A Trick of the Moon Read Online Free PDF

up and made for the pack on his horse.
    “Well?” Maura turned as he walked past her. “What do you think?”
    “It looks promising,” he said, as he grabbed the pack, then dropped it on the ground. He undid the ties and pulled out the item he was looking for. He'd made sure to put it right on top when he'd packed his tools.
    “What is that?”

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    Melinda Barron

    “Well, I'm going to drop a length of rope down inside to see if I can measure how deep the cavern is. Then I'm going to secure a rope ladder, with Dario's help, and go down inside to look around.”
    “Oh no, you're not going down there,” Maura said. “I think that's an incredibly bad idea.”
    “Why? Didn't you go down?”
    “No.” The look on her face said she thought he was a moron for asking. “I came alone to get a better look. I've kept people away since then.”
    “Of course you didn't go down by yourself. You're too smart for that. Plus you're not a trained archeologist. I am. I know what I'm doing.” He made to step around her, but she blocked his path.
    “Don't you think more study is needed before you just plop yourself down into a huge hole in the ground?”
    “No, what I think is that you hired me to do a job. Please don't question the way I do it.”
    Resignation came over her face and he slung the rope over his shoulder, then gently tipped her chin up, lightly touching his lips against her cheek.
    “Relax, I'll be fine.”
    He walked around her, dropping the rope at Dario's feet. The cop stood looking down into the opening. “It's not very deep, judging from what I can see, Deck. I'd say about eight, ten feet.”
    “That's about a normal height for them.” Declan began braiding his hair.
    “Do me a favor and scout the area for hardness, see if there's an area that's tough enough to support spikes to attach a rope ladder.”
    Dario nodded and started off. He turned a few feet away. “I saw you kissing the boss. If you get a raise and I don't, I'm going to file a grievance with somebody.”
    He moved off and Declan grinned as he finished his braid. He hadn't really kissed her, although he supposed from Dario's point of view it would have A Trick of the Moon
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    looked that way. He picked up the rope and turned to watch as Maura walked up.
    “Hold the flashlight for me?”
    “Sure, although I'm still not in love with this plan.” She took the flashlight.
    “Seems to me we need to study things more before jumping in feetfirst.”
    “Better than jumping in headfirst,” Declan replied. She didn't smile, and he sighed. “It's going to be fine, trust me. Just relax.”
    “This ground is pretty hard,” Dario said as he came up to them.
    “Unfortunately it's also very dry, which means I'm not sure about securing stakes. Of course that depends on how long they are too.”
    Declan nodded as he contemplated the size of the stakes. “About twenty-five inches probably,” he said.
    “But how thick are they?” Dario wiggled his brows. “I would have come better prepared, you know, with stakes that can get the job done right.”
    “Are you insinuating my stakes won't pass muster when the need arises?”
    Dario shrugged and Declan groaned. He looked at Maura, who turned away to hide the grin that had come up at the exchange. Before Declan could think of a decent reply, she was clearing her throat.
    “One of our trucks has a winch on it. We can drive it out here and secure the rope to it.”
    As much as he didn't want to admit it, Maura had the better idea. It was best to have something mechanical on site in case something went wrong while he was down there and Dario couldn't pull him out.
    “You're right,” Declan said, turning to walk back over to the entrance. “I'd say Dario could lower me and pull me back up, but I'm not sure he has the stamina to get the job done right. Sometimes bigger equipment isn't always better.”
    “Not a problem,” Dario retorted. “Give me something challenging to do and I'll worry about