06 Uncovering Hidden Treasure by Karen Ward Page A

except
sexually. They just wanted to bang her." A cold chill runs down
Stump's spine and a dark rage bubbles beneath the surface when he
thinks about Zeke or Jeb or any man for that matter touching
Sam.
    Goose asks as he is snapping pictures, "What
about Sam's background? Maybe she has something in her past that is
of interest to them."
    Thinking back over his conversations with
Sam, Stump says, "She told me one time that her grandfather was a
well-known archeologist and she also has a degree in archeology. It
is one of the reasons she wanted to move to Wyoming. She wants to
study the Native American history of the area."
    Scoot asks, "When did she tell you that?"
    Shrugging Stump says, "We were talking one
night at Mel's. Why?"
    Scoot asks, "Is it possible that someone
overheard your conversation?"
    Stump says, "I guess it's possible. We were
standing at the bar and the place was pretty full that night."
    Scoot says, "That must be it then. Let's go
talk to Jeffrey Whitmore."
    ******
    While Scoot and Goose have a talk with
Jeffrey Whitmore, Bear, Stump, and Pinky clean out Stump's
apartment and then take a look around Sam's apartment.
    When they walk in the door at Sam's, memories
flood Stump's brain. He looks over at the bed and he feels the rush
of blood to his nether regions. Damn! That woman causes him to get
harder faster than anyone ever has. Just the thought of her lying
naked on that bed makes him want her. And he does want her, he
wants her hard and fast, he wants her slow and tender, he wants her
in the shower, on the floor, against the door, he just plain wants
her. He shakes his head and takes a deep breath trying to get his
imagination back under control.
    Tearing his eyes away from the bed he looks
around the room. He says, "Someone's been here. When I was here the
other morning, the place was spotless. She certainly wouldn't have
left beer cans lying around. Someone has been rummaging through her
clothes and the desk too." Then he spots the box of condoms and a
dark rage floods through him. He picks them up and is relieved to
find it a full box. He growls, "It looks like this party didn't get
too far off the ground. The box is full."
    Pinky says, "I'll call the FBI and get them
over here to dust for prints. Do you see anything missing?"
    Shaking his head Stump says, "No, I wasn't
here long enough to know if something is missing or not. When I
realized I was in Sam's apartment, all I wanted to do was
leave."
    ******
    When Scoot and Goose return to the ranch from
meeting with Jeffrey Whitmore they have some very interesting
information to share with the team. Jeffrey told them of an old
Indian legend about a lost cave somewhere within the park that is
loaded with gold artifacts that were used by the ancient Indians in
their rituals. It is believed the cave was sealed by an earthquake
hundreds of years ago.
    Because the park is a national preserve no
one is allowed to search for the lost cave within its boundaries.
Hundreds of groups have searched the areas just outside the park
for years and because so many thousands of visitors have searched
the open areas of the park, it is now believed the cave, if it
exists, is in one of the off limit areas.
    They tell the others that Jeffrey Whitmore is
extremely distressed to learn of Sam's abduction. He confirmed the
information about her degree being in archeology and added she has
a minor in geology and agrees it might be the reason she was
kidnapped. He also agrees with Scoot that Stump needs to stay out
of sight for the time being.
    Stump suggests, "I think we should make more
passes over the area and see if we can find the truck."
    Scoot disagrees, "We don't have enough
information about the truck. All we know is that it is a dark
extended cab. We don't have a license plate or anything. Thousands
of dark extended cab trucks are in this area. Three of them are
here on this ranch!"
    Determined to do something productive, Stump
asks, "What about all of the guys that work