Desert Devil

by Rena McKay

  "How—how dare you!" she gasped.

  The astonishment in his eyes was only momentary, quickly replaced by a stubborn glint. "I didn't know you were going to—"

  She slammed the door shut and started the car, cutting off anything he might say. She struggled with the steering wheel, awkwardly trying to keep herself decently covered at the same time. Her glance darted between the rearview mirror and Thorne leaning against the silver Porsche with what seemed insolent nonchalance, considering that he had just practically ripped off her blouse. Her palms and back were almost instantly damp with nervous perspiration, but he watched her with an infuriating calm.

  She finally gave up trying to wrestle the car backward into the main part of the driveway and jolted forward to drive around the full circle that led past the house. From there she could see Mrs. Taylor saddling the horse, looking not only beautiful, but efficiently competent. Juli scrunched down in the seat, only hoping her disheveled condition could not be seen. She had never felt so embarrassed, so totally humiliated. She speeded up as she headed toward the arched entryway, wanting only to get away from here as fast as possible. She glanced toward the cottonwoods, warily watching for Thorne's tall figure but catching only the silvery gleam of the Porsche.

  And then, as her eyes darted back to the driveway, she realized the reason for his air of nonchalant superiority. She had forgotten all about those closed gates! They loomed ahead of her like prison bars, spike-tipped and unyielding. She braked, all concern with keeping herself decently covered forgotten as she used both hands to try to control the skidding car. She could never stop in time—

  Chapter Four

  The car vibrated with the force of the skid, the wheel shuddering in Juli's clenched hands. And then, only seconds before impact, the spiked iron gates swung outward and the car skidded on through. It came to a dead stop on the sandy shoulder of the road. Juli rested her head weakly against the wheel, mind frozen, hands limp and nerveless now. Her mouth felt dry, her throat too tight to swallow at the realization that only split-seconds had separated her from disaster. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath, her stomach suddenly giddy with nausea. If Thorne hadn't managed to open the gates just in time…

  But following that thankful thought came a rush of angry realization. There had been plenty of time for Thorne to open the gates! It was obvious she intended exiting when she circled the driveway. And yet he had chosen to leave the gates closed, stubbornly barricading her way. Only when impact seemed inevitable had he finally relented and activated the gate controls from his car.

  And that probably not so much for her sake as to prevent his expensive gates from being damaged, she thought cynically as she lifted her head from the steering wheel and dried damp palms on her jeans. She caught a glimpse of movement in the rearview mirror and hurriedly fumbled with the ignition key. She had no intention of staying around for some derisive comment from Thorne on her driving ability.

  The engine growled ominously for a moment, but then caught, and she pulled back onto the road. She drove slowly, aware of one side of her lacy bra exposed by the torn blouse, but too shaky to take a hand off the wheel to hold the ragged edges of material together.

  A little farther on, realizing she had to pass through the streets of the housing development, she pulled off to the side of the road and found an old jacket on the back seat with which to cover herself. Her hands were trembling now, fury and shock and humiliation all mixed up together. From the very first she had sensed that savage part of Thorne hidden beneath the sophisticated exterior of the respected business leader, and today the veneer had fallen away to expose his character, as he had exposed her body. And all within shouting distance of his wife. She looked again at the ruined blouse, the naked skin of her shoulder, and the upper curve of her breast. How could he—how dare he!

  She drove on home to the trailer, thoughts in turmoil. There she showered in the rickety metal shower stall and tried to calm her shattered nerves. She had two primary thoughts. One was that Aunt Kate was lucky to get anything from Taylor Electronics, considering today's exhibition of this violent aspect of Thorne's character. The other was that all she wanted now was to get the trailer and property sold and get away from Cholla as quickly as possible.

  With that thought in mind, she made a strong cup of coffee to strengthen her shaky nerves and forced down a tuna sandwich. For the first time since arriving in Cholla, she slipped into a dress, a full-skirted apricot-colored sundress that complemented her brown hair and glowing tan. Somehow she felt the odd need to both look and feel feminine, as if that could somehow erase the morning's shocking confrontation with its undertones of raw sexuality. Juli could not imagine any of the men she had dated back home ever doing such a thing, at least not by anything other than pure accident, and then with embarrassed stammers of apology. But then, she thought grimly, she had never gotten involved with a man like Thorne Taylor before.

  She selected a real estate agent at random, pulling over to the curb when she spied the sign between a drugstore and a florist's shop. She entered without hope of selling the property for more than a minimal sum, and the salesman seemed unimpressed when she showed him her Polaroid snapshot of the trailer. She explained briefly about David's death and the circumstances of the sale. He nodded and um-hmmed without much enthusiasm, murmuring that they didn't get much call for small trailers. But when she told him the address, his interest perked up.

  While he went across the room to locate property maps of the area, Juli became aware of curious glances from a customer talking to a salesman at another desk. The man was of medium height, wearing a slate-blue suit that looked almost too suave among Cholla's mostly casual dressers. He was a few years older than Juli. He wasn't pale, but he hadn't the outdoorsy tan that was so customary here. He wasn't handsome, either, but he had an interestingly angular face and alert blue eyes. The salesman pushed a photograph across the desk to him. He returned it with a disinterested shake of his head.

  Juli's salesman returned then. His manner had changed completely. He pointed out the property on he map. It was larger than Juli had realized. Hesitantly, she asked his advice about a suitable selling price and his answer astonished her.

  "That doesn't seem possible! We never expected anything close to that."

  He went on to explain that the area was expected to be annexed to the city soon, and a property the size of this could then be subdivided into home sites.

  "Way out there?" Juli asked, still astonished. "It's just dry desert."

  The salesman smiled. "Well, as the sign says, Taylor Electronics is bringing progress and prosperity, and Cholla is growing right along with the company." He turned the map around. "In addition, you're fortunate that the property is out of a flash-flood area. Builders have to watch that. Some of these dips and washes may look as if they've been dry for a hundred years, but once in a while we get a real 'gully-washer' of a rain. I'd say your cousin made a pretty shrewd buy, getting that piece of land before values went up."

  Juli suspected David's purchase of the land was not so much a shrewd investment as a facet of his solitary character and a desire to be as far away from neighbors as possible, but she didn't say anything.

  "You could probably get more for the place if you want to hold it until the annexation goes through," the salesman added, "but if you're in a hurry to sell—"

  Juli nodded firmly. "I'm in a hurry." She hesitated a moment, eyeing the blue lines on the map indicating property borders. "Does the property join the Taylor land?"

  The salesman nodded and grinned. "Which doesn't hurt its value, either," he said. "Too bad its on the wrong side of the ridge, or the Taylors themselves might be interested."

  They settled on the asking price and the salesman jotted down a few more details. Juli started toward the door, pleased. The money from the sale, plus what Taylor Electronics was paying, would set Aunt Kate up quite nicely, especially now that she might be able to work part-time. Juli was just reaching for the door
when an arm reached around and opened it for her.

  "Please, allow me," the man who had been at the next desk said. He smiled. "It's so nice to see a girl who looks all frilly and feminine. I get a little tired of athletic Western girls in pants who always look as if they're ready to rope a steer or brand a cow."

  Juli returned the smile. What he said was an exaggeration, of course, but it did give her spirits a nice lift. She murmured a thanks, letting it cover both the compliment and his courteous gesture. She started toward her car, not interested in furthering the acquaintance, but his next words stopped her short.

  "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help overhearing. I'm Brian Eames. I was hired to take David Flynn's place at Taylor Electronics."

  The shocked look on her face brought another apology to his lips. Stunned, Juli just looked at him. Her first reaction was an illogical surge of anger, like hearing of a first wife replaced by a second before the grave is hardly covered. No one could take David's place! But she quickly realized the unfairness of that, and with it came another thought. Brian Eames worked in the very job David had held. If anyone was in a position to know what David had done, it was this very man. If she could obtain inside information, perhaps a way could be found to circumvent that paper Aunt Kate had signed. If she could prove that Thorne and Taylor Electronics deliberately deceived or defrauded Aunt Kate—

  Juli gave Brian Eames her warmest smile and he stopped apologizing, seemingly a little dazzled. Guiltily, Juli realized she wasn't being quite honest, that there was an ulterior motive behind her sudden change in attitude, but she determinedly shoved the guilty feeling aside.

  "Somehow I didn't think you were a Cholla native," she said lightly. "You're from back East?"

  He nodded. "Shows that much, does it? Well, I can't say I'm sorry," he said cheerfully. "A tan is fine, but I prefer broiling a thick steak to overcooking my own skin—though I must say you've reached a very appetizing state of doneness," he added, eyeing her honey tan appreciatively.

  Juli just laughed. "Are you buying a home here?"

  "Thinking about it. Even if I don't stay here too long, a house should be a good investment, the way prices keep going up. I don't have a wife or family," he added.

  Juli eyed him reflectively. His comment that he might not be staying long interested her. Did he already have a grudge against Taylor Electronics? She wondered what to say next, now definitely wanting to prolong the conversation. Brian Eames made that easy.

  "Could I interest you in joining me for a nice cool margarita in the lounge around the corner?"

  Juli had never in her life accepted the offer of a drink from a man she had just met under such casual circumstances, nor did she have any idea what a margarita was. But she recklessly nodded yes. If there was a chance to find out something which might be useful in her battle against Taylor Electronics, she was not going to let the opportunity slip by.

  She left her car parked where it was. Brian stopped to throw a real estate pamphlet into his car. It was not as luxurious and expensive a model as Thorne's Porsche, but it was low-slung and sporty. He touched her elbow lightly as they rounded the busy corner. Juli hesitated once, thinking she saw a familiar silvery flash among the cars passing by on the street, but a passing truck blocked her view before she could be certain.

  The lounge was cool and dim, soft music coming from some unseen source. The tables were almost unoccupied at this hour. He guided her to a secluded table in a corner and ordered two margaritas. They chatted conversationally about the weather, local property values, exchanging impressions of Arizona in general. Juli was anxious to work the conversation around to the subject of David and his job, but she didn't want to be too obvious about it. The drinks arrived and Brian took a quick, appreciative gulp of his.

  "Ah," he said. "Lovely. Margaritas and air conditioning are all that make Cholla bearable. Of course, that was before I met you," he added, inspecting her with unconcealed interest.

  Juli smiled and eyed the frothy, delicately green-tinted drink doubtfully. "What is it?"

  "Mostly tequila and lime juice. Try it. It's much better-tasting than it sounds."

  Juli sipped tentatively, surprised to find the sweetly tangy taste quite pleasant. She touched the rough salt crystals rimming the curved glass. "Salt?"

  He nodded. "The rim of the glass is rubbed with lime juice and then dipped in salt," he explained. "Of course, the real way to drink tequila is to sprinkle the salt on the back of your hand, take a sip of tequila, and then have a lick of salt. Somewhere in there you're supposed to suck a lemon, too. However, the more civilized among us, including myself, prefer the salt-dipped run. And lime juice."

  Juli wrinkled her pert nose and laughed. "That does sound a bit more civilized."

  "And sanitary," he added. He leaned forward. "I hate to say this, but I hope your cousin's place doesn't sell too soon so you'll stay around for a while."

  It gave her the smallest crack of an opening. "I think David must have liked it here. Or perhaps it was the job he liked, more than the town."

  "It's a good job, all right," Brian admitted. "Taylor Electronics pays well. But then they'd have to, to get anyone to stay in this godforsaken place."

  It was on the tip of Juli's tongue to say that she found Cholla quite pleasant and, given a little time, thought she could learn to love the harsh, dry beauty of the desert. But she held her tongue, not wanting to get sidetracked on that line of discussion. "You said you were doing David's job?" she prompted.

  "In a manner of speaking. His death created a vacancy in the department, and I was hired to fill it. However, David was involved in product-testing at the time of his death, and I've since moved over into actual research."

  "Oh." Juli felt vaguely disappointed. That was the same story Thorne had told her. She sipped the cool, refreshing drink, wondering if she dared come out with what was really on her mind. Would Brian Eames be interested in helping her?

  "I understood that the company expected great things of David when they hired him, but from what I hear he had other things besides his job on his mind."

  "What do you mean?" Juli questioned cautiously.

  Brian's brow wrinkled slightly and he shrugged. "Actually, I'm not sure. David was such a loner that no one seemed to know much about him. Maybe he got involved with a woman. Or drinking. Who knows? But he had something on his mind. However, I can't say I'd condemn a man for resorting to some vice to make life bearable here." He paused suddenly, blue eyes intent. "I hope I'm not upsetting you. I don't mean to."

  "Of course not," Juli assured him. As a matter of fact, she reflected, what Brian was saying could be a confirmation that David had been on to something big and important, something that preoccupied both his time and interests. Could it have been something secret, something other workers in the department didn't even know about?

  "If you'd like a tour through the plant or the research department while you're here, I could arrange it," Brian offered unexpectedly.

  Juli shook her head, restraining a shiver. "I don't think so. I've already met Mr. Taylor."

  "Ah, yes," he said dryly. "Our sun-tanned leader. Cholla's most eligible bachelor. One glance from him and fourteen secretaries swoon at their desks."

  One word leaped out at Juli. "Bachelor? But I thought he was married!"

  Brian shook his head. "Not unless he acquired a wife since yesterday. And I'm sure that didn't happen, or there would have been a groan of disappointment from the secretarial pool that could have been heard all over Cholla."

  Juli ignored his facetious exaggeration. "But I just met his wife," she protested. "I had to go to… to Mr. Taylor's house for something, and she was there. And she definitely said she was Mrs. Taylor."

  Brian asked Juli to describe the woman. Juli did so in as straightforward a manner as possible, giving a general description of age and coloring without remarking on the woman's seductively sexy appearance.

  Finally, Brian nodded. "Oh, that was Mrs
. Taylor, all right. Mrs. Nicole Taylor. She's the widow of Thorne Taylor's younger brother, Jason."

  "Widow!" Juli gasped. "But she said—" Juli broke off, surprised and puzzled. She was sure the other woman had deliberately led her to believe she was Thorne's wife.

  "You've seen the Taylor place?" Brian asked, eyeing her with frank curiosity.

  "A little business matter concerning David," Juli explained hurriedly. Her mind was spinning. What Brian was saying didn't change what Thorne had done, of course, but it threw a subtly different light on the situation. Thorne might be arrogant and savage, but he hadn't been sneaking around behind a wife's back. "Was Thorne's brother involved in the company, too?"

  "Oh, sure. Half-owner. He did a lot of traveling for the company, I understand. He died several months before David's accident."

  Brian's second drink arrived and he gulped it as appreciatively as the first. With it came crisp tortilla chips and a creamy guacamole dip. The rich blend of avocado and spices was a perfect contrast to the icy drinks, but Juli's thoughts were elsewhere.

  "How did he die?" she asked curiously.

  "Hiking accident. It happened up in the Superstition Mountains. He had a hobby of hunting for lost gold mines, and there's supposed to be a famous One up there somewhere. He slipped on a rock or something and fell over a cliff. Some other hikers saw it happen, but he was dead when they got to him."

  Juli shuddered. "How awful."

  Brian nodded. "Just one more reason you won't find me stumbling around out there. But the widow seems to be bearing up nicely," he added dryly. "With Thorne Taylor's strong arm for support, of course."

  Juli glanced up sharply. "Is there something between them?"

  Brian shrugged. "You hear all kinds of rumors."