Steffi twisted her head around. “Get these things off of me!” she croaked.
“I’m working on it.” I glanced at Kyle. “Give her some water.”
Someone handed him a water bottle and he held it for Steffi. She took a few swallows and started coughing. I wasn’t having any luck with the knots, but I remembered my pocketknife. I slipped off my backpack, found the knife, and started sawing through the twine. Finally it came apart. Steffi’s wrists were rubbed raw underneath.
Steffi brought her hands in front of her and started shaking them out as Tom freed her ankles. She hopped to her feet and paced. Everyone was asking questions, but she didn’t answer. She grabbed the water bottle from Kyle and took a long drink. Finally she took a deep breath and snapped, “All right, all right! I’m fine. Just really, really mad.”
“What happened?” Kyle asked.
“I heard a strange noise. A kind of tapping. I waited a minute, but no one came into view. Finally I stuck my head around the corner. Before I could see anything, that bag came down. I got in a few good kicks, but they grabbed me and tied me up.”
“They?” I asked. “More than one person?”
She nodded. “Two men, I think. I didn’t get a look at either of them, and they didn’t speak. But one person pinned my arms while the other tied my feet. I’m pretty sure I kicked that one in the face. He grunted, or at least I think it was a man. The one holding me definitely was.”
“Can you remember anything else about them?” I asked. “The one holding you, was he tall? Did he have any particular smell?”
She paused in thought. “The only thing I could smell was that nasty burlap bag. But the one holding me was definitely tall. At least as tall as Kyle, but skinnier.”
Two men, one at least six feet tall and thin. “It sounds like those two guys who showed up yesterday,” I said.
Kyle muttered something and turned away. “The jacket! They got our fossil.”
“Of course,” Steffi said. “You didn’t think they went to all this trouble just for me?”
Kyle smiled crookedly and took her hand. “I must admit, I actually forgot about the fossil for a minute.”
She grinned up at him. “I’m okay.”
Tom picked the walkie-talkie up off the ground. “So now what? What do we do?”
I looked around at the others. Everyone stared at Steffi and Kyle, looking shocked and confused.
“How long ago did this happen?” Kyle asked.
“Maybe ten minutes after you left,” Steffi said.
Kyle scowled. “They must have been watching, and they waited for me to leave. We thought we were safe, once the sun came up. I can’t believe it.”
“They had to have had a vehicle,” I said.
Steffi nodded. “I think one of them stayed here while the other went to get it. A few minutes after they tied me up, I heard the engine. Then some grunting and thumps. Then they drove off.”
Bess climbed the path up the bluff, to where the off-road vehicle had parked the day before. She studied the ground and called down, “I’m sure there are new tracks here, from the same tires.”
Kyle groaned. “There’s no point in trying to follow them now, I guess. They have at least half an hour on us, and we’re on foot.” He was silent for a minute, as we all watched in sympathy.
Kyle gave a deep sigh. “All right. Priorities. Let’s get these other two jackets finished. I want them out of here today, and the sooner we get the plaster on, the sooner they can dry.”
It didn’t take all of us to jacket two sets of fossils. Kyle and Steffi drew away to one side and talked in low voices. Grayson started helping Russell with one jacket, while Tom and Abby took the other.
I paced restlessly. It seemed like we had identified the thieves, but I still wasn’t satisfied.
Bess joined me. “So, after all we went through, this is how we find out about the thieves.”
I frowned and shook my head. “I’m not convinced it’s that simple. Someone from camp is involved.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“The snake. When it showed up in our tent, we hadn’t even seen those two guys yet. Why would they try to discourage us?”
“They might have just wanted to cause trouble at camp,” Bess said. “Maybe they chose a random tent and it just happened to be ours.”
“Why would they want to disrupt the camp?” I said. “They wanted Kyle’s group to do all the work in excavating the fossils. Otherwise they could have just come out last week, when no one was here. No, someone from camp is involved. Someone who knows I’m a detective.”
“I told Abby that first morning,” Bess admitted. “But I don’t remember who else was around.”
“Just about everybody,” I said. “And of course we told Kyle later that morning. Either Abby or Kyle might have told someone else.” I put my hands on my hips and looked around. “We need to find out more about these people, and we’re running out of time. They don’t need us here. Let’s go see how George is doing with the Internet.”
Bess smiled. “What’s a hundred-million-year-old fossil, compared to modern snooping?”
• • •
We offered to start carrying gear back to camp. Most of the tools could go, along with the empty buckets. Kyle didn’t want to expose anything new, since we wouldn’t have time to get it out of the ground. I grabbed one of the walkie-talkies, too, just in case. They wouldn’t need both at the dig.
We entered camp and put away the tools. George waved and came toward us. We filled her in on what had happened with Steffi. “I hope you found something interesting,” I finished.
“Grayson is a lawyer,” she said. “A federal prosecutor out of Denver, so it makes sense that he knows about cases of fossil theft. Nothing suspicious there. I chatted with Felix a bit, and he said he used to own a deli. That checked out. He’s in his tent now with a book and a battery-operated fan. I found several guys named Russell Stevens, but unless he’s a basketball player, a rock and roll drummer, or a Belgian scientist, nothing on this one. I was just going to work on Abby when I saw you come back.”
“That’s a good start,” I said. “But we need to find out about Russell somehow. On the phone last night he said something about buying and selling. He could have been calling his helpers.”
George peered through the windows of the dark SUV. “This is Russell’s. Hey, his phone is on the console.” George cackled and opened the door.
“What are you doing?” Bess asked, as George pushed buttons.
“Checking what number he called last. It’s a 212 area code. That’s New York City. Let’s go up on the hill.” She pushed buttons as we walked. “The magic of redial,” she muttered.
“He’ll be able to tell someone was messing with his phone!” Bess exclaimed.
“Only if he checks the calling record,” George said, “which he won’t. And even if he does, he won’t know who it was.” She pushed Send as we topped the hill, then held the phone to her ear and spoke. “Hello? I’m sorry, who did you say this was? Oh, I have the wrong number. Sorry.”
She closed the phone. “It’s a stockbroker’s office.”
“I guess he was just keeping track of his investments,” I said.
“All right. Let me check Abby,” George said. A minute later she added, “Abby’s rock shop is legitimate, in Sedona, Arizona. But she doesn’t just sell crystals and jewelry. She sells small fossils, too.”
“Interesting,” I said. “But hardly proof. All right. Let’s look through her tent and car. Does anybody know which car is hers?”
“I saw Abby getting something from that silver SUV,” Bess said.
It was locked. “Who locks their vehicle out here in the middle of nowhere?” George asked.
Bess rolled her eyes. “Yeah. It’s not like anyone would look inside.”
“It’s strange, though,” I said slowly. “With all her talk about nature and crystals and macrobiotic diets, I’d expect her to drive something mor
e energy conscious, like my hybrid.”
“Yeah, or an old VW Bug,” George said. “But not this gas-guzzler.”
I glanced at my watch. “We should have another hour before everyone gets back for lunch. George, see what else you can find on Abby. I want to look through her tent.”
Bess yawned. “I’ll keep watch to warn you if anyone comes back early.”
Abby had a small air mattress, a sleeping bag, a bag with the usual toiletries, and a romance novel. The net pocket by the door held a good flashlight and two candy bar wrappers. She must have been keeping everything else in her locked vehicle.
I sat back on my heels and thought. Abby drove an SUV, and ate candy in her tent after eating health food in front of everyone. She had secrets. But did that mean she was the fossil thief?
I went through her tent again. This time I searched more carefully, for any tiny clue that might be hidden. I flipped through the pages of the book, but didn’t see any extra scribbles. I felt the lining of the makeup bag. I even examined the attached tag, made of leather with a plastic window. Her name and address showed through.
I stared at the name. Abby Morningstar. It sounded like one of those new age last names people give themselves. I wondered what name she’d been born with.
On a hunch, I slid out the name tag. The writing on the back was faded, probably several years old. Abigail Eback.
I slid the tag back into the holder and crawled out of the tent. I waved to Bess. “Come on. Let’s join George.”
She looked up as we crested the hill. “Nothing new yet.”
“Try looking up Abigail Eback.” I explained what I’d found in Abby’s tent.
A minute later George said, “I’m not getting anything on Abigail or Abby. There aren’t even too many Ebacks. Let’s see … Wait a minute. The Arizona Reptile Zoo. Run by Darryl and Dustin Eback. They have snakes, lizards, and spiders.” She frowned. “Spiders aren’t reptiles.”
“Those two brothers!” I exclaimed. I frowned. “I knew there was something familiar about those two guys. I had a sense of déjà vu when we first saw them. It was their unusual eyes. Abby’s are unusual too.”
“It’s Abby!” George said.
“It has to be,” I agreed. “I’ll bet those guys are her sons, and—”
“No, look.” George nudged me. “It’s Abby.” Sure enough, she was entering camp.
15
The Fossil Escapes!
What’s she doing back so early? Come on.” I waved as I approached her. “What’s up? Where are the others?”
“Still working,” she said. “But I have a long drive, so I thought I’d pack up and get started. They’re just hauling heavy loads today, and that’s not really my thing.”
“I see.” My mind raced. I’d thought we’d have all day to get proof and confront Abby. But now that her sons had the fossil, she was taking off to meet them.
I snuck the walkie-talkie out of the tool pile, and dragged George and Bess behind our tent. “We have to call Kyle.”
We tried, but got no answer. I finally gave up. “They must have turned off the other one.” I bit my lip. “George, run back to the dig and tell Kyle. Get help!”
She took off without a word. I hissed to Bess, “We have to stall her.” We joined Abby, who had already emptied her tent. “We’ll help you pack. We’re not doing anything until lunchtime.”
We were as slow and clumsy as we could be, but folding up a tent just doesn’t take that long. We managed to annoy Abby, but she still had her SUV packed up in twenty minutes. It would take at least another twenty minutes for George to return with Kyle, even if they ran the whole way.
“Why don’t you stay for lunch?” I asked Abby. “The others will be back soon.”
Abby grimaced. “I can’t eat all that rich food, full of meat and preservatives. I have some carrot sticks in the car. That will hold me through this afternoon.”
Bess and I tried to make small talk, but Abby got into her SUV, slammed the door, and backed out.
“We have to follow her,” I said.
“She’ll see us,” Bess said.
“We’ll stay back, but we have to take that chance. Otherwise, she’ll get away.”
We got into my car and turned it around. Abby was already out of sight around a corner. I bounced over the rough road, going as quickly as I dared. I knew my hybrid couldn’t keep up with the SUV on dirt roads, if Abby hurried.
I spotted her in the distance. “Come on, come on,” I muttered, willing the car to go faster. Bess held on to the door with one hand and the dashboard with the other.
The walkie-talkie crackled. “Nancy? Come in?”
Bess grabbed it. “George? Abby took off! We’re following her.”
“We’re on our way back. Where are you headed?”
“Toward the highway.”
“We’ll be right behind you.”
I smiled. Now that we had backup, I was sure we could stop Abby.
A bang echoed through the car as a rock, flipped up by the wheel, hit the bottom. I jumped and clutched the steering wheel harder.
We came to a rut so deep I needed one wheel in the bushes to straddle it. I didn’t have time to crawl through that area, so I just aimed and hoped for the best.
Bess squealed, “Watch out!”
The back of the car started sliding. I grappled for control.
The wheels slid into the ruts. I heard an unpleasant crunch as the underside of my car high-centered.
I winced but pressed the gas. My wheels spun. The car didn’t move.
I watched the SUV disappear.
“Oh, no!” I turned off the car. “We’ll never get out of here in time.”
Bess sighed. “You did your best. Now what?”
I leaned my head against the steering wheel for a moment, then straightened. “We do everything we can to go after her.”
I jumped out of the car and Bess followed. “If we can just push this back wheel a little to the right, we should get traction again,” I said. “Good thing the hybrid is so light.”
Bess perched on the edge of the driver’s seat, where she could control the pedals with one foot and push with the other out on the ground. I leaned against the back corner of the car and shoved.
“All right,” I called, “give it a little gas.”
The wheels started to spin slowly. Dust billowed in my face.
A wheel caught, then held. The car inched forward. Bess pulled both her feet in so she could concentrate on her driving.
A minute later we were out of the rut. Bess slid over so I could get into the driver’s seat. “I doubt we’ll catch her now,” she said.
“Our best hope is to see which way she turns on the highway,” I said, easing the car forward.
“If we don’t get stuck again. Wait—what’s that sound?”
I listened. “An engine? We’re too far to be hearing Abby.”
We looked around. A dirty white pickup truck bounced across the scrubland in the distance. “It’s Jimmy!” Bess cried. “Maybe he can help.”
“Get out and wave.” I hit the horn—three short blasts, three long ones, three short ones. Hopefully Jimmy recognized SOS.
The truck turned and bumped toward us. I eased my car to the side of the road in a wide spot and got out as Jimmy pulled up. He leaned out the window. “You stuck again?”
We ran to him. “No, but we have to follow someone.” I pointed to where Abby had disappeared. “We have to find out where that SUV goes.”
“Better jump in, then,” he said.
Bess slid in next to him, and I jumped up beside her. Jimmy took off as we were still fumbling for our seat belts. “It’s one of the women from the dig. Abby,” I said. “Someone stole a fossil last night, and we think she’s involved.”
“That gal stole a fossil from the dig?”
“Her sons, anyway,” I said. “They tied up Steffi and took the most valuable fossil.”
“What!” He scowled, hunched over, an
d drove faster. Bess and I held on to anything we could reach.
“Steffi is all right,” Bess said.
“She wouldn’t like being tied up none,” Jimmy muttered. In minutes we reached the highway and screeched to a stop.
I scanned the road, first left, then right. “That way!” I said, pointing toward a faint dot of silver.
Jimmy turned onto the highway. Bess spoke into the walkie-talkie. “George? We’re on the highway. We turned right.”
“Gotcha.” Her voice crackled. “We’re at camp. Be there soon.”
Jimmy gained on the SUV. I hoped we wouldn’t have to follow Abby all the way to Arizona. What would we do if we caught her, anyway? We didn’t have proof that she was involved in the theft, just suspicions. If she was smart, the valuable fossil would never show up in her shop. She’d sell it secretly. She probably already knew interested buyers who wouldn’t ask questions.
We could only wait and see what happened. A few minutes later the SUV took an exit ramp. “Duck down,” I said to Bess. “Jimmy, keep her in sight. Hopefully she won’t pay attention to the truck.”
We followed, entering a small town. It was basically a gas station with a convenience store and diner, and a handful of scattered houses. I peered over the dashboard and saw the SUV pull around behind the store.
Jimmy parked in front. “Nothing behind there. She must be stopping. I’ll run inside and ask them to call the police.”
Bess gave our location to George. We got out and crept around the side of the building. Some big garbage cans at the back gave us cover so we could see.
Abby was out of the SUV, talking to the two young blond men. The off-road vehicle sat in the bed of a cherry red pickup truck. “They figured out it was you,” Abby said. “I told you it was a mistake to show up yesterday. You’d better load it into my car. If anyone stops you, we don’t want them to find that fossil.”
The men climbed into the bed of their truck. It would take only a couple of minutes to transfer the fossil. “We have to stall them,” I whispered.