The Five-Day Dig (27 page)

Jack rubbed the top of his head. “The tremor knocked some plaster down on us. We’re all right, I think.”

Farber frowned. “What tremor?”

“You didn’t feel it?” Dunk asked. “It must have been minor, but it certainly felt significant inside the temple. Perhaps it was just an underground collapse that gave us a shake.”

“The downstairs wall may have fallen down,” Jack said. “I thought the engineer and I braced it well, but the building is 2,000 years old, after all.”

Dunk turned to the camera with his wonky eyes wide. “Perhaps it’s the curse. The goddess may not be pleased that we’ve disturbed her temple. She may not feel our rites were performed properly tonight.”

Winnie made a face. She glanced up at Chaz to see what he thought of that kind of theatrics. He watched the scene poker-faced.

“In any case,” Dunk went on, “it looks like we’re done here for the night. We’ll pick up on Day 4.”

Amara wobbled forward to take her place in front of the camera. Without a clapboard or any enthusiasm, she said, “Cut. That’s a wrap.”

At that point, Farber noticed Winnie and Chaz on the spoil heap. He stormed over to them. “What the hell are you doing, Winifred? Roman initiation didn’t include ritual sex.”

The remark hit her like a slap across the face. She and Chaz had barely escaped disaster, and he had no concern for them, only criticism? A spurt of adrenaline wiped the confusion and fear from her mind. She sat up, indignant. “A building almost collapsed on us, William. Can’t we take a moment to pull ourselves together?”

He glared at her but kept his mouth shut.

She lifted her chin, matching his stare. This time, he’d gone too far. She would not back down.

Eventually, Chaz broke the standoff. “Actually, the Romans may have performed ritual sex,” he said in the tone of someone sharing an interesting fact. “This part of
Italy
was influenced heavily by
Greece
, and we know that
hieros gamos
, the divine wedding, was reenacted at
Athens
.”

In the background, Jack chuckled, but Farber didn’t crack a smile. He frowned at Winnie. “You will recuse yourself from reviewing Charles’ dissertation.”

“Why? This isn’t a classroom. And we’re not having sex.”

He snorted. “Not at the moment. But I won’t be assigning his dissertation to you. Ride back to the house with me now.”

“No. I’ll walk.” She struggled to her feet and staggered away on rubbery legs, determined to escape his presence. “This excavation has nothing to do with the university, and I have nothing to say to you.”

Chaz caught up with her almost instantly.

“Wait, Charles!” Farber shouted after them. “Ride with me. We need to talk.”

“In the morning,” Chaz called back over his shoulder.

He tried to take her arm, but she shrugged him off. “I don’t want to give him anymore fodder for his accusations,” she said under her breath. “Last night, it was forgery. Tonight he charges me with an illicit relationship with a student. What will it be tomorrow – murder?”

“I’m not your student,” he said.

Ignoring the comment, she cut through the parking lot and pushed her way through brush to the dirt road that led to the house.

The sudden serenity of the moonlit path between two vineyards offered a welcome contrast to the tumult by the temple. Replaying the last few minutes in her mind, she shook her head to herself. “I’m sorry, Chaz. Don’t worry. Anyone in the department who reads your dissertation will be impressed.”

“I’m not worried about my dissertation. And you have no reason to apologize.”

She kept her eyes focused on the rut-ridden road. “Yes, I do. I wasn’t behaving appropriately. Dr. Farber’s right.”

“Farber is never right.”

The rush of adrenaline had faded, and she slowed her pace, tired. The cool air felt wonderful, and the moon looked so beautiful ... Her thoughts began to stray. She bit her lip. She had to keep her head above that dreamy delirium that had left her smitten and stupid back at the temple. Looking at him, she said, “I’ve been treating you too much like a ... a peer. You’re my student.”

He shook his head. “I haven’t taken one of your classes in two years. Yes, I was your TA this semester, but the school year is over. You can treat me like a peer now. Please do.”

To some extent, he had a point. Her mind was muddled, but she knew that the barrier broken down between them earlier couldn’t be rebuilt. She had to try to explain her concerns.

Stopping on the path, she turned to face him. “You may make light of this, but when I was working on my doctorate, one of my profs made a move on me. When I rejected him, he spread lies about me. I don’t know what he said, but all the instructors got cold toward me. I would have lost everything, except he pulled the same stunt with another student who turned out to be the niece of a rich and generous alum. When she complained, he lost credibility.”

He gazed into her eyes, melting what little willpower she had. “And that’s why you’re keeping your distance from me?”

“Keeping my distance?” Her voice cracked with strain – the sound of someone pleading for mercy. “I had my head in your lap back there.”

“But you want to be even closer.”

She stared at him for another moment. Oh, yes, she did, and she knew he could sense it, smell it, feel the telltale ions dancing between them. If he reached out and touched her, she would be his.

Before he could, she started walking again. “Talk to me about it when I’m not seeing paisleys dancing behind my eyelids. ... On second thought, don’t.”

“You’ve got to stop letting bullies ruin your life.”

“What could I have done with that professor? He was in a position of power. I was a starving grant student with no connections.”

“I mean now. You have connections now. Why are you letting Farber bully you?”

Shocked, she looked at him. “I’m not. I just told him off.”

He grabbed her hand.
“Then let’s pick up from where we left off back at the temple.”

Headlights flashed up from behind, and she snatched her hand away. Dunk’s car pulled up beside them with him at the wheel and Amara on the passenger side. He rolled down the window. “Want a lift the rest of the way?”

“That’s probably a good idea. Thanks.” Winnie opened the door.

She climbed in and slid across the back seat, but a crate on the opposite side prevented her from moving all the way over.

Chaz got in after her and squeezed into the remaining space, his side flush against hers. She squeezed against the crate, but there was no way to insert space between them. Sighing, she
 
looked at him warily. He smiled at her.

Dunk glanced at them in the rearview mirror. “Your boss crossed the line back there – as well as last night. I told him as much after you left, Winnie. In the morning, he’ll realize what an arse he’s been. Meanwhile, are you two sure you didn’t get injured?”

“We’re fine.” Chaz said.

Winnie felt like lying back and closing her eyes, but she forced herself to lean forward between Dunk and Amara.
Concentrate on where you are
, she told herself. “Do you think Jack is right about the downstairs wall collapsing?”

Dunk pulled the car off the dirt road onto the drive leading up to the house. “We’ll find out soon enough. I’ve already called our engineer. A collapse would be odd, though, because we braced the wall professionally. I hope nothing dodgy is going on.”

Winnie snorted and sat back in her seat. “You mean the curse?”

He laughed. “Of course not. I just said that for the camera. I’m talking about sabotage.”

Her gaze shot back to him. “You suspect Father Giampiero?”

“Well, he made bloody well sure he got out of the temple early tonight. And he didn’t come back with Dom and Will.”

She digested this. What would the priest’s motive be for causing a collapse, if he even had the ability? There were no scrolls in the temple, only amphorae. Could he be so incensed about the pagan rites that he would go to any length to stop them?

“To be fair,” Chaz said, “Dr. Farber and Signore Rentino were also gone when the collapse happened. If foul play is involved, they could just as easily be behind it.”

“And Enza was outside,” Amara added. “If Dom is responsible, perhaps he warned his daughter about it, and she knew to get out.”

Dunk pulled the car up in front of the villa and parked. “Or the wall might have just been in worse shape than it looked. As Jack noted, it’s 2,000 years old.”

Entering the house, they were all quiet. As Winnie and Chaz followed Dunk and Amara up the stairs, a medley of images from the wild evening flashed through her mind, but the slideshow always came to a stop on
Chaz’s
face, close to hers.

Dunk approached his door, across from Amara’s, and fished for the correct key on his ring. “Get a good night’s sleep, everyone. Who knows what lies in store for us tomorrow?”

Chaz stopped just past him. “By the way, Dunk, Winnie and I think the beer you brewed may have psychoactive properties. I suspect that the
triticum
purpurea
had wheat fungus.”

He did a double-take. “Are you winding me up? I had a glass last night and another one tonight. I didn’t notice anything unusual.”

“The effects don’t seem to be strong, but we probably shouldn’t drink any more of it.”

“Indeed not. If it’s giving you hallucinations, I’m appalled.”

Winnie waved off his concerns. The trauma of the collapse had faded, and the warm, fuzzy feelings reigned again. “No hallucinations – well, maybe one at the temple. But it’s mostly funny feelings. And swirling colors behind my eyelids when I close them.”

“Oh, dear.” Dunk turned to Amara. “Are you experiencing anything strange?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I barely drank any of the beer.”

He looked back at Chaz and Winnie. “I certainly hope you’ll feel no further effects.

She shook her head. “We’ll be fine. Goodnight.”

After Dunk and Amara entered their rooms, Winnie hesitated at her own door, reluctant to open it. Although her hallucination hadn’t scared her, the idea of being alone made her wary. She stared at the wooden panels.

“Are you going to be all right?” Chaz asked. “Because I can stay with you. I won’t try anything ... unless you want me to.”

“Oh, that’s reassuring,” she said with a smirk. “ ‘Unless I want you to.’ ”

He let out a short laugh. “What do you want me to say?
Even
if you want me to?”