Rufus began digging in earnest.
Oh no.Hopefully not a dead animal.“Oh, lord, have you found another bone?”she muttered, stepping closer to take a look.
The soil and brush seemed to come up easily under his paws.Too easily.
And there was something peeking through it.
Frowning, she moved closer and crouched down.“What the...”
She pushed a large fallen branch aside and found herself looking down at the top of a large plastic storage chest.Rufus circled her excitedly.
She stared at it in growing concern.There was no smell coming from it, but...“Oh, please don’t let there be a body in here.”
She brushed the dirt away until the lid was completely exposed.There was a twist-release catch on the front of the trunk.Covering her fingers with her sleeve so to avoid leaving prints, she turned the plastic knob and the lid popped open.
Thankfully, no bad smell wafted up.So she lifted the lid, only to still in shock.
TWENTY
I
t was full to the brim with ammo.Lots and lots of ammo.Cases of bullets and magazines for pistols, and others for what she thought might be automatic or semi-automatic rifles.
“What in the hell?”she whispered, looking around uneasily.Not a dismembered body, but still, not good.
A prickle spread across the back of her neck.This was a remote area.Isolated enough that there were no paths, and other than the odd person wandering around back here with their dog, she doubted anyone else ever came here.
She looked back down at the trunk.Had to be four feet long and two feet across.Lying on top of the ammo was a small, laminated piece of paper.She had no idea what the message on it said or meant because it was indecipherable, written in some sort of code.
Without touching anything else, she used her phone to take pictures of it and the ammo.But that paper intrigued her as much as the rest of it, and it was easy to carry.
She snagged it and put it in her backpack before shutting the trunk lid and standing.“Let’s go, Rufus.”She wanted to get the hell away from here and alert Rafe.
Her phone still showed zero bars as she tried to find her way back to the trail.Rufus was no help in navigating.The whole time a crawling sensation crept along her spine.A subliminal warning that danger was close—or that she was being watched.
Either way, she was outta here.
