“Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you issue that invitation?” She hurried to join him, slipping quickly beneath the sheet. Bram hit the light switch, trying to summon the courage to burst her bubble of happiness with reality.
Her voice came softly out of the darkness. “Do you always sleep naked?”
“Yes. Is there anything else you’d like to know?”
The sheet rustled as she stretched. The sound was surprisingly intimate, given the situation.
“I want to know everything there is to know about you.”
Bram stared up at the dark ceiling. “Hayley, I tried to warn you not to fill your head with romantic notions about me.” The rustling sound stopped. “I’ll only hurt you.”
“Because of what happened to your wife and daughter?”
“Yes.” Bram swallowed remembered guilt. Oddly, the memory wasn’t nearly as intense as it once had been.
For a long time, neither of them spoke. He probed at the memory, surprised to find sadness and regret without the usual bitterness that generally accompanied thoughts of Helen and those awful days when he’d waited for his infant daughter to die.
“Bram?”
“Yeah?”
“If the bottled water is drugged, I just want you to know that it wasn’t one of those date-rape drugs. My sister was given one of them once. This is nothing like that.”
Surprised, he was almost relieved to give his mind something else to focus on.
“I’ve been thinking,” she continued, before he could ask the questions hovering in his mind. “I don’t think the drug was meant for me at all.”
Bram rolled over. He propped his head on his hand, resting on his elbow. He stared at her dim shape beside him.
“No one knew I was coming here. Marcus has always drunk bottled water. He doesn’t like the taste of well water. Eden told me he was in the early stages of dementia. But what if he isn’t? What if that’s what continued exposure to this drug is supposed to simulate? I can certainly vouch for the confusion part. A doctor who didn’t know Marcus, and wasn’t looking for drugs, could easily be fooled into thinking his behavior is due to a mental condition.”
Her words made sense.
“As a nurse, Eden has access to drugs and needles right there in the house.”
“What does she have to gain, Hayley?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I can’t figure out. I’m sure she knows Marcus doesn’t inherit Heartskeep, but as his wife, Eden can expect to inherit his estate.”
Bram lay back down against the pillow. “Does Marcus have money of his own?”
“I don’t know. He was a doctor, but I’m not sure how successful he was. I once overheard my grandfather tell someone that Marcus married my mother for her money. I know he’s been drawing against the estate as a trustee, but he must have some money of his own after all these years. He never had to pay rent or food or any of the normal expenses. The money he earned as a doctor has to have gone somewhere. He’s still a relatively young man, so he could live a long time. Eden must know she might have a long wait to gain anything—unless he’s declared legally incompetent and she becomes his guardian.”
Bram rolled the idea around in his head. “I think it’s weak, but I’ll concede the idea has merit.”
“Jacob told me there have been a number of rumors going around town about Marcus over the years.”
“What sort of rumors?”
Bram listened in silence while she related Jacob’s gossip. “Jacob’s been a busy boy, hasn’t he? No wonder you thought I might be here for revenge.”
She laid a hand on his chest. “I never believed that, Bram. I knew it wasn’t true. Only a crazy person would wait so long to take revenge, and you’re the sanest person I know.”
He snorted. “Given the sort of people you seem to know, I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”
She nudged him in the side in retaliation. “Even if you had come here for some sort of twisted revenge, you would never use me to get it.”
Her complete trust was as astonishing as it was naive. Such blind faith scared him. “I appreciate it, but you really don’t know me, Hayley.”
“Yes, I do.”
Her words carried a conviction that cratered his heart. No one except his family had ever had that sort of blind faith in him. It was humbling. And scary.
Bram changed the subject. “Jacob isn’t a chemistry major by any chance, is he?”
“No. He did take chemistry at one point because his mother wanted him to go into medicine, but he wasn’t interested. He said there was too much studying involved. He majored in computers.”
“So he could have been the one who doctored that photo you found.”
“Well, yes. But I’ve been thinking about those pictures. Whoever was going through my bag must have dropped the one you found in my room. Jacob wouldn’t have had any reason to go through my bag.”
“From what you told me, no one would have.”
“True. Eden or Marcus could have been looking for the letter the lawyer sent me, to find out what it said. Or Paula or Mrs. Norwhich could have been looking for valuables. But what would any of them be doing with a doctored picture of Leigh as a teenager?”
“You said you thought Marcus was refusing to pay blackmail.”
“It sounded that way when I followed Eden out in the maze the other day.”
“Hayley, you and Eden weren’t the only one in the maze that morning. I followed Jacob in there, as well.”
“You never told me that!” She sat up on her elbow.
Bram shrugged.
“Why do you dislike Jacob?”
Bram could hardly tell her he resented the way the younger man looked at her. “Call it instinct,” he growled.
“I thought men liked to refer to it as a gut feeling.”
The thread of amusement in her voice coaxed a reluctant smile from him. “Only the insecure ones.”
“Well, that definitely leaves you out. I’ve never met a more secure person in all my life. Jacob doesn’t like you, either,” she added, before he could decide if she was complimenting him or chastising him.
“I’m crushed. How does he feel about Marcus?”
Hayley sucked in a breath. “You can’t suspect Jacob of tampering with the water.”
“Sure I can. I suspect every single person connected to that sorry house.”
“But Jacob didn’t even arrive at the estate until after I did.”
“So he claims. Remember, you said you thought someone else was in the house with you right from the start. Why couldn’t it have been Jacob?”
Hayley sat up all the way. “He would have come forward when I called out.”
“Maybe.” Bram sat up, as well.
“I would have seen his car.”
“Did you check the garage?” Her long silence was answer enough. “You’ve got a blind spot where Jacob is concerned, Hayley.”
“You may be right,” she said slowly. “He asked me to marry him tonight.”
“What?”
Bram groped for the lamp. Hayley blinked in the sudden light. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder, smoothing it behind her ear in a familiar, nervous gesture.
“I know. I couldn’t believe it, either. I had no idea he thought of me that way.” She plucked at the sheet, then went back to swiping at her hair. “We’ve known each other all our lives.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Her head jerked up. “Why did you ask that?”
“Because I’m coming to know you very well. When you start toying with your hair like that, you’re nervous about something.”
Immediately, she released the strand of hair she was tormenting. Silently, Bram vowed to have a few private words with Jacob. “Maybe you’d better finish telling me exactly what else happened tonight.”
“Nothing, really.”
“Tell me.”
Several times during her hesitant recital, he had to bite back questio
ns and comments. His tension was acute when she finally finished. He flexed his fingers, trying to relieve the anxiety building inside him.
“You can see why I’ve been doubting my sanity.”
“Stop it, Hayley. There’s not a thing wrong with your sanity,” he said fiercely.
Hayley blinked at his tone. “Thanks, but unless the drug causes hallucinations, too, I’d like to know how I heard that pantry door close when there wasn’t anyone inside.”
“Isn’t Mrs. Norwhich’s room right off the kitchen? You were upset and drugged, remember? Maybe it was her door you heard.”
He watched Hayley testing that theory in her head. “I suppose it could have been.”
“She could also be the one drugging the water, Hayley. Who has better access to the kitchen?”
“What would she have to gain? Next you’ll suggest Paula Kerstairs.”
“Okay, she can be next.”
“Get serious. What reason would either one of them have? Eden just hired them.”
“Who knows? If the rumors Jacob was spouting have an iota of truth, more than one person may have a reason to hate Marcus. For all we know, Paula or Mrs. Norwhich might be your father’s lover.”
After a shocked second of silence, Hayley began to giggle. “You have to be joking.”
He allowed himself a brief moment to enjoy her amusement. The idea was pretty ludicrous. “Okay, but like I said, they’re all suspects. Even your father.”
“Marcus?” Hayley gaped at him. “But it’s his bottled water!”
“Exactly. We’ve been assuming someone put a toxin in those bottles. What if it’s medication instead?”
Her lips parted in astonishment.
“It’s possible Marcus has been injecting something into the water himself. You said everyone else uses tap water.”
“I never thought of that possibility.”
Neither had Bram until the words came out of his mouth. “My point is we need to keep an open mind about everyone. We should know more when Rhea finishes running her tests.” He snapped off the light, plunging the room into darkness once more. “We’d better try to get some rest.”
Hayley lay back down against the pillows. “Bram? Do you think we could go to Heartskeep in the morning? Real early. Before anyone is awake.”
His body tensed again. “Not a chance. I’ll drive over and pick up your purse and anything else you need, but you’re not going near that place until we find out what is going on.”
“Eden won’t let you in.”
“I wasn’t planning to ask permission.”
“Oh.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked in the sudden silence.
“Shall I make you a list?”
His lips twitched.
“I was just wondering if you knew how to pick a lock.”
He definitely didn’t like the sounds of that. “What is going through that Machiavellian mind of yours now?”
“We should check out Marcus’s office.”
Fear sunk talons deep in his gut. “Absolutely not!”
“Yeah. We really should. For one thing, he has a lab. It’s small, but he’s got a lot of equipment.”
“Equipment, not chemicals,” Bram pointed out.
“We don’t know that unless we look.”
“Hayley, even if it was a fully stocked chemical lab, he isn’t going to leave the drug lying around for us to find.”
“Why not? Where would it be safer? No one goes in there except Marcus and Eden. Remember, Paula said she isn’t even allowed in there to clean. We might learn a lot from his files. You said yourself if Jacob’s rumors are true, there’s bound to be more than one person who has a reason to hate Marcus.”
“Forget it. That’s something for the police to investigate. This is not up for discussion.”
But already his mind was busy thinking about what Marcus might be hiding behind locked doors.
“Bram, did you say Marcus found you on the Internet? What if he didn’t? What if it was Eden who found you? What if she heard the same rumors Jacob heard? Maybe she’s the one who started them. What if she convinced Marcus to hire you because she wanted to set you up?”
His pulse rate took a flying leap. “How could she do that? I don’t have access to the house or the bottled water.”
“No, but you had a wife who died at the hands of an incompetent doctor.”
“It wasn’t Marcus. The doctor was a much older man. I don’t remember his name, but the hospital would have a record of who it was, and Eden would know it wasn’t Marcus.”
“You’re right, but I keep feeling like Eden is trying to set you up. Remember when she left you a note telling you to go up to the house, and then she warned you away from me?”
“I don’t know who left me the note.”
“Eden,” Hayley said firmly. “She told Jacob she found you roaming around inside the house on more than one occasion.”
Hayley had his full attention now.
“That’s a lie, Hayley.”
“I know that. But Jacob warned me to be careful around you because his mother was worried. What do you want to bet she’s told other people how worried she is about you? What if she’s planning to kill Marcus and set you up for his murder? What if she’s the one who killed my mother seven years ago?”
Chapter Eleven
Neither of them got much sleep after that. Before the sun was nibbling at the horizon, they were both up and dressed. Bram scribbled a brief explanation for the Walkens while Hayley struggled with a ponytail. She was so nervous her fingers didn’t want to cooperate.
She joined him in the kitchen, extremely conscious of her unconfined breasts in the lime-green T-shirt. Last night it had seemed naughty and daring. Today it felt naked. However, the flash of heat in Bram’s expression when he first looked at her was reassuring.
Did he see how well they complemented one another? Could she make him see that this connection between them was more than biological pheromones, or would she always come up against the pain of his loss ten years ago? Hayley heaved a mental sigh.
“All set?” he asked.
“Yes.”
It had taken her a long time to convince him that a quick look inside Marcus’s office might give them some much needed information, but Bram still wasn’t happy about it.
Following him out to his truck in the dark, she thought again that she could happily spend the rest of her life with Bram. They would argue a lot—both of them being so strong-willed—but he had plenty of self-control, which was a good thing, given her tendency to be impulsive. They could make a relationship work. She knew they could.
“This is a bad idea,” he said as he started the engine.
“No, it isn’t.”
“I’d rather be making love to you than taking you back to that house.”
A thrill ignited inside her. “Really?”
His arms snaked out, pulling her against him. His mouth covered her squeal of surprise in a kiss that left no question about his desire.
“I still can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” he muttered, kissing the curve of her jaw and finally releasing her to put the truck in gear.
“We’ll be in and out before anyone knows we’re there,” she soothed.
“From your lips to God’s ear.”
“What?”
“One of my father’s favorite expressions.”
Hayley smiled. “I like it.”
“I’m sure he’ll be pleased to hear that. Just remember our deal. You stay close to me and do what I tell you.”
“Yes, Bram.”
He shot her a disgusted look. “Meekness does not suit you.”
“I know.”
She was still grinning when he pulled into the clearing by the barns. But when Hayley would have opened the door to get out, he stopped her with an iron grip on her arm. “Wait!”
He was out of the truck before she could ask why. He paced the campsite slowly, examining the place without touching
anything. His features were dark and forbidding when he returned to the truck and opened the door without getting in.
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s been here,” he said.
Her stomach plunged. “Are you sure? Is something missing?”
“My two-pound hammer. The piece I was working on last night was moved. Some other pieces have been disturbed. I don’t like this, Hayley. I’ve got a feeling things are on the brink of exploding around here. I want you to wait. I’ll go have a quick look around and get your purse.”
Hayley scrambled down from the truck. “I’m not staying here alone.”
Bram’s expression turned thunderous, but she held her ground, braced for a fight. After a moment, he nodded curtly.
“If anything happens, you are to come straight back here, get in the truck and drive to the Walkens’. Agreed?”
He handed her the keys. A chill swept over her at his bleak expression. “You sense it, too, don’t you?”
Bram shifted. “Sense what?”
“Something bad is going to happen.”
“That does it! We’re going back to the Walkens. Come on, get in the truck.”
“I don’t think it will make any difference,” she said softly.
“What are you talking about? Don’t you dare start getting weird on me.”
She shook her head, gazing up at him. She could read so many emotions in his expression—including the one she most needed to see. Hayley surprised both of them by reaching up to stroke the side of his face.
“Sorry. My sister’s usually the one with the imagination.” She pressed his lips closed with her fingers. “We have to go inside, Bram. You know we do. There’s only one reason a person would take your hammer. They plan to implicate you in a crime.”
Bram stepped back and swore. “Let’s get this over with.” He took her hand and started down the path.
Heat was already gathering strength for its assault on the day. Though she’d had little sleep, Hayley realized her head felt more clear than it had in days. Only the muzzy sensation had been replaced by a desperate sense of urgency she didn’t understand.
At the house they discovered the doors had been locked for the night.
The Firstborn Page 17
