Curious Minds

  “The bag has been in the safe for several months. I originally packed it when I thought I might go on a mountaineering adventure. The adventure never materialized and the bag remained in the safe.”

  Emerson unzipped the duffel and pulled out a couple tight coils of rope, some clamps, a hammer, and a small headlamp attached to a headband.

  “I have the bare minimum equipment here but I think it will do the job,” he said.

  “Do you always take wads of money when you go mountaineering?”

  “The adventure involved a possible ransom situation. Fortunately it resolved itself without my intervention.”

  “How much money do you have in the bag?” Riley asked.

  “Just short of two million. I’ve been paying cash for our motel rooms.”

  Riley considered hitting him with the hammer. She’d been scrimping along trying to save money on cheap motels and he had millions in his duffel bag.

  “You have that look,” Emerson said to Riley.

  “What look?”

  “Squinty eyes, jaw clenched, shoulders hunched. I’ve seen that look on women before and it’s never turned out well.”

  “Have any of the women with this look ever hit you with a hammer?”

  “No,” Emerson said.

  Riley made an effort to relax and unsquint her eyes. “There’s always a first time.”

  Emerson hooked clamps and anchor plates onto the rope and hammered the anchor plate into an outcropping of rock close to the creosote bush.

  “That should do it,” he said, dropping the free end of the secured rope into the hole.

  “I didn’t hear it hit bottom,” Riley said.

  “Nevertheless I’m sure it did. By my calculations we have more than enough rope. Have you done any rappelling?”

  “No. None.”

  “I didn’t pack a harness so we’ll have to make do.”

  Emerson found a smaller length of rope, wrapped it around Riley’s waist, tied it in a knot, and passed it between her legs.

  “How do you feel?” Emerson asked her.

  “Like I’m wearing a rope thong.”

  “That’s an erotic comparison,” Emerson said. “I like it.”

  “You’ve done this harness thing before, right?” Riley asked. “You know what you’re doing?”

  “I was into rope bondage for a while in Japan. They call it kinbaku-bi, which means ‘the beauty of tight binding.’ ”

  “You’re joking, right?”

  “If it makes you feel more comfortable, then yes.” He bound the ropes together in a big loop at her waist and attached a carabiner with a spring-loaded gate onto it, then fed the rope through a large, intricately designed hook with a lever on the side.

  “This device is called a descender,” he told her. “Grab the lever and it will control your rate of descent.”

  “Couldn’t they come up with a more ominous name for it?” Riley asked. “Maybe a ‘drop into hell machine’?”

  “You’re using humor as a defense. Very good.”

  “Will it defend me against falling to my death?”

  “No. Put these on,” he said, handing her leather gloves and the headlamp. “Turn the headlamp on once you’re fully in the cavern.”

  “Wait a minute. What about you?”

  “I can manage with less equipment. When you reach the bottom give me a signal so I can descend.”

  “You’re going to send me down first?”

  “I thought you would want to go down first.”

  “I want to go down never.”

  “It would be easier for me to help you get started if you go first.”

  Riley looked over the edge of the hole. “What’s the big deal? You just jump in, right?”

  “More or less,” Emerson said.

  “I’ll go down first,” Günter said. “I did my share of mountain climbing when I was younger. I can do it.”

  “I don’t have enough equipment to make a harness for you,” Emerson said. “I only packed one descender and one headlamp.”

  “No problem,” Günter said. “I’ll be fine.”

  “At least take the second pair of gloves,” Emerson said. “Go down as slowly as possible.”

  Emerson eased Günter over the side of the hole. Günter wrapped a leg around the rope and swung off into space.

  “Eeeeeeeee,” Günter screamed. WUMP!

  Emerson and Riley looked into the hole.

  “Günter?” Emerson stage whispered.

  “Unh,” Günter said.

  “Are you okay?”

  “No. The rope is too short.”

  “I was certain I calculated correctly,” Emerson said. “Perhaps I underestimated the time it took for the stone to hit bottom.”

  “I think I broke my leg,” Günter said.

  “I’m going next,” Emerson said, hooking the duffel bag over his shoulder. “I need to assess the situation.”

  “Sure,” Riley said. “Bon voyage. Happy landings.”

  Emerson slipped over the side, and even in the almost total blackness Riley could see that he was controlling his descent. Emerson was toned muscle on a lean frame. And he was skilled on the rope. She heard him drop to the cavern floor, heard a murmured conversation between him and Günter.

  “Riley, you’re next,” Emerson called from below. “Pull the rope up and attach it the way I showed you. Remember to switch your headlamp on when you go over the edge and begin to drop.”

  Riley looked into the hole. “Over the edge” had new meaning. “Over the edge” was freaking scary. She pulled the rope up and worked it into the descender. She inched closer to the hole and sat with her legs dangling.

  “Anytime now,” Emerson called up to her.

  “You can do this,” Riley said to herself. “The rope is secure. Emerson is on the bottom. You have a job to do. You need to help Emerson find the gold and see that justice is done. This is what you’ve always wanted to do. This is your chance to make a difference. This is your opportunity to be brave.”

  “Riley,” Emerson called, “who are you talking to?”

  “Myself.”

  “Could you hurry it up?”

  “I’m going to be brave,” she said.

  “Just jump in and get it over with,” Günter yelled up at her. “I’m not getting any younger.”

  Riley sucked in some air, held her breath, closed her eyes, and pitched herself forward into a free fall. She squeezed the descender, the ropes caught, and she hung, swinging in the vast blackness of the hollow earth.

  She switched the headlamp on and saw bats clinging to the side of the cave inches from her face. Someone whimpered. She supposed it was her. She switched the lamp off and played out the rope, dropping more slowly, trying to control the whimpering.

  “What happened to the light?” Emerson asked her.

  “I shut it off. I don’t want to see where I’m going. You didn’t tell me there’d be bats.”

  “Well, of course there are bats. It’s a cave.”

  “I hate bats.”

  “Think of them as pigeons. Pigeons of the night.”

  Riley wasn’t too crazy about pigeons either. Even in the daylight.

  She turned the headlamp back on and looked down at her rope. Not much left. She looked beyond the end of the rope at Emerson. There seemed to be a lot of empty space between the end of the rope and Emerson.

  “Um, Emerson?” she said. “I’ve reached the end of my rope.”

  “Release the descender and let yourself drop the rest of the way.”

  “No way. It’s too far!”

  “I’ll catch you.”

  “Not gonna happen.”

  “At the risk of seeing that look again I’d like to remind you that you were going to be brave.”

  “There’s a difference between brave and stupid.”

  “I could cloud your mind and minimize the difference.”

  “No! Jeez Louise. On the count of three. One, two, two and a half…”


  Riley released the descender and dropped like a sack of cement, knocking Emerson flat on his back with his arms wrapped tight around her.

  “Got you,” he said.

  Riley was breathless, sprawled on top of him. “I need a moment.”

  “No problem.”

  “Maybe you two should get a room,” Günter said. “Has anyone noticed I’m in a lot of pain with a broken leg?”

  “Do you know anything about broken legs?” Riley asked Emerson. “Like what to do for them?”

  “I’ve read a few articles.”

  Riley rolled off Emerson. They got to their feet and stood over Günter.

  “I need a knife,” Emerson said.

  “I don’t have a knife,” Riley said, “but I have a gun.”

  “A gun isn’t going to help me,” Emerson said. “I don’t want to kill him. I want to slit his pants leg.”

  “I have a Swiss Army knife,” Günter said. “It’s in my pocket.”

  Emerson found the knife and cut Günter’s pants leg off above the knee. The leg was swollen and turning purple.

  “There’s no bone sticking out,” Emerson said. “I think that’s a good sign.”

  “We should make a splint,” Riley said. “What have you got left in your bag?”

  “Money.”

  “Get me on my feet and I’ll see if I can put weight on the leg,” Günter said.

  They pulled him up and he winced in pain.

  “I’m not going to be able to walk,” Günter said. “Leave me here.”

  Emerson took the headlamp from Riley and handed her the duffel bag. “I’ll carry him,” Emerson said. “We can’t afford to stay here much longer. If the security force patrols this area they might see the rope and come down after us. And we can’t leave Günter here. We need him to take us to the gold.”

  Riley nodded. The adrenaline rush from the fall had worn off and she was running on empty. “Understood.”

  Emerson slung Günter over his shoulder, and Günter grunted and moaned and told them to go to the right side of the cave.

  “Look for the tunnel opening,” Günter said.

  They crossed the cave and moved into what was clearly a man-made mining tunnel. Emerson’s hair skimmed the overhead support beams, and dust sifted down in the light from his lamp.

  They trudged on for what seemed like an eternity to Riley. If this was the shortcut, she didn’t want to see the longcut. They reached an intersection, and Emerson stopped and looked around.

  “Which way?” he asked Günter.

  “Through the wall,” Günter said.

  Emerson set Günter down on the tunnel floor and gave him the headlamp. “Show me.”

  Günter played the light across the rock face and found a small fissure. “There.”

  “I see it,” Emerson said. “I thought it was just a shadow until you put the light directly on it.”

  “I found it purely by accident,” Günter said. “The fissure goes on for about thirty feet and takes you to the secret vaults.”

  “I’m barely going to squeeze through there,” Emerson said to Günter. “I’m going to have to leave you here.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Günter said. “As long as I don’t move my leg, the pain is down to a dull throb. Get some gold and return through this same fissure. It’s the safest way out.”

  “Does this fissure open directly into the vault?” Emerson asked.

  “Not directly. You’ll come out to another tunnel. Go left for about fifty feet and hope no one’s there. Take the headlamp. If the lights are on in the vault it means the guards are patrolling. Wait until the lights go off to come out in the open.”

  “Stay here with Günter,” Emerson said to Riley. “It’ll be easier to sneak around the vault if I’m alone.”

  Riley was sure that was true. She was exhausted and no longer operating at peak brilliance. And she wasn’t confident that she could navigate the fissure without a total freak-out panic attack.

  She watched Emerson fit himself into the small space and silently disappear from view. She told herself he would be okay. After all, he was Emerson. He could cloud minds and endure pain. And he was fearless and strong. And he was sort of smart, in a weird way. She sat down beside Günter with her back pressed against the cool rock wall of the tunnel and willed herself to stay calm.

  “He’s going to be okay,” she said to Günter.

  “Yes,” Günter said.

  “All he has to do is find the gold and bring some of it back, right? And then he can turn it over to the press or the authorities or whoever and all this will end.”

  “More or less,” Günter said.

  Riley looked over at him. She was beginning to hate that phrase. “More or less?”

  “The gold has been recast. It no longer bears the stamp of its origin. Emerson will need to find Dr. Bauerfeind. He’s a German chemist who has developed a technique for reading the fingerprint of gold even after it has been melted and re-formed. Yvette was in contact with him. She was going to use him to try to trace the gold from the German mint. It has a very distinctive combination of palladium and thallium.”

  “So if we can get our hands on some of that gold and give it to Dr. Bauerfeind, our case is made.”

  “We have to find him first,” Günter said. “He went into hiding when Yvette disappeared.”

  “Piece of cake,” Riley said, closing her eyes. “Easy-peasy.”

  —

  Riley woke with a start, completely disoriented. There was a total absence of light. The air was cold and damp against her face. Someone was shaking her awake. Her mind cleared and confusion was replaced with fear.

  “Günter?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I must have fallen asleep.”

  “I heard what sounded like gunshots from the other side of the crevice,” Günter said. “It was faint but distinct.”

  Now Riley heard them. Two more shots. She was on her feet, arms outstretched in front of her, feeling for the wall. She reached the wall and found the crevice.

  “I’m going to help,” she said to Günter. “If I don’t come back—”

  “Not an option,” Günter said. “You have to come back.”

  Riley sidestepped into the crevice. She was squeezed between two rock surfaces, but it was no darker than it had been in the cave with Günter. Total dark is total dark. She moved as fast as she could, shuffling inch by inch. She felt the change in the air and saw a hint of light and knew she was close to the end of the fissure. She paused when she came to the edge and listened. She heard nothing. Not significant, she thought. Nothing short of a freight train would be heard over her beating heart. She stepped out and squinted into the darkness. It was light enough for her to know she was in the tunnel. Too dark to make out details. The light was coming from the left and she knew the left led to the vault. She drew her gun and cautiously walked toward the light, hugging the wall. She turned a corner and the light was suddenly blinding.

  She was in a cavernous space with a high vaulted ceiling studded with stalactites, stretching as far as she could see, lit by bright fluorescent work lights. The huge vault was filled with more gold than Riley could possibly have imagined. Stacks and stacks of gold bars lined up like walls of a city built by King Midas. The golden ramparts zigged and zagged, forming a giant maze. A maze that didn’t need to lead to a treasure because it was made of treasure.

  She remembered what Günter had told Emerson. If the lights are on, the guards are patrolling. No surprise, since she’d heard gunshots. She didn’t see any movement. No shadows. Didn’t hear anyone walking or talking. She quietly moved to the closest wall of gold bricks. She crept to the end of the wall and peeked out. Nothing but wall after wall of gold.

  “Mr. Knight?” a voice called out.

  It was Rollo speaking in his calm, silky voice.

  “We can keep this game up for hours but you know what the outcome will be,” Rollo said. “There’s no way out. After all, thi
s isn’t your mansion, riddled with hidden doors. We’re bound to catch you in the end.”

  Relief swept through Riley. Emerson was all right. Not killed. Not captured.

  “Oh, I know, you think if you drag this out for as long as possible, something will come up,” Rollo said. “Someone will come in to help you. Someone like that girl hiding behind stack number 55.”

  Security cameras, Riley thought. The place was probably lousy with them.

  “Come out right now and I won’t hurt her,” Rollo said.

  I have just six rounds of ammo, Riley thought. I have to make them count. She was a good shot. The best in her family. She hunted with her dad and her brothers. Ducks, deer, wild pigs. This was different. This time she was the hunted as well as the hunter. This time she would be firing at a human being. Not something she thought she would ever do. She’d have to sight and fire fast, and retreat. She took a quick look and saw that Rollo was walking directly toward her, limping slightly. He was maybe five stacks away. He had a big Band-Aid on his forehead, a Band-Aid over his nose, and a black eye. And he had a gun in his hand.

  “Miss Moon,” Rollo said. “It doesn’t look like Mr. Knight is going to sacrifice himself for you. That leaves me no choice but to shoot you. Perhaps you would be so kind as to step out into my field of vision again.”

  Showtime, Riley thought. Take him down. She took a calming breath, sprang out from behind the stack of gold, imagined a bull’s-eye over Rollo’s heart, and fired. His eyes went wide with surprise and he fell to the floor. Riley put her hand to the wall of gold for support. Breathe, she told herself. Breathe!

  Emerson rounded the corner of Stack 55, ran the length of it, and reached out and yanked Riley behind the wall.

  “Holy cats,” Riley said. “Holy cow!”

  “There’s a freight elevator halfway down the room on the far wall,” Emerson said. “Run for it.”

  Riley ran flat-out with Emerson inches behind her. They reached the elevator, and Emerson lifted the gate and got in.

  Riley hesitated. “Where does this go?”

  “Somewhere else,” Emerson said.

  He pulled her in, slammed the gate closed, and punched the UP button. The elevator rumbled and began to move.

  Riley felt a hot flash of panic. “We’re going down!” she said. “Do something. Make a mind cloud. Make us go up.”