have a look at the pan and see if there are any prints on it?”
Neva nodded and they began the meticulous work of collecting evidence. After photographing the area, with close-ups of the blood and the pan, Diane took blood samples from the tree and the rocks and she looked for fibers that might have rubbed off from clothing onto the trees or underbrush. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Mike was a little restless. But Liam seemed perfectly calm. Different training, she supposed.
“Hey, Doc,” said Mike, “why don’t I walk the creek and look for anything that may have washed downstream?”
“I can go with him,” said Liam. “We each can take a side of the creek.”
Diane stood up from her stooped position and looked at them. “When this goes to court, we have to be above reproach in our collection of evidence,” she said.
“I’m a detective and I’ve given evidence in court before,” said Liam. “And Mike here . . .” He turned to Mike. “What are you exactly?”
“Geologist,” said Mike.
“See,” said Liam. “Geologist, rocks, cave, mines, gold.” He gestured with his arm over the area. “It fits. I think you’re covered.”
“Okay. Watch where you put your feet. If you find anything, call one of us. Don’t pick it up,” she said. “Take those small orange flags out of the pack and mark anything of note.”
“Gotcha, Doc,” said Mike. “It’s not like I haven’t helped before.”
Diane watched for a moment as the two of them walked along the bank. She saw Liam cross the creek at a narrow point and proceed out of sight. She went back to collecting blood samples. She found a fiber stuck under a spot of dried blood on the tree. She lifted it and put it in an envelope. Neva was drawing the scene as she and Frank measured the distance between objects. All in all, they were going pretty fast.
Diane had taken her last sample and Neva was examining the pan and lifting prints when they heard shouts downstream from Mike and Liam.
Chapter 49
When Diane and the others found Mike and Liam, they were on the bank looking at an object under the water. Diane squatted for a closer look. It was a leather drawstring pouch about the size of a cantaloupe wedged between two large rocks of about the same size as the pouch. Water flowed around and over it. Diane could see from the contours of the bag that there was something in it.
Diane photographed it from several angles. Neva set about drawing it while Frank got Mike to help take measurements.
“See, we were quite helpful,” said Mike.
“Yes, you were. This is only about forty yards from the primary site. What took you so long to find it?” said Diane.
“Is she always this exacting to work for?” Liam asked Mike.
Neva grinned. Mike made a face back at her.
“I assure you, Liam, Mike is more demanding in his department than I am in the whole museum,” said Diane. “Now, what did you do, miss it the first time and find it on the return trip?”
“There was a glare on the water,” said Mike. “I missed it. And yes, we were coming back when we found it.”
“We both missed it the first time,” said Liam. “He’s right. With the glare, we couldn’t see under the flowing water.”
“Just wondering,” said Diane, stifling a smile.
When she and Neva finished recording the find, Diane rolled up her jeans and waded into the water to retrieve it. She had on latex gloves and the chill of the water came through immediately. It was colder than she expected and the phrase cold mountain stream came to mind. The drawstring of the pouch was hung up. Diane tried to push the rocks aside to release it. It proved harder than she expected, but she finally unseated one of the rocks and the pouch came free.
Diane waded out of the water to the bank. Neva had spread out a large envelope she had cut open to make it even larger.
“I thought you’d want to see what was in it right away,” said Neva.
“You did, did you?” said Diane.
The four of them—Frank, Mike, Neva, and Liam—gathered around Diane as she opened the bag. Diane sniffed it first, just to make sure it wasn’t something unpleasant, like someone’s old lunch. Not much of a smell. She looked inside. It looked like rocks. She poured the contents out on the paper Neva had provided.
A glittering array of what appeared