by Nerys Leigh
Ben watched him carefully. “No, I don’t.”
He sat back again, his hands this time sliding from the tabletop. “You think I did it?”
Ben moved one hand surreptitiously towards his gun. “Did you?”
“No, I didn’t do it! What motive could I possibly have?”
“I’m guessing that skull is worth quite a bit.”
Hall snorted a humorless laugh. “Not as much as you’d think. Its main value is scientific. I’m being paid far more to be here than that skull would get, believe me.”
Ben liked to think he was pretty good at telling when people were lying, but he wasn’t infallible. And with Hall, he wasn’t sure. Either way, he clearly wouldn’t get anything more out of him.
He dropped his hand from where it rested casually by his revolver. “Thanks for your time. Looks like we still have work to do.”
Hall nodded and returned to his paperwork as Ben left.
Kitty rushed up to him as soon as he stepped outside. “What happened?”
He glanced back at the closed tent flap. “Let’s go back to our tent.”
Once there, he checked to make sure no one was around before they went in. Not that he expected anyone to be following them. What would be the point? It wasn’t like they knew anything.
“So what happened?” Kitty asked again, once they were inside.
Ben dropped onto one of the chairs at the table. “He says he has no idea who made the coffee and that he has no motive to steal the skull. He says he’s being paid more to be there than the thing is worth if he sold it.”
She removed the hat he’d given her and fussed at her hair. “Do you think he was telling the truth?”
He pulled his own hat from his head and tossed it onto his cot. “Honestly? I don’t know.”
“So what’s next?”
“We still have to question Rollins about why he didn’t think it was anyone from the other camp who did it, but he’s up at the dig and I’d prefer to get him on his own so he’ll speak freely. In the meantime, we could do a more thorough search of the camp, see if anything comes up.”
She opened her mouth to speak and slapped her hand over it as she yawned.
He smiled. “Or you could take a nap.”
The truth was, he was somewhat sleepy himself. The journey from Denver had tired him out more than he cared to admit.
She lowered her hand. “I am tired. Maybe a nap would do me good.”
“I think I’ll join you.” He laughed when her eyebrows rose. “I meant in the nap, not in the bed.” He looked at their cots. “I’m not sure we’d both fit on one of those things anyway.”
Although they could have a lot of fun trying.
Fortunately, she had already turned away to her cot, so she didn’t see his face heat at the idea of fitting on there with her.
What was wrong with him? He never blushed. Maybe Kitty’s were contagious.
~ ~ ~
Kitty woke from her nap to the sight of Ben fast asleep on his cot.
He lay on his side, facing her, and she took the opportunity to gaze at him to her heart’s content. The way she always wanted to when he was awake but didn’t dare. A lock of sandy blond hair had dropped across his eyes and his jaw was just beginning to darken with the day’s beard growth. He was just about the most handsome man she’d ever met.
No, not just about. He was the most handsome man she’d ever met, which didn’t at all help her growing feelings for him.
He shifted a little, drawing in a deep breath as he woke, and she snapped her eyes closed. She didn’t want him to know she’d been watching him sleep.
“You’re really going to have to stop pretending to be asleep, Kitten. You’re not very good at it.”
She sighed and opened her eyes to see him smiling. “How can you tell?”
“Now where would the fun be in telling you that?”
She shook her head in exasperation, but a smile nevertheless tugged at her lips. She couldn’t remember ever having smiled so much as she did with Ben.
He sat up and dug a watch from his pocket. “We’d better get going if we’re going to speak to Rollins before supper.”
They reached the kitchen just as the first few men were forming a line for supper.
They loitered close by, waiting for Mr. Rollins to arrive. When he did, they took him aside.
“What’s going on?” he asked, frowning.
“We want to ask you a few questions,” Ben replied. “It won’t take long. We just thought you’d prefer to talk in private.”
Mr. Rollins’ frown deepened. “I didn’t take the skull. If anyone told you I did, they’re lying.”
“No one’s accused you of anything. All we want to know is why you thought it wasn’t Zane Ashwood’s camp who stole it while everyone else thought it was.”
He glanced away. “It was just a feeling, that’s all.”
Kitty still wasn’t convinced Ben was right that her being a woman helped in dealing with the men in the camp. But just in case he was, she decided to do something that, even a few days ago, would have been unthinkable.
Stepping forward, she placed her hand on Mr. Rollins’ arm. “If you know something, it would be a great help to us. No one will know the information came from you.”
He looked down at her hand and then into her eyes.
She forced herself to give him an encouraging smile before removing her hand from his arm. It had taken so much effort to do even that much that she had to fight the urge to run away.
Mr. Rollins blew out a breath. “All right. The night the skull went missing, I had to get up when it was just getting light to…” he cleared his throat, flicking a brief glance at Kitty, “relieve myself. Anyway, I saw a wagon driving into the camp from the track that runs east, up the side of the valley, which I thought was strange since no one would be going anywhere that early in the morning.”
“What’s up that way?” Ben asked.
“Nothing much. I think it’s an old mining road, but now it just goes up into the hills a way and peters out. There might be a disused mine up there.”
“What was in the wagon?”
“Nothing. Which was also strange because why wouldn’t they just take a horse if they had nothing to carry?”
“Unless they were returning after taking something away,” Kitty murmured.
“Exactly. Only I didn’t really think anything of it until I heard later that the skull had been stolen.”
“Who was driving the wagon?” Ben asked.
Mr. Rollins shifted his feet, glancing around them. “I don’t know for sure. It was still pretty dark and I couldn’t see his face.”
“But you have a suspicion?”
He sighed and nodded. “I’m sure I’m wrong, but at the time, I got the impression that it was Edwin Hall.”
Chapter Nine
Kitty awoke the following morning feeling refreshed and ready for the new day, with her tiredness from the previous day gone.
Stretching beneath the blankets, she opened her eyes.
And gasped.
Ben put his book down on the cot beside him. “Finally. I was getting chilly.”
He was already dressed, from the waist down. His upper half was disconcertingly bare.
She tried to keep her eyes on his face. It wasn’t easy. “What, um… what are you d-doing?”
“Waiting for you to wake up. I know how much you like seeing this.” He waved a hand over his naked torso. “So I didn’t want to deprive you.” He stood, gazed to one side, and flexed his biceps in a pose. “Let me know when you’re done feasting your eyes.”
Her cheeks burning, she burst into giggles. “You’re so wicked.”
Grinning, he grabbed his shirt from where it lay across the end of the cot. “I know.”
He shrugged on the shirt and buttoned it up. It was only when he’d finished that she realized she’d been staring at him the entire time.
He raised his eyebrows with a smirk.
<
br /> Squeezing her eyes closed with an embarrassed whimper, she pulled the blanket over her head. It was tugged from her face a few seconds later to reveal Ben crouched beside her cot.
“Good morning, Kitten.” He leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead, just as he’d done the previous day. “I’ll be back with your water for washing.”
She watched him rise and walk from the tent, releasing a sigh when he was gone. She knew she was only fooling herself, but she couldn’t seem to stop the pattering of her heart when he was near, or the tingling of her skin when he kissed her or held her hand.
There was no doubt she was in big trouble. How she would fix her broken heart when they parted, she had no idea.
~ ~ ~
Following breakfast, Ben went to speak to Mr. Webster. He returned to their tent, where Kitty was waiting, a few minutes later.
“Webster’s agreed to let us take two of the horses.”
She bit her lip, embarrassed to admit her lack of experience. “I’ve never ridden a horse before. As a Pinkerton agent, I probably should know how.”
It didn’t appear to bother him. “That’s all right. We’ll just take one.”
Not knowing how to ride turned out to be not as much of a drawback as Kitty had been thinking. In fact, taking one horse instead of two on their search for the missing skull had some wonderful benefits.
“Comfortable?” Ben murmured into her ear.
“Mm hmm.”
Her heart was thudding, but other than that, she was thoroughly enjoying being in the saddle with Ben seated behind her, his chest pressed against her back and his arms encircling her to hold the reins. After a while, she even forgot her fear of being so far off the ground on an animal with a somewhat disconcerting gait. Ben wouldn’t let her fall; she had no doubt of that.
They made their way east from the camp, crossed the river, and soon found the old track leading up into the hills that Mr. Rollins had told them about.
Kitty studied the ground as they rode. “I wish it hadn’t rained last night and washed everything away. I can’t tell whether a wagon has come up here recently or not.”
“Tracks would have been helpful,” Ben replied. “But if there is an abandoned mine, it would be the perfect place to hide a stolen dinosaur skull in a hurry. I’m hoping it won’t be too difficult to find.”
A large, recently-fallen branch lying to the side of the track drew her attention. “Could you stop the horse?”
Shifting a little behind her, he said, “Whoa,” and they came to a halt. “What is it?”
She studied the branch then looked up at the tree from which it had fallen, locating the point where it had broken from the trunk.
She pointed at the branch. “This is in the wrong position. See where it came from? It should have fallen across the track, but here it is, pointing in the wrong direction. And it must have come down in the past week or so because the leaves are drying but still attached.”
She felt Ben nod behind her. “Someone moved it out of the way. Well spotted. You really don’t miss anything, do you?”
The pride in his voice filled her with warmth. She wanted him to think she had something useful to contribute, even if it didn’t involve asserting herself in any way.
They moved off again, continuing up the rough track, and eventually came to a wide, flat area roughly a hundred feet across, hemmed in on all sides by scree-laden slopes. The track continued up into the mountains on the far side of the clearing.
“There,” Ben said, pointing past her to a cluster of scrubby trees.
The leafy tangle of branches provided an effective camouflage, but she could make out wooden timbers supporting the entrance to a tunnel.
Ben guided their horse up to the mine, slid to the ground, and reached both hands up for her.
She looked down at herself. “How do I…?”
“Keep your weight on your left foot, push up a little from the saddle, and swing your right foot around over the back. I’ll lift you down from there.”
She considered that in her mind. “How do I keep my skirt from riding up?”
He gave her the mischievous smile that made her stomach wobble. “Since we’re married, and you’ve already seen me in a state of semi-undress, I don’t think you need to worry about flashing an ankle. I promise I won’t stare, no matter how much I want to. Even though you get to stare at my naked chest every morning.”
Her attempt to look stern was ruined by the smile tugging at her lips. “You’re the one who waited for me to wake up so I’d see you.”
“That’s because of my naturally generous disposition.” He beckoned to her with his fingers. “Come on. I won’t let you fall.”
Hoping she didn’t make a complete fool of herself, she did as he instructed, standing up in the stirrups and slowly rotating her right leg over the horse’s rump. Her stomach jolted as Ben gathered her into his arms, settling her against his chest as he had when he’d carried her across the river.
“Not one glimpse of an ankle,” he said with a sigh. “Sadly, your virtue is safe.”
He was so close. If she leaned forward a little, their lips could easily meet.
She swallowed. “You can put me down now.”
Smiling as if he knew exactly what was on her mind, he lowered her gently to the ground and bowed with a flourish. “Your wish is my command, my lady.”
With a playfulness she mostly didn’t dare reveal, she curtseyed in return. “My gallant knight.”
He caught hold of her hand and brought it to his lips, and the kiss he brushed across the back made her skin tingle. As usual.
He tied the horse to a low branch where it could reach the grass growing around the trees then took the lantern he’d brought with them from where he’d attached it to the saddle.
Kitty walked to the mine entrance and pushed aside the foliage to peer inside. Shaded by branches as it was, the sunlight didn’t reach very far, but it was enough to see the roughly hewn walls and dusty ground.
“Someone’s been in here,” she said, her eyes following the jumble of footprints to where they disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.
Ben walked up beside her. “Recent, too.”
“How can you tell?”
“There are no animal tracks across them. To an animal, this is a cave. Lots of things like to live in caves.”
Suddenly nervous, she stared into the darkness. “Do you think there’s anything in there now?”
“Probably not.” He pulled a box of matches from his pocket and set about lighting the lantern. “As I said, no tracks.”
Despite her absolute trust in him, she wasn’t overly reassured.
He gave her shoulder a light squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from anything we find. Although it’ll likely be nothing bigger than a spider.”
Spiders terrified her. “Oh. That’s all right then.”
He started into the tunnel, lantern held out in front of him to drive back the darkness. She followed, attempting to simultaneously watch the floor for tracks, the ceiling for spiders, and the way ahead for wild animals. She needed more eyes.
As they made their way along the tunnel, they passed a broken wooden beam that appeared to have fallen from the ceiling.
Ben held his lantern high to inspect the gap in the supports. “We probably shouldn’t spend too long here, just in case.”
She added the possibility of millions of tons of rock collapsing on them to her list of things to be nervous about.
Forty feet in, the tunnel opened out into a circular room roughly thirty feet across. Further tunnels punctuated the wall at intervals around them and Ben checked each one before joining Kitty where she stood studying the floor.
She pointed out a rectangular impression in the dust. “This looks about the size the crate containing the skull would be, don’t you think?”
He moved the lantern so the light spilled over the markings. “I’d say so. Looks like it was dragged back towards the ent
rance.”
“So the thief brought the skull here after he took it then sometime afterwards moved it out again. Why would he do that?”
He looked around them. “Maybe because we arrived and he wanted somewhere more secure? I don’t know. At least we know it was here though.”
Movement in the shadows caught her eye and she gasped, grabbing his arm with both hands.
“What’s wrong?” He followed her gaze to a sizable spider at the foot of the wall. “Oh.” Passing the lantern into his left hand, he drew his gun. “Stay behind me. I’ll protect you.”
She stifled a giggle. “Fear of spiders is perfectly natural. Some of them are venomous. They have black widows here, you know.” Although the spider they faced now wasn’t one of them, thankfully. She’d seen pictures in a book once.
“So you’re only afraid of the venomous ones?”
“I prefer to not answer that.”
Chuckling, he re-holstered his gun. “Well, if we’re done here we should…”
“Hold on.” Letting go of his arm, she took a tentative step towards the spider, tensed to run if it showed any sign of heading in her direction. “What is that?”
He leaned forward, holding out the lantern. “What?”
She pointed to a spot close to the spider where something glinted in the dust and rubble piled at the foot of the wall. “That shiny thing.”
“Some kind of brooch, maybe?”
“It might have been dropped by the thief. Go and get it.” When he didn’t move, she looked back at him. “What’s wrong?”
He rolled his shoulders, his gaze fixed on the spider. “Nothing. I’m just… nothing.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Oh, I see.”
She could have teased him for being as nervous as she was, but she chose to be the better person. This time.
There was a pile of debris a little way away by the wall and she walked over to pick up a long metal rod. “Would this help?”
He took it from her. “Thanks.”
She stood behind him as he leaned forward, gingerly extending the rod towards the spider from as far away as possible.
The end touched one leg, and it skittered sideways. Kitty and Ben yelped in unison, leaping back.
