Page 23 of Troy Story
After another hour of sieving, Dusty took a breather. Settling herself next to the finds bucket, she brought out her field notebook so she could jot down a few observations about the pithoi fragments. TJ joined her. They’d only been writing for a few minutes when he pointed to the break area, where Emilia and Clarissa were setting out the food for the morning meal.
“What are they doing over there already?” he said. “It’s not break time yet.”
Dusty brushed the dirt off her watch. “Yeah, it is. It’s already ten past. Kerim should have let us go by now.” She scanned the area, intending to catch his eye, but he was standing on the other side of the trench, his attention focused on someone approaching their site.
She watched in shock as Dr. Wagner, the director of the German excavations, tromped over to Stuart’s trench. She turned to TJ. “What’s the German dude doing here?”
“Dunno. But this can’t be good.”
She strained to listen to the conversation. Clearly, she and TJ weren’t the only ones intrigued by their unexpected visitor because the entire site had gone quiet.
Dr. Wagner stood over Mort and Dr. Hughes, who hadn’t moved from their camp chairs. “Are you two having a relaxing morning?”
“What of it?” Dr. Hughes snapped. “Is there a reason you’re barging onto my site?”
“One of my students arrived early this morning and saw the two of you prowling around our trenches, taking photos. You have no right to snoop on us.”
“I was not prowling,” Dr. Hughes said. “Mort and I were out for a walk this morning, and our route took us past the South Gate. Stop being so paranoid.”
TJ leaned closer and whispered in Dusty’s ear. “No wonder he left the field house before the rest of us. Do you think he’s planning some espionage?”
“Shh. Keep quiet.” She didn’t want to miss anything.
“Don’t lie to me,” Dr. Wagner said to Dr. Hughes. “My student saw you go past our barriers and poke your nose around. Whatever you’re looking for, you won’t find it.”
Dr. Hughes stood to face him, his cheeks mottled scarlet with rage. “I’m not looking for anything. How dare you make such accusations?”
Kerim walked over to them and held up his hands. “Gentlemen, let’s take this down a notch.” He turned to Mort. “What happened this morning? Why did you two get here so early?”
“We…ah…we were taking a morning constitutional,” Mort said. “For…exercise.”
Dr. Wagner’s mouth set in a grim line. “So you didn’t push past the ropes, as my student claimed, and take photos of our excavation?”
“N…not at all,” Mort said. “While I’ll admit we were curious about your project, I can assure you there was no foul play.”
His uneasy expression made Dusty suspect he was lying to protect Dr. Hughes. Even if he was doing it willingly, he shouldn’t have been placed in this position.
“Since nothing happened, there’s no need for anyone to lose their temper,” Kerim said. “Dr. Wagner, now that you’re here, you’re welcome to have a look around.”
“No, thank you. I’ve got too much work to do. Just stay away from our site.” With that, he turned and left, striding off so fast he stirred up a cloud of dust.
For a moment, no one spoke until Kerim clapped his hands together. “Break time, everyone. Yes? We’ve earned it.”
Dusty pushed all thoughts of breakfast aside. Her top priority was to talk to Stuart.
* * *
Earlier that morning,Stuart had been surprised to see Dr. Hughes heading out to the site a half hour early. Rather than question his boss’s motives, he’d appreciated the chance to enjoy his coffee in peace. Once they’d gotten to the site, he hadn’t even minded that Dr. Hughes had done little but sit in the shade. At least this way, he wasn’t constantly asserting his authority.
But the altercation with Dr. Wagner had put Stuart on high alert. What had Dr. Hughes been up to? Had he and Mort been taking pictures, like a couple of spies? Since Stuart was loath to confront his boss outright, he’d have to confer with Kerim later. Before he could join the others for their morning break, Dusty approached him and tugged on his arm.
“I need to talk to you,” she hissed.
What now? He walked with her until they were out of earshot of the crew. “Everything okay?”
She let out a huffy breath. “No. What Hughes did was totallynotokay.”
“You mean poking around the Germans’ site? I agree, it wasn’t professional.”
