Scones, Skulls & Scams by Leighann Dobbs Page A

the money is in here,” she said excitedly.
    “I think if a million dollars was stacked up in there, it would be obvious,” Ida replied.
    “Yeah, looks like nothing but old clothes,” Ruth added.
    Nans turned to them. “But this proves our theory … someone was down here.”
    “Probably just vagrants,” Ruth said.
    Nans shook her head. “No. Look at the hat. It’s from the 1940s.”
    Nans shined her light on something that lay in the corner. Even in its dilapidated state, Lexy could see it had the same shape and style as the hats they’d seen in the 1948 newspaper ad.
    Lexy heard a muted bang and felt a vibration on the tunnel floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a piece of concrete crumbling loose from the side of the tunnel.
    “Look out!” She pushed Ruth aside just before the piece of concrete smashed to bits on the floor.
    “Oh my,” Ruth looked down at the bits of rock and dust. “Thanks Lexy. That would have hurt.”
    “You’re welcome. What was that noise?”
    “Noise?” Ruth’s brows knit together.
    “Yeah, didn’t you hear a noise and feel the floor shaking before the cement fell?”
    Ruth raised her brows at the other ladies who all shook their heads.
    “I didn’t hear anything,” Nans said. “But we’re right under the street. I bet a bus going by could cause a noise and vibration.”
    Lexy chewed on her bottom lip, glancing back down the tunnel uncertainly. “I suppose so, but I thought it came from back there.”
    “Well, we don’t have time to investigate that now.” Nans came out of the room back into the tunnel. “I feel we’re hot on the trail of the money.”
    Nans proceeded up the tunnel, a little faster this time. Lexy brought up the rear, her stomach tight with anxiety as she kept her eye on the ceiling of the tunnel waiting for another chunk of concrete to fall.
    Lexy wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and suddenly she stepped on something soft and squishy. A small furry body ran across her foot and she let out a screech that echoed loudly down the tunnel.
    The four ladies swung around to look at her, their faces etched with concern.
    “What happened?’
    “Are you okay?”
    Lexy hopped around on one foot, her heart thudding in her chest. “Yes. But I think a rat ran across my foot!”
    “Eww.” Helen and Nans both made faces of disgust and trained their flashlights on the floor of the tunnel.  
    “I don’t see any rats,” Helen said.
    “Me either.” Nans waved her flashlight around to expose every nook and cranny of the floor.
    “I tell you, something ran across my foot,” Lexy said.
    “Well, there’s nothing here now.” Nans turned to face forward. “Let’s keep going.”
    They fell in step behind Nans. Lexy kept an eye on the tunnel behind her. Did she hear something back there? She strained her ears, but couldn’t pick out anything except the sound of dripping water. It had sounded like footsteps. She hoped it wasn’t more rats.
    A few yards up, they came to an intersection. The main sewer tunnel continued ahead, but a smaller tunnel branched off to the right.
    “Which way?” Nans shined her flashlight down one tunnel, then the other.
    “I say we take the cutoff,” Ida said. “If I was gonna hide stolen bank robbery money, I’d hide it down one of the side tunnels as opposed to in the main tunnel.”
    “Good thinking.” Nans started down the tunnel off to the side.
    “Wait a minute!” Helen said causing everyone to stop. “We should mark the path, so we can find our way out. This place is like a maze down here and if we take too many turns … well, we could get lost in here and end up as skeletons just like Midas Mulcahey.”
    She swung her arm in front of her and snapped open her purse.  
    “Let’s see… What do I have in here we could use?” She motioned for Ruth to hold the items as she plucked them from her purse. “Masking tape, scissors, breath mints, a scone wrapped in a napkin, a lighter … oh