The Five-Day Dig (31 page)

Dunk shifted closer to the one that lay apart from the others. Bending down, he pulled the end cap open. The leather flap broke off in his hand, revealing several scrolls inside. “This one has something in it!”

“Careful with that, Dunk!” Jack flew to his side. “Let me remove the papyri using gloves.”

He pulled a pair of white cotton gloves out of his breast pocket and squeezed into them. Carefully, he removed one of the delicate scrolls from the case and gently unraveled it. The edges were crumbly, and the papyrus had browned, but the Latin text stood out clear against it.

Dunk let out a laugh. “Winnie, can you read it?”

She squeezed in beside Jack and studied the document. “ ‘
Salve, parens rerum omnium Natura, teque nobis Quiritium solis celebratam esse numeris omnibus
tuis
fave
.’ It translates to something along the lines of, ‘Hail, Nature, mother of all, and show favor to the only one who has celebrated you in all ways.’ ”

Chaz rubbed his chin. “I’ve heard that before.”

She nodded. “It’s from Pliny the Elder’s
Natural History
. You read it in my Latin Lit class.”

Dunk’s shoulders slumped. “Then it’s not a lost work. What about the others in the case?”

“Hold your horses.” Jack took his time rolling up the first scroll, then pulled a second one out of the case and gently unfurled it.

She skimmed over the first few lines of text. “More of the same work.”

“Bloody hell.” Dunk got down on his hands and knees and crawled over to the other cases. “There must be something else here.”

He picked one up, glanced inside, then tossed it aside.

She cringed.

“
Oi
, be careful with those!” Jack yelled as his colleague grabbed another one. “The leather is very fragile. These cases are a rare find themselves, scrolls or not.”

He moved over and carefully lifted a case, gently opening the end. It was empty.

Dunk slowed his pace but persisted in the attack until he and Jack had looked in all of the cases. “They’re all empty. But we still could have a library on this site.” He pressed into his forehead, then shot a look at Domenico. “Dom, we have only one day left. You must let us open up another trench and dig aggressively.”

The Italian opened his mouth to respond, but a feminine voice from the doorway cut him off.

“Oh, yes, Papa!” Enza rushed up to her father, taking his hand. “We could uncover the archaeological find of the century. Please let us expand.”

Her dark eyes glittered with excitement, but not a trace of emotion flickered across his face. “I told you to wait outside, Enza. There will be no expansion. The potential for finding munitions on the estate makes enlarging the dig impossible.”

She dropped his hand. “Any World War II munitions that were here must have all been found by now.”

“Our neighbor came across grenades on his property just last summer.” His firm tone made it clear he left no room for argument. “We can bring in explosives experts and dig more on another occasion, but it’s not feasible to check the site thoroughly by tomorrow.”

“Not even a small area?”

He shook his head. “No, not properly.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

Watching her, Dunk frowned. He got up and glanced around at the walls and floor. “If only there were another door or stairway in this apartment that we could pursue. We’re so close to a history-making find that I can taste it.”

Jack rose, too. “We already have plenty of finds in these rooms that need cataloging.” He put a hand on his colleague’s shoulder, but Dunk shrugged it off.

“There’s also more excavating to be done at the purgatorium,” Winnie said.

“But there won’t be scrolls in a purgatorium,” Dunk snapped at her.

His testiness startled her.
What had happened to Mr. Congeniality?

She must have looked shocked, because when he saw her reaction, his expression softened. “I’m sorry, Winnie. The stakes are high, and it’s getting to me, but that’s no excuse for my lack of courtesy. Pardon me, everyone.”

Looking uncharacteristically meek, he exited.

Hank panned the camera around the room. When the lens pointed toward her, Winnie tried to not to show any emotion.

Jack stepped into the shot. Without looking at the camera, he addressed the group in general. “Let’s break for lunch. The engineer and some volunteers can finish clearing the tunnel while we eat. Then we’ll catalog these rooms and decide where to concentrate next.”

Amara slipped in and snapped the clapboard in front of him. “Cut.”

Hank took the camera off his shoulder, and everyone filed out.

D
ICIOTTO

W
INNIE MADE A
beeline for the catering tent, planning to grab some food and take it somewhere out of the way to avoid eating near Farber.

As she picked up a panino from a banquet table, Chaz stepped up beside her. “I’ve found a great spot for lunch – a semi-secluded, little patch of shade with some toppled building-stones that will make perfect seats. Care to join me?”

A smile pulled at her mouth. He sounded like he was asking her out on a date. She couldn’t resist. It was only lunch, after all. “I’d love to.”

They managed to reach the spot without anyone else tagging along. Though it lay apart from the designated eating area, it wasn’t entirely secluded, either. A sporadic stream of workers plodded by, pushing wheelbarrows or carrying shovels and buckets.

Winnie and Chaz talked about the new rooms in the lodging, then when no one was within earshot he said, “Dunk shouting at you was uncalled for. With the threat of the show going off the air, he seems to be losing the plot.”

“His snapping at me isn’t important, but the way he tore into those scroll cases is another matter.” She paused for a sip of water. “Now, he wants to open more trenches, when this dig has already produced an embarrassment of riches. I can understand him trying to spice up the archaeology for laypeople, but is he always so bent on pushing the limits of sound science?”

“His behavior surprises me, too. I never imagined he was quite so much of a sensationalist.”

The disappointment in his voice made her sad. “I hope you’re not too disillusioned. You don’t regret doing the show, do you?”

“Not a chance.” He looked up at her. “But I don’t suppose you can say the same, after a night of drug-induced hallucinations.”

She laughed. “I only had a couple of hallucinations. I consider last night a learning experience. Now I know all about the curious effects of wheat fungi.”

“That’ll come in handy next time someone offers you purple beer.”

“Right.” She thought about the statuette burning, and a little shiver ran down her spine. “You didn’t see anything weird last night?”

“No, but I didn’t quite feel normal, either. I had this overwhelming sense of ... inertia.” He stared off into the distance. “First, I didn’t want to leave that dirty tarp we were sitting on outside the temple, even after Dr. Farber made it rather unpleasant to stay. And when we got to your room, well, it’s a good thing you wanted company, because I wasn’t going anywhere. The whole experience felt very ... intense.”

“Tell me about it.” Things still did feel intense. She looked down into her drink. “I really appreciate your staying with me and putting up with that awful cot.”

“Well, I don’t mind it once, but next time I’m sleeping in the big bed.”

Her gaze shot to meet his. She tried smirking at him but couldn’t quite pull it off – or look away. Both of their expressions grew serious.

“Your head is clear now, right?” he asked her.

The question hung heavily in the air, the portent of something momentous. The kiss he’d promised her? If so, she wanted it too much to hold back any longer. And it was just a kiss. She would do it.

The decision lifted a weight from her. “Yes.”

He smiled faintly. His focus dropped to her mouth. He moved toward her ...

“Winifred!” Farber’s voice made them both jump. He stormed into their space. “I’ve been looking for you. Why aren’t you eating with the rest of us?”

The look Chaz gave him epitomized disgust.

Luckily, the chairman had focused on her. To her surprise, she felt completely composed. She still planned to kiss Chaz when she got the chance, and she would face the consequences. Suddenly, she felt ready to face the other problems in her life, too, and that included Will Farber.

An idea came to her. Financially, it wouldn’t be easy, but the moderate success of her book would help. Why hadn’t she thought of it before?

Her boss was staring at her, his face flushed and angry. “I need to talk to you, Winifred.”

Chaz stood up and faced him. “You know she didn’t write those letters, Doctor. Winnie doesn’t enjoy the spotlight. She’s not the type to throw herself in the way of a conference presentation, let alone a television gig.”

Farber looked at him, then back at her. He took a deep breath. “That remains to be determined. Leaping to any conclusion is ill-advised, but we still need to talk.”

Surprised he’d made even that much of a concession, she got to her feet and faced him squarely. “I agree.”

He looked at Chaz. “Charles, we’ll meet you at the lodging in ten minutes.”

“If this is about the letters, I want to be included. Perhaps Winnie should have a solicitor present as well.”

“I have no intention of pressing charges against her,” Farber said.

Chaz looked at Winnie, his brow furrowed.

She smiled to try to reassure him. “I have something I want to discuss with Dr. Farber, too. I’ll catch up to you.”

He hesitated, then glanced at his watch and at their boss. “I’ll see you shortly then.”

Farber watched him leave, then turned back to her. “Whether or not you were involved with the forgeries, your behavior needs to be beyond reproach. I told you this fraternizing is unacceptable.”

“There’s nothing going on between Chaz and me,” she said. “But it won't matter soon anyway, because I’m requesting a sabbatical, effective this fall.”

He stared at her for a moment. “Because of Charles or the forged letters?”

“Neither.” She lifted her chin. “I have an idea for another book, and it’s going to be research-intensive.”

He drew in a deep breath, then reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his smartphone. “Perhaps a sabbatical for you isn’t a bad idea right now, but I don’t know if we can swing it on such short notice.” He started thumb-typing. “There isn’t much time for me to find alternative instructors to take your classes.”