Page 76 of Troy Story
As the bus pulled out of the station, she placed her head on the seat back in front of her.
She’d failed. Miserably.
Once again, she’d confronted Dr. Hughes only to have it end in disaster. Even if her intentions had been good—not just good butethical, damn it—she’d fucked up everything. Now she was stuck on a bus, with no way to contact anyone. Their next stop was at least an hour away, and their route took them through farms and small villages in the middle of nowhere.
Maybe arguing with Dr. Hughes hadn’t been the best move. If she’d played along with his scheme—acted like she was in on it—she wouldn’t be trapped on this damn bus.
But even if she’d stayed at the field house, the bigger issue would still remain. The minute she told Stuart about the tablet, he’d insist on reporting the theft to Dr. Wagner. This time, the German dig director might not go easy on them. If he got the Turkish authorities involved, they might revoke the University of Boston’s excavation permit again. Not just for ten years but forever.
Even if this entire debacle was Dr. Hughes’ fault, Dusty would never forgive herself if Stuart and the others got kicked out of Troy.
She closed her eyes, trying to clear out the clutter in her mind.
There has to be a solution.
But right now, she had nothing.
* * *
Over the courseof the day, Stuart had sent Dusty so many texts that his attempts to reach her had gone from thoughtful to pathetic. But she still hadn’t responded. Maybe her illness was worse than he thought. At least no one else in the crew had complained of stomach pains.
Kerim approached him and placed a hand on his arm. “We’re almost done here. Why don’t you go on ahead and let me pack up the site? I know you’re concerned about Dusty.”
Damn.Was it that obvious?
Of course it was. “Sorry, but she usually doesn’t ignore her phone. Thanks for letting me take off early.”
He walked back to the Land Rover with Clarissa and Emilia, who were speculating about why the Germans still hadn’t found a tablet. Just before the workday had ended, Leo had stopped by to visit. His team had found three more fragments but nothing else. In all, a disappointing day for everyone.
Upon pulling up to the field house, Stuart caught sight of the two local women setting out lunch. The delicious aroma of chicken kebabs made his mouth water. The women always served them with pearled couscous and a medley of roasted tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. It was one of his favorite meals, but he was more concerned about Dusty than his growling stomach.
He poked his head into her room but didn’t see her. Typical Dusty. Even if he’d asked her to take it easy, she’d probably grown restless. But she wasn’t in the lab or the research library. A chill iced his spine as he circled back to her room. This time, when he opened the door, Emilia stood beside Dusty’s bed.
“She’s gone.”
“What do you mean?” His voice came out as a strangled gasp.
“Her giant backpack’s gone, and I don’t see any of her clothes. Did she leave her drawing supplies behind?”
“I’ll go look.” Trying to tame his steadily growing apprehension, he raced back to the lab. Her illustration table was empty, her art supplies, measuring tools, and laptop all gone. In the library, she’d left nothing behind except a pile of sketches.
What the hell? She wouldn’t have run off without telling him. Would she?
He bolted over to his room to see if she’d left a note. Propped up on his pillow was the baseball cap he’d given her on the first day. The navy blue one with the Trojan horse on it. Beside it was a note, written on a page torn from her sketch pad.
Stu,
I’m sorry to leave you like this. I planned to see this dig through to the end, but I couldn’t do it. Like I said before, Hughes is too fucking toxic. When I was alone with him this morning, he insulted my mother, and we got into a huge argument. I don’t apologize for what I said, but my actions were totally unprofessional. So, he fired me. Given how much trouble I’ve put you through, I thought it was time I left. I also think it’s better if we put some distance between us. Hughes hates me so much that I’ve become a liability, and the last thing I want to do is mess up your teaching position at the University of Boston. I’m headed for Sardinia, where I got a job offer starting in a few weeks.Sorry for letting you down.
Much love,
Dusty.
He read it twice before the words sunk in. She’d left without warning, without the courtesy of a simple farewell text. Though her actions weren’t out of character, he thought he’d meant more to her.
Had he been fooling himself this entire time?
He sat on his bed and put his head in his hands. Why hadn’t she talked to him? If she couldn’t bear to work with Dr. Hughes, she should have insisted on being removed from his trench.
