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“They’re kids. Who knows what they’re thinking?” Doyle pulled off his backpack and dug through it, finding the headlamp. He’d retrieved it from the construction gear he’d accumulated, using it in the chapel overhaul. Now, he handed it to Tia who fitted it on and turned on the light.
It illuminated the opening of the cave, the beam falling on the amber walls, the debris that scattered outside the opening from today’s earlier shake.
“I hope they didn’t get far,” Tia said as she stepped into the dark yawn of the cave.
He followed, with a final glance at the stars, the moon, maybe heaven. He shone his Maglite onto the walls, across the handful of openings that led off the main vault. “Which tunnel?” He started toward the tunnel they’d taken earlier, the one that supposedly led to the monastery.
Tia stopped him with a hand to his arm. “Listen.”
Voices. They echoed deep within the mountain, lifting into the cavern. He stilled, pointing his flashlight down one of the other nearby tunnels. “It doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the tunnel we took earlier—the one that contained Ethan’s equipment.”
“If that was even the right tunnel. Who knows which one leads to the monastery?”
Right.
She turned toward a different tunnel, one with a narrower opening, and stepped toward the darkness. “I can’t believe they had the courage to go down here.” She blew out a breath and headed inside, ducking her head a little.
What she said.His gut tightened, and her words from earlier echoed through his brain as he followed her.“We’ll find them.”
He turned off his flashlight and slipped it into his pack to save the batteries. Her light splashed over the amber rock, the tunnel tight, dust layering the floor. “Footprints?”
“It seems like it...” She pointed to the clutter of stamped earth. “But look.” Ahead, the walls tightened, and farther, rock blocked the path.
Still, the murmur of voices lifted as if they might be beyond the debris.
“Maybe there’s another way in?”
She nodded, and they turned around.
“You lead the way,” he said, and she slipped past him in the narrow cave, heading back out to the entrance.
“It just seems so crazy to me that they’d go hunting for the treasure,” she said as they worked their way back out.
“Teenagers. I get it. I could see them being lured into the idea of an adventure and riches.”
“They’re almost old enough to leave the orphanage according to Mariposa law. It could be scary, looking out into the future and seeing nothing.” Her footfalls thumped against the rock.
Huh.“Yes.” And he didn’t want to admit how her words settled in him, suddenly felt raw and too real. His life after Juliet died had been so dark, and frankly, he still couldn’t see the future.
She reached the main opening and stood in the center, her light brightening the cave, her hands on her hips, fierce, determined.
Or maybe... maybe he was starting to see it...
“I think the voices are coming from this tunnel.” She pointed to another opening, near the back of the cave. This mouth seemed larger, and as she stared at the ground, he too spotted the footprints in the dust.
So many choices.Please, God,help them find the right one.
“We should have brought reinforcements. Like some of those Jones, Inc. guys, or even your brother.”
“I looked for Stein—he’d gone back to Declan’s place. And the security team needs to stay at the monastery.” He followed her again into the maw. “Jack should be here—he’s the brother who knows how to find the lost.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He’s a rewardist—finds people for the reward money.”
“That feels a little opportunistic.”
“Not for the people who’ve lost someone. It’s comforting to have someone invested in helping you through your nightmare.”