The Desert Blooms by Iris Johansen

Author:Iris Johansen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-06-04T22:48:56+00:00

She looked up with an expression of relief. "Oh, Philip, I'm so glad you're home." She jumped to her feet, snatched up the baby, and hurried across the room. "They won't listen to me. I showed them the medallion, but I'm a woman and they don't seem to have the least respect for our sex. I don't really think Hanar likes the idea of the snakes, but they won't listen to her either, and she's afraid of her father-in-law." She stopped to catch her breath. "You run this damn country. Tell them they can't do it."

"Can't do what?" he asked blankly.

"Put a snake in his playpen," Pandora said impatiently. "I don't care if it is only a harmless little grass snake. It can't be sanitary." She shivered.

"Besides, the whole idea is creepy." Her hand was rubbing the baby's back caressingly. "Imagine putting one of those things in with this darling."

"I don't want to imagine anything at all," he said, trying to hold on to his patience. "I want to be told, very clearly and precisely."

"But I am telling you," she said indignantly. "They put a snake in the baby's playpen. There was actually one curled up on the mat sleeping in the sun when I first saw the baby by the booth at the bazaar, but I snatched it out and threw it away."

"It's obvious that we're going to have to play question and answer." He stabbed his finger at the weeping woman, who broke off in midwail, her eyes wide with apprehension. "Who's that?"

"Hanar, the baby's mother. She's really quite nice, if a trifle wishy-washy."

"The one who is afraid of her father-in-law and allows snakes to be put in the baby's playpen. Now, who is the father in question?"

Pandora pointed to the young man standing by the window being berated by the huge, bearded water vendor. "Beldar, the snake charmer, and that's his father, Damien, the water vendor."

Philip gestured to the musicians sitting on the floor, then gritted his teeth as the zither emitted a particularly shrill shriek. "Do they have to do that?"

"Well, I couldn't stop them. They're Beldar's brothers and absolutely crazy about the baby. It's the first boy born in the family. They think their music soothes the baby." She glanced down at the docile little boy in her arms. "You know, theymay be right. Maybe he has a thing for heavy metal."

"Well, I do not." Philip said decisively. "Now that we have the cast of characters, let's have the scenario. You were at the bazaar this morning. You saw the snake in the baby's playpen and you took it out. What happened next?"

"Beldar came running up and tried to put it back in the playpen." Pandora's eyes were flashing with indignation. "I couldn't let him do that, could I? So I snatched up the baby and brought him here, until we could pound some sense into Beldar's head. He picked up the rest of the family as we went through the bazaar. I really think it's his father's fault.

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