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

~*~ 8 ~*~

For a minute, I expected him to give me one of his rare smiles and tell me he was just kidding. When it didn't come, I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, I meant to say Ted," I whispered. What he had said had taken me aback, and a whisper was all I could muster. "I'm just so used to calling you Jack."

"Well don't," he snapped back. He looked around, his eyes darting here and there as if he were trying to see any place someone could listen in on us, or avoid me. "I changed my name so no one knows who I was. I would like to keep my privacy, if you don't mind."

Not exactly the apology I was hoping for, but I guessed that was the best I was going to get out of him. "I'll try to remember that."

He looked back at me, and gave the slightest of nods. "Great. Now what do you want? I need to get back to work. Don't get me wrong, but you never struck me as the type of person to want to pay for someone slacking on their job."

He was right. Everyone who worked in my house never stopped to chat with each other while working. This was how I was since he first met me, so he would know, wouldn't he?

I smiled. "For you, I'll make an exception, Ted." I stressed his name, hoping he would get the hint that I didn't like it. Not that I expected him to run to the nearest courthouse and change his name on the spot, but I wanted him aware.

He pulled up his shirt a little, revealing a gun half concealed in the waist of his pants. Once he placed his hand the butt of the gun, I felt the blood drain from my face. I held up my hands as he lowered himself slightly, like you'd see a cowboy doing in one of those movies when he's about to duel the bad guy at sundown. I half expected him to say, "You feelin' lucky, punk?" in a low Clint Eastwood voice, but he didn't. Instead, he told me to get down.

I stared at him for a fraction of a second before the glass of the window I was looking out of earlier had exploded. I didn't wait to be asked again. I dropped for the floor, screaming and covering my head as glass shards fell on me. A few gun shots above my head, and something was suddenly on top of me, holding onto my shoulder so tightly I thought it was going to put a few holes in my body. I screamed as the pain was excruciating. A few more gun shots, a shriek that wasn't mine, and whatever was on me was suddenly off.

I managed to look up, though the simple gesture hurt my shoulders, and saw a blue person squat in front of me. The person was completely nude, and, after determining the blue person was male, I looked up at it's face. Bright red, almond shaped eyes glared down at me, a hole in the middle of its forehead bled something black and smelling putrid. Its mouth snarled at me, and I could see nothing but shiny, white, sharp teeth, reminding me of a tyrannosaurus or something equally frightening that only had eyes for meat. It was completely bald, and had a flat nose that made a resemblance of someone from southeast Asia.

I vaguely heard more shots, too terrified by the sight of the creature in front of me to count how many times it jerked and bled. I had to put my head back down to avoid being sprayed in the face by the putrid smelling blood. Another shriek, and I swore my head buzzed as if felt like a million bees were flying around in my skull, but in the midst of it all, one of them was trying to tell me something. The buzzing was too intense for me, I had to hold the palms of my hands to my ears, and looked up to see the blue creature jump back through the window, leaving a trail of
blood on my carpet.

I looked back at Ted, my breathing coming out ragged and hastily, and saw that Ms. Blake had joined him, both holding guns pointed at my window. His face was set in a glare, my guess trying to figure out what it was he just saw. Her face was of pure terror, mimicking my own. The two of them slowly, cautiously, walked towards the window, and I huddled as close the couch as I possibly could, grabbing hold of the upholstery as hard as I could. As much as I wanted to join them, if that thing was to come back, I'd be completely helpless and in the way, so I let the experts do their job, and I stayed behind.

"Jesus," Ms. Blake breathed. "What the hell was that?" She turned to look at Ted.

"I'm not sure." He put his gun up, and turned to me. She went back to looking out the window. "You okay?" he asked me.

I gulped, and shrugged. "I'm not dead, but I'm pretty sure that caused some mental damage some where." I tried pulling myself up as I said this,
but as far as I could get was enough to sit on the couch I was shaking so bad. I looked down at my hands and saw that some of the black blood had splattered on me. "Did that thing kill Adam?" I asked, looking up to them. Once again, I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

The two of them exchanged glances, and Ted walked out. Well, he hurried out is more accurate. Ms. Blake took one more look outside, and walked to me, taking one hand off her gun and held her gun pointed up.

"It's definitely a start," she said. "If not, then your house is under attack." I must have paled even more than I already was, because she quickly added, "But most definitely not. I'm sure we found the killer. We just need to catch it. Though I'm not quite sure how to go about doing that."

I looked at the window, and then back to her. "You don't think it's after the jewel, do you?"

"If that's the only thing coming after that hunk of rock, I'd be surprised." She shrugged. "It's definitely a possibility."

~*~ 9 ~*~

I stared at my reflection in the television screen at my hotel room. After what had happened, I was ordered to find a place to stay until they could clean my dining room, and take pictures and do what ever else it was that police do. I was asked if the rest of Ms. Blake's team could take part in solving the crime. I didn't mind. Anything to get that creature caught.
I had brought a laptop with me to my favorite hotel in St. Louis, hoping to get any information about the jewel. According to Adam, it was found in an old, abandoned shrine, and it was buried nearly ten feet in the ground. After not being able to find anything in "Ancient Japanese Treasures", I'd taken a break and started staring at the TV. At first, I was debating whether to watch anything or not, but then my mind started wandering.

First, I was wondering if my husband's murder was on the news yet. Knowing the reporters, it probably was old news by now; we weren't exactly prestigious enough to be mentioned for a long period of time. Then I started thinking about what Anita mentioned about that creature being the only one after the jewel. I'd only seen it once myself. Even when our portrait was being taken, Adam had given it to me nearly a second before the picture was to be taken. After our picture was taken, he took it back, and that was the last I'd seen of it.

Then I began thinking about Edward. I had found out that he had changed his name to Ted, but he was more comfortable with being called "Edward". I must be honest that I was relieved when he said "Ted" was only a cover name, though "Jack" still suited him best. He was the one who brought me to the hotel while Anita and her team investigated my home. Normally I'd have been stingy about strangers looking through my home, but I gritted my teeth and dealt with it. I wasn't hiding anything, so why should I worry?

The car ride was silent except for him allowing me to call him Edward. I tried to start a conversation a few times, but after getting either silence or a one-word answer, I pretty much just gave up. He helped me into my room, gave me two numbers to call should I need something-one being his and the other being Anita's number-and left. So much for wanting to learn a little bit more about him. We were alone for about an hour, and all I learned from him was that his name was Edward. I guess that was better than nothing.

Sighing, I got up off the bed and walked to the bathroom. I had washed the blood off my skin and changed my clothes before I left, but I didn't get a chance to wash the blood out of my hair, if there was anything in my hair. Just in case, I didn't want to sleep with dried blood of a little, blue, naked person clinging to my hair and rubbing off on my pillow, and then proceeding to, most likely, rub off on the skin of my face. Not exactly what I wanted to wake up to.

I kept my suitcase in the bathroom so it was easier for me to change and do the pre-bedtime pleasures of teeth brushing and face washing. I had packed my favorite shampoo, which could get anything harmful out from my hair. Even so, it still took me about ten minutes of scrubbing, lathering, and rinsing to be satisfied that nothing was left in my hair except nutrients.

When I was done, I threw on a pair of Tinker Bell pajama pants, and a dark blue tank top. I wasn't into the expensive silky nightgown that most people I know would wear. Adam had bought one for me, and I wore it once, but that was it. It still hung in my closet as we speak, probably being groped and shoved around while someone looked for the jewel.

Staring at myself in the large, wall sized mirror, I found my eyes were redder than a tomato. If I hadn't known better, I'd say I looked like I just smoked some funny things. My pre-bedtime routine starts with me brushing my hair, then brushing my teeth, and ending with me throwing on some lotion on my hands, arms, face, and feet. Content that I was ready for bed, but not ready for the possible nightmares, I walked out.

Walking back to my bed, I froze. A small pile of papers, stapled on the top left corner, lay on my pillow. I didn't remember hearing anyone come in, nor do I remember giving any permission at all for someone to waltz in. Housekeeping never walked in during the night, especially when the clock showed almost two in the morning. I looked around the room, and found nothing disturbed, except the papers on my pillow. I cautiously walked to my bed, and read the cover page.

"Some things you