Page 5 of Shakedown in Savannah

“It’s incredible.” Pete beamed his flashlight along the perimeter. To the left was what appeared to be a brick wall covered in a thick layer of mud. Straight ahead and to the right were more layers of concrete and brick, similar to the materials used to build the city’s tunnel system.

Luigi let out a low whistle. “It’s nothing but a huge empty space.”

“Man, what a letdown.” Elvira kicked at a pile of rubble, disappointment clearly etched on her grimy face. “I was so sure we were onto something.”

“It was a longshot,” Carlita said. “We knew there was a chance we wouldn’t find anything. At least there are solid support beams in place.”

“Poor Elvira,” Dernice tsk-tsked. “It’s a good thing you didn’t sign on the dotted line for the new business loan, thinking you could pay it off with the riches.”

Stuart Wempley eased past Carlita and shined his light along the perimeter. He cautiously crept toward the wall facing the river. Balancing the flashlight in one hand, he removed his cell phone from his jacket pocket and knelt on the ground.

Curious to find out what he was doing, Carlita made her way over. “What is it?”

“It looks like something was dragged through the dirt.”

She followed his gaze. “You’re right. Whatever it was went that way, toward the river.”

Pete caught up with them. “It’s consistent with the shape of a boat keel.”

“From an old wooden pirate ship?” Carlita asked.

“It’s possible.”

Elvira ran over. “Did I hear someone say ship?”

Pete’s arm shot out, almost clotheslining her. “Stay back. We don’t want to disturb the area.”

“It appears something big was dragged out of here toward the water,” Carlita said.

Elvira’s eyes lit. “Seriously? Like a pirate ship or treasure chest?”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Wempley shifted his feet. “It’s going to take some time to analyze what this might have been.”

“Time? How much time? Hours? Days? Weeks?” Clearly, Elvira was becoming unhinged.

Carlita stepped in front of her, forcing her to meet her gaze. “It will be all right,” she said in an even tone. “Tromping around here will destroy any clues about what it may have been.”

“I was so sure we were onto something.”

“And we still may be, but it might take a little longer.” Carlita led the distraught woman back toward the tunnel. The others exited and gathered near the opening, leaving Pete and the engineer inside.

She could hear them talking in low voices, but not what was being said.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Dernice patted her sister’s shoulder. “There could be more to this than meets the eye.”

“Meaning it could be buried under the soil.” Elvira brightened. “Yeah. I mean, if I was a pirate and wanted to hide my treasure, I wouldn’t leave it sitting on top of the ground. Pirates bury stuff.”

Carlita wagged her finger. “We need to excavate the area in an orderly fashion.”

“What we need is an expert in archaeology. I have a possible connection to a famous Biblical archaeologist. Maybe she could point us in the right direction,” Elvira said. “Her name is Randi Colbane. I met her at a treasure hunting convention.”

“The same convention where you met Damon Wells and Jamie Grift from your Agamerian fiasco?” Carlita pointedly asked.

“Nah.” Elvira waved dismissively. “She has nothing to do with those two clowns.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Seriously, we need to call in an expert. I’ll get right on it.” Elvira began shoving her tools back inside the duffel bag.

---