“I know, baby. There’s nothing else disturbed. We’re safe.”
I looked at the skeleton again. The clothing wasn’t old, but modern. There was an old, wooden desk, a bed, and a couple of gas lanterns around the room. None of that was in the best of conditions due to the moisture in the air.
I aimed my flashlight back at the skeleton. Mike put his gun back in its holster, and silently, we walked toward the body. Mike knelt to get a better look. “Appears to be a female. The coroner will have to do an age determination.”
I took another step and nearly slipped but caught myself.
Mike stood. “Easy there. The stone floors are slippery from the moisture. With the uneven surface, I don’t want you to fall. You good?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Mike turned back to the skeleton. “Syd, I need to call this in.”
I knew this was true. It was hard to take my eyes off the body. The light from Mike’s flashlight landed on her hand, and I gasped. “Vickie!”
“What?”
I swallowed hard, feeling nauseous. “I think that’s Vickie, Doug’s daughter.”
Mike swung the flashlight back to me. “Why?”
“The ring on her right hand. Doug gave it to Vickie for her eighteenth birthday. I’d recognize it anywhere.” My lip quivered as I gazed at the remains of my best friend.
Mike took out his phone. “This is a crime scene now. Don’t touch anything.” I nodded, unable to say much. “Lou? Lou? Hold on. Let me get a better signal.”
He stepped outside the door. “There, that’s better.” Mike began to give Lou the details of what we’d found.
A sense of urgency came over me. I needed to know what happened to my best friend. Aiming my flashlight at the ground, I carefully walked around the room. In the corner, a small piece of plastic caught my attention. I picked it up and turned it over in my hand. “A flash drive,” I whispered.
Maybe this would tell me what Vickie had been doing. I knew I shouldn’t take it, but if the police took it, I might never know the truth. Feeling a little guilty, I slipped it into my pocket. Vickie had risked her life to find out whatever this room was and she was also asking about the Alchemists. This had become more than a scavenger hunt. I needed to know what happened to my best friend.
I knew I should tell Mike. No. He’s in officer mode. Later. I’ll tell him later.
I was walking back toward the door as Mike came back in. He put his hand on my shoulder. “We need to go meet the police upstairs. I know you wanted to investigate it, but the officers need to process the scene.”
“I understand.” The guilt over the flash drive in my pocket began to grow. It felt like I was betraying Mike. Maybe I should give it to him. “Will you tell me if they find anything else?”
“If I can.”
I might not find out what happened to Vickie. That irritated me. We never would have found Vickie if it hadn’t been for the coin and letter my grandpa had left me. A sense of dread washed over me as Mike switched into cop mode. “And how are you going to explain why we were down here?”
“The truth, of course. I’ll tell them this started with the letter and the coin your grandfather left you.”
My mouth dropped open. I wanted the mystery behind Vickie’s death solved, but I wanted to be involved. She was my best friend. I stated, “They’re going to want to take them.”
The cops had not been able to find anything all these years. Why would I have confidence they would solve it?
“I’m sure they will. Syd, someone died here. This isn’t some silly scavenger hunt anymore.”