Authors: Carolyn Keene

The Legend of Miner's Creek (14 page)

BOOK: The Legend of Miner's Creek

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“B.D. Easthamâarrested?” Pete said, surprised. He pushed his cowboy hat back and shook his head. “Are you sure there hasn't been some mistake?”

“Absolutely,” Rachel said. She told him about B.D.'s confession.

“So, where's breakfast?” Bess asked as they headed into the lodge. “I bet Elsa has something delicious for us, and I've had enough of hospital food.”

“You were only there for one meal,” George teased.

“I know, but I couldn't stop thinking of you eating that delicious barbecued beef,” she said.

Charlie met them at the door, saying he had just finished talking on the phone to the sheriff. B.D. was safely behind bars, Charlie reported, being held on suspicion of arson, attempted murder, and a number of other charges. He had already admitted everything to the sheriff.

“I also told the sheriff about the mine and Jeremiah Benner's remains,” Charlie said. “He's sending his deputies back up to Prospector's Canyon.”

After a large breakfast of pancakes and fruit, Nancy, Rachel, and George were all ready to catch up on their sleep.

“We'll have another barbecue again tonight,”
Charlie announced as they headed for their bunks. “And this time, no spilling barbecue sauce on the host!”

â¢Â â¢Â â¢

The sun was just going down when everyone was gathered around the campfire again, along with the other guests, Maddie, and Pete.

After hearing how B.D. had been discovered with a duffel bag full of explosives, Maddie explained that she had found the blasting cap in Prospector's Canyon. “I didn't want to tell you I'd been there,” Maddie said. “Especially after you said you were looking for someone coming in the back way to the retreat. You see, there's a golden eagle nest at the back end of the canyon, and I had been out checking on it.”

Nancy asked about Rocky, the eagle.

“He's doing better,” she said. Then she leaned close to Nancy. “I think I've got a line on a grant to build a new hospital. I've been talking to Tyler Nelson this week, and he says the senator may be able to help.”

“That is, if no one sics the sheriff on me,” Tyler teased, leaning over Nancy's shoulder.

“Sorry,” Nancy said. “I really did think it was you at first, Tyler.”

“Charlie told me B.D. lied about when I flew into town. If you'd finished your snooping when you were in my cabin, you might have seen in my appointment book that I got here
after
you, not before.”

“How did you know I was in your cabin?” Nancy asked sheepishly.

Tyler grinned. “Charlie told me. He wanted to know about the letter from the preservation group. I had taken the one from his desk and made a copy. I saw it there one day, and I wanted to check out the competition. I found out it was a bogus operation, too. That was as far as I got. Except that I did learn not to send mail with B.D. It kept getting lost. But I never made the connection between all the near-disasters and the gold. It took you to do that, Nancy.”

“I just wish I'd figured out it was B.D. sooner,” Nancy said.

“He's the last person anyone would have guessed,” Tyler said. “I don't think Charlie and Rachel would believe it now if you hadn't convinced them with that daring plan of yours.

“There's one thing I still don't understand,” Tyler continued. “Why was Jeremiah's skeleton in the mine?”

“He must have been caught in a rock slide,” Nancy said. “That hillside is unstable. Maybe, if Charlie's dad, Cyrus, had known where Jeremiah was, he could have been saved. So I guess, in a way, it was his own greed that killed him.”

“Just like it was greed that got B.D.,” Tyler said. “Greed and your good detective work.”

Nancy was embarrassed to have one of her suspects complimenting her. She thanked Tyler and
was going to get herself more lemonade when Charlie tapped a glass with his fork and began to speak.

“I have an announcement,” he said. “As you all know by now, we've had some pretty unusual guests at the Highland Retreat this week. And they've solved a couple of old mysteries. So I have a special souvenir for each of them.”

Charlie handed Nancy, George, and Bess each a gold chain with a pendant of gold-veined quartz.

“Maddie told me about a jewelry artist in Eagle Point who works with stones,” he said. “While you were asleep, he made these up. He also told me that gold ore is so unusual, and so pretty, that it may be worth more than the gold by itself. We're going into partnership. He's going to make âHighland Gold' jewelry.”

“It's beautiful,” Bess said, admiring her necklace. “I bet soon we'll be seeing it in stores in River Heights.”

All three of the girls gave their hosts a special thank-you for the unusual souvenirs.

“What about the land sale?” Nancy asked.

“We're renegotiating that,” Tyler Nelson said.

“Yes,” Charlie added. “I've decided to will the land to the state for a wildlife refuge. In the meantime, Pete and Elsa and I will keep running it as a retreat. That way, Rachel can come back to visit her salmon anytime she wants.”

“And tomorrow I'm hiring a contractor to help fix the spawning beds,” Rachel said. “It took me all
summer to build that dam, but I bet a professional can do it in a few days.”

Nancy looked over the gathering around the campfire. It had been one wild week, not at all the relaxing vacation she and her friends had had in mind. But it had definitely been worthwhile to help Charlie keep his retreat and send Rachel to college.

“I think the best part is yet to come,” Bess said.

“What's that?” Nancy asked.

“With our pilot in jail, we really
will
have to take the train back to Seattle. I'm sure I'll like the scenery better from ground level.”

Nancy laughed and put her arm around Bess's shoulder. “I'm glad B.D. confessed, or I might have thought you framed him to avoid that plane ride back,” she said.

As the group's laughter died down, Nancy heard a coyote howl. She was glad that Highland Retreat was safe at last, but most of all she was glad to be celebrating with such good friends.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A MINSTREL PAPERBACK
ORIGINAL