Page 58 of Grimm

“For that matter…” Grimm climbed back out of the tunnel and held out his hand. “Let me have your cell phone. I’m going to give you a number to call in case of an emergency.”

“Shouldn’t I call 911?” Chad pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Grimm.

Grimm keyed in Hank Patterson’s contact information. “Call Hank first. He’ll know who to contact.”

“Again, be aware and always watch your back,” Dezi said. “Don’t stand out in the open where someone can spot you.”

Grimm chuckled. “Now you’re sounding like a Delta Force operative.”

She dipped her head. “I learned from the best.”

“I have a feeling this challenge will get worse before it gets better.” Grimm stared down into her eyes. “I’d leave you up here, but then I won’t have you in sight.”

She shook her head. “This is the legacy my uncle left for me to discover. I have to do it.”

He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb across her lips. “Let’s do this.”

Dezi fit her headlamp over her hair, switched it on and followed Grimm into the tunnel, praying the walls didn’t cave in.

CHAPTER12

Grimm ledthe way through the narrow walls of the tunnel, leading toward the boarding house. The further he went, the narrower the tunnel became until he was forced to turn sideways to get his broad shoulders through.

“This is the time when being small comes in handy,” Dezi said behind him.

Grimm figured they should be getting close to the house soon. The tunnel sloped slightly downward and ended in a broader cave-like area, with stone walls on three sides and a brick wall with stone steps leading up to a door. The cave contained cast-off items from decades before, from wooden shipping crates to metal barrel bands and a wooden bucket positioned next to the steps.

“We should look through this stuff just in case the treasure is here,” Dezi said.

Grimm turned over boxes and pushed aside metal barrel bands.

Dezi shined her headlamp into the bucket.

“What’s in there?” Grimm asked.

She sifted through square nails and other pieces of metal, including a tarnished skeleton key. “Looks like spare nails and scrap metal.”

Grimm marched up the steps and attempted to turn the doorknob. The knob was rusted almost all the way through and broke off in Grimm’s hand.

Dezi fished the knife out of her pocket and handed it to Grimm. “Try this.”

He opened the blade and jammed it between the door and the doorjamb. He worked it for a few minutes, and finally, the door latch gave, and the door swung toward him. On the other side was a set of wooden stairs leading up into the boarding house and down inside the walls, descending even lower than the basement.

“Great, which way do we go?” Dezi asked.

“All the clue indicated was to take it to a different level. Either way will be a different level.”

“If I were hiding a treasure, I’d bury it,” Dezi said.

“Then we’ll go down the stairs and hope we don’t end up in another narrow tunnel. That last one made me claustrophobic.” He started down the steps, arriving at the bottom where he found two doors.

Grimm tried opening the door on the right. It was locked. He moved to the door on the left. Also locked. He pulled out his cell phone, brought up the image of the letter and read, “The key to unlocking a door is finding the door the key unlocks. It takes a good understanding of those who came before.”

“So, we’re looking for a key.” Dezi shined her light into every corner. “I’m not seeing a key in here.”

“It takes a good understanding of those who came before…” Grimm frowned at the stairs. “We go back the way we came to find the key?”

Dezi’s eyes widened. “The bucket.” She led the way up the stairs to the door that led to the room full of junk in the tunnel. “The bucket contained mostly nails and other scrap metal, but I remember a skeleton key lying on top.” She pushed through the door, hurried down the steps and shined the light on the bucket’s contents. The key lay where she’d left it.

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