Gem Stone (29 page)

The sheriff glared. "You should've left the kids alone."

"I didn't plan on touching them?" Ian said, "But once those two idiot cousins got into the action, things went to hell...fast. I tried to fix it, but..."

"So what the hell are you doing now?" Trust Reid to put it in simple terms. "Leave us alone and go away."

"I can't do that." Ian looked around. "Things are too out of control."

Gem watched the expressions race over his face. "Why not?" she asked.

He glared at them. "I'm not stupid. I know when I'm cooked. I figured Barry might confuse the issue long enough for me to haul ass out of here. As it is now…I've got a bit of a problem here."

"Yep, you do. Too many of us to shoot. We'll all jump you at the first shot. So you might as well just hand over the gun and call it a day." Gem cheerfully smiled at him. John would be coming around the corner – if not at this moment, then soon. There was no way this guy was going anywhere. At the very minimum, he'd been storing illegal chemicals and admitted to kidnapping them out of John's house. That should mean jail time.

She couldn't help but grin at the idea of this deputy doing some serious time in prison. "You're looking at even more years behind bars if you don't put that gun down."

"Not going to happen." He retreated several steps. "All three kids. Lie down on the ground, hands behind your back."

"No." Mark stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a bored look on his face.

Barry stepped forward. "Come on, Ian. Put the gun down."

"No?" Ian screamed, his face turned red. "Do you want to get the first bullet?" He leveled the gun at Mark's chest. Mark glared at him. "No, then how about I take out the damn girl." He shifted the gun toward Gem.

She felt the color drain from her face.

"I don't want to hurt you," Ian said, "but if think you're going to screw up my plan to disappear, you've got anothe––"

A shovel came out of nowhere and smacked him hard on the side of head. His eyes rolled up and his face went funny. He collapsed to the ground with a thud. John stood over him, a heavy shovel in hand.

"Damn deputy." John glared at the sheriff and Barry. "Now what's the point of being lawmen if the kids are the ones that got to do all the work?"

The sheriff ran a hand over his face then looked down at the unconscious deputy. He picked up Ian's gun and tucked it away. Then holstered his own. "Ten years he's worked for me. Never once did I see this in him." A worried look wrinkled up his face. "And where the hell are those other chemicals he said he was storing? And who was he storing them for? Ian has a lot to answer for when he wakes up."

"I've got a hint for you, Sheriff." Gem walked toward them. "Check out the rest of his family. Someone probably works for a waste disposal company."

Mark stepped in, "Or find a new job. Cause we aren't going to be quiet about this."

"What? Now there's no call for that." The sheriff's face had gone pale then flushed red.

Gem glanced at Mark and Reid, then back at the sheriff. "You can't look me in the eye and tell me you did right by us in this case, can you?"

He flushed. Pursing his lips, he shook his head. "Not in the beginning, but I definitely did afterwards. And now I've got a mess of work to do. We've got to track down this company. And find out about those chemicals. And if some dangerous ones are stored in this town, we have to clear them out and clean up. And keep an eye on you guys in case you did come in contact with something in the creek."

Mark's face puckered. Gem almost laughed.

"Got some fun times in front of us." A determined look came over the sheriff's face. He nodded. "But we'll get to the bottom of this. And make sure everyone involved pays for their part in this mess."

"See that you do. In a couple of years we'll be voters too." Gem glared at him as another idea filtered into her mind. "On the other hand there might be something you can do to make up for your initial lapse." She tapped her foot, thinking about it.

He frowned. "Oh. Just what would that be? And you wouldn't be talking blackmail, would you?"

She snorted.

Mark puffed up at the insult. She placed a restraining hand on his arm. "No we aren't into anything illegal – thanks once again for the instinctive lack of confidence. Too bad you didn't look at those closest to you instead of at us. No, I have something in mind, but I'll have to think on it first. I'll be talking to you over the next few days, I'm sure."

The sheriff pursed his lips, studied her face with narrowed eyes, then after a long silence where Gem stared back him, he nodded. "When you're ready to discuss the matter, come on down to the station. I'll be sure to make some time."

"Will do." She smiled brightly and smirked at the suspicious look he tossed her way. The sheriff caught Mark's grin, studied it, then shook his head. He turned away to look at his old friend, handcuffed on the ground, and now starting to moan. "Barry, let's get him back to the station. We have a mess of work to do."

With a determined look, the young deputy hauled the older man, moving now, but groggily, to his feet. "Let's go, Ian."

They escorted Ian back to the car on the shoulder of the road. "Good riddance," Gem said as they watched the three law enforcement officers drive away. "Wonder if this is finally over."

"Hopefully our part in this is." John leaned on his shovel and stared at the three kids in front of him. "Too often justice isn't always served at the top level."

"No, it isn't. He didn't actually say who set fire to the house either, did he? Might have been Creepers or maybe Ian did it. Not sure that we can believe him anyway." She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. Then she remembered something else. Turning back to Mark and Reid, she grinned. "No more Creepers. At least for a while." She gave a nonchalant shrug. "Of course, there'll be a replacement."

"So now what?"

Gemma walked over to John and gave him a hug. "First things first. Thank you."

He stabbed the shovel into the ground and wrapped her tight in his arms. "You're welcome. Good thinking on that phone call."

"Had to do something. Wasn't liking the way things were going. Now we have witnesses as well." She stepped back and beamed at the males surrounding her. Life was good.

"What's the chance that our life can get back to normal now?" Gem asked hopefully. "Maybe even get Misty home too?"

"Soon. Let's get moving." John picked up his shovel. "Doris's going to be worried until we show."

The three fell into step behind him.

"So now what?" Mark linked arms with Gem.

"Yeah, things could get rather boring now, huh?" Reid looked over at them as they walked home, then hooked his arm through her other arm.

"Boring. Oh I don't know about that. I think we can always find something exciting to keep us from being bored. I'm sure the sheriff would enjoy some assistance on his other cases. Maybe keep us on as reserve deputies? Volunteer deputies even? Can't be official ones yet, though." She smirked and nudged Reid gently.

They'd all be looking for work coming up. What a perfect idea. The sheriff was already primed.

"What do you think?" Gem smiled. "Would you like to work on the right side of the law for a change? I'm thinking there could be some ends to tie up here. Like the need to find Ian's cache of hidden chemicals. Find out all the other players who were involved? And that could be just for starters."

Reid's face lit up. "If only. That would be a lot of fun, actually. Barry would go for it. What do you think? How's our leverage on the sheriff? Big enough?"

Mark chuckled. "I don't know if it's that big. Besides, working for law enforcement would give John and Doris the heebie-jeebies."

John was too far ahead to hear their conversation. Just as well.

"Maybe and maybe not. John and Doris want us to have jobs and hobbies. So what's better than working
with
the law
as
a hobby?"

"You think we could make it happen?" Reid's face lit up with hope. "Cause I'd
love
that."

"You know something. I think it might be possible." She looked up at Mark. "Talk to me. Yes, or no?"

"What about Misty? Can she join if she wants to?" Mark tilted an eyebrow.

"Absolutely. Family is family."

The three exchanged energized conspiratorial glances. "Let's do it!"

Drawing is her world...but when her new pencil comes alive, it's his world too.

Her
... Storey Dalton is seventeen and now boyfriendless after being dumped via Facebook. Drawing is her escape. It's like as soon as she gets down one image, a dozen more are pressing in on her. Then she realizes her pictures are almost drawing themselves...or is it that her new pencil is alive?

Him
... Eric Jordan is a new Ranger and the only son of the Councilman to his world. He's crossed the veil between dimensions to retrieve a lost stylus. But Storey is already experimenting with her new pencil and what her drawings can do – like open portals.

It
... The stylus is a soul-bound intelligence from Eric's dimension on Earth and uses Storey's unsuspecting mind to seek its way home, giving her an unbelievable power. She unwittingly opens a third dimension, one that held a dangerous predatory species banished from Eric's world centuries ago, releasing these animals into both dimensions.

Them
... Once in Eric's homeland, Storey is blamed for the calamity sentenced to death. When she escapes, Eric is ordered to bring her back or face that same death penalty. With nothing to lose, can they work together across dimensions to save both their worlds?

Blood doesn't just make her who she is...it also makes her what she is.

Like being a sixteen-year-old vampire isn't hard enough, Tessa's throwback human genes make her an outcast among her relatives. But try as she might, she can't get a handle on the vampire lifestyle and all the...blood.

Turning her back on the vamp world, she embraces the human teenage lifestyle-high school, peer pressure and finding a boyfriend. Jared manages to stir something in her blood. He's smart and fun and oh, so cute. But Tessa's dream of a having the perfect boyfriend turns into a nightmare when vampires attack the movie theatre and kidnap her date.

Once again, Tessa finds herself torn between the human world and the vampire one.

Will blood own out? Can she make peace with who she is as well as what?

Faith and loyalty are tested as a young girl learns what it is to believe – in herself, in her friends, and in life after death.

Cassie's best friend, bad boy Todd, is gone. Gone as in dead. Gone as in ghost. But she doesn't realize that when he wakes her in her bedroom and begs her not to believe what they say about him. It's not until the next day when her parents tell her about the accident that she learns the truth... The police believe Todd was living up to the family name, drinking and driving and coming to a predictable end. It's up to her to find out the truth and clear his name.

Todd is shocked at his sudden change in circumstances...and angry. He struggles with his new ghostly reality, realizing all he's lost as he watches his brother build a relationship with Cassie as the two pair up to find out what really happened to him. The truth isn't always pretty, and Cassie has to be stronger than ever before.

Especially when the whole world seems to be against her.

Dale Mayer is a prolific multi-published writer. She's best known for her Psychic Visions series. Besides her romantic suspense/thrillers, Dale also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in several different genres. To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in digital and print formats.

Family Blood Ties

Vampire in Denial

Vampire in Distress

Vampire in Design

Book 4 (fall 2013)

Design Series

Dangerous Designs

Deadly Design

Darkest Designs (fall 2013)

Standalone Titles

In Cassie's Corner

Gem Stone Mystery

Psychic Vision Series:

Tuesday's Child

Hide'n Go Seek,