Fatalis

Ha

She'd find it.

For the moment, however, Ha

The sense of being in the middle of a human drama. Of knowing that with the world and the flesh in disorder, the devil could not be far away.

Chapter Thirteen

Grand and two Special Ops volunteers drove to the foot of Snyder Trail and walked to the slope. One of them carried a gym bag stuffed with gear; the other carted an aluminum case that contained a MarineScan UCM-the "You See Em," the Underwater Camera and Monitor. The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office usually used this off-shore to examine everything from broken pipelines to shifting sand levels. Today it would be used to study the lake.

The other two men were in good physical condition and made it up to the cave without difficulty. It took less than an hour for Grand to rig their harnesses and get them down to the floor of the upper cave. By now the rains were lessening and there was enough light coming in through the swallow hole so they didn't have to use the night-vision goggles.

The three men walked toward the ru

But he was back in his world where he felt safe. Where Gearhart and those like him faded to insignificance. Where the mission was to eliminate one's own ignorance, not learn to live with the ignorance of others.

The scientist looked up as they passed the steep cave walls. Hie two large paintings seemed subtly different from before. It appeared as though the lava and water were actually flowing. That impression could be due to shifting clouds changing the natural light or the fact that the men themselves were moving. Grand also wondered if the Chumash artist had created that illusion intentionally through the use of color, lighting, and slight variations in the rock surface. Maybe he was trying to suggest that the animal spirits were never at rest. It was an eerie and impressive creation.

The trip through the north-side tu

Surprisingly, Grand felt none of the apprehension he'd experienced when he was down here earlier. The air was as warm and close as before, the water was just as still, the gnats were equally as persistent Perhaps the presence of the other men had somehow changed the dynamic. Or maybe something had been different then, something his senses had missed but his instinct hadn't.

After collecting their pictures, the men set up the UCM. The main unit consisted of a battery-powered, thirteen-inch color monitor with an ante

Grand watched the monitor as the raft slowly crisscrossed the lake. The hum of the motor filled the cave with a soft, echoing drone while the camera's wide-angle lens broadcast sharp color pictures to the monitor. The lake was no more than five or six feet deep and the images showed a relatively smooth floor columned in places with stalagmites. Judging from the lack of erosion, the waters hadn't been here more than a few weeks. There was no sign of equipment, clothing, or anything else that may have washed down with the radio.

It took nearly an hour to cover the entire lake. When the men were finished, Moy packed up the UCM while Lyon radioed Gearhart The Special Ops leader told the sheriff they'd found nothing except the engineer's radio and were pla

"Have you had any luck up there?" Lyon asked.

"Negative," Gearhart replied. "We're going to extend the search into the mountains."

"We'll be out of the cave within a half hour," Lyon said. "If you've got some place for Moy and me, we'll head directly there."

"Sounds good," Gearhart said. "Why don't you take the Arroyo Burro Trail. Work your way toward the Falls."

"Will do," Lyon said.

After the Special Ops volunteer signed off, Grand approached him.

"Do you think you can find your way out?" Grand asked.

"Sure. Why?"

"I'm going to stick around, look in some of the other tu

Lyon offered Grand his hand. "Stay safe, and thanks for your help."

"Anytime."

Frank Lyon turned and took a last look at the water spilling into the cave. "Professor, you've been around these mountains a lot. What do you think happened up there?"

"I don't know," Grand admitted. "The way the weather's been, the ground acting up-it's easy to get hurt or lost or swallowed up."

Lyon nodded. "Yeah. Lots of possibilities. We just haven't hit the right one yet."

Moy came over and wished Grand well. Then the men left, trailing light and clomping footfalls.

Grand fished his penlight from his jacket and clicked it on. He walked toward the far side of the cave. The sounds coming through the sinkhole dimmed and vanished as he approached the gentle waterfall. Because the lake was so shallow, it had probably been just a small pool before La Nina caused it to swell. The waterfall might not have existed before then, in which case the lower cavern might have been easily accessible to the Chumash.

Reaching the tu

And looked down at the sky.