Jude Deveraux (35 page)

'I was
important?' she whispered. 'You could have taken the paintings at any time.'

'Naw.
Boss said it had to be legal or he'd get only about twenty percent of their
worth. He wanted you to show up so you could sell 'em to him, but, I tell you,
it wasn't easy. You got more men around you than a pop star.'

'But
you killed them off. What about the men who ransacked my house?'

'To make
you want to leave. You would be gone too, except for that FBI guy.'

'And
the snakes?' she asked softly.

The
man's eyes brightened. 'That was my idea. McBride and I go way back. I was
supposed to keep you alive, but I knew he'd take care of you, so to speak, so I
could afford to give him a little trouble. Payback for all the trouble he's
given me over the years.'

Eden
started to ask about Jared but couldn't bring herself to do it. 'You told Drake
that we'd found the necklace.'

'Yeah. I
was watchin' and listenin'. Seein' as it was his paintin's that led you to the
necklace, he thought it should be his. He said it was his chance to prove his
talent to the world. I helped him arrange the kidnappin'.'

'Who
did my daughter meet at the airport?'

'Don't
know. Ugly little creep. He ran off as soon as I showed up.'

'So
what happens now?'

'You're
gonna sell me the paintin's,' he said. 'I got papers for you to sign. You don't
like 'em, so you're gonna sell 'em to me. And after I buy 'em I'm gonna find
out, by accident like, that they have other paintin's underneath 'em. All done
legal-like and all sold on the open market. No tryin'  to find secret
buyers for 'em. My boss wants all this to be legal.'

It was
on the tip of her tongue to ask who his boss was, but she thought better of it.

'
'Course the funny part is that if you tell anybody what happened tonight, I'll
come back and do whatever I have to.'

'Yes, I
understand,' Eden said quietly. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a
shadow move. Was someone there? Had someone survived this man's slaughter? 'I
assume that you're getting a good cut for doing this. If it's to be your name
on the papers, legally, you will own them.'

'Are
you tryin' to turn me against my boss? He won't like that.'

'No, Mr.
— '

'Jolly.
Ever'body calls me Jolly. Counta I don't laugh a lot. But the name ain't fair
'cause I got a good sense of humor. It's just that it don't match anybody
else's.'

When he
said the name, Eden froze in place. She'd heard his name when she'd been locked
in the cellar, but she hadn't told Jared. If she had, maybe —

She
stopped her thoughts because she heard a shot in the direction they had come
from. In Melissa's direction. She turned, and so did the man. It ran through
her head that she should use his turned back to try to escape, but she didn't.
He might take his anger out on Melissa.

'You
stay right there,' Jolly ordered. 'If you don't I'll — '

'I
know,' she murmured, then watched him retreat into the dark woods.

In the
next second she was on her back, tackled from the side by a heavy body and
flattened to the ground. On top of her was Jared McBride.

'Please
tell me you weren't going to just stand there and wait for him to come back and
kill you.'

'I
can't breathe! I thought you were dead.' There was relief in her voice.

'You
can mourn me later.' He rolled off of her, stood up, then pulled her up with
him. 'Stay low,' he whispered, 'and stay close to me. Jolly has two other goons
with him.'

'What
about Melissa?' Eden said into his back as she did her best to keep up with
him.

'I
don't know. I'm the only one here.'

'Remi
is here,' she said.

Halting,
Jared looked at her. 'That big Cajun is here?'

'Somewhere.
I saw him hiding under the porch of the house.'

Jared
shook his head in disbelief. 'Why didn't we just send out invitations? It was
bad enough having to act like we didn't know what you and Granville were up to.
I had to fish pieces of a note out of the toilet pipe.' He made a noise of
exasperation. 'Stay with me and keep quiet. Can you use a gun?'

'Never
shot one in my life.'

'That's
a help. Get down!' He put his hand over the top of her head and pushed her down
into a circle of tree trunks. They could hear male voices near them, but the
voices didn't seem upset, so maybe they hadn't found out that Eden was missing.
She was the only one who could sign the papers, so they needed her.

'Hands
up!' came a voice near them. 'Drop your weapons! Do it or we'll shoot.'

'Who
the hell is that?' Jared said under his breath. 'And who is he talking to?'

Eden thought
she was going to be sick. She recognized the voice. 'He's my son-in-law,' she
said. 'Stuart.'

Jared
leaned back against the tree trunk, then with a grunt of pain, turned his back
to Eden. 'Could you . . . ?' She knew what he meant. There were still
pyracantha thorns in his back, as there were in hers. While he reloaded two
guns, she ran her hands over his back and pulled out all the thorns she could
find.

'Thanks,
honey,' he said, making a joke. 'Wish me luck,' he said as he started to leave
their dark little nest.

But
Eden caught his head in her hands and kissed him hard. 'Save everyone,' she
whispered, 'including yourself.'

He
removed the pistol from his ankle holster and handed it to her. 'Aim and
point.' He kissed her again, then he was gone into the night.

Eden
waited as long as she could stand to. She heard no sounds, not even animals.
Nothing slithered or scurried. After what seemed like hours but was probably
only minutes, she heard the sound of a car being started. Whose car? she
wondered. And where was it going?

And
what about Stuart? Who had he been telling to drop his gun? The scary Mr.
Jolly?

As
quietly as she could, Eden left the relative safety of the trees and made her
way back to the icehouse. Silently, she went inside. It was dark, so she had to
feel her way around. She nearly slipped on a puddle of blood from Brad's leg,
but no one was in the icehouse.

She
went outside and stood still, listening, but she heard nothing. She took two steps
and tripped over a body. Cautiously, wishing she had a light, she bent down to
the body. When it groaned, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the gun
Jared had given her. She'd heard of safety catches. Was there one on this gun?
If there was, was it on or off?

The
person on the ground groaned again, and she recognized the voice. 'Stuart? It's
me, Eden.' She put the gun back in her pocket and bent down to her son-in-law.
'Are you all right?'

'My
head hurts. Someone hit me. Where's Missy?'

'Melissa
is — ' Eden said pointedly, then made herself stop. She'd always hated
that nickname. 'I don't know where anyone is or what they're doing. I heard you
tell a man to stick his hands up. Who was he?'

'I
don't know. He'd been shot in the leg.'

'Oh,'
Eden said flatly. 'That was Brad. I was hoping — '

'That
I'd rescue everyone and be a hero?' Stuart asked sarcastically. 'Wouldn't that
foil your plans of getting my wife and child to leave me and live with
you?'

'I
don't want them to live with me,' Eden said as she took his arm and pulled him
upright.

'That's
what you've always wanted. You've done everything you can to make Missy think
that I'm incompetent and that I can't support my own family. You've — '

'Stuart,
do you think it's possible that you could tell me what's wrong with me
after
everyone's life is safe? What happened to Brad? Where is Melissa?'

'I
don't know. I flew from New York to Raleigh, then drove a rental car to
Arundel. My intention was to pick up my wife and take her home. You can imagine
my surprise when I saw my mother-in-law inside a car beside some strange man at
eleven o'clock at night. I did the natural thing and followed her — you. When I
saw you turn into a dirt road, I parked just off the highway and walked in. I
saw the light and got here just in time to see . . . '

'See
what?' she asked gently.

'See
that man get shot in the head. Who was he?'

'Drake
Haughton. He worked for Brad, the man who was shot in the leg,' Eden said.
'Stuart, I think we should go. I have a feeling that everyone has gone back to
my house and they're waiting for me.'

'For
you?' Stuart asked, and Eden couldn't help grimacing. Stuart made it sound as
though he couldn't believe anyone would want
her.

'Stuart,'
she said, her teeth together and her hands made into fists. 'Yes, my daughter
does want to leave you, and, yes, she wants her and the baby to live with me.
As you know, I have a lot of influence over my daughter, so it's up to me what
she does with her future. If you don't cut out your snide, catty, jealous
remarks, so help me I will do everything in my power to get her to leave you.
Do I make myself clear?'

'Yes,'
he said softly. 'What do you want me to do?'

'Can
you drive a car?'

She
could tell that he was fighting back a sarcastic remark, but all he said was
'Yes.'

'Then
follow me. We're going to get Brad's car and go back to Farrington Manor.'

Eden
nearly ran through the woods, listening to the sounds, but she heard nothing
that made her think that people were hiding nearby. What had happened? Where
was Melissa? she thought, and her entire body started to shake, but she got it
under control. Where were Jared and Brad? Remi?

Eden
pulled the key Brad had given her from inside her pocket and handed it to Stuart.
As soon as he started the car, she climbed into the backseat. She was going to
search for the weapons that Brad had told her were hidden in the car.

'What
are you looking for?' Stuart asked as he turned the car around and headed for
the highway.

'Guns.
Knives. Explosives. Whatever I can find,' Eden said. Her head was hanging over
the backseat as she searched the floor. She found a pistol taped under the
driver's seat. There was a rifle under the overhang of the backseat.

'I
think I'm lying on one,' came a voice from the back.

Stuart
slammed on the brakes so hard that Eden's face hit the back of the seat. She
felt blood begin to run from her nose.

In a
second, Stuart had jumped out of the car and run to the back, where he threw
open the big back door. Eden, dripping blood, hung over the seat. Her daughter,
her beautiful daughter, was lying on her side, curled up in the back of the
Jeep.

Eden
reached for her daughter, but Stuart beat her to Melissa. He pulled his wife
from the car and was kissing her face all over.

'I was
crazy with worry,' Stuart was saying between kisses. 'Don't you know that I
wouldn't have a life without you? You're my very breath. You're everything to
me.'

'I
thought you didn't care about me anymore,' Melissa was saying, crying and kissing
Stuart back.

Eden
turned away from them and sat down in the backseat. There was a box of tissues
on the floor, and she pressed a handful to her bleeding nose. In her lap was a
pistol, a rifle across her legs. Did every mother have this moment? she thought.
This moment when she realized that she'd lost her child?

'I
think we better go,' she said softly, but no one heard her. She was tempted to
climb over the seat and drive away. If she was sure Melissa — and, okay, Stuart
— would be safe, she'd do it. But Eden didn't know who or what was still
outside.

'Let's
go!' she said, louder, making them hear her. Holding hands, not wanting to
separate, Stuart and Melissa sat side by side in the backseat and Eden drove
back to Arundel. When she stopped the car in front of the sheriff's house it
didn't take much persuasion to get them to get out.

'Mother,'
Melissa said. 'I don't think you should go back there. I think you should stay
with us and talk to the sheriff.'

Eden
didn't bother to explain her motives, but she knew that by the time she waited
for the sheriff to get out of bed, have a couple of cups of coffee to wake
himself up, then take forty-five minutes or so to understand what Eden was
saying, there'd probably be half a dozen more people dead. She had an idea that
Mr. Jolly was waiting for her to return to the house to sign the papers before
he left. And he's welcome to the paintings, Eden thought as she sped away,
leaving her daughter and son-in-law standing on the sidewalk.

The
streets of Arundel were empty at that time of the morning, so Eden ran the red
lights and made her way to the bridge as fast as she could. She went over the
bridge at sixty, twice hitting her head on the roof of the car. I won't sign
anything until he releases everyone, she thought.

She
stopped the car on the road, jumped out, grabbed the two weapons, and started
running toward her house. Standing on the side of a wooden flower bed, she
looked into the living room window. She could see a light in the center hall
and she thought she could see the silhouettes of at least three people. Who
were they?

'Where
the hell did you come from?' came Jared McBride's voice close to her ear. 'I
thought you were inside.'

'Who
is
in there?' she asked as she handed him the rifle and the pistol. She still
had the little gun in her trouser pocket.

'Granville
and his son-in-law are taped up and on the floor in the hall. Jolly and his
goons are moving around.'

'I
guess you know that man Jolly.'

'Oh, yeah.
We've never been able to get him on anything before because he leaves no
witnesses. Where's your daughter?'

'With
her husband at the sheriff's.'

'When
Jolly hears the sirens, he'll shoot Granville and the kid.'

Eden
swallowed. 'What do we do?'

'We
do
nothing. Now that I know you're safe, I plan to go in there, and — '

'And
save everyone? All by yourself?'

'If you
think that
you
are going with me, I'll tie you up first.'

'Sex
later. Right now we have to think about business.'

Jared
gave a snort of laughter. 'You can't go in there. There'll be gunfire.'

Eden
swallowed again. 'How about if I go in there, sign his papers, and he leaves
with the paintings?'

'You
think he'll leave after he gets them? Wave good-bye? Say thank you? No, he
intends to kill anyone who's seen him.'

'But
Melissa is already at the sheriff's house.'

'He'll
get her later.'

Eden
pulled the little gun from her pocket. 'Show me how to work this thing.'

Jared
hesitated, then took the gun from her. 'I want you to know that I'm only doing
this because I have no other choice. I want you to go in the back, up those
little stairs, then come down the big stairs. Just wait there and do nothing.
When the time is right, I'll shout, 'Look out!' then I want you to fire this.
Don't try to hit anyone because you'll miss. Just shoot in the air. The noise
will create a diversion and that'll be enough. Understand me?'

All
Eden could do was nod, then she followed him to the back of the house. He
climbed on the giant air conditioner on the ground, lifted the window up, then
bent down to help Eden to climb up. She started to climb through the window,
but he stopped her, and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but
he didn't. Instead, he just looked into her eyes, and the look said that he'd
die to save her. Chills ran up her spine, and she leaned toward him, but he
gently pushed her toward the window.

She
knew the old house well. No one else could have sneaked around on the old
floors in silence, but she could. She knew to lift up on the door to the stairs
so its hinges wouldn't make noise, and she knew that she had to step over steps
six and nine or they would creak. When she reached the top of the stairs, she
put her ear to the door and listened, but she heard nothing. Slowly, she opened
the door and peered out. Tyrrell Farrington's paintings had been stacked on the
floor, ready to be taken out of the house. When she heard a sound outside, she
tiptoed to the window. Two men were loading a paneled truck with the paintings.
They were taking their time and seemed to be arguing about how to get all the
paintings into the truck, but Eden knew that soon they'd return to the house,
to this hall, to get the paintings stacked there.

There
are too few of us and too many of them, she thought. Bad men were outside and
in, and it was only her and Jared. If only she could create a
big
diversion,
she thought.

On her
bedside table was her ring of keys, the one Brad had given her when he'd turned
the house over to her. Her first thought was, What are they doing there? They
should have been in her handbag.

In the
next second a ray of moonlight came through the window and landed on the little
silver angel on the ring. Mrs. Farrington's angel. Eden looked  at 
the angel, and  she could  hear Mrs. Farrington's voice. She'd always
hated the cellar, and one of her many reasons was that she was afraid that
everything in it would explode. Eden smiled. She knew what to do and how to do
it.

A
second later, she was running down the stairs, leaping over the creaking steps
as she whispered 'Thank you' to what she knew was Mrs. Farrington's watching
spirit.

In the
dark kitchen she could hear the voices of the men in the hall. The two men from
outside had come back in. She heard Jolly's voice, and he sounded agitated. The
thought of Brad and Remi tied up on the floor gave her new courage. She hurried
across the room to the pantry. First, she lifted the window that led to the
side porch. She'd read that a thief always planned his exit first. When the
window was open, she lifted the door in the floor, then she took out the gun
Jared had given her. She knew she couldn't shoot something small, but maybe she
could hit a wall full of jars of twenty-two-year-old pickled fruit. They'd had
time to ferment by now.

Turning
her head away, she aimed at the wall she couldn't see in the dark and shot. She
was rewarded with an explosion — and the exploding jar set off a chain
reaction. As Eden dove through the open window, she heard men running. She hid
behind an overturned chair, her breath held, as she heard men shouting. The
next second, she heard a door slam and knew that Jared had locked the men in
the pantry. When one of them started to come out the window, Eden fired a shot
in his general direction and he went back inside. Two minutes later, she heard
sirens, and in the distance, she heard a helicopter. Eden stayed where she was,
the gun aimed at the open window, ready to shoot at anyone who tried to leave
the pantry. There were tears running down her cheeks. It was over.