Bayou Heat (8 page)

“I didn’t say you were a saint. I think it’s the fact that
you
weren’t
proud of those things that motivated you to change your
life. I’m sure it would’ve been easy to have gone along with the life you were
handed. Change is never easy. You didn’t take the easy road, which in itself
makes you remarkable.”

He was amazed this totally out-there woman, who’d obviously
had a much more normal childhood than he, could relate to his plight. “It
wasn’t easy, but I did make it out.”

“See? Extraordinary.” She smiled and laughed as she snuggled
down under the covers opposite him. “Do you mind if I sleep here?”

“Stay, I’ll sleep in the chair.” He started to get up but stopped
when her hand wrapped around his ankle.

“Don’t go. I didn’t mean for you to leave. I thought we
could both sleep here. If you don’t mind?”

Rob’s brain couldn’t form a coherent thought. The warm, soft
hand resting against his leg sent desire bursting through his body. The sudden
explosion of lust wasn’t what made him so frazzled though—it was her simple
request to stay near him with no sexual strings attached. The fact she was
willing to stay so close to him even after learning all she had left him
feeling uncommonly happy. He made himself more comfortable. “There’s plenty of
room for the both of us.”

Rob sat by the window, sipped a cup of hot coffee and
marveled at how good he felt. He fell asleep after Eris and slept peacefully
for four and a half hours straight. The old dream of being locked in a dark,
dank closet and wondering if and when he’d be allowed out did not return to
haunt him.

It’d been months since that old nightmare haunted his
dreams, but last night it had resurfaced full force. It must have been telling
Debra the story that brought it back, which is why he couldn’t sleep in the
middle of the night. Funny though, none of the other old dreams came back to
haunt him after spilling his guts to Eris. Instead of feeling weighed down by
the past, he felt free of it, or at least a large portion of it.

He glanced over at the woman who was still sleeping like an
angel. In the dark, moonlit room the night before he couldn’t make out the color
of her hair, but now the morning light highlighted her natural chestnut hair.
The urge to run his fingers through it was strong and he couldn’t seem to pull
his gaze from it.

Finally, afraid she’d wake and find him staring, he forced
his attention to other things. Checking his watch, he went to the miniscule
kitchen and pulled cinnamon rolls from the oven. Placing a couple on a plate
and pouring another cup of coffee, he grabbed both and walked over to Sleeping
Beauty.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead. We have places to go, people to
see.”

Eris groaned, pulling the cover over her head. He was sure
she’d muttered a few choice words under her breath. Setting the plate down, he
yanked the cover back and pulled her into an upright position.

“Hey, I was trying to sleep.”

“I’m aware of that.” He slid the cup of java into her hands.
“We have a lot to do today and need an early start.”

She yawned and then took a sip of coffee. “When are we
leaving?”

“Ten minutes.”

Eris laughed as she stood and headed toward her room with
plate and cup in hand. “No problem. I’ll be ready in forty-five.”

* * * * *

Eris followed Rob into his office and dropped into an empty
chair. He wasn’t lying when he’d said they had a lot of stops to make.

“I’ll be right back.”

She watched as he disappeared and knew she could take him at
his word because so far this morning, they’d visited the police station, the
drug store, the post office and now his office. Standing, she surveyed the
man’s domain with a deft eye.

The desk was more of a large walnut table with carved legs.
On top, there was a stained glass desk lamp, a gold pen and pencil set and a
desk blotter, which was perfectly clean even though it was midmonth.

Only a demented person didn’t doodle, Eris thought as she
continued to scan the room. The space was sparsely decorated but the few items
present were obviously high quality. Above a row of cabinets hung a large oil
painting of a black and chrome motorcycle. The brush strokes and the colors
were bold, causing the picture to come to life. She was certain she knew who’d
created the magnificent piece and crossed the room to verify the artist. “Nate
Carmouche” was gallantly written in the lower right-hand corner.

She glanced back at the work and smiled. Nate’s work always
amazed her. Who would’ve thought her brother’s friend would grow up to be a
great artist? As she studied the work, a glimmer of light caught her eye. She
turned to see what caused the bright flash and spotted a lone picture frame on
the modern computer table located behind the desk.

The frame looked as out of place as the painting, mostly
because they appeared to be the only personal touches to the office. With a
quick glance toward the door, she made her way around the desk and scooped up
the frame.

A bright-eyed little girl smiled up at the camera from
inside her pink Barbie pedal car. The child bubbled over with happiness. Eris
ran a hand over the picture and smiled back.

“That’s Kayla Carmouche, my goddaughter.”

The sudden broken silence startled her, causing the picture
to slip from her hands. She grabbed the frame only inches from the floor. She
felt heat engulf her face as she stood. “I’m sorry for snooping, but did you
say ‘goddaughter’?”

Rob handed her a glass of iced tea. “Yes, and don’t look so
shocked. I
hav
e actually entered a church once or twice in my life and,
on more than one occasion, I put money into the offering plate instead of
taking from it.”

“It’s not that, but knowing some of your background, I’d
think it would be hard to be around kids. Doesn’t it bring back memories?”

Rob perched on the corner of the desk and sipped his drink.
He was silent for a few moments and then spoke softly. “I never had birthday
parties as a child. So going to Kayla’s gives me a chance to be a part of
something I missed out on.”

Rob’s face was in profile to her as he studied the picture
of the little girl. Her gut twisted and tears sprang to her eyes for the man
who never got to be a boy. Then black anger took hold toward the woman who
couldn’t even offer her child a Ding Dong with a candle stuck in it on his
birthday. She didn’t grow up in the lap of luxury, with there being five
children to clothe and feed, but there was always money for a new toy on their
birthdays.

“I found those files you wanted and picked up your faxes,
darling.”

With her emotions still rolling over Rob’s statement, Eris
watched in detached astonishment as a medium-height, slim woman entered the
office and walked directly to Rob.

“Thanks, sweet’ems, you’re efficient as always.”

The woman scooted onto the desk next to Rob and as she did,
her skirt rode up her legs. As she crossed them, a good four inches of her
thighs showed.

“Anything, anytime, anyplace.” The woman batted her lashes
and swung a foot.

Eris watched as the foot wearing a five-inch stiletto moved
back and forth. How did she walk in those? More importantly, how did she keep
the shoe on her foot? The last time Eris had tried that seductive move, the
stupid shoe slipped off her foot and she’d spent the remainder of the meal
trying to locate the darn thing.

“Remember that the next time I wake you up in the middle of
the night,” Rob responded as he leaned into the young woman.

Eris narrowed her eyes at the pair. There wasn’t a doubt in
her mind Rob was an accomplished player, but she didn’t need a front row view
of the man in action.

“Excuse me.” Eris watched as the two turned their attention
to her. “Are we going to be here all day? I thought we still needed to make a
few more stops?”

“Sorry.” The woman slid off the desk and extended her hand.
“I’m Tammie Bernard, the company’s ‘girl Friday’.”

Eris shook the woman’s hand, but honestly, she’d rather have
tossed a cream pie in her perfectly made-up face. “Eris DuBose.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tammie stated as she walked seductively
toward the office door. “Until next time, darling.”

Rob mumbled an incoherent response as he moved around the desk
and studied the information he was holding.

Eris paced the office a number of times as she gave him a
chance to read over the material. She was elated to see him flip to the last
page. Soon they would be able to leave. She retrieved her satchel from beside
the chair in anticipation of their departure. She was in no mood to watch
another of Tammie’s performances. The girl had to be a good fifteen years
younger than Rob. He wasn’t the type of man who needed an immature woman.

Eris perked up as he turned back to the first page—and then
the feeling plummeted just as fast when he picked up a highlighter and opened
it. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to read all of that again.”

Rob had flipped back to the beginning of the file and now
held a highlighter in one hand.

“Can we please go back to my place so I can have something
to do while you work?” Eris hated the note of desperation that sounded in her
voice but couldn’t seem to keep it at bay.

To her surprise, Rob started packing up his work. “Sorry. I
have a tendency to get a little carried away when it comes to research. I’m
ready if you are.”

Eris controlled the urge to bolt for the door like a caged
animal being set free and forced herself to walk at a normal pace. She needed
to get a grip because these feelings were just silly and so not her. The
ringing of a phone broke the silence.

“Hello?”

Eris turned to see Rob answering his cell phone. He looked
at her then turned his back.

“I can’t talk now,” he responded to the caller, followed by
a brief silence. “Look, I’ll call you when I can.”

Rob fell into another silence and she watched as his back
stiffened then he turned to her.

“Would you mind waiting in the lobby for me?”

“No, not at all.” She closed the door softly behind her.

The uncertainty that flashed in Eris’ eyes was like a knife
to his gut. He didn’t pretend to understand why she felt the way she did, but
it made him mad as hell that he’d been forced into that position.

“These phone calls cannot persist at anytime of the day or
night. You’re granddaughter is one sharp woman and if you keep this up, she’s
going to figure out what we’re doing.”

There was a moment of silence, followed by a deep, rough
laugh. “If that little speech was meant to scare me off, son, you’ve got a long
way to go.” Criswell’s voice boomed over the line.

Rob resisted the urge to simply disconnect and put an end to
the conversation. “What is it you want?”

“A report. Why else would I be calling?”

“Look, I gave you one last night.”

“That you did, and I want another.”

“When I have something new to tell you, I’ll call.”

“You’d better, and don’t you forget who’s paying the bill.”
Criswell disconnected.

Rob put the phone on vibrate and dropped it into his pocket.
Out in the lobby, he found Tammie behind the receptionist’s desk, chatting with
one of the new part-time detectives they used. She smiled at him and he raised
an eyebrow, then she pointed to the far side of the room.

Eris stood alone beside the elevators with her back to the
small group. The carpeted floor silenced his approach. He couldn’t help but
wonder why she wasn’t over with the others. As he closed the distance between
them, he realized she was swaying from side to side. Uneasiness started to take
root.

“Eris.” She didn’t respond to his softly spoken voice. He
circled her and noticed how pale her skin was. Her large green eyes stared
vacantly into space.

She shivered then wrapped her arms around herself and
shivered again.

“What’s wrong?” He wrapped his arms around her.

“Don’t you feel it?”

Her voice was so weak that he instinctively held her
tighter. “No, I don’t feel anything.”
Unless you count this deep uncertainty
in how to handle you?
“What do you feel? Tell me.”

“I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Simple words would be best for me.” He felt her chuckle and
somehow that made him feel better.

“Evil. I feel pure, uncensored hatred. It’s the same feeling
I picked up at Indulgence while following Orbit’s trail and last night outside
my door.”

“You’re telling me the killer has been here, in our
offices?”

“I’m not sure.”

Rob held Eris at arm’s length so he could look into her
eyes. “This isn’t a game. We don’t have the luxury of tracking down ‘what ifs’
and ‘maybes’.”

Fire sparked in her eyes as she stepped out of his hold.
“I’m not playing games, but let me see if I can explain this in words you’ll be
capable of comprehending.”

Rob worked at hiding the smile that threatened to spread
across his face. He preferred seeing her like this, all angry with her hackles
up, rather than scared and timid. Bristles he could deal with, soft and cuddly
scared him to death. She stood in one spot and looked at him as if he were a
simpleton.

“It’s like this. See this spot?”

“Yes.”

“I feel the evil here.” She took a step to her right. “But
not here.” She started walking a small circle around the spot designated as
evil. “Or here or here or here.”

“I get the picture.”

She stopped her pacing and flashed him a heart-stopping
smile. “Good, then you understand how confusing this is.”

“I haven’t a clue as to why this is confusing.”

Eris waved her hands in exasperation as the door to the
elevator opened. “It doesn’t matter, you think I’m a nutcase anyway.”

Rob stopped her from walking into the elevator. “What I
think about your methods isn’t the issue here, it matters to you and that’s
what counts.”

Eris gave him a look that let him know she wasn’t buying it.

“Try to help me understand,” he continued. “Sometimes the
best thing to do is talk a problem out.”

“Okay, I need some help. Tammie, can I borrow your scarf?”

Rob followed Eris across the lobby to Tammie’s desk. Tammie
raised one eyebrow but untied the item from around her neck and handed it over.

“Thank you, now would you please come around the desk and
stand in front of me? Rob, blindfold me.”

“Sure, this sounds like fun,” Tammie said as she moved to stand
in front of Eris.

Rob placed the material across Eris’ eyes, good and snug. He
hadn’t a clue as to what she was doing, but she did have a unique way of
explaining herself.

“Tammie, I want you to walk quietly around the lobby while I
count to twenty. Try not to make a sound and don’t talk. When I reach twenty,
stop and stand quietly.”

“Okay,” Tammie answered as she turned and started walking
while Eris counted.

Rob watched as Eris stopped counting and started following
Tammie’s path. “I’m going to follow Tammie’s aura trail to her. Basically I’m
tracing her footprints without the benefit of eyesight.”