Apparently the wretch society, the Moriartys, and the occasional mouse weren’t the only inhabitants of the tunnels. As the kids were staring at Amanda’s phone, something ran over Amanda’s foot, causing her to start so abruptly that she dropped the device.
“What was that?” she squeaked.
“What was what?” said Simon.
“Something ran across my foot.” She held her foot up and grasped it. It looked the same as it always did.
“A mouse,” said Simon. “It’s gone.”
“It didn’t feel like a mouse,” said Amanda.
“What does a mouse feel like?” said Clive.
Amanda had to admit that she didn’t know, but however it felt this wasn’t it and it creeped her out, especially when she saw some odd-looking footprints in the dust.
The prints showed that whatever the thing was, it had no toes whatsoever. Each mark comprised a fuzzy-looking circle, as if the animal were running along on tiny dandelions instead of feet.
“Simon,” Amanda hissed. “It’s not a mouse. Look.”
She pointed to the prints. Simon stopped his jiggling, turned his light on, and crouched down next to them.
“Hm,” he said, then got up again.
“What do you mean ‘hm’?” she said. “Don’t walk away. What do you think?”
“It’s nothing,” said Simon.
“It’s not nothing,” said Amanda. “Whoever heard of an animal that runs along on dandelion feet?”
“Lots of animals have fuzzy feet,” said Simon. “Nigel has fuzzy feet.”
“Not like that,” said Amanda. “Nigel has toes.”
“Good point,” said Clive. “Simon, why don’t you help her out?”
“Forget him,” said Amanda. “You help me, Clive.”
Simon harrumphed. “You help me, Clive,” he mimicked.
“Shut up,” said Amanda. “What is with you?”
“If Ivy were here she’d fine you,” said Clive. “Both of you.”
“Shut up,” said Simon. Amanda stuck her tongue out at him.
“I heard that,” called Ivy from far off. “Twenty p, each of you.”
Simon grumbled, but Amanda kept silent.
Clive came over and crouched next to the prints. Amanda grabbed her phone away so Simon couldn’t watch through Darius’s camera and turned her light on them.
“Hm,” said Clive.
“Not you too,” said Amanda, giving him a look.
“I’m not finished,” he said. He squinted and brought his nose close to the ground.
“What do you see?” said Amanda impatiently.
“I’m not sure,” said Clive, studying the marks. “It isn’t a rodent.”
“Thank goodness for that,” said Amanda. Her thighs were beginning to hurt from all the crouching.
“What is the big deal with rodents?” said Simon. “They have as much right to live as we do.”
“They’re yucky,” said Amanda. “All full of teeth and everything.”
“You have teeth,” said Simon.
“Not pointy ones,” said Amanda.
“Your canines are pointy,” said Simon.
“I think it might be some kind of spider,” said Clive, touching one of the prints with his finger.
“I thought there weren’t any spiders in England,” said Amanda.
“Whatever gave you that idea?” said Simon.
Suddenly Amanda remembered. It was Nick who had told her that long ago. Was it true?
“So there are spiders here,” she said.
“Of course there are,” said Simon. “Hundreds of types.”
Had Nick lied to her about that too? Why would he do that? “Oh.”
“It’s a big one,” said Clive with a creepy sort of relish.
“Ick,” said Amanda, shuddering. “I hope it doesn’t come back.”
“Don’t worry,” said Clive. “Most of the spiders we have here can’t open their jaws wide enough to actually bite you.”
“But what about the ones that can?” said Amanda.
“Wear boots next time,” said Clive.
“Are you going to wear boots?” she said.
“Nah,” said Clive. “You’re more likely to be hit on the head by a rock down here than bitten by a spider.”
“Oh, great,” said Amanda. One more thing to worry about.
“Hey,” said Simon. “You’re the one who wants to be a filmmaker. You have to go where the action is.”
There wasn’t much she could say to that.
And then the moment came. The crew had broken through the tunnel wall and there was indeed empty space on the other side. As head of the dig Liam got to be the first to look inside.
Normally academics tend to be cautious, and Liam never liked to get ahead of himself. But in this instance he was visibly excited and moved quickly. Amanda could see that he was breathing faster than usual and trying to suppress a grin. The way he was clamping his mouth shut made him look like he was sucking on a lemon. Of course it didn’t help that Twinkle kept hovering in a very Lila sort of way, attempting to give him advice that he didn’t need and could not possibly want. “Don’t you think this light would be better?” “You should really cover your nose and mouth in case there’s something noxious inside.” “Be sure to remember your first impression because that will make your article much more exciting.” Amanda thought she’d lose her lunch and stuffed a gingersnap into her mouth.
But Liam was nothing if not gracious. He simply smiled at Twinkle, said “Thank you,” and, mouth covered as procedure dictated, approached the opening. He turned on his light and was just about to shine it into the space when Amanda cried out.
“There it is. A huge red spider. Did you see that?”
Liam was so surprised that he dropped his light on his foot. “Ow!”
“Professor, are you all right?” screamed Twinkle. The screech caused Ivy to shriek, Nigel to bark, the archaeologists to rush to Liam’s side, Elbow Marconi and his crew to scamper to the opening and block it, Simon and Clive to bash into them, and Amanda to fall on her coccyx. The confusion and panic grew so swiftly that soon the only person who hadn’t run into about five other people was Darius, who just stood there with his camera on his shoulder capturing the entire incident.
Then Amanda saw it again—a blur of red whooshing past at breakneck speed.
“Simon!” she screamed. “There!”
Simon wrenched his neck around, mouthed “Ow,” and seemed to miss the spider entirely because he said, “What?”
“The spider!” Amanda yelled. “It was right there.” She pointed to a spot a few feet from where Simon was standing.
“I didn’t see it,” he said. “Clive, did you see anything?”
“Nope,” said Clive.
“What is wrong with all of you?” shouted Twinkle. “Can’t you see that the professor is hurt?”
“I’m not hurt,” said Liam. “I was just a bit startled.”
“Your foot,” said Twinkle. “You’re limping.”
“It’s just a muscle spasm,” said Liam. He flexed his foot and didn’t grimace at all. “Now, shall we get on with things?”
Everyone moved away (Amanda had to get up first, which was no easy task. Her butt hurt like crazy.), and Liam raised his light to the opening again. Amanda took her place next to Ivy, who had moved closer again, and whispered, “I saw it. It was a huge red spider.”
“I believe you,” said Ivy.
Liam peered into the hole, moving the light this way and that.
“See anything, Professor?” said Twinkle needlessly.
“Sh,” hissed Felix.
“You sh,” said Twinkle.
“Both of you sh,” said Liam. He stuck his head into the opening so that both head and light were on the other side and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a hidden room!”
The tunnel erupted in claps loud enough to bring down the ceiling, except that they didn’t.
“Woo hoo!” yelled
Twinkle loud enough to raise the dead.
“Yes!” shouted Simon loud enough to break Amanda’s left eardrum.
“Arf, arf!” barked Nigel loud enough to echo off the walls and cause people’s chest cavities to reverberate.
Darius moved in as close as he could without getting in Liam’s way. He winked at Amanda. She smiled.
“What do you see, Dad?” said Ivy.
Everyone stopped yelling.
“Well, um, uh, dirt,” said Liam.
“What color?” said Twinkle.
“How much?” said Louie.
“I’ll get a brush,” said Felix.
“Hold your horses, all of you,” said Liam. “Procedure, remember?” He snapped his fingers. The chamber was still.
Then Twinkle whispered loudly, “I’ll get the log.”
Louie said, “I’ve got the camera.”
“Tape measure,” said Felix.
“That’s what I like to see,” said Liam. “Mr. Marconi,” he nodded to Elbow. “Gentlemen,” to the construction crew. “Thank you for your excellent work, as usual.” Elbow and his men nodded back. “Take a gander?”
The construction crew approached the opening shyly, which made quite a contrast with their earlier bumptiousness. From the back they looked almost reverent.
“What’s that over there?” said Elbow loudly, after he had stuck his head through the opening.
“What are you referring to?” said Liam.
“I see something silver,” said Elbow.
“A coin, perhaps?” said Liam.
“I don’t think so,” said Elbow. “It’s pointy.”
“May I?” said Liam, taking Elbow’s place. Twinkle passed him a spotlight and he held it high, then lowered it and shined it this way and that.
“Well?” said Twinkle.
“Hush,” said Louie. Twinkle gave him a dirty look.
“By golly you’re right, Mr. Marconi,” said Liam. “It is indeed pointy. It looks like we’ve got ourselves a silver dirk.”
If you think the team and the kids were excited before, you should have heard them now. Simon was the worst, worse even than Twinkle. He just about broke Amanda’s other eardrum when he yelled “Radical!” at the top of his lungs, then forgot himself and raced to the opening to get a good look. Clive made a vain attempt to hold him back, but Simon threw him off as if he were a fly. Everyone turned to look at him, and Darius, despite his current handicap, grabbed him with his non-camera arm and held him in a vise-like grip, which was a good thing because he was about to collide with Liam, who was looking none too happy already.
“Whoa there,” said Darius. “There will be time for that.”
As if on autopilot, Simon struggled and writhed to get free, which caused Darius to grip him even tighter and dig into his throat. Simon sputtered and coughed until Amanda thought Darius would strangle him, so she ran up and slapped him in the face, which at last caused him to come to his senses and hold still.
“Simon,” said Amanda. “You’ll get your turn.”
“Wha?” he said.
“Earth to Simon,” she said. “This is an archaeological dig, not a tsunami. There’s no rush.”
“But—”
“No,” said Amanda soothingly. “It’s all right.” She felt as though she were trying to calm a wild animal, not a teenage boy.
“Come on, man,” said Clive, reaching up and taking Simon by the shoulder. “Thank you, Mr. Plover. I’ve got him now.”
“Darius,” said Darius.
“Er, sorry,” said Clive. “Darius.” He looked pleadingly at Amanda. He must not have been used to calling adults by their first names because he looked painfully uncomfortable.
Darius loosed his hold on Simon and said, “Don’t make me do this again.”
“But—” said Simon, as if in a trance.
“What is it with boys and weapons?” said Amanda.
“I don’t know,” said Ivy.
“I’ve never seen Simon like this before,” said Amanda.
“You don’t understand,” said Simon.
“Yes we do,” said Ivy. “It’s a knife. You’re a guy.”
“But—” said Simon.
Clive walked Simon away from the group and talked to him as if he were a nervous horse. This seemed to work, although Amanda could hear whimpering coming from the boys’ direction.
After that Liam was especially stern. Over and over again he reminded the group that everything needed to be tested and its authenticity verified. “For all we know these items were left by some history buffs reenacting the past,” he said, although no one was convinced. What history buff would create a hidden chamber in a Neolithic tunnel, then seal it up again? Still, Ivy said, “You have to follow procedure. If you’re wrong you can sabotage your career,” which sobered up the kids and even seemed to affect Darius.
13
The Book of Merlin
Although Amanda was deeply involved with the excavation, she was acutely aware that she had heard nothing from Nick for several days. While she wasn’t bothered by this lack on a personal level—who cared about Nick Moriarty anyway?—she began to worry that he was up to something and didn’t want her to find out about it. Why else would he have told her not to come to the boat, and so abruptly too? The longer his silence continued, the more she felt that going there was almost compulsory.
But just as she was about to do that, the archaeological team made an astounding discovery and she was riveted to the scene. The hidden room was turning out to be an archaeological treasure chamber! Inside, under several layers of earth, in addition to the silver dagger they had discovered an ancient-looking rock with a faded colored design cut into it, and a stone chest, which they were just about to open.
“I wish Fern were here,” said Ivy, her voice catching.
“We’ll find her,” said Amanda. “She’ll be okay.” She didn’t believe a word of what she was saying. She exchanged a look with Simon, who for once actually looked sympathetic. What they were both thinking, and both knew it, was that even if they did rescue Ivy’s sister, there was the issue of Salty to deal with. Out of the frying pan into the fire? She shuddered.
A hush fell over the chamber and Liam prepared to open the chest. Twinkle pushed herself to the front of the group and managed to step on Louie’s foot, which did not sit well with him. She had managed to alienate both of the government archaeologists as well as the kids. Only Darius and Liam seemed not to notice her narcissistic behavior. She was so annoying that Amanda began to fantasize about ways of getting her off the project, the most obvious one being to trip her so she was incapacitated and could not continue. However, seeing that Darius was able to participate despite his injuries, that seemed not only unlikely but too big a risk. With her luck, she’d end up being thrown off the project for doing the tripping.
Donning gloves, Liam attempted to lift the top of the chest. It wouldn’t budge. Whether it was too heavy or simply stuck was not apparent. He kneeled down to give himself more leverage and tried again. This time it lifted just a hair. Panting now, he tensed his muscles and lifted again. The thing groaned and opened a bit more.
“Felix,” said Liam hoarsely. “The support please.”
Felix produced an adjustable metal rod with feet on it and Liam stuck it into the opening. Now the top of the chest was propped open a tiny bit.
“I’m going to need help with this,” said Liam.
Leaving the support in place, Felix joined Liam on the ground and on the count of three they lifted simultaneously. Now the top of the chest opened wider, and Louie stuck his hands in and adjusted the support so that it fit the gap. Despite their having cleaned the chest, a huge amount of dust flew up. Liam coughed and put his hand over his mouth.
“What is it, what is it?” said Twinkle. Amanda wished Liam would put his hand over her mouth.
Liam graciously did not glare at her, but took a camera out of his pocket and photographed the inside of the chest. Louie approached and b
egan to sketch.
“There are some jars in here,” said Liam. “Also a sword, a chalice, and some pottery.”
“Excalibur!” breathed Simon.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Ivy.
“That’s correct,” said Liam. “There is much work to do before we can draw any conclusions as to what these items are. Simon, you need to learn this.”
“Yes, sir,” said Simon quietly.
“We will open the jars tomorrow,” Liam announced.
“Aw, can’t we do it now?” said Twinkle.
“You know better than that,” he said. “Preparations.”
Twinkle turned away with a pouty look on her face. She was obviously ill suited to science, where a huge amount of patience was required. Amanda predicted a not-too-bright future for her.
“Now, I would like everyone other than Darius and our team to leave, please. We will reconvene tomorrow at 10:00.”
Fortunately the next day was the weekend, so the early hour wasn’t a problem for the kids. With no classes to attend, they were free to do what they wanted. Amanda wondered if she should run off and see Nick before that. If he was up to something, she should find out as soon as possible. On the other hand, whatever was going on, it could take quite a while to sort it out with him and she might be late for the opening of the jars. No, she would wait. Perhaps she’d even hear from him before that time.
But she didn’t hear from him, and come 10:00 the next morning she found herself back in the cavern watching Liam prepare to open the first jar. A sword and a chalice did imply King Arthur, although there had to be many other ancients who possessed such things. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she couldn’t help it. Perhaps whatever was in the jars would confirm that these items did, in fact, come from Camelot.
Amanda Lester, Detective Box Set Page 119