Callahan's Gold (Southwest Desert Series Book 3)

by Mary Tate Engels

  Yazzie paused and Rex spoke up. "Then there really is a town by the name of Pyramid?"

  "Was a town, maybe a hundred years ago." Yazzie folded his legs Indian-style. "Trouble is, those folks from Denver never stopped to find out why Pyramid wasn't a town anymore."

  "Well, why?" Tory asked, leaning forward.

  "Indians," Yazzie said briefly. "Indians killed the whole town. Twice, they did. Raided the settlement and killed the whole bunch, two different times. After that, everybody with any sense left it alone until those dang fools from Denver came around looking for the gold again."

  "What happened to them, Yazzie?" Rex asked warily, a bit of trepidation in his voice.

  "They disappeared, just like everybody else who went up there. Nobody ever saw hide nor hair of the four of them again. Years later some hunters found that dang curving pipe, though. Don't know if they fell through an open mine or if a female mountain lion got 'um. Some say there're still bears up there. Or if it was Indians ..."

  "Nobody could just disappear, with no signs or anything," Rex protested. "I don't believe any Indians are still around here. And if they were, they wouldn't risk something like that."

  Yazzie puffed his cigar quietly, letting his story create its own internal havoc. "That's what happened, all right. No sign of them. Until now, nobody has bothered trying to find old Pyramid again."

  "Well, we're going to find it, soon as we get that other piece of map," Dodge said firmly, and slapped his thigh. "Since we have a big day tomorrow searching for whatever Sharkey left for us, why don't we turn in?"

  "Good idea," Rex agreed. "I'm beat."

  Everyone began to move about the camp, making preparations for the night. The men laid out their sleeping bags on one side of the campfire, the two women on the other.

  Tory's head was close to Ramona's when they scooted down under cover. The mountain air at night was quite cool, and snuggling into the warm bag felt good. "Ramona?" Tory whispered. "You awake?"

  The answer was equally quiet. "Yes."

  "Do you think this is a wise thing to do, all of us going to sleep with mountain lions and God- knows-what out there? Shouldn't somebody stand guard or something?"

  "I'm sure Yazzie would be alert to any dangers approaching during the night. Don't worry about the wild animals, Tory. Or anything else Yazzie says. He's just trying to scare us off."

  "Well, he's doing a pretty good job with me. Do you believe his tales?"

  "Aw, those stories he told tonight are based on ages-old legends, part fact, part vivid imagination."

  "Then you've heard of Pyramid? You think it's really there?"

  "Yes. I've heard of it. Never knew anyone who'd been there, though."

  Tory paused, thinking. "Do you think Sharkey really found Pyramid?"

  "Yes."

  Tory tried to sleep, but she heard strange noises that kept her eyes peeled through most of the night. At dawn she finally slipped into an exhausted stupor but was awakened within an hour by an animated shout.

  "A skull! I found a skull!"

  Tory bolted upright in time to see everyone scrambling after the sound. She buried her face in her hands, trying to block out the world. Oh God! What a night! She could hear everyone's excited exchanges over the discovery. Finally, curiosity forced her to drag her weary body over to the sandy wash where the group stood in a circle, staring at some ominous-looking bones. Even Tory could tell it wasn't a cow's elongated skull.

  Rex knelt before his find.

  "This isn't it!" Tory gasped.

  "It's human," Ramona said.

  "H—human?" Rex stood up and took a backward step.

  "And very old," Ramona continued as she knelt to examine it. "See the discoloration and age lines? Anthropologists will be delighted with this, Rex."

  "Anthropologists be damned!" Rex exclaimed, angrily kicking the sandy soil. "I can't believe this isn't the one we're looking for."

  "Careful! You might damage it!" Ramona put a calming hand on Rex's arm. "Please, Rex. The anthropology department at the U of A will study this skull later. It's probably an ancient burial place of some remote tribe, and the entire skeleton is somewhere nearby."

  "Oh, great," he muttered, glancing around warily.

  "Let's leave it as undisturbed as possible so I can bring some experts back up here," Ramona said. "This skull may reveal something about the people who lived in the area. It's an important find."

  "Only to you, Ramona," he said furiously. "Where's that damned cow's skull that Sharkey was talking about?"

  "You didn't expect to find it right next to the spring, did you?" Ramona snapped.

  "Bad sign," Yazzie said shortly.

  "What do you mean: 'bad sign'?" Rex asked, his dark eyes sharp.

  "If this is burial ground, we have disturbed holy ground. It is forbidden. The ancient ones will be unhappy." Yazzie gave Rex an ominous glare. "You must be very careful."

  "Oh, hell!" Rex exclaimed. "This is great. I find the wrong skull, and suddenly I'm in jeopardy with Indian ghosts?"

  "No, of course not," Dodge said. "Don't let Yazzie's superstitions scare you."

  "Not superstitions. Yazzie knows the secrets of the mountain." The long-haired man pointed to his own chest proudly. "Don't ignore them or you, too, will cause disfavor with the ancients." He moved away, limping.

  Tory's blue eyes grew round. Everything that happened or was said only fueled her mounting fears. "Good heavens! I can't believe it!"

  "This is ridiculous!" Rex fumed. "How dare Yazzie threaten us like that." He turned around and stomped back to the camp. Ramona followed him, murmuring gentle words of encouragement.

  "That's what he's doing, isn't he?" Tory asked quietly, walking away from the area containing the human skull. "Threatening us? Trying to scare us off?"

  "Yep," Dodge agreed with a heavy sigh. He stuffed his hands into his back jeans pockets and ambled to the edge of a rocky cliff.

  His broad, strong shoulders seemed to sag a little, and suddenly Tory wanted to wrap her arms around him and give him her meager strength. But she'd had her share of misgivings about this trip and felt that all she could do now was give Dodge her support. "We've come this far, Dodge. We can't turn back now because of some old man's crazy ideas."

  Dodge squinted at the distant horizon. "Yazzie is a strange man. But don't forget he's from the mountain. I'm sure he feels that we're disturbing some kind of sacred territory."

  "Well, that's ridiculous," Tory muttered, perching on a rock. "I don't believe that any more than you do. We have as much right here as anybody. You own the claim, don't you?"

  "Of course."

  "Then Yazzie has nothing to say about it."

  "I don't know, Tory. I'm beginning to think it wasn't such a good idea to bring him along, after all."

  "You had your reasons, Dodge. And I think they were valid."

  "But I don't want to put our group in danger."

  "Danger?" she said with a little laugh. "From whom? Mountain Lions or ghosts of the past? You warned me back in Tombstone. I knew what I was getting into and everybody else did, too."

  "Tory"—he moved closer and took her hand— "I especially don't want you to be in danger, or hurt in any way." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. Then he turned it over and caressed the center of her palm with his lips.

  She tried not to react to the sensuous touch of his lips on her skin, but she felt the reaction all the way through. Chuckling, she chided, "Still scared of Sharkey's ghost?"

  "No. It has more to do with my own conscience."

  She slipped her other hand into his and gave him a confident smile. "I'm not scared off so easily, Dodge Callahan. Anyway, I have you to protect me."

  "Protect?" He scoffed.

  "Yes, of course." She stood and smiled confidently. "I'm not sorry I came. Even with mountain lions and ghost stories at night and a threatening Indian scout by day."

  His brown eyes caressed her and softened as he pulled her in
to his arms. "Tory, Tory," he murmured and kissed her tousled dark hair, "I don't want you to get hurt. I've never felt so responsible or so concerned for anyone in my life."

  "Dodge, I don't have any doubts about what we're doing. We've made it fine this far, and we're going all the way." She smiled wistfully. "You know, Ramona and I believe that Sharkey may have found Pyramid."

  "And you see what happened to him?"

  "Well, he wasn't careful enough. He should have realized his life was in jeopardy because of what he knew. We're going to be alert and wary."

  "For what? Who? The ghosts?" He sighed heavily and she felt his huge body shudder against hers. "Or one of us?"

  From the campsite, Yazzie yelled, "Breakfast! Come and get it!"

  Dodge lifted her chin and kissed her lips tenderly. "You certainly have changed your battle cry from just a few days ago."

  She gave him a shy smile. "You really think so? Maybe I just discovered that I've been a sun seeker all along. You've been showing me how it could be done."

  "Well, it isn't going to be a snap. It's risky business."

  "Risky business is never easy. Come on. Let's eat. We have the map to find today. And more of a journey ahead of us. To the lost city of Pyramid."

  After breakfast the group spread out to search for the hidden skull. Dodge insisted that everyone take along a heavy stick. "Watch for snakes first, the old cow's skull second," he instructed.

  Dodge noted that Tory deliberately paired with Rex for the morning's search. The two soon moved out of sight, out of earshot, engrossed in conversation. What would they have to say to each other? Dodge was suddenly filled with the urge to rush after them and grab her for himself.

  Then he halted. What the hell was wrong with him, anyway? Jealous? Hell, no! Rex was his partner, his friend. He was neither rival nor suspect.

  Then what? Curious? Maybe. Yes, maybe that was it. Curiosity. So what was Tory trying to find out? He could go crazy trying to figure that woman out.

  Damn it, he hadn't been jealous of a woman in many a year. In fact, he hadn't even been curious. And he sure as hell wouldn't start now with this one. Most of his alliances with women over the past few years had been fleeting at best.

  So he and Tory had spent some time together back in Tombstone. So they had been intimate. He supposed this would be another fleeting love affair. God, he hated that word, affair. But what else could he call their relationship? Tory would be leaving Tombstone soon. And so would he. They'd probably never see each other again.

  Dodge moved swiftly through the scrub oak, his long legs covering giant-sized chunks of land. He winced as the sharp spines of a cat-claw bush grabbed his sleeve and scratched the flesh beneath. "Dammit!" he muttered under his breath, and stopped long enough to check the damage to his forearm.

  He slumped against a rock, letting his mind wander back to Tory and immediately forgetting about the scratch.

  How could he stand not seeing those deep blue eyes of hers? He'd never forget them. Never forget how she looked up at him while they were making love, the transformation of her somewhat haughty, mystical expression to one of wild desire.

  Chuckling to himself, he recalled how she had marched into the Crystal Palace last week, highly charged with emotion and anger written clearly in those blue eyes. And how she had gentled like a fawn within a few days. Gentled enough to talk about her past, about Sharkey, about the undeniable attraction she felt for Dodge. Then she had allowed something more to develop between them. Something wonderful and intimate . . .

  He squeezed both hands into impotent fists. How eagerly she had fallen into his arms. He wanted to hold her now, to kiss her, to reassure her that everything would be all right, that they would be leaving there soon. That they would be successful in finding the gold. But he knew he couldn't promise her anything. Not yet.

  Oh, God, how he missed their lovemaking. He was actually beginning to hate this trip because he never had an opportunity to be alone with her. They had barely been alone to talk, with no time for anything more than the briefest kiss. But there she was, right now, off alone somewhere with Rex. What the hell did they have to talk about? Is that all they were doing—just talking?

  Tory saw this morning's search as the perfect opportunity to chat with Rex. They moved cautiously through thick underbrush, probing each bush with the heavy sticks Dodge had insisted they carry.

  "Mind if I join you, Rex?"

  His dark eyes darted up, and he welcomed her with an approving nod. "Sure, come on. Two tenderfeet in this wilderness should be better than one."

  "We are alike in that respect, aren't we?"

  "Probably more alike than you realize, Tory. We both have more cultural goals than to tromp around these mountains all our lives. And we just want to take our share of the action and get out."

  "You're really only interested in the bottom line, aren't you, Rex? Sounds so materialistic."

  "Oh, I don't mean to sound offensive, Tory. But you know I'm looking at this venture strictly from a business aspect."

  "But not from a personal aspect?"

  He shrugged. "I didn't really know Sharkey that well. But I suspect nobody here did, except maybe Dodge."

  "Not even Ramona?" she asked, surprised.

  "Sharkey was quite a loner. Didn't spend much time with anyone, even Ramona. Only when he got lonely, I suspect."

  "Did he have many friends? Other than those on this trip?"

  "Oh, sure, a few buddies in town he played a little poker with from time to time. I guess Dodge was the one who knew him the longest time and knew the most about him. Dodge somehow came up with your address. Maybe it was in Sharkey's trailer. All we knew was that Sharkey's daughter lived in California."

  "How did you become involved with him, then, if you didn't know him very well?"

  "I had invested in other gold mines in this area. Several went bust, but a couple proved profitable. When Sharkey and Dodge approached me about the Sun Seekers Mining Company, I figured it was a good investment. That's why I'm here today, searching for a damned skull. I don't want to lose my total investment in the company. If there's gold to be found, I want my share. Don't you, Tory? Isn't that why you're here?"

  She smiled wryly. "I suppose so. I could use an inheritance right now. Couldn't we all?"

  "Financial problems?"

  "Oh, just the normal ups and downs of a business. Right now, I have a lot of debts. I guess I figured I deserved some kind of inheritance from Sharkey. But, honestly, when I left L.A., I had no idea I'd be trekking through mountains looking for a skull and map and—" She halted and sighed.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Oh, this is just not the way I expected to spend my time." She finished weakly, not wanting to tell Rex the alarming things that had happened in Tombstone, about the break-ins and Dodge's gun being taken. She certainly couldn't let Rex know she was trying to figure out if she could trust him.

  "What's wrong? This country too rugged for a city girl?"

  "Yes, something like that," she admitted ruefully. "Rex? Do you know if my father had any enemies?"

  "Now, that's a leading question if I ever heard one." Rex stopped walking and found a seat on a nearby boulder. "Why? Do you think he was murdered?"

  She looked at him quickly. Why did he say that word? Could he read her mind? Did he know she looked at everyone with suspicion—even him? Maybe she should just be honest, well, partially honest, with him. "I—yes, I think it's possible."

  "Hell, that's what I've been saying all along! I tried to tell the sheriff and to get the county coroner to investigate, but everyone said I was jumping to conclusions. They said he'd spent too much time alone in the mountains, and because of his age, it was reasonable to assume he'd had a heart attack."

  "Why did you think he might have been murdered?"

  "Well, it stands to reason. I always thought Sharkey was a tough old goat. Nobody ever heard of him having heart trouble. And he knew these damn mountains like Cochise did. He wo
uldn't have slipped—it's just too farfetched for me to believe. Besides, he'd discovered gold! Hell, everybody's got a touch of gold fever, whether they'll admit it or not."

  She searched his dark face, looking for truth. "Who do you think might have done it?"

  "Could be anybody," he said with a shrug.

  "Anybody?"

  "Everybody who held a grudge. Even some of this group here." He leaned against a boulder and mopped his brow. "Except you and me, of course. You were an unknown until this week, Tory, so I figure that eliminates you. And I—hell, I couldn't kill anybody, no matter how much gold they had."

  "Of course," she murmured, and joined him leaning against the huge rock slab. "Well, tell me, Rex, what are the motives for everyone here?"

  "First is Ramona. She wanted Sharkey to marry her, give her some security. But he refused. Instead, he took out a small life insurance policy and made her the beneficiary. Maybe she saw that as her only security from Sharkey."

  "I didn't know he had a life insurance policy," Tory said slowly. "But I simply can't believe Ramona would do anything to harm Sharkey. She loved him."

  Rex shook his head. "Love does strange things to people, especially unfulfilled love. They say there's a thin line between love and hate."

  "What about ..." She paused, then quickly said, "What about Dodge? Surely you don't think he'd do anything to his own partner." She didn't care what Rex said; she wouldn't believe Dodge could be guilty.

  "Dodge Callahan is a man who could be capable of most anything, given the right circumstances. He and Sharkey were friends as well as business partners. All I know is, the Sun Seekers Mining Company was insured, too. Dodge and I will share a small amount, owing to the death of our working partner. Maybe he wanted to take his money and cut out."