In Cave Danger

by Kate Dyer-Seeley

  “Really?”

  “Really. It’s a great place, Megs. I think you’d like it.”

  I didn’t want to ask the question, but I had to know. “Are you taking the job?”

  Matt shook his head yes, then no. “I think so.”

  Chapter 17

  Three hours later, the moon glowed above us when we parked a few blocks away from the warehouse and hoofed it on foot. Matt thought it would be safer to not have either of our cars in the parking lot. I agreed. The temperature had dropped significantly. I was glad that I had worn a coat. Matt and I were dressed from head to toe in black. I know it’s a shocker, but I actually own one black coat—it was a birthday present from Mother. She gave me the trench coat along with a note about needing to expand my wardrobe. “Mary Margaret, I saw this on the rack and thought it would accentuate your curves perfectly. Everyone woman needs a stylish trench coat in their closet.” I’m sure she meant well, but her veiled compliment made me stuff the coat away. It had never been worn, but for some reason I grabbed it on my way out the door. I was thankful I had, and I cinched the belt tighter on my waist as I followed Matt.

  We navigated the sidewalk by the moonlight. There were only a few streetlights in the area, and most of them were broken or had burned-out lightbulbs.

  “Slow down,” Matt whispered. “Why are you walking so fast?”

  “I want to get there.”

  “Yeah, but we don’t want anyone to see us. You agreed that if we did this it would be on my terms, and I want to take it super slow, okay?”

  “Okay.” I slowed my pace. “Who is going to see us in the dark though?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want to take any chances.” He glanced behind us and froze. “Did you hear something?”

  My heart jumped. “No,” I whispered.

  He held his finger up to his lips and stood completely still. Blood rushed to my head. I could hear my pulse racing.

  What? I mouthed.

  He shook his head and plastered his hand over my mouth.

  After a minute he released me and relaxed. “I don’t know what that was, but I swear I heard someone talking.”

  “You did? I didn’t hear anything.”

  “Super hearing.” He waved me forward. We stayed close to the opposite building as we walked into the parking lot. Unfortunately, the lot was well lit. There were three overhead lights, and both of the warehouses had floodlights on them. Matt grabbed my hand and pushed me into the shadow of the building. “We need to stay out of the light.” He motioned to the far wall. “Let’s go that way.”

  We crept behind the back of the warehouse and found a hiding spot on the opposite side of the building. “Is that the truck?” Matt pointed to the delivery truck I’d seen earlier that was still parked in front of the rundown building.

  “That’s it! I can’t believe it’s still here. That’s weird, right?”

  Matt shrugged. “That could mean tons of things.” He had brought along one of his high-tech cameras. He looped the strap around his neck and angled the camera lens at the delivery truck.

  The industrial area gave off an eerie vibe at night. My heart pounded with a mixture of excitement and nerves. I could tell that Matt was nervous too. Matt was never nervous, or at least if he was he never let it show. Self-doubt began to bubble inside me. Maybe this was a bad idea. Actually, this was probably one of my most ridiculous ideas yet. What were we going to do if someone spotted us? Run? The car was three blocks away.

  “Do you see anything?” I whispered.

  Matt twisted the camera lens. “Give me a minute.”

  I cupped my hands around my eyes and focused my gaze on the delivery truck. It was too dark to see anything. Damn.

  “Do you think we should try to get a closer look?” I asked Matt. “We can try to sneak up from behind the truck.”

  Matt hushed me and threw both of us as close to the building as possible. I almost screamed, but Matt shook his head and pointed to the front of the parking lot, where two black sedans were turning in. Their headlights flooded the pavement with light.

  My stomach dropped. This was something. It had to be. Why else would two black cars arrive in the middle of the night at an abandoned warehouse?

  Matt and I watched in reverent silence as the cars pulled in next to the delivery truck.

  “What’s going on?” I asked Matt.

  He looked as incredulous as I’m sure I must have. “No idea.”

  “This is something though, isn’t it?”

  Nodding, Matt put a finger to his lips and then pointed to the sedans. Three men got out of the first car and then another three men got out of the second car. I wished I had brought along binoculars. It was nearly impossible to see anything more than the outline of shapes in the darkness.

  Matt zoomed the camera lens and peered through the viewfinder. One of the men roused the delivery truck driver. He emerged from the cab for the first time all day. Then he walked around to the back of the truck and opened the back door. The team of men from the sedans followed him.

  “What are they doing?” I said under my breath to Matt.

  “It looks like they’re getting ready to unload.” He turned the camera from the back of the truck to the first sedan, where one more person was getting out of the car. “Oh, my God.” He turned to me and threw his hand over his mouth.

  “What?”

  He yanked the camera off his neck and handed it to me. “Look.”

  I positioned the camera to where Matt had been pointing it. At first everything was blurry. I couldn’t see anything. Matt turned the lens twice and everything came into focus. Immediately I knew why Matt had reacted like that. Sheriff Daniels walked around the front of the sedan.

  Chapter 18

  “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” I whispered to Matt. “That’s Sheriff Daniels.”

  He nodded. “That is Sheriff Daniels.”

  “Is this really happening?” I asked Matt.

  Matt shook his head in disbelief. “It’s weird.”

  I handed him the camera. “That’s definitely Sheriff Daniels, right?”

  “Right.” Matt positioned the camera and snapped a round of shots.

  The sheriff pounded on the boards again. I could hear the sound of his heavy-fisted knock from this vantage point.

  Matt continued to click off photos while I tried to make sense of what I was seeing. Was the sheriff here to arrest the homeless kids for trespassing? Why the secrecy and veil of night? And why bring a team of people with him? Plus, what about the delivery truck? The men from the sedans were gathered at the back of the delivery truck as if waiting for further instructions.

  I knew that Sheriff Daniels had been in Bend recently, for a state training, or so he told Gam. Whatever happened between him and Gam had happened in Bend. She had come with him for a long weekend but ended up back home a few days later with their plans to move in together broken off. Bend wasn’t the sheriff’s jurisdiction. Far from it, in fact. He was the sheriff for Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge. What was he doing here?

  Was this some kind of training scenario? I knew that emergency workers had set up real-world training courses for their first responders—things like what would happen if all of the bridges failed in a Portland earthquake or how to respond to a bombing at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions and letting my imagination get the best of me. But then again, what sort of police training would involve a late-night rendezvous at an abandoned warehouse?

  The sheriff pounded on the plywood one more time, and to both Matt’s and my surprise the homeless kids emerged from behind the boards. The sheriff shouted for one of his men, who proceeded to unscrew the boards. Then Sheriff Daniels shouted out orders, and everyone lined up behind the delivery truck.

  Matt’s finger flew up and down on the camera. Thank goodness he’d brought along something to document what we were seeing. Sheriff Daniels took charge. As soon as the boards had been removed, the
crew lifted a large wooden crate from the delivery truck and carried it into the building. Matt took more photos, and I pinched myself. Could this really be happening? What did it mean?

  The homeless kids worked alongside the team from the sedans. They unloaded crate after crate while the delivery driver stood watch. “What do you think they’re unloading?” I asked.

  Matt shook his head. “Nothing good.”

  Another sedan pulled into the parking lot. It turned toward us. In a split second Matt grabbed my arm. “Run!” he yelled.

  We sprinted around the back of the warehouse and out to the street. Matt practically dragged me as I huffed for air and willed myself forward. I don’t think I had ever run that fast in my entire life. We ducked behind a clump of bushes. A train whistle sounded on the tracks nearby, making us both jump. Sawdust and cigarette butts were scattered on the ground.

  “Do you think they saw us?” I wheezed, trying to catch my breath.

  “I don’t think so, but that was close.” Sweat beaded on Matt’s forehead. His pupils were twice their normal size. “We have to get out of here, Megs.”

  “What if they come by right now? We’ll be totally exposed walking back to the car.”

  Matt considered this. “You’re right. We better hide here until we’re sure that they’re gone, then we’ll go back to the car and call the DEA.”

  “Do you think that Sheriff Daniels is involved? Maybe he’s working undercover.”

  “It’s possible, but I doubt it.”

  I had to agree. For a while now I had suspected that the sheriff was involved in the Meth Madness case, but this proved it. Were those drugs being unloaded in the crates? I felt sick to my stomach. The air, which had felt romantic and refreshing last night, felt raw and cutting tonight.

  Matt put his arm around me as I shivered. “We’re going to be okay.”

  “Are we?” Doubt invaded my thoughts. Why hadn’t I listened to him earlier? We were in way too deep, and I couldn’t see any way out of this.

  I’m not sure how long we waited in the darkness. There was a strong chemical smell radiating out from the building we were hiding behind. Great. We were probably being exposed to toxic chemicals. My feet went numb and my knees ached, but I didn’t move a muscle. Having Matt’s body near mine helped calm my nerves—a little. He held me tight.

  Three trains rumbled over the tracks, each blowing their whistles and startling us every time. Otherwise, it was strangely quiet except for the sound of Matt’s breathing and an occasional shout from the other warehouse. After what felt like hours we finally heard the sound of engines starting up, and we watched the three black sedans roll down the street. Once they were out of sight, I pushed to my feet. Matt pulled me back down. “Wait.”

  “Why?”

  “Let’s give it a few minutes and make sure they’re gone for good.”

  Reluctantly, I crouched down again. We waited for at least thirty minutes before Matt decided the coast was clear. “Okay, let’s go, but hurry.”

  We sprinted to the car and drove off without the headlights on just in case. Once we were back to the safety of my hotel, Matt and I discussed our options.

  “I think we should call the DEA first,” Matt suggested. The front window had fogged slightly.

  “What about Greg?” I told him about how Greg had warned me that Sheriff Daniels might be in town and that he wanted me to call him right away if I saw the sheriff.

  Matt hesitated. “I don’t know, Megs. I want to trust him, but what if he’s part of this? What if he wants to tip off Sheriff Daniels that you’re onto him?”

  “I don’t think so. You’re going to have to trust me on this one, okay?” I clicked the lock switch twice.

  “Okay.” Matt squeezed my hand. “I trust you.”

  For a moment we sat with our hands touching. I wanted to lean over and kiss him or just fall into his arms, but this wasn’t the time for distraction. It was time for action. I pulled my hand away. “I’m going to call Greg. I’ll let you know what he says.”

  Matt nodded. “Be safe, Megs.”

  “I will.” With that, I walked into the hotel fighting to hold back tears. For the first time in recent memory I was scared. Really scared.

  Chapter 19

  I took a minute to try to steady my nerves before calling Greg. I clutched the eye agate Gam had given me. It throbbed in my hand. I thought about the warning of darkness. I was in the darkness for sure—deep in the darkness.

  Trying to calm my breathing, I released my grip on the stone and closed my eyes. I wanted to sound as composed as possible when I talked to Greg. You can do this, Meg, I told myself as I dialed his number.

  He picked up on the second ring. “This is Greg.”

  “Greg, it’s Meg.” I heard my voice crack.

  “Hey, what’s going on?”

  “I saw Sheriff Daniels.”

  Any lightness in Greg’s voice evaporated. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Meg, I’m on my way. I’m leaving tonight. Do NOT do anything until I get there. Understood?”

  “No.”

  “We’ll talk about it in person. I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”

  I knew there was no dissuading him, so I agreed and hung up. Sleep was futile. I spent the majority of the night running through every interaction I’d had with Sheriff Daniels. And Gam. I couldn’t stop thinking about Gam. What had happened between the two of them? Had she realized that the sheriff was involved in the drug trade? But if she had, why wouldn’t she have warned me? Should I call Gam? I didn’t want to burden her with this. I needed solid answers about what Sheriff Daniels was up to before I spoke with her.

  My body wouldn’t stop shaking. I dragged the chair from the desk and used it to barricade the door. I wasn’t taking any chances and I doubted I was going to get much sleep. What if Sheriff Daniels had followed us? Or what if he already knew I was here? Was I in real danger?

  At some point I must have fallen asleep, but I woke before my alarm and dragged myself into the tub. I tried to enjoy an early hot soak with a view of the Deschutes River, but I couldn’t turn off my mind. Greg hadn’t mentioned where he was staying or when we should meet.

  I decided that my best option was to proceed as normal. I was due to meet Professor LeAnna at her research lab. It should be a good opportunity to learn more about her research, and I wanted to see if there was a way I could bring up the samples that the professor had asked Sam to steal from the caves. I sent Greg an e-mail with my morning agenda and headed for the High Desert Research Center, being sure to tuck the eye agate into my pocket. I wasn’t going anywhere without Gam’s protective stone.

  Everything felt as if it were coated in a layer of gloom. High overhead, thin wispy clouds blocked out the sun. That’s how I felt—blocked out. Sure, I knew that I’d made some young and bumbling mistakes, like staking out the warehouse last night, but I also knew that, now that I had confirmed that Sheriff Daniels was involved in some way, there was no letting that go. Had it all been a setup? Me? Gam? My stomach churned with anger not only at Sheriff Daniels but at my own stupidity. How had I been so naïve?

  I wanted to run for home, curl up on the couch under a blanket, and pretend like everything was as it used to be. But there was no escaping reality this time, so I forged ahead and put on my best fake smile.

  Professor LeAnna was waiting for me. She wore her tool vest with the trowel still missing and hiking boots, and her reading glasses were hanging on a chain around her neck. “Good morning, you’re early,” she said, noting something on a clipboard.

  “You know what they say—the early bird catches the worm.”

  “Do they still say that?”

  I shrugged. “Probably not. I’m old-school.”

  “Hmm.” She wrinkled her nose and studied me. I wondered if she gave her rocks such studious stare downs. “You are old-school, aren’t you?”

  “Actually, today I’m pretty hip.” I ran
my hands over my jeans, V-neck T-shirt, and pale pink cardigan sweater. “Usually, I wear skirts.”

  She frowned. “You won’t get far in the field unless you’re outfitted properly. I tell my students this all the time.”

  “Tell me about your vest,” I said, seizing the opportunity. “What sort of tools do you use when you’re in the field?”

  Professor LeAnna removed an assortment of paintbrushes and chisels and explained the painstaking process of excavating the striated layers of rock in the lava tube.

  “What about trowels or shovels? Do you use those too?”

  “Definitely.” She patted her vest and then looked down. “That’s weird.”

  “What?”

  “My trowel is missing.”

  Jackpot.

  “Really?”

  She took off her vest and began checking all of the pockets. “Yes. I must have dropped it in the tube.”

  Or used it to murder Kira, I thought. Although she certainly seemed genuinely perplexed by her missing trowel. That, or she was a good actress.

  “Well, I can find it this morning. It’s finally back to the field,” she said, putting her vest back on.

  “Are we going in the field? I was under the impression that I was going to interview you here.”

  “You are. Didn’t you hear the news? The cave tour is on for later this morning. The authorities are finished with their investigation, and we’ve been granted permission to resume activities.” She twisted the chain on her glasses. “I hope they haven’t done too much damage down there.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The ecology of the cave is delicate. Who knows what the police officers and detectives have done to my research. I can only imagine them tramping over everything.” She shuddered at the thought.

  “I’m sure they’re trained to be careful.”

  She glared at me. “What do you know?”

  Her tone made me flinch. “I don’t. I just assumed that they would be careful.”

  “No layperson is ever careful with things as delicate as my rocks.”