Buried Secrets Read online

  “I don’t know. Probably not, but it’s worth taking the time to look.” She hadn’t been back to the storage unit in years. She’d taken a few items with her to Gramps’s, but he’d had limited space. She hadn’t been able to get rid of them, yet going through the boxes brought back painful memories.

  “Frankly, we don’t have bunches of clues as to where the codices are, so I’m game. We need to check it out. Ready to leave?”

  “I thought you were going to give me the grand tour.”

  One eyebrow rose. “You’re really interested in what Red found?”

  “Yes. My grandfather walked away from his passion. Yours didn’t. He continued being an archaeologist. I’m beginning to see that might not have been the best thing for Gramps.” She stepped over to a replica of a dig site. “His life, I think, was filled with second best. Ranching wasn’t his first love. Sadly my grandmother wasn’t, either. I would catch such sadness in his eyes, often after he would try to figure out the diary. I used to think it was because he couldn’t solve the mystery. Now I think it was much more than that.”

  Zach came up behind her and clasped her shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. I don’t even know if your grandfather did.” A small seed of guilt still plagued her. There was a part of her that couldn’t believe she was admitting that to a Collier. That part felt betrayed by her words.

  “I wish you could have met Willow. She was an exceptional woman.”

  She leaned back against him, and his hands kneaded the knotted muscles along her shoulders where all her stress had settled. “That I believe. She had two men madly in love with her. If Evelyn is anything like her, I see why you would say that.”

  “I have been fortunate to have exceptional women in my life,” he whispered, his words washing over her neck in tingling waves.

  If she didn’t move soon, she would be in over her head. She couldn’t afford to lose her perspective. Her life was being threatened. With a supreme effort, she forced herself to take a few steps away from Zach, spinning about to face him. “Show me what Red found.”

  His gaze bored into her for a long moment. “You and I can’t keep ignoring what is happening between us.”

  She shrugged. “What’s happening?”

  His mouth pinched into a frown. “You may not want to admit it, but I will. I’m attracted to you.”

  He threw the challenge down at her feet. She could pick it up and acknowledge what was going on, or she could ignore the reeling sensations in the pit of her stomach. His look dared her to.

  She lifted her chin. “Okay, I’m attracted to you, too. But it changes nothing.”

  “Who has hurt you in the past?”

  She moved to the next display, trying to buy time. The intensity in his expression told her he didn’t intend to leave until he was satisfied with her answer. “My last year in college I was very serious about a man who had seen me only as a conquest. It wasn’t a secret that I was saving myself for marriage. He had a bet with some of his friends that he could change my mind. He couldn’t, so he tried to force himself on me. Thankfully I managed to get away before any harm was done to me, but the whole incident has made me very leery.” She chanced a sidelong glance at Zach. “Then, after college, I went to medical school and devoted most of my time to becoming a doctor. I didn’t have a lot of time for dating.” There, she had admitted her limited experiences with men to him.

  Zach stepped closer, lifting his hand to move a stray strand of her hair away from her face. “I haven’t had tons of experience myself. Yes, I was married once, but besides Helen, I haven’t had a lot of time, either, especially with all my traveling.”

  His softened expression doubled her heartbeat. She swallowed several times to coat her suddenly parched throat. She wanted to say something, but her mind fumbled for something appropriate.

  “I was blessed to find Helen and share some of my life with her. I wish that for you, Maggie.”

  So do I. As well as a family. But she couldn’t say that out loud. She’d already exposed her innermost thoughts to a man she had known for less than a week. She’d never done something like that before. But since meeting Zach, there had been many firsts in her life.

  “Thank you. One day, hopefully.” Her words came out in a hoarse whisper.

  “That man didn’t know a good thing when he had it.” He bent his head toward hers.

  Sounds from the main room drifted to Maggie, reminding her they were in the middle of a museum. She forced a shaky smile and stepped up to the nearest glass case with pieces of old pottery inside. “Is this from one of your grandfather’s digs?” There was no way she could trust the attraction developing between them. Everything in her life right now was unreal, which made her suspect her feelings were, too.

  “The switch is by the door,” Maggie said to Zach after she punched in the code to the storage unit, unlocking it.

  He flipped the light on, and brightness flooded the small area. Pieces of furniture were piled along three walls, with boxes stacked in front of them. The scent of dust assailed Zach. Moving into the middle of the unit, he glanced back at Maggie still poised by the entrance.

  The wash of light over her face accentuated her troubled expression and propelled him back toward her. He took her hands. “When was the last time you came here?”

  “Fifteen years ago, right after I graduated from high school. I wanted to share my success with my parents. I was valedictorian of my class and had received a scholarship to college. It seemed fitting to be among my parents’ belongings rather than at their grave site. Gramps wanted to come with me. I think he was worried about me. I told him I had to come by myself, that…”

  Her voice came to a quavering halt. Zach squeezed her hands and closed the last remaining foot between them. “And you never came back after that?” He wound his arms about her and brought her close.

  She shook her head against his chest. “I couldn’t. We were such a close family. Even today I miss my parents so much. Gramps filled their void the best way he could, but there were times I needed a woman’s opinion, and Mom wasn’t around.” She leaned away and stared up at him, a small smile on her mouth. “Gramps just never could understand the antics of a teenage girl. He tried, but I think I gave him a few gray hairs.”

  “You! I can’t believe that.”

  Zach rubbed his hands up and down Maggie’s arms, wanting to convey his support, his understanding. He’d been there with his own family. The more time he spent around Maggie the more he was amazed at how similar they were. Scary. Something he hadn’t been prepared for. He spent so much time in remote parts of the world. How could he ever develop a relationship with Maggie? Long-distance ones didn’t usually work out, and her practice was in Santa Fe. How could he ask her to give up the one thing she had worked most of her life for? He knew he couldn’t give up his life’s work. He’d learned that while married to Helen. Although he’d loved his wife very much, something had been missing from his life while he’d worked primarily in a lab, not the field.

  “I guess I need to get this over with. Standing at the door isn’t going to get the job done.” She infused strength into her words as she stepped away from the entrance and walked several feet into the storage unit.

  He rotated slowly toward her. “Do you remember which box your dad’s maps and papers were in?”

  “Even as a fourteen-year-old I was highly organized. I wrote on the top of each box what was in it so I think we’ll be able to find them without having to open every one of these boxes.”

  “You take that side. I’ll search over here.” He moved to the first stack nearest the door. “Some of this furniture is beautiful.”

  “Yeah, that’s why Gramps wanted to keep it. He wanted me to have it when I grew up. I’d forgotten how beautiful it is. We Somers are actually pack rats—neat ones, but definitely pack rats. It will take me a long time to work my way through Gramps’s…”

  He caught her gaze.
“I still haven’t done that with my grandfather’s stuff. I managed to pack up some of the items for the museum, but that’s all.”

  Maggie cleared her throat and resumed her quest. “I don’t even know what I want to do with Gramps’s ranch. I’m not a rancher. I loved growing up on it, but I’ve grown accustomed to the city life.”

  “And you feel if you sell it you’ll be letting go of a part of your grandfather?” Zach sidled to the next group of boxes.

  “Yeah. Is that the way you feel about your granddad’s house and possessions?”

  He tossed her a grin. “Yes, I guess I’m a pack rat, too. Scary how alike we are.”

  “This time last week I would have said there was no way a Collier and a Somers were even remotely alike.”

  He slid the top box back into place and turned toward her. “What’s changed since then?”

  She held up one finger. “Let me see. You saved my life.” Another finger went up. “Not once, but twice. I kinda owe you. Now, that’s scary,” she said with a laugh. “A Somers indebted to a Collier. Gramps is probably disowning me about now.” She shifted her attention back to the box next to her.

  Her grandfather sounded as stubborn as his had been. As a young boy he remembered once asking his granddad about the feud. The fierce look that had taken over his grandfather’s face had frightened Zach. He’d never seen his granddad so angry. He hadn’t asked any more questions after that. All his information concerning the fight between Jake and Red had come first from his grandmother, and later from Evelyn.

  “I found it!” Maggie exclaimed.

  Zach crossed to her and spied the top of the box. In black letters was written, Office Contents.

  Her hand trembled as she pulled the flap up. He covered her hand and asked, “Do you want me to do this?”

  “No, I need to.” Her eyes held a shimmering gleam. “I feel I’ve lived too much in the past. That I’ve let it rule my actions. No more.” She flipped the cardboard top to the side and delved into the contents.

  Her mouth pinched in a look of concentration, she worked her way through the box. From near the bottom she withdrew a packet of folded pieces of paper. “This is it! Dad’s maps of the different caves he explored. I didn’t start going with him until I was ten, so some of these caves I haven’t been in. But I would pore over their maps as a little girl, imagining myself there.”

  Zach glanced at the door, which was slightly open, and into the storage compound. The darkness beyond suddenly reminded him of their situation. “Why don’t you grab it, and let’s examine the packet when we get to Evelyn’s?”

  Her gaze followed the direction he was looking in. “I think that’s a good suggestion.” She secured the top flaps back into place and started for the entrance. “I know the bad guy has the diary and map, but I haven’t been able to shake the feeling we are still being watched.”

  “Yeah, me, neither. Here, let me put these in my inside coat pocket.”

  Maggie handed the packet to Zach, the gesture confirming her trust in him. That awed him.

  Father, I know You’re with us. Please guide us in the right direction. I want our lives back so we can both move on.

  He stepped out into the night, scanning the area, then motioned for Maggie to exit the small building. After pulling the door closed, he quickly headed for the Jeep two parking spaces down. He slipped behind the wheel while Maggie climbed in on the other side. He started to retrieve the packet from his coat to give to her.

  She saw his movement and said, “You keep them for now. I think they are safer in your hands.”

  She couldn’t have paid him a higher compliment. He was awed by the trust she was placing in him. “Let’s get back to Evelyn’s. I’ll feel better when we do.”

  On the drive Zach kept an eye on the traffic behind them, as did Maggie. After all that had happened to them, they couldn’t be too careful. The closer they came to his cousin’s, the less stress gripped Zach. Almost home. That brought him up short. Home? He hadn’t really had one since his childhood house had burned down, as if he had purposely planned his life so he was always on the move. Even that brief few years married to Helen, they had traveled and lived in two different places, the last being Dallas, where he’d started his company with some friends. Every time he’d gotten settled, he’d wanted to pull up roots, even after going to Dallas.

  With all that had occurred last year in the jungle, he’d thought his escapades, his roving around the world, were behind him. He’d settled down to teach at the same college his grandfather had. He’d planned only to go on one expedition a year, during the summer months. He’d bought his house in Albuquerque with that in mind. So why didn’t it feel more like a home?

  “Zach, I think we’re being followed. There’s a car mimicking everything you do.”

  He jerked himself from his musings and glanced in the rearview mirror. “The car right behind us?”

  “No, two back.”

  “We’re almost at the town near Evelyn’s. I’ll lose him there.”

  When Zach swerved off the highway onto the road that led to Mesa Rojo, he held his breath, waiting to see if the vehicle would follow them down the lonely stretch of asphalt. Ten miles of nothingness until the town. Then the sight of the headlights cut across that barren terrain as the car turned off the highway, too.

  ELEVEN

  Zach accelerated the Jeep. “Get my cell out of my pocket and make a call to Hawke.”

  Maggie retrieved the phone and noticed a missed call. “Cassie left a message,” she said, then punched in the number Zach recited.

  “She did? I should have turned my cell on when I left the reception.” He took the first curve without letting up on the speed. “I’ll call her later and see if she found anything out.”

  Maggie bumped against the door as the phone rang. Finally Hawke picked up on the fourth ring. “We’re on the road into town about…” She glanced toward Zach.

  “Six miles out.”

  “Six miles away. Someone’s following us.”

  “Since Albuquerque?” Hawke’s deep voice came through the static.

  “I’m not sure.” Maggie twisted around to look out the rear window. The car behind them slowed, the glare of its lights fading as the distance between them increased. Then suddenly the vehicle left the road. “Wait. He just turned off.”

  “That’s probably Joe Wolf. He works in Albuquerque and usually comes home about now.”

  “Oh.” She took another peek at the darkness behind the Jeep. “I guess it was a false alarm. We’ll be at Evelyn’s soon.”

  “I’ll be home later.”

  Maggie slipped Zach’s cell back into his coat pocket. “We know one profession I probably shouldn’t try for: spying. I obviously can’t tell a tail when I see it.”

  “It’s always better to be on the safe side. You live longer,” Zach said.

  “Those words don’t really reassure me.”

  With a large cup of coffee in front of her, Maggie sat at the kitchen table with the packet of maps between her and Zach. She hoped this would yield a clue, since Cassie had only called to say no one else could remember anyone visiting Red right before he’d died.

  One by one Maggie unfolded the maps and studied them, then passed them to Zach. There were a few more left, and nothing had sparked a memory.

  “Your father kept detailed notes. Some of these cave systems are complex.”

  “Dad wasn’t an archaeologist, but he had a passion for it, like your granddad. In another time he would have been an explorer. He loved discovering something new.” Maggie paused in smoothing out the next map. “I can remember his excitement once when he found a passage that looked like it hadn’t been explored. He’d wished he’d been with the group that found Lechuguilla. It’s so vast it’s going to keep scientists busy for a long time.” She peered at the paper before her, a thickness clogging her throat. “He told me that caves and the oceans were our last frontier. I think that’s why he got into looking f
or the codices. He had a mission.”

  “My mission is to stay alive.”

  “That’s not a bad one.” She gave Zach the map in front of her and reached for another one. “I’m all for staying alive.” When her gaze lit upon the paper she was unfolding, she instantly knew it was the one she had remembered. “I’ve got it.” She pushed the other maps out of the way and spread this one out between her and Zach. “Doesn’t this look similar to parts of your granddad’s map?”

  He picked up the copy of Father Santiago’s and studied it for a moment, then the other one. “In this area, yes. But not this part.” He ran his finger along the picture of half the cave.

  “What if this is the cave, and Dad didn’t go all the way?” Maggie asked.

  “Where is this?”

  Maggie turned the paper over to read the details her father had noted. “The Guadalupe Mountains. The coordinates are here.”

  Excitement flashed into Zach’s eyes. “This could be our first big break.”

  “No, our first one was when you figured out the code in the Bible verses. This only confirms we’re on the right track.”

  “If the coordinates turn out to be in the mountain that looks like a ship, then we are for sure in the right place.”

  Maggie folded the map and put it with Father Santiago’s. “Searching this cave could take a while. It’s a good size.”

  “I think we should start where your father’s map ends. That will narrow it down.” Zach rose and went to the stove to refill his mug. “Do you want any more?”

  Maggie shook her head. “Do you think there’s some other clue in the diary to narrow down the place in the cave?”

  He stopped pouring his coffee and thought for a moment. “Maybe. But I don’t know what.”

  “What time are we leaving tomorrow morning?”

  “Say in six hours. We need some sleep. If I know Evelyn, she’ll want to fix us a big breakfast.”

  Maggie came to her feet. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep.” She glanced toward the back door. “Where did Hawke get all the caving equipment?”