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Spenser was right. The iron door was sealed shut. They tried brute force, but it was more than their match. Try as they might, they could not get it to budge.
“No point calling for help,” Bones said. “The only person within earshot is probably the same person who locked us in here.”
Maddock nodded. “Must have been hiding in the rocks eavesdropping on us. Locked us in once we moved beyond the dungeon.”
“But why?” Spenser asked, trying in vain to call 911.
“It’s got to be Shipman,” Bones said. “We know his secret now. He couldn’t let us report back to Grizzly, so he locked us in.”
“To die?” Rather than fearful, Spenser sounded affronted. “What could he be hiding up here that is worth killing us over?”
“I’d like to know the answer to that question myself,” Maddock said. “And since we’re not getting out this way.” He rapped on the iron door.
Bones grinned. “Maddock, I like your thinking.”
They returned to the natural cavern and began to explore. They periodically marked the walls to track their passage. Spenser did her best to sketch out a map of the passageways, but it was a challenging task. Some of the tunnels corkscrewed downward, others crisscrossed. It was confounding.
“One thing’s for sure,” Maddock said. “It would be very easy to hide something in here and it would never be discovered. Unless a person knows exactly where they’re going, they could wander around in here forever.”
An uncomfortable silence ensued. They’d been exploring the network of passageways for quite some time and hadn’t seen any hint of a way out. None of them voiced their concerns, though. There was nothing to do except keep searching, so why bother talking about it? They continued on in silence.
“Do you think it was Shipman who made the tunnel from the dungeon room to these passageways?” Bones asked, probably to distract an increasingly nervous-looking Spenser.
“Maybe. The digging didn’t exactly look fresh, but it could have been cut in the years since he moved here.”
“Do you think he believes the Arch Gold Mine is in here somewhere?” Spenser asked.
Maddock shrugged. “If that’s the case, then he’s working from information that’s completely different from the legend. But it certainly could be. Often, the most commonly accepted version of a legend is the one that proves inaccurate.”
“Really? Like what?”
“Yeah, like what, Maddock?” Bones deadpanned.
The two of them could have provided countless examples from their own experiences, but many were classified and others so unbelievable as to make the two men seem unhinged, should they ever recount them.
Spenser’s eyes brightened. “Do you mean like how everyone thinks Moses crossed the Red Sea, but now scholars think it was the Sea of Reeds.”
Maddock was impressed. Even Bones nodded in approval.
They came to a fork in the passageway. Maddock shone his light down each in turn. Something about the way to the left caught his eye. The tiniest glint of yellow. A closer investigation revealed a gold necklace wedged into a tiny crack in the rock.
“How did you even see that?” Bones asked.
“In that tiny crack in this dark tunnel?” Maddock shrugged. “I just happened to be standing in the perfect spot with my flashlight held at just the right angle. Dumb luck.” He took out his Recon knife, carefully fished the necklace from the crack, and held it up on the tip of his knife. A golden unicorn pendant dangled from the fine gold chain.
“That’s gorgeous,” Spenser said. “Might even be hand-crafted. I’ll bet whoever lost it would love to have it back.”
“We’ll turn it in at lost-and-found on our way out,” Maddock said. He pocketed the necklace. “I think we should try this passage. The necklace at least proves someone came this way.”
Bones nodded. “Which hopefully means there’s a way out somewhere up ahead.”
“What are we waiting for? I want to be home in time for dinner.” Buoyed by this sliver of hope, Spenser bounded down the passageway.
And then Maddock saw it.
“Spenser! Stop!” He sprang forward and gave her a shove just as light flashed and a deafening boom filled the air. They hit the ground hard and she let out a grunt of pain. “Are you all right?”
“No.”
Maddock’s heart lurched. He pushed himself up to his knees and shone his light down. He saw blood.
Bones appeared at his side. “Is she shot?”
“No, but he busted my damn lip. Why did you tackle me?”
“The passage was booby trapped. It’s just a cheap trip wire and a pistol, but it would have done a number on you.”
Spenser’s eyes were like saucers. “You can’t be serious.”
“Look for yourself.” Bones shone his light on a hastily rigged trip wire running up a series of pulleys to trigger a .22 revolver.
“How did I not see that? I deserve a bloody lip.”
Relieved, Maddock helped her to her feet and wiped the blood away. “It’s not too bad. Don’t women pay a lot of money to get puffy lips?”
She grinned, touched her split lip. “Yes, but the puffiness is typically a little more evenly distributed.”
Bones hastily disarmed the trap and pocketed the revolver before they continued. They proceeded with caution, watching and listening.
Maddock thought the booby trap was odd. It hadn’t been very well hidden, which said it was either the work of an amateur, or it was intended to nab only the unwariest of passersby. But why was it here? What lay down this passageway that needed guarding with a deadly weapon? And had the sound of the trap discharging warned someone up ahead?
Finally, Bones broke the silence. “Can you smell it?” he whispered.
Maddock inhaled slowly, shook his head.
“I smell sage. I think we’re close to a way out.”
“Watch out for more booby traps,” Spenser cautioned.
They came to another fork. The way to the right seemed to be a continuation of the main passage, while the tunnel that angled off to the left quickly shrank to a hands and knees affair. But it was this tunnel Bones insisted they follow.
“This is where the smell is coming from. And the air is drier this way.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, he’s almost always right about these things,” Maddock said to a doubtful-looking Spenser.
Fifteen minutes later and Maddock was having his share of doubts. The passageway twisted and turned, and they found themselves inching forward on their bellies.
“Almost there,” Bones said.
“We’re not going to get stuck, are we?” Spenser asked.
“Anywhere Bones can fit, you and I can fit too,” he assured her. Privately, he hoped Bones was right, because he didn’t relish the idea of scooting backward for however long it would take to get to a place where the tunnel was wide enough for them to turn around. The mere thought of it made him want to lie down and take a nap.
“And score!” Bones proclaimed.
There was low grunt, the clack and clatter of moving rock, and then...
“Sunlight!” Spenser breathed.
“The nose always knows,” Bones said.
Minutes later, they were standing in daylight, breathing the warm afternoon air. Maddock stretched and took a few deep breaths.
“I can’t believe we squeezed our way out of that tiny crack,” Spenser said, looking down at the opening from which they’d climbed.
“Whoever set that booby trap, I don’t think this is the way they’ve been coming in and out. I think we just got very lucky that Bones found it.” Maddock turned and looked down the narrow slot canyon in which they’d emerged. The way was choked with fallen rocks and razor-sharp yucca. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this way into the caverns has gone undiscovered until today.”
Bones took a bow. “It’s what I do. Now, how do we find our way back to the ranch?”
“Or at least to a spot with coverage,” Spenser said, gazing sadly at her cell phone.
They took a minute to pile a few rocks in front of the small entrance before making their way. They clambered over tall boulders and loose piles of rock, enduring a few cuts and scrapes, but after their crawl through the darkness, Maddock was happy to put up with it. They followed its path until it emptied into a tiny canyon dense with juniper and manzanita.
“East is that way.” Bones pointed to the left.
“But how do we know that’s the direction we want to go?” Spenser asked. “We wound around in those passageways forever.”
“The entrance to the dungeon is east of the ranch house, so I’m going with our only piece of data. Worst case scenario, we miss the ranch but eventually we get to the sea.”
“We can climb out over there.” Maddock pointed to a series of chimneys, ledges, and cracks that ran up the canyon’s eastern rim. He turned to Spenser. “Don’t worry. If it’s too much, one of us will stay behind with you.”
“I wasn’t worried. At least let me try before you start planning around my imminent failure.”
“That’s Maddock for you. Always the worst-case scenario,” Bones said as they headed east.
“We need to prepare for every possible disaster,” Maddock said. “You just never know.”
Spencer let out a giggle.
“What’s funny?” Bones asked. “That’s actually how he thinks. I don’t know why he isn’t selling insurance or bomb shelters.”
“Someone needs to be in charge of risk management,” she said.
“Whatever. Who wants to climb this thing first?” They had arrived at the canyon wall. The first climb was an ascent up a narrow chimney.
Spenser went first. Bones boosted her up as high as he was able, and then, bracing her hands and feet against either side, she worked her way up inch by inch. Finally, she reached the first ledge and vanished from sight.
“You want a boost, too?” Bones asked.
Maddock didn’t get the chance to retort. At that moment, a voice rang out from behind them.
“Hands in the air, or you die!”