tunnels have been built from as early as 1912, and though they didn’t become really sophisticated until later in the century, they were always in high demand. Drug tunnels stretching even eighty or ninety miles weren’t uncommon. A tunnel on this property would be less than half that.” She paused. “And Alonzo Cortez was the expert who built them. The Woodward family was ultra-respectable and wealthy, and it would be a perfect cover…if James could get the big drug cartels to pay him for use of his tunnel.”
“Indeed, they would,” Lynch said thoughtfully.
“And it all could be true, because Mama Woodward abruptly decided to move the family from the property to another residence and build a special-needs school with the stipulation written into the deed.” She was speaking quickly, trying to convince him. “As for the tunnel, who knows? She might have had it sealed up or maybe had a stick of dynamite thrown into it so that no one could ever use it for that purpose again. Because she seems to have been very smart and probably thought that as long as it existed, James would find a way to get what he wanted.”
“And she finally sent him to England so that he could no longer stain the family honor?”
“Don’t make fun. It could be true. It makes a good story.”
“I’m not making fun of you. I’m impressed. I’m just trying to develop the story a little further.” He paused. “And Dietrich was from Elsworth, U.K., a short distance from Cambridge. He could have been a relative of James or some other member of the Woodward family. Or maybe someone who just heard the story in the local pub? If James was an alcoholic, he might have done a lot of bragging. Whatever. It might have intrigued Dietrich enough that he considered coming down here to see if there still was a tunnel and what his options were. To use it to transport drugs…or to extract Delgado, which would earn him a hell of a lot more money.”
“Delgado,” Kendra said definitely. “And Dietrich did his research and found the tunnel, but when he decided that he wanted to cut Cardona out of the deal, everything started to go wrong. There was no way he wanted to kill him on the property. I’m betting he had no choice. Maybe Cardona found out what he was doing and showed up here and confronted him. Or maybe they were partners and he got greedy. Dietrich killed him and then had to make it look like a drug deal gone bad. All he could do was hope we believed that Mr. Kim’s and Elaine’s deaths may have happened because they’d stumbled on cartel business.”
He was silent. “You’re sounding very certain, Kendra.”
“I am certain. He found the tunnel.” She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. “Because I found it, too. Cortez hid the entrances to all his tunnels, but he always carved a symbol on a tree or wall nearby. I saw a picture of one of his tunnel entrances in Texas. A nearby tree had a very familiar carving. It was a four-leaf clover.”
“So?”
“There’s one just like it carved on Big Rock here on campus. I’ve felt it there since I was a little girl. When I found out what it was, I thought someone must have carved it there because they were wishing us good luck.” She jumped to her feet. “The tunnel is there somewhere, Lynch. I know it. Well, I almost know it. Even if it had been dynamited or walled over, he could have drilled through and opened it up by himself. But it would have taken time, and he couldn’t work in daylight.” She was heading for the door. “But we’ll know for sure after we go up there and take a look. I’m on my way. I’ll meet you at Lookout Point. We can go on to Big Rock together.”
“No. Stay where you are, Kendra. I can be back at the library in fifteen minutes.”
“It will be quicker if I meet you. I don’t want to wait. Because I think this may change everything, Lynch. I’ll take Harley and Agent Roberts and you’ll probably be at Lookout Point before I am.” She disconnected and grabbed the leash. She ran for the door. “Harley, come!”
Harley barked ecstatically as he jumped up, followed her, and then streaked past her as he ran out into the driveway.
Agent Roberts backed away warily as he caught sight of Kendra and