Early the next morning, Michael was up and out. He dropped by the diner for breakfast, telling Amber he was going rock climbing again. And that he would probably be in town the next day, which was her day off. He and Kitt drove to the base of the cliff where the Summers had met Wick. Michael collected his rock-climbing equipment, which was still there.
"Michael," said Kitt as Michael was packing it all away in the duffel bag, "I believe I have another puzzle piece for you."
"Oh?"
"I took the liberty of checking the phone records and –"
"Really?"
"Yes. Daniel Brinley's phone number is still in service, at the house where Kylie and Eddie Summers now live. And the phone company keeps its records for three years. It was just a matter of determining the date of the accident and then identifying all calls made that morning."
"And what did you find?"
"Daniel Brinley called a number that is also still in service: the legal firm that created the trust for Nicole and also prepared the Brinleys' will."
"Well done, pal," said Michael, sounding very pleased. "Well done, indeed."
And Kitt made yet another entry in the "All Things Michael" database: Michael appreciated it when Kitt took the initiative. And perhaps even expected it from his . . . partner.
"Michael, do you think the Brinleys told their lawyers they planned to change their will or just that they wanted to meet and discuss it?"
"Does it matter? After all this time, it really isn't more than circumstantial evidence."
"I see."
Kitt was gaining a better appreciation of what qualities Michael had that made Wilton Knight select him to be Kitt's driver. He knew when to dig and, more importantly, when to stop. Kitt revised an entry in his database: Michael wasn't impulsive; he was intuitive.
Michael finished stowing his equipment in the trunk. He then got behind the wheel, just as Ainsworth called.
"Morning, Bruce. What's the word?"
"Morning, Michael. I'm at the Summers's place, and there's no sign of them."
"And I'm at the spot where they met with Malcolm Wick from Andringa Mining yesterday. Same story: no one's here."
Ainsworth mulled it over. "Meet me at the illegal mine. The camp's on state land, and I'll need to make some calls before we go there."
"See you soon."
Michael drove towards the mine. He could see the heavy equipment still in place, telling him they hadn't shut down the operation. Yet.
"Kitt, any sign of the Summers? Or Wick?"
"No, Michael. None of them appear to be onsite, nor are any of their vehicles present."
"What about Ainsworth?"
"He should be here in about 10 minutes."
Michael drummed his fingers on the steering wheel for a moment. "Let's go talk with the miners. They might know something."
"Is that wise?" asked Kitt, though he already knew Michael wouldn't give him a straight answer. He hadn't the other 17 times Kitt had asked him that particular question, according to the "All Things Michael" database.
"We need to find out where the Summers's have gotten off to. And Wick."
As Kitt had predicted, Michael's response was not an answer, but an explanation for why he was going to pursue his stated course of action. Michael drove up to the mine and got out. Kitt switched to surveillance mode. None of the men seemed welcoming. Two men stepped towards Michael: the one who had met with Eddie outside the diner and the one who had harassed the waitress.
The former said, "My name's Theo Ailing. Who are you and what do you want here?"
"Name's Michael Knight. And I'm looking for Kylie and Eddie Summers."
"They're not here. And we're not expecting to see them."
"Any idea where they might be?"
"What do we look like? A bunch of secretaries?"
"No, you look like miners. Operating an unsanctioned mine."
"What do you mean 'unsanctioned'?" asked the other man, whose shirt was embroidered with the name Nick.
"The Summers hold this land in trust for their niece, Nicole. They need court approval for mining. And no court approved this mine."
Michael heard muttering among the other miners. Other than Ailing, this seemed like news to them. Even Nick was looking at Ailing oddly.
"News to us," said Ailing. "And unless we're told otherwise by the authorities, we'll just keep mining. Now, scram, Knight."
"Hey," said Nick. "It looks like Wick is coming. He'll get to the bottom of this."
As Wick drove up, Michael checked with Kitt on how far away Ainsworth was and was assured the sheriff was less than five minutes away.
Wick got out of this truck. "What's going on here?"
"This guy," said Ailing, pointing at Michael, "claims we haven't got legal permission to mine here."
Wick looked angrily at Michael but didn't recognize him. "Really?"
"The Summers can't authorize mining without court approval. And there doesn't seem to be any such approval. Unless you have something?"
"I was told by the landowners to go ahead and mine here."
However, Wick clearly seemed uneasy, and exchanged glances with Ailing. And Nick was looking at both men with clear interest.
"I'm thinking we should see what the sheriff has to say," said Michael mildly.
"Or the Summers. Who seem to be coming this way," said Nick, pointing in their direction.
Michael readied himself as the Summers arrived at the mine. He had hoped Ainsworth would arrive before things went south. Unfortunately, the Summers got here before Ainsworth. Fortunately, that put everyone in one place.
Eddie got out of the truck, followed by Kylie. Wicks pointed at Michael.
"This guy claims we don't have permission to mine here."
"An oversight, I'm sure," said Michael.
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Eddie. And then he realized who he was talking to. "Hey, you're the guy who took our niece."
Kylie gasped a bit theatrically. "She's just a little girl. Where is she? Is she in your car?"
"She's not in the cave where you left her," replied Michael.
"We would never –"
"Oh, right, I forgot," said Michael sarcastically. "You don't need to leave a child scared and alone in a cave when you have that root cellar. So much more convenient."
"How dare you accuse us of harming my sister's daughter. Who we've been responsible for since her parents' untimely death."
The miners looked like they were going to get involved, and on the side of the Summers. Michael hoped the sheriff would arrive soon.
Nick was the first of the miners to act, rushing Michael and grappling with him. He then whispered so only Michael could hear him, "Throw me at the others. It'll slow them down."
Michael was startled but decided to go along. He and Nick grappled a bit more, then Michael threw him at the other miners. Nick jumped to give himself more momentum and then went stiff just before he hit the other miners. As the miners went down in a heap, Ainsworth pulled up. As he got out of his car, everyone was yelling.
"Kylie and Eddie Summers," said Ainsworth, "You are both under arrest."
"He's the one you want." Eddie pointed at Michael. "He's kidnapped our niece. And Lord knows what he's done with her. Or to her."
"He handed her over to me, Eddie. And you and your wife are under arrest for child abuse. And for this illegal mining operation."
"Nicole is safe?" gasped Kylie. "Thank God. Eddie is such a violent man; I was afraid of him."
The miners had by this time gotten to their feet. But by their looks and muttering, they had decided to stay well out of things. Ailing looked uneasy at the turn of events, and Nick was glaring at him. Eddie was clearly angry, muttering about being backstabbed. So Michael decided to go all in.
"Don't forget the murder of Jess and Daniel Brinley."
"That was all Eddie's doing," said Kylie quickly.
"You're not leaving me holding the bag. You wanted your sister's land as badly as I did. And you're the one who came up with the idea of that tranquilizer-laced pie so we could put their unconscious bodies in the car before pushing it over the cliff."
Ailing had been slowly backing towards his truck. Nick spotted him and went after him. There was a brief fight, which ended with Ailing on the ground. Ainsworth went after the Summers's. So did the miners, glad to finally know who the bad guys in all this were. Eddie pushed Kylie at them and ran for his truck. He got in and raced away.
Michael ran for Kitt, calling to Ainsworth, "I'll go after Eddie. You take care of Kylie, Ailing, and Wick."
Eddie had a decent head start and knew the terrain. Michael had Kitt, so it was never a fair race. Eddie thought he had the advantage when he took an old wooden bridge across a gully. And then jumped out of his truck with an axe. He chopped at the supports, watching the bridge tumble into the gully. He then tossed the axe back in the bed of his truck and gave Michael a triumphant smirk.
"You know, Kitt, the gully's not that wide. It's just deep."
"I concur, Michael. And I find that man's expression quite aggravating."
Eddie watched smugly as Michael drove away. He was surprised when Michael turned around and sped towards the gully. Michael grinned and pressed the Turbo-Boost button. Kitt sailed easily across the gully. He landed and immediately turned around to block Eddie's truck. Eddie himself was completely dumbfounded by what had happened.
Michael leapt from Kitt and rushed Eddie, punching him hard. Eddie launched himself at Michael.
"We had it all: the house, the land, the money. Even that brat we were stuck with wasn't giving us any trouble. And then you had to come along."
Eddie tried to maneuver Michael to the edge of the gully. But he was no match for a former Special Forces member. Within minutes, Michael had overpowered him and frog-marched him to Kitt.
"Not so easy when you're up against someone big enough to fight back, is it?"