A minute passed, then two, as Annja strained her eyes to see who might be out there in the darkness. Finally the gleam of a cigarette caught her eye, flaring red in the darkness for a moment and then dimming again. It was down the hill and off to her left, a few hundred yards away. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked like the light was moving toward her.
She had a decision to make.
If she left now, the open grave would most likely be discovered. If that happened, she’d never get another chance at it; they’d probably post armed guards around the grave site and she’d lose access to whatever it was that Parker had hidden there.
And she’d lose her shot at finding the treasure and using it, in turn, to rescue Garin.
If she stayed and finished the work, she risked getting caught in the act and charged with several different crimes. Criminal trespass. Desecration of a grave. Destruction of federal property. And who knew what else.
Clearly there was only one logical choice.
With her heart beating faster over the possibility of discovery, Annja picked up the flashlight and put it in the bottom of the hole she was digging before turning it back on, knowing the high walls of the grave would keep it from being seen right away. If she worked quickly, she might be able to get out of there before the rider got close enough to know she was even there.
She went back to work with the shovel, breaking up the dirt around the metal object and scooping as much of it out of the way as possible. After a moment a small, rectangular-shaped object became visible in the red light.
The horse neighed again and this time she clearly heard a male voice saying something in response to the animal. They were too far away for her to make out the specifics of what was said, but there was no doubt that they were headed her way.
She was running out of time.
Annja got down on her hands and knees, shielding the light with her body. Clearing the last of the dirt away from the top of the object with her hands, she revealed a small metal chest about the size of a bread box.
But when she tried to tug it free, she found that the earth didn’t want to let go of its prize so easily.
She was going to have to keep digging.
She raised her head slightly so she could see over the lip of the hole where she crouched and was just in time to see the beam of a flashlight arc out over the gravestones at the base of the hill.
Hell! she thought.
Now she was in trouble.
As the rider swept the light around, she could see that it was the park ranger she’d encountered earlier that afternoon, astride the same dark-colored mount, no doubt in the midst of his occasional nightly rounds. He was looking around a bit too earnestly for it to be just a coincidence that he was in this area; he must have heard her.
There was nothing she could do about it.
Now it was a race to see if she could finish unearthing the chest before he discovered where she was hiding.
Annja ducked back down and began scraping furiously at the dirt alongside the edges of the chest, no longer caring if she was making noise. If she didn’t get the chest free in time, all her efforts would be for naught.
“Hello?” the ranger called. “Anyone out there?”
No one but us ghosts, Annja thought, remembering his earlier remark, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at the insanity of it all.
She cleared one side of the chest and moved on to the other, her fingers scratching at the earth, shoving it aside as quickly as she loosened it.
She stole another glance over the edge of the grave.
As she watched, the ranger dismounted and took a few steps forward, his hand on the butt of his holstered revolver. “I can hear you out there,” he called. “Identify yourself!”
He wasn’t looking in her direction, so she felt safe ignoring his command. All she needed was a few more seconds, anyway….
“I’m warning you! Show yourself now and save us both a lot of grief.”
She grabbed the handle on the edge of the chest and pulled.
The chest shifted a little but it didn’t come free.
“Last time!” the ranger called out.
She planted her feet against the wall of the grave and used them as leverage, pulling harder. She could feel her shoulder muscles straining, could feel the earth’s grip loosening…and with a sudden release the chest came free of the earth that had imprisoned it for so long.
Annja fell over backward as the resistance was released. As if fate was determined to prevent her from succeeding in her task, the metal side of the chest struck the blade of her shovel as she toppled over. The sound of metal striking metal rang out over the cemetery in the crisp night air.
The ranger had had enough. He drew his revolver and waved it back and forth in front of him, uncertain precisely where to point it but certain now that he wasn’t alone. The light from his flashlight arced out in her direction.
Annja pulled the chest close to her side and kept her head down for the moment, waiting for the light to move on. When it swept away in the other direction, she boosted herself out of the hole and rolled over flat on her stomach so she was facing toward the ranger, covering the chest with her body.
The light came back toward her a moment later, just as she expected. She tucked her face into the crook of her arm to keep the light from reflecting off her skin and then held as still as possible. The urge to get the heck out of there while she still could was strong, especially when the light danced across the place where she was hiding, but she fought it off, mentally ordering herself not to move. That would only attract attention; if she stayed where she was, chances were good that her dark clothing would help her blend into the landscape and she’d go unnoticed.
The light stopped a few inches to her left and stayed there so long that Annja began to think that her foot was sticking out, in plain sight, and that the ranger was just playing with her. Her heart began to pound in her chest and a thin trickle of sweat rolled down the side of her face despite the cool night air. She tensed, preparing to face off against the ranger should that prove necessary, knowing she couldn’t let herself be caught at this stage of the game.
A rustling sound came from her left, about halfway between her position and that of the ranger. It was easily loud enough for him to hear it as well and Annja watched as his light shifted directly toward it.
Is someone else out here? she wondered.
The sound came again and she could see the ranger growing more agitated by the moment. The muzzle of the gun jerked back and forth, seeking a target.
Then two things happened simultaneously.
The ranger’s light fell on the white-tailed deer that had come down into the cemetery to graze. It was standing just a headstone or two away from where Annja was doing her best to squeeze herself down into the earth to keep from being seen. The ranger’s light caused the creature to bolt, and the ranger, seeing the deer’s big eyes staring back at him out of the darkness, pulled the trigger of his revolver in surprise.
The deer leaped over the grave Annja had spent the past few hours digging and disappeared into the darkness.
The bullet bounced off a nearby headstone and embedded itself in the earth near Annja’s face.
It happened so fast she didn’t even have time to flinch.
“Stupid deer!” the ranger shouted after the already departed animal. “You’re lucky you didn’t get shot!”
That, at least, was a sentiment that Annja could heartily agree with.
She remained where she was as the ranger flung a few more choice words in the direction the deer had run and then got himself under control. Once he had calmed down, he climbed back astride his horse and rode off, leaving Annja alone with the dead.
She waited a few minutes to be certain, but when the ranger didn’t return she climbed slowly to her feet, picked up the chest and fled as quickly as caution allowed.