In Stone Vol. 1-6: The First Six Travis Eldritch Problems (A Travis Eldritch Problem)
Page 15
Meggie nodded and stopped squirming.
I heard the hum of the gun start up and the rattle of all the metal around us. It amazed me how much metal we build our cities with. I always thought it was mostly concrete. A door knocker tore loose and almost beaned me.
“Move now!” I yelled. We both started rotating to the back of our posts. It was a smooth metal surface so we slid easily. I could hear the Battleboys cursing us but I knew they were not going to interfer. Once I was sure Meggie was as protected as could be, I started figuring out how to get out of my ropes. The Battleboys had done a good job of tying us up. Meggie jumped up and dropped to her knees trying to escape her bonds. Nothing seemed to work.
In the dark with our back to the menacing truck I couldn’t see what was happening, but the noise level had changed. It seemed like we were in a trash compactor. There was a ton of squealing from all the metal trying to come loose and the hum of the gun had become a scream. I wondered for a second if I was the one screaming, but no, except for some worrisome hot spots on my arms where they stuck out beyond the pole I felt as calm as ever. I looked at Meggie and saw that she had her arms pulled in so no skin was exposed to the pulsating magnets. I wondered how long it would be before the Battleboys realized that if they moved the truck we would be exposed. I hoped these were typical thugs and tried to pull my arms in further.
In the distance I heard another noise and wondered what trouble was coming now. The noise got closer and I tried to devise a way to call for help. Being tied up made this difficult. Then all thought got difficult as the noise became cacophonous.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see a familiar crane lumber up the road. It parked behind the Battleboy’s truck and four stabilizers emerged from the two sides of the vehicle. By turning my head I had a good view of Jet inside the cab. I was surprised to see Inspector Hector Young in the passenger seat.
The Battleboys who had tied us up approached the crane with their hot laser guns in their hands. The stabilizers stopped and the huge magnet swung forward on its cable. Before the Battleboys could fire, their guns were sucked out of their hands onto the flat magnet swinging overhead.
One of the Battleboys tried to reach the front of the crane near the truck. He left my field of view but from his screams I figured he was hit by Phillup’s weapon. I realized my nose was beginning to burn so I turned my head back so it was protected by the pole. My arms were really beginning to hurt so I started struggling again. I wasn’t sure what was going to kill me first, my blood boiling or my eardrums bursting. Not that I could choose between them.
When the silence came, it was as painful as the noise had been. I wanted desperately to rub my ears. Next to me, Meggie was crying and I wanted to comfort her and have her comfort me. I needed a stiff drink and a sandwich from Nell’s. And I needed to stop Brian.
I was still trying to figure out how to get out of my bonds when Anda ran up to me. She had a pair of bolt cutters and started working on the thick ropes.
“You need to get away,” I said. “It’s not safe.”
“It is safe now. Jet stopped Phillup.”
I didn’t say anything else until Anda had cut enough of the ropes to free me. I rubbed my elbows and was amazed that the skin seemed untouched even though they were still very painful. I walked over to where Hector was releasing Meggie. He was not silent now and spewed sarcasm at everyone. It was music to my ears.
When Meggie was free, she kissed Hector on the cheek and then jumped into my arms. I held her close and kissed her as if my life would end if I didn’t. If her intensity was any indication, she felt the same way.
Eventually I realized we were not alone and I ended the kiss. With my arm around her shoulders we walked over to the truck and crane. The oversized magnet hovered above the truck but it was no longer charged. Jet and Anda sat on the step of the crane and smiled when we approached.
“Glad to see you are unharmed,” Jet said.
“Thanks for the rescue,” I said.
“That was the most fun I have had in a while,” Jet said, wearing his face-splitting grin. “If you decide to close the agency I think I will become a crane operator.”
Anda looked at me with no expression. “Are you closing the agency?”
I squeezed Meggie and she leaned into me. “I have made my choice. I’m going to be a detective.” I paused. “And if I get to choose, I want you and Jet to work with me.”
Anda nodded. “Good. I hate job hunting. And I found an office for us.” She pointed at Meggie’s building.
“I think that is a great idea. I hope it has room for three desks.”
Anda’s grin almost matched Jet’s. “Three medium-sized desks.”
Inspector Jesper walked up to us and I felt Meggie stiffen. I had expected to see the cop and I wasn’t concerned. Since Hector was here I knew that Anda and Jet had called in everyone. Jesper stopped in front of Meggie.
“Phillup Hond admitted to killing Dr. James Notch so you are cleared of suspicion.”
Meggie nodded. “Thank you.”
Jesper shrugged. “I suspected you when the evidence said to. New evidence led me to suspect others. It wasn’t personal.” He turned away without saying anything else and we watched as he walked over to the techs opening up the back of the truck.
“Well, he is about as warm as the dark side of Half Face,” Jet said.
There was nothing to say to that so we just stood and watched the show. Today had been a long day and it wasn’t hard to not think. Well, I actually was working hard at it because if I started thinking I realized that Brian was still out there planning his next move. I felt like we needed to go on the offensive but I had no idea how. If he could make weapons out of magnets, what else did he have planned? Tomorrow we’d have to figure that out…together.
“So are the pulse magnets still dangerous?” I asked as I watched the techs remove several lead boxes from the truck.
“I turned the crane’s magnet on right above the truck,” Jet said. “I assume the pulse magnets are now just magnets.” He looked at Meggie. “Is that correct?”
Meggie nodded. “A magnet as big as that one would have made every pulse magnet in a mile radius harmless. Thank you for saving us.” Jet and Anda nodded.
“So what’s the plan?” Anda asked as she finished yawning.
Everyone looked at me. I knew which choices I was going to make, and it felt good to be back. “Tonight we get some sleep. Tomorrow morning we buy three desks for our new office and figure out how to stop Brian. Tomorrow night I’m taking Meggie out to dinner.” I looked into Meggie’s uncovered eyes. “How’s that for choices?”
“I think you chose wisely.”
About The Author
Jennifer Vandenberg loves to think about infinity and other equally mind-bending ideas. When she is not wondering how many universes can exist at once (can there be an infinite number of infinitely-large universes?) she is writing unearthly short stories and down-to-earth mysteries.
Learn more about Jennifer’s musings and books at www.jennifervandenberg.com
Other Books By Jennifer Vandenberg
Set In Stone (A Travis Eldritch Problem)
Created In Stone (A Second Travis Eldritch Problem)
Revealed In Stone (A Third Travis Eldritch Problem)
Collected In Stone (A Fourth Travis Eldritch Problem)
Covered In Stone (A Fifth Travis Eldritch Problem)
Attraction In Stone (A Sixth Travis Eldritch Problem)
One Last Thing...
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