The Last Dig Read online

  “Do you know if he was involved in any type of illegal activity, or dealing drugs?” Rand asked, searching her face as he spoke.

  “No, not as far as I was aware,” she responded thoughtfully.

  “Why did you two get divorced?” Rand asked. He watched her closely as she hesitated to answer the question.

  “He physically abused me,” Caroline retorted tensely.

  So there was abuse. “Have you heard from him at all?”

  “No.”

  “Did you part on amicable terms?”

  “No.”

  “Anything happen to trigger the divorce?”

  Caroline drew in a deep breath and let it out. “He beat the crap out of me, and I ended up in the hospital. When I was released, my parents came and took me back to Florida with them. While I was there, I filed for divorce and got a restraining order against him. I came back and had him arrested and charged with spousal abuse. He got a prison sentence of seven years but was released on parole after two years for good behavior. I haven’t seen him since he was sentenced.”

  “I’m going to conduct an investigation on him and find out what he’s doing.” Rand looked around the room and noticed a waste basket with a lot of tissues in it. He looked back at her and noticed that she had been crying. “Are you all right, Caroline?” Rand asked tenderly.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” she answered almost too abruptly.

  “It’s a nice, comfortable night outside. Would you like to go for a walk?”

  “Okay.” She grabbed her motel key and they left. They walked down to the end of the street and Caroline said, “I need to stop and rest, my ankle is hurting with this tether on.”

  “Okay, want to go in and grab something to drink at the ice cream parlor?”

  “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  “So, what’s going on at the dig site lately?” Rand asked Caroline after they sat down and ordered their soda pops.

  “We’ve come across some ribs, and also discovered that we have both an adolescent T-rex and a young T-rex. Both bodies are entangled, as if they both died at the same time, at the same spot. So that is exciting for us.”

  “That sounds exciting. I’ve got to get out there before you finish and see what you have.” They sat for a few minutes in silence, and then Rand asked, “Do you work in a lab back at Glendive?”

  “Not always. I usually measure, date, and catalog each bone and other things related to the dig and ship it back to Glendive where other paleontologists study it in the lab. We did have a chance to do some lab work the day we found the body at the site. You may recall seeing The Dinosaur Lab semi parked on the county road near our site when we called you about finding the body. That is an awesome piece of work,” Caroline mused.

  “Yeah, I do remember that semi being there now. I had forgotten about it,” Rand reflected.

  As Caroline continued to discuss her work, Rand watched her. He noted how talking about her work made her animated and come alive.

  “Caroline, have you ever thought about getting married again, settling down, and having a family?” Rand was curious how she felt about the subject.

  “No, not with the kind of work I do. I’m away from home anywhere from three to nine months, sometimes even longer, depending on the climate and region I’m digging in. There is no room for marriage and family.”

  “It could work out for you, if you met the right person, don’t you think?” Rand said, gently prodding her.

  “I’ve never allowed myself to think about it,” she said.

  They finished their sodas, got up, and started to walk back to the motel. The evening had cooled a bit and stars filled the sky. Rand contemplated their conversation about marriage. Obviously, an abusive spouse could make a person not want to experience marriage again. Then he thought of an idea. “What are you doing Labor Day weekend?”

  “Um, nothing that I can think of. We’ll probably work the dig through most of it.”

  “How about you come with me on Monday, to my folks for a family picnic and bonfire?”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that—” Caroline started to protest.

  “It will get you out of that room for the day and you’ll be with family.”

  “I’m not in much of a party mood, Rand,” Caroline answered sadly.

  “There’s nothing like family to bring you out of the dumps,” Rand countered.

  “Well, your parents will have all their children there and having a good time, while my parents will be upset and worried about their daughter being convicted of murder.”

  Rand wanted to tell her that he didn’t believe she killed the man and that he would do whatever it took to clear her name, but he needed to be careful about what he said and how the public perceived his actions. He couldn’t compromise the law and the judicial system, which would only make things worse in the end.

  “What else have you got to do besides going to the dig site?” Rand asked.

  “I can work on a lot of other stuff.”

  “Come on, Caroline, you’ll enjoy it,” he coaxed.

  She hesitated for a few minutes, then finally said, “Okay. I guess I can go. It sounds like it’ll be fun. You don’t think your parents will mind, do you?”

  “No, they won’t mind. They adore you.”

  “Won’t you get in trouble for being around someone you suspect as a murderer out on bail?”

  “There won’t be any trouble since we will be with my family and they aren’t going to say anything. I’ll be by to pick you up about three Monday afternoon. Sound like a good plan?”

  “Yeah, sounds real good, Rand. Thanks for inviting me.”

  When they got inside Caroline’s room, Rand pulled her into his arms and bent down to kiss her. The kiss started out softly and tenderly, but grew in intensity as Rand searched out her mouth. He ran his hands up and down her back, and then moved them to her hair and allowed his hands to get tangled in her locks. As he continued to kiss her, he slowly led them to the bed, and he rubbed his hands over her breasts. He reached for the hem of her sweatshirt. As he started to lift it up to slip it up over her head, his cellphone rang.

  “Damn!” Rand muttered under his breath. He stopped and grabbed his cellphone from his belt loop. “Callahan,” he barked into the phone. He had to force himself to focus on what his deputy was saying. “Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” He snapped the phone shut. “Every time I’m with you I get interrupted,” Rand grumbled disappointedly. “I have to go. There are a series of break-ins happening in town and we have to find the thief.”

  “Don’t you have deputies to do that?” Caroline asked

  “Yeah, but some things I have to handle, like the murder investigation, the breaking and entering, and the more serious crimes. If I don’t see you before then, I’ll see you Monday.” Rand leaned over and kissed her again and then walked out the door.

  * * * *

  Caroline and the team took a break in the shade. John decided to go do a geological study of the ground near the northwest side of the dig site. None of the team members had ventured out that way during their work at the site. About fifteen minutes into his walk, he hollered at Caroline. “Caroline! Up here!”

  He waved at her to come up. Caroline and the team climbed the rough terrain to where John was at.

  He pointed to something on the ground and asked, “What do you think this is?”

  Caroline looked at it. It was some sort of an old backpack, brown in color, and partially opened. She grabbed a stick and pulled back the part that was unzipped and saw lots of white stuff in small packages. “That looks like drugs.”

  “Yes, that’s what I thought,” John agreed.

  “Did you touch it?”

  “No.” John wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

  Caroline said, “Okay, everyone, let’s go back down to the dig site. I’ll call the sheriff.”

  * * * *

  As Rand and Carlson reviewed the case, he became more
and more convinced that Caroline didn’t have anything to do with the murder of Marc Baker. Somehow he knew her ex-husband was involved.

  “So, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Carlson asked.

  “I think so, based on the fact that he has deep connections with the mob, and the victim was also in the mob. This confirms my earlier assumption that the murder was a mob hit. We just need to prove it. Let’s talk to the two US Marshals that were here earlier this summer and see if we can get any information from them. I have a feeling that the FBI is not going to be open to discussing this. And if he escaped from them, they will be up here before we can finish our investigation and take him in.”

  “I’ve got the same feeling,” Carlson quipped.

  Carlson put a call into the US Marshal’s office and was told that Don Masters and Ted Peyton were in the field. They said they would get a message to them, but it might be a day or so before the men could get back to him. In the meantime, Carlson dug up as much information on Dan Priest as he could, including his fingerprints.

  A day later, Carlson got the call back from Ted Peyton. Carlson put him on hold for a second to go into Rand’s office, then put him on speaker phone so that both Rand and Carlson could talk to him.

  “Hello, Ted. This is Sheriff Rand Callahan. How’s it going?”

  “Not too bad, can’t complain,” Ted answered. “And you?”

  “We’re doing pretty well here.”

  “Great. Did you guys get that murder solved yet?”

  “No, that’s one of the reasons we put a call in to you.”

  “Okay, what can I help you with?”

  “Does the name Dan Priest mean anything to you?”

  “Hmm, let me think a second... You know, that name does ring a bell. Yeah, I think he got caught in the sting operation here a few years ago. If I remember correctly, they were building a case against him when he disappeared. He’s a geologist, so he could pretty much disappear anywhere and no one could find him.”

  “Do you know what he did there?”

  “Yeah, I think Marc Baker said Dan was an enforcer, and Marc was going to testify against him before he disappeared.”

  “Bingo!” Carlson smiled.

  “What’s that?” Ted asked.

  “Well, Ted, you may have just solved our crime for us, but now we have to go and get the evidence.”

  “Yeah, be careful, he’ll slip out of your hands before you know it. He’s good that way.”

  After they ended the call, Rand sat back in his chair and ran his hands over his face. “It’s a good theory, but how are we going to find the evidence?”

  Carlson called the FBI and asked to speak to someone who had information about the John Bosso sting operation. As usual, the FBI stayed close-lipped about the case and indicated that they were only interested in Dan Priest. He asked if Rand and Carlson had seen him. Since the FBI had been closed-lipped about the information Rand and Carlson sought answers for, Rand figured he could be closed-lipped about Dan Priest’s location.

  As Rand sat at his desk thinking about the case, his cellphone rang. He checked the caller ID then answered. “Hello, Caroline.”

  “Rand, I think you need to get out here. One of my team members just found a bag containing something that looks like drugs.”

  “Okay, get everyone away from it until I get there.” Rand hung up the phone and said to Carlson, “Let’s go. Caroline’s team found something that looks like drugs.”

  * * * *

  When Rand and Carlson showed up at the dig site, Caroline took him to the location where they had found the backpack. Then she returned to her work, letting Rand and Carlson conduct their investigation. Shortly afterward the CSI truck showed up. “Oh, great,” Caroline muttered to herself. She pointed them to the direction where Rand and Carlson stood. “I bet you they’ll close down the dig site again,” Caroline remarked grimly.

  “You think, even though it’s way over there?” Cathy asked.

  “Yes, I think they will, because of the murder investigation.” Caroline thought for a few minutes then said, “Let’s get everything covered so it stays protected. If he closes the site, at least it’ll be covered, if not, then we can uncover it and continue on.”

  “Okay,” Cathy said.

  They gathered the team and started to cover the dig site.

  “I wonder if the drugs were planted there or if someone, maybe the victim, hid them so they could come back later and get it?” John asked thoughtfully.

  “I don’t know, it’ll be interesting to find out.” Caroline looked back nervously at Rand, Carlson and the CSI. It seemed to her that Rand had started to come around and believe her, and now this. Would he change his mind again?

  * * * *

  After the CSI mapped out the surrounding area, they pulled the backpack out and looked at it more intently.

  “I have to run tests on this, Rand, but it sure looks like the cocaine that we found in the murder victim’s apartment,” CSI McLaughlin said.

  “Would you process it and let me know the results as soon as possible?”

  “Yep, sure will,” he said.

  “So, I’m drawing a conclusion that Dan tried to hide it to incriminate Caroline, or he may be looking for it. We’ll have to wait until they process the fingerprints on it.” Rand let out a sigh.

  CSI McLaughlin and Janson bagged the backpack and started searching the surrounding area for any other evidence.

  Rand and Carlson walked down to Caroline and the team. “I’m afraid I’ll have to close down the dig for a few days, Caroline.”

  “Even though it’s way over there?” Caroline asked.

  “Yep, we’re assuming that it is drugs, and we’re also assuming that it’s related to the murder. Until the evidence is collected and analyzed, the area will have to be closed off for a few days.”

  Rand could see the disappointment in her face, even though he knew she was trying to hide it.

  “Okay team, let’s get going,” she said.

  “I’m sorry, Caroline.” Rand smiled apologetically.

  “I know.” She had a grim smile on her face.

  * * * *

  He watched with excitement as the sheriff came out and went to the location where he had planted the drugs. He’d found out that Caroline had made bail and she had to wear a tether. He felt that she’d gotten off rather easy for being a suspect in a murder. But if they added a drug charge, her bail would be revoked and she’d have to spend her time in jail. He really wanted to see her in prison before he left Montana for good. He couldn’t think of anything else he could do to plant more evidence against her.

  As he was hurriedly leaving the area, he saw footprints that weren’t his, and it looked like someone had taken tire impressions. He couldn’t figure out how they had gotten out here to see this.

  Chapter 20

  Caroline and the team went back to the motel. She left everyone to do pretty much what they wanted to do until they could get back to the dig site. She got caught up on her email, blog, and other work that needed to be done. She called her supervisor and talked with her at great length about the charges against her and what her plans were.

  Caroline was usually the opposite of Rand in that she didn’t always trust her instincts, whereas Rand always had good instincts and trusted them. However, this time it seemed that Rand was starting to come around to realizing that she hadn’t murder this man. She hoped her instinct on this was correct. More than anything, it felt important to her that he believe her and believe in her.

  Caroline also called her parents to tell them what was going on. She didn’t want to worry them and have them make a trip back to Montana from Florida. However, they insisted they were going to come to Montana to be by her side. She reassured them that she was okay, but they still insisted. They said they would call her with their date of arrival once they had booked their flight, and Caroline agreed to pick them up at the airport in Billings.

  Caroline allowed herself th
e luxury of dreaming about what it would be like to be married to Rand and to have his children. The boys would have straight brown hair with brown eyes like Rand, and the girls would have curly blonde hair with brown eyes like hers. She remembered the words Rand said: It could work out for you, if you met the right person.

  “Oh, Rand,” Caroline said. “You are the right person.”

  She was determined more than ever, to get her name cleared, finish the dig, and get the hell out of Jordan.

  * * * *

  Labor Day came upon them and as planned, Rand took Caroline to his family’s Labor Day picnic. When they arrived at his parents’ house and went inside, Dave and Bobbie came up to Caroline and hugged her and welcomed her to their home.

  “It’s so good to see you, Caroline,” Bobbie said.

  “Thank you. It’s good to be here. It’s been years since I was last in this house,” Caroline mused as she recalled the times she’d spent there when she was dating Rand.

  “Well, we’re just about ready to sit down and eat. Rand, could you help your father take the rest of the food to the picnic table?”

  “Okay, Mom.” Rand walked over and grabbed some stuff to take out.

  “Anything I can help with?” Caroline asked.

  “No, dear, but you can carry this bowl of salad out for me if you would.”

  “Okay,” Caroline said.

  Everyone had come for the Labor Day holiday, and Dave and Bobbie were happy to have all the kids and in-laws home. All of Rand’s siblings gave Caroline hugs and introduced her to their spouse or fiancé.

  Penny came up and gave Caroline a hug. “Are things better now?” she asked.

  “A little bit.” Caroline smiled at Penny.

  Everyone sat around two picnic tables put together. Rand and Caroline sat next to Dave and Bobbie; to the left of Bobbie, sat Penny and her husband Al Harper; across from Penny and Al sat Debbie and Brent Mulhorn; next to them, sat Guy Callahan and his fiancée Marcia; next to him, Tony and his wife, Brenda; next to Brenda sat Parker.

  Everyone passed dishes around, all talking at once until everyone got their plates full. Parker then spoke up, “I think we should have a bachelor party for Guy. You know, go to a bar and have a girl jump out of the cake topless and do some lap dances, and all that. What do you guys think?” He looked around at everyone.