Dead Secret

recognition,” said Diane.
    “I found a rope among the rocks by the wall over there.” Neva pointed to a pile of rubble not far from where Diane and Mike had climbed in and out of the opening. “It’s pretty rotten. Our guy here ate Moon Pies.” She held up two wrappers, then dropped them in an evidence bag.
    “Early energy bars, I guess,” said Mike. “Jin ought to be here by now. I’ll go meet him.” Mike made his way across the rubble to the rope hanging from the chamber above, ready to climb up.
    “Hi, guys!” The voice came from above them, and they all looked up to see Jin peering down from the hole in the ceiling.
    Dammit, Diane thought as the image flashed through her head of him traipsing over rocks and across ledges, oblivious to the dangers. “Jin, you were supposed to stay outside,” she yelled up at him. “How did you get here?”
    “Dick MacGregor brought me as far as that really narrow tunnel. You guys do this all the time?”
    “You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here? This is not a cave for a novice. You’ve never been in a cave.”
    “Come on now, Boss. You don’t expect me to hear a story about you finding mummified remains in a cave and just stay outside the door. I got my hiking backpack, extra flashlights and batteries, a bota bag of water, and a hard hat. I’m good to go.”
    Mike looked over at Diane. “I’ll go up and help him down.”
    Mike climbed the rope and lowered Jin’s duffel bag, a crime scene kit, and a large backpack on a frame. Diane noticed a spray of dust come down with the equipment. She looked up at the ceiling but didn’t see any loose rocks. Must be dust and rocks left over from her fall, she thought. She heard Mike warn Jin of the instability of the rocks around the hole as Jin climbed down after his equipment.
    Close to the bottom, Jin jumped off the rope and dusted off his hands. Diane and Neva gawked at him. He sported a construction hard hat and a shirt and jeans that were several sizes too big for his thin frame.
    “What do you have on?” said Neva. Diane tried to suppress laughter.
    Jin grinned and looked down at his pants, lifting them up by the pockets and turning them loose, letting the rolled-up cuffs fall around his running shoes.
    “Well, see, when I got here, I was wearing shorts and a tee. Your guy Dick told me that I would get cold down here in the cave, and he loaned me some clothes he had in his car.”
    “Make sure you don’t trip on the cuffs,” said Neva. “There’s a lot of rocks around here to fall over.”
    “Jin,” said Diane. “Since you are here, you are to do everything we tell you. We’ll be carrying a lot of stuff getting out of here, and it won’t be easy.”
    “Sure thing, Boss.”
    Jin didn’t look the least contrite to Diane. He shined a flashlight around the cavern with a happy-to-be-here look on his face.
    Mike climbed down the rope. More dust fell from the hole.
    “Jin make it okay?” It was Dick MacGregor calling on the walkie-talkie. “He had a lot of stuff with him.”
    “He’s here in fine shape,” Diane replied, using her radio. “The equipment looks pretty good too.”
    “I told him I didn’t think he could drag all that stuff through that tunnel.”
    “It’s all here,” said Diane. She glanced at the pile of stuff Jin brought with him and was surprised he managed to get it through the narrow tunnel.
    “I gotta go wait for the deputy outside the cave,” said Dick. “He’s got some kind of paper for you to sign.”
    “Thanks, Dick. I appreciate your help.”
    “Sure. Always fun to go caving with you guys. You never know what we’ll run into. Went caving all my life and never had near the adventures I’ve had with you guys.”
    “Glad we’ve been able to provide you with new experiences,” said Mike into his walkie-talkie, grinning at Diane. “You think the deputy has had time to get up there yet?”
    “Probably waiting for me outside now. I’ll go see.”
    Jin’s duffel bag carried several battery-powered lanterns that he had padded with bubble wrap. They positioned them around the chamber. The duffel also contained a body bag. Jin grabbed his crime scene kit and walked with them to the mummified remains.
    “I wonder what happened. Fall through that hole, you think?” asked Jin.
    “No,” said Mike. “Diane made that hole when she fell through the ceiling.”
    Jin looked at the two of them, wide-eyed.
    “I managed to hang on to the ledge until