Silver Sparks (25 page)

“For luck?” he asked, a smile obvious in his voice.

“I guess so. It just seemed necessary.”

“It’s always necessary,” he said. He kissed her back, longer this time, then stepped over the edge.

The ropes above groaned as they stretched. They held, as did the anchor bolts. He descended slowly, then took his time stepping into the kayak as she provided what little light she could from above. He sat down as he steadied the bottom of the ladder and shone his light up its length. “Ready.”

Maggie took a deep breath. Don’t look down, she told herself. She grabbed the rope ladder and stepped gingerly onto the metal rung. The whole thing wobbled, tilting her slightly backward. Her stomach wobbled and tilted with it. For several seconds she clung to the ladder, waiting for her heart to stop racing. When both her pulse and her stomach felt steady, she took a careful step down. Then another. She tilted backward a bit more. The lower she got, the more her feet tried to angle toward the wall, dipping her back toward the water. She knew it had to have been worse for Cal, with no one to hold the other end of the ladder.

Each step felt shakier than the last, but there was no way she’d turn back. Going with Cal, no matter how uncertain the footing, was preferable to staying behind alone.

Barely more than a minute later, she felt his hand take her ankle in a secure hold. She finished the descent with Cal guiding her to the flat surface of the kayak. It moved beneath her feet but felt more secure than hanging in the cold, damp air of the shaft. Her flashlight pointed down, pooling on the red rubber bottom of the kayak and reflecting enough to show her the seat behind her. She settled in, feeling safe and snug in the fourteen inches of interior space between the tubular sides.

“You okay?” His voice was low, almost a whisper, but still echoed softly off the walls.

“Fine.” She spoke just as softly, as if someone might hear them in this damp, smelly cavern. The smell wasn’t overpowering, but was unpleasant enough to keep her breaths shallow. “What’s that odor?”

“The water, I guess. Minerals. I wouldn’t want to drink it.”

Cal’s flashlight began roaming the walls, and she grabbed hers to do the same. The walls were closer than she’d imagined, making the pool no more than thirty feet in diameter at the spot below their dangling ladder, and tapering gradually as it spread away from them. Shining the light directly at the water, she saw nothing but black water and the tiny ripples created by the slight rocking of the kayak.

“How deep do you think it is?” she whispered.

“No idea. Do you still have that measuring line?”

“Crap. No.”

He pulled the small collapsible paddle free of the duct tape on the floor. She shone her light toward him as he extended the short handle and stuck it over the side. The water swallowed its eighteen inches without a sound. “Could be nineteen inches, could be twenty feet,” he said.

If it were nineteen inches, Amber wouldn’t have survived a fall into it, and her body would be submerged mere inches below the surface. If it were significantly deeper, she might have been able to swim to the edge. She didn’t say it, knowing Cal would have already concluded the same thing.

He must have felt the same urgency to find out that she did. He dipped the paddle in again, taking one long, shallow stroke that set them drifting to the right, toward the narrow end of the pool. Switching sides, he took another slow stroke. The kayak turned a bit to the left and drifted faster.

Maggie kept her light pointed ahead. About fifty feet away, the glistening surface dulled abruptly where water touched dirt. Beyond it, the cavern narrowed sharply into another black tunnel with more rusted cart rails disappearing into its depths. It was what they’d expected. If their guess was right, De Luca land was on the other end of that tunnel.

Water splashed softly with each stroke of the paddle, the only sound as they crossed the black pool. As they drew closer, Maggie’s light fell on what appeared to be scuff marks on the rock at the water’s edge. “Look!” she said. “Are those recent?”

“I can’t tell.” Cal’s voice was tight with tension.

She kept the light pointed at the ground as they drew closer. Ten feet away, the kayak suddenly veered to the right between paddle strokes. Maggie looked back at Cal. “What happened?”

His Maglite lay at his feet and his face looked ghostly in the reflected light. “I think we hit something.” He took a backward stroke, stopping them.

Maggie hadn’t even thought about submerged rocks, and worried suddenly about gouging a hole in the kayak. She had no desire to test the depth of the water by sinking into it. But whatever they’d hit hadn’t scraped or punctured the kayak. It had moved them gently to the side. She waved the light slowly over the water.

At first she saw nothing. Then the light caught something white bobbing just under the surface. Cal moved them closer. Whatever it was, it was small, slightly bigger than her hand. They inched even closer, and she suddenly saw why. It
was
a hand, bloated but recognizable. It floated back up, fingers hanging limply in a delicate gesture. Whoever it was attached to lay submerged in the black water below.

Chapter
Fourteen

M
aggie recoiled, sucking in a sharp breath and nearly dropping the light.

“Christ,” Cal swore softly. He dipped the paddle and set them drifting gently forward, bringing him even with the hand. She heard him let out a long, shaky breath.

“It’s not Amber.”

She wanted to believe him, but he might be in denial. “How do you know?” Her voice sounded as shaky as his, and the chills that shook her had nothing to do with the cold in the mine.

“This body’s been in the water too long. A couple days, maybe. Besides, there are no rings. Amber has silver rings on nearly every finger.”

Maggie breathed a bit easier, but her heart still pounded. It was someone. “Emily Banks?” she whispered, her voice barely audible even to herself.

Cal nodded. “Maybe.” He paused, then soberly amended it to “Probably.”

With a sick feeling she recalled the sounds they’d heard two days before, someone talking to himself while creating a small splash in the water. Dumping a body? Checking to see if the dark pool would make a good grave? Shivers ripped through her, making the flashlight beam shake visibly in her trembling hand.

“She didn’t wander in here by herself and drown.” As obvious as it seemed, she had to hear him confirm it.

“No.” He stared at the hand for several seconds, muttering a few more swear words. “Let’s get out of here.”

The pool had steep sides like the deep end of a swimming pool. They climbed out carefully, then pulled the kayak out and left it.

A day ago Maggie would have hesitated to enter a strange, dark tunnel, not knowing where it would lead. But having seen what lay in the dark water behind her, she didn’t hesitate to plunge into the unknown.

They followed the rusted rails, headlamps and flashlights bobbing, neither of them talking. Cal reached for her hand, and the contact warmed more than her fingers. The tunnel was too narrow for her to walk beside him, but he never let go of her as he led the way between the rails.

They almost bumped into the exit. Faint light seeped around the edges of a sheet of plywood that was wedged against the hole. Cal ran his light over the wood from inches away. “New,” he said. Proof that at least one person knew about the mine tunnel, and had been there recently.

Shoving the wood aside, they pushed through the branches of a large spruce and stepped into the sunlight. Maggie turned around. The tree only partially shielded the opening, but this side of the plywood had been painted dark gray, allowing it to blend into the shadows. No one would find the tunnel entrance unless they knew where to look.

Cal took out his phone. “No bars.”

“Walk out a ways, and off to one side. There are towers all over. The people up here have money and they get cranky if they can’t text their bff.”

They acquired a signal within minutes, and Cal began thumbing his phone. “Gotta love these things,” he said, holding it out so Maggie could see. “That’s our latitude and longitude. Call the police on your phone and read it off for them. Tell them we’ll wait here.”

“We don’t even know where we are. It could take hours.”

“I have a feeling it won’t. If this is De Luca land, they’ll just drive through the main gates and head in this direction.”

She pulled out her phone, but didn’t dial yet. “Cal, what about Amber? Where do you think she is?”

“I don’t have any idea. Right now I’m just glad she wasn’t in there.” He ran a hand through his hair, throwing a look at the mine entrance. “And sorry for whoever is.”

It was hardly more than an hour before Kyle Todd found them sitting on the ground, sharing a granola bar.

Cal helped Maggie to her feet and glanced behind Todd. “Just you?”

“Three more, a few minutes back. They had to rustle up a lot of big lights, like you said.”

“And the rope, and a tarp . . .”

“Yeah, got it all.” He frowned suspiciously at the smooth rock face behind them. “I don’t see a mine tunnel.”

“Right behind that tree.” Cal pointed, then nodded in the direction Todd had come. “What’ll we find if we go down that way?”

He gave a short laugh. “One very nervous De Luca security guard. Probably more by now. He was making phone calls when I left him. But I need you both to stay here until we get your statement.”

Maggie nodded. “Just give us a lift back to the commune when you’re done here. I’m not going back the way I came.”

It took forever. Maggie had fallen asleep with her head on Cal’s thigh when voices woke her. She blinked at the long shadows that stretched where sunlight had been before, and sat up. Her jacket slid from her shoulders—Cal must have covered her as the temperature dropped. Looking around she saw two police officers start down the mountainside with a large blue tarp slung between them, sagging with the weight of the body from the mine. Kyle Todd followed, then made a detour toward them. They scrambled to their feet, brushing off dirt and pine needles.

She searched his grim expression. “Was it Emily Banks?”

“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair and gave a heavy sigh. “That’s not all. They found some bones while they were probing the bottom. Part of a leg. There’s at least one more body in there.”

She looked at Cal, knowing they had the same thought: Rachel Anders or Tara Kolinowski. Or both.

“It’s gonna be awhile before we’re done up here. We’re going to have to pump it out—it’s about four feet deep, eight near that shaft you came down. Won’t take too long once we get the equipment up here. But it’ll be awhile before we get an ID on the bones, and we may never determine cause of death.”

Cal clenched his jaw. “Cause of death was Rafe De Luca.”

Todd met his eyes with a hard look. “Help me prove it, and I’ll owe you big-time.”

Cal didn’t need incentive. The way he saw it, he’d just pointed a big flashing arrow at Rafe De Luca as a person of interest in the death of Emily Banks, which he hoped would be the beginning of the end for Rafe. The media hordes would have a field day. Rafe would probably be furious. Maybe scared. Cal hoped he was terrified. First, because he was sure Julie had been, and he wanted Rafe to feel as much of that terror as possible. Second, because terrified people often made mistakes.

When Rafe made his mistake, Cal would be there to catch him.

Amber was undoubtedly planning the same thing. The best way to find her—maybe the only way—was to keep Rafe in his sights.

Cal had another incentive to catch Rafe that had taken on more importance than he ever would have thought: Maggie would be free. Free of the “bar bimbo” tag, and free of the paparazzi for good. Rick could spin it for her with the press one last time—she would be the one who got away. They could have one last interview to get her version of events, then disappear from her life forever.

And then . . . what? He could feel better about walking away because her life would be back to normal—or as normal as it was before Rafe De Luca came along and fucked it up. He could leave with a clear conscience.

Except he didn’t want to leave. He’d been shoving that realization aside for days now, and he needed to face it. Once Amber went back to Los Angeles he’d be free, too. He hadn’t changed his mind about staying away from impulsive women with a reckless disregard for common sense, but he was no longer sure that description fit Maggie. He’d led her through a dangerous descent in the abandoned mine today, and an unnerving discovery. Her reaction had been far from reckless, following every safety precaution and never showing a hint of panic. The perfect partner, calm and sensible.

But Maggie in bed . . . Jesus. Who said reckless impulses didn’t have a positive side? That impulsive episode in the star cavern had blown his mind, along with other things. He might have been too quick to judge Maggie Larkin.

He’d have to give it some serious thought. He wondered how big a jerk he was that he could think about sex while his sister was still missing. It wasn’t like he trusted Amber to do something sensible. He tensed up just thinking about it.

“Kyle,” he called out as they started down the mountain. “My sister’s missing. I don’t think she’s been abducted,” he added at the cop’s alarmed look. He was going to operate on that assumption for another few hours. “But if you see her I wouldn’t mind if you threw her in a cell until I can get there.”

They followed the body procession downhill to Kyle Todd’s police cruiser. He opened the back door and stood aside like a chauffeur. “Not much room up front with all the electronics we carry,” he said in apology.

Cal doubted Maggie was too tired to care that she might look like a suspect in the back of the car. They braced themselves as Todd bumped along a faint track that might have been made by the narrow chassis of an off-road vehicle. The track turned into a dirt drive as they rounded a large outbuilding and came in sight of the big house. Cal’s gaze wasn’t drawn to the magnificent stone and wood house as much as to the three police cruisers parked in front. One was from B-Pass, the other two were state cops. “You brought the state guys in?”

“We’re not big enough to handle this,” Todd said. “And I’m not taking any chance that the investigation won’t hold up in court when I finally nail this bastard.”

Cal couldn’t see any activity outside the house. “Are they talking to Rafe?”

“He’s not here. He’s supposedly at the Alpine Sky. His lawyer claims he’s been there for the past several days.” Todd’s dry tone said he didn’t believe it. “I hear the senior De Luca is hustling home from Europe, and he’s pretty pissed off about the whole mess.” Todd smiled with satisfaction.

“They’re going to claim anyone could have snuck onto their land to dump those bodies.”

Todd gave a derisive snort.

“Start looking for a money trail from De Luca to Emily’s family. Also the Anders and Kolinowski families. I’m pretty sure he hushed them up once before, and he’ll probably try to do it again.”

Todd gave a brief nod. “Thanks.”

They hit pavement and accelerated through the main gate. Cal put his arm around Maggie—possibly the only couple ever to cuddle in the back of Kyle Todd’s police cruiser. She settled against his side as Todd glanced at them in the mirror. “You two cozy enough back there? Need some music?”

“Got any smooth jazz?” he asked.

Todd chuckled. “Will the police radio do?”

It was dusk when he dropped them at the People’s Free Earth Commune. They tossed their backpacks in the bed of the pickup and trudged up to the house.

“We look awful,” Maggie said.

He glanced down at his clothes, then hers. Their shirts were clean, but the knees and seat of their pants were covered with dirt. He shrugged. “I guess I wouldn’t mind washing my hands.” And showering with Maggie when they got home. The thought put a little spring back in his lagging steps.

The door opened as they reached the porch. Kate and Feather tried to fill the doorway at the same time, with several heads visible behind them.

“Where is she? Did you find her?” Kate stood on tiptoe, looking past them.

Something cold gripped Cal’s gut, and he realized he’d been holding on to one last desperate hope. “Amber didn’t come back here?”

Kate met his worried look with one of her own and shook her head.

“We haven’t seen Amber since she left on her hike,” Feather told them.

Kate stepped out and grabbed Maggie by the arm, ushering her inside, and Cal after her. Everyone backed up to make room but didn’t go far. The whole commune seemed to be gathered near the front door.

“Six of us hiked the property,” Kate told them. “She’s not here.”

His fear came out as anger. “God damn it! That kid is so irresponsible! I do everything I can to keep her safe, and she goes running right back into danger. You’d think she’d appreciate the efforts everyone has gone to for her, but no, she just takes off. I can’t figure out what in the hell she’s thinking.”

Wordlessly, Maggie took his hand. He didn’t pull away, but it didn’t do much to turn down the heat of his anger.

“Cal, she’s grieving.”

Kate’s reasonable voice cut through the red haze in his mind. He frowned, concentrating on her quiet tone. “Amber’s been deeply wounded by her sister’s death, and she needs to feel she’s doing something to avenge it. She’s no different than you are, you know. She feels she should have somehow saved Julie, and she’s suffering terribly from guilt because she didn’t, the same as you.”

“I’m not . . . She’s . . .” He squeezed his eyes shut while he gathered his thoughts. “Amber has no reason to feel guilty. She couldn’t have stopped Julie from seeing Rafe.”

“Neither could you, but it hasn’t kept you from suffering guilt, or from trying to find her killer to make up for not saving her life.”

He stared at Maggie’s mother. “She never said anything to me. How do you know that?”

She held her arms out in a large shrug, bracelets jangling. “It’s obvious. Amber talks about Julie all the time. She misses her.”

Behind Kate, several heads nodded.

Apparently Amber didn’t think he was interested in listening, which made him feel like a shit all over again. Julie’s death was the one thing they had in common, and he’d never once talked with her about it, thinking that his search for evidence would speak for itself. He should have known a teenage girl would need to talk.