The Five-Day Dig (14 page)

Enza met them at the door to the dining room wearing a snug half-sleeve top and a short embroidered peasant skirt. She was all boobs and legs, and suddenly Winnie felt a notch less attractive.

Waiting inside with the priest, Domenico looked handsome in a perfectly tailored, silver-gray suit. He introduced Father Giampiero from the local church, Santa Isidora di Campania, then urged everyone to be seated at one end of an enormous table.

Enza and Giampiero jumped into the spots on either side of
the host
, while Winnie found herself between Chaz and an empty chair.
Fortuna, what are you doing to me?
she thought, casting a wistful look at Domenico.

He caught her looking at him and shot her a knowing smile. She had forgotten just how smooth he was. Too smooth for her, really, but she smiled back.

Chaz tapped her on the shoulder. “Who are we missing on the other side of you?”

“That would be Jack Tobin’s place,” Dunk said from across the table. He looked at Domenico. “I’m afraid that tardiness is the norm for him, so don’t bother holding dinner. But please don’t judge him harshly, either. When it comes to his work, he’s meticulous.”

Once everyone present had a good start on the antipasto, Domenico raised his glass. “I salute my new friend Duncan, who has made possible the exploration of the ruins here – as well as my old friend, Father Giampiero. Welcome, also, Winnie, Chaz and Amara. May you all find what you seek here.”

Everyone nodded and drank. Then Dunk held up his glass for a second toast. “And to you, Signore, for giving us this amazing opportunity.”

“It was Enza’s idea.” He gave his daughter an affectionate look. “She believes your work is vital to understanding our rich culture and history.”

Dunk turned his gaze to the young woman. “We’re flattered to have your good opinion. To Signore Rentino and the lovely Enza.”

Enza flashed him a brilliant smile.

She has inherited her father’s fine teeth
, Winnie thought without pleasure, drinking to their hosts.

As they set their glasses back down, a gruff male voice came from the doorway. “Forgive me for being late.” Jack Tobin looked about sixty and had wild, white hair. He dressed even more eccentrically than Dunk, decked out in a rumpled blue sweater and dark-green corduroy pants. “I was drawing up the plan for the excavation and lost track of time.”

Amara pressed her lips together. “Despite my reminding you to come down half-an-hour ago.”

The effect of her reprimand was ruined when she set her glass down on top of her knife handle, and it fell over, splattering white wine over the tablecloth.
      
She gasped. “Oh, I’m sorry!”

A male servant swooped in with a towel to soak up the spill almost instantly. He smiled at her. “
Una cosa da niente, signorina
.”

Jack took his seat, grinning. “You’re a peach, Amara.”

As the servant poured another wine for her and a first glass for Jack, Dunk introduced the newcomer to those who hadn’t met him. He wrapped up by adding, “Jack is lead archaeologist – and staff absent-minded professor.”

“And, no doubt, very busy,” Domenico said with his usual grace. “We’re pleased you can join us, Jack.”

“Thank you, Signore.”

The Italian laughed. “Will everyone please stop calling me Signore? It’s Domenico – or, Dom, if you like.”

Watching him from down the table, Winnie thought that he was
so
not a Dom. The more formal Domenico fit him much better.

He saw her staring again and slid her another smile. The way his gaze clung to hers felt intimate. Of course, he was an Italian. She smiled back.

Chaz cleared his throat. “Jack, can you give those of us who are new to ‘The Dig’ an idea what to expect tomorrow?”

“Sure.” He paused for a sip of wine. “Dunk and I will begin the excavation in the temple. You and Winnie will open Trench 2 on a small structure adjacent to us. And a large building nearby that we believe housed priests will, fittingly, be delegated to Father Giampiero. He’ll be joined by your colleague, Dr. Farber.”

Winnie almost choked on her gnocchi and pesto. “Dr. Farber?
”

“How did Dr. Farber end up on the program?” Chaz asked. “He didn’t tell us he’d be here.”

Jack helped himself to salami and cheese from the antipasto plate. “Our usual Roman expert got an offer too good to pass up. Actually, he’ll be speaking at the museum at
Growden
University
.”

“Your expert is speaking at Growden?” Winnie’s instant of disbelief mutated into dread. Obviously, Farber had engineered this. With him on the team, she was sure to be demeaned in front of millions of TV viewers. She tried not to show her disgust. “What a coincidence.”

“Yes, a fortunate one.” Jack picked up his fork and stabbed a rolled cold cut. “When Dr. Farber realized we’d be left without a Roman expert, he generously offered to step in. It was all rather last-minute. I suppose he didn’t have time to update you. He should arrive late tonight.”

The news left her without an appetite. She took a deep breath and looked at Chaz.

He stared back at her with round eyes and a grim mouth.

“Can I help with the digging?” Enza asked. “I have not trained formally for it yet, but I have watched many of your programs.”

Domenico laid a hand on her shoulder. “We must not interfere,
carina
.”

“On the contrary, we’d love the help.” Dunk gave the young woman one of his prime-time smiles. If not for his funny eyes, he would have been leading-man material. “You can work with Jack and me.”

She countered him with a dazzling smile of her own. “
Mille grazie
, Signore Mortill.”

“Milli Vanilli, as you Italians say.”

She looked at him, her head tilted in confusion. “We don’t say this. It is not Italian.”

He laughed.

“If it were Italian,” Chaz said under his breath, “it wouldn’t be suitable for mixed company.”

Knowing that the word
vanilla
was derived from the Latin for
little sheath
or
vagina
, Winnie shook her head to herself, refusing to acknowledge him.

Two servants entered with the main course, a flaky baked fish that she barely tasted. She tried to come up with a bright side to look on. At least Farber had been assigned to a trench with Father Giampiero and not her. From what she’d been told, their working hours would be long. Hopefully, she wouldn’t see much of him in the field, and then at night everyone would go to bed early. She knew
she
would.

While she mulled over these thoughts, the conversation shifted from what to expect during the excavation to current events.

Jack looked down the table to the priest. “Excuse me, Father, did you see the news that two young girls found a natural image of the Virgin in a cave near
Salerno
?”

Giampiero shook his head. “No, I hadn’t heard.” He turned back to his fish, apparently not interested in the potential miracle.

Dunk’s eyebrows tilted upward in the middle, giving him a skeptical look. “Does the Church take that sort of thing seriously?”

“Only if three authentic miracles can be attributed to the image.” Giampiero eyed a plate of tiramisu that a servant placed in front of him. “If the girls’ story is corroborated, the local diocese will monitor it.”

While Jack went on to talk about a trip he had made to the site of another Virgin appearance, Medjugorje in Herzegovina, Winnie’s mind wandered back to the machinations of her department chair. Leave it to him to try to steal the spotlight from her.
Well, let him have it
. If the team from “The Dig” did a lousy job on the project, now Farber could be the one to try to explain
Growden’s
participation to the academic world.

When the servants returned to clear the dessert plates, everyone rose to retire early, anticipating an early morning. While the cast regulars paused to discuss logistics over a clipboard that Amara whipped out, the Rentinos and Father
Giampiero
headed for the family wing of the house.

As Winnie and Chaz made their way upstairs, she couldn’t resist venting a little. “I can’t believe that Dr. Farber horned his way in on this project.”

“He’s a born salesman. He sold himself to the producers of ‘The Dig.’ ”

“I guess so.” She let out a humorless laugh. “Frankly, I don’t see his charm, but he does bring in more grants than anyone else in the department.”

“Well, don’t let him take credit for involving us in this project. You’re the one who got us here.”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure I’ll want credit for that. We’ll see how it goes.”

As they reached the upstairs landing, the regulars from “The Dig” started climbing up behind them. Jack and Amara moved slowly, still engrossed in conversation, but Dunk caught up with Winnie and Chaz.

“You two were quiet toward the end of the meal,” he said. “Not sold on that Virgin Mary story?”

Unwilling to admit that Farber joining the dig bothered her, Winnie jumped on the excuse. “Why do people always find images of Mary in the weirdest places, like on an expressway underpass or in a grilled-cheese sandwich?

Chaz grinned at her. “Perhaps it’s not Mary at all. Perhaps it’s another goddess that everyone is ignoring, and she’s fighting to get attention.”

“Well, that would explain it.”

As they moved along the hall, Jack and Amara called goodnight to them and went into their respective rooms.

Dunk waited until his colleagues shut their doors, then leaned closer to Winnie and Chaz. “Do you find it strange that the Catholic Church has sent a priest to monitor our work?”

The comment surprised her. “I assumed the Rentino family invited him.”

“Willingly, or under duress?” His eyes kept him from looking entirely serious. “The story among the locals is that Father Giampiero is the one who’s been dissuading Dom from digging here all these years.”

She couldn’t picture it. “Domenico doesn’t strike me as the type to cave to pressure.”

Chaz nodded. “And Signora Vaccula, the housekeeper, told us he’s been reluctant to dig because there may be stray World War II munitions here.”

The TV host made a face. “She fed me that story, too, but I don’t buy it – though I did pick up a book on explosives just in case. The locals suspect the Church is trying to hide something here.”

“What would they be hiding?” Chaz asked.

Dunk stopped outside his door. “Maybe texts they’ve also suppressed in
Pompeii
or
Herculaneum
. Some people believe the Church is also holding back excavation of the rest of the ancient library in the Villa of the Papyri at
Herculaneum
.”