| Police swarm the warehouse with such numbers, that a passerby could easily liken them to angry hornets who’d just had their nest poked with a stick. |
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| The packet of papers Amber lifted off of Judge Arlington contained falsified court documents. But they were not just any documents. Based upon her examination of these papers, Amber has discovered that, for the past few years, the Jones’ have been buying up small businesses and using them as fronts to sue the Barimen family. Normally, such frivolous cases would never see the light of day. However handwritten notes attached to each document contained instructions for Judge Arlington on how drag out the case as long as possible, as to hinder the defense with “maximum financial burden”. |
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| But this was not the worst of it. Also contained in the packet were two documents that sent Amber into an emotional spiral. The first was a marriage license with her forged signature, witnessed by Mrs. Jones, and officiated by Judge Arlington. If this were to have made it to City Hall, she would have been a married woman without knowing it. |
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| The most chilling discovery was a will; Amber’s signature had been perfectly forged. It also was witnessed by Judge Arlington. The will dissolves the military trust protecting the Barimen property, and gives all remaining assets, including the land, to Billy Jones. Amber knew then, that the problem had grown bigger than her. She needed help; and quite probably, protection. |
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| Amber had become a walking bulls-eye. Her only option was to go again to her uncle, Ricky Nava, with the whole story. Ricky had become Chief of Police, and was sure to be furious at Amber for not coming to him sooner. Unfortunately, going to him was the only sane action to take. She arrived at his house to find he was not there. Aunt Sarah informed her that he was working a call. Evidently, an important judge had just been found dead in his home; purportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ricky was there to secure the scene. |
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| Paranoia took over, and Amber feared even taking a taxi. She finally made it to the police station on foot, and waited there for Ricky to return. There is no chance that Judge Arlington’s death was simply a suicide. He was silenced, in much the same way Mr. Dworkin was silenced. |
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| Her hunch was right. Amber had never seen her uncle angry. His reaction to the packet was directed in two places. The brunt of it was directed at the Jones family for perpetrating such a bold criminal endeavour under is watch. But some of his anger was also directed torward Amber for putting herself into harm’s way without backup. She shared her belief that both Judge Arlington and Mr. Dworkin were murdered by Billy. After listening to her account, viewing the photos, and seeing the documents, Ricky quickly called in the cavalry. |
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| The warehouse roundup is conducted with unforgiving forcefulness. Mrs. Jones had taken refuge here with her gang of hoodlums, who open fire on the first few officers to enter the building. Thankfully, there are no deaths, but plenty of gunfire. Amber knows Billy will be able to hide indefinitely inside the maze of shipping crates and containers, and never be found by police. |
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| But she also knows that he cannot hide from her. |
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| She moves with the silence of a church mouse, the stealth of a cat, and the senses of a predator. It might be fair to say that not even the dust is unsettled by her passing. She spots him crouched behind a stack of crates, and speaks up toward the high rafters to mask the location of her voice. She congratulates him for nearly pulling off a flawless misdirection. He jumps from being startled, and looks around to find her. |
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| Amber continues to speak, using the weird acoustics inside the warehouse to mask her location, and moves imperceptibly toward him. Knowing that her audience is a captive one, she begins to scold him for betraying their friendship, and exchanging love for greed. He shouts obscenities into the air, calling her every insulting name in the book. She ignores him and continues. |
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| Drawing slowly and silently nearer to his location, she reveals that she was the one who turned in evidence that convicted his father to serve fifty years in prison. And she will personally see to it that he also pays his debt to society, for the murders of Mr. Dworkin and Judge Arlington. She calls him by his full name, William Martin Jones, and confesses that she loves him. |
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| She steps out into the open, and faces him. Leveling her determined gaze into his eyes, she states that regardless of her feelings for him, she will fight stop him from victimizing any more sims. Billy smiles his crooked smile, mistakenly believing his charm will once again give him the advantage. He draws a gun from his pocket pulls the trigger as soon as the gun sight lines up between her eyes. |
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| But it is not good enough. Amber’ senses have become as focused as a laser, and she has somehow tapped into a nearly supernatural reserve of ability. The gun goes flying after a simple snap-kick to his hand. The weapon lands with a loud clattering on top of a nearby shipping crate. |
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| Perhaps he should have paid more attention during their martial arts lessons. She lands strike after strike to his head and body with sharp, painful cracking sounds. She shouts out a laundry list of his offenses, landing another terrible strike while speaking each offense. This continues until he is left bloody and staggering from the pummeling. |
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| The final three blows, the most viscous of them all, send him sprawling unconscious onto the ground. They are accompanied with three bitter and emotionally charged words that erupt from her as she delivers the pulverizing strikes; |
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| FOR |
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| MISTER |
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| DWORKIN! |
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| The fourth and final book in the mystery series by “Barbi Meerman”, climaxes with betrayal and revenge for its heroine. Deprived of her own happy ending, Amber leaves her fictional sleuth sad and alone, picking up the pieces, and wondering where to go next. |
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| Wendell can easily sense the change in Amber. He now knows the drama which had unfolded between the two families, including the corruption of Judge Arlington, were all recorded within the pages of her popular mystery novels. But it had been written and disguised so artfully, that there would be no chance for a causal reader to put the two together. Knowing what he knows about Amber, Wendell cannot help but feel pity for the heartbroken, young women; both the fictional one and the real one. |
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| Due to the high profile nature of his crime, Billy Jones was quickly tried and convicted of murdering Judge Arlington. His mother was also convicted of numerous crimes, including fraud and blackmail. Once the most feared family in the criminal underground, the Jones’ now find themselves faced with the real possibility that their lineage will disappear along with Billy, in a cold prison cell. |
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| Amber spills her sorrows over dinner with Wendell. She is understandably not in the mood to celebrate. So rather than a fancy meal, he treats her to some comfort food at a quaint country-style restaurant with a relaxing outdoor patio. Wendell just listens and does his best to follow her emotional roller-coaster; bantering with her at the peaks, and listening intently to her at the dips. |
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| They spend some time talking about her future as an author. She wants to continue writing, but feels it is time so shed her pen name. It may also take time for her to find the creative inspiration for another novel. Wendel nods his understanding and assures her that she will always have a spot on his bookshelf. |
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| He wishes he could find a way to tell Amber that she will always have a spot in his heart as well. Unfortunately, his success with women has been less than stellar. His clumsiness is not reserved only to his physical movements, but his lack of verbal prowess as well. When it comes to romance, his words somehow become mangled between his brain and his mouth, and he just ends up sounding like a complete loser. It has become a learned behavior for him to just keep his mouth shut when it comes to matters of the heart. So he remains silent. |
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| And Amber remains completely unaware of his feelings when she excuses herself to do some thinking alone; and to figure out where to go next. |
Stories by Zoxell 
Awhh come on Wendell you need to tell her! I hope Amber will find out about the way he feels about her, sooner rather than later! By the way, I really loved the fighting and action theme going on! It was so well portrayed.
auburn
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Yes! I knew it! :}
Im so glad that the mystery is over and that things are finally being put back together.
Aww…Wendell is so cute. I hope that he one day works up the courage to tell her how he feels…
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