Page 37 of Troy Story
“Ja?” he said.
She addressed him in German. “Good morning. My name is Hilde. I’m visiting from the University of Cologne, where I’m a student of Dr. Anselm Schultz.” She gestured to the other two. “We’re all archaeology students, out doing a little sightseeing.”
The German student put out his hand, then took it back sheepishly. “I’m Leopold, but everyone calls me Leo. I’d shake your hand if I wasn’t covered in dirt. You know how it is.”
“Do I ever.” Clarissa giggled. “Though I’m sure you clean upverynicely, Leo.”
Dusty refrained from rolling her eyes at Clarissa’s flirtatious tone. “Is Dr. Wagner around by chance? We went looking for him over by the South Gate excavations, but a student told me he was working here with a small crew. Dr. Schultz has spoken of him so highly that I had to meet him.”
“Of course. Give me a minute.”
When he left, Emilia nudged her. “Hilde? That’s the best you can come up with?”
“Shut it, Gerta.”
“Gerta? That sounds like someone’s grandma.”
“Shhh,” Clarissa said. “No talking in English. We need to stay in character. I’m Liesel.The Sound of Musicis one of my favorite movies.”
Dusty stifled the urge to laugh out loud. Even if their mission was risky, she was enjoying the role-play aspect of it. Was Stuart into role-play? A tantalizing thought to set aside for later. For now, she needed to be on point as Hilde.
When Leo returned with Dr. Wagner, Dusty beamed at him, hoping he wouldn’t remember her. He was no less intimidating than before—tall, blond, and aloof, with a firm jaw and cheekbones that could cut glass. “Can I help you?” he asked in German.
Dusty gave a silent thank-you for her stern-as-hell German tutor, Frau Huber, as she answered him in his own language. “Are you Dr. Wagner? Anselm—I mean Dr. Schultz—told me all about you. He said I should look you up while I was visiting Troy.”
Dr. Wagner nodded. “How is Anselm? Still working on that project in Luxor?”
In preparation for Operation Odysseus, Dusty had contacted her mom for an update. Good thing, since the professor had stopped digging in Egypt two seasons ago. “No, he hasn’t worked there for a couple of years. He’s too far behind on his publication schedule.”
“Understandable. I’ve been there myself. How may I help you?”
“Could we have a peek around your site? Naturally, we won’t take any photos, but we’d love to know more. These are my fellow students, Gerta and Liesel.”
Both women greeted him in German. Dusty waited as he assessed them, anxious that the sight of them might jog his memory. But he showed no sign of recognition. Instead, he graced them with a benevolent smile that transformed his entire face. “Well…we normally don’t allow tourists, but since you’re Anselm’s students, I’ll make an exception.”
“Thank you so much,” Clarissa gushed. “We appreciate it.”
As a gust of wind blew toward them, Dusty clamped her hat firmly on her head and followed the others past the ropes. Unlike the Germans’ site near the South Gate, this was a smaller operation, with just two trenches and a handful of students and laborers. Near the trenches was the limestone foundation of an ancient Greek altar, built to honor the goddess Athena; around it lay scattered fragments of marble capitals.
Dr. Wagner stopped at the edge of the first trench. “Last month, we started excavating near the South Gate of the citadel at the southeast section of the boardwalk. However, our team is large enough that we could expand our efforts to include this area. You may wonder why we’re digging near the ruins of a Hellenistic temple built five hundred years after the Bronze Age ended. It’s because of the construction methods favored by the ancient Greeks. Do any of you know what I’m referring to?”
Clarissa raised her hand, as if eager to show off her knowledge. “I do. When the Greeks occupied Troy, they razed the former Bronze Age citadel to make way for their own buildings. They leveled the ruins of that citadel to create a flat mound where they could erect the temple.”
Someone’s been doing their homework.Dusty shot Clarissa a quick grin, glad that one of them had done a little background research.
“Correct,” Dr. Wagner said. “It’s always been thought that if a team were to excavate some of the backfill created by the Greeks, they’d uncover more artifacts from the citadel. Scholars have assumed the Trojan citadel, or palace, housed a royal archive, presumably written on clay tablets, but no one has ever found any evidence.”
Dusty sucked in a breath. Dr. Hughes had been right in his assessment. The Germanswereonto something. Finding written evidence from this era would be incredibly newsworthy. “A find like that could change history.”
“It could indeed,” Dr. Wagner said. “No one’s ever found any tablets at Troy dating back to the Bronze Age. Can you imagine what they might contain?”
Emilia spoke up. “They could hold palace records. Or treaties containing the names of different rulers.”
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Dr. Wagner said. “This is the first time the government has allowed us access to this area, so it’s a huge opportunity. But no matter what we uncover, we’ll analyze all our findings before making any announcements. We’re scientists, not treasure hunters, like the Americans.”
“The Americans?” Clarissa said, all wide-eyed. “We haven’t met them yet.”
“Don’t bother. They’re a rude bunch, digging in the lower city.” He shook his head in disgust. “Did you know their director was kicked out of Troy ten years ago? It was a huge scandal.”
