CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"There's so much more here than I remember," said Elena. "I knew that my father kept meticulous records, but for some reason, I thought he put everything on a computer. These handwritten notes should really be part of the museum's property or the university that sponsored the individual digs."

"What are we looking for?" asked Major.

"Anything that might stand out as something someone would want now," said May. "If the notes are on a dig that's been closed or no longer viable, we don't need that. It would all be public record. We're looking for something incomplete, perhaps."

"Like the dig he was working on when he died," said Elena.

"Exactly," said May. "I have a feeling this is something that perhaps no one, except his sponsors, knew about."

"But why?" asked Elena. "Not letting others know what he was looking for left it wide open for scrutiny and the possibility of someone else taking credit for the work. It's why so many archaeologists film their digs now. I wish I had."

"What do you mean?" asked May.

"I was young and foolish," said Elena. "I was working with one of my professors, whom I respected a great deal. He was determined to find the tomb of Cleopatra. He'd been searching basically his entire career when he invited his students to participate in a dig where he believed he'd found the tomb.

"I was young and na?ve and believed him. The tomb seemed real, and he claimed that he had a number of things that would prove it to be true. When he asked me to present the items to the Department of Antiquities, I thought this was my chance to prove that I was as good as my father."

"Except it didn't work out that way, did it?" asked May.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "He said he was certain about the objects, which was why he had me present them and claim them authentic. Two of the items were forgeries. I was disgraced before my career even got off the ground. When I told them he asked me to present the items, they said that I was trying to make a name for myself, and he'd even told them I was often going rogue at the dig sites."

"Rogue? What the fuck does that mean?" asked Major.

"I don't know. I was the last person to go rogue. After what happened to my father, I was extremely cautious on dig sites. But he was the one with the name and reputation, and I was just a young, new archaeologist. They placed the blame for the frauds on me and relegated me to working at the museum and teaching classes at the university."

"I'm sorry, Elena," said May. "I had something similar happen a long time ago. It's more common than people think with not just archaeology but all professions."

"Could that be what happened with my father? Maybe he found something that someone else took credit for?" asked Elena.

"It's possible," said Major, "but whoever it was would have brought forth their findings and become famous. If no one did that, then it's still hidden somewhere."

"Well, all of those boxes are digs that were concluded or closed," she said, pointing to the stacks behind them. "These six boxes are the only things that might hold what we're looking for. You know, it's quite possible that this has nothing to do with my father. It could be anything."

"We know," said Major, "but it seems odd that you suddenly started to have issues after your face was seen with us and mentioned in the article about us thwarting the catastrophe at the airport. You were hidden before, and maybe that's what this person wanted."

"Maybe," she frowned, shaking her head. "It still seems far-fetched that my father found something and no one else knew about it."

"And you're sure that your mother has nothing that belonged to him?" asked Luke.

"I'm positive of that," said Elena, sighing as she shook her head. "When my father died, my mother was boxing up his clothing to be donated within a few days. All of his books she saved for me and are in these boxes. Anything that belonged to the last dig was given to the Egyptian Antiquities Department. Everything else, you see here."

"Alright, let's dig in," said May.

The two women clearly were lost in their work. The notes kept by Dr. Fayek were exceptional, and as they read through things, May was learning more and more about Egyptian antiquities and the culture.

If she wasn't certain about something, she would stop and ask Elena, who was more than willing to elaborate on what was written or found.

"Okay, time for a break," said Thomas. "You two have been at this for hours now."

"Oh, wow," said Elena, looking up at the clock. It was nearly two, and they'd missed lunch. Suddenly, she was very hungry. "I didn't realize it was already time for lunch."

"You have to eat and keep up your strength," said May, smiling at the young woman. "Let's head over to the cafeteria."

There were still a lot of people in the cafeteria when Dylan brought out plates of food for each of them. She'd made muffalettas, Cajun homemade spicy chips, and the most delicious pecan bars she'd ever eaten.

"This is so good," moaned Elena. Major laughed at her, nodding his head. "I mean, I'm a woman who likes to eat, but this is really, really good."

"We pride ourselves on good food around here," said Luke. "My grandmother is probably the best chef I know, but we have several professional chefs here as well. My Aunt Sara, who is married to Wilson; Dylan, who is married to Gator; and Casey, who is married to Rett. They're all professionally trained, but Grandma had fifteen children. She was trained by necessity."

The room laughed, nodding their heads.

"You have a lot of multiple births here," said Elena. "Have you tested the water and the soil? Sometimes, it does make a difference. Some of the highest rates of twin births are now in African countries. Many researchers believe it's the climate, food, and soil that play a part in it."

"That does seem odd," said Major. "As far as we know, it's all genetic. Mama Irene had four sets of twins; some of her children and grandchildren had multiples. But most of them come from those who are not blood-related. For instance, Magnolia's parents. They had quadruplets. Spontaneous quadruplets at that."

"Well, all I know is that I'm only carrying one," she smiled. "Not that I don't want more, but one is enough for now."

"You want more?" smirked Major. Elena stopped with her sandwich halfway to her mouth.

"I-I. Yes," she said confidently. "I've always wanted a large family. I was an only child, and it wasn't any fun at all. All of my friends were researchers and archaeologists, dig teams. I want my children to have other children to play with." May laughed, shaking her head.

"They'll definitely get that here."