Conflict of Interest (The McClouds of Mississippi) Read Free Page A

cast more spooky shadows than it eliminated. Moving swiftly but carefully over the slick rock walkway that led to the porch steps, she could almost feel the eyes of hungry night creatures following her progress. It was so quiet she was sure she could hear her own heart pounding. Who could sleep out here without the soothing sounds of cab horns and emergency sirens, muffled shouts and the clatter of garbage trucks?
    She was relieved to duck under his covered porch, out of the mist. Tossing her damp auburn hair out of her face, she paused for a few moments to catch her breath before reaching for the doorbell. There were lights burning in the windows and sounds coming from inside, so she knew someone was home. Showing up unannounced on his doorstep was hardly proper business etiquette, but it wasn’t as if she could have called and let him know she was on her way. He wouldn’t have answered the phone if she’d tried.
    She had to ring the bell a second time before the door finally opened. Her first thought was that this could not possibly be Gideon McCloud. This man was young—no older than thirty—and incredibly good-looking, with tousled dark hair, long-lashed green eyes and an athlete’s body clad in a gray sweatshirt, washed-soft jeans and running shoes. Maybe she had the wrong house.
    But then he spoke—or rather, barked at her—and she knew she had the right man, after all. “What do you want?”
    “Are you Gideon McCloud?” she asked, more a formality than an inquiry.

    “Yes. Who are you?” His tone was impatient, his attention obviously focused elsewhere.
    “I’m Adrienne Corley. Your agent,” she added, in case the name didn’t immediately register.
    At least that got his attention. “What the hell are you doing here?”
    Before she could answer, a child’s wail sounded from behind them. “Gideon! I still can’t find Hedwig.”
    Gideon grimaced, then held the door wider. “Come in. You can help us look for—”
    “Gideon!”
    He shoved a hand through his hair, explaining its disarray. “I’m coming, Isabelle.”
    Closing the door behind Adrienne, he turned and walked away, motioning for her to follow. Thoroughly confused, she trailed after him, her bulging briefcase tucked beneath her arm.
    She noted in a quick, sweeping glance that the room they entered was a neatly furnished, Southwestern-style den. In the center of the room, dressed in a white nightgown with pink ribbons, stood a little girl with the angelically beautiful face of a Sandra Kuck cherub. Framed in a cloud of golden curls, her rosy cheeks were tear-streaked, her huge blue eyes flooded. Even as Adrienne watched, another teardrop escaped to slide slowly down her face.
    “Your daughter?” she asked Gideon.
    “My sister,” he answered curtly. “Isabelle.”
    Sister? The child couldn’t be more than four.
    “Gideon?” The little girl’s lower lip quivered as she spoke. “I’ve looked everywhere. ”
    “Then we’ll have to look again,” he said. “My house isn’t that big, and you’ve only been here a few hours. Your toy couldn’t have simply disappeared.”
    He turned toward the doorway. “I’ll go look in the office and the kitchen again. You two keep searching in here.”
    “Um, what are we looking for? ” Adrienne called after him.
    “Hedwig,” Isabelle replied.
    “A stuffed toy owl,” Gideon clarified over his shoulder. “White.”
    Left alone with the woebegone child, Adrienne looked uncertainly around the room. “Where have you looked?”
    “Everywhere.”
    Adrienne drew a deep breath and moved toward the suede couch. She laid her briefcase and leather jacket at one end, then turned toward the child. “Okay, let’s look again.”
    They searched behind the cushions and beneath the couch, then peered under a big leather recliner and a couple of armchairs covered in a Southwestern tapestry fabric. Their efforts netted nothing. There weren’t even any dust bunnies beneath the furniture. She wished