Daisy stepped forward at Steve's instruction. Now situated in open sunlight, the pretty mousette was under near-perfect lighting. Steve paused long enough to adjust a reflector before returning to his original position and raising his camera. Still within arm's reach of the brush behind her, Daisy looked enchanting in the natural surroundings. Steve clicked off a few shots, then shifted to a spot about a foot over to his left before snapping a few more. Daisy smiled as she reflected on how pleasant this was for a day's work. Certainly there were worse ways to spend a beautiful day than to be standing in the nice warm sunlight while dressed in a Creek Bend bikini, required to do little more than enjoy the moment as her picture was taken.
A makeshift blind had been set up near Steve's car, a thick sheet draped around a rock outcropping that afforded protection from potential prying eyes (though said eyes were entirely imaginary out here). Doris stood by, waiting her turn in the "changing room" as Yvette finally stepped out from behind the curtain. Soon, all three girls were in the eye of Steve's camera, each a stunner in the town's signature swimwear. Patty was along this trip, as she sometimes joined her husband on location shoots, now going over a planned selection of picnic scenes the girls would act out as Mr. Morrow hovered about with his camera at the ready. The group had found an absolutely perfect section of the wilderness which surrounded the tiny town, a picturesque clearing through which ran a gentle stream which broke away from and later reconnected to the river. Daisy had found the place by accident while visiting Roger and Crissy.
The Ralphwit property stretched a good distance, as Rog and Cris seemed determined to protect their natural privacy by scooping up the neighboring lands. Daisy had joined her friends during a "scouting mission" to inspect a new plot of land before purchasing it. This clearing was so pretty as to inspire a picnic table to be set up for future trips through the area, but Roger hadn't yet had the table brought in and Steve wanted to get some shots in the area before anything challenged the prehistoric beauty of the landscape Daisy had described to him.
This spot was the first attraction. Another was a cave opening close by. Steve figured some great shots could be collected with such a visually interesting location. Patty went even further and suggested that the wardrobe for the shoot include some animal skins fashioned into bikini-like garments to play on the whole cave theme. This actually gave Steve some pause as the girls made ready to walk over to the new location. Their initial reactions to the cave would be their most interesting, visually. Should the girls wear their modern bikinis or arrive at the location in costume? What would make the most interesting set of shots? He finally decided the furs would be more unique and asked the girls to change before they moved on. As the stars walked back to the privacy screen, Steve turned to his wife.
"This whole cave-girl aesthetic was your idea," he lit a cigarette for himself and for her, "you want to don a furry bathing suit and join the girls in the shoot?"
"Maybe when we get home I'll do a single," Patty smiled as she took the cigarette, "but I think if I started showing up in your work shots, the Boss might feel you're trying to get me into pictures too."
"He's tried to interest you in joining the stable. He knows a pretty girl when he sees one. And he's already seen you act in our Christmas shows each year."
"Give that man time enough and there won't be a girl in this town who isn't an actress. In all honesty, though, I'm really not interested. Oh, it'd be nice to spend more time with you at the studio, but I'm just not interested in giving up my private home life. Actors just aren't allowed the simple life."
"I don't know," Steve motioned toward the girls, "they pull it off."
"They've had more practice at balancing it all. I'm happy just being your wife. I don't ask for anything more than that."
"You do the occasional stage show. That USO routine of yours was a hit. You may end up on the screen anyway."
"I have fun doing those shows," Patty took a puff, "they give me something to do every once in a while, and keep things from getting too routine, but it's not my life's ambition. I don't think I'd like doing it on a regular basis."
"I understand," Steve swung his equipment over his shoulder, "but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you end up in pictures yourself. You've got too much talent to not do so. If nothing else, that voice of yours is sure to make it onto wax."
"We'll see." Patty kissed Steve before helping gather up the other items needed for the shoot. On the walk over to the cave, Steve stopped the girls a couple of times to get some pix. They looked so cute in their cave outfits that he dared not do so. The cave itself wasn't quite Bronson Canyon, but it did have a good look. Steve set up his tripod to get some shots of the girls in the mouth of the cave. Doris looked inside.
"Has Roger explored this cave?" Doris asked.
"Not yet," Daisy offered, "but he's going to. What he wants to do with it I don't know, but it'll make an interesting location for a film shoot."
"That it would," Yvette took a step inside, "provided no bears live in here."
"If we move into the cave itself," Steve eyed the structure, "I'll need to go back to the car and get the generator for the lights."
"Maybe you should," Yvette turned back to him, "it's pretty big in there. You could get some neat pictures." Shortly, Steve was adjusting some light stands, bathing the interior in illumination. It was quite a sight. Daisy wandered around the cavern, keeping an eye open for the best possible background. All of them wondered if anyone had walked this ground before they arrived. Indians used to live on this land, and it was possible the tribe had used this spot for shelter at some point. With this in mind, Doris and Yvette scanned the floor of the cave for evidence of a fire pit or old arrow heads or the like.
What Yvette happened onto instead was rather unexpected. Next to a rock and covered in dust, was a metal box. It was roughly the size of a lunchbox, lacking any sort of handle but tied together with thick leather straps and buckles. Upon closer inspection, these straps looked to be a couple of belts that had been repurposed. Yvette picked up the box and moved it into the light as everybody gathered around.
"We found something a bit newer than I expected," Daisy mused, "but we know somebody has been here before." Yvette placed the box onto a bolder in the middle of the chamber.
"Maybe it's a time capsule," Steve smiled, "I've heard of kids putting these things together and planning to come back to them when they grow up."
"Do we open it?" Patty wondered.
"Can't do any harm," Steve shrugged, "we have to make sure anyway, and we can put it back when we're done." Daisy nodded and began working the belts which held the box shut. These came off easily enough, and the lid was opened to show a bundle wrapped in wax paper. Steve carefully lifted the package out of the box and began to unwrap it. The girls looked on with held breath.
What Steve pulled out of the wax paper was rather different than anything the group was picturing. A small cloth bag was brought into view, and with it a folded sheet of paper. Steve unfolded the paper and studied it as Patty inspected the bag.
"It's a map of the cave," Steve announced, "showing the location of something important, but it doesn't say what. There is a date here, August 14th, 1933. Someone meant to come back and pick it up, whatever it is."
"Steve." Patty was bug-eyed as she showed the contents of the pouch to her husband. Steve poured into his open hand a neat pile of diamonds. The other girls popped their eyes wide as they stepped forward to give the rocks closer scrutiny.
"There must be more diamonds hidden in here," Yvette was captivated by the way they sparkled in the light, "maybe they're the loot from a heist or something."
"Possible," Steve admitted, "that date might tell us something in the city records."
"Where does the map say to find them, Steve?" Daisy asked. Steve carefully poured the diamonds back into the pouch as Patty held it open for him, then he inspected the map again. He pointed to a tunnel in back of the chamber.
"Back there. A few turns into that tunnel. We'll need flashlights, I should have one in the car. I'd like to have more light than that if we go poking into that cave, though."
"What about torches?" Doris picked up a branch which had fallen near the mouth of the cave. As she turned back and held the branch up in the manner of a club, the cave girl aesthetic was complete. Steve managed not to laugh, however, as Doris was so sincere and he dared not challenge that. Soon the lot of them were marching into the deeper reaches of the cave, holding aloft burning torches. Steve wasn't sure what the results would be under this light, but he made sure to grab a few shots with his camera before moving to the front of the line and guiding the way. Patty had learned enough of her husband's business to think to grab the camera and snap off a few more shots as the crew moved deeper into the tunnel.
"Be careful here." Steve pointed to a crack in the floor. It was narrow enough to step over, but one might miss it if they walked over it in a rush. Clean air was being pushed up through the crack. Steve figured it was an underground river, possibly the same one his well was tapped into. That sound of rushing air was familiar to residents of the community, as it could almost always be heard when a new pipe was installed and most every home in the territory used well water. Creek Bend abounded in natural resources, and the prevalent underground river helped to make the vegetation of the area so lush. That in turn added to the humidity. Water could be scarce in other areas of the State, but drought was almost unheard of here.
Yvette held a torch so that Steve could check the map. The target of their search was stored at the base of the cave wall in front of them, but the only thing visible in the torch light was a pile of rocks. Steve began to clear the pile away, as Daisy had her attention pulled to the other direction. Something was behind them, stirring in the darkness. Daisy cautiously moved her torch to illuminate a raised alcove. Her eyes popped wide as she made out the shape of a bear staggering to it's feet. It was a small bear, but it was large enough to be deadly. Daisy froze. What was she to do? How could she alert the others without calling the bear's attention their way?
Steve uncovered another metal box, this one of fairly good size and able to hold a bundle the volume of a basketball. It must've been crammed full of diamonds, because it was fairly hefty. Daisy whispered in Steve's direction. "Don't open it here. Wait till we get outside." Steve turned to Daisy to ask why, and noticed how dead still she was as she eyed the object of her concern. The entire assembly turned in the direction of Daisy's gaze, pouring more light onto the bear. With this, the bear's attention was fully on the people in his cave. The bear stood and let out a bellow. The natural instinct of the group was to make a mad dash, but the confines of the cave and poor lighting managed to keep their flight responses in check. Patty turned the camera and snapped a shot, the flash blinding the bear and sending it back to it's feet.
As the bear brushed it's paws over it's eyes and tried to reorient itself, Daisy, Doris, and Yvette pushed forward and held their torches out to keep the bear at bay. "Get those diamonds back to the main chamber," Yvette yelled, "we'll hold him off until you're clear!" Steve had to use her plan, since he was the only one strong enough to lug the treasure out of the tunnel in a hurry. He took off as the girls pushed their torches at the bear to keep it back. Patty made ready to set off another flash in order to give the girls a chance to run away. In the excitement, Steve left his flashlight behind. Yvette noticed and scooped up the device before tossing her torch near the bear.
"Box him in, girls!" Yvette held the flashlight on the path through the tunnel as Doris and Daisy threw their torches into place. The bear, now roaring wildly, was encircled by the torches. The girls gathered near Patty, who snapped off another shot to confuse the bear before the group of them took off using the flashlight beam to direct their footfalls. Steve had unceremoniously dumped the box into the lit chamber at the cave's entrance, then darted right back into the tunnel. He didn't figure there was time to run back to the car for his gun, not with his wife and friends trying to fight off a bear only with torches.
Steve met the girls near the crack in the floor, where he gave each a boost as they jumped over the small separation. If only the gap could be widened, it would prevent the bear from reaching them. A few stomps around the crack only confirmed that it was solid rock and there was nothing Steve could do to open it further. The bear could be heard going crazy as it swatted away the torches and made for the tunnel trail. Steve looked for a weapon of some kind, if only to buy some time for the girls. Hearing the bear huffing in the darkness as it galloped toward him, Steve darted for the lit portion of the cave. The girls were standing at the mouth, calling Steve toward them. Outside, Steve instructed the gang to start climbing the hillside. There simply wouldn't be time to reach the car before the bear could overtake them.
Steve and his wife, joined by a band of cartoon cave girls, huddled on the slope above the cave opening as the bear launched out of the mouth and began roaring it's head off. In the open now, the bear quickly calmed down and wandered off. Steve waited a good while before he began to climb back down to the cave. "I'll get the box and take it to the car. We'll open it there, just in case the bear decides to circle around again. You stay here until I get back."
Rather than make the girls march through potentially dangerous woods, Steve drove the car back up to the cave so the girls could climb down and crawl in. They never did see the bear again, and attention was quickly pulled to the contents of the second box. Inside, there were multiple cloth bags, each housing what must have been thousands of dollars worth of ice. Then there was the crown jewel of the collection, a rather gigantic diamond which was nestled in the center of the box. It was a spectacular sight.
"It's nearly as big as the Eye of Heaven!" Daisy compared the rock to the infamous gem Roger had given Crissy before their wedding.
"Hard to believe there are two diamonds this size in the same town," Steve mused, "maybe Rog knows something about this." It was a short drive to the Ralphwit house. Roger and Crissy were bemused to find a trio of cave girls at the door, but it was stunned silence which greeted the sight of the diamond. Roger thought back as he held up the ice. This gem was more rounded than the Eye of Heaven, but they looked similar in clarity. The Eye had been traded over many centuries. This rock was likely something similar.
"I think I have it," Roger stated, "that date was in '33 you said? There was a big diamond heist in L.A. I remember hearing about. The newspaper records there will be able to tell you which jewelry store was robbed. I remember it because there was a huge diamond said to be similar to the Eye of Heaven involved. This has to be it."
"What a publicity story this will be," Steve excitedly paced the room, "Daisy Poise, Doris Flowers, and Yvette Pond recover loot from L.A.'s biggest diamond heist! We couldn't dream up something this good!"
The jeweler was pretty excited to get the merchandise back, and made gifts of bundles of diamonds to each of the girls involved. Back at the studio, the event was greeted with plans to turn it into a two-reeler. The publicity was great, but the story went through some changes on it's way to the screen. By the time the picture was released, the small crack in the floor had become a gaping chasm and the single small bear an entire family of grizzly bears the three annies faced alone. It made for a swell picture.
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