"No problem." Devon watched the man rise and smooth the front of his navy jacket. He made a pretty devastating package. Over six feet tall, athletic build, Brioni suit - this guy emanated power and charisma. His hair was jet-black, a few strands of which swept his broad forehead, and there was a lionlike quality to his amber eyes that was hard to look away from.
Too tall and powerfully built to be James. Hair color and texture like Ca.s.sidy"s.
Must be Blake.
Sure enough, he stuck out his palm and said, "I"m Blake Pierson. This is Chomper, who"s introduced himself the hard way."
Devon smiled, shaking Blake"s hand. "Devon Montgomery. And don"t worry about Chomper. I"m used to being s...o...b..red on. It"s a daily hazard for me."
His brows lifted. "You have a manic retriever pup, too?"
"A terrier. Mine steals socks. But that"s not what I meant. I"m a veterinarian."
"So you deal with guys like Chomper all day."
"Dogs, cats, birds, ferrets...you name it. That"s probably the reason for my popularity with Chomper. I stopped at the clinic to check on some patients. I"m sure I brought all kinds of interesting animal scents up here with me. And there"s one other reason he could have been drawn to me." She reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the peanut b.u.t.ter dog biscuits she carried everywhere with her. "May I?"
"Please." Blake gestured at the floor, where Chomper was still occupied with Devon"s pants. "Especially if it will divert him."
She squatted down, saying Chomper"s name in a quiet, firm tone until she got his attention. Then she showed him the biscuit. "Not these," she instructed him, tugging away her pants. "This." He sniffed at it, caught the enticing scent of peanut b.u.t.ter, and s.n.a.t.c.hed it up. "Good boy," Devon praised.
The praise was nice. The biscuit was better. Chomper crunched away happily.
"Diversion accomplished," Devon announced, standing up.
She came face-to-face with a willowy, attractive woman in her mid-thirties, who"d evidently joined them while Devon was dealing with Chomper. Stylish, blond, well put together.
This one didn"t require a guess. Devon had seen her photograph, on the arm of Frederick Pierson, in the newspaper archives Monty had searched.
Louise Chambers. Pierson & Company"s corporate counsel.
"Dr. Montgomery. It"s a pleasure." The woman held out a manicured hand. "I"m Louise Chambers."
"Ms. Chambers." Another handshake. And more head-to-toe scrutiny of Devon. This time it seemed to be more personal. Best guess? It was because she was Sally"s daughter and Sally had been dating Frederick. And, from what Devon had gleaned in the social columns, Louise and Frederick had been something of an item this past year and a half.
"Louise is a close family friend," Blake was saying. "She"s also Pierson & Company"s outstanding general counsel."
"Put that in my paycheck," Louise quipped, patting Blake"s arm. She turned back to Devon. "You must be worried sick about your mother."
"I am." Devon trod carefully. "Very worried. I"m also very sorry about Mr. Pierson."
Genuine pain flashed in Louise"s eyes. "We all are."
"Maybe Devon would like a drink." A lean guy with dark wavy hair and a Crest Whitestrips smile strolled over.
Medium height. Grandma Anne"s blue eyes and aristocratic features. And Pierson charm.
James.
"What can I get you?" he asked Devon.
"I"d love a Diet c.o.ke."
"Done. I"m James Pierson, by the way."
"It"s nice to meet you."
"And it"s nice to meet you." He gave her a blatant once-over, followed by a more lingering perusal. He then flashed an approving, if obvious, smile before going in search of the Diet c.o.ke.
Bingo. James wanted to hit on her. What more natural scenario in which to initiate a personal conversation?
Swiftly, Devon scanned the room, her mind racing. She didn"t have much time. People were starting to filter out. Last-minute arrangements were being made. A funeral. A business, sans a CEO. The Piersons had a lot on their plates. Till now, Devon had been a curiosity. Soon she"d become an annoyance. Before that happened, she had to secure more than formal introductions. She had to talk, really talk, to at least one of the Piersons. She"d met nearly all of them. The only ones left were Tiffany and Roger Wallace. And that had to be them, standing in the corner, talking quietly to a child of kindergarten age. Their daughter, Kerri, no doubt.
She"d forfeit meeting them. She had to capitalize on James"s interest in her.
"Subtle, isn"t he?" Ca.s.sidy murmured beside her.
Devon turned, grinning at the knowing twinkle in Ca.s.sidy"s eyes. "No. But I doubt he has to be. Is he your brother?"
"My cousin."
"Frederick"s son?"
"No, Niles"s." Ca.s.sidy gestured in Niles"s direction. "Frederick and Emily never had children."
"Then that branch of the family"s gone."
A reflective nod. "I hadn"t thought of it that way, but yes. Niles is Grandfather"s eldest now."
"That must drop the weight of the world on his shoulders."
"In business, you mean?" Ca.s.sidy looked amused. "Niles will carry it well. He thrives under pressure. Then again, I doubt he"ll get involved in the food-services division. He"s a fine-dining guy all the way. Plus, with James"s equestrian compet.i.tions, he"s on overload already."
"Did I hear my name?" James asked, walking back over and handing Devon a crystal gla.s.s.
"Don"t you always?" Ca.s.sidy replied good-naturedly. "I was just telling Devon how busy your father is, between Pierson & Company and your riding."
"Yeah, that"s Dad. Always on the go."
Devon sipped at her drink, eyeing James as she did. "Ca.s.sidy mentioned equestrian compet.i.tions. What kind and where?"
"Show jumping. And wherever they"ll have me."
"Ah, that"s my cue." Ca.s.sidy gave a mock sigh. "James pretends to be modest - which is far from the truth - so I"ll toot his horn and make him sound more impressive. He"s competed at major events everywhere, including Calgary and Toronto this past fall. Right now, he"s competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington. He came in second at today"s Grand Prix. We"re all sure that he and Stolen Thunder are on their way to the World Games in Aachen, and from there to Olympic Gold in Beijing."
"The Olympics? That is impressive." Devon"s brows rose.
"You"re right. It does sound better coming from you," James informed his cousin. "Let"s hope your predictions come true."
"Are you kidding? Grandfather wouldn"t have it any other way."
"So you don"t work at Pierson & Company?" Devon asked, feigning ignorance.
"Sure I do. I"m VP of sales."
"How do you manage that? Two demanding careers - I can barely handle one."
"Talent," James replied with a teasing grin. "No, seriously, discipline and commitment. It also helps that riding is my pa.s.sion."
"Among others," Ca.s.sidy muttered.
He shot her a look, then turned his charm back on Devon. "I heard you say you"re a vet. That must mean long hours."
"It does."
"Does it leave any time for fun?"
Devon had just opened her mouth to reply, when Chomper shot up from the floor and barked, then abandoned his biscuit crumbs and bounded across the room. Following him with her gaze, Devon saw that Kerri had perched on the edge of the sofa and was drawing a picture. Chomper, evidently, had spotted her crayons and decided they were edible. He s.n.a.t.c.hed two in his mouth, then took off, with Kerri in close pursuit.
"Chomper!" Blake, who"d been concentrating on some vehement revelation Louise Chambers was in the process of confiding, broke away to go after his dog. Louise frowned as she watched him go. Her troubled stare slid briefly to Devon before she walked over to the martini pitcher on the sideboard and refilled her gla.s.s.
Devon got the distinct feeling that whatever had just been said concerned her.
"Great," Ca.s.sidy noted in disgust. "Chomper"s on the run again. I hope my brother reaches him before he reaches the back door. Otherwise, Blake will be organizing the second search party of the day."
"I a.s.sume Chomper likes to take off."
"Constantly. He"s either escaping or destroying something." Ca.s.sidy rolled her eyes. "And that"s up here at the farm. Imagine him in a Manhattan brownstone."
"Your brother lives in the city?"
"Whenever he"s not up here, yes. I"m sure you can"t guess which place Chomper prefers."
"I"m sure I can." As she spoke, Devon spotted Kerri returning to the living room, sans crayons. There was no sign of Chomper or Blake.
Reacting on instinct, she set down her gla.s.s. "I"m pretty good at tracking down runaway pets. Maybe I should give Blake a hand."
James caught her arm. "Blake can manage," he a.s.sured her. "Besides, I was enjoying our talk."
"So was I." Devon hesitated, unwilling to blow her opportunity to get information out of James, yet equally unwilling to stay idle when she knew she could expedite the task of finding Chomper.
Ca.s.sidy made the decision for her.
"Let her help, James," she urged. "The sooner Chomper"s found, the better. We"ve got guests arriving to pay their respects. You and Devon can talk later."
"Can we?" James asked, studying Devon intently.
"Yes." Devon met James"s stare, giving him what she hoped was an eager look. "I"d really like that."
"So would I." Pleased by her response, he released his hold on her arm. "Go ahead. I"ll be waiting."
Devon weaved her way through the living room and into the hall. No need to ask directions. She followed the racket of scurrying paws and chasing feet.
The sound of padding paws vanished. But the running footsteps continued, along with a few exasperated shouts.
She reached the back door in time to see it waving open on its hinges, with Blake standing on the threshold, glaring outside.
"Dammit." His expression was intent as he scanned the well-lit grounds.
"A few minutes too late," Devon surmised, coming up behind him.
He turned his head, noting her presence. "Yeah. And a few minutes is all it takes." He jiggled the handle on the swinging door. "We"ve got to get this latch fixed. The wind keeps blowing it open."
"Which is Chomper"s cue to bolt." Devon stepped past him to peer outside.
"Don"t bother looking for paw prints. He"s too light, and the ground"s too frozen for him to make any imprints."
"That"s not what I was doing. I was figuring out the detours he could have taken to vanish so quickly. And I was checking out the grounds to see where he might hide."
"Any conclusions?"
"Where did you find him earlier today?"
Blake grimaced. "I see Ca.s.sidy"s filled you in on Chomper"s antics. I found him near the pond." He pointed. "I have no idea why he went there. It"s frozen."
"It"s got an eastern exposure. The sun was out this morning. He probably found a warm spot to play with whatever he"d stolen."
"That would be my glove," Blake supplied. "And the weather"s a nonissue. Chomper"s not picky when he"s in bandit mode."
Devon shivered, hugging herself to stay warm. "Trust me, he won"t like this chill. The poor little guy must be freezing. It"s gotten windy, and the sun"s gone down. I"d suggest we check enclosed places. Places he"d be able to wriggle his way into, like a barn or an indoor arena."
"We"ve got three indoor jumping arenas. They"re on the western portion of the property. The barn"s to the north. So are the feed and tack rooms."
"Any other heated areas?"
"The wash stalls. They"re right next to the feed room."
"We"ve got our work cut out for us. You take the arenas. I"ll take the barn area."
Blake nodded, already in motion. "I"ll get our coats and some flashlights."
TEN MINUTES LATER, Devon finished a quick search of the wash stalls. Dark, deserted - no signs of Chomper. As for the feed and tack rooms, the doors were shut tight. On to the barn.
She turned up her collar and headed in that direction.
The door was slightly ajar. Devon pushed it open and hurried inside. She reached into her pocket for a peanut-b.u.t.ter biscuit. "Chomper!"
A few surprised horses snapped around to stare at her. But no puppy.