The Bloodwater Mysteries: Skullduggery by Mary Pete/Logue Hautman Page A

mind.”
    â€œNot even if we can prove that Indian Bluff is an important archaeological site?”
    â€œI don’t know.” Nick shook her head. “You’d need more than one crumbled old skeleton, that’s for sure.”
    â€œI’ll see what I can do,” Roni said.

18
    blast
    â€œI think you should slow down,” Brian shouted.
    Roni hated to be told how to drive. She twisted the accelerator and roared through the tall grasses, bushes and weeds that bordered the narrow track leading to the top of the bluff. Brian was clinging on to her backpack. That was her rule for him riding on her Vespa—she didn’t want to be seen with his arms around her waist. She liked the kid, but she didn’t want anybody to get the wrong idea.
    It was early morning. The tall grass was heavy with dew. As they crossed the top of the bluff, they drove past a contractor’s storage trailer, with two bulldozers parked nearby. Dozens of wooden surveyor’s stakes tied with bits of fluorescent orange ribbon dotted the grassy expanse.
    â€œThis is where they’re going to build the condos,” Roni said.
    Brian said, “Slow down! It’s right up here!”
    Brian was right. The path suddenly opened up, and Roni hit the brakes. They skidded to a stop about three feet from the edge of the bluff.
    â€œThat’s close enough,” said Brian.
    Heart pounding, Roni said, “You think so?”

    Brian hopped off the scooter and walked up to the brink. The river looked as if it was a mile below them, but he knew it wasn’t that far. Looking over the edge, he couldn’t see the cave opening, but he could make out the rock ledge just outside the entrance.
    â€œYou think we can climb down?” Roni asked.
    â€œMaybe. But not straight down. I think we should try to come at it from a slant. It looks like it might be a little easier from over there.” Brian followed the bluff to the left. About twenty yards from where they had parked, the edge of the bluff fell away into a wooded coulee—a steep-sided ravine that sliced into the face of the bluff.
    â€œMaybe we can climb down here, then cut back across to the cave. That way we can make it to the ledge.”
    Roni said, “Let me know if you see any poison ivy.”
    â€œOkay . . . watch your step.” Brian climbed down into the coulee, working his way around a tumble of boulders and fallen trees. He was excited to get back to the cave now that he had his trusty flashlight with fresh batteries and his dad’s good digital camera so they could record whatever they found. He stopped when he didn’t hear any noise behind him. Roni was still standing up on the bluff.
    â€œWhat’s the matter?” Brian asked.
    â€œI don’t like coulees. I think maybe we should try to come at it from below, like we did before.”
    â€œAre you afraid?” he asked.
    â€œAbsolutely not,” she said, stepping back from the edge. “I just think a little caution isn’t a bad thing.”
    â€œYou’re scared!” Brian couldn’t help rubbing it in a little.
    Her expression changed and she held up her hand. “Listen.”
    Brian listened. At first he heard nothing, but then a crunching sound filtered through the trees. Something big was moving through the woods below them, and not far away.
    â€œProbably just a deer,” Brian whispered.
    â€œOr a bear,” said Roni.
    Brian climbed up onto a moss-covered boulder the size of a minivan and peered through the trees. He caught a glimpse of something moving quickly down the coulee. Could be a deer, he thought. But then he saw a flash of red. Deer don’t come in red.
    â€œSee anything?” Roni asked.
    â€œI saw something red. Maybe a hunter.”
    â€œIn June?”
    â€œA poacher, maybe.”
    â€œI don’t think we should go into the woods if . . .” Roni was interrupted by a loud explosion.
    Brian would