Bailey and the Santa Fe Secret by Linda McQuinn Carlblom Read Free Book Online Page A

Bailey said.
    “Okay. Remember I told you I was going to print out the pictures you sent me so I could study them better?”
    “Yes.” Bailey looked nervously at Elizabeth.
    “Well, I did print them out, and they looked great. So I laid them out on the floor to examine them. Biscuit came running into the room and got her muddy paws all over them.”
    “Oh no!” Alex said. “Are you going to have to reprint them?”
    “I’m not sure.” Kate cleared her throat. “Here’s where the good news comes in. Or at least it may be good news. I’m not sure.”
    “Let’s hear it!” Sydney said.
    “Well, the funny thing about the muddy paw prints on the picture is that it almost looks like trees painted onto the scenery.”
    “I don’t see where you’re going with this,” McKenzie said. “How could that be good news?”
    “I think I see where she’s going,” Sydney said. “Think about it. The Santa Fe landscape had to have changed over the last few hundred years or so since that pot was made.”
    “Oh, I get what you’re saying.” Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled at Bailey. “Trees and bushes and cactus plants would have grown in since then, so it may look entirely different than the pot’s picture.”
    “Bingo!” Kate said. “And that’s exactly what the picture looks like to me with the muddy paw prints on it.”
    “Why don’t you send us photos so we can see them with Biscuit’s paw prints? Then we’ll get a better idea of what the area might look like now.”
    “I already did.” Kate giggled. “Check your e-mail.”
    The girls burst out laughing.
    “You’re really on top of this!” Bailey said.
    “Anyone else have anything to report?” Elizabeth asked.
    “No, I’m still researching the public records on the Tse family,” Alex said. “Haven’t turned anything up yet that’s of interest.”
    “Sydney, any news on the Native American code talkers?” McKenzie asked.
    “Only that the Navajo Indians were the ones who did the code talking in World War Two,” Sydney said. “I don’t find any connection that would tie them or their code to the Pueblo Indians.”
    “All right,” Bailey said. “Let’s keep working on this. Thanks for calling, Kate. Your tip about those photos may crack this case.”
    Kate laughed. “Just doing my job. Or at least Biscuit was!”
    “We’re working at the shop right now, but we’ll check our e-mail as soon as we have time,” Elizabeth said. “We’ll let you know if the picture resembles anything we’ve seen so far.”
    “Okay,” Kate said. “Keep us posted.”
    Bailey and Elizabeth said good-bye.
    “Good thing I brought my laptop along,” Bailey said. “I thought we might get bored, so I brought it in case we wanted to play games while my mom worked.”
    Bailey typed in her username and password, and Kate’s e-mail popped up with photo attachments. Elizabeth scooted her chair closer.
    “There it is,” Bailey said.
    “Boy, that’s amazing!” Elizabeth leaned in to get a better look. “Those muddy paw prints really do look like trees.”
    Bailey laughed. “Who knew Biscuit was such an artist!”
    “This looks a lot more like the area we hiked yesterday with the ‘trees’ added,” Elizabeth said.
    Bailey squinted her eyes and pointed at the mountain to the right in the picture. “I wonder if this could be the mountain beside the Puye Cliff dwellings.”
    “I’m not sure.” Elizabeth shook her head. “It looks more purple than that mountain. I thought it was brown or black.”
    “Maybe you’re right.” Bailey had another idea. “Or maybe it was just the lighting when Kate took the shot.”
    “I’m not sure the shape of the mountain is right.” Elizabeth’s eyebrows narrowed in thought. “Wasn’t the top flatter than this?”
    Bailey nodded. “I think you’re right. Maybe the painting on the pot isn’t where we went hiking after all.” She clicked the picture off and closed the laptop.
    Halona wandered into the pottery