian murmured.

“Yes,” Eshe said quickly, and then added, “Which makes it very doubtful he is the culprit we’re looking for.”

Lucian grunted.

“So,” Eshe went on, “I was wondering if we couldn’t tell Armand the real reason we’re here now.”

“No.”

Eshe rolled her eyes. No explanation, no nothing, just no. “But he might be able to help us,” she argued quickly. “He could tell us if there is anyone besides the Maunsells and the Harcourts that has been in his life since Susanna.”

“No,” Lucian repeated.

Eshe growled with frustration.

“Is there anything else to report?”

“No,” Eshe growled, and taking a leaf from his book, snapped the phone closed without saying good-bye. Muttering some rather unpleasant things about Lucian Argeneau under her breath, Eshe slipped her phone into her pocket, picked up the cooler and blanket, and continued on to the first barn where she could see the door was open and the lights inside were on.

It was the horse barn and she found Armand in there, cleaning stalls. Her gaze slid over the mostly empty stalls and finally to the two occupied ones before stopping on the empty stall he was working in. It appeared he’d already done the mucking-out part of the job and was now using a pitchfork to spread fresh hay around. She could only think that was a good thing. Eshe loved horses, but had always had servants to handle this part of caring for them. She somehow doubted Armand would have much of an appetite had she arrived as he was removing soiled hay and manure. Besides, at this point he was nearly done and might be ready for a break.

Pausing outside the stall, she peered at the back of his head and smiled to herself as she teased, “And you’re seriously considering giving all this up to do something else?”

Armand straightened with a start at her voice, and turned to glance at her over his shoulder. Smiling wryly, he stopped what he was doing and turned to face her, his gaze moving over her slowly and then pausing on the cooler and blanket she held. He eyed it curiously as he murmured, “Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

Eshe smiled and then gestured to the cooler she carried. “Bricker said you’d probably want something to eat by now and made us a picnic.”

“That was thoughtful of him.” Armand set his pitchfork aside and removed his gloves as he moved out of the stall and then paused and glanced from the cooler, to her, to the bales of hay at the back of the barn.

“Maybe we should eat outside,” she suggested, thinking that if she wanted to get any answers at all, it was best not to eat anywhere that was conducive to reclining. Eshe knew from experience that a roll in the hay could be fun.

Armand turned back with a wry grin. “Good thinking, Batgirl.”

“Batgirl, huh?” she asked with amusement as he tossed his gloves aside, took the cooler from her with one hand, and slung the other around her shoulder to steer her out of the barn. “I see Lucian isn’t the only one who watches television after all. Maybe Agnes isn’t the one who arranged for cable for you.”

“She is,” he assured her as they stepped outside and started around the barn. “But I’ve been known to watch an episode or two of
Batman
with Cedrick. He’s a big fan.”

“Cedrick?” she asked. It was a name she hadn’t heard before. In fact, it was a name she hadn’t heard in a hundred years or so. She was sure someone somewhere had named their poor child that, but it hadn’t been popular in quite a while.

“He’s my first,” Armand explained, and then smiled wryly. “I guess I’ve never mentioned him before.”

“No,” she agreed, her interest more than piqued.
First
was an old expression, medieval-type old. It had usually been used to refer to the highest-ranking soldier, or next in command under a titled lord…Armand had been a baron. “How long has he been with you?”

“I guess it was the fourteenth century when he came to work for me,” Armand murmured thoughtfully.

“And he’s still with you?” she asked with surprise.

Armand nodded. “He has enough money to set out on his own twenty times by now, but seems content where he is.”

“And where is that?” Eshe asked, her mind working. Here was someone else they could question.

“He’s running one of my farms. He also does the books for all of them and mostly rides herd on the other managers,” Armand answered, and then drew her to a halt. “How about here?”

Eshe glanced around to see that while they’d been talking, he’d led her to a spot almost under the trees a good distance behind the barns. There was a large covered stone well for them to sit on. It was a nice spot, with a lovely view of the lights from the house as well as the stars overhead.

“Perfect,” she assured him and quickly laid the blanket out over the stone cover.

They settled on the blanket and unpacked the cooler. Armand pulled out several wrapped sandwiches as well as two drinks, two bags of blood, and a small plastic container of something with a piece of tape that had the words
open last
on it in marker. Eshe shrugged when Armand glanced at her in question.