Diamond in the Rough (Precious Gems)

by A. A. King

  “Brian,” she yelled as she ran into the room.

  “I’m right here,” he said as he drank his coffee. His eyes looked bloodshot as though he had not slept. The look on her face spoke volumes.

  “Cheyenne, I think you know what the bag by the front door means. With Jason in jail you do not need me here anymore. I came here to protect you and now my job is done,” he said with a heavy heart.

  “The chief called me last night but I couldn’t tell you then. I wanted to have one more good night with you before I told you the truth.”

  “Brian, are you sure you have to go? What if he gets out on bail? I need you here with me,” she pleaded. Her heart was breaking as he stood from the table and started toward the door. Cheyenne grabbed his arm and pulled him toward her. Before he could stop her she kissed him. It was not a regular kiss but one full of passion and heart. She felt his heart breaking as his lips pressed tenderly against hers. However, he broke the kiss and held her at arm’s length. Detective Brian Russell looked deeply into Cheyenne’s eyes.

  “I have no choice, the chief has ended my assignment” he said.

  “Will I see you again?” she asked, desperately searching for answers to her deepest fears.

  “I am not sure Cheyenne. Maybe we should take this as a sign and cut our losses before this goes too far.” Cheyenne Wingate stood completely still, hoping that if she didn’t move that what he had just said would disappear into oblivion as though it had never been spoken. Her heart was breaking as he walked out the door.

  “Things have already went too far, it’s too late.” she whispered as the door closed. Throughout her life many people had left her but this one hurt a different part of her heart. She had never let anyone in like she had Brian and she was sure that she never would again.

  Cheyenne’s day started out bad and had not gotten any better. For most of the morning she had lain in Brian’s bed and enjoyed being enveloped by his familiar scent. After a while of wallowing in self pity, she got up and decided to try and get her mind off of him. She looked in vain for something to keep her busy around the house. Finally, she walked past the locked door of her father’s bedroom. As long as she’d put this off, it was time to go through his room. The key had never been far from her. She pulled it out of her pocket and inserted it into the lock. It made a hollow thudding sound as she turned it in the door.

  The smell of leather and old spice was heavy in the air as she walked through the door. In the center of the room was a mahogany four poster bed with a bear skin rug at the foot. It was set up much like Cheyenne’s room, except more masculine. Noticing a safe in the corner, she reached out and pulled the handle, curious to see if it would open. The handle did not move and she knew that it would not be that easy. It had a digital keypad on the front. Now the fun part came as she entered every combination of those numbers that she could think of. On the last set of numbers she entered took a chance and entered her birth date. To her amazement, the safe clicked and the door was ajar. The contents of it were puzzling. She could tell immediately that she was not the first person to review the contents. Cheyenne had seen how meticulous her father had kept his possessions and this safe was not meticulous. Papers were strewn about and his valuable were spilling out of the box he had kept them in. Someone had definitely been in the safe but no one should have had access to it after she locked it. No one else had a key to the room.

  This must have been gone through before I arrived, she told herself. Closing the safe’s door, she looked around the room.

  The nightstands could hold valuable information, she decided.

  Pulling the first drawer open, she saw magazines and handkerchiefs. She picked up the handkerchiefs and brought them to her nose. Inhaling deeply, she enjoyed the smell of her father. After checking the rest of the drawers, she saw that their content was similar except for the last drawer. It held a forty five caliber pistol and bullets. She removed it from the holster and found that it was already loaded. Cheyenne held the pistol in her hand and the weight of it surprised her. Placing it on the bed, she walked to the closet to have a look.

  Cheyenne opened the closet door and looked through the clothes that were hanging. There were several blazers and at least twenty button up shirts. In the very back corner of the large closet, something caught her eye. The cedar slats of the closet were all uniform except for one. She pushed the clothing to one side so she could get a better look. They were certainly different and as she knocked on them, one sounded hollow. She pulled the board and it opened like a small door. Inside, she found another small safe but this one had a key. She thought for a moment and decided to try the key for his bedroom door. It worked and the door opened easily. Cheyenne reached in and pulled out a file folder. Inside, she found numerous papers. She climbed on his bed and settled in to review the paperwork. The first paper she came to was what looked to be a will and it was dated just a week before his death. Her mind was blown as she read it and discovered that everything had been left to her. Jason and Maria had been completely left out. The oddest thing about the entire document was that Ed Crowley had not been the attorney of record for this will. It also listed the additional five million dollars that Brian had questioned. His feeling about missing money had been correct.

  The next papers were odd looking and the letters were cut out of magazines. They looked to be the threat letters Maria had told her about, but now some of the letters were missing and the original message was unreadable. There were several other papers in the folder but they were of no importance to her. Cheyenne sat stunned and did not know what to do. Before this morning, she would have called Brian, but now she did not feel like that was an option. Cheyenne needed to get out of the room. The walls felt like they were closing in and she needed fresh air. She walked to the top of the stair landing to go down to the living room.

  She sat on the couch stunned. At this point she did not know who she could trust and who she could not.

  If this is what life was like for my father, then I really feel sorry for him, she told herself. At every turn there were reasons to not trust anyone. Brian had been the only person she could depend on and now she did not know where she stood with him. After his departure that morning, she felt as if something had died between them. He would no longer be her soft place to fall and that devastated her. Cheyenne knew that she needed to call him and let him know what she had found but she could not bring herself to dial his number. For the moment, she would keep her findings to herself.

  The doorbell rang and startled her. Cheyenne was shocked and terrified when she opened the door. Jason stood in front of her and it scared the hell out of her. In shock she tried to slam the door but he stuck his foot in and the door bounced harmlessly off of his boot. “Cheyenne, I have to talk to you,” he pleaded.

  “How did you get out of jail,” demanded Cheyenne as she searched in vain for a weapon, realizing that she had left the pistol on the bed upstairs.

  “Please listen to me! I didn’t kill your father and I wasn’t coming over here to hurt you yesterday. I was going to apologize before I was pulled over. Think about it, why would I be driving around with a murder weapon under my seat?” he asked.

  Something in his voice told her that he was telling the truth. Her brain screamed danger but her heart disagreed. Hesitantly she opened the door and let him in.

  “You never answered my question. How did you get out?” she demanded.

  “I posted bail this morning. I need your help. There has to be something around here that would point to why Charles was murdered. If we can find out why he was killed, I have a pretty good idea that finding out who did it will come easy.”

  “I think I know what you may be looking for,” Cheyenne declared as she led him up the stairs. “Just a bit ago I finally unlocked my dad’s bedroom. I opened the first safe and it did not look right. Everything was messy and looked like it had been rifled through. Then, I found another safe hidden in the wall in his closet. There are some document
s that you need to see.” Cheyenne spread the papers out onto the bed for Jason to see.

  “I have to tell you that you are not going to be happy about what I have found.” She trembled as she informed him about the new will.

  “Can I see it?”

  “I’m sorry but I have put it in a safe place until I can get it to the proper authorities. You will have to take my word for it for now. But, I also found other papers that may explain some of the events surrounding his death.” Cheyenne explained as she opened the worn folder and handed the letters to Jason.

  As he looked through the papers his mouth dropped open. It was clear that he had not known that Charles was receiving these letter.

  “I hate to deliver more bad news, but Maria told me about these letters right before she left and she informed me that you had been sending them to my father.”

  He shook his head as he ran his hand through his short hair. A look of worry and concern formed on his handsome face as he leafed through the papers. His hands trembled and Cheyenne couldn’t tell if that was happening out of anger or fear.

  “Jason, I need for you to tell me what is going on. I am not stupid enough to think that you are completely innocent of any wrong doing. I don’t believe that you murdered Charles, but Maria hates you for a reason and I would like to know what that reason is.”

  Jason sat quietly for a moment. Cheyenne patiently waited for him to open up to her. Instead of spilling his guts, he rose from the bed as if he was in a trance and walked from the room. He didn’t stop walking until he reached his car. Jason took a look back toward the house before he cranked his vehicle and drove away.

  Cheyenne returned to her father’s room and continued looking through the folder. Each of the letters looked the same and had almost the same juvenile message: WATCH YOURSELF! I WILL GET YOU!

  Cheyenne’s concentration was interrupted when she heard a noise from downstairs. It sounded like a stair creaked underneath the weight of someone. She reached across the bed for the gun that she had put there. As she rose from the bed, she tucked the gun into the waistband of her jeans and pulled her shirt over it to hide the bulge.

  She had stepped no more than two feet from the mattress when Maria walked into the room. It was evident that she had been crying by her red rimmed and swollen eyes.

  “Where have you been Maria? You missed my father’s funeral,” Cheyenne stated in an accusatory tone. The sarcasm seemed to hit Maria square in the face.

  “Get out of this room. You have no business being in here!” she demanded as she walked farther in.

  “Do you think that you own this house? Is there some reason you think that you can chastise me for coming into my father’s room? You have no right to tell anyone what to do in my house!” Cheyenne demanded.

  Maria looked stunned. She walked around the corner of the bed and before Cheyenne realized what she was doing; Maria pulled a gun from her purse and trained it on Cheyenne. Maria held the gun as though it was alien for a moment. Then, as though everything was moving in slow motion, she pointed the barrel at Cheyenne.

  “I said for you to get out of here,” Maria demanded as she punched the air with the gun for emphasis. Cheyenne did not move. Her temper was now in control as she stood and turned on the small woman.

  “I found the real will and the threat letters Maria. I don’t know what it all means, but I do know that you have a lot of explaining to do,” Cheyenne accused. Suddenly, Maria pulled the hammer back on the gun.

  “Get downstairs, now!” ordered Maria.

  The small woman looked odd with a gun in her hands. Cheyenne fearfully followed her direction and began walking. At the top of the stairs Cheyenne heard the gun fire. It shocked her senses and she bolted. She made it into the dining room and found a suitable hiding spot. Peering around the corner of the large hutch she could see a limited area. To her left was nothing but to the right stood the small figured women she had suddenly come to fear. All four foot nine of the women was evil, of that, Cheyenne was sure. She had to get word to Brian before it was too late.

  “I know you’re here, Cheyenne,” Maria taunted. “If you come out now, I will not hurt you.

  Cheyenne knew that she could not trust her but she also knew that her cell phone was upstairs and she knew that she didn’t have a lot of time. She could see the pistol in Maria’s hand. It looked so foreign in this petite, seemingly gentle woman’s grip. She tried to think of all of her options but the only one that seemed feasible was to fight. Suddenly, Cheyenne saw her opportunity to gain a bit of leverage. Maria was mere feet from her position and Cheyenne seized the opportunity. She leapt from her hiding spot onto the older woman’s back. Both crashed to the floor and Cheyenne saw the gun fall from Maria’s hand and skid to a stop several feet from both of them. She grabbed Maria in a choke hold but the tiny woman had far more strength than Cheyenne initially thought. Maria pried Cheyenne’s arms from around her neck and pushed the younger woman off of her. She lunged for the gun just as Cheyenne crashed down on top of her again.

  “Maria, why have you done this?” Cheyenne grunted as she fought for her life. Cheyenne tried to reach for the gun that she had tucked into the waistband of her jeans but just at that time Maria flipped her off of her again and the gun skidded across the floor in the opposite direction of Maria’s. Cheyenne grabbed a vase from the in table and brought it crashing onto Maria’s back. It stunned her, but did not have the effect Cheyenne had wanted. Before she could react, Maria had the gun back in her hands.

  “I never wanted to kill him but he would not listen to reason. For twelve years I watched Jason weasel his way into your place. I had to put a stop to it,” Maria exclaimed.

  “You killed my father to get rid of Jason?” Cheyenne said in disbelief. He was firing me and I could not let that happen. I loved him but he was about to ruin everything” Maria cried. “When he was firing me he cut me out of the will. I have worked here for over twenty five years and was not leaving empty handed.

  Cheyenne saw another opportunity and lunged yet again at the old women. This time Maria was ready and fired her gun. Cheyenne heard the shot but did not instantly realize that she had been struck by the bullet. As the pain set in though, she painfully came to terms with what had happened. Her blood poured quickly from her wound as she slipped from consciousness.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brian was parking his truck when he heard the gunshot. Instinctively he reached for his service revolver and bolted for the front entrance. He peered through the window and didn’t see anything. After realizing that the front door was locked, he kicked it in and immediately saw Cheyenne. Brian could smell the fresh aroma of gun powder and immediately thought the worst.

  He knelt by her side and rolled her over. Crimson seeped from a hole in her chest and he heard gurgling sounds. Brian ripped off his shirt and put pressure on Cheyenne’s chest as he called for backup and an ambulance.

  “Please Cheyenne, baby stay with me! You have to stay with me.”

  Tears rolled down his cheeks as he checked for a pulse and found a faint one.

  “Thank you God!” He screamed to the room as he cradled her head in his lap.

  Until this moment he had not realized the extent of his feelings for her. It took her getting shot for him to realize that he loved her.

  “Oh god she has to make it….” Brian could not fathom going a single day without her in his life. He needed her, not a memory.

  He called into his shoulder mic for an eta on the ambulance.

  “Detective Russell it is about thirty seconds out.” The dispatcher stated crisply.

  Brian heard the wail of sirens approaching the house. The paramedics rushed in and began working on Cheyenne. So many things were going on and it scared Brian. He was used to crime scenes but never with a live victim and never one who he loved. His senses were on overload and it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge.

  Just then, his back up arrived and another detective approached him wi
th a hurried step.

  “Detective Russell?” The young detective asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I found a woman walking a few blocks from here after your call went out over the radio. She looks like she has been through hell so I detained her in the back of my squad car. Do you want to take a look?”

  “Yes I would. Where is she?”

  The detective led Brian to his car and when he opened the back door, Brian’s eyes squinted in anger. His fist balled at his sides and for a moment he wasn’t sure if he could control himself.

  “Do a gun powder residue test on her hands now! Do not let her out of your site!”

  With that, he ran back to Cheyenne. The medics were loading her onto a gurney and were about to transfer her to the hospital.

  “How is she doing?” Brian asked as he wrung his hands together. They were covered in her blood as were his clothes. He needed to hear that she would be okay but was terrified that he would not get the answer he sought.

  “She is in bad shape. The bullet pierced her lung and she has lost a lot of blood. We will do everything that we can, but she has got to get to the hospital.”

  The news was not great but there was hope. He would accept that for now.

  “Detective Russell?”

  Brian turned to find the young detective approaching him with a GSR kit. He could see that the swab had turned colors from where he stood.

  Without saying a word, Brian’s worst fears had been realized. He had left Cheyenne unprotected and she almost lost her life because of it. Hell, he wasn’t sure if she would even make it. She may have already lost her life and if she did, it would be his fault. He would never be able to live with himself if she wasn’t okay.