“It’s not like your average entrance to a mine,” Noah said, moving the earth away then kneeling to look at the huge cover. “But then I don’t think they mined here, just looked to see if it was possible.”
“But there would have to be some sort of labyrinth of passages for them to have decided it wasn’t worth it. You can’t just make a hole to come to a decision like that. Also it would have to be deep.”
Noah grunted while he lifted the huge cover one end. He pulled it aside and held his lamp down the hole a bit. “It is deep but there’s a long ladder. I think that maybe there’s another entrance somewhere else which could be on somebody else’s property. I’ll go down and have a look.”
“Not without me.”
“You need more practical clothes.”
She made her way to the wagon. “I have some. Will you wait for me?”
He concentrated on the hole while she changed and when she climbed down from the wagon she wore jeans which fitted round her hips closely. She had considered buying men’s ones but rejected the idea and made some herself. It wasn’t particularly discreet, she knew, but long skirts would hamper her and she wasn’t going to be left behind. She looked at her watch before putting a foot on the ladder and it was ten. By this time Noah was at the bottom which made her feel rather self conscious. But it was no time to be coy because they had a job to do and she was going to do it.
He put his hands on her waist when she got near the bottom to lift her down and the feeling it elicited she felt she could hardly bear. He set her on the ground and she walked ahead of him down a passage, glad of the darkness to hide the heat she knew would show on her face. He followed her closely and put his arm round her.
“We need to stick close to each other,” he said. “One of us might trip or something and the other can hold on tightly. Put your arm round me.”
She did, knowing that what he said was utter rubbish because he would be aware of the fact that she could never hold him up. Even if he was smaller she probably wouldn’t be able to do so but was more likely to go down with him. However, going down with him wouldn’t be so bad though they had to be careful not to break any limbs. She held her lamp up and above them they could see little glints of silver.
“There must be some silver,” she said.
“Yes, but not enough to make mining feasible. The mines in Darwin have been mined for quite a long time but they are now not worth going on with. I would imagine there is some silver left but not a lot. Maybe Miles has some inside information concerning what’s here, which might be more than originally thought.”
Susannah kept looking up. “I don’t think Miles runs the show. He’s not clever enough.”
“Or he’s underplaying himself.”
“Maybe. I also don’t think he’s looking for silver so we need to look really carefully.”
“What else could there be?”
“I don’t know.”
They rounded a corner and the passage widened considerably with obvious signs of mining, which included some machinery and instruments. Noah walked round the machinery examining it and Susannah skirted the area.
“There’s more ahead,” she said, looking round a corner at the end of the area. “It’s a thin passage which leads on to a wider area. Let’s go and have a look.”
Noah strode over to follow her down the little passage, his height making it necessary for him to bend. They stepped out into a large chamber and in it was a desk at one end with a couple of steel cabinets along the wall, obviously some kind of office, Susannah said, walking over to the cabinets and opening one of them.
“We need to look for something valuable,” she said.
Noah walked over to stand next to her. “What kind of something?”
“I don’t know. Gems of one kind or another, money. drugs, anything worth quite a lot.” She opened the drawers and looked carefully then pulled them out to put on the floor. “Could you search the desk?”
But there was nothing they could find which could be valuable, even after smashing the desk to bits with an axe Noah threw ahead of him when he went down the ladder. They searched through a few papers but all there seemed to be was a record of what money had been paid out, also a few technical instructions.
“We need to move on,” Susannah said eventually. “Do you think the mine goes much further?”
“I’ll have a look.”
It did but not very far, and high above them was another entrance though they could never go out that way because there was no ladder. The other one was made of durable wood and was firmly jammed into the ground.
Susannah started to walk round the walls shining her lamp up and down as she examined them closely. Noah walked over to stand next to her.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. Something could be hidden anywhere. Could you examine the floor and I’ll look on the walls.”
He looked down at the stone floor. “I don’t know what I’m looking for.”
“Nor do I. Do you know much about stolen goods?”
“We’ve dealt with such things at the agency.”
“Twenty years ago.”
“I was four years old twenty years ago. I would have liked to be a bodyguard but my mother wouldn’t let me.”
“Very funny.” Susannah moved the lamp round slowly. “Does Clark talk much about past cases or about things that happened in the past? He’s owned the agency for over twenty years. Once or twice he’s regaled me with incidents.”
“Quite regularly he does that and particularly when he’s invited us to the saloon and gets a bit tipsy.”
“Any unsolved mysteries?”
“He doesn’t talk about that much.” Noah paused. “He did tell us once why he makes people pay upfront. He said he used to bill them afterwards when he started the agency?”
“What made him alter it?”
“The agency was hired to solve a theft, a bit like the one we dealt with. It was a diamond worth thousands of pounds, maybe even near to a million. The insurance company that insured it nearly went bust because it was never found and they had to pay out. Insurance policies rocketed as a result.”
“So the owner was reimbursed which meant he or she wouldn’t have continued to look for it?”
“Yes.”
“Where did the robbery occur?”
“In San Francisco but, even if this was connected, surely the thief would have recovered the diamond by now.”
Susannah went to sit on one of the chairs. “Hazel told me that one of the men who was mining here died after a heart attack. She said they carried him out of the mine and he kept trying to get up and go back to the mine. He jumped off his stretcher, ran back towards the mine and started down the ladder. Before he got to the bottom he must have had another heart attack and fell off the ladder. They weren’t sure if his death was due to his heart or his injuries, Hazel said.
Noah walked over to stand next to her. “It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“But it’s possible.” Susannah looked at her watch. “We must be getting back. It’s unfair on Hazel to have to stay with the children so late. We’ll go up, put the grass back and come again tomorrow.”
Noah stood, put his arms down and pulled Susannah to her feet. “Do you seriously think it could have been the thief here? Why would he particularly come here to hide the diamond? It’s over four hundred miles from San Francisco.”
“It’s an outlandish assumption but I’m clutching at straws. One thing I do know about the man who died either from a heart attack or hurtling to his death is that he had three wives, one in San Francisco, one in Independence and one in Los Angeles. They found it out after his death. So also did his wives who had no idea of the others he had. Maybe supporting all of them and travelling all over the place made him steal it so he could get money to support his lifestyle.”
“But why was he working in a silver mine near Lone Pine if he had a diamond worth that much?”
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p; “He would have to sell it but would need money while he found a buyer. It’s just an outlandish hunch but one thing I am sure of. There is something down here other than silver which Miles wants. There’s one other thing.”
“What is that?”
“The man who had a heart attack has the same surname as Larson Miles. His Christian name was ......”
“Sydney.” A voice came from behind them. “My father who was a ......” He spat out a few oaths. “He did nothing for me so I reckon I’m entitled and you are going to use your pretty brain to find it.”
Noah and Susannah turned and Miles walked into the area where they were standing, followed by five other men, all as tall as Noah and far more menacing. Susannah moved involuntarily closer to Noah and he put his arm round her.
“I thought women were supposed to have no brains,” Miles continued. “My missus certainly doesn’t. Well, at least one thing has come out of hiring you. You can use those pretty brains to help us find the diamond.”
“So just how many wives do you have to support?” Susannah asked.
“Just find the diamond, lady. You may be smart but I’m sure your mouth is as big as any other dame.”
Susannah looked around. “This place is enormous, as you know. Well, maybe you don’t. It goes on quite a bit further than where we are. Why is it you think the diamond might be here?”
“My father had to work while he was waiting to sell the diamond. My ma told me that.”
“She told you about the diamond?”
“No. Stop talking, lady, and start looking. I want that diamond tonight.”
Susannah looked at her watch. “It’s too late. We can look tomorrow, if you like.”
He walked over, slapped her hard on the face and she went backwards a bit. “I told you women can’t keep quiet. Just look and do what I’ve paid you for.”
Noah lunged at him, lifted him in the air and punched him forcibly. Three of the men with Miles jumped on him and he went down on the ground. They started to kick and punch him and Susannah ran over to throw herself on top of them, a few of their blows landing on her before they stepped back a bit.
“If you want to find your diamond I suggest we get on with it,” she said, looking at Miles who was holding his jaw. “But if you touch either of us again I’m not helping you. I’m your only hope because, as you said, I am smart.”
“You’ll do as you’re told,” he growled.
“No, I won’t, so stop ordering me around and bullying me because it will get you nowhere. Now let’s use our brains and work this out methodically. Your father would have hidden the diamond where it couldn’t be seen but where he could get hold of it. What we need to do is look for cracks and crevices in the walls but you have to be careful if you think you find it because you might push it beyond recovery if you touch it.”
“Get working on it,” Miles said to his men. He turned to Susannah. “You too. Halliday, you stay with these two and if they try anything shoot them.”
“We won’t be much use to you dead or injured,” Susannah said. “And, as you say, I’m the one with the brains. Is your mother still alive?”
“Of course. I’m going to look after her, which is more than that.” He swore again. “Did.”
“That is commendable but I’m sure she’d rather have a son who isn’t in prison.” Susannah started to walk slowly along the wall, shining her lamp on it as she looked carefully. “Why don’t you just hand the diamond to the authorities? I’m sure there will be a reward for finding it. Is the owner of the diamond still alive?”
“Yes.”
At least he answered her questions, she thought. “Then give it to him and ask for a reward. Even ten percent would be good though you could ask for more. If he was paid by the insurance company he’s bound to have a lot of money, even if it was twenty years ago.”
Miles looked at her speculatively. Would he consider such an option? She was sure the owner of the diamond would be pleased to give him a reward though maybe he would have to refund his money to the insurance company. She had no idea how such things worked.
“You talk a load of rubbish, lady,” Miles said. “Get looking.”
“I am. There is one thing I would like to warn you about though.”
“What’s that?”
“If I’m not back soon people will come looking for us and they’ll come here because they know where we are.”
“They’re all asleep.”
“No, they’re not. They can’t go to sleep until I return.”
Miles looked at his men. “Jones and Halliday, see what you can do about covering the opening. You need to get the grass over it so it won’t be seen.”
Hopefully impossible, Susannah thought, and surely whoever came to check on them would look carefully. Bruce would be bound to call Benjamin and there were deputies. However, they might go elsewhere to look, thinking she and Noah had been abducted. The two men disappeared into the first cave and everyone continued to look.
“Tell me about your father,” Susannah said. “What was he like and what kind of employment did he have?”
“Shut up,” Miles replied. “And just look.”
“If I know more about him I might work out where the diamond is. People think in different ways. Personally I would hide it in a crevice which was more out of sight than any. Tell me first where you would hide it.”
Miles looked around. “Probably in a crevice also.”
Susannah looked at one of the men who was peering at the wall higher than she could reach. “What’s your name, sir?”
“Huh?”
“Your name.”
The man looked at Miles who shrugged. “Lloyd Sutherland.”
“That’s a nice name. Are you of Scottish ancestry?” The man looked blank. “Do any of your family come from Scotland?”
“I don’t think so, ma’am.”
“Where would you hide a diamond if you had one?”
He looked around. “Probably in a crevice. There’s nowhere else for it to go.”
“No but we may be missing something. We need to not just think horizontally and vertically.”
“Huh?” There was a general chorus, which included Noah. She didn’t dare to smile as she continued. “We tend to think in straight lines instead of going round a problem. Crevices to me seem the obvious choice but it could be elsewhere. What kind of work did your father do, Mr. Miles?”
“All sorts of things, from what my ma said.”
“Did she mention any of those jobs?”
“Mining. He worked in Darwin for a while in the mines there. Painting. He painted our house. He probably painted the houses of his other families as well.” Miles swore again before continuing. “Fruit picking. His last job before he died and before he worked here, my ma said, was making ladders.”
“How soon after that did he steal the diamond?”
“I think it was his job before the mine.”
“Did he make any of the ladders here?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know that?”
“From my ma. How else? Stop asking questions.”
“The ladder,” Susannah said.
“Huh?”
“The ladder.”
“Go and pull the ladder down,” Miles ordered, looking at his men.
Susannah once again quashed a smile. “If you pull down the ladder you won’t get out.” Use your brains, she wanted to add but daren’t.
“We’ve covered the entrance,” Halliday said, walking through.
“We need the ladder down,” Miles said.
“It’s no good chopping it to bits,” Susannah cut in. “Because, like I said, you won’t have a way to get out. What you need to do is examine it.”
She looked at her watch. Ten thirty and how long would Hazel wait before raising the alarm. Probably not for at least another hour and by then the men would be gone if they found the diamond.
“Start examining the ladder,” Miles said to Halliday. �
�The rest of you keep looking in crevices, which includes you, lady,” as he noticed her watching him.
She moved on a bit further and for thirty minutes they all worked quietly on their assigned areas until there was a shout from the adjoining cave before Halliday walked through holding out a diamond ring.
It was amazing, Susannah thought as she looked at it, but certainly not something to die for or even do what Miles was doing. Would he now kill her and Noah so they couldn’t tell anyone what had happened?
“Pack everything up and let’s go,” Miles said, taking the ring from Halliday.
“What about them?” Halliday asked, pointing at Susannah and Noah.
“We’ll saw the ladder so it falls and they can’t get out. Go that way and see if there’s another entrance. If there’s another ladder do the same to it. We need to hurry.”
“Why don’t we just kill them?” another man asked whose name Susannah didn’t know.
“No. No killing unless it’s our only option.” Miles looked at Susannah as the men moved away. “You’re smart, lady. I could do with you.”
“I couldn’t with you.”
Noah stood in front of her as Miles moved towards her, his fists up, and Miles moved back. “No offence meant,” he said. He took out his gun and pointed it at him, defenceless without it in the absence of his men who were checking for more ladders.
“You need something to hold your ring,” Susannah said. “It could slip out of your pocket. I saw a little box in the desk which maybe your father put there to hold the ring. I’ll get it for you.”
“We’ll cut down the ladder,” Lloyd Sutherland said, walking through as Susannah went over to the desk. “There’s no way they’ll get out and we’ll cover the entrance once we’re out.”
“Good.”
“I have the box,” Susannah said. She held out her hand. “Give me the ring and I’ll put it in safely for you. I used to work in a jewellery shop so I know how to do it.”
Miles handed her the ring and she lay it carefully in the box. “I’ll just put some paper over it,” she said. She moved to the desk, scrunched a bit and put it on top of the ring before holding out the box. “There you are. Why don’t you give it to your mother to make up for what she went through?”
The Detective Bride Page 19