out of the meeting, Fred Bloodwater had been barraged by questions about Indians and burial grounds. The mayor had stepped in and promised that the matter had been âlooked into fully and rigorously by authorities,â whatever that meant.
Eric shrugged. âHeâll be okay. If they wonât let him build on the bluff, heâll build the development down on the bottoms by the riverâlike he wanted to do in the first place.â
âYeah, butââ
âPeople! People!â Professor Bloom clapped his hands.
âGather âround, please. The bus will be leaving in a few minutes. Those of you who arrived by alternate transportation are free to leave at any time.â
Brian turned around to say something to Eric and Roni, but Eric had disappeared.
Roni, however, was giving him her dagger look.
âHave I ever told you what a pain in the butt you are?â she asked.
Brian grinned. âMany times.â
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âI donât see what youâve got against Eric,â Roni shouted over the whine of the Vespa.
âI donât think we can trust him,â Brian yelled in her ear. âYou were about to tell him about the turkey tail!â
âSo what?â
âSo I think we should get solid proof that the cave is an important archaeological site before we let the developerâs kid know what weâre doing.â
Roni pulled up in front of Brianâs house.
Brian said, âWho knows? Fred Bloodwater might even be behind the attack on Dr. Dart. Or even Eric.â
Roniâs eyes narrowed. âSo now all of a sudden you think he really was attacked.â
âFirst rule of investigating,â Brian said. âAlways assume the worst, and never let on what you know until you have proof in hand.â
âThatâs two rules.â
âThere are more.â
âOkay, okay,â Roni said. The kid had a way of wearing her down. âSo how do we find this proof?â
âSimple,â Brian said as he dismounted. âFirst thing tomorrow morning, we return to the scene of the crime.â
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Dinner at the Delicata residence that night was Chinese takeout, which Nick insisted on eating with chopsticks.
âSo how did the rest of the meeting go?â Roni asked.
Nick raised one eyebrow, an expression that meant, I canât believe you asked me that. âThere were a few tense moments,â she said. âBut nothing has changed. Theyâll be breaking ground on Friday.â
âThey arenât even going to investigate the cave?â
âEventually, yes. The college will send someone to look things over, and the police are bringing in a forensics expert to look at those old bones. But the development on the bluff is going forward.â
âBut what aboutââ
âRoni,â Nick interrupted, âIâve had a hard day and I really donât want to discuss it.â
After cleaning up, Roni went to her room and flopped down on her bed. Why was her mom acting so weird? Usually Nick encouraged her to ask a lot of questions. Roni could hardly believe her mom was in favor of razing Indian BluffâNick was a gung-ho save-the-planet sort of person.
Roniâs thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. âCome on in.â
Nick opened the door and stepped into the room. âI owe you an apology,â she said. âIâm sorry I snapped at you.â
Roni sat up. She loved it when her mother apologized to her.
âI know youâre worried about what will happen to the bluff,â Nick said. âI have to tell you, I donât like it, either. But the city has an important stake in this development, and the mayor is very worried that if construction is delayed, it will be a financial disaster for Bloodwater. Fred Bloodwater has convinced the mayor that the town desperately needs this new development, and Iâm afraid Buddy isnât about to change his
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