African Violet Club Mystery Collection

by Elise M Stone

  Ted turned slowly, dramatically, so that his lamp now illuminated a small room, approximately eight feet in diameter and as many feet high. Red-tinged stalactites hung from the ceiling, glistening from the water that slowly dripped down their sides to the muddy floor below.

  “Turn on your flashlight, Lilliana,” he said. “Shine it around the room so you can enjoy the beauty here.”

  She did as Ted asked and was struck dumb by the glory that surrounded her. Formations in all shades of pink, some verging on red, some almost white, shone like jewels in the darkness.

  “What makes them red?” she whispered, in respect for the cathedral-like space in which they stood.

  “Iron oxide,” Ted said. “There must be an iron deposit, or at least iron-rich soil, above us. Rain water and snow melt drip through the iron and carry it to the limestone below. As the limestone dissolves, it picks up the iron ore.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Lilliana said.

  Even Chief Cartwright was looking at their surroundings in awe. But he quickly recovered. “Okay, so it’s a cave. A pretty cave,” he amended. “But what makes it different from all the other caves in Arizona?”

  “Ever been to Colossal Cave?” Ted asked.

  “Yeah, sure,” the chief replied.

  “Ever seen any water there?”

  The chief thought a minute and said, “No.”

  “Most caves, especially most commercial caves, are dry caves. They’re dead. The formations stopped growing in them thousands of years ago when the water dried up. This cave is alive and growing. It’s like Kartchner Caverns down south of Benson. A live cave is very rare. To have two so close together...” Ted’s voice trailed off.

  “So what’s the big deal about keeping it a secret?” the chief asked.

  Lilliana had read the story of Kartchner Caverns, so she knew the reason, but she let Ted tell the chief.

  “Caves are actually very fragile environments. It takes thousands of years for a stalactite to grow. And seconds for a human being to break it off as a souvenir. There are some caves where almost all the formations were broken off by tourists or even cavers, who should know better. The two men who discovered Kartchner Caverns worked hard at keeping it a secret until they developed a plan to conserve the cave. But, even with the best intentions, the environment of Kartchner Caverns has been changed by the construction and the tours going through. There’s great concern over its future.”

  Chief Cartwright craned his neck as he looked around the cave room. Once he’d surveyed as much as he could see, he said, “I’ve been to Kartchner Caverns. This little cave ain’t no Kartchner.”

  Ted laughed. “Oh, this is just the beginning. We haven’t even seen a tenth of the cave yet.”

  “Can we see some more?” she asked.

  “Sure. There’s a passage back there.“ Ted pointed toward an area shrouded in shadows at the back of the room. “Follow me. But be careful to walk in my footsteps so we don’t damage the cave any more than it already is.”

  When they got closer, Lilliana could see the crevice in the back wall. Taking a clue from Ted, she ducked as she went through. The chief, being shorter and wider, didn’t have to duck, but he did turn sideways so he could squeeze through. He grunted as a sharp protrusion scraped across his belly.

  Ted pulled the flashlight from his belt and sent a beam of light out into the darkness. The light slid over huge stalagmites in the near distance and disappeared into the gloom beyond. When Ted turned the light toward the ceiling, hundreds, maybe thousands, of stalactites hung overhead. Lilliana turned her flashlight so its beam accompanied Ted’s as it swept the room.

  “How big is this place?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Ted said. “I’ve never measured it. It must be at least as big as the Big Room over at Kartchner.”

  “Is there more?” Lilliana asked.

  “Oh, there’s much more,” Ted said. He shone the light on the floor of the cave. It wasn’t so much a floor as a jumble of boulders and limestone formations. He pointed the flashlight toward a spot a few feet from where they stood. Footprints led off into the darkness. “If you’re careful, there’s a sort of path through here. Are you game to try it?”

  Lilliana nodded before remembering Ted probably couldn’t see her. “Oh, yes!” She was entranced by the cave. A cave where no other humans had trod. While she’d always been drawn to show caves and toured many of them, they were nothing like the raw beauty of this place. This place. “Does it have a name?”

  “What? Oh, you mean the cave. Well, it does, at least in my mind, but I’m going to wait a while before I tell you what it is.” He was smiling, and a twinkle danced in his eyes. He was teasing her.

  She kind of liked it, so she played along.

  “If you two are finished flirting with one another, can we get this over with?”

  She’d almost forgotten the chief was there. She was disappointed in the tone of his voice. Apparently he wasn’t quite as impressed as she was with the cave.

  “Of course,” Ted said.

  The light was too dim for her to be sure, but Lilliana thought he was blushing. From the warmth in her cheeks, she was, too.

  Ted started off down the trail. Lilliana was careful to remember his instructions to step in his footprints. The chief brought up the rear. With her flashlight focused on the ground, it was hard to see any of the formations that must surround them. She heard the trickle of water just before Ted stopped and turned to face her. “Be careful here. There’s water flowing over the path, and you don’t want to slip.”

  Lilliana had been hugging the wall on her right, often reaching out to touch it for reassurance, but she edged closer to it when Ted pointed his flashlight down and to the left. Just a couple of feet away the water streamed over the edge of a precipice, a tiny waterfall splashing down into the depths of the cave. The chief looked apprehensive.

  “Are you sure this is safe?” Cartwright asked.

  “Just go slow, stay to the right, and plant your feet firmly before taking each step,” Ted said.

  It sounded like a lot of instructions to her, but most of them were intuitive. She had no intention of getting close to the slippery edge. Ted turned and resumed his journey on the path. Lilliana followed, careful of a jagged piece of rock that jutted out from the wall about waist high.

  Apparently the chief hadn’t seen the protrusion as he cursed and then cried out. Lilliana spun around and almost lost her balance as her feet slid on the slick surface. A thumping sound and a whoof of air was followed by another scream.

  In the beam of her flashlight, Chief Cartwright peered at them from over the edge, one hand wrapped around a stalagmite, the other frantically grasping at the slippery rock. The whites of his eyes stood out in the darkness, and his face was filled with terror.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “Hold on!” Ted shouted.

  Somewhat unnecessarily, in Lilliana’s opinion. The chief was already holding on for all he was worth.

  “Lilliana, move toward me. But stay close to the wall.”

  She nodded and turned her back to the wall, giving Ted as much room as possible to get past her. She stretched her arms out and felt the irregular surface with her fingers, inched her way forward. Ted brushed against her as he moved back toward the chief. He took off the backpack, knelt down, and opened it. He pulled out the length of rope he’d packed and made a lasso at one end. His life as a cowboy was going to come in handy.

  “I’m going to put this rope around you,” Ted said as he held up the lasso. “First under this hand—“he nodded toward the one clutching the edge“—and then I’m going to loop it around you by holding your other hand.” He tilted his head toward the hand that grasped the stalagmite. His voice was as calm as the surface of the now-distant pond. It didn’t hold a trace of the panic Lilliana felt threatening to burst from her in a nervous laugh or scream. She unconsciously raised her hand and covered her mouth.

  The chief nodded,
indicating he understood.

  “Can I help?” Lilliana asked.

  Ted looked over his shoulder at her. “No. I don’t want you slipping over the edge, too.”

  Ted grasped the chief’s wrist firmly and raised it barely enough to slide the rope underneath. Once that was accomplished, he lowered the chief’s hand back to the ground. Lilliana crept closer. Despite the danger, she wanted to see what was happening.

  Ted held the noose up in the air and slid the rope up the chief’s body and over his head. The chief’s right hand slipped a little bit on the damp surface, and Lilliana hoped he could hang on just a few more seconds. Ted wrapped his hand around the chief’s left hand, the one that grasped the stalagmite, and paused.

  “Ready?” Ted asked.

  “Yeah,” the chief said, although he didn’t look at all sure.

  As soon as Ted pulled the chief’s hand away from the stalagmite, the hand clutching the edge of the precipice slipped farther. Lilliana darted forward and grabbed for it as Ted rapidly looped the rope under the chief’s other hand. The pull from the weight of the chief’s body was strong, and Lilliana wasn’t sure she could hold on, but she heard the snap of the lasso being jerked tight around the chief. The weight threatening to pull her arm out of its socket lessened.

  Ted rose to his feet, the strain of supporting Chadwick’s weight etched on his face, the muscles of his arms bulging with the effort. Slowly he backed up, hauling the chief away from disaster. Lilliana added her strength as best she could while Ted pulled the chief upwards. Once he was high enough, Cartwright released his grip on the stalactite and pushed himself higher. Finally he flopped his body back on the trail, and Lilliana let out her held breath. The chief panted from the exertion. Or perhaps it was fear. Even Ted’s face looked a little gray in the lamplight.

  Once the chief caught his breath, he looked up at Ted from his prone position and said, “Thanks.” Then he turned toward Lilliana. “You, too, Mrs. Wentworth.”

  “Maybe we should turn back,” Lilliana said. She’d been shaken by how close the chief had been to falling and possibly dying.

  “It’s only a few more steps until we’re off this ledge and into another room,” Ted said. “We can catch our breath there before navigating our way back.”

  “I suppose it’s up to the chief,” Lilliana said.

  Cartwright sat up and wrapped his hands around his knees. His color was a little better, and his voice took on a false bravado. “I say we go ahead. It was my fault I went over the edge. I tried to see how deep it was and leaned over too far. From now on, I’ll stay close to the wall.”

  Lilliana doubted the truthfulness of his statement. The chief was probably too embarrassed to admit how afraid he’d been. The easiest way for him to prove his bravery would be to insist they continue. But she didn’t want to challenge his manhood. “Very well.” She turned to Ted. “Lead on, MacDuff!”

  Ted was true to his word. In fewer than ten steps the ledge opened out onto a platform overlooking another largish room of the cave. “Shine your light here,” Ted said, indicating the direction with the beam from his own flashlight.

  Lilliana’s light joined Ted’s in illuminating a tremendous column of limestone, a feature where a stalagmite and a stalactite had met eons ago and joined. It must have been three feet in diameter, with traceries of smaller stalactites flowing down its sides like icicles.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, in awe at the mammoth structure.

  “It is pretty, isn’t it?” the chief agreed.

  “Turn your light on the ceiling,” Ted said as he completed the action he’d instructed Lilliana to take.

  She gasped. Overhead thousands of delicate structures not only hung from the ceiling, but twisted and turned in defiance of gravity in patterns like frost on a window.

  “Those are called helictites,” Ted said as he played his light over them so they sparkled.

  “It’s like a fairyland,” Cartwright said, finally appreciating the uniqueness of the cave.

  Ted started, then recovered. “Yes, it is.” He turned to Lilliana. “You were asking what the name of the cave was.” He glanced up at the ceiling. “I call it Fairyland.”

  “And no wonder,” she said. “It’s the perfect name for this place.”

  “In more ways than one,” Ted said softly.

  Lilliana gave him a sharp stare. “What do you mean?”

  “There’s another passage up ahead. With all I’ve shown you, I think you can understand why I was so anxious to keep the cave secret.”

  “I get it now,” the chief said. “If people knew about it, this cave might become as big an attraction as Kartchner Caverns. Probably have all kinds of government people involved, too. Pretty soon, Rainbow Ranch wouldn’t be the nice, quiet town it is today. That wouldn’t sit well with the people who live here.”

  “Those were my thoughts, too,” Ted said. “We have to protect the town as well as the cave.”

  “And Bette was going to ruin both,” Lilliana said.

  Ted nodded. “She thought she could get Ellison to put up the money for the development of the cave. She was counting on a share of the profits for herself.” He took a deep breath. “But there’s more. Much more. What I’m going to show you at the end of the next passage really can’t be shared with anyone.” He waited for their agreement.

  Lilliana nodded back at him.

  “How much farther do we need to go? And how big is that passage?” the chief asked.

  “Oh, maybe thirty-forty yards,” Ted said. “The trail there isn’t quite as wet as the one we came over to get here.”

  “You know, I think I’ve seen enough,” the chief said. “Why don’t the two of you go ahead. I’ll wait here where there’s a big, flat space for me to stand on.”

  “You’re sure you won’t mind being alone?” Ted asked.

  The chief shook his head. “Not as long as you leave me one of those flashlights. And don’t dawdle too long.”

  Ted handed the chief his flashlight. “Just yell if you need us. Sound carries pretty good in here.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Ready, Lilliana?” Ted asked. He held out his hand to her.

  “I’m ready,” she replied as she took his hand.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  THEY stepped off into the darkness, Ted leading the way, his headlight beam shining just far enough ahead of them to see the path. The only sounds were the drip of water and the pad of their footsteps. Something about the intimacy of the darkness kept her from speaking. Ted must have felt it, too, because it was a long time before he said anything.

  “We’re coming to another narrow spot.” His voice was quiet, almost a whisper. “Follow me and you should have plenty of room.”

  “All right,” Lilliana whispered back.

  They continued in silence as they squeezed through the gap in the limestone wall. Lilliana felt rather than saw the space widen around them at the end of the passage. Ted stopped and Lilliana stepped up beside him.

  “I’m kind of glad the chief didn’t come with us,” Ted said.

  “Oh?” It was too late if Cartwright decided to tell the world about the secret of the cave. He’d already been shown enough of it to realize its commercial value.

  Ted looked bashful. “Uh, because he might not believe his eyes. And, if he did, he probably wouldn’t be able to keep quiet about what I’m going to show you next.”

  “What might that be?” asked Lilliana. She couldn’t think of anything that would be more impressive than what she’d already seen.

  “The real reason I call this place Fairyland.”

  It couldn’t be, she thought, but before she could ask for an explanation, Ted trotted out into this new room. Lilliana had to hurry to keep up with him, and she barely caught glances of their surroundings as they rushed through the inky chamber. Even so, the stalactites and stalagmites she glimpsed on either side were amazing. They passed by curtains of stone, striated red and white
, that resembled nothing so much as slices of bacon, and several columns almost as big as the one they’d seen in the big room. Now they were circling around a huge limestone formation shaped like a warrior’s shield. As they emerged on the other side, Lilliana saw an oval chamber, egg-like in its dimensions, the inside of it covered in those amazing helictites growing in multiple directions and sparkling in the light of Ted’s lamp. She raised her flashlight in order to better examine the formations.

  “Lower your light,” Ted hissed.

  Startled, she did as he asked.

  “Sorry,” Ted said. “But you need to keep the light down below eye level.” He turned and swept his hand toward a niche in the wall at about the same height as their eyes. The helictites crusting the niche glowed with a soft light of their own. Bioluminescence? Sunlight through a crack from the world above? Or magic?

  “This,” he said, “is Queen Esmeralda.”

  Lilliana blinked to clear her vision. What she was seeing couldn’t be possible. It must be a trick of the light, or some odd mold, or a bird trapped inside the cave. She’d made that mistake once before, she thought. Or had she? No matter how many times she blinked her eyes, the vision didn’t change. Seated on a purple silk pillow covering the top of a small stalagmite was a fairy.

  The fairy couldn’t have been more than six inches tall when standing. She had large, purple, butterfly wings which she waved slowly back and forth. She wore something like a ballet costume, white tights with a bustier that left her shoulders exposed, and a gossamer skirt over all.

  Lilliana looked at Ted, hoping for confirmation this was real. He nodded.

  “I am pleased to meet you, Queen Esmeralda,” she said. She extended a finger to shake hands with the fairy, then wondered if she shouldn’t bow instead.

  Esmeralda touched her finger, graciously showing she was not offended by the gesture. “And I you, Lilliana. Ted has told me so much about you.”

  “You have?” Lilliana asked Ted, her eyes wide.