“What have you done with Emma?” she demanded.
Confusion flickered across his eyes. “Emma? What are you talking about?”
“I know you have her in here.” Jolene’s eyes darted around the cavern seeking an escape route.
“You shouldn’t be in here … come with me.” Styles grabbed her elbow pulling her back toward the way she came.
Jolene jerked her arm away. “Don’t touch me!”
Styles stepped back; his hands came up in front of him, palms out. “Whoa there, I’m just trying to make sure you don’t get hurt.”
His voice was low, barely above a whisper. His eyes darted to the other passages giving him the look of a nervous maniac. She couldn’t see his aura, it was too dark in the tunnel but she sensed his energy and she knew he was up to something.
Had Styles discovered Emma in the mine and done something to her? Was he planning to do that same thing to Jolene?
Jolene knew she needed to get away from Styles. She peered over his shoulder anxiously. Her best route of escape was taking the tunnel she’d come in on—at least she knew where that one ended up. But, Styles was standing in front of it blocking her way out.
Jolene did the only other thing she could think of to get away—she pivoted on her heel and ran down one of the tunnels that led further into the mine.
Chapter Fifteen
“What does she mean by ‘our package won't wait’?” Morgan asked. “What’s in the package?”
“I have no idea.” Celeste frowned at the letter. “Maybe it has something to do with the treasure?”
“I still don’t see what she wants vindication for,” Fiona said.
“I think we need to read between the lines.” Cal looked down at the letters. “The letters reveal some things we didn’t know, right?”
“Sure, like Lily and Shorty were lovers … or in love … or whatever.” Morgan made a dismissive gesture with her hand.
“And that Deke wanted Lily for himself,” Fiona said.
“So we can conclude that there was friction between Deke and Shorty,” Cal added.
“In this letter Lily wrote that Deke would stop at nothing to make her his.” Celeste tapped the letter. “So, maybe he didn’t shoot Shorty because he was the stagecoach robber, maybe he shot him to get rid of him.”
Morgan shot out of her chair. “That’s right! She also said that Deke, being Sheriff, was the only one who knew what time the stagecoach was coming. What if he was really the robber and shooting Shorty was just a way of killing two birds with one stone?”
“Playing the hero that killed the robber and getting Shorty out of the way so he could have Lily to himself,” Fiona said.
“But no more robberies happened after Shorty was killed,” Celeste pointed out.
“Even better,” Fiona said. “That was a perfect setup. Deke probably already had enough money from the previous robberies, so all he had to do to prove he was right about Shorty was to simply not rob any more stagecoaches.”
“It’s a pretty good plan,” Cal added. “No one bothered to look into the robberies any further … and Deke gets the girl.”
“But why did he get the girl?” Morgan’s brow creased. “From the tone of the letters Lily didn’t like Deke much.”
Celeste screwed up her face. “That’s a good question. And then she remembered seeing the pink stone ring when Lily’s ghost put her hand on her stomach … as if …
“She was pregnant!” Celeste blurted out. “That was the package she referred to in the letter.”
“Shorty’s baby,” Fiona said.
“That might explain why she married Deke. She had to,” Morgan added. “Unwed mothers didn’t have a great life back in those days … and with Shorty dead, she didn’t have many options.”
“I guess it was lucky for Lily that Deke died two weeks after they married,” Fiona said. “At least she got the benefits of being the widow of the Sheriff.”
“Was it luck or something else?” Morgan went over to the book about Dead Water and flipped to the section with the pictures. She brought the book over to the table, holding it out. “See this picture of Lily with the garden in the background?”
“Umm hmm.”
“Well, look at that plant, right there.” Morgan tapped on a section of the photo. “Do you recognize it?”
Celeste pressed her face closer to the book. “That looks like wolfsbane!”
“It is wolfsbane,” Morgan said. “And we all know what wolfsbane can do.”
Celeste nodded. She knew exactly what wolfsbane could do—it was used in herbal remedies, but you had to be very careful because if used in excess it could act as a poison. Morgan had some growing in her herb garden back home and had been falsely accused of using it to kill someone earlier in the year.
“Emma said that Lily was an herbalist … she knew exactly how to use this plant,” Morgan added.
“So, she must have figured out that Deke killed Shorty under false pretenses. Maybe Deke even forced her to marry him somehow. But it looks like she might have gotten back at him in the end.” Celeste chuckled.
“I’m kind of glad she did. Deke sounds like a jerk,” Fiona added.
“So she wanted vindication for Shorty,” Cal said. “To let the world know he wasn’t the robber.”
“Wait. If Deke was the robber, then does that mean the treasure isn’t buried in Shorty’s mine?” Fiona looked at them uneasily and Celeste’s stomach sank.
What if the treasure wasn’t even in the mine and this was all a wild goose chase?
“But then what would the key be for?” Celeste asked.
“Actually, the perfect place for Deke to hide the treasure would be in Shorty’s section of the mine. That way he’d be able to come up with extra evidence that Shorty did it, in case anyone else came sniffing around,” Cal offered.
“That makes sense,” Celeste said. “That explains why Shorty’s ghost couldn’t see the markings on the wall—Deke must have made them after he killed Shorty.”
“There’s only one way to find out for sure.” Cal pushed his chair back and stood. “We need to take a trip to Dead Water and ask Lily.”
***
Jolene’s heart pounded against her ribcage as she ran down the tunnel, the flashlight illuminating only a couple of feet in front of her. The sounds of Style’s voice echoing through the chambers behind her telling her to come back made her run faster.
A split in the tunnel made her stop short.
Left or right?
She bolted into the tunnel on the right and ran smack dab into a wall of hard muscle and flesh.
Jerking back from the arms that tried to grab her, she clenched her hands into fists and brought them up to fight whoever it was. Strong hands clamped on her wrists holding her still.
“Hey now, hold on there.”
Jolene gasped as she recognized the voice.
“Kyle? What are you doing in here?” Jolene narrowed her eyes at the handsome bartender while relief at seeing a friendly face flooded through her.
Was the whole town in the mine today?
Kyle let go of her wrists and Jolene sucked in a deep breath. She took a step backward, although she had to admit standing that close to Kyle wasn’t all that unpleasant. But still, why was he here?
“Why were you running? Are you lost?” He answered her question with a question. “And what are you doing in here?”
“I saw Emma’s dogs outside and thought she might be in here hurt or something,” Jolene said. “Have you seen her?”
Kyle’s face turned hard at the mention of Emma. “No, but you’re right about getting hurt in here. Especially running in here. Let me show you the way out.”
Kyle grabbed her elbow a little more forcefully than was necessary and Jolene felt a prickle of warning in her gut. She wasn’t sure if she should trust him, but he was already pushing her down a small tunnel that led off to the side.
Boots scuffed on the ground behind them and she felt K
yle’s hand tense on her elbow.
“You brought the bitch to us … good work!”
Jolene’s blood froze. She spun around to see a dark haired man, his thick mustache hovering over his menacing smile. The large gun in his hand was pointed right at her.
“Bring her this way.” The man gestured with his gun to a tunnel on the right. “We’ll keep her with the old lady.”
Old lady? Did he mean Emma?
Kyle’s grip on her elbow grew tighter and she looked up at him with questioning eyes. His face turned hard and he jerked her toward the tunnel.
“Sure, Buck,’ Kyle addressed the other man. “I was just trying to get her down there.”
What was going on here?
Jolene felt her anger surge. Emma had been right—something was going on in the mine and she’d stumbled right into it. God only knew what they’d done to Emma … and what they had in store for her.
With a start, Jolene realized she might have been playing right into Kyle’s hands all along. Clearly, these men were here after the treasure. No wonder he had seemed so interested in her—had she given anything away during any of their conversations?
She felt a surge of energy as Kyle shoved her further into the tunnel. Her gift with energy encompassed much more than simply reading people’s auras, she could harness energy under certain situations. Like when she was mad or scared. Like now. The problem was, she hadn’t learned how to fully control it and she was never sure what would happen once she got into that “state.”
Jolene tried to keep her anger in check. She realized that not only were they leading her to Emma, but they might be also taking her straight to the treasure. Better to wait and unleash her angry energy on them when she could keep Emma safe—and after she figured out what they knew about the treasure.
Chapter Sixteen
Celeste’s stomach churned with anxiety as Cal drove the Jeep toward Dead Water.
“How are we going to convince Lily to give us the key?” Celeste glanced at Cal, and then turned to look at her sisters in the back seat. “Vindication for Shorty isn’t something we can do right away.”
“That’s a good question,” Fiona said. “Did she say what, exactly, she wanted?”
Celeste’s brow creased. “No.”
“Maybe you need to read between the lines … like with the letters,” Cal offered. “Did she do anything to show you what she wanted?”
Celeste pushed back into her seat as she searched her mind for all the interactions she’d had with Lily’s ghost. She’d never said anything … or shown her anything. Wait! Maybe she had …
“In the cemetery, she was weeping over one of the unmarked graves in the back,” Celeste said. “Maybe that was Shorty’s grave.”
“Probably unmarked because he died a criminal,” Morgan added.
“So we could get him a nice headstone,” Fiona offered.
“But that’s not something we can do this afternoon.” Celeste sighed.
“We could correct that book on Dead Water too,” Morgan suggested. “You know … add a new edition or something.”
“Maybe, but again, not something we can show Lily right away.” Celeste glanced out the window. They were passing Emma’s property and she could just see her trailer off in the distance. The sight of it sparked something in her mind. “Well I guess now we know why Shorty left his land to Lily.”
Fiona’s brows creased together then her face lit. “Of course! He must have had a will made in case something happened … he knew the sheriff was after him and he wanted to take care of Lily and the baby.”
“And that also means that Emma is descended from Shorty … not the sheriff.” Morgan stared out the window as Cal turned onto the road that led to Dead Water.
“She’ll probably be happy to hear that,” Celeste said. “And to know that her great-grandmother was right to stick by Shorty since he didn’t rob the coaches.”
“And that she was right all along that the treasure wasn’t on her land,” Fiona added. “But I wonder how that ring got out there?”
“Good question,” Celeste said. As they pulled into Dead Water and parked in the middle of the street, a tingle of nervousness flirted with her stomach.
Would Lily even be here?
She’d never conjured up a ghost before—they usually came to her. Everyone was expecting her to talk to Lily and get the key. She just hoped she wouldn’t let them down.
“I’d love to explore all these buildings, but we have more important things to do,” Cal said. “How do we get this ghost to come out and show us where the key is?”
Celeste shrugged. “That’s a good question. We can start in the saloon. I’ve seen her there a few times.”
They walked over to the old building that was once a thriving saloon. Celeste had been inside so many times she was starting to feel like it was a home away from home. She led the way through the open door and they all stood inside watching the dust motes float in the strips of sunlight.
“Lily?” Celeste ventured. “Are you here?”
Silence.
“We know that Shorty didn’t rob the stagecoaches. We can change the book and get him a headstone.”
Silence.
“We did our part, now you need to show us the key.”
Celeste heard a slight rustling sound, then a thud over by the door. She turned just in time to see a white blur streak past.
“Meow!”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Belladonna!”
She rushed over to the door with her sisters and Cal behind her. They burst out onto the street and looked north. Sure enough, there was Belladonna trotting down the road away from them.
“What is she doing here?” Morgan stared at the cat.
“I’m not sure, but I think she might be trying to tell us something.” Celeste threw one quick glance over her shoulder into the empty saloon before taking off down the road after the cat.
***
Jolene stumbled into the cavern. Large hands gave a rough push on her back that sent her sprawling to the floor. She glared over her shoulder at Kyle before getting up. Brushing the dirt off her pants, she looked around the room.
This must have been one of the sections of the mine that held larger deposits of gold. It had been chiseled into, drilled out and carved on every section and was large—about twenty feet by twenty feet. Tunnels led off the room in different directions. The cavern itself was lit up with battery-powered lanterns that hung from on the walls. Jolene could see a set of metal tracks that ran into the middle from one of the tunnels. She presumed it was an old system for the carts that would be loaded up with gold and wheeled out.
A cart stood in the middle of the tracks. Loaded. But not with gold.
“Guns? This is about guns?” Jolene looked at the scruffy men who were bent over the cart loading it with various types of weapons. She recognized some as machine guns … others she had no idea what they were.
Buck laughed, an evil sound that echoed around the cavern. “Yeah. What’d you think it was?”
Jolene noticed everyone staring at her so she just shrugged.
So, keeping them out of the mine wasn’t about the treasure after all. The Sheriff didn’t want them to discover this gun business … whatever it was. Surely illegal.
A moan jerked Jolene’s attention to the corner and she saw Emma lying in a heap. She rushed over, squatting by the older woman.
“Emma, are you okay?” Jolene pulled her to a sitting position, noticing they’d tied her hands behind her back.
“Yes.” Emma nodded. “What are you doing here?”
“I saw Clive and Lucy outside the mine and thought you might be hurt inside,” Jolene said.
“Are they okay?” Emma’s look of concern for her dogs melted Jolene’s heart.
“They’re fine,” Jolene said. “They wouldn’t step a foot inside the mine.”
“I guess they’re smarter than us, then,” Emma said ruefully.
“What is go
ing on in here?” Jolene looked back over her shoulder just in time to see Buck leering at her with a piece of rope in his hand.
“Tie her up too.” He threw the rope to Kyle. “I’ll deal with her after we have these guns loaded up.”
Kyle stepped up close to her and spun her around. He grabbed her wrists in a death lock and jerked them back so hard that she cried out, which elicited a laugh from Buck.
“You’ll be crying harder than that soon,” he said causing the four other men in the room to laugh. Jolene’s stomach curdled. She tried to struggle, but Kyle held her too firmly.
He looped the rope around her wrists, but where she expected to feel the hard bite of them tearing into her flesh, she felt only a light pressure. She looked at Kyle and he shook his head.
He finished with the ropes and pushed her down next to Emma.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he whispered than walked away.
Jolene wriggled her wrists—the rope was so loose she could get out of it easily. Had Kyle tied it loosely on purpose?
Emma leaned over toward her. “I knew something strange was going on. I saw activity and came up to investigate. Too bad Sheriff Kane found me before I could get a shot off at these guys.”
“Kane?” Jolene looked at Emma. “He’s behind this?”
“Yep. I guess that’s why he didn’t want anyone in here and why he wanted to buy up my land and put the hotel out of business,” Emma said. “Looks like he’s got some black market gun selling business going on out of here and didn’t want anyone stumbling on it. I guess my property and the hotel were just too close for comfort.”
“Shut up over there!” Buck shouted. He dumped a load of guns onto the cart then thumped his fist on the side and one of the men took off, pushing it out of the cavern.
He sauntered over to Jolene and leaned down in front of her. She gasped as he jerked her up by the arm. Pushing her against the wall he leaned in, his face a fraction of an inch away. His dark, beady eyes drilled into hers and she could smell the stale stench of old food and coffee on his breath.
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