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men Dawson had brought to the Country Daze store earlier this afternoon.
The two giants still had on the same grimy work clothes they d sported then, and they both carried long,
heavy flashlights that could easily be used to break bones or crush someone s skull. They had to be the
dwarf s top two enforcers.
I watched them sweep into Dawson s office. They didn t bother with anything on the desk, but went
straight to the glass case that housed the dwarf s rock collection.
The lock s been picked, one of the giants rumbled, swinging open the case. But it doesn t look like
anything s been taken.
The second giant came to stand beside him. Nothing obvious anyway. But somebody was messing with
the safe, with the diamond. That s why the alarm went off inside the guardhouse. Because somebody
other than Dawson opened the safe.
Well, that confirmed my suspicion the dwarf had used his Stone magic to craft the alarm on his safe. I
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could do the same thing, although I was usually more interested in keeping people out of whatever
building I was sleeping in rather than trapping them inside. That s what would have happened here. If I
hadn t been a Stone, hadn t been an elemental, I wouldn t even have heard the alarm. Both Donovan
Caine and I would have still been sitting in Dawson s office when the giants came calling. Some definite
pain, perhaps even death, would have ensued.
Sneaky dwarf, using an elemental alarm like that.
Something to keep in mind next time, when I went in to kill him.
But it doesn t look like the safe s been opened, the first giant rumbled. Maybe it s just a false alarm.
No way, the second guy replied. The case is open. Somebody touched that safe.
Maybe. But you know how sensitive that rune alarm Dawson created is. I had to come up here twice
last week because the cleaning crew jiggled it while they were dusting.
Remember?
I remember, the second man said. But you know how obsessed Dawson is with that diamond and the
others he found. We d still better call him, just to cover our own asses. And get Stan and Donny up here
too. They can help us look around.
The first giant sighed and picked up the telephone on the dwarf s desk.
I stood outside, still processing what I d just learned.
Others? There were more diamonds like the one in the safe? I began to get a bad, bad feeling about why
Tobias Dawson wanted Warren T. Fox s land so badly. If my suspicion was correct, Dawson wouldn t
stop harassing the Foxes until he was dead. Which meant the thought of killing the dwarf just morphed
from a pleasant idea into a cold, hard necessity. The sooner the better.
The first giant finished his phone call and turned back to his buddy. They re on their way. But I still
don t see how anyone besides Dawson could even open the safe. All the silverstone in it is keyed to his
magic.
For a rock like that? Somebody wouldfind a way, the second guy replied.
As they stood there talking, I crept away from the window and slipped off into the dark, rainy night.
I jogged back to the far end of the basin away from the mine office. I didn t sprint full out, but I didn t
dawdle either. I kept my pace just quick enough so I d still be able to hear the giants behind me when
their friends arrived and they decided to investigate the area outside the office. But I didn t worry about
them finding anything. The drizzling rain would wash away any trace evidence the detective or I might
have left behind, including our footprints.
I reached the back slope of the basin where we d come down, rounded the rock outcropping and
found myself on the business end of Donovan Caine s gun.
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Nice to see you too, I drawled.
Donovan let out a breath and lowered his weapon.
Sorry. I heard footsteps.
Don t worry. That s not the first gun I ve had pointed at me. Probably wouldn t be the last one, either,
but I didn t mention that to the detective.
Donovan holstered his weapon. Then he stepped out from behind the rock and looked toward the mine
offices. By now, more lights burned there, like fireflies that had been grounded by the rain. Faint shouts
drifted through the night air.
Did you kill the guards? Donovan Caine asked in a low voice.
No.
Surprise and relief flashed in his golden eyes. Why not?
I shrugged. Because a possible break-in is one thing. Dead guards are another. I don t want Tobias
Dawson to realize I m coming for him. Not until it s too late.
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