Stone Cold Heart (Tracers #13)(13)

“Considering its proximity, we should definitely look to see if there’s any physical evidence associated with our crime scene.”

He was already climbing over the large rocks leading up to the mouth. He crouched down and ducked his head.

“Entrance is pretty low.”

She joined him on the rocks. “Think we can squeeze through?”

“Sure.”

He beamed the flashlight into the opening. “Gets bigger inside. Here, point your light for me, would you?”

Sara switched on her flashlight and aimed it into the blackness. Nolan tucked his light into the back of his pants. He then duck-walked inside, somehow managing not to fall on his butt, as she certainly would have.

“I can stand up in here,” he said.

Sara switched off her flashlight and tucked it into her bra. She took a deep breath and followed Nolan’s lead—although she opted to go on her hands and knees. When she made it inside the cave, Nolan offered her a hand and helped her to her feet.

The air was cool and smelled of sulfur. A shiver ran through her. Nolan had room to stand, but still the space seemed impossibly small. Sara’s stomach clenched as she thought of the immense weight of rock above their heads.

Nolan was watching her. “You okay?”

“Fine.”

He pointed his light at the icicle-shaped rock formations dripping from the ceiling. “Look at that.”

“Stalactites.” Sara swept her flashlight beam over the floor. “And stalagmites, too.”

“I can never remember the difference.”

“Just remember C for ceiling, G for ground.” Sara ventured a few steps deeper into the cavern, noting the milky puddles on the floor made from water and mineral deposits.

Nolan walked away, and Sara instinctively followed him, still freaked out to be in here. His presence helped calm her nerves, even though he took up a lot of the limited space.

“Look.” He pointed his light at the remnants of a small fire. Nearby, a burned-down pillar candle sat in a pool of dried wax.

“Looks like this is a hangout.” Sara set down her flashlight and lifted her camera to snap a photo of the candle.

Nolan stepped away to examine some graffiti on the wall. Sara walked up behind him and dusted a spider off his shoulder.

“What? Shit!” Nolan lurched away.

“Just a spider.”

“I freaking hate those things.”

“Arachnophobia.”

He glared at her, and she smiled.

“Don’t be embarrassed—it’s the most common phobia.”

She knelt to take a photo of the graffiti. The crude pentagram had been carved into the limestone by something sharp, a knife or maybe a car key.

Stepping away again, Nolan inspected the remaining corners of the cave. “That’s about it. No bones. No tunnels leading anywhere.” He shone his light at the ceiling, illuminating a terrifyingly large swath of black. “Just some bats.”

Sara shuddered.

Nolan aimed his light at her. “You seen enough?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

“You lead.”

Sara duck-walked through the opening, somehow managing not to fall on her butt. Standing up, she blinked at the sun and felt ridiculously grateful to be back in the sweltering heat.

Nolan emerged from the cave and flowed to his feet with the sort of natural athleticism Sara had envied her whole life. She would bet he’d played sports in high school, maybe even college, and probably had a gaggle of girls lusting after him. In high school, Sara had been a science geek and a late bloomer—completely invisible to guys like Nolan.

He dusted his hands on his pants, then glanced over. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“So what do you think?” he asked. “Worth the effort?”

“Definitely. I can check the cave off my list. I like to be thorough.”

He stepped closer, smiling, and rested his hands on his hips. “How come I knew that about you?” His voice was deep and low, and she couldn’t look away from his warm brown eyes.

She cleared her throat. “Thanks for helping.”

“Anytime.”

The silence stretched out. They stood in the sun, staring at each other, and the only sound was the low drone of locusts.

“Sara.”

She whipped her head around. Aaron crouched beside the pit with Talia. He looked from Sara to Nolan, then waved them over.

“You need to see this.”





CHAPTER 6


The Delphi Center parking lot was surprisingly crowded, considering it was the day before the Fourth of July. Sara would have thought most people would be taking a long weekend, but apparently not.

She swiped her way into the building and waved at the security guard as she crossed the lobby. With its soaring Doric columns and shiny marble floors, the Delphi Center reminded Sara of the university where she’d once worked. The difference here was the people. They had a certain energy that had been lacking in academia. People weren’t only acquiring knowledge but were doing something with it, applying tidy scientific theories to the utter mess of modern life. It’s what got Sara up in the morning, and she didn’t miss her university job one bit, because she believed in the mission here.

The murmur of jazz music greeted her as she neared the anthro lab. She stepped into her office and tried to find a spot for her tall iced latte on her cluttered desk. Not seeing an inch of free real estate, she set the cup on Kelsey Quinn’s desk, which had been uncharacteristically clean for the past two weeks.