Cupid's Treasure - Mystery of the Golden Arrow Read Free Page A

eyes flared. She watched as his pupils dilated a little when he gazed at her mud streaked face and frizzy hair. He shook his head, narrowed his eyes quizzically, and turned away from her.
    “That does it!” he said when another barbed arrow hit him. He stood and ran toward the other side of the park.
    Amber watched him disappear into the night. She sighed as she stood with a heavy heart and a soggy sweater. Now it was her turn to disappear.

Chapter 2
     
    Just put one foot in front of the othe r , Amber thought as she started off toward the other end of the path. She looked at the yellow card that was still in her hand. “Maybe it is time for blue hair,” she said to herself. “They’ll never suspect that one, and I can disappear again . . . right beneath their noses.”
    “Hold on there,” her rescuer called out, running to catch up with her. “Where are you going?”
    Amber turned and saw him running towards her and didn’t know if she wanted to run into his arms or run the other way as she watched him approach. From his expression, he didn’t know either. “I just want to go home,” she replied when he neared, tucking the card in her pocket. She certainly didn’t need to give anyone the heads up on her plans to disappear again.
    “Home?” His voice sounded concerned.
    “Is this her?” An officer walked up behind him. “Are you okay, Miss?”
    Amber was surprised she hadn’t noticed the other man behind him. “I’m fine.” She nodded. “Just a little shook up.”
    Her savior studied her for a moment like she was a puzzle he was unraveling. “Please,” she said, wiping a splash of mud from her cheek, which only succeeded in leaving a larger smear. “I just want to go home.” She looked down at her mud soaked clothing.
    “The ambulance is on its way,” the officer said.
    “That’s good,” her savior said. “I think she may be in shock.”
    “No, I’m fine. . . . I just want to go home,” Amber said.
    “Where is home?” the officer asked, flipping out his notebook.
    “Currently, it is the Golden Key Motel down the road,” she said. She could tell by the way he looked at her that he was assuming from her state of dishevelment that she was an indigent of some sort. She straightened her shoulders. “I am the new librarian,” she stated defensively. “And so far my day hasn’t gone too well. The power went out, my car was towed, and to top it off, I was attacked.”
    The officer looked up at her. “A blue pinto?”
    She nodded.
    “Did you know your plates are expired?” the officer asked.
    “Can we not help this young lady out here, Tom?” her herculean sized rescuer asked the officer. “I’ll call Bob’s Towing and have your Pinto delivered back here pronto,” he said, looking at her.
    “That is all fine and good, but it still doesn’t explain why I have a man in diapers over there with a lethal weapon,” Tom said as he wrote.
    “You caught the man?” Amber asked, a little surprised by the information.
    “Yeah, some nutcase,” Tom said. “He was already laid out cold when I arrived.” The policeman cast a suspicious glance at her rescuer who rubbed his neck. “You wouldn’t know how that happened would you?”
    Her guardian angel shrugged, and the officer turned back to her. “How about you?” he asked. “Do you know why a man claiming to be Cupid would be out here shooting arrows at you?”
    “No.” Amber’s voice caught in her throat.
    The ambulance’s approach was heralded by the blaring siren. “I think she needs to go to the hospital, not be subjected to the inquisition,” her rescuer said.
    “No I can’t possibly go the—”
    “What?” Her angel signaled that he couldn’t hear her over the noise and leaned closer to her, giving her a whiff of aftershave that filled her senses.
    “No,” Amber said, backing up. “No hospitals. . . . I am fine.”
    “Tell you what,” he said gently. “Let’s have the paramedics check you out, and if they