Time Thieves Read online

  Time Thieves

  Dale Mayer

  TIME THIEVES

  Dale Mayer

  Valley Publishing

  Copyright © 2015

  ISBN-13: 978-1-928122-42-5

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Praise for Dale Mayer

  I love to read Dale Mayer’s books… keeps me guessing…. I am getting good though trying to figure out who did it…. I am on my fourth book….

  …Review left on Vampire in Deceit, book 4 of Family Blood Ties

  Dale Mayer’s work is always outstanding and Haunted by Death is no exception.

  …Review from Haunted by Death, book 2 of the By Death Series

  This is a GREAT series that you don’t want to miss out on!

  …Review from Broken Protocols Series

  This is my favorite author I enjoy all her books and I can’t wait for more… her books are easy to get into and I love the storyline

  …Review from Dangerous Designs, book 1 of the Design Series

  Dale Mayer is a gifted writer who now has me hooked as a new fan. She characters are complex and she shares her knowledge of energy work clearly and simply. Makes for fascinating reading…

  …Review from Rare Find, book 6 of Psychic Visions Series

  Don’t underestimated Dale Mayer. Combination of JD Robb and Heather Graham. Paranormal suspense………

  …Review left on Maddy’s Floor, book 3 of the Psychic Visions Series

  Wow! I read a lot, and I can honestly say that there a few books that I have read that I will remember for years. This is one of those books. Thank you Dale for giving me the gift of this magnificent story. It was both heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.

  …Review left on Skin, book 1 of Broken and yet…Healing Series

  Touched by Death is an outstanding novel by Dale Mayer. Unlike her usual novels that contain paranormal activity, this novel is sheer malevolent actions from ordinary humans.

  …Review left on Touched by Death, book 1 of By Death Series

  Dale’s books are spellbinding in more ways than one. She has a unique way with words. Her characters are fun and funny and loving. I love the way the story flows. Her characters all have personality. She takes you from suspense to love, then fear love and eternal love.

  …Review left on Second Chances, book 1 of Second Chances… at Love Series

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Praise for Dale Mayer

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Also by Dale Mayer

  Prologue

  Sari Harrods ran into her father’s shop, excitement adding extra height to her bounce. At ten, she already loved that she was so much taller than that awful Jimmy but the exact same height as Ward. Perfect. She giggled.

  “Daddy, Daddy!” She let the door slam shut behind her, remembering too late that she was supposed to be quiet. It was so hard to remember. So many rules.

  “Hush, Sari.” Her mother swept in behind her. “Your father is working.”

  “I know,” Sari explained impatiently. “That’s how I knew to find him here.” How come adults needed to have everything explained to them?

  “She’s fine, Lisbeth. Let her be.” Her father’s voice rolled over them both with its deep timber tones.

  Sari laughed. “Daddy, I made it through the spelling bee at school. I beat Ward with the word aquarium.”

  “Did you now? Now that’s fine, that is.” He stood up from his desk and came around the tall counter. Bending over, he swept her up into his arms. “I think that’s worth a treat, isn’t it, Lisbeth?”

  “That’s wonderful news, Sari.” Her mother joined them, her warm and caring voice tickling Sari’s ear. “I think hot chocolate is definitely in order.” With a swift tickle of Sari’s ribs, she disappeared into the main house at the back of the shop.

  “Yay!” Sari loved hot chocolate. She wiggled free and ran deeper into their shop. “Did you get any new parcels today, Daddy?”

  “I did. Brodin came by with one of his grandfather’s watches. He’s gone to pick up the matched set from the safety deposit box and will be back any moment. Then we’re going to see just how special they are.”

  Sari glanced around at him. “Is it very nice?”

  “It is.” He pulled out a second chair to snug up against his desk chair before he sat down. Sari obediently hopped up beside him.

  “Can I open it, pleeease?” She leaned forward, propping her elbows on the desk. “Please, Daddy?”

  He laughed, opened a drawer, and pulled out a squat envelope. Shifting the mess on his desk back, he slipped the contents of the envelope onto the cleared spot.

  “It doesn’t look very pretty.” Her voice reeked with disappointment. She’d been hoping for something with lots of shiny gold. Instead, this was a dingy tarnished color like Grandma’s old silver set Mom hid in the back of the china cabinet.

  “It’s not always about the looks,” her father said, his gaze narrowed on the timepiece in front of him. “And this one is very interesting in other ways.”

  “How? It looks very boring.” Sari turned to look out the window, wishing Mom would hurry up with the hot chocolate.

  “It’s interesting because I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

  That made it a little more interesting. Her daddy had been doing this for a long time. If he hadn’t seen anything like it, then maybe it was special. She peered closer, astonished to see the metal piece open up. “It opens? Cool.” She knelt on her chair to get a better look.

  “Apparently. Very interesting.” Her father leaned back, removing his glasses to stare off in the distance. Suddenly, he pushed his chair back and strode across the small room to the narrow bookshelf on the far side of the room. With his finger dragging against the spines, he went from one book to another looking for one in particular. On the second shelf, he found what he was looking for. He tugged the book out and flipped it open, his face alight with excitement. “It’s here somewhere. Where is it?” He walked back to the desk, stopping every few feet to flip more pages.

  “Where’s what?” Sari poked at the metal piece, checking her finger afterwards to see if the gray dust had come off on her skin. “What is all this inside?”

  “I don’t know yet. Don’t touch,” he warned.

  Sari lifted her gaze to see if he was
watching. His glasses had slipped down the end of his nose, a sure sign that he was buried in whatever he’d found to read. “I won’t touch anything.”

  Sounds of her mother’s arrival with the promised hot chocolate had Sari glancing from one to the other and then back down at the odd-looking machinery in front of her. Her father was adjusting the inside of the watch, peering at papers beside him then looking back. He sat back with a satisfied grin. “Got it.”

  Cool. She leaned closer. “Got what, Daddy?”

  Her father turned his head to stare at her, the intensity of his gaze a little unnerving. As if just realizing how vulnerable the timepiece was, he leaned toward her. “I mean it, Sari. That’s a very delicate mechanism. It’s worth a lot of money.”

  “Money?” Now that made it really interesting. They didn’t have much money. “Can we keep it then?”

  He reached for the box and went as if to scoop the timepiece back into the protective cloth when it slipped out of his fingers to the floor where it dropped and rolled. “Oh no.”

  Both Sari and her father bent at the same time to look for the missing watch.

  “Where are you two? I bring hot chocolate and you’re both gone.” Her mother’s footsteps sounded along the wooden floor.

  Sari laughed. “We’re right here, Mom. The watch dropped.”

  Then she saw it shining in the single ray of sunlight dashing across the floor. “There it is, Daddy.” Sari stretched out her arm, but her father reached it first.

  He glanced up at her, a big smile on his face as his fingers closed around it.

  “I’ve got it,” he said triumphantly. As the words left his mouth, an odd look came over his face. He swallowed once, then twice. His gaze went from Sari up to where his wife stood.

  “Daddy?”

  “Something’s wrong,” he whispered. His face thinned, paled to the point Sari could barely see him. She reached out to touch him, and just as her fingers would have made contact, he disappeared.

  Her mother screamed, dropping the tray full of hot chocolate, the broken cups bleeding their dark chocolate contents. Sari stared as the liquid spread over the empty space where her beloved father had been.

  Chapter 1

  Fifteen years later

  Could the airport get any more crowded? Sari struggled to find a clear passage through the hundreds of people blocking her way. The more she travelled, the more she wished for a pair of wings of her own. The fanciful thought made her smile. First time all day by her count. She came to a dead stop at the customs line up. Thankfully, she’d moved to the head of the crowd. Please let this be simple. She had her paperwork in order. And the paperwork for her bag of goodies.

  She was in luck. She knew the agent and the agent knew her and her business.

  “Hey, Sari. Back again, huh? What have you got this time?”

  Breaking out a bigger, warmer smile than she felt, she gave the same response as always. “Junk most likely, but hopefully a few treasures too.”

  “Sure hope the treasures are worth the rest.”

  “Me too,” she muttered as he went through her paperwork. Stamping everything, he handed the documents back. “Have a good day.”

  Relieved, her smile natural this time, she thanked him, picked up her bags, and walked out of the airport into the late afternoon sun. Now to collect her car, and if she was lucky, she’d be home in a half hour.

  It was closer to an hour before she made it inside her front door. She couldn’t resist a wiggle at knowing the old Victorian house with her father’s original shop out front was now hers. Always had been apparently, except she hadn’t found out until six weeks ago when the lawyers contacted her. Damn her mother anyway.

  Since finding out that little tidbit, life had been chaotic as she moved across the ocean, all the while maintaining her crazy trips searching out hidden finds to repair and sell. This last trip had been her third since moving back to her old home. So far she hadn’t even connected with her old friends, and she was dying to. And nervous about it. At ten, she’d been sure Ward Preston had been it. The one. He’d been her best friend and she was sure nothing would ever have changed that. Then her mother moved her across the ocean.

  Time and distance had finished what the traumatic circumstances of the time had destroyed.

  Checking the answering machine, she found a dozen calls from suppliers and clients, but none were urgent. Good thing. She was too damn tired. Tossing her keys on her dining room table, she draped her coat on the back of the closest chair and kicked off her shoes. Home sweet home.

  Opening the fridge, she pulled out the single bottle of wine she’d stashed in there before her trip. There was no fresh food, so dinner would have to be cheese and crackers with wine to wash it down. Opening the bottle, she set about making herself a plate to carry into the living room.

  Just as she set the wine glass and plate down on the coffee table, the phone rang. Her mother. Of course.

  “Hi, Mom. Yes, I’m home safe and sound.”

  “Good. Why you couldn’t have come to visit on this last trip I’ll never understand,” Lisbeth said fretfully. “I hate worrying about you in that miserable hellhole.”

  “Mom, I’m fine. Nothing is going to happen to me here.”

  “You don’t know that.” The thin, critical voice made Sari wince. After her father’s disappearance, her mother had lost the little warmth she’d had as she’d quickly moved her and her daughter back to the part of France she’d been from.

  Sari had gone to a succession of boarding schools, then college, and as soon as she’d found out their old home was still theirs and sat untouched in the old part of Victoria, BC, she’d begged to have the use of it. Her mother had refused to discuss it in any way. Sari was ready to have another discussion about it, but then a lawyer contacted her when she’d turned twenty-five and Sari found out it had been left in trust for her all along.

  “I’m happy here, Mom.”

  “How can you be? The city is small, the people are narrow-minded, and there couldn’t possibly be enough business for you to make a living. Come back to France. You know Pierre and Josiah are hoping for you to return.”

  Like that was news. What her mother refused to see was that Pierre and Josiah were perfect…for each other. Neither male was willing to admit where their sexual orientation lay, and she had no intention of getting involved with either of them. They were good friends but nothing more. How could there be? Besides, setting up house and home as her mother’s neighbor had to top the list of things she never wanted to do.

  “I like it here. I love the ambiance, the water, the weather. I don’t find the people narrow-minded, and my business isn’t dependent on where I live.” Take that.

  “We have all that here too. Come home. It will be good for us to spend time together.”

  Sari couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. Her mother had to be up to something. She never made gestures like this. “Not going to happen for a while. I just got home, remember? And speaking of which, I’m really tired. I need to go to bed and catch up on some much needed sleep. The jet lag hit me hard this time.” A lie, but a perfectly reasonable one.

  “Fine.” Her mother gave a haughty sniff. “Then I want you home for my birthday next month.”

  Chills ran down Sari’s spine. This was so not her mother’s normal discussion. “What’s going on? You never push to have me home.”

  “Can’t I see my daughter for a visit? It’s been years since you spent any time here.”

  Flopping her feet onto the coffee table, Sari slouched back onto the old couch. “I was at boarding school, then college.” Although her mother managed to twist that fact to suit her needs any time it came up. “You wanted time to enjoy your men. Not spend time with me.”

  “That was then. This is now. I find the men are all boring anyway. But my daughter is growing up and away. I don’t like that.”

  Too damn bad. It was a little late to want to have a cozy mother-daughter relationsh
ip. Like fifteen years too late. Since before her father’s disappearance, in fact.

  “Well, find a new boyfriend and those maternal feelings will fade away again.” Sari knew that for a fact. Her mother’s maternal feelings were dependent on how old she felt. With a new man, she felt younger and therefore had no need of her daughter. When the men left, then she felt older and more dependent on Sari. Or maybe more regretful of the things she’d let slip through her fingers. Like her daughter.

  Hanging up the phone, Sari took a healthy drink of wine and settled back to try and forget about her wasted trip, her mother, and once again her failure to find a solution to the one thing that drove every action in her world – finding her father. Or at least finding answers to what happened to him.

  And she knew she hadn’t a hope in the world. Obsessed and delusional was what one doctor had called her. After that, she’d shut up about it and continued her search quietly. As she hadn’t found out anything in the last fifteen years, chances were good she’d never find out.

  Yet she couldn’t give it up.

  Speaking of which, she reached for her bag of treasures. There was one very interesting piece in there. Placing her wine glass down, she opened her leather bag and gently extracted several wrapped up bundles. As a jewelry maker with a penchant for antiques, she’d picked up a large clientele of both suppliers and customers. Unlike her father who focused only on timepieces, she focused on jewelry and of course any timepiece like the one her father held as he’d faded from her sight.

  At least that’s what her vague, shocked memory said had happened. Her dear mother Lisbeth had changed the story to him having walked out the door to meet someone and never returning.

  Lisbeth knew the truth, but in typical fashion, she’d decided it to be too preposterous and had changed it to suit herself. It had gained her more sympathy and support from her friends and family. As it had been left unresolved, she’d never been pushed to remarry because her father had never been found. She said she couldn’t be bothered to do the paperwork to have him declared dead when in truth, Sari suspected it was a way to keep her men around and not have to commit.