Page 82 of Trapped with the Covert Ops Soldier

“So, you never found any gold in that cave?” the man in the suit asked.

She turned to him. “All I found down there was death and dead bodies.” She smiled grimly. “I’m sure there’s gold down there, or at least those dead miners thought there was, but whatevermightbe down there, should remain there. It isn’t safe.”

“Is the tunnel still intact?”

“I don’t know, I was too busy running for my life at the time.” The idea of going back made her shiver. “I’m not going back down there.”

She thought about his question a bit more. “But, you’re right, if the tunnel is still intact, people are going to be curious. And curious people do stupid things.” She looked at the sheriff. “Would I need a permit or need to ask permission to collapse the tunnel? It will probably take explosives.”

“It’s on private property, so no one can stop you,” Sheriff Johnson said. “But I’d appreciate it if you gave my office a courtesy call the day before.”

She frowned. “Why’d you arrest me for blowing up dynamite on the lake then?”

“The lake isn’t private property. It belongs to the State.”

“Oh.”

The man in the suit cleared his throat.

He held out a business card. “My apologies for not introducing myself earlier.”

The card had a name, Bartholomew Jones, esq. and a phone number.

“I’m an agent with the US Treasury Department. When the news of a possible entry point to the mine reached us, I was sent to find out if a significant amount of gold was about to be discovered or not. We have a vested interest in monitoring influxes of currency.”

“Huh, I had you pegged as a lawyer.”

“I am. Since you appear to be uninterested in allowing anyone to use the tunnel under your property, and no large new source of gold is imminent, I’m also in a position to offer you some advice.”

She tilted her head to one side.This should be interesting. “Go for it.”

“There is a half-dozen representatives, most lawyers, outside this office who are going to offer large sums of money for your property. Be very careful with what you say to any of them. And, if you do decide to sell your property, engage your own lawyer for any negotiations.”

“They’re only going to get one word from me,” she told him. “No.”

“Excellent.” He gave her a smile. “If you have any questions, please call the number on the card.”

He nodded at her and the sheriff, then walked out.

Sheriff Johnson stared at her. “If you sell, you’ll probably be set for life.”

She snorted. “At what cost? That mine has already taken over two thousand lives. How many more does it need to take for it to become too expensive?”

He shrugged. “It’s a moot point since there isn’t any gold in it anyway. Right?”

“Right.” She yawned. “Can I please go home?”

“Sure, I’ve recorded everything so, when you wake up tomorrow, come by to read the transcript and sign off on it.”

“Okay, thanks.” She got to her feet and the sheriff joined her at the door. He opened it and plowed a hole through the people waiting to speak to her. Smitty connected with her, put one arm around her and held out the other in front of him like he was running with a football.

People shouted questions at her, but they ran into each other creating a cacophony of noise, rendering it all intelligible. The officers in the station helped keep the crowd at bay and Smitty got her into his Jeep. Two men in the crowd stood out from the others thanks to their Army uniforms.

“Friends of yours?” she asked as they drove out of the parking lot and toward her home. The two men got into a truck and followed them.

“Yeah, I called in the cavalry before Virgil caught me.”

That didn’t sound right, Smitty was really good at sneaking around. “You let him catch you, didn’t you?”

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