Sapphire: A Paranormal Romance (22 page)

He reached the top
of the slope that had taken him off the road.  Devlin’s truck was still there. 
Jimmy looked back and around.  Devlin was nowhere to be found.  He reached into
his pocket and removed the small pocketknife he carried.

Jimmy walked over
to the truck and stuck the knife as deeply into the left rear tire as he
could.  Then he walked around and did the same to the right rear tire.  In both
cases he twisted the blade around to make the hole as wide as possible.  The
tires hissed, and the back end of the truck sank.  Jimmy then reached into the
back of the truck.  He found the spare tire and jammed the knife into that,
also.

As Jimmy walked
around to the driver’s side, he realized the truck was still running.  The
engine must have been very well maintained for it to rumble as quietly as it
did.  Jimmy opened the driver’s door and peered in.  The keys dangled from the
steering column.  Jimmy reached in and turned off the truck and removed the
keys.  He then climbed out of the truck, looked around again, and hurled the keys
as far as he could into the woods on the opposite side of the road.

Satisfied, Jimmy
decided it was time to leave.  The buzzing in his head continued, and Jimmy
swore he could hear Sapphire’s wind chime laugh.  He smiled as he got on his
bike and began pedaling as fast as he could make his legs work.  The bike was
not quite as steady as it had been, but he had ridden on worse. 

Jimmy
rode the rest of the way home and tried to ignore the buzzing in his head. The
static that indicated Sapphire was still with him continued, but they did not
exchange any further telepathic messages.  Jimmy's head—and at times his entire
body—felt like it was on fire. 

Someone had just
tried to kill him.

That was a little
hard for a teenager to get his brain around.  Jimmy had spent his life being
the kind of person you either liked or who blended so completely in the
background that you didn't notice him at all.  Now he was the guy who had shown
up with a beautiful girl at a dance, had stabbed a football player, beaten up the
captain of the team, and was now a target of the captain's father.  Oh yeah,
and he couldn't forget the fact that he was currently both embroiled in a
murder mystery that was something like fifty years old and in love with a girl
who was dead.

Some days it just
did not pay to get out of bed.  Today was one of those.

Jimmy rode the
rest of the way certain that he was about to die at any moment.  He expected to
see Devlin's truck at any time.  He even expected to see the man standing in
his own driveway with his shotgun.  It didn't matter what he did to try and
convince himself that this was impossible, he could not shake it.  Jimmy
wondered if he had just added a gallon of gasoline to the fire with the damage
he had done to Devlin's truck.

Jimmy pulled up into
his driveway safe and sound. He pulled the bike into the garage.  He was amazed
when he looked at his watch and saw that it was just about lunchtime. He still
had hours before George would be here with his homework.  It would be still
longer before his mother came home.

He froze at the
thought.  Oh no.  What about his mother?  He had been so wrapped up in his own
problems, he hadn't thought about his own mother.  What would Devlin or any of
the others who were involved in Sapphire’s disappearance do to her?  He had put
her in terrible danger.

"Dammit,"
he cursed under his breath.

He dragged the
bike into the garage and then searched for the rims that he knew he had. He had
the front tire off in seconds, and had the tube and rubber placed on the new
rim a few minutes after that.  Jimmy had taken up bicycle maintenance years ago
when he realized that his bike was his major form of transportation and his
mother could not afford to constantly buy him a new bike every few years or get
this one repaired.  It was cheaper to find some used parts or discount parts,
stock up, dig into his father's tools, and take care of the bike on his own.

He had the new
tire on twenty minutes after he had pulled the bike into the garage.  When it
was done he removed the bandage from his head and wiped sweat from his
forehead.  The bandage was filthy now.  His head hurt, but not from the wound
or the damage he had caused with the head-butt.  His head hurt from thinking
too much.

"Sapphire?" 
He said the name out loud instead of just in his head.

The buzzing in his
head returned and got louder.

I'm here
, she replied inside his skull.

I think my
mother could be in danger,
he said.
 I don't
know what to do. If I go to her work and try to tell her, I'll probably have to
tell her all about what I've been up to.  If I do that, she'll want to call the
sheriff and get the police involved.  Hell, she'll probably want to get us
enrolled in the Federal Witness Protection program.

The what?

Never mind. 
The point that I'm making is I wouldn't be able to search on your behalf.  I'd
probably be whisked away somewhere.  The people involved would probably
scatter. No one would believe me.

Jimmy, relax
, Sapphire said. 
I've helped you.  I can help her.

Jimmy shook his
head. 
How can you do that?

The buzzing in his
head took on a new tone.  After a moment, Jimmy realized that Sapphire was
laughing. 
I can do a lot of things, Jimmy.  I can do more now than I ever
could before.  Don't ask me how I know that, I just do.

Jimmy sighed.
 I
still don't feel right about this, but I don't know what else to do.  Maybe
I'll call Tabitha.

Do what you
feel you have to
, Sapphire replied.
I can keep
watch while you decide.

Jimmy went inside
and grabbed the phone.  He punched in Tabitha's number.  Tabitha answered after
the second ring.  Before she could even get the "hello" out of her
mouth, Jimmy was filling in her in on what had happened so far that afternoon. 

"Wow,"
Tabitha said.  "I'd normally suggest that you call the police, but we have
no idea who's behind this whole thing.  You're right about your mom,
though."

"I don't know
what to do, Tabitha," Jimmy said.  "If I tell her she'll either think
I'm crazy, or she'll freak out and want to call the police.  Either way, I get
shipped off somewhere and the investigation stops right where it is."

Tabitha paused for
a moment.  "Jimmy, I'm going to call Warren.  I'm going to have him head
over to your mom's work and talk to her.  Maybe it's time to let her know
what's going on."

Jimmy felt a
shiver run up and down his spine.  "I don't envy the heck that she's going
to raise for Warren."

"Well, maybe
I can convince her to come over here and we can all talk to her together.  Just
wait at home, though.  I'm going to come get you myself.  I don't want you
riding that bike anymore today."

"Right."

"And we're
going to have to do something about Devlin Little," Tabitha said. 
"He's going to be really ticked off after he finds out what you did to his
truck."

Jimmy sighed
again.  "Yes, I know.  Hurry over here.  I don't feel safe here."

"I'll do my
best," Tabitha said, and she hung up the phone.

Jimmy hung up
slowly.  The buzzing in his head was gone.  He had never felt so completely
alone.  The sun was still out and the sky was blue and he stared off into the
backyard again.  He should have felt completely safe here, but he felt anything
but.  He felt exposed and vulnerable.  He kept expecting to hear another truck
barreling down the road, shouts, and then shotgun shots, or perhaps some kind
of thrown firebomb. 

George.

Oh no, he had
forgotten about George - the other guy who was going around asking questions. 
George was already on Devlin's radar.  That's the first thing he had heard
Devlin talking about at the library.  Now that Jimmy knew that Devlin was
willing to murder someone to keep his secrets safe, who knew how many he might
decide had to go?

George would be
coming to the house to drop off Jimmy's homework when the school day was done.
He would be expecting Jimmy to be here, but what if Devlin was waiting instead?

Jimmy grabbed the
phone again.  This time he dialed the high school.  When the secretary
answered, he told her who he was.

"Jimmy!"
she said happily.  Her name was Joyce, and she and Jimmy had been friends for
some time.  "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine,
Joyce," he replied.  "I need to get a message to George.  I need him
to call me as soon as possible.  Can you get that message to him right
away?"

"I can
try," Joyce said.  Her voice suddenly filled with concern.  "What's
up?"

"I just need
to tell him about something," Jimmy said. "It's homework related. 
He's supposed to be bringing me my work this afternoon and I need him to stop
by the chemistry lab, too."

"You should
be resting," Joyce said.

"I know, but
you know me." Jimmy added a little laugh here, and he hoped he sounded
convincing.  Inside, his guts were churning.

"I can try to
get this to him," Joyce said, "but I think he's in history class and
they're in the middle of a test right now.  I might have to wait until the
class is over."

"Please,"
Jimmy pleaded. "If you can get that to him and get him to call me right
away, that would really be fantastic. I, um, I have a doctor appointment in
about ten minutes that I have to leave for.  So the sooner he can call, the
better."

"What's the
rush?" Joyce said, now sounding just a bit irritated.

"Sorry to put
you out, Joyce," Jimmy said, "but this is just very important.  So if
you can help, I'll really owe you one."

Joyce sighed, and
when she spoke again she sounded friendlier.  She was the type that appreciated
it when someone else owed her a favor.  "I'll take the message down right
now, Jimmy."

"Thanks,
Joyce," Jimmy said, trying to put as much enthusiasm in it as he could. 
If he could convince her that she was really doing him a major favor, she might
be more eager.  "I really appreciate it."

"No
problem," she replied.  "Listen, you go lay down until you have to
leave for that doctor appointment.  I don't want you to stay away from school
any longer than necessary."

"I
will," Jimmy said.  All the while he was thinking,
Just deliver the
damn message
.

Joyce finally
ended the conversation.  Jimmy hung up the phone and stood there in his
kitchen.  He did not want to go into the living room.  The big window that
overlooked the lawn felt too exposed.  There was a back door that led directly
into the back family room.  That felt too exposed.  His bedroom also faced the
main road, which felt vulnerable.  He had never realized just how open and
exposed his house was.  So he stood in the kitchen.  At least he could duck
down behind the sink if someone showed up in the backyard or get behind the
island in the middle of the kitchen if someone kicked the door down.  The
thought that he was even thinking about such things sent more shivers up and
down his spine.

Each second felt
like days.  Surely the entire planet had revolved around the sun before the
phone finally rang.  Jimmy lunged for it and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"What the
hell, Jimmy?"  It was George.  He sounded irritated.  Jimmy was batting a
thousand in the irritation department today.

"Shut up,
George, and listen.  I have a ton to tell you."

He filled George
in.  George sat silently.  Jimmy could hear the sounds of the school going on
in the background.  There were the sounds of people shouting and kids running,
sneakers on laminated floors.  There were lockers banging and slamming. 
Teenagers were anything but quiet, Jimmy mused.

"Jesus,"
George replied after he heard the entire tale.  "What do you suggest I
do?"

"Just be
careful," Jimmy said.  "Don't ask any more questions.  Let's do the
research behind the scenes.  I'll work with Warren and Tabitha.  They've been
through this before."

George snorted. 
"Great, now my life is in danger because you're in love with an urban
legend."

"Give me a
break, George."

"Roger that. 
Look, I'll leave your homework behind the screen door at the front of your
house.  After that, I am heading home as fast as I can."

"Good
plan," Jimmy confirmed.

George hung up,
and Jimmy stood in the silence.  He was smiling.  He always felt better after
talking with George, as cranky as the guy could be.

A horn sounded
from outside.

Jimmy nearly
jumped out of his shoes, but he hightailed it out the door.  Tabitha was there
in her car, waving from the driver's seat.  Jimmy waved back.  He felt better, but
his eyes still scanned from left to right as he ran across the lawn toward the
car.  He kept waiting to hear gunfire.