Robin slid back down. “It figures you’d see books before anything else.”
“Books and possibly artwork,” Derek said, taking the flashlight back and aiming it in another direction.
I got closer and found what he was looking at, a spot along the interior wall where several rolled canvasses stood leaning against the curio cabinet like drunken soldiers.
I moved away so Dad could take a look. After a minute, he stepped back, and Jackson took his turn.
“What is all this stuff?” I asked. “What’s going on here?”
Derek shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“It’s a treasure trove,” Dad said. “Just got to figure out where it came from.”
“I wish we had a better light,” I muttered.
At that moment, Stan walked up and handed me and Robin our own hard hats.
“Thanks.” I put the rigid plastic hat on my head and felt safer instantly.
Then Stan pulled a long, black, industrial-strength flashlight from his tool belt and handed it to Derek. “Maybe this will help.”
“Thanks, mate.” Derek pushed the button on the heavy foot-long torch, and the powerful light filled the room.
“Like night and day,” I said, smiling at Stan. “Thanks.”
He nodded and strolled back outside. A man of few words.
Derek aimed the big flashlight’s beam into the interior space.
“We need to get this wall knocked down,” Dad said.
“Just what I was thinking,” Jackson said, glancing toward the front of the cave. “I’ll go talk to Stan.”
I stretched up on my toes and poked my head farther through the opening. Derek continued holding the flashlight above my head. “Wow, over there in the other corner. It’s another full-sized dresser with a mirror. There’s a wooden box on top of it that looks like a jewelry box.”
Derek turned the beam toward the left to allow me a better glimpse.
“It’s beautiful,” I said. “Looks French. Inlaid wood and lots of ormolu.” I was able to recognize the finely gilded decorative detailing along the edges of the piece, thanks to Guru Bob, who had an antique desk in that style that I’d admired for years. He’d been kind enough to describe the history of the design to me.
“Pricey,” Dad said.
“It’s definitely worth a lot,” I murmured.
“But what’s a fancy dresser doing in a cave?” Robin wondered aloud. “And a curio cabinet? And silver candlesticks?”
“And books,” I added.
“Good question,” Austin said, his tone turning suspicious. “The sooner this wall comes down, the better.”
I continued to scrutinize the dresser, too fascinated by our discovery to care how utterly bizarre it was that these amazing treasures were hidden behind a solid wall of concrete inside the winery storage cave. “That’s definitley a jewelry chest on top of the dresser. It’s the same inlaid pattern as the dresser. I wonder if there’s anything inside.”
“Jewels, of course,” Robin said, grinning.
Something caught my eye on the dresser. “Oh, there’s a silver tray with one of those old-fashioned silver combs and a hairbrush on it. It’s pretty.”
“I’m sure it’s pretty,” Robin said, “but it’s still kind of weird.”
“You’re right,” I said, and shivered a little. “It’s like somebody lives in there.”
I moved out of the way, leaving Derek alone to continue examining the odd crevice. He angled the flashlight in different directions, casting light onto every inch of the space. He scanned the low ceiling and ran the beam along the rest of the walls.
I was curious to see what other bounty we would find in there, so I peeked around Derek to take another look. Seconds later, I let out a piercing shriek.
“What is it?” Austin demanded, crowding me as I tried to push away from the wall.
Robin patted my shoulder. “Knowing Brooklyn, she probably found a dead body.”
Her words barely registered as I pointed a shaky finger at what I saw on the floor close to the wall.
Derek aimed the beam where I’d indicated and muttered an expletive. He stepped back from the hole in the wall, turned off the flashlight, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
Robin’s smile faltered. “Derek?”
“You were right, Robin,” Derek said, giving me a soft squeeze of sympathy. “This cave has just turned into a crime scene.”
Chapter Two
In seconds, Derek and Dad had the men rounding up pickaxes and sledgehammers in order to take down the rest of the wall.