Pursuit of Justice (29 page)

“The question is what?” Carr’s response held no sign of fear. Could he have a plan as well? “Can’t be a cache of gold here unless the pottery opens to a room or tunnel.”

“The legend speaks of a huge room filled with Inca gold,” Brandt said.

“Come see for yourself.” Carr hoisted himself out of the hole.

Bella saw her opportunity. Brandt limped closer, insane greed glazing his eyes. She caught Carr’s attention.
Anne, watch me.

Fifteen feet.

Twelve feet.

Ten feet.

Eight feet.

Come on. Just a little closer.
Carr could use the shovel as a weapon. Anne could wiggle from Brandt’s grasp.

Six feet.

She could almost reach out and touch him.

“We could finish this by ourselves,” Brandt said to Bella. “We could open the jar and take the tunnel to the gold.” He turned his gun on Carr. “Since Rachel hasn’t ever killed a man before, guess I’ll have to do it myself. She can prove her trust in other ways.”

“No.” Bella started to reach for Brandt, but he swung the weapon toward her.

His eyes flared. “What’s the problem? Have you lied to me?” He jerked Anne between them. “Why not let me take care of little sister first?”

Bella drew in a sharp breath. “There’s no point in killing either of them. He could help us get the gold out of there. I mean with your knee and all.”

“Drop it, Richardson.”

Bella startled at the sound of her father’s voice.

“I told you years ago that you’d better never mess with my family again. And that means leaving my daughters alone.”

Brandt laughed, but he didn’t lower his gun. “You gave Rachel to me. Remember? You sold her to me.”

“That was before I got smart.”

“You mean became a religious cripple?”

“Yes. But since I have a gun aimed at your back, I don’t think I’m a cripple.”

“How’s that? I have my gun on Anne’s pretty face. Or I can kill Rachel. Which one is it going to be?”

“Turn around and face me like a man instead of the snake you are. Leave women and children alone.”

“Big talk for a little man. Let’s be reasonable.”

“Not when it comes to my daughters. Drop it now.”

Brandt hesitated long enough for Carr to whip the shovel from the hole and into his midsection. Brandt lost balance and fell over the hole, his body sprawled out like a pagan tribute to an idol. Anne screamed and scrambled away. Bella grabbed Brandt’s gun, but he grabbed her foot, causing her to fall.

“You’ll always be mine,” he said. “Don’t you forget it.”

“I don’t think so.” She jerked free of his hold, the gun trained on him. Her gaze flew first to Carr and then to Anne and her father. She’d been wrong, oh so wrong. She stared into her father’s leathery face, not knowing what to say or even where to begin. He had his arms around Anne, but his focus was on Bella.

“Are you all right?” her dad whispered. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“I’m fine.”

Carr anchored his boot on Brandt’s back. He glared at Brandt, who stared at him pitifully. Bella could only imagine what Carr was thinking—the murders, Darren, the threat on Lydia’s life. He turned from Brandt and reached to help Bella to her feet. She trembled, her knees shaking.

“Thank you,” she said to her father. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been wrong. I should have been able to tell from the way the kids turned out that you were sincere.”

His eyes moistened. “You had every right not to believe me. Just glad I got here in time. When I went to check on Anne at her babysitting job and learned she’d been nabbed, I realized what had happened.”

“How did you know we were out here?” Carr said.

“I stopped at the ranch house to get Rachel to help me. Told the woman there who I was and why I needed to find Rachel. She had no idea where you two had gone. I had a feeling that I shouldn’t call your cell phones or have Lydia raise you on the radio. So I took a chance and followed the truck tracks.”

Bella’s eyes filled with tears, and she didn’t know which emotion had caused them. But she knew she needed to reach out to this man who had carried a burden of guilt for too many years. She reached for her father. He released Anne and clasped her waist while tears flooded his eyes and poured down his cheeks.

“My dear Rachel Bella.” His voice broke. “I’m sorry for all I did to you. I was so very wrong.”

And that’s when she realized she’d truly forgiven him, and she’d finally come home.

Chapter 58

Once Sheriff Roano had Brandt in custody and her dad and Anne had left, Carr and Bella lingered at the butte. The relief caused by Brandt’s arrest and the reconciliation with her dad had left her weak. And yet she wanted to stay beside Carr.

“Sure was good of Roano and his deputy to lift the jar from the hole,” she finally said.

“Shall we find out what’s in it?” Carr bent to study the large globe-shaped pottery. Nothing lay beneath, no tunnel or hidden room filled with gold. “I wouldn’t want to break the handle.”

He’s as uncertain about what Brandt’s arrest means to our relationship as I am.
“We’re both too curious to leave it alone.”

“Yeah. Driving me nuts to see the contents. Especially since you haven’t told me what Shep said.”

“I was afraid of sounding like a treasure hunter.” Bella knelt beside him.

Vestiges remained of what looked like a blanket that had been used to protect the pottery. Carr continued to wipe the dirt from the top of the jar, revealing a diamond pattern painted in red and yellow. “Look at the etchings,” he said. “My guess, it’s Inca.”

Bella lightly traced her fingers over the pattern encased in black. “I have no idea, but that makes sense. The lid looks like a huge ring or a stirrup. This is incredible.”

“What did old Shep say was in the jar?”

“A treasure worth more than silver or gold.”

Carr leaned in closer to the lid’s seal. “My guess is candle wax was used to seal the lid to the pottery jar on the inside and then sealed again on the outside.” He sucked in a breath. “I don’t believe this, but I see fingerprints embedded in the wax.”

“You’re kidding.” Her heart pounded. “I bet they belong to the priest who buried it.” She studied the indentations. “I’ll be anxious to see what the radiocarbon testing shows. The prints are smaller than what I’d expect.”

He picked up his camera and took several pictures. “I don’t want to break the seal in the area of the fingerprints.” He studied the jar a little longer. “It’s soft in the heat.” He hesitated and gingerly touched the wax. “I think I can remove this section without damaging the fingerprints.”

For the next several minutes, he worked with the wax until the sections containing fingerprints lay on the ground. Together he and Bella lifted the lid.

She peered inside the pottery. What had they found? “It’s a book. Maybe two of them. Remember history records the priest carrying a Bible. I wonder if these are written in Spanish or Latin.”

“One way to find out,” Carr said.

Bella rubbed her hands on her jeans. “I wouldn’t want it to disintegrate in my hands.”

“Candle wax would have preserved the contents in the jar.”

“I can’t wait. And I can be careful.”

Carr laughed. “You remind me of a kid at Christmas.”

“This is better.” She reached into the jar and pulled out one fragile, leather-bound book. It looked to be approximately ten by eleven inches, nearly square. Age had taken its toll, but the wax had preserved it very well. Another book lay beneath it. Trembling she opened the cracked cover of the first one to the vellum pages. “Latin,” she said. “If only it were in Spanish; then I could read it.”

“I might be able to help there.” When she startled, he continued. “I’ve been taking a few Latin classes in order to read translations of the Bible and other antiquities.”

She handed the book to him. “Be my guest.”

“Oh, my goodness. It’s
The Imitation of Christ
by Thomas à Kempis.”

“What?”

“Some view this as second to the Bible,” Carr said. “For Catholics and Protestants, this has been the heart of meditation and inspiration for over five hundred years. Come to think of it, this manuscript is probably that old.”

“What is the book about?”

“Reflections of Christ’s life and His teachings. It’s been translated into several different languages.”

“Now I’ll need to read it.” The moment felt reverent, beautiful.

While Carr leafed through it, she thought about Brandt’s insatiable desire for treasure. “You know, I don’t hate Brandt anymore. Haven’t gotten to the forgiveness part yet, but I’m making progress.”

Carr glanced up. “It’ll come.”

With her heart still in meditation mode, she reached for the second book and handed it to him. She thought it was a Bible, perhaps nine inches by thirteen.

“The Vulgate.” Carr breathed the words as though they were a prayer. “A Latin Bible. Finding these two books is a miracle.”

Beneath the heat of a hot Texas late afternoon, Carr read a few passages he was able to translate.

“A treasure worth more than silver or gold,” she repeated Shep Wither’s words. “Those searching for gold are going to be very disappointed.”

“I imagine they’ll keep looking for the cache.” He sat back and studied her. “To me, what we’ve found is worth more than money could ever buy.”

“And to think God knew we’d find it.”

“These are a priceless addition to any museum, and the pottery too. And look what else we’ve found,” he said.

Her attention snapped to his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I was referring to what else God has shown us.”

“Do you mean that the case is solved?”

He shook his head. “Try again.”

She searched her thoughts. Perhaps she was too tired and hot to follow him. “You can proceed to build the home for at-risk teens?”

“That’s a good one. But not what I’m thinking.” He reached out and she willingly settled in his arms. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?”

“Couldn’t possibly be any longer than I have. However, our left arms are in the way.”

“Those will heal.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “So will you stay here on the High Butte and help me run this place? even continue with the plans to build the home for boys?”

“In what capacity?”

His lips met with hers gently, then deepening until she shivered in the heat and broke away.

“There’s an FBI office in Abilene,” he said.

“You’ve looked into it?”

“I have. And in answer to your question, the
capacity
I’m speaking of is as my wife.”

She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Words formed in her heart, but she couldn’t utter a single sound.

Not only had she really come home.

She’d found God.

She’d found her family.

She’d found Carr right here in West Texas beneath a butte marking Spanish treasure. And she wasn’t about to let him go.

A Note from the Author

Dear reader,

As a child, I spent lots of warm summer days looking for buried treasure. While digging in a pasture, I would envision who’d buried the treasure and the amount of gold and jewels beneath my feet. Some childhood dreams never change.

A few years ago, while visiting a friend in West Texas, I was told about the legend of the Spider Rock treasure. My friend even knew people who continued to look for the lost Spanish gold. Immediately I became interested, not to embark upon a digging expedition but to write a contemporary story about this legend. I snatched up every article and book I could find about Spider Rock, and I began interviewing treasure hunters and dreaming about a romantic suspense novel that used this information.

I made a second trip to West Texas for the sole purpose of setting the stage for my story and visiting sites mentioned in the Spider Rock research. What fun! I lived Bella’s life vicariously while my mind spun with possibilities.

Pursuit of Justice
weaves a generous thread of history with a greedy treasure hunter—and the woman who helped to stop him. I hope you enjoyed Bella and Carr’s story. They found a real treasure, the kind that time and man cannot destroy.

Now what did I do with my pick and shovel? I think they’re beside my trusty hoe—the one I use to kill rattlesnakes. LOL!

Expect an Adventure

DiAnn Mills

www.diannmills.com

About the Author

Award-winning author DiAnn Mills is a fiction writer who combines an adventuresome spirit with unforgettable characters to create action-packed novels. DiAnn’s first book was published in 1998. She currently has more than fifty books in print, which have sold more than a million and a half copies.

Six of her books have appeared on the CBA best-seller list. Six of her books have either won or placed in the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year contest, and she is the recipient of the Inspirational Reader’s Choice award for 2005 and 2007. She was a Christy Award finalist for
Lightning and Lace
in 2008 and for
Breach of Trust
in 2010.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Inspirational Writers Alive; Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope and Love chapter; and the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is also the Craftsman mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild.

Her latest releases are
A Woman Called Sage
and
Sworn to Protect
.

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever hunted for treasure? What are some of the moral implications of treasure hunting?

2. Carr discovered that following Christ didn’t make him immune to tragedy or crisis. Do you think that’s fair? Why or why not?

3. Why did Bella throw all of her energies into her work and ignore personal relationships? How valid were her reasons for doing that?

4. Have you ever been interested in investigative work? How might the accepted means of obtaining information conflict with a Christian’s commitment to truth and honesty? In what ways could investigative work fulfill a Christian’s mission?

5. How well do you read body language? Do you find it helpful or threatening that others may be able to discern your thoughts and motives by observing your nonverbal communication? Why?

6. Bella treasured her aunt Debbie. What did she offer that Bella desperately needed? Is there someone in your life who meets a similar need for you? Have you ever filled this role in someone else’s life?

7. Bella battled with wanting to be a part of her siblings’ lives, but she feared confrontation with her father. If you were her best friend, what would you have suggested?

8. Brandt was a hardened man, motivated by greed. Why is it that some become better people when they face adversity, while others sink into evil?

9. Bella and Carr realized they were attracted to each other, but so many problems stood in their way. What did Carr and Bella have to give up in order to be together? Would any of the obstacles they faced have stopped you from following your heart?

10. Where is your treasure? Is that where you want your heart to be? If not, what changes will you try to make in the coming year?