Eve’s smile faded. It had to be done; she had to talk about it. Might as well get it over with, she thought. “You know I wouldn’t have gotten you involved in this if I didn’t have to,” she began.
“I know.” Taking his cue to get down to business, Billy opened his briefcase and handed two files to Eve.
“What’s this?” Eve flipped open the first and frowned when she saw her name in big, black letters.
“Your files,” Billy explained. He had taken the liberty of pulling them for this meeting. Finding the one that had been altered had been a shocking bonus. “The one you’re reading now is the real file the FBI has on you. The other has been altered.”
He watched as Eve sifted through the file that he had read so many times. Over the years, he would bring out that same file, minus the photos – it was just too hard to look at her – to make sure she was doing well.
Eve’s whole life was outlined in these pages, from school, to the gallery, to almost everything else she has done. Even her relationship with Adam was chronicled here, including photos of the two of them on various occasions. “Well, well. Big brother is watching,” she mumbled, frowning.
“It was all done for your protection, Eve.” And, so I could keep tabs on you, he added silently.
“Right. What does my relationship with Adam have to do with my protection?” She didn’t expect an answer, nor did she get one. Eve pushed her ‘real’ file to the side and opened the other.
As soon as she opened it, she knew it had been written by someone who didn’t know a lot about her.
Billy saw her glance move across her name in the file. “He doesn’t know you,” he said, echoing her thoughts. “When you look up your birth certificate, it gives you the modified copy – unless you specifically ask for the original. This person apparently didn’t know that you added your mother’s name as your middle name in your twenties. I think we can rule Tony out on this.”
“Unless he’s the one who hired the moron,” she countered. “Besides, I doubt he would even remember that they had chosen not to give me a middle name. Tony has to keep his hands clean of any involvement in this, so he wouldn’t have direct contact with him on this.”
There was something in the way she said it that made Billy think she knew more about this. “Do you know who it is, Eve?”
“I don’t have evidence,” Eve said carefully. “But, I have a feeling.”
“Fill me in. I need everything I can get in order to help you.” He took a notepad and pen, standard for all FBI agents Eve suspected, from his standard black jacket.
“Detective Maurice Carter,” Eve said tersely.
Billy paused, pen in air. “A detective? You believe a cop is involved with this?”
“Surely, you’re not that naïve, Billy. Agents from your own bureau have tried to have me killed. Why not a cop?”
She was right, of course, but he still didn’t want to believe that someone who was sworn to uphold the law, would break it.
“I’m going to need more than a hunch to bring him down, Eve. If we can get him, maybe he’ll give Tony up.”
“Would a taped confession be enough?”
“It would be more than enough, but how do you plan on getting him to confess?”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at me.”
“No! Absolutely not. You’re not to get any more involved in this than you already are.”
Eve’s eyebrow came up. “I asked you here for your help,” she told him. “Not so you could tell me what I can or cannot do, Agent Donovan.”
Now he understood why she was so successful in business. That look was enough to make any grown man sweat. “I’m trying to help you, Eve. I can’t just let you go into a potentially dangerous situation.”
“I’m already in a ‘potentially dangerous situation’,” she told him irritably. “I can’t sit back and wait for someone else to get hurt, Billy. Too many people have suffered because of the game I’ve had to play with Tony and it hurts too much. I’ll do anything and everything that I have to do to keep those that I care about safe. And if that means putting my own life on the line, then so be it.”
He had never heard her be so open with her feelings and it floored him. To his surprise, and shame, he also envied the people in her life whom she had confessed to caring about.
“Very well,” he agreed unwillingly. “But, you have to work with me on this, Eve. I need to know that you will do as I ask. You may not want anyone else to get hurt, but I don’t want anything to happen to you in the process.”
Billy pointed to the file.
“Whoever is doing this to you has no conscious and will do everything they can to hurt you. And, not just physically, Eve, judging by what’s in that file.”
“I’m not surprised by that. I’m being framed for my mother’s death, for Jackie’s death and Lord knows what else.”
“There are lies, disguised as sealed records, lies about your being a prostitute in Paris.” Flipping through the pages of the file, Billy didn’t notice when her face went completely white. “If someone wants to dig enough, they’ll find this information.”
Eve struggled with every ounce of strength inside her to stay calm. How had Tony found out? Madame Bussiere must have gotten in touch with him. Still she couldn’t prove that Eve had sold herself. Could she? Surely none of Eve’s ‘customers’ would have wanted to come forward.
“He’s going to ruin me,” Eve told herself.
“Eve?” Billy took her hand. It was as cold as ice. “They’re just lies and we’ll get rid of it before anyone can find it.”
“You don’t understand.” Eve pulled her hand back. “My galleries, their prestige – it will all be over if this gets out there. My image, my name will mean nothing. No. Worse than that. I’ll be a disgrace.”
“People will know they are fake records, Eve. I promise. Look, after I get done here, I’m going to visit the Sawyers. They need to know that everything they have been told is lies and I’ll get information from them about who is feeding them this false information. It can only help us.”
“Don’t press them, Billy. They’ve been through enough already. Talk to Dee Cummings with Channel 9 News. She should be able to help with that. All I want the Sawyers to know is that I had nothing to do with the death of their daughter. Please, make sure they know that.”
The plea was so desperate that Billy would have agreed to do anything for her. In spite of everything she was going through - the pending lawsuits, the accusations - she still thought of the comfort and happiness of others instead of her own. Was it any wonder he felt the way he did about her? He sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin with his left hand.
“You’re married!” she exclaimed, seeing the broad gold band. “How long?”
“Six years,” he told her and watched as her eyebrow lifted once again. It was a quirk he had come to enjoy immensely, one he had thought of many times over the years, but it also meant that she had seen more than he wanted her to.
“Do you have children?” Eve knew she probably shouldn’t ask, especially since marriage seemed to be a sore subject for him, but she couldn’t help herself.
At the mention of children, Billy brightened. “Yes. Two.” Billy reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Ashley and Billy.” He shrugged sheepishly. “You’re the only person who ever calls me Billy.” Handing the wallet over to Eve, Billy held his breath. He didn’t know why, but Eve’s opinion mattered to him greatly.
Eve took the wallet and studied the photos of Billy’s children. “They’re beautiful,” she told him sincerely. “How old are they?”
“Two and four and a half. I love them very much.”
“And their mother?”
Eve certainly wasn’t the kind of woman to hold back, he thought. She had noticed his uneasiness, and he should have expected these kinds of questions. “She’s a good wife,” he said. “A good mother. A wonderful woman.”
He hadn’t answere
d her question, Eve observed. “Are you happy?”
Billy was quiet for a moment as he thought about his answer. “Content,” he said finally. How could he tell her that she was the reason he couldn’t give his heart to his wife? How could he confess that all of these years, he had held on to the hope that Eve would contact him and tell him she was in love with him? It was a fantasy, he knew, but now here she was, sitting in front of him.
Eve read everything he was thinking on his face. “I have to go,” she said quietly. She was grateful to him. But he belonged to the past. A past she wanted desperately to forget.
“But you just got here.” Did she know? “At least have lunch with me.”
“I can’t, I’m sorry. I have an auction to go to.” She lifted a shoulder. “Might as well get everything I need while I still have my good name.”
“But it’s been so long, Eve. We have a lot to talk about.”
She held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t get up. You know how to get in touch with me, I assume. I’ll wait for you to set up something with Detective Carter. Just don’t take long; I want this over with soon. Thank you, Billy. For everything.” She paused before leaving. “Forget about me.”
“What?”
“Let me go. I’m grateful to you for coming to help me, but you have to let go of these feelings you have for me. You’re a wonderful man, and you deserve all the happiness in the world. So, let your wife give that to you. I don’t love you, Billy. I’m sorry but I never will,” she said softly. She didn’t say it to hurt him, but for closure, and he knew it.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Sumptor,” Eve was greeted as she walked into the auction house. “It’s very nice to see you again.”
The woman behind the counter looked Eve over as discreetly as she could. Eve had always been a topic of discussion around here. For the men, she was a fantasy. For the women, she was either what they strived to be, or if they were jealous, what they hated most. The young woman behind the counter was one for whom Eve was the embodiment of the perfect woman: strong, independent, beautiful. “Your assistant has arrived already and is waiting for you in the second row,” she said, handing Eve a numbered paddle and a program.
As soon as she entered the long, narrow room, filled with chairs and chattering people she felt his presence. The sick feeling that gripped her whenever Tony was near washed over her, and she fought the urge to turn and look for him. Spotting Lainey in the second row, Eve strode towards her, deliberately keeping every movement casual, unwilling to give him the advantage of knowing that she had realized he was there.
Lainey’s pulse jumped when Eve slipped into the seat next to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eve gracefully cross her legs and Lainey’s fingers itched to touch them.
“Hi.” Eve’s voice was breathy and held a hint of desire. Leaning closer, she put her mouth close to Lainey’s ear. “I love the reaction my body has when I’m near you.”
The sound of Eve’s voice, her nearness, had as much of an effect on Lainey as the words Eve spoke. She had spent the entire day thinking of everything that Eve had revealed to her this morning. She should have been scared. For her, for her children. But, oddly enough, she wasn’t. She believed Eve when Eve told her that she would never let anything happen to her or her family.
Of course, she was still concerned, but she only had to look at Eve to forget danger as she recalled every touch, every look, every kiss. Using her numbered paddle, Lainey fanned her warm cheeks.
“Have you ever been to an auction before?” Eve asked, relieved that Lainey no longer seemed upset with her. “Because if you haven’t, I want to warn you not to make any sudden movements. Bids are made very discreetly by most of the members here, so a scratch, a raise of an eyebrow, anything can be considered a bid.”
“What are the numbers for?”
“You can use them to make your bid if you’re not interested in being discreet. They use the number to record who the highest bidder is for each auction.”
“I’ve been looking over the program while waiting for you,” Lainey told her. “There are some really great pieces. This one in particular is fabulous.”
Lainey pointed out a jade statue of Buddha with rubies and diamonds encrusted in the necklace around the neck of the portly figurine.
“Beautiful.”
It was the way Eve said it that had Lainey questioning if she meant the statue or Lainey herself.
“They’re starting the bid way below what he’s worth,” she said. “Why don’t you bid on it?”
The question nearly made Lainey laugh out loud. “It’s starting at $10,000, Eve. I could never afford that. Even if I could, Jack would kill me if I bought it.”
“It’s a beautiful piece, Lainey, and well worth it. This is your first auction. Have fun with it.” She was trying hard to concentrate on the fact that this was a new experience for Lainey, and exciting happening. But Tony remained in the back of her mind.
‘Having fun with it’ was easy for someone like Eve to say. She had more money than she cared to admit and had room to play with it. However, bidding did sound intriguing. Maybe she would, at least once, just for the hell of it. She was certain she wouldn’t win anyway, so why not do as Eve suggested and have fun with it? But then, she noticed that Eve, the woman who seemed to have no nerves at all, was tearing the edges of her program. “Is something wrong?” she asked. “You seem upset. Did something happen during your meeting with Agent Donovan?”
Eve heard the bite in Lainey’s voice, and found herself wishing they were alone so she could explain that Billy wasn’t the one that upset her. “They’re about to start. I’ll tell you everything later, okay?”
Lainey agreed grudgingly and settled in to enjoy her first auction. At least she hoped she could enjoy it. It was those times when she caught Eve unguarded that upset her the most because she could see then just how vulnerable Eve really was.
The silent competition between bidders intrigued Lainey. She was astonished at how high the bids became, and wondered just how much money these people had to just spend it so freely.
As for Eve, she took pleasure in watching Lainey’s expression which ranged from excitement to awe to total confusion. Between bids, Lainey would lean over to Eve and whisper something like, “Why would they pay that much money for something so hideous?” The only thing marring the moment for Eve was Tony. She could feel his eyes on her the whole time, but she wouldn’t risk Lainey knowing he was there.
When the jade Buddha came on the block, Eve noticed how Lainey had straightened slightly in her chair as though poised for a fight. Clearly she was relishing the rush of just being in the game. Lainey’s eyes lit up as the Buddha was brought on stage, and placed on a stand beside the auctioneer’s podium. Discreetly, Eve positioned herself where she could easily and unnoticeably make bids if necessary.
The auctioneer gave a brief description of the item and started the bidding. “Ten thousand is the first bid,” he said. “Do I have ten-five?”
Hesitantly, Lainey lifted her hand.
“Ten-five,” the auctioneer announced, pointing towards Lainey.
It was a rush, she thought cheerfully. But she must be careful not to go too far.
“Do I hear eleven? Eleven.” He pointed towards the opposite end of the room and looked back at Lainey briefly, questioningly, before continuing. “Eleven-five?” Lainey raised her hand. “Eleven-five.” The man smiled at Lainey. “Twelve?”
Before Lainey had a chance to get back into the action, the bid was up to twenty-five thousand. Deflated, she sat back and watched the little Buddha she had wanted slip through her fingers. She had known that she couldn’t have it anyway, but that didn’t stop the disappointment.
Eve caught the auctioneer’s eye and nodded ever-so-slightly. He had been the auctioneer at many of the auctions she had attended, and they had an understanding with each other. He knew when she wanted to be unnoticeable and this was one of those times. Bidding climbed steadily, with Eve
not backing down. She was going to possess this little green statue no matter what the cost.
“Bidding is at sixty thousand. Do I hear sixty-five?” He paused and scanned the room and sea of faces for any sign. “Sixty, going once. Going twice.” Pause. “Sold for sixty thousand to number,” with a quick glance at Eve’s paddle, he smiled. “Seven-four-one-three.”
“My goodness!” Lainey exclaimed. “Sixty thousand for that little, green pot-bellied man? I almost wish I had it to spend.”
“Look,” Eve said. “This is what we came here for.”
Lainey’s breath caught. “It’s beautiful. How much is it worth?” She kept her voice low, and leaned close to Eve. Lainey told herself that it was because the atmosphere was quiet, but she knew deep down it was because she loved being this close to Eve. Loved the smell of her, the feel of their bodies lightly touching.
“It’s priceless, really,” Eve told her as two men placed the painting of a nude with blue eyes and flesh reflected in lilac tones on the easel. “The frame is original and it has never been retouched. It’s even signed twice.”
Eve’s eyes became an almost translucent gray as she waited for the bidding to begin. She had already promised herself that no amount was too much for this magnificent piece of art.
“We’ll start the bidding off at one million.” Eve heard the auctioneer say and immediately made sure he knew she was interested. Catching his eye, Eve nodded.
“We have one million, do I hear one point five?”
“So she thinks she can just spend one million of my money, does she?” Tony could barely contain himself as he watched the bidding go higher. He saw Eve nod again and on impulse born of fury raised his hand to make his own bid.
“Sir, what are you doing?” Tony’s companion whispered. “You’re not registered to make bids.”
“I know. That’s why I’m bidding, you moron. She’ll eventually give up and I won’t have to buy it once they find out that I’ve been disqualified. But, she won’t get it either.”
Tony’s companion said nothing. He knew Eve, better than Tony, and he knew she would fight for this piece. He’d spent enough time watching over Eve to know that.
Something About Eve (An Eve Sumptor Book 1) Page 34