Page 45 of Troy Story
Today, Emilia, Dusty, and Hayat were digging in Dr. Hughes’ trench, aided by a few of the Turkish workmen. As Stuart got closer, he stopped abruptly when Emilia let out a loud cry. She stood and waved her trowel in the air. “We found a skeleton!”
Everyone stopped working, dropped their tools, and rushed over to peer down at Emilia. She pointed to the area where she’d been digging. Poking out of the dirt, the slightest hint of human bone was visible. Stuart stared in amazement. Was his boss right? Or was it a lone skeleton, like those found on past excavations?
Dr. Hughes dropped down next to Emilia and rubbed his hands together. “Aha! It’s just as I told you. We’ll need to work carefully. I’ll start by taking a few photos of it in situ.”
As the others crowded around to watch, Stuart gestured for them to return to their trenches. “Let’s get back to work. We can talk about the skeleton during the break.”
Only when his watch beeped, alerting him it was ten, did he remember he was supposed to tell Dr. Hughes about their visitor.Damn. He’d been so distracted by the skeleton that he’d totally forgotten. He hustled over to his boss’s trench, joining him at the edge where he stood, observing Dusty and Emilia as they slowly uncovered the skeleton. It was painstaking, delicate work involving dental picks and toothbrushes.
Dr. Hughes waved him off. “Start break without us. I don’t want to lose momentum.”
“It’s not that. I invited Dr. Wagner to stop by. He’ll be here soon.” At his boss’s shocked look, Stuart forced a note of optimism into his voice. “Think of it as a good thing. Now you can show him you were right about the cemetery.”
Dr. Hughes puffed up with pride. “Indeed. Your timing couldn’t be better.” But his smile vanished as he looked down at Dusty and Emilia. Both had stopped working and were staring at him in wide-eyed terror. “Why don’t you two ladies head to the café and take a break?Now,” he said. “You’ve earned it.”
Dusty scrambled to her feet. “You’re right. I’d love a cold drink. Coming, Em?”
Emilia jumped up and brushed the dirt off her knees. “You bet. Let’s roll.”
Stuart frowned, unable to comprehend why they were so keen to leave. “Don’t go. We’re trying to make nice. Dusty, Dr. Wagner knows your mother. He heard her give a lecture in Berlin.” He pointed to the weedy path leading to their trenches. “Here he comes now. At least stay and introduce yourself.”
* * *
Dusty wanted to bolt,but it was too late. Instead, she could only stand like a deer caught in the headlights as Dr. Wagner advanced toward the site. Maybe if she was lucky, he’d focus his attention on the other two trenches. But he headed straight for Dr. Hughes, as if drawn by a magnet.
As he reached the edge of the pit, he sized up her and Emilia. “What is the meaning of this?”
Shit.They were totally busted. It wasn’t Stuart’s fault. But if Dusty had told himanythingabout Operation Odysseus, he wouldn’t have made such a catastrophic mistake. As the rest of the crew drew closer, she braced herself for the inevitable humiliation.
Still oblivious, Stuart regarded the German professor with curiosity. “Dr. Wagner? Are you referring to our recent find? I didn’t know about the skeleton when I talked to you this morning. We uncovered it less than two hours ago.”
“I’m talking about them.” He pointed to Dusty and Emilia, his body radiating fury. “Hilde, was it? And Gertrude?”
“Gerta,” Emilia muttered. Even beneath a layer of dirt, her face had flushed a deep red.
“What are you talking about?” Stuart asked.
But Dr. Wagner wasn’t looking at him. He kept his gaze laser-focused on Dusty. “I should have known your visit was a ruse. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
By now, Kerim had reached the edge of the trench. “What visit? We haven’t gone near your site since that first incident. We’ve tried to respect your boundaries.”
“You might have, but not these two,” Dr. Wagner said. “Their behavior was very unprofessional.”
Dusty’s face was flaming, her heart pounding in fear. Right about now, a powerful earthquake would have been welcome. Or a sinkhole opening up and swallowing her whole. But no such luck.
Stuart caught her eye. “Dusty? What did you do?”
Before she could answer him, Dr. Wagner spoke up, his voice thick with anger. “These two and the blond girl, wherever she is, came over to our site dressed like…tourists. They claimed they were students from the University of Cologne, working with Dr. Schultz.” He scowled at Dusty. “None of that was true, was it?”
She swallowed, tasting dust and grit. Licking her lips, she tried to moisten them enough to get the words out. “No. It was a ruse. I’m sorry.”
Dr. Wagner leveled a furious gaze at Dr. Hughes. “This was your doing, wasn’t it? Sending your women to spy on us? Pathetic.”
Dr. Hughes crossed his arms. “I had nothing to do with it. By the looks of it, they pulled this prank for a lark, like a bunch of immature schoolgirls. I would never condone such an unprofessional act.”
Dusty gasped. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but stare at her boss. She had expected him to go on the defensive, to argue that his decision to send them had been justified, given the rivalry between the two groups. Instead, he’d thrown them under the bus. Beside her, Emilia drew in a sharp breath.
Before her friend could incriminate herself, Dusty took control. She wanted to place the blame squarely on Dr. Hughes, but she couldn’t risk it. No telling how he would retaliate if she implicated him. She’d just have to take the fall. “It was all my fault. I…”
