The Tomb of El Dorado (Sam Reilly Book 18) by Christopher Cartwright

Author:Christopher Cartwright [Cartwright, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ashton Publishing Group
Published: 2019-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Six

Sam asked, “Has a search party been sent through to locate them?”

“Of course.” She gestured behind her, and Sam thought this was the search party, that things were well in hand. At least, he thought that until she deflated. “But that party’s gone missing too. So too did the next one we sent.”

“What? You’re kidding me.” Sam looked toward the entrance to the canyon he knew so well. It suddenly seemed foreboding. He shook his head, hitched his pack higher, and took a deep breath. “So, send another team. Make certain they know the canyon well.” He looked her straight in the eye. “It’s not like there’s many places there to get lost. The whole area is restricted by giant walls of sandstone!”

She didn’t back down. “We already did send another team. That knew the canyon well.”

“And? What did they find?”

She must have sensed something in his posture too that indicated he was an ally, not an adversary. She spread her hands. “Nothing.”

Tom crossed his arms and loomed. “What do you mean, nothing?”

“I’m not being coy, sir – that’s just it. They didn’t find anyone.”

Sam looked at Tom. “No one? What are you telling me?”

The paramedic sighed. “That we have a total of six people lost in Claustral Canyon, and despite multiple trips through, no one can locate any of them.” Her face softened. “Not even bodies.”

Sam and Tom looked at each other, then to the gray sky. Tom shrugged. “I know that look. You tell her.”

She frowned. “Tell me what?”

Sam turned to the paramedic. “I know this canyon well. I’ve done the trip dozens of times over the years in high and low water. Let us go in. If they’re still down there, we’ll find them.”

“So we can come in after you, too?” The paramedic asked. “No way.”

Sam tried to be charming. “Ma’am…”

She was not charmed. She held out her hand as if she wanted to slap the sky. “You see this rain coming down, sir?”

“This drizzle,” Tom put in helpfully.

“This drizzle that looks like it’s going to pour buckets any minute now. You look like a smart man, so it’s a tossup in my experience whether you looked at the weather report this morning – smart men sometimes do, sometimes don’t. So let me fill you in. According to the meteorologists, there’s a major storm coming through. Put an end to this heat wave, which will be a blessing, but that ground is bone dry. There’s no place for that water to go. And if you know Claustral like you say you do, you know it floods like the old testament under heavy rain.”

Sam grinned. “Then, we’ll just have to make sure to be quick.”

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