by Clay, Verna
She glanced at him, frowning. "Are you feeling okay? You seem a little out of it. We can do this later."
"No. I feel fine. Just…dreaming."
"Hmm. Want to share your dream?"
He smiled. "Not yet…but soon."
They traveled a little farther and she pointed out landmarks. "Those are the Weaver Mountains, Phoenix is that way, Flagstaff and Sedona are that way. You can see Schneider's mine over there and the town not far from the mine."
"So the bandits would have had a bird's eye view of happenings from this vantage point."
"I never thought about that, but yes."
"And remember a day trip would probably have started from your grandfather's property."
"Yes. So we should view the area with that in mind." She pulled the car to the side of the road where an outcropping of craggy rocks lifted and tumbled across the desert floor. The lookout wasn't exceptionally high, but elevated enough that the panoramic view was stupendous. Collin stood beside the car leaning on his crutches. His gaze followed the rocky outcropping that extended about a hundred feet into the desert.
Dottie said, "Adventuresome folk climb the rocks and sit on the edge."
Collin said, "Dottie, please don't tell me you're feeling adventuresome, because there's no way I'm letting you–"
She lifted her hand. "Ah, Collin, I'll leave that kind of adventure to Zack and Zeke."
Collin released a sigh of relief. "This is a good vantage point." He pointed. "Your house is there. So how far do you think men on horses could venture in a day?"
She laughed. "You're asking me? You're the one who calculated where the Vittoria was."
Collin looked pensive and absentmindedly drew circles in the dirt with his right crutch. "Well, I think they could venture at least as far as we are now. Why don't we start from this area and look for a wash or dry creek bed or anything that resembles the squiggly line on the map. I'll look in this direction and you look in the opposite."
They scanned the terrain for several minutes.
Dottie said, "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Collin replied, "It sure is. The sun is setting. Maybe we should come back in the morning and view the area from different lighting."
"Okay. I'll even pack a picnic lunch. We may be here for awhile." Dottie reached to open her car door.
Collin gave the scene one last perusal and shifted his crutches. He started to turn, paused to watch the play of light as the sun dropped behind the Weaver Mountains, and exclaimed, "Dottie!"
She jumped from behind the driver's wheel. "What! Do you see something?"
"Honey, come look at this."
He made a waving motion. "Look at the shadow cast by those boulders."
Dottie gasped. "It's like the map, twisty and shaded on one side."
Collin pointed. "It starts there with that outcropping and ends at that far one."
"Oh, Collin, I've got to go down there to look for a rock that resembles an Indian brave."
Collin placed his hand over hers. "Not tonight, love. And not by yourself."
"Okay. Tomorrow. I'll call Max to see if he can come with me." Her fingers squeezed Collin's and she lifted her other hand to motion back down the road. "We can park at that bend and walk out from there. It shouldn't take too long to get there."
"You're right. Here's what we should do. Tomorrow, before the shadow appears, you drop me off here." He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and looked at it. "Good. There's service. I'll bring field glasses and use my cell phone to talk you and Max to the spot where the shadow ends."
"Yes!" Dottie exclaimed. Back in the car, she whipped out her phone and called Max.
Collin grinned at her enthusiasm.
She hung up with a delighted smile. "He said he'd love to help out."
Chapter 39: There's No "X" To Mark The Spot
Dottie was so excited about their discovery that she couldn't fall asleep until after midnight and she woke at the crack of dawn. She entered the kitchen to find Collin already at the table sipping coffee. She said, "I hardly slept last night thinking about today. Is this how you feel when you're on the verge of discovery?"
Collin patted the chair next to him. "Do you know what an adorable treasure hunter you are?"
Dottie blushed. "I guess I'm going a little overboard. We may not find anything."
"But then again, we might."
Dottie brightened. "Yes! We might!"
Collin's gaze roamed her face and Dottie's heart thudded. If she didn't do something, she was going to lean into him and kiss him passionately. She jumped up. "How about breakfast? You know treasure hunters need to eat hearty breakfasts," she teased.
The day turned into one of the slowest of Dottie's life. Finally, a couple of hours before sunset, Max showed up and Dottie introduced the men.
Collin shook Max's hand. "I had the pleasure of meeting your grandfather several years back when my company was just getting started and looking for investors."
"Did he invest?" asked Max.
"No. He decided to pass."
Max laughed. "With all your discoveries, I'll bet he's kicking himself now and I can't wait to razz him."
Collin laughed, "Maybe he'll consider investing now?"
Max said, "Maybe. And maybe I will, too."
The camaraderie between the men warmed Dottie's heart. While she poured Max a cup of coffee, she asked about Pilar, Willie, and Max IV.
Max said, "Everyone is healthy, happy, and very…" he laughed, "vocal. Pilar has never been the shy, retiring type and Willie keeps me apprised daily of the latest major league baseball stats. As for Max IV, he takes after his mother, definitely not shy or retiring, especially at two in the morning." Max smiled widely. "But I wouldn't trade my life for anything."
For a second, Dottie remembered the first time she'd met Max. He'd seemed annoyed, almost hostile. It was later that she'd learned he was angry at his grandfather for sending him to the desert to manage a trailer park. This Max she was now joking with couldn't have been further in disposition from the other one. She was happy for him and his beautiful family. She glanced at Collin and saw him watching her with an expression that looked like…desire?
Quickly, she brought the conversation around to the Manfred Schneider Gold Heist. Collin explained everything they'd discovered thus far, and Dottie read aloud the letter about Pat's Indian.
Collin glanced at his watch. "I guess we better get going."
They arrived at the lookout with plenty of time to spare before sunset. Collin pointed to the area they were interested in and explained how the lighting created a wavy line that was shadowed on one side.
Max said, "I feel like a kid, Collin. If I invest in your company, will you take me on some treasure hunts?"
Collin chuckled, "You can bet on it." He said to Dottie, "Ready?"
"Yes." She lifted her cell phone. "I'll call when we reach the outlying rocks."
Dottie drove her car back to the bend in the road and she and Max made their way down a small incline onto the desert floor. They headed toward a large outcropping of jagged boulders. The sun began to set and she called Collin.
He said, "I see you. You need to correct your path a little northeastward."
Dottie skated around some scrub brush, changing her direction somewhat.
Over the phone, Collin said, "Perfect. Continue in that direction."
Dottie said, "The shadow is not as obvious from down here." She continued walking with Max.
Collin said, "You're there!"
Dottie paused, wiped a trickle of sweat off her neck and said to Max, "We're here. I guess we should just start by looking for a rock that looks like an Indian brave. Too bad there's no 'X' to mark the spot."
Max set the pack he was carrying on the ground. Inside it was a pick axe, short handled shovel, metal probe, and a gallon of water. He puffed a breath. "Good thing it's not July or August. The weather would be unbearable."
Dottie lowered h
er own backpack carrying drinking water. "Max, I really appreciate this. I'm sorry–"
He lifted his hand. "Say no more. I'm not complaining. I'd carry a wheel barrel just to be a part of this. Whether we find anything or not…I'm happy to be here."
Dottie pointed. "Why don't I start looking at the rocks over there," she pointed in the opposite direction, "and you start there? It may be a smaller rock because the drawing showed it smaller than the rest. Then we'll switch off in case either of us missed something."
Max nodded. "You're the boss."
Dottie updated Collin and he agreed that it was a good plan. For at least an hour Dottie and Max studied one rock formation after another, but neither of them saw anything that resembled an Indian. She said, "I wish we knew more about the Indian; whether it's a profile, full face, or whole body."
The shadows deepened. Collin rang Dottie cell phone. "You better head back. I don't want you walking in the dark."
"Okay. We should come back tomorrow." She glanced at Max with a questioning look.
He nodded. "I'm available as long as you need me."
She smiled her gratitude and turned to gather her backpack. One of the pockets wasn't zipped and a water bottle slid out. It rolled down a slight incline and she rushed to retrieve it. It stopped when it bumped the base of a rock. She reached for the bottle, stared at the formation in front of her, and blinked. She blinked again. She was looking at a rock about two feet tall that resembled the upper body of an Indian in profile with a bow and arrow raised and ready for release. She gasped and shouted, "Max! Look here!"
Max rushed over and exclaimed, "Looks just like an Indian ready to shoot an arrow. Hell, we've been looking all around and it's been right at our feet all the time."
Dottie grabbed her cell phone and punched speed dial. "Collin, we found the Indian!"
The dilemma before them now was whether to begin digging or wait until the next day. Dottie waited for Collin's decision. He decided to wait until the next morning.
Chapter 40: What Now?
Dottie stared at her ceiling. Tonight she definitely couldn't sleep. Wonderment over their discovery of the Indian had her stomach dancing with butterflies. Would they discover a gold shipment stolen years earlier? If they did, her life would never be the same. The press would descend like vultures wanting the story of the decade—a plane crash, two attempted murders, sunken treasure in the Devil's Triangle, and recovery of Schneider's gold.
But her life would also be different because she was different. She had tasted a part of herself she'd always known existed, but had never examined closely. She was an adventurer. She was a treasure hunter at heart, but not only of tangible treasure. She wanted to explore the depths of Collin's heart and her own heart and discover the treasures buried there. She wanted to love him unfettered by her own analysis of herself as being inadequate. She wanted to break free of limitations her mind had constructed to protect her heart.
Lifting her hands to her mouth, she held back a sob. She needed to talk to Collin—now! No longer could she hide behind her façade. She had to tell him who she was and how she felt about him. Now!
Before she could talk herself out of it, she jumped from bed, donned her old housecoat and rushed from her room. She knocked on Collin's door, lightly at first, and then harder.
His voice, deep and a little scratchy, called, "Come in."
She opened the door, but remained in the entrance.
"Dottie is everything all right?" he questioned.
She took a step into the room. "Collin. I've got to tell you something while I have the courage. I don't know why, but I feel like everything's going to change tomorrow. I feel like I won't be the same person, like I'll…I'll metamorphose into someone else. And right now, I don't know if that's good or bad."
"I'm listening."
"Okay. Here goes." She inhaled, placed a hand over the butterflies swimming in her stomach, and blurted, "Being with you has shown me that I'm an adventurer. That I love the challenge of searching for treasure. I even embrace the danger. You've shown me that I'm not only Dottie who owns a dime store and lives a sedate, simple life, but I'm Diving Dottie who loves the ocean. I'm Dottie who loves…you. And I couldn't go another day without telling you. You…" she gulped. "You make me burn with desire." She bit her bottom lip. "There. I've said it. Now I'll let you go back to sleep." She turned to leave.
"Dottie!" Collin exclaimed.
Her heart pounded and she didn't have the courage to turn back around.
Softer, he said, "Now it's my turn."
She started to tremble. Was her heart about to be shattered?
"You are the most amazing woman I have ever met."
Her heart sank. Was he trying to let her down easy?
"You're a contradiction that drives me crazy. Sometimes you're the picture of domesticity and other times you're wanton in your desire for adventure. I see it in your eyes and it makes me want to bury my body inside yours just to touch that elusiveness that is you."
Dottie's eyes widened and she whirled around.
Collin continued, "After our encounter in Florida, I wanted to come to you so many times, but I felt guilty for bringing you into my mess. Since our return to Oasis, I've had to hold myself back from declaring my love. I just…I just didn't think I could take rejection if you didn't feel the same way. And how could I ask you to become a part of my life that is so chaotic. How–"
Dottie raced the distance separating them and knelt beside the bed. "Ask me, Collin," she whispered.
He reached to smooth her hair. "Dottie, my love, will you marry me? Will you let me explore the essence of you that drives me crazy with desire?"
Dottie placed her lips on his. "Oh, yes."
Collin pulled her onto the bed and she moved above his body. Her hair fell forward over his face when she leaned down to softly kiss him.
He cupped the sides of her head and whispered against her lips, "You're the most precious treasure I've ever discovered. I love you."
With boldness, Dottie whispered back, "I love treasure hunts," and initiated a night of passion.
Chapter 41: And Yet Another Clue
Dottie felt Collin nuzzling her neck. She'd awakened early and lain beside him reliving moments from their night of discovery. He nipped her earlobe. She grinned and said, "I'm not going to kiss you because I have morning breath."
"What's a little bad breath among lovers? I promise to make you forget all about it."
She giggled. "You are so wicked."
His hand strayed to her breast. "I can be as wicked as you want." His hand moved down her bare stomach. "Shall I show you?"
She placed her own hand on his abdomen, moved it lower, and said, "Two can play that game."
For an hour they teased, tasted, and satisfied their desires, having forgotten morning breath. When Collin initiated another round of lovemaking, Dottie slid from under the covers. "I'm making breakfast. Max will be here soon. Are you always this insatiable?"
"Where you're concerned—yes."
Dottie leaned over and placed her mouth against his ear, whispering, "I'm crazy in love with you, but I'm getting up."
By nine o'clock they were on the wilderness road headed back to Pat's Indian. Rather than Collin returning to the overlook, he stayed with the car when they parked at the bend. Using binoculars, he watched them.
It had been too dark to take pictures after their discovery the previous evening, but now, following Collin's directions, Dottie lifted her camera and snapped several so as to preserve the history and geography of their find. Max also locked the location into a GPS.
The time finally came for Max to begin digging at the base of the Indian. He softened the soil with a long probe they'd found in Dottie's garage and then used the shovel to move sand and dirt. When the ground became too hard for the probe to penetrate, he poured water on the soil, waited a few minutes, and then gently used the pick axe.
Dottie's heart raced, first with anticipation, then
with disappointment when there appeared to be nothing buried.
Max said, "I think I'll use the probe again." Methodically, he pushed the length of metal and penetrated the soil several times. He stopped and glanced up. "I've hit something. It may be just a rock…" his voice trailed as he continued softening the soil and then reached for his shovel. Gently, he lifted dirt out of the way.
Dottie had knelt beside the hole and now gasped. "That looks like the top of a metal box!" She'd had Collin on her cell phone during the dig and now said excitedly, "Collin, I think we've found something."
Carefully and painstakingly, Max dug around the object while Dottie took photos. Finally, he lifted an oblong metal box about the size of a loaf of bread from the grave that had been its home for untold years. Max said, "It's heavy."
Dottie pointed, "Look, the clasp is held together with twisted wire."
Max said, "I think we should let Collin open it."
Dottie nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking."
As swiftly as they could, they filled the hole back with dirt and packed their things. Max carried the box to Collin waiting beside the car.
Collin said when they reached him, "Let's take it back to the house to open."
The drive home was filled with excited chatter. Collin had felt the weight of the box, and now said, "It's pretty heavy. I'd guess it to be about thirty or forty pounds. But it's not large enough to hold all the stolen gold."
Dottie mused, "Maybe there are more containers buried."
Collin replied, "I hope whatever's in there sheds light on the mystery."
Max chuckled, "Wait until I tell Pilar. She's probably pacing the floor waiting for my call."
Back at the house they rushed inside and set the metal box on the kitchen table. Dottie took pictures as Collin began untwisting the length of wire. He said, "It's rusted together. I'm going to have to snip it."
Max said, "The wire cutters are in my backpack." He grabbed the pack off the floor and dug through it.
