Gem Stone (22 page)

"That was too close for comfort. Do you think they even know we've escaped?"

Gem frowned, thinking on it. "Why would they be here? Shouldn't they be back at the house guarding us?"

Reid snorted. "Any answer to that question is just guessing. Those idiots probably threw us into that room and went to sleep. Just woke up now, looking for food. So stupid, maybe they even forgot about us. "

Mark shook his head. "They don't know we've escaped. That's obvious by the way they're just sitting there, so casual like. No, they either had nothing to do with this latest kidnapping or have no idea we've escaped." He turned back toward the library. "I'm sure as hell not waiting around to find out."

Gemma and Reid fell into step beside him. "What about the sheriff?"

"What about him? He can either come after us or talk to those men or go about his day as if we never existed. Who cares?"

"He did well by us with the food and stuff," Reid pointed out calmly. "It's a courtesy to wait and see."

"Why, just because he fed us? For all we know he signaled or told those men where we were." Mark picked up the pace as his frustration deepened.

Gem shook her head hard. "I don't think so. He was really horrified when he heard us talk."

"Or was he just pretending, playing a role?" Mark picked up the pace. They avoided a crowd of kids boisterously walking down the sidewalk. He tugged Gem closer, tucking her arm in his.

"The thing is, it doesn't really matter. I'm sure these men brought us here."

"All too possible. And that sucks." Reid hopped down on the road to walk and as soon as the crowd passed them, hopped back up on the sidewalk again.

The three grinned.

"Hey, wait up." They glanced back to find the sheriff running to catch up. "There's no need to run away."

That stopped them. "We were heading back to the library to wait for John."

He frowned, falling into step beside them. "Are you sure those were the men who kidnapped you?"

"Why?"

"I saw them at the pub last night?"

The three stopped and stared at him. "What? When?"

"Around 2:00 in the morning when the pub closed. And I have to tell you, neither were in any shape to drive. The bartender told me they'd been there all evening and night - drinking steadily."

"Damn," said Reid.

"Which means that they weren't the ones that kidnapped us." Mark stared at the other two.

"
This time
," said Gem bitterly. "They were definitely the assholes who kidnapped me, tied me up and threw me into their van."

"And they're the ones that took me," Mark growled, sharing a dark look with Reid. "It would explain why these guys were so relaxed at the restaurant. They mightn't have had anything to do with last night. Might not even know about what happened to us. And this could be home for them anyways."

"Maybe they were fired?" Gem loved the sound of that. "Or more likely they were just replaced after screwing up so badly."

"How did they screw up?" the sheriff asked curiously, shifting his belt higher as they reached the library. He opened the door.

Gem waited for Mark and Reid to enter, sending one searching look around the area before following them in. "Mark and I escaped from them."

"At different times," Reid added, smirking.

"On top of that, Reid evaded them too, making them look like double the fools." Gemma grinned as she glanced around the now bustling library. They took the same seats they'd used before.

The sheriff spoke with the librarian then strode to their table. He glanced at his watch. "What would you like to do until your ride gets here?"

"Stay here and read." Gem gave him a reassuring smile. "Not to worry. We'll be fine. I don't think those two guys are going to cause a ruckus in a public place."

The sheriff stood, hat in hand, and gazed from one to the other. "I'd feel better if you'd come back to the station with me. I can't stay because I want to have a talk with those two men." Frustration was evident in his voice. "I'd know you were safe in the station, at least."

"Not happening. We'll be fine here." Mark slumped lower on the hard seat, crossed his arms and leaned his head back. While Gem watched he closed his eyes as if to sleep. Not a bad idea. She felt safer catching a nap in public instead of in a private location where she could be snatched again. Waking up in a strange place was something she never wanted to experience again.

"You should still come with me." The sheriff rubbed his chin as if trying to figure out how to get them to do his bidding. "I need to get your statements. Besides, I can't leave you here alone."

"Then send a deputy to sit here with us. Or stay yourself," invited Gemma. "We could use a deck of cards, too."

The sheriff shook his head and walked back to the librarian. He pulled out his phone and started making calls. Gem grinned. That was one problem less.

"He can't leave us alone, you know," Mark said, never opening his eyes.

Gem went to the fantasy novel section and picked out a book she'd wanted to read for a while. If she were lucky it might be a decent story and she could finish before John arrived.

Just as she sat down, a young deputy walked into the library, a clipboard and a deck of cards in his hand. He stopped to speak with the sheriff before walking over to them. Gem laughed.

"There you go, Mark and Reid. That should take care of your boredom."

Soon after statements were taken, Gem looked up to see John's tired face as he walked through the front door.

"John," Gem cried out as she ran to him. She threw her arms around him in an exuberant hug. She couldn't believe how happy she was to see him.

When his arms came around to hug her back, memories of the few times she'd been held in her father's arms flooded her. That was so many long years ago.

Tears collected in the corner of her eyes. In spite of her best efforts, Gemma sniffled.

"There, there. You'll be fine now."

She smiled, blinking back tears. "Thanks for coming."

"I'm just sorry that you were in trouble in the first place." He shook his head. "Never saw the like of this mess." With his arm around her shoulder, they walked and talked their way to the others.

"Boys. You ready to go home?"

"Oh, yes." Reid hopped to his feet, a big grin on his face. "So ready."

Mark collected the cards and handed them back to the waiting deputy.

"What about the long drive home? Do you need to stop for a meal? To rest some?" Mark asked John.

John was adamant. "No. I don't want to leave Doris alone any longer than necessary. Her sister's family is with her now. So we'd best be getting back."

He turned and walked out the door. The deputy escorted them out of the library. The truck was parked down the block. But outside the truck, the Humpty and Dumpty pair stood talking to each other. As if
waiting.

Gemma stopped. Mark and Reid stood on either side of her. All of sudden Gemma was pissed. These men had made her life miserable. They'd stolen her property, and kidnapped her – possibly twice. She walked right up to them.

"What's the matter, assholes? Did you lose another one of your kidnap victims? Or did you go kidnap yet another young girl? Do the people in this town know you like to tie up girls and throw them into your van? Huh? You perverts. You say you work for the EPA. That's a load of crap. You're nothing but thugs."

She was practically screaming now as she released the rage burning inside. "You lousy, weak predators. Are you on the sexual predator register? Because if you aren't, you should be. Ten years to life for what you did to me – to all of us." She waved an arm to encompass Reid and Mark.

The two men froze, obviously shocked at her attack. As she reached them, they started to back up.

"Picking on innocent kids for your own kicks.
Sex offenders! Kidnappers!"

A group of onlookers had gathered around them. Gemma barely noticed. She didn't have a reverse gear at the best of times – even if she had she wouldn't be using it now. The men looked around uneasily.

"And all for the love of money. Get a job. A real job. They paid you to kidnap me – and you kidnap boys too. Money-sucking perverts."

The men turned all shades of red. They looked around anxiously at the angry crowd blocking their exit.

"Hey, that's not true," Humpty protested.

"Sure it is," Reid snapped, stepping beside Gem.

"You kidnapped me in Oxford," she scoffed." You kidnapped Mark earlier, tied and gagged him, then left him for dead in the creek. Didn't you? Didn't you!" she screamed.

"We were ordered to do it." Dumpty blustered, speaking to the tightening noose of a crowd, panic settling on his face. "It wasn't our fault. It was our job. And we're off it now. The boss man fired us. Told us to get lost. Besides you should look closer to home for the real problem. That's where you'll find the guy who caused the spill in the first place. Calls himself Fi-"

"Shut up, you fool," Humpty snapped.

Spill?
Gem took note of what had been said, but she was on a roll and not ready to give it up just yet. She'd discuss the 'guy who'd caused this mess' later.

"Right. Like I said, you're just hired predators – who enjoy their work. You took money for kidnapping and abusing boys and girls." Angry murmurs rose around them. Gemma switched her focus to address the crowd. "Take a good look at the slime that lives here in Dayport."

She gazed at the crowd. "They journeyed to Oxford where they chased Reid and then kidnapped, bound and left Mark for dead before they caught me. Thank God, I managed to escape. Not that escaping did any of us any good. We were all asleep in our own beds last night and what happened? We were drugged, kidnapped, tied up and left in a house a mile or so from here."

She leveled a scathing gaze at the two creeps. "You admit to these earlier crimes, yet you stand before me free. Why does the justice system protect assholes like you and allow kids like us to be abused and blamed for all the world's wrongs?"

She stepped back and glared at the men. "They have confessed to kidnapping, abuse and so much more." She spun around, found the deputy, nailing him in place with her gaze. "Why are they still free?"

The roar of the crowd almost deafened her.

The deputy stepped up. "I'm going to need some help here."

"No problem." Several men stepped up to help. They grabbed the two men and escorted them down the street to the deputy's vehicle.

The rest of the crowd cheered.

Gemma felt like cheering herself. Nothing quite like watching those two hauled off as the criminals they were. Paychecks didn't make what they did, right.

"You go girl." Reid patted her on the back. "That was something."

Mark stepped up and slung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a quick hug.

"You were magnificent. Remind me never to piss you off."

She laughed shakily, her heart still thundering in her chest. "Hey, that's great… Now you're both going to treat me like a princess, right?"

They both cracked up laughing.

T
he long drive home wore Gemma down. Which didn't make any sense. She hadn't done anything. How could sitting in a truck make her
tired
? She'd have understood if she'd been driving, but to be just a passenger?

The relief of finally being safe had been lost because in this nightmarish game the rules had changed. And she hadn't even gotten a handle on the original ones yet. Maybe the main players had changed, or would soon change now that Humpty and Dumpty had been taken off the streets. There had been three men at the house the first night, as well as the two in custody now, so that left one still out there. The big boss?

And bosses like him tended to have minions. There could be new ones now, too, and that couldn't be good.

"You know what I don't understand?" Gem asked quietly.

Mark looked over at her, his head lolling on the headrest. "What?"

"Why – with all the chances they had – didn't they kill us? They've worked hard to take us captive. To keep us without real harm. Why?"

Mark closed his eyes again. "Lack of time. Opportunity? Didn't they threaten you? Thought you said they did…"

"Hmmm. Look at Misty. Trussed up for pickup at a later time. They could have done so much worse."

"Maybe they didn't want to take that final step."

"True." But Gemma couldn't help worrying over the issue. "What if they just wanted to keep an eye on us? Make sure we didn't cause trouble? Became trouble? I don't know. See if we got into trouble?" She groaned. "Who knows what's going on? I sure don't."