Shadow Bones

by Colleen Rhoads

  “How are you feeling today?”

  He turned to see Skye standing on the path with a plate of food in her hand.

  “Sore.” His stomach rumbled at the aroma of sausage. “I hope that food is for me.”

  “I’m not the best cook in the world, but at least it’s hot. I hope you like biscuits and gravy. I wanted to see how you’re feeling.” She hesitated, then went on. “I hope you’ve gotten over your suspicion of me. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

  He searched her face. “Are you trying to bribe me?”

  Her lips lifted in a smile. “Would it work?”

  “Sorry, but no. I’m going to have to call the media today.”

  She sighed. “That’s what I thought. But you can still have the breakfast.”

  Jake grabbed a camp chair for her and one for himself, and accepted the plate of food. He tucked into his meal with gusto and downed it in three minutes. “I was starved,” he said. “I don’t think I had dinner last night.”

  She cocked her head to one side. “You look better this morning—not so green around the gills.”

  He realized with a sense of shock that his pain had lessened since taking her remedies. “I’m actually feeling better. Those herbs must have worked.” Either that or it was being around her. He liked to watch the way her eyes grew mysterious. The bone structure in her face intrigued him with its sharp planes and angles. She didn’t need makeup.

  He heard a vehicle pull into the parking lot below them and looked down. “Great, just great,” he muttered when he saw Cameron’s vehicle. “I’d better head him off at the pass.”

  “I’ll come with you. I need to get back to town.” Skye grabbed the empty plate of food and followed Jake down the steep path.

  They met Cameron about halfway up. Jake barred the other man’s way to the dig. “What are you doing here again, Reynolds?”

  “I thought I’d see how you were doing. I heard you had a spill yesterday.”

  “Oh, you heard, did you? And I suppose you had nothing to do with it.” Jake watched his former partner’s face for signs of guilt, but the man’s smile didn’t diminish. Jake knew Cameron was a practiced liar.

  “You’re jumping at shadows,” Cameron said smoothly. “I heard it was an accident. Are you saying someone pushed you?”

  “I’m saying someone stretched a wire across the path in the worst possible spot so I’d go plummeting down the hill. I asked myself who would do such a despicable thing. Your name came to mind.”

  “I think you watch too many murder mysteries.” Cameron’s gaze traveled to Skye. “You have to be Skye Blackbird. You look just like your beautiful mother.”

  Skye smiled, and Jake wanted to snarl at the bedazzled expression on her face. Cameron’s charm had done its work, even on her.

  Cameron took her hand and held on to it a moment too long. Skye finally pulled it away, but there was a flush to her cheeks Jake didn’t like. He told himself he wasn’t jealous.

  “My mother says you’re a paleontologist, too.” she said.

  “If you want to call him that,” Jake muttered.

  “What?” Skye finally turned her head and looked at him.

  “Nothing,” Jake said. “I need to get to town. If you want to find out what I’m doing, Reynolds, you’ll have to wait and see it on the evening news.”

  For the first time the smooth expression on Cameron’s face changed. “Wait, what are you talking about? You need my help.”

  “I don’t need anything from you. Least of all that ever-present knife you’re about to plunge into my back.” Jake grabbed Cameron’s arm and propelled him down the last of the path to the parking lot.

  Cameron twisted, but couldn’t slip out of Jake’s grip. He’d always been a weakling, Jake thought with a curl of his lip. Jake released him at the door to Cameron’s fancy truck.

  “After you, Reynolds.”

  Cameron gave him a furious look, but flung himself into the driver’s seat. He floored the engine and spun gravel from his tires as he took off.

  “You didn’t have to be so rude,” Skye said.

  “Don’t be suckered by his good looks. He’ll chew you up and spit you out before you can blink.”

  “I’m not that naive,” she said with a trace of haughtiness.

  “You could have fooled me. I saw the way you were ogling him.”

  “I have never ogled anyone in my life!” Her eyes sparked fire, and she put her hands on her hips. “I don’t know why I bothered to bring you breakfast. Obviously, the slide down the mountain failed to teach you anything.” She flounced to her pickup and sped away.

  Jake gritted his teeth and got in his SUV. It was just as well they were on the outs. She was too attractive for his peace of mind.

  Skye fumed as she raced the truck toward town. He’d taken her peace offering and flung it back in her face. Ogled indeed. Heat burned her cheeks. Maybe she’d been a little tongue-tied at Cameron’s appearance, but the man looked and acted like some kind of movie star. Someone like him had never appeared in Turtle Town before. She guessed she’d been a little starstruck.

  He wasn’t your typical paleontologist. Could he have stretched the wire across the path? Or had that even happened? She didn’t know what to believe.

  Cameron’s truck was parked in front of The Sleeping Turtle when she arrived. Her heart beat a little faster as she got out and went inside. Maybe he wasn’t in her store at all, but in the coffee shop next door.

  As she neared the door, she heard her mother’s laughter and Cameron’s deep answering chuckle. Warmth traveled up her neck to her cheeks, and she smoothed the wisps of hair that had pulled loose from her braid. The fact that Jake highly disapproved of Cameron only made it more pleasant to defy the paleontologist who was such a thorn in her flesh.

  She went inside. “I’m back,” she called.

  “We have a special guest,” her mother called. “Have you two met?”

  “I had the pleasure of meeting your lovely daughter a little while ago.”

  Cameron’s smile was as bright as the noonday sun, and Skye almost had to close her eyes against the brilliance. The man’s charm was incredible. He’d missed his calling by choosing science over the silver screen.

  “I can see where she gets her beauty,” he said, turning back to Mary.

  Skye’s mother simpered. That was the only word for it, Skye thought incredulously. In that moment, her bedazzlement with Cameron snapped. Had the same silly expression been on her face when they met at the mine? If so, no wonder Jake had been so contemptuous.

  “I thought I’d look for something for my mother for her birthday,” Cameron said. He turned to look at the display of herbal candles on an endcap.

  Did someone like him even have a mother? Skye could imagine him emerging fully grown from a magical spring like a young Adonis. “We have the candles and some wonderful aromatherapy products down the next aisle,” she told him.

  “Mom might like the aromatherapy. Would you mind showing me?”

  Conscious of the way her mother was looking on with approval, Skye led him to the display. “Do you know if she has a favorite scent? The lavender ones are particularly popular with the older ladies.”

  “She loves lilacs, so that might be a good choice if you have it.”

  She started to leave him to peruse the products, when he stopped her with his hand on her arm.

  “I was wondering if you were in full agreement with what Baxter is doing at the mine site?” he asked.

  “I don’t have much say in it,” she said shortly. “My mother owns the mine and the land around it.”

  “Yes, but I was under the impression you were the manager.”

  “I am, but it’s Mother’s property. If she had asked me, I wouldn’t have given permission for you to dig.”

  He leaned toward her and turned his smile on full wattage, but this time Skye merely blinked at the brilliance.

  “What he’s planning will harm your mining
operation. We have to delay his announcement. Once the world hears what he’s found, this town will be crawling with geologists and paleontologists from around the world.”

  “How do you know what he’s found?”

  His smile faltered. “I suspect it’s a dinosaur nursery. Hundreds of eggs. Few sites like it have been found.”

  Skye was careful to let her expression betray nothing. “What makes you think that?”

  “I saw some shapes that looked—shall we say, intriguing—the first day I was at the site. I’m a good scientist. I recognized the site’s possibilities as quickly as Jake did.”

  She didn’t bother to hide her skepticism. “Why would you want to help me stop the announcement?”

  “I like you and your mother. I’d hate to see you taken advantage of by the likes of Jake Baxter.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t believe you. You don’t even know us.” She was suddenly weary of the whole conversation. People using other people, each playing one against the other in sneaky ways. She wanted this man gone from her store and her life. Jake as well.

  His smile faded. “Okay, I’ll tell you the truth. Jake took credit for something I found. I want to get back at him, but I need your help.”

  “Funny, he says you’re the one who betrayed him.”

  “Look up the Baxter find in Venezuela. You won’t find a mention of my name, but I’m the one who called him in on that project.”

  He seemed sincere. Skye shrugged. “I don’t know how we’ll stop it anyway. He went to town to call the media.”

  “We have to stop him!” He grabbed her hand and propelled her toward the door.

  Skye wrenched away. “There’s nothing I can do.”

  “Well, I can.” He left her standing in the aisle and ran out the door.

  Skye stared after him. She was tempted to call Jake and warn him. But what could Cameron do anyway? It was probably too late.

  Maybe she’d just follow Cameron and see what he was going to do. She wouldn’t want him to hurt Jake. Not that the big paleontologist couldn’t take care of himself, but what if Jake’s suspicions were correct and Cameron had put a wire out to trip him?

  The Detroit newspaper was flying in some reporters in a few minutes. Other papers has sent theirs by ferry. Jake stood in his room at Windigo Manor and tried to decide what to wear.

  “Wear that tie,” Wynne said, pointing to a burgundy one. “And pair it with a navy blazer and khaki slacks.”

  “I don’t want to dress up,” he grumbled. “I think a clean shirt and jeans will do just fine. The newspapers like a little bit of color in their stories.”

  “Maybe you’re right.” Becca riffled through the clothes in the closet and pulled out a red denim shirt. “This looks good. And make sure you take your hat. I’ll clean it up for you. The lady reporters will swoon over you.”

  “That’s the last thing I need,” Jake said. Before he could stop it, he had an image of Skye swooning into his arms. He hid a grin. She’d likely spit on his boots before she’d swoon.

  “I’ll be glad when this is all out in the open,” Becca said. “It was too close for comfort yesterday.”

  Jake glanced at his watch. “It’s almost show time. Let’s get out in the yard.”

  The rain had ended, and the sun’s warmth left little dampness in the ground. Jake settled on the porch to await the helicopter. Ten minutes later the sound of the rotors roused him from a near doze. He stood and went to greet the reporters just as a car bearing the rest pulled up.

  Once they were set up, he stepped into place. “I’ve called you here to announce something of great significance to the scientific community. And not just to scientists but to the whole world. How many of you are familiar with the dinosaur nests found in Mongolia?”

  “I am.” An older man of about sixty waved his hand. “Are you saying that’s what you’ve found?”

  “Exactly,” Jake said.

  “Hold on a minute.” Cameron Reynolds stepped out from behind the side of the house. “This is a hoax.”

  “Who are you?” the reporter asked.

  “Cameron Reynolds.”

  “I’ve heard of you. You discovered that big T-Rex last year.”

  Jake gritted his teeth and forced himself not to object. It would make him look like a fool. “If you’d like to follow me out to the site, I can show you,” he said.

  He was aware of Cameron’s smug smile as Jake rounded up the reporters into his SUV. Cameron followed in his truck. What did he have up his sleeve? Jake didn’t trust him, but there was little he could do about it in front of the reporters.

  The reporters and their photographers trooped up the path to the site. Jake stepped to the dig and looked down. The dig was exactly as he left it with his tools spread out and the land exposed.

  With one exception. His eggs were gone.

  Rage built in his chest, and he whirled to find the other paleontologist. Cameron’s smile was smug and then his eyes widened when he saw Jake leap.

  Jake tackled him and bore Cameron to the ground. “What did you do with my eggs?” he shouted.

  “There were never eggs here,” Cameron panted, trying to break Jake’s hold on him.

  The reporters were milling around and shouting questions. Jake was barely aware of them until one of them grabbed his arm and tried to pull him off Cameron. Jake wanted to pummel the paleontologist into the ground, but he realized how it looked to the reporters.

  He forced himself to release Cameron and stand up. His blood pumped through his veins in a hard rush. He took a deep breath and told himself to calm down. He forced his hands to unclench. The reporters were staring at them with avid faces. He needed to regain control of the situation.

  “Talk to my sister. She saw the eggs, too.”

  Just past the crowd of reporters, he saw Skye running up the path toward him. She reached the top, and her eyes widened as she took in the situation. “What’s going on?”

  “Lover boy here has stolen my eggs,” Jake said bitterly.

  Cameron got up and brushed the dirt from his slacks. “It’s a plot he hatched with his sister to get publicity,” he told the reporters.

  “Look around you,” Jake said. “See the egg shapes in the rocks? They’re dinosaur eggs embedded in the stones.”

  “Just looks like round rocks to me,” the head reporter responded. “I think we’re going to have more proof than this to run a story.”

  “There were eggs here,” Skye said.

  Jake whipped his head around to look at her and saw Cameron do the same. Why would she help? It was to her benefit to keep this under wraps for a while.

  “I saw them,” she said.

  “Who are you?” the older reporter asked.

  “Skye Blackbird, the manager of the mine here. Someone has tampered with the evidence.” Her gaze was on Cameron, and he flushed but said nothing.

  The reporter shook his head. “There isn’t much to go on here.” He glanced around at the site. “Call us again when you have more proof.”

  “I’ll get you proof,” Jake said tightly. “I have some experts I can call to help me excavate more eggs. And next time I’ll call people who won’t be misled by a saboteur.” He gave Cameron a long look.

  He stomped down the path to the SUV. He should have stayed to thank Skye but he was thinking only of setting things right. Once he accompanied the ferry riders’ car back to town, he’d find his eggs. But first he’d make a call to Kimball Washington. Kimball had been his mentor for many years. He’d know what to do.

  Chapter Five

  Skye had been as shocked to hear herself speak up to the reporters as Jake had been, but the thought of the slimy Cameron Reynolds getting away with his ploy was enough to make her speak before she thought. At least the media wouldn’t be descending just yet.

  She watched the vehicles disappear around the bend in a cloud of dust then went inside the mine. The workers had left for the day, and the place was eerily quiet. She’d told her
mother she’d be late and what she was going to do. Though her mother had said nothing, she knew she thought it was time to put the past away, too.

  She could hear the drip of water from somewhere. The dank smell of earth followed her down the corridor to her office. Skye’s office often felt like a haven to her.

  Here she could see the things her father had left behind. She could open his humidor and sniff the last faint scent of his Cuban cigars, though they were stale by now. Still, it seemed he could walk in the door at any moment. She liked it best when the mine was empty, and she could close her eyes and go back eight years in time. Silly, she knew. It was time she grew up.

  She sat at the battered metal desk and put her head in her hands. Events seemed to be spiraling out of her control. This old garnet mine had served its purpose of getting her past the grief of her father’s abandonment. She was twenty-four now, a grown woman. It was time she left childish things behind.

  It was time to pack up all her father’s possessions. The thought made her feel as though she were having a panic attack, even though she’d come here intending to pack. Skye took a few deep breaths. In and out, in and out. Once the constriction eased in her chest, she found a box from the closet and opened the drawers.

  She began to pack away the things, forcing herself not to linger over each one. It wasn’t as though she were throwing them away. She could still take them from her closet at home and look at them if she felt the need.

  Once the desk was clean, she put the box under her arm and went down the corridor toward the exit. Halfway there, she glanced to the left corridor where the Mitchell tube was located. If only Peter would agree to helping them shore it up and search there.

  She set the box on the floor and stepped into the branching corridor. The floor was uneven and damp. Rock crumbled from the sides. She knew it was unsafe, but she had a hunch about this tube. She walked along the narrowing tunnel as far as she could, though she began to feel claustrophobic as the ceiling lowered and the walls grew narrower. She heard a sound and froze. “Hello?” There was nothing to be frightened of. It was likely a worker who had forgotten something, or maybe even James.