Gem Stone (11 page)

Should she leave to call in the cavalry and find out later it had all been for nothing…and possibly get ribbed by the guys forever?
Hell no.
Better to check it out herself first. She poked her head over the tree limb. Still nothing. Stealthily, she crept up above the bend in the creek and listened for sounds of people.

Nothing. She walked forward.

Pain exploded as something smashed into the right side of her skull and she collapsed to the ground.

S
heriff Danny Jerome sat at his desk and wondered what his old friend John Hartman had gotten himself into. Had he bitten off too much with this home project? John's heart was in the right place, but if this EPA team out of Portland was right, these kids were trouble. Personally, he'd met them and he had his doubts that they were. They didn't look or act like mini-criminals to him.

This area was big on family. They grew them big around here. A half dozen kids apiece and extended families that came close to being complete schoolfulls when they gathered together. John and Doris hadn't been blessed with any children of their own. But they'd done everything they could to help everyone else's.

"Problems?" Ian, his long-time deputy asked, lounging in the spare chair in his boss's office. Ian's legs stretched out in front of him and Danny envied how he could be so relaxed at work. Ian had the life. A steady paycheck from a reasonably easy job, one without any responsibilities other than the regular police routine. And not much ever happened in their town.

Which is a good thing as Danny was short on staff right now. He had Ian's cousin, Barry as a special summer constable. The kid was hoping to make it onto the force next year. But that wasn't a sure thing.

"Those kids." Danny leaned back and studied Ian. "The three EPA guys from the Criminal Division… So they have to be here for a reason, other than just to pay those kids a friendly visit – only they're keeping their investigation hush hush."

Ian snickered. "Of course, they are."

Danny rolled his eyes. That was the thing about working with the same person for a long time. You understood what the other was thinking most of the time. "Like those kids had anything to do with that kind of contamination stuff."

According to John they are all misunderstood, need-a-second-chance angels. Danny shook his head. That wasn't quite true either. These kids didn't get to juvie based on their good looks. Still, he had to consider that they'd mended their ways and had worked through their punishment. He sensed they knew this home was decent, and if things went well for them, it was one step away from freedom. These kids weren't likely to jeopardize that opportunity at a clean slate.

"I wouldn't be so quick to believe that. I didn't like the idea of that home being approved in the beginning," Ian grumbled leaning back and closing his eyes. "Like we needed delinquent kids poking around here."

Danny considered that. Regardless if it were the kids or the home, there was one thing that couldn't be disputed. That little girl recovering in hospital didn't kidnap, tie up and drug herself.

Something bad was going down in Oxford. He highly doubted those kids had anything to do with it either. But he wouldn't discount the possibility
– he'd been wrong before.

Barry walked in. Damn he looked like a kid himself. Except Barry's poster-boy face was marred by a tight frown.

"What's the matter, son?" Danny watched as Barry straightened, almost to attention.

Barry faced him. "Remember those kids from the other night?" At Danny's nod, he continued, "The tall skinny male is here. He doesn't look so good."

What the hell?
Danny pushed his chair back and stood up. "What does he want?"

"He says the other two have been kidnapped and he knows who did it."

Confused, Danny stared at Ian for a moment. Then both raced out to the main office. Reid Langdon stood off to one side of the room, shifting his weight unsteadily from side to side. Dirt streaked his hair and face, and dust covered his clothes. Worse than that was the haunted look on his face, as if he'd just seen his best friend die.

He almost ran to meet them. "Please, you have to help them. They're good kids. Those same assholes took Mark and Gem. They're gonna kill them." His voice took on a desperate note. "Please help."

"Whoa, slow down here a minute." Danny hitched up his loose pants, cursing his wife's insistence that he lose a few pounds, then asked, "Now, who took who? And why?"

"Those men that were here last night. They took my friends." Reid almost shouted. "We told you. Humpty and Dumpty took Misty and now they've taken Gem and Mark."

Danny shook his head. He stepped forward slightly. "Now son. Let's just back up here a moment. Did you actually see these men take your friends? Besides, why on earth would they want to take those two?"

"Because Gem and Misty saw them, down toward the creek. She took pictures of them." He gasped for breath before blurting, "I saw Humpty tackle Mark. He went down hard. You've got to help find him. That blow could have killed him."

Ian grabbed Reid by the arm.

***

Mark lay trussed like a turkey all prepped for the oven. The van was hot enough to do the job, too. Hell. He'd been so stupid. They'd come up behind him like he was a green kid and he hadn't seen them until it was too late. He deserved the pounding going on inside his skull. Stupid. It wouldn't have happened a few years ago. This last year he'd become soft. Complacent. Comfortable.

He'd been easy.

That burned him. He should never have let someone catch him. Fucking humiliating.

"Look at the spit in those eyes." Humpty grinned at him. "Without those restraints, he'd be kicking the hell out of us."

Damn right.
Still will. Just wait.

He'd get loose somehow. Then he'd give them hell. The tight cloth muzzle pulled his mouth into a painful grin and his throat fought with the dangling threads, making him gag. For a long moment, he closed his eyes, and focused on pushing some of the cloth further forward in his mouth so he could breathe easier.

"He's planning something. Look at him," Humpty said. The two men watching Mark, chuckled. "Too bad. He's not getting free – ever."

Mark stilled.
Ever?
Shit. He didn't plan on dying today. He hoped Reid had gotten away. Mark had been disoriented and dizzy when the first blow caught him, but he'd seen Reid. Wiry and almost double-jointed, Reid had fought like a banshee rooster, breaking free and bolting through the trees. Reid had a decent head on his shoulders; he'd go for help.

"We haven't been ordered to take him out permanently," Dumpty said. "Have we?"

Humpty smirked. "Not yet."

Mark shifted on the vehicle's metal floor, almost groaning aloud from his screaming muscles. Catching back the noise at the last moment, he closed his eyes and worked to control his pain. These assholes would love to hear him suffer.

How far away could Reid have gotten by now? And who would he go to? No one cared about them. They were nothing to society.

Maybe John. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that was a damn good idea. Mark had the impression that John knew the sheriff pretty well. That couldn't hurt. Another missing kid should set off some alarms, even if the kid were from juvie.

How the hell did one leave juvie behind? It's not like he'd wanted to steal when he'd been caught. He'd had to. He hadn't had the benefit of a nice warm bed and food three times a day. He'd been on the streets, part of a gang, because they'd protected him and stopped the pedophiles from getting at him. A life like other kids experienced was so far from his experience and understanding that he couldn't believe it – or believe in it. Couldn't even imagine it.

Others lived a fairy tale. And he was no damn girl looking for a white knight to save him. He'd learned the hard way that there were no saviors in life – only deviants pretending to be normal.

He went back to glaring at the two assholes. Who the hell were they? And why were they still here? And why had they taken him? He hadn't seen anything. Not really. Hell, he hadn't even known these dweebs were near the creek. They'd come out of nowhere.

He wished he knew what was in the jugs jammed further back in the van. And where were they getting the different vehicles from? They'd driven a truck in the pictures Gem had taken. A fancy government looking car to John's and now they were in this old beat up van.

Gem. What about her? How far behind had she been? Only minutes, surely. He'd been worried that Gem hadn't caught up to them. He'd waited at the rise with Reid, knowing they'd have a better view of the area and could see how far behind she was.

That must be how these guys had seen him and Reid approach.

Gem was pretty wily though. If they tried to take her, she'd fight like crazy. If they knocked her out, well, then she'd likely end up here with him.

"So where's your girlfriend?" Dumpty asked, a leer on his thick lips.

Mark narrowed his eyes at him. What girlfriend?
Gem?
Or did he mean Misty? She'd damn well better be in the hospital. Safe…

"Don't hassle him. He looks like he'd cause a ruckus and I don't want to leave any blood behind from having to knock him about. This is a simple job."

The initial relief that had overwhelmed Mark at the older man's words, changed to horror when he realized the man was trying to keep the area clean. Evidence free. Mark slumped back onto the bare floor of the vehicle and tried to think. Surely there had to be something he could do… His hands were handcuffed in front of him. He could get out of simple ones, but he didn't know about this set.

"Let's go pick the girl up. She should be almost here."

Mark stiffened.
Damn
. He'd hoped Gem and Reid had gotten away.

"Let's get this over with," Humpty said to Dumpty, and stepped further back, letting Mark see the bright sunshine. At least they still had daylight on their side.

Humpty left through the front driver's door. But Dumpty moved toward the open side door.

Mark brought his legs, still tied together, up against Dumpty's knees as he went to step out of the van.

"Shit!" The man stumbled and half fell out of the van. He struggled to get his bulk upright again. "Fucking kid."

"A little resistance is par for the course. Jesus, you'd think you'd know that by now." Humpty walked to the open door to smirk at Mark. Then without warning, he slammed a hard punch into Mark's shoulder before walking away.

Mark twisted in fury, his feet pounding the van wall. Hate burned a hole inside him as he realized he couldn't stop them from going after Gem. She wouldn't even see them coming. He could only lie there, helpless, as the men laughed and took off.

His eyes widened.

Took off?
That meant he was alone.

Panicking with concern for Gem, yet calm about what he had to do, he tested the bonds around his ankles. They weren't going to let go any time soon.
Damn.
Where was Reid?
Reid would have the cuffs off Mark in no time. So would Gem, for that matter.

Hitching himself forward on his belly, he looked around the door opening. Shuffling further, he searched for any sign he wasn't alone. Tugging and twisting to get his shoulders past the door, he dropped his head to look under the van. No legs showed on the other side.

Taking his chance, he placed his hobbled hands on the ground in front of him and walked them forward until he was stretched out like a board, to the point his feet were the only part of him left in the vehicle. Then he pulled his knees up to his chest, and managed, by squatting, to awkwardly stand up.

He didn't waste any time. As quickly as he could he hopped to the closest bushes. Hot and sweaty from the exertion, he couldn't stop a sigh of relief at having escaped. A quick glance back showed they'd have no problem tracking him down because his movements had churned up the dusty ground.

Taking only a quick moment, he searched the area but couldn't see anything around to cut the ropes on his feet, so he kept going as fast as he could. There were miles of small brush clumps and dry rocky ground. He needed more cover, damn it.

He fell several times; each time he picked himself up and carried on. Panic used up his air immediately and left stitches of pain stabbing into his ribs with every movement. The men would return any minute, possible with Gem. Getting away was the best way to help himself…and her. A large log crossed his path. Shit. He sat down and spun his legs over to the other side and hopped some more.

A yell sounded behind him.

Crap.
His heart pounded and the surge of blood through his veins threatened to choke him. The next jump did him in. He landed awkwardly, twisted to try to catch his balance and fell over sideways.