She laughed dully. "In a calmer moment I realized how ridiculous my threat was. I might as well try to keep crab gra.s.s out of a garden."
"My root takes that as a compliment."
Sara shrugged. "I like crab gra.s.s."
He slipped the remote control back into his pocket. took the bag of delicate orchid blossoms in one hand, and picked up his tote with the other. Sara followed him from the kitchen. He"s going to vistt a man who"s a stranger to me, and he"s going to tell that man the personal information about my life.
By the time they reached the entrance foyer her teeth were gritted and her resolve solid. Sara took the ornate key ring from the antelope horn and unlocked the door. She could feel Kyle"s gaze on her face every second of the time, and she steadfastly ignored him. But her hands fumbled with the electronic lock, and she needed three tries to get the code right. "d.a.m.n."
"Which did you forgeta"your IQ or your birth date?"
"My reason for letting you know this code in the first place." She pulled the door open and stood beside it like an usher.
With one of his easy, loping strides he moved close to her. In another instant his lips brushed a gentle goodbye across her forehead. She shut her eyes to squeeze back tears.
"Keep the dragons at bay until I come back to help you fight them," he said.
When she opened her eyes to let the obstinate tears flow freely, he was gone.
Audubon"s home had become extremely familiar to Kyle over the years. It served very tastefully as the group"s headquarters, and when Audubon called an agent in for a meeting, that agent was treated with all the polite hospitality of a master host, which Audubon was.
Kyle gazed out the window of his suite at white fences and sprawling pastures stocked with polo ponies. Like everything in Audubon"s fashionable, old-money world, they were carefully chosen for quality and variety, like the selections in Audubon"s wine cellars, the cla.s.sic cars in his garage, and the glamorous women who paraded through Audubon"s life.
From somewhere downstairs in the mansion a gong began to sound, as if heralding the arrival of royalty. Dimly Kyle heard a helicopter approaching the estate. He glanced out the window and spotted it, a large custom model, one of Audubon"s favorite toys. The gong kept pounding. Audubon loved grand gestures and melodrama. If he ever saw Sara"s castle, he would probably want to buy it.
Within a few minutes one of Audubon"s a.s.sistants called on the suite"s phone and told Kyle that Audubon was home and waiting to see him in the study. Kyle went downstairs and followed a large hallway to a room where elegance was embodied in English antiques, cla.s.sic paintings, sterling silver polo trophies, and mahogany bookcases crammed with a fortune in rare editions.
In the center of it all was Audubon with his combat boots propped on the corner of a ma.s.sive antique desk. His jungle fatigues were wrinkled and sweat-stained; one hand was bandaged around the palm, and a tiny spot of blood had already soaked through the gauze.
But Audubon"s flowing snow-white haira"his one true vanity, he claimeda"was impeccably styled, and Kyle took that as a sign that the mission, whatever it had been, had gone well.
"Long trip?" he asked, reaching across the desk to shake Audubon"s good hand.
"To h.e.l.l and back." Audubon rarely smiled, but satis- faction was tucked into the squint lines around his dark eyes. "I had to make a quick little jaunt out of the country. Sorry to keep you waiting. I get the idea that you"re not feeling very patient right now."
Kyle lowered himself into a leather armchair across from the desk. "No. I want to know the story on Dr. Scarborough."
"So would I, if I were you."
"Why have you had two agents watching her all this time?"
"How do you like their Ma and Pa Kettle act?"
"Not bad. They won her mother"s trust, and when Sara came home from Surador, Anna a.s.sured her that good ol" Tom and Lucy Wayne were trustworthy. Perfect. Congratulations. But why is that kind of surveillance necessary?"
Audubon tilted his majestic head in acknowledgment of Kyle"s grim tone. "Hmmm. You"re not interested just for professional reasons."
"That"s right." Quickly, and with very few details, he explained what had happened between him and Sara. "She"s scared," he told Audubon. "And I keep telling her that she has no reason to be. Should I be worried that I"m misleading her?"
Audubon steepled his fingers against his mouth and looked at Kyle somberly. "The herbicide she created was a hoax."
"A hoax?"
"It doesn"t hold up under testing. The compound is no doubt deadly, but when it"s exposed to air for more than a few seconds, it becomes harmless. In other words, the herbicide is a winner in the lab and a loser in the real world."
"There was no way she could have known that when she created it for Valdivia. He was so impatient that he didn"t give her time to do any tests outside the lab."
"So she told us."
"Why would she lie about it?"
"Maybe she didn"t. Maybe she had no idea that her experiment was a failure. It"s difficult to know what to believe about her motives. That"s why we"ve been keeping track of her all this time. Waiting for something to give us a clue to the truth."
"She"s got nothing to hide. She hated being forced to concoct the d.a.m.ned herbicide for Valdivia, and I can"t blame her. It wouldn"t shock me if she had deliberately tried to sabotage it. But I don"t think she knows whether she did or not. Why don"t the government boys just politely ask her? It"s not a question she"d shy away from answering."
Audubon probed him with dark, sharp eyes. "What did she tell you about her child?"
"The father was a soldier. Must have been one of Miguel Santos"s men, since I understand that they were the ones who helped with the escape. She was in shock. She needed a friend. He was in the right place at the right time. The baby was bom nine months after she came home."
"And you have no reason to doubt that story?"
"No." Kyle held the stem gaze across the desk from him, silently warning Audubon not to let professional cynicism mock Sara"s integrity. "She"s one of the ones You"ve always talked about. One of the ones who makes everything worth the effort."
"I want her to be worth it. Believe me. You know better than to think I want anything less."
"Then what are you trying to tell me?"
Suddenly Audubon looked tired, a rare and disturbing thing for him. He drew his feet down and leaned forward on the desk. His eyes were hard, but not cruel. They seemed to scan Kyle"s scars for a moment. "Before the kidnappinga"if it was a kidnappinga"she was Valdivia"s mistress. And we"re fairly certain that her child is Valdivia"s daughter."
Sara made her decision and called Tom Wayne. She asked if he wanted some geese, free of charge. "They"ll be h.e.l.l to round up," she warned.
"Oh, I"ll be glad to come get "em!" he said, sounding very enthusiastic, which puzzled her a little. "Me and Lucy been talkin" about that little girl of yours. We sure would like to see her again."
Sara rubbed her head distractedly. She was trying to give Kyle the benefit of the doubt. She had been foolish and stubborn. She shouldn"t live in fear anymore, not because of her past, or Kyle"s questions, or Audubon"s surveillance. She shouldn"t rely on protection from a flock of maniacal geese. And she shouldn"t worry about a couple of harmless people who loved babies and simply wanted to visit with Noelle.
"Sure," she told Tom. "Why don"t you and Lucy come over tomorrow? You can visit with the baby and I"ll tell you all about her."
"All about her?" Tom echoed. "That"s just what we"d hoped for, Miz Sara. Just what we"d hoped for."
The next day Tom loaded the geese into his van with Sara"s help. She lured them with an offer of crushed corn. Afterward she and Tom walked back into the castle and sat down on the hearth rug, where Lucy was stretched out with Noelle bouncing on her back. Daisy stood close by, looking a little perturbed by the stranger who was playing with her baby.
"Sh-she really is a w-wonder," Lucy said, pushing her thick gla.s.ses up a little. "Do you have any p-pictures of h-her when she w-was newborned?"
Sara smiled. "Yes."
Tom looked at her quizzically. "But you said you just got her."
Sara winced at her carelessness. "The adoption agency sent a few photographs. I"ll see if I can find them. Be right back."
She went to her bedroom and rummaged around in a dresser drawer filled with instant snapshots, the kind that develop themselves while the photographer watches. Sara chose several close-ups of Noelle. It would be impossible for Tom or Lucy to tell where they had been taken. Pleased with her progress, however small, toward becoming more open and trusting, she walked back into the great room with the snapshots held up proudly. "Here youa""
She stopped, speechless at the sight of Lucy sitting alone on the couch, her gla.s.ses gone, her expression somehow more sophisticated than before. "Where are Tom and Noelle?" Sara asked, trying not to sound anxious.
Lucy Waynea"stuttering, pathologically shy Lucya" looked at her calmly and said, "Dr. Scarborough, there"s no need to be alarmed, I a.s.sure you."
Sara was dimly aware of the snapshots fluttering from her hand. "Who are you?"
"We work for Audubon."
Horror clawed at Sara"s throat. "Where is my baby?"
"My partner has left with her. Daisy went along too."
White-hot fury poured into Sara"s fear. She had never been a violent person, but the idea that these people had schemed to steal her daughter drove everything but maternal fury from her mind.
She grabbed a poker from the hearth and advanced on the tall blond woman, who stood swiftly and held up both hands in a placating gesture. "All you and I have to do is follow them. Dr. Scarborough. My partner is taking Noelle to Virginia. To Audubon. He thought this would be the simplest way to get you there without a problem."
"Have you ever heard of the Bill of Rights or the Const.i.tution?" Sara shouted. "You people can"t come into my home and take my child!"
The blond agent vaulted gracefully over the couch as Sara advanced. Keeping the couch between the two of them, she eyed Sara"s lethally. raised poker with grim consternation. "You"re a very intelligent, calm, logical person. Dr. Scarborough. Be reasonable."
"I"m Noelle"? mother! I want my daughter back, or I"m going to very intelligently, calmly, and logically wrap this poker around your neck!"
"It"s too late to change the plan. My partner"s already driven off the estate with Noelle and Daisy in the van. Relax, Dr. Scarborough. My partner raised five sisters. He"s terrific with children. Noelle will be just fine. You go pack some clothes, do whatever you have to do to close this place up for a couple of days, and I"ll be waiting right here. Well take your car. All Audubon wants is some answers to a few questions."
"He wants to coerce me into something I don"t want to do!"
"No, he just wants the truth. Now, come on. Dr. Scarborough. Kyle Surprise is already waiting for you up in Virginia. You obviously trust him. You can trust me too."
Sara stopped by the couch, the poker raised like a baseball bat. A sudden thought made her hands quiver on the wrought iron handle. "Did Kyle know who you really are?"
"Yes. But not until a couple of days ago."
The poker wavered. Finally Sara let it sink to the floor. "Was he in on this plan to take my daughter?"
"I can"t discuss these issues with you. Doctor. I don"t have the clearance. You"ll have to ask Kyle yourself."
Sara staggered to the fireplace and rested her head against the cool, familiar stones. Maybe Kyle had set her up. Had he planned it from the first day? She wanted to cry, but she had no tears. She had only a numb, single-minded determination to get Noelle back and then never let anyone dangerous get near her again. * * *
Audubon"s housekeeper kept coming to the door of the garden room to glance at Kyle as if wondering when he would do something appropriate, like either go into a drunken rage or curl up, pitifully, on the floor, as potted as the ficus trees.
Kyle was also aware that Audubon stopped by the door occasionally but didn"t say anything. There were no worthwhile words of wisdom; no words that would carve the bitterness out of Kyle"s chest, and Audubon knew that.
Kyle sat in the darkness for hours, his head resting on the smooth back grid of a wicker chair. He held an untouched bottle of bourbon and contemplated throwing it at the plants because they reminded him of Sara"s greenhouse. Only last night he had crumpled two of the rare orchids she"d given him into a gla.s.s of milk and spread the strange mixture on his face and body, reveling in memories of Sara"s touch. He had begun to doubt that her whimsical orchid treatment was going to help his scars, but using it made him feel closer to her.
Tonight, beyond a celling of shimmering gla.s.s, the night sky was mercilessly cold and overcast. Kyle wanted to merge his thoughts with that sky and forget the image that kept hammering against his skulla"Sara making love to Diego de Valdivia. Whether she had plotted some kind of twisted scam with the b.a.s.t.a.r.d was still undetermined, though it seemed logical. How could she have been his mistress, then the victim of his kidnapping, and then become his mistress again, bearing his child, a child that she adored?
No. She must have helped him fake the kidnapping. But why? And why create a herbicide that didn"t work? He shut his eyes. Unless there was another herbicide, the real one, deadly and effective, and Valdlvia had sold it to the highest bidder while Audubon"s people were concentrating on a fake. Somewhere along the way Valdlvla"s plan had gone awry; he had ended up dead, but Sara had gone free.
The scenario was a convoluted mess; there were too many questions that only Sara could answer. But about one thing there was no doubt, and it d.a.m.ned every claim of innocence she might try to make: Audubon had proof of her happy, voluntary, long-term affair with Valdivfa.
Kyle raised a hand to the scars on his face, and his stomach twisted with nausea. Had she shared Valdlvla"s bed the night aftera he leaned forward, set the bottle of bourbon on the floor, and buried his head in his hands. Dear G.o.d, he loved her so much, and he was shriveling up inside until there was nothing left but that awful, tormenting love and so much bitterness that he didn"t know which way to turn.
"Kyle?" Audubon lounged in the doorway, looking casual and yet never relaxed, his military clothes changed for loafers, dark slacks, and a gray pullover that was probably made of cashmere. "Mike Antonetti just got here. With the baby. And the dog." Audubon paused, then said, smiling, "And a lot of geese."
"What makes you think I want to see Valdivia"s b.a.s.t.a.r.d daughter?"
Kyle hated those words, but he stood up and faced Audubon belligerently. From somewhere toward the front of the mansion he heard the soft, tired mewllngs of an unhappy Noelle. The marrow seemed to flow out of his bones, and his knees went weak. "There"s no reason for me to see her yet," he muttered.
"Sara Scarborough will be here soon. Are you going to be ready to talk to her?"
"I"m retired, not senile. If you need help getting answers from her, I won"t screw up my part."
Audubon turned toward the sound of footsteps approaching the garden room. "Mop," a tiny voice called sadly. "Mop."
"Mop?" Audubon inquired. He flicked a wall switch and recessed fixtures filled the garden room with soft light.
Kyle squinted and rubbed his eyes, glad for an excuse to force the sting from them. "She"s calling for her mother."
Mike Antonetti, alias Tom Wayne, appeared beside Audubon. With his fake buckteeth gone and his hair pulled back neatly, he was almost unrecognizable. In his arms he carried Noelle, who was wrapped in a baby blanket. Daisy shoved between his legs and came to Kyle, whining and wagging her tall as if very relieved to see him.
He stared miserably at Noelle. Her tear-swollen eyes went wide with recognition. Both little arms shot toward him. "Cal!" She wiggled in Antonetti"s arms and made a tragic, pleading sound.
"Sorry about this," Audubon said, looking uncomfortable. "I had no idea." He motioned to Mike Antonetti. "Take her upstairs."
When Mike turned to leave, Noelle began to cry with tiny, gulping sobs, while she reached toward Kyle frantically. Kyle swayed in place. He felt as if invisible hands were pulling him apart inside. Daisy poked her nose into his hand and whined again.
Noelle"s crying was the most heartbreakinga"and brokena"sound he"d ever heard in his life. "Cal. Cal," she finally managed, and slumped against Antonetti"s shoulder, so exhausted that she was gasping for breath.
"Take her upstairs," Audubon said again, to Mike.
"Cal," Noelle whimpered, gazing at Kyle with bewildered, tragic eyes.
Mike started walking away. Kyle"s control broke apart. "Wait." Kyle strode to him, fiercely ignored Audubon"s scrutiny, and took Noelle. She wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him several times, then burrowed her head into the crook of his shoulder like a mouse curling up for the night.
Kyle turned his back to the other men. swallowing hard to get control of the knot in his throat. "I"ll hold her for a few minutes and then take her upstairs."
"This is going to be more of a problem for you than I ever expected, "Audubon said quietly. "It might be best if you let me talk to Dr. Scarborough alone."
Kyle went to the chair and sat down. He realized that he was embracing Noelle so tightly that she was squirming a little. He stroked her back in apology, and she murmured happily. He swiveled to stare at Audubon. "At the moment I don"t know what the h.e.l.l I"m doing, but it won"t have any effect on me later. Just leave me alone with the kid. It"s way past her bedtime and she doesn"t have her pacifier or her rubber frog. That"s why she"s so upset."
"Oh, I see," Audubon said dryly. "I could swear that she"s perfectly content without her pacifier or rubber frog, now that she has you."
He and Antonetti left the room. Daisy collapsed by Kyle"s feet, sighing heavily. Kyle shut his eyes and tried not to remember who had fathered the little angel who was snuggled deep in his arms, but he remembered her mother in excruciating detail, and bitterness left very little room for mercy.