First Impressions Read online

  “Yeah, sure,” he said. Truthfully, he wanted to sit up with her for a while and talk about finding the necklace. He’d had some experience with jewels, and he thought he might be able to help her make some decisions. But, mainly, he’d wanted to just sit and talk with her. Or watch TV together. It had been years since he’d just sat beside a woman and watched TV. Not since his marriage broke up had he done such an ordinary thing.

  He nodded to the necklace that was in her hand. “You think—” He broke off when she tossed the necklace at him and he barely caught it. “Sure you don’t want to wear it to bed?” he asked, teasing.

  “That necklace caused the deaths of several people and rivers of tears. The sooner I get rid of it, the better. Look,” she said, “could you please do what you have to do as quickly as possible so all of you can get out of here?”

  Holding the necklace, Jared thought how it was still warm from her hand. “I’ll do my best,” he said, smiling, but Eden didn’t smile back. Turning, she went up to her bedroom.

  He stood at the foot of the stairs for a while, then walked into the kitchen, where he got a piece of cake to take outside to the agent on duty. He had seen nothing unusual, heard nothing.

  “What about you?” the agent asked. “Find anything?”

  Jared started to make a joke about finding millions in sapphires and diamonds but thought better of it. Years of training had taught him to trust no one. He bid the man good night, then walked to the far side of the house and called Bill Teasdale.

  “So what has forensics found out about the men who ransacked the house?” Jared asked.

  “Nothing yet. There were lots of hairs, but none from strangers. And thanks for leaving that sample of Ms. Palmer’s hair. You find out anything?”

  Jared gave a snort. He wasn’t fooled by Bill’s faked ignorance. “Saw the tapes, did you?”

  “Yeah, we watched the whole thing. Most exciting thing to happen around here in years. A real treasure hunt. So what’s she going to do with that thing?”

  “I don’t know,” Jared said, pulling the necklace out of his pocket to look at it in the moonlight. “I can’t figure out if this necklace has anything to do with all this or not.”

  “You know what I think?” Bill asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “I think that if Applegate stood up and said that he’d been looking for that necklace, you’d still come up with an excuse to stay there. If you could have seen your face when Ms. Palmer kissed Granville!”

  “Had a good laugh at my expense, did you?” Jared said tightly.

  “The best.”

  “If the necklace is what they’ve all wanted, then how was Applegate connected to the goons who ransacked this place and put the snakes in Eden’s bedroom? It doesn’t make sense to try to kill her.”

  “Her death would get her out of the picture, wouldn’t it?” Bill said. “I’m sure her heirs would put that old house up for sale. Who’d want to live in Arundel if you weren’t born there? No jobs, nothing to do.”

  “It’s a nice place and the house is great,” Jared said defensively, then had to listen to Bill chuckle. “Okay, so I like her and I like this place. I admit it. But whether or not I like anything has nothing to do with this case. If you can get your mind out of the gutter for a moment, maybe you’ll remember Tess’s death and that someone tried to kill Ms. Palmer.”

  “All right,” Bill said. “What do you have?”

  “Nothing but instinct. Something isn’t what it seems, but I don’t know what it is. When Eden told me that story about old man Minton I knew that he’d killed his wife. If I figured it out, others can too. But who heard the story?”

  “Anyone with an Internet hookup. I found it in three hundred and eighty-one sites. Lots of people are interested in missing treasure.”

  Jared groaned. “I want you to check out Braddon Granville.”

  “Ah,” Bill said.

  “Cut the crap!” Jared snapped. “This isn’t personal. He knows too much, figures out too much. And it’s been my experience that normal people aren’t suspicious, but Granville is.”

  “He’s a lawyer, isn’t he?” Bill said. “What do you call ten thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?”

  “A good start,” Jared said, bored. “I just want you to check this guy out. Anything you can find out about him, I want to know.”

  “You know what I think? I think you’re falling for this Eden Palmer so hard that I’m beginning to wonder if we should put someone else on the case.”

  “What I feel for her isn’t hindering my judgment,” Jared said tightly.

  “What about your vow to stay away from ‘good’ women?”

  “Bill, you wanta cut this out? What I think of Ms. Palmer has nothing to do with anything. I want this guy Granville checked out.”

  “He broke a man’s jaw.”

  Jared grimaced. “You’ve already done the research, haven’t you?”

  “Yeah, but I couldn’t resist hassling you. I did some checking, and a few years back, Granville broke a man’s jaw, but the guy didn’t press charges.”

  Jared waited for Bill to continue.

  “The police report said that Braddon Norfleet Granville walked into a party that was to celebrate the recent marriage of Tredwell Norfleet Pembroke…Norfleet in both names. Think they’re cousins?”

  “They’re all cousins here. It’s the South, remember? Go on.”

  “Granville walked into the party, hit Pembroke, and smashed his jaw. The man had to have it wired back together. The report doesn’t say what they fought about, but it must have been something big.”

  “Granville broke the guy’s jaw, but the man didn’t press charges?”

  “That’s right. Maybe it was a family thing.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Jared said softly. “Send me all that you have, will you? I want to know everything there is to know about him.”

  “We don’t have much. He’s never even had a traffic ticket, but that town protects its own. You know what old lady Farrington did, don’t you, and that was covered up. The police report of her son’s death said ‘accidental drowning.’ ”

  Jared had his own ideas about justice, so he didn’t comment on what Bill was saying. There had been more than once when Jared had played judge and jury. “Just send me what you have and I’ll find out what I can from the locals. Nobody knows people like childhood friends.” He changed the subject. “So what did you think of Tess’s watercolors?”

  “Threw me for a loop. She never struck me as being the watercolor type. No, Tess Brewster was more the pit bull type. If I’d been told she owned any paintings, I would have guessed they were on velvet.”

  “Find out about her painting, will you?”

  “I’ve already sent out the order.”

  Jared hesitated before he asked his next question. “Bill, isn’t your wife a member of some garden club?”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean she can use a shovel. She and her sister like to visit gardens around the world—at my expense.” There was disgust in Bill’s voice, but Jared ignored it.

  “Could you find out what kind of things a real gardener would like? Not some lady-gardener things, but for a serious gardener.”

  “Right. Something like that Melissa plant, maybe? Around here, we call that ‘the kissing plant.’ ”

  “Wasn’t I sent here to woo her?” Jared asked, anger in his voice.

  “Yeah, but it was supposed to be an act. And besides, you’re doing a very bad job of it. She sure doesn’t like you much, does she? And who is this woman who calls you every ten minutes?”

  “Minnie Norfleet. She works for Granville. I don’t have time for her now. Besides, she’s not my type. As for Eden, she doesn’t like me because she doesn’t know me.”

  “She feeds you and does your laundry. What else is there to know?”

  Jared started to reply, but Bill’s chuckling stopped him. “Just get some gardening things, will you?”

  “Are we talking a co