Old Score to Settle: Albert Smith's Mystery Thrillers Book 5 by Steve Higgs

Author:Steve Higgs [Higgs, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

Tanya had never imagined she would find herself metal detecting at any point in her entire life. Yet here she was with the earphones shutting out the sounds of the day while she wafted the coil over the ground (yes, she had learned the names of the parts during her quick tutorial).

According to the geek on the video, the model Lars conveniently left for her at the farmhouse would penetrate to a depth of several metres which she expected to be deep enough. Greta provided a six-figure grid reference so Tanya used that as a start point and worked outwards. She couldn’t be bothered with all the flags and grids – that was far too much effort, but she did employ an old bushcraft trick. A branch tied to her belt dragged along in her wake, marking the dirt to show where she had been.

It was good enough.

Twenty minutes into her search, the device beeped. She knew what sound to expect from the tutorial, but it still caught her by surprise. Though not as much as the guilty acknowledgement that she was enjoying herself.

Tanya found it strange that such a boring hobby could at the same time be so enthralling. And now she had found something!

Using the detector to confirm the location, she placed it to one side, took the fold-out shovel from her backpack, and began to dig. Ninety seconds later she held in her hand a rusty cap from a bottle of beer. She thought about launching it through the woods but pocketed it instead lest she ‘detect’ the damned thing again later.

She was just about to pick up the detector when she spotted movement.

The mountains were popular walking areas, but not the direction she had taken. Most walkers took a route that led them to the next cable car along. Or they went over the mountains to the other side, a walk of about ten kilometres. There were places to stop for food and refreshments along the way, and it was a nice day to be out. However, there was no good reason to be in the woods.

So why could she see two men walking back toward the cable car station?

The answer to the question was only of interest if it indicated that they might come back. Tanya expected to be alone and would kill anyone who happened upon her. Better to leave a trail of bodies than to have anyone who could say they saw her in the vicinity of the giant hole that mysteriously appeared one night. If she got it right, no one would ever know what came out of it, but there were just too many variables to rely on luck to keep her safe.

Tucking against a tree she observed covertly.

Thirty metres away, Ryan continued to argue with Derek.

“Look, man, I know who he is too, but he didn’t go anywhere near the quadbikes.”

“His dog did.”

“So what? You think the dog is going to report what he saw? You think the dog

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