Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story)

Copyright ©
2012, Rita Garcia

Publisher: Rita Garcia Productions

All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this book. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is taken from the New King James version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.


All rights reserved.

Cover and Interior Design by The Killion Group

www.thekilliongroupinc.com

Dedication

To my husband, Joe

The reason I believe in fai
ry-tales and happily ever after
.

I'm so grateful for a man who loves me, believes in me, and

tolerates this wild and crazy redhead.

Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Epilogue

Chapter One
 

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

–
Jeremiah 29:11
 

Stillness of night settled
in like a haze over the town.
I’d worked the late shift
more years than I care
d
to count—alth
ough by ch
oice.
At the end of my patrol
I cruised
the fin
al block of Main Street and
pulled into
Rubi’s D
iner
,
wanting a whole-enchilada breakf
ast plate before heading home. A
voice crackled over the
police
radio.

“Chief.
” Hank’s
words
mixed wit
h the static
. “Hello. C
ome in.
”
Urgency strained his vocal cords
.
Hank, a college student, worked
the front desk at the pol
ice station part-
time
.

I
grabbed
the speaker. “Logan.”

“Harrison called.
H
e and a couple of buddies saw something suspicious out at the cove—looks like a body.”

“Or teenage
imaginations coming alive at the midnight hour. Call
Alec
for ba
ck-up.” I thumbed the
Off
button
and sped to the other end of town.

The north end of the beac
h came into view. I veered
on
to the old dirt road
,
avoiding
the potholes as the cruiser ji
ggled its way
d
own to the sandy cove.
A mis
t had rolled in,
making me wonder
h
ow
the
guys
had
seen much of anything
.
The path ended and I
parked beside
Harrison Coleman’s beat-
up truck and another car b
elonging to the
new kid in town—w
hat was his name?
I shook my head
. Thirty
-two and already
forgetting
name
s—not a good sign.

I stepped out of the cruiser
as my deputy,
Alec
Sandoval
, sp
ed down the dirt road. Barely
waiting for his car to stop, h
e jumped out and rushed over. “Where’s Harrison?”

“Not a clue. Use
your spotlight and see if we can attract their attention.” My ey
es followed the glow as it
caught the teens. Shaking my head, I turned to Alec. “What’s that new kid’s name?”

“Tommy
O’Brien.
Y
ou
do
remember Gary and Har
rison
,
don’t you, b
oss?
”

I challenged
his snicker
with
a steely st
are.

The guys
quic
kly closed the gap between us.
T
hey
beg
an to talk over one another, and
I thrust
out
my
hand
. “
Hold on.
”
I
pointed to
Gary
. “L
et’s start with you.”

Gary shuffled his f
eet against the grav
el. “This dog ran over to us
. He
kept barking, so w
e followed him
to t
he bottom
of the path,
where the
big rock
is
.” The teen
pointed to a huge boulder that over time had become a landmark of sorts. “Harrison shined his flashlight
and
we saw it—
a body down by the water.”

“Show us
.”
We reached the boulder
,
and I directed
a beam
on
the water’s edge. The crumpled
shape on
the sand
certainly looked to be a person.
“S
omething’
s down ther
e all ri
ght.” I nodded at
Alec
.
“Climb on down
,
and I’ll wait for the EMTs
.
”
Alec
zipped his jacket and stepped onto the path.

I
hoped for good reception and punched the number into
my cell phone
, and
waited for
Hank’s hello. “Check on the ambulance
.”

“
What’d you fi
nd?” Hank’s voice reflected his
eager
ness
to become a cop.

“
Still investigating
.”
I
clicked off and
turned
back to
watch
Alec
’s desc
ent
.

Halfway down
he
slipped,
slid
ing
on the seat of his pants
the rest of the way. A silent
chuckle
shook my insi
des as he reached the bottom. It wasn’t more than a minute
before
Alec
radioed
.
“She’s breathing. T
here’s blood from a head wound.”

“Hang o
n
—an
ambulance
is on its way
.”
I pivoted
to the group hovering behind me.

I hated
play
ing
the
tough
guy, but
t
he victim
might not survive.
“You kid
s go
home. Y
our parents will be calling us next.” Three faces simultaneously flashed disappointme
nt
.

Harrison rocked o
n
the heels of his shoes
,
shoving
his hands
into th
e back pockets of his jeans. “Uh
, C
hief. W
e found the body
.”

Tommy sto
od
straight. “Yeah,
we—
”

“Go
—
stop whining.
” T
hey
moped
to their cars, gunned their engines
,
and
sped up the path in a cloud of
roiling
dust.

The ambulance stirred
up more dirt
and pulled into one of the
parking spot
s
the teens ha
d reversed out of minutes earlier
. The EMTs jogged
over
. “Where’s the victim?
”