Jewels of the Past by Jynelle (best classic books to read .txt) 📖

I looked at the parlor doors, where my husband was mauled just across the hall. "I had no idea this is what was worrying him."

"What about dinner?" she asked in a rush. I think she noticed I was going to start crying again. I didn't blame her. The last time I was crying I was inconsolable.

"He took me to this very secluded resteraunt." I looked away from the doors. "It's about thirty minutes from here. He only takes me there when there's something special going on. He took me when he proposed to me, right before leaving for our honeymoon, and every anniversary and birthday since. This time, we sat near the back, no one around us, and until we left, I noticed the waiter hadn't even come. He talked to me about the jewel."

I glanced at Ms. Blake and realized she didn't know what I was talking about. "The one you were studying when we first met. The only time I wore it, and the only time I've seen it. He told me it's cursed. The last person who had it died. He had died the same way Adam did. I asked how he got the jewel, and said he had Landen steal it. Adam and a friend of his found it in Japan, and his friend was torn apart."

"Landen?"

"Adam's man. His butler."

"How well do you know Landen?"

I stared her, my mouth slightly open. "You think Landen did this?" My voice cracked, and I could feel tears building up in my eyes again. "He can't even stand to look at a bug he'd accidently stepped on, let alone tear a man apart and cause a mess like that in under five minutes."

"Are you sure he's human?"

"You're the preternatural expert, you tell me." Of course I knew Landen was human, but now that she asked me, I wasn't so sure anymore. I was hoping she'd tell me he was human.

"I didn't feel anything nonhuman coming from him," she said. "But some of the time you can't tell just by looking."

"Would Jack know?" I asked. I didn't realize she didn't know who I was talking about. I had forgotten his name was Ted.

"Who's Jack?" Ah, I knew it.

I shook my head. "Ted. I meant Ted."

She blinked at me, her eyebrows raised. Sighing, she asked the question that was hovering over her head since he'd walked out. "How do you know him?"

I shrugged. "I knew him when we were kids. To be honest, I had no idea that this was his choice of a career." I laughed at the unlikliness of the situation. "I didn't know he liked the name Ted. He was always so fond of Edward. He had planned on changing his name when we graduated high school."

I looked at Ms. Blake and saw something flash behind her eyes. I wasn't sure what, but it was there and gone.

"He graduated high school?" She seemed interested in her partner's past. She asked this question like she didn't believe it herself. I had figured all police had to graduate high school. Maybe he wasn't police? Maybe he was something else entirely.

~*~ 7 ~*~

Oddly enough, we spent the next thirty minutes talking about none other than Jack, I mean, Ted. I learned the two of them were friends for about six or seven years, which meant he walked into her life just after walking out of mine. He wasn't a policeman, like I had thought orginally, and neither was she. That didn't bother me, though I was trusting them with solving the crime of my husband's death. As a matter of fact, she was a little surprised this wasn't a vampire killing, which is usually what she's called in for. Having this not be a vampire attack was good news, and bad news. The good news was we ruled out vampires. Unfortunately, that brought us to the bad news being it still could be anything else. After seeing the damage, she called Ted because, she admits, he loves to help solve murders like this one, not to mention I was paying top dollar. This bit of information was a little disturbing on my part, but I was willing to accept any and all help.

Honestly, I had no idea he was actually willing to kill things for a living. Ms. Blake told me he was a bounty hunter, and I never would have guessed. He only ever talked about finding "the bastards" who caused the car wreck in which his parents were killed. I continuously told him that it wasn't a scary monster, and that it was just some drunken bastard who killed himself in the crash. Of course, like always, Jack didn't believe me, taking the accident way out of proportion. Though, as of a few years ago, I began to doubt myself. What if his parents did die because of something not human? If so, what was it? I'm sure he already knew, but I wanted to know. I knew I would be the last person he would share this information with, but it didn't hurt to wonder, right?

Another thirty minutes passed before Landen walked into the parlor, and asked if he be allowed to go home. I hadn't the slightest clue it was almost midnight, and, knowing his estranged seventy year old wife, he would probably be coming home to a not-so happy home. After he left, Ms. Blake suggested that I go to a hotel for the night so she could have the room cleaned and the body parts examined more close. I shook my head, saying that I refused to leave until I could at least talk to Jack just once.

She smiled. "I'm not even sure he's still here, but if he is, I'll find him and let him know." With that said, she left me.

If he had left, then I'd stay here until he came back. I didn't realize, until now, how much him being here was a relief. I know Adam told me to hire Ms. Blake should something happen to him, but I had no idea what she was like. I remember reading stories about her, and seeing her on television sometimes, but this was the first time meeting her, and I'll be the first to admit I was skeptical. With Jack, I felt better knowing a friend was solving the murder of the one I hold dear. In high school, there was no one I trusted my life with more than Jack. Even my quarterback boyfriend seemed like a wuss when it came to standing up for me; almost as if he refused to protect me. Jack didn't think twice when two men decided to think they could mug us on a trip to Las Vegas.

We were both sixteen, about a full year from the moment he lost his trust in me. My parents had paid for him to join us on our yearly family trip. Since we were underage then, we were often left to stroll the strip and search anything and everything that we could do. On this particular night, we had just gotten finished watching a Celine Dion concert, and were making our way back to my parent's rented home. He didn't enjoy my choice of entertainment of the night, but I had wanted to see her in concert since I first heard of Celine Dion. Jack didn't know how much it meant to me that he went with me.

It was two in the morning, and we had just gotten out of the taxi we had to take to get us back to my parents' little private home. I could've sworn two men were waiting for us at the door, unless they were trying to break in. Jack and I had just barely stepped onto the porch when a man, nearly three times my size, jumped on me, bringing me to the ground, with the man on top of me. My head landed on its side, and I was able to watch the happenings of Jack, though my vision did blur at times. The other man jumped on Jack, but Jack was so quick, I could just barely see him grab the man's arm and swing him around, throwing him into the door. Because the door was so thick - though I wasn't quite sure why and at the time not sure I cared - the man was instantly knocked out. All Jack had to do was look at the man on top of me, and the man jumped off me and backed down the steps. I remember scrambling towards Jack, but he was busy running at the conscious man, and just one punch to the face made the other man unconscious. Later, Jack told me he was sorry to leave me sitting there on the porch, but the guy had a gun and would've shot either of us.

If I ever fell in love with Jack, it was because of that night. I never left his side the rest of the trip. We even managed to obtain fake IDs and spend the rest of the vacation gambling. I even went with him to a strip club, and I pretended to enjoy it, since he did the same for me at the Celine Dion concert.

I realized I had been laughing, and hadn't noticed I wasn't alone in the parlor any longer. What brought me out of it was a low voice, and it surprised me so that I let out a shriek. It wasn't loud or long, just a tiny, squeaky shriek. Wouldn't I know it, but Jack was standing there for who knew how long. I was suddenly embarrassed, but I stood up and stared him down, laughter gone from my face.

"Don't mind me," he said, "if a loved one of mine was just maimed, I'd be laughing, too."

I could feel heat rushing up my cheeks, but I couldn't move. Just seeing him there, standing in my parlor, was almost too much for me. I know I wanted to speak with him, but after seeing him finally after all these years, I felt I was
suddenly speachless.

"You gonna say something, or just gawk at me? I have work to do." He turned as if he were going to leave again, but I stopped him.

Without knowing it, I closed the distance between us, only a few steps, and wrapped my arms around him. I realized, just then, that it wasn't just the fact that I hadn't seen him in so many years, but he was the only real friend I had, even in my life now. I have yet to meet some of the rich snobs who would accept Adam and me because we were under forty. Sure, Adam had friends, but I didn't, not like Jack had been.

I was glad that he didn't pull away and walk out. I half expected him to. He let me hold him for a few seconds before grabbing my hands from around his waist, and stepping away from me. I hadn't noticed until then I had silent tears slightly running down my cheeks.

"I can't believe it's really you, Jack," I whispered. I didn't know what to do, so I stood there, hands balled up in front of my stomach.

He pointed a finger at me. "Call me Jack again, and I'll personally rip your throat out." His voice was low and menacing, I had to flinch. He never spoke to me like that. Maybe to anyone else in the world, but not to me.