Fool's Deadly Gold, page 13
Roger finally kissed his wife and daughter. “I’d better go back to work. I love you two.”
He finally made it home to his other children late that night. He loaded them all up and took the babysitter home. “Your mother,” he explained, “is going to stay with Kimber at the hospital tonight.” He finally went to bed, grateful that the girls were safe now and determined to go to work with all his energy the next morning. He had a killer and kidnappers to find, but first he needed a good night’s rest.
***
Dade had relieved Lauralyn at Lizzie’s bedside. Hydrated and no longer hungry, she was fairly animated. Dade, on the other hand, could scarcely keep his eyes open. He finally fell asleep in a soft chair next to his daughter’s hospital bed.
The next morning, after Lizzie was released from the hospital, Dade kept her with him as he drove to the Forest Service office to report the finding of the grave that held the remains of a suspected Spanish miner from centuries ago. He gave them a detailed report of the area, including the other suspected ancient graves. He also gave them several pictures he’d taken with his phone. He was told to cease any mining activity until further word. Although they did say he would be able to continue sometime in the future since he had a legal claim.
On that depressing note, he and Lizzie drove to Salt Lake City just to spend some time together away from the worries and grief that plagued them at home. They had a good time at the zoo and other places, and they returned home for church on Sunday. On Monday morning, Dade got a call from the Forest Service telling him that he was to meet an archaeological team and lead them to the site of his claim.
He called Roger and told him the plan. He intended to take Lizzie with him and felt it would be safe since there would be a large group with him. After the kidnapping, he rarely left her side. Lauralyn offered to take her to give him a break, but he had declined.
“I’m going with you,” the detective told him. “Or you can go with me. We need to check the cameras anyway. I’m getting nowhere; Cutler Pike hasn’t been seen, and Viola and Ian have vanished. Maybe I can get a lead from the cameras.”
“I’ll meet you at the trailhead, and we can hike in together, you, me, and Lizzie. There will also be a couple of Forest Service people hiking in with us and four or five archaeologists,” Dade said.
“Are you going to be allowed to work in your mine?” Roger asked.
“Yes, eventually, but only under the watchful eye of a bunch of archaeologists and federal bureaucrats,” he said.
“That will make it harder for others to steal from your mine, won’t it?” Roger asked.
“Good point. I guess there is a bright side to this thing.”
Once the group was assembled at the trailhead, Dade, Roger, and Lizzie took the lead and they proceeded to hike to the mine. They spent the first hour at the site showing the archaeologists what they had found.
The group was like a bunch of jays, hopping around gleefully, clapping their hands, and generously celebrating their good luck over such an amazing find. But they did not touch anything at that point. They staked the suspected graves and took what Dade estimated to be hundreds, if not thousands, of photos.
Dade was repeatedly instructed not to approach any areas the archaeologists had staked out. That included the huge mound that had been made by the materials excavated from the mine hundreds of years before. Once they were satisfied, he was told he could go in his mine if he wanted to. But he said to Roger, “This is going to be difficult. I don’t think I can work under the watchful eye of this bunch of bureaucrats.”
“That will be up to you,” Roger said. “So should we see what, if anything, your cameras have captured?”
Dade didn’t respond right away. He was looking at where he had secured the opening to his mine the last time they were there. “We’ll find something,” he said.
“Has someone been here?” Roger asked, his gaze following Dade’s.
“Yes. Look at the way the opening is covered.”
“Oh, I see what you mean. That’s not at all the way we left it.”
The two men and Lizzie proceeded to move the brush and branches from in front of the opening, and together, the three of them entered. Dade was a very meticulous person. He liked things neat and organized. He never left tools lying around, and he always left whatever workspace he’d occupied neat and orderly.
Such was not the case in the mine. The claim jumper had hacked or chiseled in many places along the wall and left debris behind. Dade would have shoveled everything into neat piles, and he had done just that during what little time he had worked in there. “Okay,” he said after grumbling about what he’d found. “Let’s go look at the cameras and see what they show.”
They took the cameras down and downloaded the contents of each of them onto a small laptop Dade had brought for that purpose. After glancing at Lizzie, who started exploring in the brush a few yards away, he opened up the video. The first part of the video showed the same beautiful buck deer they had seen there the day they’d installed the cameras.
But what came next was startling. A man came into view on the screen, looking carefully around him as he entered the clearing. “I know who that is. It’s Cutler Pike,” Roger said darkly. “I wonder where he is now.”
“That’s him all right,” Dade agreed quietly as he stopped the video and studied it closely. “Could he be my wife’s killer?”
“I’d say it’s possible. Maybe the kidnappers knew what they were talking about,” Roger said thoughtfully. “We’ve got to find him again. And with all that’s going on here now, this may not be the likely place to capture him. Let’s move that video ahead.”
But at that moment, the lead archaeologist came running from the trees, shouting, “Detective, you need to come back here right now!”
Mikel Chatard was in his early fifties. He was a small man with a narrow face and booming voice. He wore his gray hair in a ponytail, and he had a neatly trimmed gray beard. His dark eyes were wide, and his normally dark face was pale. Dade quickly closed his computer, and he and Lizzie followed Roger and Mikel to the edge of the clearing. Suddenly, Mikel said, “You can’t bring the little girl back here. She mustn’t see what we found.”
One of the forest employees stepped forward and volunteered to watch her. “Lizzie, stay right with this fellow. I won’t be long,” Dade said. And then he and Detective Koltun followed the agitated archaeologist into the trees.
They passed several of the mounds that had been staked and went fifty or sixty feet beyond them. Another of the archaeologists stood guard over what looked like some freshly disturbed ground. Mikel pointed at the disturbed area and said, “We were just looking a little farther out here to make sure we hadn’t missed any other ancient graves when we spotted this.”
“It looks like some kind of animal has been digging here,” Roger said as he stepped closer.”
“Yes, and if you care to look into the hole it made, you’ll see a boot!” Mikel said, his booming voice slightly subdued now, his face still pale. “There must be a body in there. And it isn’t an old one.”
Roger removed a camera from his small pack and said, “I’ll need to dig in a minute or two, but right now, I want some pictures. If there’s more than just a boot in there, I’ll need to get more officers up here.”
***
Gus Colburn had done very little exploring in the Uinta Mountains for more possible gold claims. After his little scuffle with Cutler Pike, he had spent most of his time watching and following other prospectors. He’d followed the young school teacher from Roosevelt in here some time back. But something was going on now that alarmed Gus. He was watching from back in the trees, staying as silent as a mouse. There were too many people here, and that wasn’t good. He’d hoped to do a little more exploring in the old mine that Dade Tansey had found and staked a claim on. He had found a few flakes of gold in what little probing he’d already done, and he figured he could find more, probably lots more.
He could only make out a little of what was being said by the four men who were standing in a small circle. He was shocked when he recognized Dade Tansey; he hadn’t expected Dade back so soon. Had he brought a whole bunch of workers to help him in the mine? Anger filled the prospector’s head. What would it take to get Tansey to leave this area and not come back? There had to be something more he could do.
The man with the fanny pack was taking pictures while Dade and the other men watched. He couldn’t imagine what they might have found. Did the Spanish leave some gold at that spot? A thrill went through him. He had to find a way to get it.
He became more convinced of his theory when Dade handed the man who’d been taking pictures a short shovel, one with an expanding handle. Gus used one of those himself. The fellow dug slowly, depositing the dirt he removed from the hole as he worked. Gus wanted to get closer so he could hear and see better.
Gus took a tentative step, watching closely where he put his foot down. Unless he made a noise, he didn’t worry about being seen as the four men all seemed totally engrossed in their work. He wanted that gold they were digging for. He was convinced that’s what it was. He took another careful step and another until he could finally hear their voices. He stood behind a large fir, peering around it at the four workers, salivating with greed.
But his glee turned to cold fear when he heard Tansey say, “Detective, there is a body there, for sure.”
Detective? Body? Disappointment flooded over him, and it was all he could do to keep from shouting with rage. Now it could be days, if not weeks, before he could get back into Tansey’s mine.
He felt the urge to flee. He didn’t need to be found near a dead body. That would not be good at all. Whomever those men had found buried there had nothing to do with him, but he was smart enough to know that if he were found this close to a dead body, he would be blamed for putting it there.
Slowly, he began to back away.
***
“What was that?” Mikel asked as he looked into the woods behind them. The other men had heard it as well. A stick had snapped.
Ordinarily, Dade would not have given any thought to it; wild critters filled the forest. But with the discovery of a dead body, and a fairly fresh one at that, a snapping stick caused shivers to run up his spine.
“Watch this,” Roger ordered the two archaeologists, pointing to the grave. “We may have just heard the killer. Call for backup on your satellite phone.”
“My little girl,” Dade said to the one called Mikel. “Make sure there are several men with her every second. Go, keep her right with you.” Dade was kicking himself for bringing her up here. He thought it would be safe with all these men here.
Roger signaled for Dade to follow him as soon as Mikel rushed back to be with Lizzie. And with that, he and Dade ran into the forest.
Suddenly Roger put his hand up, and Dade stopped short. Fresh boot tracks proved they’d been watched. Snapping sticks and branches ahead of them indicated that whoever had made the tracks was fleeing. No longer needing to follow the tracks, they instead followed the sounds in front of them. Whoever was running from them seemed desperate, for Roger and Dade didn’t seem to be gaining much ground.
That changed after a couple of minutes. There was muffled shuffling and then nothing for a moment. The two men slowed to a walk. Roger had his sidearm in one hand, and he signaled for Dade to stay behind him and keep low. They moved slowly now. Dade was convinced that their quarry was close, and that sent shivers of fear through him.
Suddenly, a shot rang out, and Roger and Dade both dropped to the ground. The bullet had whizzed past them, but apparently, the shooter could see them. They, on the other hand, could not see him. The two men began to crawl, Roger again signaling for Dade to stay back. But the fact that his wife’s killer could be there, so close to them, kept him crawling frantically. Roger led them into thick underbrush, but they made a lot of noise and another shot rang out.
Dirt and pine needles blew into the air just a few feet to Dade’s right.
Roger stopped and Dade did the same. After a moment of relative silence, they could hear sticks snapping again; the shooter was fleeing once more. Roger did not hesitate to follow again. This time they were gaining ground. Then once again, not far ahead, they heard a thud, then a crash and a soft curse.
“Let me handle this,” Roger whispered. “You stay right here.”
It may have been a whisper, but Dade could tell that Roger meant what he said this time. He leaned against the trunk of a large fir and waited. He could hear Roger even though the detective was clearly trying to be as quiet as possible. Then Roger shouted, “Drop it, or I’ll shoot!”
Then a hoarse and ragged voice said, “Don’t shoot. I broke my leg.”
“Throw your gun to your left,” Roger ordered.
A moment later there was a soft thump, and then Detective Koltun said, “You are under arrest. Dade, come give me a hand.”
Dade hurried to where Roger stood, his gun aimed at a rough-looking man who lay on the ground, writhing in pain. “Check him for another weapon,” Roger said calmly.
Dade did. He took a hunting knife from the man’s belt and another from his boot. He couldn’t find any more guns. Dade finally stood and stepped back, holding the knives. “Hang on to them and don’t touch them more than you have to,” Roger said. “A lab might be able to match one to the cut made on the rope that caused your wife to fall.”
“I didn’t kill nobody,” the man on the ground whined. “I’m innocent. You gotta believe me.”
Dade did not trust himself to speak. Not for one second did he believe this guy. A hot rage poured through him. Roger looked at him and said, “Dade, go back to the other guys and tell them to come help me. You take care of Lizzie. This guy isn’t going anywhere without help.” He pointed to the man’s right leg. The boot was caught beneath a root, and it was clear that the leg was broken, twisted at a grotesque angle. Dade felt no pity and turned to do as Roger instructed him to.
Chapter Fourteen
Dade sat on the sofa in his living room with his head in his hands. Lizzie was seated on the floor in front of him, rocking a doll back and forth and quietly humming. The kidnapping had apparently not traumatized her as badly as he had feared. Though he worried that that might change for her. As for that day’s activities, he was able to keep everything about the body and the man who was arrested from Lizzie. She knew only that scientists were there looking at the area. And those people were buzzing with excitement about the ancient things they expected to find.
Dade, on the other hand, was experiencing all kinds of mental trauma. He and Lizzie had left his claim accompanied by Deputy Alec Harris at the insistence of his good friend, Detective Koltun, who had assured him that he would make sure the man he had arrested would be dealt with firmly. That had been hard to do, but because of Lizzie, he did not argue. Not only did Dade believe the man had killed Bridgette, he was pretty sure he must have also killed the man in the grave whom they believed was Cutler Pike. How he’d died was a mystery. Perhaps they’d learn more after the body was removed from its shallow grave.
Roger had kept Dade’s computer, as it now contained vital evidence from the cameras. He would download it at his office later and then return the computer. Dade supposed that if he could watch the video, he would see the image of the man with the broken leg, and who knew, maybe Cutler Pike’s murder was even recorded. But that was all in Roger’s hands now. There was nothing Dade could do but wait. He knew Roger would update him when he could, but Roger and other officers had their hands full searching for evidence at Dade’s mining claim and the surrounding area.
Dade didn’t know if he’d ever get to explore the mine further, nor did he care at this point. His claim was now a current crime scene and an archaeological hotspot.
A knock came at the door. He hadn’t seen Bridgette’s sister since returning from the mountains, nor had he called her. They weren’t totally certain Bridgette’s killer had been arrested, so he could see no reason to disturb her with the day’s information.
He suspected she was at the door, so he rose from his sofa and started forward. It wouldn’t surprise him if she was just checking on them. It was late, after nine, but he couldn’t imagine who else it could be.
The soft knock repeated.
He stopped, his heart suddenly pounding. Lauralyn always rang the bell. He couldn’t recall a time she had ever knocked. Lizzie was still humming softly in the living room. The killer may be in custody . . . but maybe not. What if they’d caught the wrong man? That thought rocked Dade.
A third knock.
“Lizzie,” he said urgently, “Go to your room please.” She looked up at him, fear suddenly shining in her eyes. “Get ready for bed. I’ll be up shortly. I just need to see who’s at the door.”
Lizzie moved so quickly that she left her doll on the floor. Dade hated to frighten her after all that she’d been through, but it was for the best. He quickly went to the kitchen where he’d left his pistol earlier. He retrieved it and approached the door at the fourth knock. His visitor was persistent. He kept one hand behind his back, holding the revolver, and reached for the door.
Surprise overcame him when he saw who was standing there. It was the only woman he’d ever had feelings for besides Bridgette. They had never been deep feelings, like he felt very soon after starting to date Bridgette, but they had been there. He’d dated her until she called it off shortly before he’d started dating Bridgette.
“Dade, I’m so sorry,” Darlene Fletcher said. “I heard about your wife.”
She held out her arms as Dade tucked the pistol into his waistband at the small of his back and then allowed her to hug him tightly. Finally, he pulled back and said, “Please, Darlene, come in. I was just getting Lizzie to bed.”
***
Jake Holt was startled. He hadn’t been able to locate Lauralyn all evening long. He was determined to find her, pretend to apologize for his behavior, and attempt to begin a relationship with her. He’d come to Dade’s neighborhood, expecting to find her here and follow her when she left, but her truck was not around. Jake was in his own vehicle since the sheriff wouldn’t let him drive a department one while he was suspended. But that was just as well. He didn’t think Dade knew what he drove, and even though Lauralyn did, she probably wouldn’t see him if she came by since he was quite well hidden. He was determined to stay here as late as he needed to just in case she did come. He’d follow her when she left, if she did leave. That thought had angered him.
