Cavern

2

2

Maddock and Bones took a moment to make sure the two women were all right. Both were soaked and had breathed in too much water, but each was quickly getting her breath back and recovering her wits. In Maddock’s estimation, they had to be sisters. The same auburn hair, straight nose, and wide, engaging smiles as they laughed at something Bones said. No points for taste, Maddock thought.

The taller woman was at least five-ten. Her hair was cropped short, and she appeared to be in her mid-twenties, thin but curvy. The younger woman, Maddock guessed in her early twenties, was a few inches shorter and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She lacked her older sister’s attributes, having a more athletic build instead.

“So, you want to tell us who you are and what you were doing out on the water this time of night without life jackets?”

“I’m Danielle,” the older woman replied, shaking Bones’ hand. “My friends call me Nelli. This is my sister, Constance. Connie for short.”

Maddock offered his hand. Connie was slow to shake, her green eyes making only brief contact with his. Her hands were slightly calloused, with short, unpainted fingernails.

“As for the life jackets, we were stupid.”

Bones nodded. “Well, we got you out of the water and your canoe ran aground a little way down the river, so no harm, no foul.”

“Except for my camera.” Nelli held up her camera. Water dribbled out from inside it. “Ruined.”

“You’re a photographer?” Maddock asked.

Nelli ignored him. “Why were the two of you creeping around late at night?”

“Creeping around?” Bones turned an incredulous look at Maddock. “You’re lucky we were out here at all.”

Nelli scowled at her ruined camera.

“Thank you,” Connie said, “on behalf of me and my ungrateful sister.”

“Sorry,” Nelli said. “I’m just embarrassed and angry. Please don’t think I’m not appreciative. We probably wouldn’t have made it to shore without your help.”

“What were you photographing?” Maddock kept his tone light, conversational, even though he could tell the young woman was hiding something.

A tense silence hung in the air, finally broken by Connie’s tired sigh.

“We were looking for the Loveland Frogman. We saw something moving along the shoreline. Must have been one of you guys.”

Maddock scratched his head. “The what?”

“The Loveland Frogmen,” Bones chimed in. “It’s a cryptid. More like, they are cryptids. There’s more than one.”

Maddock managed a tight smile. Of course Bones knew all about it. His friend loved legendary creatures. He’d been fascinated with them long before their days in the SEALs, and their adventures since then had only served to stoke his passion for the legendary and mythical.

“Big frogs that walk on two legs,” Bones explained. “They were first spotted back in the 1950s.”

“How would a frog walk on two legs?” Maddock asked.

“They’re not literal frogs,” Bones said. “At least, probably not. More likely they just bear some resemblance to frogs. Leathery skin, webbed hands and feet. They might even be...”

“Don’t say aliens.”

“...aliens,” Bones finished. “A small group crash landed somewhere around here and have managed to survive.”

“Or somebody went to see The Creature from the Black Lagoon and got a little spooked on his way home,” Maddock said.

“There have been some reliable witnesses,” Nelli said, emboldened by her unexpected ally. “A police officer got a good look at one and gave a thorough description.”

“And recanted later,” Connie said.

“Years later, after he and his family had endured too much ridicule. And he didn’t recant. He just says it was some sort of large reptile.”

Connie rolled her eyes and then turned a pleading glance in Maddock’s direction. Maddock shrugged. It seemed unlikely, but he and Bones had seen too many crazy things to dismiss legends outright.

“So what brings you out here?” Bones asked. “This isn’t Loveland.”

“There was a recent sighting in this area. The witness even took a photo,” Nelli said. “A squat, grayish looking thing with huge, glowing eyes, coming up out of the water. We wanted to check it out.”

Connie locked eyes with Maddock, jerked a thumb in her sister’s direction, and mouthed She wanted to. Maddock chuckled.

“We’ve told you our story,” Nelli said. “Your turn.”

“We were doing a little metal detecting,” Bones said.

“Here? In the middle of the night?” Connie appeared unconvinced.

“We didn’t want to be seen,” Maddock said.

“What were you looking for?” the younger sister pressed.

“Pirate treasure,” Bones said. “Nicholas LePetomaine’s hoard, to be exact.”

Nelli’s eye went wide. “Fat Nicholas? Nasty Nick? His treasure is supposed to be buried in Eden Park.”

“You really know your stuff,” Bones said, clearly happy to have found a kindred spirit. “We were running down a clue in an old journal. No luck. We were getting ready to pack it in when we saw you capsize.”

Nelli stood and sized Bones up. Although she was tall, he still towered over her. “So, you guys are treasure hunters?”

“Among other things,” Bones said.

“In that case.” She smiled and bit her lower lip, the effect marred by her bedraggled state. “I just came across the legend of a lost treasure not too far from here, and I don’t think it’s one many people have heard of, if any. We’re free tomorrow if you two would like to join us.”

Bones and Maddock exchanged glances. The pirate treasure appeared to be a dead end. Might as well take up a different hunt. He nodded.

“We’re in.”