the book to the last page she’d read—a section that talked about the various mines and different claims for each section of the mine. She read with interest; she knew little about mining and didn’t realize that different people could purchase or stake claim to different areas of land to mine in.
That section of the book contained several glossy pages with pictures from the 1870s, which contained images of the people of Dead Water as well as the old mining tools and household items they used. She wondered what the tools and household items were, her heart clenching as she realized her boyfriend, Cal, would know exactly what each item was used for.
Cal Reed had been a friend of the family, and her best friend, since she was a kid. For most of their lives, that’s all they’d been—friends. But the events of the past year had brought them together and somehow they’d turned into more than friends … much more.
Cal, who owned a thriving antique and pawn store, had business back home, otherwise he’d be here right beside her. Celeste missed him.
She sighed and turned back to the book. Until Cal could join them, she might as well bury herself in her work.
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” Jake spread a canvas tarp over the floor and back of the couch, then took out some sandpaper and started on the wall.
“We still have some asking around to do, I think,” Morgan said. “Did you ever talk to your contacts, Jolene?”
Jolene made a few exaggerated taps on her keyboard, then closed the laptop and stood. “I haven’t had a chance, but now that I’m done setting this up, I think it’s the perfect time to head on over and talk to them.”
Luke hopped off the ladder and folded it up. “Our main objective is to find that treasure. I don’t want to get sidetracked with looking for whoever broke in. We don’t know why they did or if it even has anything to do with the treasure, but if it does, we’ll probably find out soon enough without having to go looking for answers.”
“Okay, so then where do we look?” Fiona asked. “Seems to me we’re no closer to knowing where it is now than we were yesterday.”
“Maybe we are.” Celeste held up the book, the page open to a picture of a grizzled old miner with a long beard and long hair. “According to this book, this guy here is Shorty Hanson and he had rights to a mine … mine number seven.”
Fiona shrugged. “Yeah, so, there were a lot of miners back then.”
“Sure, but I was thinking … what better place to bury a cache of stolen treasure, than right in your own mine?”
Luke came over to look at the picture. “You know, that's not a bad idea. Gold and silver that the miners had cashed in to the bank was stolen from the stagecoaches. If he stashed the stolen nuggets in the mine and then brought them out little by little later on, no one would question it.”
“It would be the perfect setup,” Morgan said. “Just bury the cache and then come out with it a little bit at a time over the years.”
“Absolutely. I think you’re on to something, Celeste,” Luke said. “Now if we can just figure out which mine is number seven, we might be in business.”
***
Jolene changed into the new light blue tank top she’d bought to round out her wardrobe since most of it had been splattered with paint during the break-in. She glanced in the mirror, thankful she’d been wearing her favorite jeans and cowboy boots when the thieves had their paint party. She wasn’t much of a clotheshorse but the jeans had taken a long time to break in perfectly, as had the boots, and she would have hated to lose them.
She rummaged in her bag for her makeup kit and before she knew what she was doing, she’d put a thick coating of black on her eyelashes, making her blue eyes stand out even more than usual. Feeling embarrassed with herself, she shoved the mascara back in her bag.
She didn’t usually bother with makeup—why was she doing it
That section of the book contained several glossy pages with pictures from the 1870s, which contained images of the people of Dead Water as well as the old mining tools and household items they used. She wondered what the tools and household items were, her heart clenching as she realized her boyfriend, Cal, would know exactly what each item was used for.
Cal Reed had been a friend of the family, and her best friend, since she was a kid. For most of their lives, that’s all they’d been—friends. But the events of the past year had brought them together and somehow they’d turned into more than friends … much more.
Cal, who owned a thriving antique and pawn store, had business back home, otherwise he’d be here right beside her. Celeste missed him.
She sighed and turned back to the book. Until Cal could join them, she might as well bury herself in her work.
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” Jake spread a canvas tarp over the floor and back of the couch, then took out some sandpaper and started on the wall.
“We still have some asking around to do, I think,” Morgan said. “Did you ever talk to your contacts, Jolene?”
Jolene made a few exaggerated taps on her keyboard, then closed the laptop and stood. “I haven’t had a chance, but now that I’m done setting this up, I think it’s the perfect time to head on over and talk to them.”
Luke hopped off the ladder and folded it up. “Our main objective is to find that treasure. I don’t want to get sidetracked with looking for whoever broke in. We don’t know why they did or if it even has anything to do with the treasure, but if it does, we’ll probably find out soon enough without having to go looking for answers.”
“Okay, so then where do we look?” Fiona asked. “Seems to me we’re no closer to knowing where it is now than we were yesterday.”
“Maybe we are.” Celeste held up the book, the page open to a picture of a grizzled old miner with a long beard and long hair. “According to this book, this guy here is Shorty Hanson and he had rights to a mine … mine number seven.”
Fiona shrugged. “Yeah, so, there were a lot of miners back then.”
“Sure, but I was thinking … what better place to bury a cache of stolen treasure, than right in your own mine?”
Luke came over to look at the picture. “You know, that's not a bad idea. Gold and silver that the miners had cashed in to the bank was stolen from the stagecoaches. If he stashed the stolen nuggets in the mine and then brought them out little by little later on, no one would question it.”
“It would be the perfect setup,” Morgan said. “Just bury the cache and then come out with it a little bit at a time over the years.”
“Absolutely. I think you’re on to something, Celeste,” Luke said. “Now if we can just figure out which mine is number seven, we might be in business.”
***
Jolene changed into the new light blue tank top she’d bought to round out her wardrobe since most of it had been splattered with paint during the break-in. She glanced in the mirror, thankful she’d been wearing her favorite jeans and cowboy boots when the thieves had their paint party. She wasn’t much of a clotheshorse but the jeans had taken a long time to break in perfectly, as had the boots, and she would have hated to lose them.
She rummaged in her bag for her makeup kit and before she knew what she was doing, she’d put a thick coating of black on her eyelashes, making her blue eyes stand out even more than usual. Feeling embarrassed with herself, she shoved the mascara back in her bag.
She didn’t usually bother with makeup—why was she doing it
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