Kate and the Wyoming Fossil Fiasco (9 page)

Early the next morning Kate got a phone call from Sydney. Still half-asleep, she answered. “H—hello?” “Kate, you won’t believe it!” “What is it, Sydney?”

“I called that museum in Vancouver,” Sydney explained. “Well actually, my mom called for me. She told them our suspicions about the stingray fossil and guess what?” “The one they have on display is a fake?” Kate asked. “That’s right. It’s a fake!” Sydney squealed. “So the real one is still out there … somewhere. Oh, and guess what?” “What?”

“When we asked them who authorized the fossil to come to them, they didn’t have a name. They just said it was a man from Stone’s Throw Quarry who set the whole thing up.”

Kate sighed. “Well, that could be anyone.” “I know. But we’re getting close, Kate. I can feel it!” “All I feel”—Kate let out a long yawn—”is tired! But thanks for calling, Sydney. This is our last day, so we have to figure this out right away!”

They ended the call and Kate took a shower. Then she and McKenzie searched for Joel. They found him in the dining hall, eating breakfast alone. Most of the others weren’t awake yet.

Plopping down at the table, Kate said, “I need to talk to you.” She eyed one of his doughnuts, which he gave to her. She popped it into her mouth, enjoying the gooey sweetness. “Yum.”

“What do you need to talk about?” Joel looked curious and pressed another doughnut into his mouth.

“We have some news for you.” McKenzie sat on the other side of him.

Kate told him all about Sydney’s call—every last detail. The more she talked, the more upset Joel got.

“Wait.” He stood and began to pace the room. “You’re saying that not only is my stingray missing, someone has forged it and sent the forgery to a museum in Canada?”

“That’s right.” Kate nodded, feeling a lump rise up in her throat. “But stay calm, Joel.”

“How can I stay calm? I’m never going to get the internship now. Maybe Mr. Jenkins will think I faked the fossil myself. Maybe he’ll think I’m behind this.”

“No one will suspect you,” McKenzie said.

Kate paused. “Well that’s not completely true. I actually suspected him.”

“W—what?” Joel said.

She told him about Mrs. Smith’s forged fossil and he stared at her, his eyes narrowing.

“You thought I had something to do with that, Kate? You think I would forge fossils and sell them?”

“Well, I …” She shook her head. “Oh, I don’t know, Joel. I was confused. You have access to the room where this is taking place. And you have motive.”

“I—I do?” He looked confused.

“Well sure,” Kate said. “You’re trying to get that internship. I thought maybe you would do
anything
to get it.”

He raked his fingers through his hair and then stared at them once again. “I’d do almost anything to win the internship, but not that. I wouldn’t stoop to illegal activity. Besides, I love the Jenkins family. I would never put the quarry at risk. Never.” His voice shook with emotion, and Kate suddenly felt awful for accusing him in the first place.

“Let’s just forget I said anything about it, okay?” Kate said. “Will you forgive me for suspecting you?”

“Well sure,” he said. “But if
you
suspect me, maybe others do, too.”

Megan walked into the room just then. “What are you kids talking about? You look pretty intense.”

“Megan, we’re getting more clues about the fake fossils,” Kate explained. “And I’m more curious than ever about who is doing this. We found out that Joel’s stingray fossil, which turned up at a museum in Vancouver, was also forged, just like the ones at the museum in Philly.”

“Oh no.” Megan sat down. “I wonder if my dad knows.” She shook her head. “If we don’t get this straightened out, our quarry will have a bad reputation. We can’t risk that. People all over the country love us, and we want them to know they can trust us.”

“There’s really only one way,” Joel said. “We have to figure this out … and fast!”

“Yes, camp ends this afternoon,” Kate reminded them. “So we have to work super fast.”

“I’ll tell you what …” Megan shook her head. “I probably shouldn’t do this, but I’ll help you kids figure this out. I’ll do it to help my dad … and you.”

“That’s awesome, Megan,” Kate said. “But how?”

“Easy. We’ll walk straight into the clean and prep room and see for ourselves. I’ll take you there, but we’ll have to wait until late this afternoon while the others are at the excavation site.”

“We … all four of us?” McKenzie asked.

“Well sure. All you had to do was ask,” Megan said. “I would have taken you there all along.”

Kate slapped herself in the head. “I don’t believe it. You’re so great, Megan. I thought you would be mad at us after last night.”

“What did you do last night?” Joel asked.

Kate filled him in and his eyes grew wide. “You went outside in the dark? With all the coyotes hanging around?”

“Y—yeah,” McKenzie agreed. “We didn’t know about the coyotes or we wouldn’t have gone.”

“We think we’ll figure this out once we get in the room,” Kate said. “Is it okay to bring my camera and some of my other gadgets?”

“Sure.” Megan shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” She paused a moment, then looked at the girls. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes.” McKenzie and Kate both spoke at the same time.

“Do you think Gus is the one doing this?”

Kate shrugged. “Maybe.”

The wrinkle in Megan’s brow grew deeper. “Well, before you judge him too harshly, I think you kids need to know something about him.”

“O—okay.” Kate gave her a curious look.

“Here’s the deal,” Megan said. “About two years ago when my dad first met Gus, we fell in love with him … and his wife, Jeannie. She was bubbly and fun and always made us laugh.”

“I didn’t know Gus was married,” Joel said. “I’ve never met his wife.”

Megan paused. “Gus and Jeannie were on a road trip to Colorado, carrying some expensive fossils from the quarry where he used to work. Gus was driving the car at the time, and they had a terrible accident late at night.”

Kate gasped. “Really? What happened?”

“A driver fell asleep at the wheel and hit Gus’s car. Jeannie was badly hurt.”

“Oh Megan, that’s awful!” Kate said.

“Yes. She spent a long time in the hospital—several months. She’s been in a rehab facility ever since. Gus goes to see her every day. I understand the hospital is very expensive.”

Kate looked at McKenzie and mouthed the word, “Wow!” Maybe Gus forged the fossils and sold them to make the money he needed for his wife’s care.

“On top of all this, the quarry he used to work for fired him because the fossils he was delivering were ruined in the accident.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” McKenzie said. “Why would they fire him when the accident wasn’t his fault?”

“I don’t know.” Megan shook her head. “But my father felt sorry for Gus and gave him the job here. And even though he’s kind of grumpy, we love him very much. He’s like a grandfather to me.”

Megan started to go on but got distracted by the other campers entering the dining room. Megan headed off in search of Conner.

After she left, Kate turned to McKenzie and Joel. “What did you think of that?”

“Megan obviously thinks Gus is innocent,” McKenzie said. “She feels sorry for him because of what happened. I don’t blame her. It’s a sad story.”

“Yes, but …”

Joel’s eyes narrowed. “I think there’s more to the story than meets the eye.”

“He has motive,” Kate said. “And he obviously needs money.”

“Exactly.” McKenzie nodded.

“And he does work in that room all alone.” Kate’s tummy rumbled. “I guess we can talk more about this over some food. I’m so busy solving mysteries that I don’t have time to eat. That’s inexcusable!”

They all laughed.

After breakfast, the campers headed across the parking lot. Kate saw Gus entering the back door of the building. Something about seeing him troubled her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. It was probably the story Megan had told about what had happened to his wife.

Watch out, Kate
, she scolded herself.
Don’t start feeling sorry for him!

Still, something about seeing him today put things in a new light. She pondered that for a minute, trying to make sense of her feelings.

Suddenly Kate snapped her fingers as she realized what had been bothering her so much. “McKenzie!”

“What?”

“Did you see Gus just now?”

“Sure.” McKenzie shrugged. “What about him?”

“Did you notice what he was wearing?”

McKenzie’s eyes grew wide. “Now that you mention it, yes. He was wearing the quarry uniform—brown pants and a tan shirt.”

“Not
blue jeans,” Kate said. “The person in the picture I took last night was definitely wearing jeans.”

“Yes, but that picture was taken in the middle of the night,” McKenzie said. “So he probably doesn’t wear his uniform when he goes to the quarry in the middle of the night to pack the forged fossils. In fact, it’s more likely he would wear regular clothes if he’s doing something sneaky.”

“I suppose.” Just one more thing for Kate to think about. But with so little time left, her thoughts were now tumbling around in her head faster than she could keep up with them. If she and McKenzie ever needed prayer … now was the time!

Just after breakfast, when the others went to watch a video on the quarry’s history, Megan led the way to the prep room. “It’s quiet in here during this time of day. Gus does most of his work during the afternoon.”

“And in the middle of the night,” Kate added.

“The middle of the night?” Megan looked at her curiously. “Are you saying that because you think it was Gus in the pictures you took last night?”

Kate nodded. “Yes.”

“Well we don’t know that for sure,” Megan said. “And remember the story I told you about Gus. We need to assume he is innocent until proven guilty.”

“Okay.” Kate sighed. Still, she would prove once and for all that Gus did this. Maybe. “Megan, do you mind if I use my fingerprint kit?” Kate asked when they were inside the room.

Megan shrugged. “I don’t mind. But remember, Kate, lots of people come in and out of this room, not just Gus. So any prints you lift might belong to other people.”

Kate nodded. “I know. I just need to compare the prints to the ones on the fossil plate back in Philadelphia.”

She reached in her backpack, pulled out the fingerprint kit and went to work. “Oooh, this is the perfect spot!” She pressed the fingerprint tape down on the table and lifted a perfect print. Kate could hardly wait to compare it to the ones from the ruined fossil back in Philly.

“Here’s another one, Kate.” McKenzie pointed to a shipping label on a wooden crate. “Might as well get it, too!”

They spent the next five minutes lifting all sorts of fingerprints. Megan watched at the door, in case anyone decided to come in the room.

Just as Kate finished with the last print, she heard a familiar voice.

“What are you girls doing in here?”

Conner
. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too upset that Megan had let them in the room.

Megan flashed a smile. “Oh hey, Conner. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with the kids?”

“I had something to take care of first.” He looked at her curiously. “Aren’t these girls supposed to be watching the video, too?”

“I’ll send them in there when we’re done,” Megan said with a nod. “Something came up and I needed to …”

“Needed to what?” He drew near, a concerned look on his face.

“Well I offered to help the girls with something.”

Kate tucked the fingerprint kit into her backpack. No point in saying too much.

Just then, the door to the room opened and Grumpy Gus stepped inside. Kate’s breath caught in her throat.
Oh no! Caught!

“What’s going on in here, a party?” he asked. “You people filling my workspace for some reason?”

“Well actually, we were …” Megan stopped before finishing her sentence.

“She’s giving us a tour,” Kate said.

“You know how I feel about kids in my work space.” Gus looked grumpier than ever. “I don’t like them in here.”

“Yes, get these campers out of here, Megan,” Conner said. He gave her a warning look but Kate still had a couple of questions that needed to be answered, so she jumped right in.

“Can I ask you a question?” She drew near Conner. “What happened to Joel’s stingray fossil? It’s disappeared from the museum.”

“It has not,” he said with the wave of a hand. “I had a request from a museum in Vancouver, so I asked Gus to send it.”

“I packed it up a week ago and shipped it,” Gus said. “Why are you asking?”

“Oh, no reason.” Kate shrugged and tried to look calm, though her insides were trembling. She didn’t mention that the fossil in Vancouver was a fake.

“You kids get on out of here,” Gus said. “I have work to do and I can’t do it with you underfoot.”

As he shooed them out of the room, Kate had a brilliant idea. She deliberately left her backpack sitting on the floor next to the lab table. Following Megan out of the back door, she tried to still her shaking hands. She whispered the verse that Elizabeth had given her—the one about being able to do all things through Christ who strengthened her—and took a deep breath.

They stepped out into the bright sunlight and Kate planned her next words. She started with two simple ones: “Oh dear.”

“What is it, Kate?” Megan looked her way.

“I, um, I left something in the room.”

“What?” Megan asked.

“My backpack,” she said. “I left it. It’ll only take a minute.”

Megan held open the door and Kate ran back inside.

“What are you doing in here, kid?” Gus said, looking her way. “I told you that I have work to do.”

“Oh, I know.” She flashed a smile. “I just came back to get my backpack. Sorry.”

Gus grunted and walked to the other side of the room to lift a packing crate. Kate took advantage of the fact that his back was turned and reached inside her backpack, quickly pulling out the tiny digital recorder. She set it in the corner behind a stack of trays and positioned it to face Gus’s worktable.

Oh, I hope this works!

She glanced across the room at Gus, who was now heading her way. “Get on out of here, kid. I don’t need you leaving stuff in here for me to trip over.”

“Yes, sir.” She lifted her backpack to show him that she was ready to leave and he grunted again. She was pretty sure she heard him mutter something about kids always getting in his way, but she didn’t take the time to listen. No, she had something else to take care of now. Something very important.

She raced back outside, and approached McKenzie and Megan, now out of breath. “I—I need to go back to the cabin and look at these prints,” she said. “Is that okay?”

“Yes. I’ll walk you there. Then McKenzie and I will join the others in the video room. What are you thinking, Kate?”

“I need to figure out if the fingerprints match. And then, um …” She fiddled with her backpack, growing nervous.

“What?” Megan asked.

“Then I need to figure out a way to get back in the shipping room to fetch my video camera, which I just hid behind some trays.”

“Brilliant, Kate!” McKenzie clapped her hands together.

Megan laughed. “Wow. You really have done this case-solving thing before, haven’t you?”

Kate nodded. “I have. But this time is a little more nerve-racking!”

They walked back to the cabin together, and then Megan

and McKenzie headed to the video room. Kate pulled out her fingerprint kit and examined the prints she had taken that day at the museum. Then she compared them to the ones she had taken today.

The ones from the lab table were a perfect match. Bingo! So were the ones from the shipping crate. Obviously the same person who packed the crate was the one who had forged the fossils, right?

Hmm. She paused to think about that. Like Megan said, more than one person worked in the shipping room. How would she ever know for sure whose fingerprints these were? She would have to print each person who worked in the room. In fact, she would have to print every person who ever went in that room.

Kate pulled out her cell phone and took several pictures of the fingerprints and sent them by picture message to Alexis. “Maybe her uncle can run these prints and tell us who committed the crime,” Kate said to herself.

She put all of the items back in her backpack. Then she leaned back against the pillows and began to pray.

“Lord, if You want me to solve this case, I’m really, really going to need Your help. I know the prints match, but I don’t know whose prints they are. Lord, can You show us who did this? Was it Gus? Or was it someone else?”

As she continued to pray, Kate’s eyes grew heavy. She drifted off into a hazy sleep. She woke almost an hour later! “Oh no! What have I done?” Just as she scrambled

to her feet, her phone rang. She looked at the number, recognizing it right away. Elizabeth.

Kate answered with a quick, “Hello?”

“Kate, I was praying for you this morning,” Elizabeth said. “And I felt like I was supposed to call and tell you to be extra careful today. I have the strongest feeling someone is pretending to be something they’re not.”

“Like that Jacob and Esau story,” Kate said. “You know what? I think you’re right. I’ve been wondering about something all morning long.” She quickly told Elizabeth her suspicions and her friend agreed to pray. In fact, she decided they should stop to pray, right then and there. Over the phone.

“Lord, You know who did this,” Elizabeth prayed. “And You know the truth from a lie. We ask that You give Kate and McKenzie wisdom to know the difference today. Help them solve this case, Lord. Amen!”

“Amen!” Kate echoed.

By the time she hung up the phone, she felt energized to finish what she had started. She would figure out who was Jacob and who was Esau. And when she got it figured out, she’d know exactly who had forged those fossils … and why!