Time Thieves Read online

  She loved her mother, but like one would a fine piece of china rather than a well-loved mug. Her mother was many things, but warm and caring wasn’t part of her personality.

  That had been her father.

  And God, she missed him.

  She studied the first bundle. It was an old, beaten gold neckpiece that sat on the collarbone. It was a beautiful piece that just needed a little care and attention. Sari knew she could restore it to its former glory. Smiling, she laid it down on a piece of cloth to admire.

  She picked up the second piece and opened up a pair of platinum spider web earrings. These weren’t nearly as old as the collar but were fascinating in the fine workmanship that had gone into creating the web of spun metal. A beautiful piece.

  Her hand trembled as she reached for the third piece. Her trip to New York had not yielded many pieces, but the ones she’d returned with had been worth the trip. Especially this last one. Carefully, she unwrapped the one timepiece out of several hundred that had been presented at the show. Her colleagues had gushed over several fine pieces and had gone silent when they’d seen her purchase.

  The vendor, however, an old English gentleman, hadn’t. It seemed as if he’d recognized the desperation in her actions, the neediness in her voice as she’d searched for the watchmaker’s special mark, hoping against hope to find one that matched her faded memories of her father’s watch and his incomplete notes that she’d spent hundreds of hours poring over.

  “It’s reputed to always keep time. Who could ask for anything more?” he’d murmured for her ears only.

  She’d lifted a sharp gaze to assess the sly, knowing look on his face. “Indeed, what else could anyone want of a watch?” Coolly, she’d watched as amusement and a knowingness drifted across the old man’s countenance.

  That smile of his irked her, but it had been his next comment that had made the decision for her. He’d said, “Nothing at all. We’re always losing things to Time, aren’t we? Now if only we could regain all that we lost.”

  She’d frozen, her gaze locked on his face, analytically assessing the truth or gimmick of his voice and presentation. He was not the first to try and fool her. She hadn’t gotten this far without being taken in at least once or twice. Maybe it was the old tweed, the almost dusty clothing, or the faded blue twinkle in his eyes that reminded her of her father, but whatever it was, it seemed as if the old guy knew something. Something that no one else knew. Something that could shed light on the driving mystery in her life.

  Or he’d just heard the rumors about her obsession and was playing with her.

  It hadn’t been impulse that had made her pick up and study the one old, almost uncared-for piece out of so many he’d had on display. But when she did, it was almost as if he’d given her a magical silent pat of approval on her head.

  A great sales technique. Conrad, one of her peers, had loved a more modern piece, laughing at her choice. She’d kept a smile on her face and her hand on the watch. No one would take it from her until she was done with it. And in this case, she thought as she pulled it out from its thick bubble wrap, she might never be done with it.

  Getting up, she carried the watch to her desk and turned on the lamp. It appeared to be the same as the one her father had been working on when he’d disappeared, but she’d have to take it to her shop and dismantle it to find out for sure. Not tonight. She wrapped her prizes back up and placed them in the safe in the shop.

  What she needed was sleep. She filled her glass with more wine, replaced the bottle in the fridge, and headed for bed. Maybe she’d actually be able to sleep tonight. Lord knew she was beat. Travelling, time changes, and no sleep in the hotel with their too-hard beds and too-stiff sheets all took their toll.

  Hopefully the wine would help her sleep…and quickly.

  After getting ready for the night, she carried her wine into her bedroom, changed into her cotton cami and pj bottoms, and sat on the edge of her bed to brush her hair. She yawned, and a small laugh escaped. Good. She was exhausted. Tossing back the last of her wine, she crawled under the covers.

  It was good to be home.

  Within minutes, she’d fallen into a deep sleep.

  Five hours later she woke, a fine tremor ghosting across her skin. The air had chilled, stilled. She couldn’t place what was wrong – just that something was. She rolled over and sat up. She’d left her window open, an unusual event in itself. With a storm brewing outside, the wind was tossing her curtains everywhere.

  She threw back her covers and strode over to the window. With more effort than required, she pulled the window down, barely bringing it to a stop before it hit the wooden ledge. She did want a little fresh air. The old house needed big money poured into it. New windows and a better security system were at the top of the list. And the roof. It had sat empty all this time with well over a hundred years on its bones already.

  Standing and gazing out into the black night, she realized an old truck had parked across the street at the empty lot. A man leaned against the box, a trail of smoke wisping around on the whim of the wind. He faced her house, staring up at her window – directly into her eyes.

  Shit.

  She slipped back out of sight.

  There was no reason to be bothered; this small corner of downtown wasn’t the best area of town, but she’d yet to have problems. Then why had she just remembered that she needed to upgrade the security system? Her house was bigger than many around, being an older three-story style. It offered lots of room but also lots of opportunity for anyone on the more sinister side of life. Leaning against the wall, she peered out from the side.

  The man flicked his cigarette and opened his truck door. As she watched, he reached in and pulled out a takeout cup of coffee. Interesting. Anyone sitting out there with a hot drink must expect to be there for a while. She considered the rest of the street. Mostly old houses, mostly run down, at the edge of the commercial district of downtown but also right on the corner of where the downtown core started. It was a shabby area, but one now caught up in the midst of a big revitalization project. She had the only business here that she knew of, and even then she didn’t use the storefront for the public. She saw the odd client who stopped in that way and had the shop as her workspace, but she hated the distractions of having a door the public could open on their whim.

  Her shop was secured. Her safe was connected to a security system as per her insurance. She was a jewelry maker after all, and she stored gems below. Not many and not high grade, as she didn’t have the funds to stockpile, but anyone looking for easy money would find a lot to sell for quick cash downstairs. She walked to her bedroom door and stuck her head out in the hallway.

  As it was a split level the levels were confusing. She slept on the second floor, making it almost impossible to hear any activity on the first floor. Not impossible though. She walked back over to the window to find the stranger now talking on a cell phone.

  Innocuous, but the sight made her skin crawl.

  She couldn’t throw off the feeling that he was watching her house, maybe talking to someone about her. The worst-case scenario was that someone was trying to get in or was already in, and this guy was warning him that she was up.

  On the heels of that thought came a muffled sound followed by a voice.

  Crap. She grabbed her cell phone and called 911. With her phone tucked into her shoulder, she pulled on jeans and tucked her cami top into the waistband. Snatching up her running jacket off the closet handle, she pulled it on as well. After explaining the situation to the dispatcher, and receiving instructions to get out of the house if she could, she hung up the phone and tucked it into her pocket. With a last glance out the window, she had to decide to either go downstairs and see what was going on or bail out via the upper deck and the fire escape ladder. The first could put her up against a dangerous intruder and the second could put her in the stranger’s line of sight.

  Neither appealed. She slipped into a pair of shoes and searched the h
allway. Nothing appeared to be touched. She made a cursory check of the rest of her floor then opened the door to the downstairs. It was dark down there.

  And not empty.

  Shit.

  *

  Ward Preston drove slowly through the streets of Victoria; he didn’t mind the night shift here. Working the night shift back east in the big cities? Not so much. It wasn’t like he needed to be out cruising, but with the paperwork done, he wanted to get out and check out the streets.

  And drive past Sarina’s place. Or Sari, as he’d always called her. The pet name her father had kept for her.

  He winced. He’d lost touch with her over the years, but the distance between them hadn’t changed her place in his heart or mind. He’d kept her in the back of his head, always wondering if he’d see her again. Then he’d heard she’d returned. He’d waited, hoping she’d contact him while he tried to get up the nerve to see her. He’d been driving by her place at least once a week for the last month.

  She wouldn’t be pleased if she knew.

  He grinned. Good thing he had no intention of telling her.

  Heading instinctively in her direction, he thought back to the two of them in elementary school. She’d been his first crush. Even now, years later with one very short marriage behind him, he hadn’t been able to get over her. Then he’d caught sight of her down at the beach about a month ago, and fantasy had jumped back into reality, and damned if he could get her out of his mind.

  Victoria, at one end of Vancouver Island, offered almost any water sport imaginable. Sari had been standing in her bikini at the water’s edge, watching as the waves from a speedboat washed over her feet. She’d been so free, so natural and so alone that he’d been desperate to go up to her and introduce himself. But it had been fifteen years…what if he’d been wrong about it being her?

  He’d been on duty. He could have done it. He hadn’t. He had driven past her old house that had stayed boarded up since the family had left and found lights on inside. It wasn’t until his second or third time driving past that he’d caught sight of her a second time and confirmed it was her. To realize that she’d really come back.

  He wondered why. He’d heard the rumors the same as everyone else. As her father was still a missing person case, it was still discussed both officially and unofficially. Supposedly her father had walked out on them – from one day to the next apparently – never to be heard from again. Ward had adored Sari’s father. The mother he’d avoided. After Greg went missing, the mother – Lisbeth, he thought her name was – had stayed only long enough for Sari to finish her school year and then she’d pulled her out, taking Sari away. Gone overseas. Gone from his life. Never gone from his mind.

  Sad.

  He made a left turn that would take him onto her block. She lived in a quiet part of the city, but one that wasn’t as nice as it used to be. Still, most of this city was decent. Sure, they had their fair share of drug dealers, biker gangs, and homeless people, but all in all it was a retirement tourist town. At least it used to be. Now that was slowly changing.

  There it was. He smiled at the old hodgepodge of a house. It looked the same as always.

  Except for the truck on the opposite side of the road and the guy standing outside and staring up at Sari’s house. As Ward watched, the guy checked his watch and glanced back again. His gaze was intent, as if he was standing watch. Or waiting…for someone that was being too slow.

  It was in the middle of the night. Possibly he was waiting for Sari, but as he was parked out here and not in the driveway, he doubted it.

  Someone was casing Sari’s house.

  Or worse…he was waiting for his partner to leave Sari’s house. As in a breaking and entering in progress.

  And if that was the case – where the hell was Sari?

  Chapter 2

  Sari crouched on the first landing, her heart pounding so loud she could barely hear what was going on downstairs. A series of thuds and bangs was coming from her living room. Shit. She glanced down at her cell phone. Should she try calling 911 again and tell them she hadn’t made it out of the house? No. The intruder might hear her talking. If she could scoot across the landing to the other side and get to the second stair landing with the outside exit, then maybe she would be better off.

  “Where the fuck is it? She’s only been home a couple of freaking hours. Not long enough to have sold it.”

  She froze. They were looking for something in particular? Something she hadn’t had time to sell? So something she just brought home with her. How could they know?

  And the bigger question – did she know who they were? Or was it only one man? No, the man outside had to be connected. Was there a third one out back? Damn. Knowing it was stupid but unable to help herself, she crept down to the bottom landing and peered around the corner. It was too dark to see much, but there was a dark form bent over her locked doorway to the shop.

  Shit.

  She couldn’t let him in there. She didn’t keep much in the way of valuables here, but there were enough. She couldn’t afford to lose them.

  Just then the guy straightened, his hand going into his pocket. She watched as he opened his cell phone and read a message.

  “Shit.” The voice was dark and gravelly but young. He raced to the front window and pulled the long drapes back slightly. Immediately, he dropped the material and flattened against the wall. For that brief moment, she caught a flash of red hair.

  Too bad she couldn’t see what was outside. She watched as he texted madly then waited, leaning tight against the wall. His face had a panicked look. Obviously not a pro. That was a good thing. Maybe he was just looking for an easy score. Except he sounded as if he was looking for something in particular.

  She wished she could look outside. That would mean going back upstairs. And with the intruder not making a sound, he’d hear every step she took.

  Then she saw a burst of color.

  Outside the house, bright blue and red lights flashed. Cops. Yes. Her fingers clenched in a fist that she barely held back from doing a fist pump. There was a short blast of a siren then nothing but the flashing lights.

  Even across the distance, she watched a sheen of sweat appear on the intruder’s face. So that’s what he’d panicked about. That also meant he had a partner who’d sent a warning. The stranger outside.

  Why?

  She crept back upstairs, holding her breath. At the top floor, she went to her bedroom window and stared out. A cop car sat parked at an angle in front of a pickup truck. One she didn’t know. The officer stood speaking with the driver.

  Just then, the officer turned to look at her house, the street light bright on his face.

  There was something about that strong jaw, the light wave to that hair, and his profile…Oh my. She gasped in joy and shock. Ward.

  She hadn’t seen him in years – make that fifteen years. He was a cop? She couldn’t imagine a better career for him. He’d always been a protector, even back then. Her lips curved in a warm smile. She was so proud of him. She went to wave at him, hoping to catch his attention. Ward heard something and spun around, his back to the stranger. Suddenly the stranger reached out and slugged Ward on the back of his head with something in his hand.

  Ward dropped like a log.

  Oh crap. This time she didn’t hesitate. She dialed 911 again. As she waited, she double-checked that her bedroom door was locked before heading out to the small deck. Maybe she could get information on the truck. When the voice came on the phone, Sari quickly explained what had happened. The dispatcher wasted no time after Sari told her an officer was down, firing off a ton more questions. She answered as best she could. She was only minutes from the closest police station, but who knew how busy tonight was? Generally it was a quiet district, but shit happened…as she’d just found out. She stayed crouched by the railing, trying to keep an eye on what was going on outside. The stranger was now searching Ward’s cruiser. The dispatcher didn’t want her to hang up so Sari
kept a running commentary of what was going on outside. The stranger pulled out a small book and flipped through the pages.

  She sighed with relief when a man from her side ran across the road and hopped into the passenger side of the truck. The first man had gotten in already, book in hand. They reversed the truck and ripped away with squealing tires, leaving Ward prone on the pavement. She had just enough light to see the ram’s head on the front hood. As for color – dark. Navy or black. She told the dispatcher the direction the two men took off in even as she raced down the stairs to her old friend.

  She’d barely gotten the words out when the sounds of sirens filled the air. Finally.

  She bolted out the front door, ignoring the dispatcher’s orders to stay inside.

  “Ward.” She dropped to his side, snatching up his hand to hold it tight to her chest as the fire truck came to a screeching stop. The first cop vehicle ripped in behind. More sirens and vehicles arrived.

  After that, it was complete chaos. She was shunted off to one side while Ward was checked over, loaded up, and whisked away in the ambulance.

  An officer escorted her inside her house to talk. As soon as the door closed behind her she remembered the intruder, and with the officer helping, she searched around to see if anything had been stolen. Even though she’d seen the guy at her office door trying but not succeeding to get in, she unlocked it and checked anyway.

  It was untouched as far as she could see. While she wandered around the house, she relayed the conversation as close as she could remember. The officer took notes and asked about what they might have been looking for.

  “I honestly don’t know. It could be any of many items. I deal in antiquities and have some semi-precious gems at home. The thing is, I’ve hardly lived here. I only came back a few months ago.”

  At his confused look, she had to explain about her father disappearing and her subsequent move out of the country.