Ben got up. “I’m so glad to see you. I’ve been in here for what seems like forever. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. I’ve never gone this long without talking to someone.” He stumbled forward but didn’t appear to be injured. It looked as if he was simply stiff and sore.
Miranda stood her ground. “Why did you stage a fall? Everyone turned out to search for you. You were right here?”
“Yes, I needed help to prove that Kevin killed Howard. He knew that I was getting closer to proving he killed Howard. I wanted to not only draw him up here, but I wanted witnesses, too. It was risky to expect this result, but here you are.”
Austin shook his head. “Well, you are a charter member of the Risky Business Adventurers.”
“How long have you suspected Kevin?” asked Miranda.
“I’ve suspected it from the start. I deal with criminal behavior every day, and I’ve seen a nasty arrogance grow in Kevin. It started right after Howard disappeared. Without a body, I couldn’t make a case.”
“What changed?” asked Austin.
“He got careless. That’s part of the arrogance. He thinks he’s untouchable.” Ben paused. “You can sit, this is going to take a while. I’m fine if you want to stay by the entrance. I’m not sure I would have the guts to come up here and find me.” He picked up a twig from the tiny fire and lit a candle he had placed next to the side of the cave. Behind it was an aluminum pie tin to reflect the light. “Please, sit.”
Miranda and Austin each sat on one side of the entrance.
Ben continued, “This cave is the reason Howard was killed.”
“Why?” Miranda swept her flashlight around the cavern. She stopped the beam when a reflected glint winked at her. “What’s that? Is that what I think it is?”
Ben chuckled. “Oh, yes, it is. It’s a silver vein. A mighty fine one with a mixture of copper. This was very likely one of Swift’s lost silver mines.”
Miranda started to stand up but didn’t. She panned the flashlight in every corner of the cave. The light was reflected back at her in small light patches. “I can’t believe it. No one has found a single one of his silver mines.”
“No one has claimed to have found one,” said Ben. “I believe that Howard found several while he was working for the oil company. Somehow, he got tangled up with Kevin and had to share the locations. At some point, Kevin decided he needed to keep Howard from sharing that information with Jennifer.”
“But silver isn’t worth all that much nowadays. Not like it was in the early 1980s.” Miranda continued to pan the cave with her flashlight. She stopped the beam near Ben’s tent. It illuminated a small black cast-iron pot, a ladle with a long shaft, and the remnants of a stone fire ring. “What’s that stuff?”
“That’s smelting apparatus. This is most likely where Jonathan struck his silver coins.”
“The famous counterfeit coins?” Austin’s voice rose half an octave. “Those would be priceless to collectors.”
Miranda felt a tingling in the hairs on the back of her neck. She felt vulnerable even though she was accompanied by two men. “Hey, guys. This might not be safe for us all to be in here at once. Maybe—”
They heard the sound of a match striking at the entrance to the mine.
“What’s that?” Miranda felt a tremble run up her spine. She was pretty sure she knew what it was. She grit her teeth in frustration—too late. “Who’s there?” she yelled into the tunnel. “Kevin, is that you?”
“Good guess. I think a terrible accident has just happened on the mountain. Bad news, it’s your accident.”
They heard a sizzle and the sound of something bouncing in the entrance tunnel. Then everything happened at once. A flash, a crash, and then a blast of dust flew into the cavern, snuffing out the candle and throwing everyone to the floor.
Chapter 42
Wednesday Morning, Indian Staircase
Miranda screamed, grabbed Austin’s arm, and plunged them both to the other side of the cavern. She landed akimbo on top of the cushioned tent. The dust clogged her throat and she started coughing and spitting out the flying dirt. She flung out her arms. “Austin,” she yelled, then coughed again. “Austin, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” he said, which started his own coughing spasm. “Are you hurt?”
“I don’t think so. My ears are ringing like fury. What about you?”
There was a short silence. “I’m good. Where’s Ben?”
“Ben!” Miranda yelled, and began feeling around herself in the absolute pitch black. “Austin, I can’t find Ben.”
“Hang on.” She could hear Austin fumbling in his pockets. In a few seconds, a match sputtered to life, and Miranda could see that their cavern was only half its original size. The dirt from the cave-in was still flying around and caused her to sneeze and she blew out the match.
“Damn. Sorry, Austin. Do you have another one?”
She heard another strike, followed by Austin’s face behind the heavenly light. “Where’s Ben?” He looked around with the match and poked around in the debris where the candle had been. “I found it. Thank heaven.” He lit it and held it up.
Off to the left they saw a mound just behind the collapsed tent.
“Ben,” Miranda shouted. She scrambled over and was rewarded by a low groan.
“What happened?” Ben sat up and then screamed. “My leg!”
Austin brought the candle closer and they saw that a large slab of rock had pinned his leg. “Can you feel it?”
“No, I can’t—” Ben let out a high-pitched yelp and fell back lifeless.
Miranda felt her heart sink. She placed two fingers at Ben’s neck and found a pulse. “He’s passed out. Probably best.” He was pinned by a large rock that looked as if it had just peeled itself off the side of the cavern. “Do you think you can lift it up far enough for me to drag him out?”
Austin played the candlelight all around the rock. “Let’s see if I can even budge it at all. Here. Hold this.” He handed her the candle, and she watched while he squatted next to the rock’s edge and gave it a mighty heave.
Ben woke and screamed like a wild animal. The boulder didn’t budge an inch.
Miranda turned to Ben. “Did you bring an ax?”
“Sure”—he panted in reaction to the pain—“but I know where you’re going with this. It’s a short-handled one. You can’t use it as a lever.” His voice faded away and he passed out again.
“Damn.” Miranda looked around and then back at Austin. “I appear to be fine. Are you hurt?”
“Something hit my right arm. I thought I was fine, but now it’s throbbing like fury.”
“Trying to shift that rock didn’t help. Here, let me see.” Miranda felt his arm from shoulder to wrist. “It feels fine, it might just be wrenched. Hang on, I have a first aid kit in my backpack. All I have to do is find it, right?”
Austin cradled his arm. “Yep, I’ve got one in mine as well.”
“You’re gonna need to get some painkillers working before that arm starts to swell. Both packs should still be where we were sitting.”
“Yep, I’ll see if I can find them.” Miranda crawled toward the entrance and searched through the rocks and dust for her backpack. Her fingers found a strap so she cleared away the rubble and pulled it free. “I found mine.”
She crept back to Austin and Ben, pulled out her first aid kit, and by the light of the candle found a package of Excedrin. She flicked three out into her palm, then handed Austin her water bottle and the tablets. “Take these now to get a jump on the swelling.”
Austin downed the tablets in one gulp.
Miranda scooted over to the wall and stacked up a couple of flat rocks. She cleaned off the top rock, then let the candle wax drip into a soft pool. She stuck the candle in it. “If we find Ben’s tin plate, that would be great.”
Austin began to massage his shoulder. “Thanks, having a little light feels better.” He looked toward the entrance. “How bad is the cave-in?”
“I’ve got a flashlight in here somewhere.” She rummaged down one of the pockets and pulled out a tiny black one. She twisted it on, and the brightness caused them both to shield their eyes. Miranda turned it down and pointed it at the entrance. “No light is coming through. It must have collapsed.”
Austin crept closer, using only his good arm in a three-legged-dog action. “That sizzle we heard before the explosion meant that it was probably a stick of dynamite.”
“Well, since we’re not completely buried, there must have been a problem. We should be dead.”
“If we’re not found, we’ll be dead anyway.”
Miranda poked at the rubble in the tunnel. It was loose and she scraped at the material with her cupped hand. It came away easily. “Look, this isn’t hard packed. We might be able to dig our way out.”
“This might be ridiculous, but let’s check anyway: Do you have a cell signal?”
“Oh, God, that would be our salvation.” Miranda pulled out her phone from her back pocket. “I don’t. But we only need a single bar to text Sheriff Larson.”
“How’s the battery?”
“It’s at seventy-nine percent. What about yours?”
Austin pulled out his cell from his back pocket. The screen was shattered into a web of cracks. “It’s smashed.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “My radio won’t work until it’s completely away from the cliff.”
Miranda shone her flashlight over at Ben, then focused on the water bottle. “We’ve only got enough water for a few days at best. Ben will be in big trouble if we can’t get help. Our only choice is to dig ourselves out.”
“This is going to take hours, so we need to pace ourselves. If you can drag out the debris, I can use my left hand to shift it away. We each need to rest in between.”
“Yep. That’ll work. Let me wedge the flashlight so I can see what I’m doing.” Miranda used a couple of rocks to illuminate the opening. Then she started pulling at the rubble with both hands. She created a pile then moved aside to lean against the cavern wall while Austin used his good arm to move the pile out of her way.
After about three cycles of digging, she realized they both stopped talking in order to save oxygen. The thought of dying from lack of air was worse than dying of thirst. She headed back into the tunnel, which she had cleared to a depth of about three feet—nine feet to go.
The toil was beginning to wear on Miranda and Austin. After another three cycles, they both lay panting and decided to rest for a little longer. In seconds, they were both asleep.
Miranda awoke to the sound of groans coming from the back of the cavern. It was Ben. He was beginning to stir, and in a moment he would realize that he couldn’t move his leg. She raised up on one elbow and nudged Austin.
He snuffled and snorted. “What?” Then he adjusted to sitting upright.
“Ben is beginning to stir. See if you can get him to take some painkillers as well as some of our water. He needs to stay still until we get rescued. I’ll get back to the digging.”
“Right.” Austin grunted and slapped his shoulder. Cradling his sore arm, he moved toward Ben.
Miranda wiggled back into the tunnel and began shifting more dirt. She was at least halfway and was grateful for her gloves. She came upon a rock about the size of a loaf of bread wedged against the ceiling. Pulling on it didn’t work, so she ran her fingers around its edge, removing as much soil as she could.
She repeated that two more times, and on the third try the rock came away in a flurry of gravel and dust. She began coughing but managed to shove the rock out into the cavern. “Austin, this huge rock has opened up a nice chunk of the tunnel. One or two more sessions and we might break through.”
“Fantastic. We need help or we’re going to lose Ben.”
Miranda wiggled back into the tunnel and removed another backpack-load of dirt. She shoved the pack down and used her feet to kick it out to Austin. He emptied it and gave it back. On the next excavation, Miranda saw a tiny chink of light. “Austin, holy cow, I can see daylight.” She inhaled deeply to draw in the fresh air. “We’re nearly through.”
“Thank God. We can’t be quick enough for Ben.”
She started digging another load into the backpack, and her gloved hand felt a soft resistance. She frowned. This wasn’t dirt or even brush. She explored the area again with a firmer grasp. She felt a face.
“Austin! I’ve found a body. It’s Kevin. He’s dead.”
Chapter 43
Wednesday Evening, the Farmhouse
Miranda let her mother fuss over her and Austin as much as she liked. Dorothy ordered them to take hot showers using the newly restored electrical power. Austin was wearing her uncle’s clothes from the bag that never seemed to make its way down to the charity shop. Then Dorothy tucked them side by side onto the couch in front of the fire, wrapping them in a heavy vintage quilt. Miranda noted that it was her grandmother’s beautiful wedding-ring pattern. Hot cocoa was accompanied by a large plate of fresh gingerbread cookies.
“Thanks, Mom. Do you have enough for the sheriff and Felicia? They should be along any minute.”
“I have a mountain of cookies. I’ve done nothing but bake since the Fire and Rescue volunteers noticed that the two of you were missing and called the sheriff, who then called me.”
Austin grinned sheepishly. “I’ve never missed a rescue callout. I’ve been a little late sometimes, but never completely missed one. The search for Ben was scheduled to continue at about the same time we were climbing the Indian Staircase.”
Miranda took another cookie. “We had been able to text the sheriff over Kevin’s body.” Her body shuddered under the quilt. “We were rescued in short order after that.”
They heard the crunch of gravel on the driveway. Dorothy opened the door and let the sheriff and Felicia in. “I’ve got hot cocoa and gingerbread cookies. Set yourselves down and I’ll fetch a couple of mugs for you. Marshmallows or plain?”
Felicia and the sheriff had weary eyes and looked a little pale around their lips. “Plain for me, marshmallows for the sheriff,” said Felicia as they collapsed into the rockers by the front window.
Sheriff Larson let out an involuntary groan as he stretched out his long legs. “You guys are looking a damned sight better than you did a little bit ago. How’s the wrist?”
Austin automatically waggled his hand to test it for pain. “Fine. Doc Watson gave me a pain shot, and I’ll need to rest it for a couple of days and take some anti-inflammatory pills. Good news. Nothing broken.”
Sheriff Larson and Felicia accepted the mugs that Dorothy brought. “I know you want to question these kids, so I’m off to bake something else. I don’t know what yet. I’m still figuring out what Ronny’s favorites are.” She blew a kiss to Miranda and went back to the kitchen.
Miranda raised her eyebrows and eyed Austin. “Ronny?”
“Looks like Ron might have met a woman who can straighten out his life.”
“Isn’t that a bit of a risk?” Felicia asked. “I mean, you’re going to have a working distillery here. Isn’t that like having the fox watch the chickens?”
“I’ve found a local intern who will be helping me with that. His name is Lance Campbell. Apparently, he helped Uncle Gene from time to time. He’s an enthusiast among the local ’shine crowd, and he can make those underground connections that I can’t.”
Felicia cleared her throat. “I have Kevin’s body in the morgue, and I wanted to let you know that he died instantly in the collapse of the tunnel. He didn’t suffocate.”
Miranda sighed. “Thanks, that’s a relief. I was worried that suffocation was going to be our fate as well.” She glanced at Austin. “Or starvation. Or thirst. And even worse—in the dark.”
Sheriff Larson took another cookie, gave it a quick dunk, and popped it whole into his mouth and made quick work of the delicious treat. “Just perfect.” He paused and drew out a notepad and pen. “Now, let me get this down for my report. Austin, you got a
call from another ranger that he had seen a pattern of flashing lights.”
“Yes. He was patrolling for poachers out on our system of firebreak back roads. He copied down the pattern of lights and I brought it over here.”
Miranda added, “My uncle was an amateur radio operator. I decoded the message and we concluded that it was Ben asking for help. We took off and found him.”
Austin adjusted the sling on his shoulder to give his wrist more support. “But, unfortunately, we led Kevin right to his hideout.”
“Did you two know that silver mine was back there?”
Austin and Miranda said, “No,” in perfect unison.
Miranda continued, “Did Ben tell you why Kevin killed Howard?”
“I had a chance to question him before they took him to Lexington Hospital. He said that he was suspicious of Kevin from the moment he heard that Howard was missing. Ben and Howard had been quite close, and he took the disappearance hard. He started his own investigation.”
Austin gave Miranda the side eye. “Well, that sounds like someone I know. Probably why he vandalized your power. You’re getting a reputation.”
Miranda shushed him. “Let him finish.”
The sheriff continued, “When Ben discovered that Kevin was making so-called hunting trips to this area, he said it didn’t make much sense. Kevin could afford to go anywhere. In fact, prior to Howard’s disappearance, Kevin had made several trips to Africa for big-game hunting. So, he thought there must have been something else.”
“What was it?”
Felicia blurted out, “He discovered that your cavern was one of Jonathan Swift’s lost silver mines.”
“Yes, that’s what all that old smelting stuff was for,” said Miranda. “That’s where Jonathan Swift must have struck his silver coins. Kevin must have tried smelting a limited number of coins after he spent the ones he killed Howard for.”
“Right,” said Sheriff Larson. “Coins struck by the legendary Jonathan Swift would be worth a fortune.”
Draw and Order Page 23