Artifact (Gigi Pandian) by Gigi Pandian

Author:Gigi Pandian
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: mystery books, new adult romance, mystery novels, traditional mystery, humorous mystery, mystery and thrillers, humor, british mysteries, amateur sleuth, english mysteries, cozy mystery, chick lit, mystery and suspense, cozy, treasure hunt, murder mystery, mystery series, mystery, international mystery, murder mysteries, historical mystery, female sleuth, new adult, action and adventure
Publisher: Henery Press
Published: 2013-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

I awoke in the morning to a faint light streaming in through the window. Lane was asleep on the floor next to the bed. His glasses were on the windowsill. I had a completely unobstructed view of his face. His dark blond hair was brushed back, revealing his prominent cheekbones and the deep-set cheeks beneath. He breathed silently through his nose. His long eyelashes were a shade darker than the sandy hair on his head. They fluttered slightly as if he was dreaming. He looked so peaceful that I closed my eyes again.

I woke up for a second time to find Lane standing next to the bed. He was fully dressed, and back to wearing his glasses with his hair tumbling over his face. It took me a moment to remember he had disappeared the night before.

“Where did you go last night?” I asked. “And I’m a photographer now?”

“I was trying to solve this mystery,” he said.

I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair to pull the tangles from my face.

“That’s your excuse for spending the evening off somewhere with Fiona?” I said. “And you didn’t answer my second question.”

“I thought it was obvious. You heard that they need a photographer. I overheard them say as much. Malcolm is serious about his work. He might not have been so keen on letting you tag along on this dig without some function. The rest of them are archaeologists, and I’ve at least had some archaeological training.”

“My camera’s broken.”

“I have one you can use.”

“You—” I stopped myself. It’s too bad I hadn’t stuck with yoga. I really could have used the breathing techniques to keep me calm in the midst of Lane’s vexing ideas.

“I have many talents,” I said calmly. “All modesty aside, I’m aware of that fact.”

The hint of a crooked smile crossed Lane’s lips.

“One talent I do not happen to possess,” I continued less calmly, “is photography. I’m not exaggerating when I say I might be one of the world’s worst photographers. Why do you think I stuck the bracelet in my friend’s hand before I took a picture of it? Otherwise you’d have probably thought it was a grapefruit.”

“A grapefruit?”

“You know what I mean,” I said, tossing the bed sheet aside and standing up. I was glad to see I had remembered to sleep in something sensible.

“The point is,” I said, “what are we doing? I know, I know. I’m the one who led you here in the first place. But now I’m pretending to be a photographer on top of everything else? Coercing information from suspects isn’t nearly as easy as it looks.”

“Is anything?”

“Some things are.”

We stood close in the small quarters. A hint of a smile popped onto Lane’s face again. He cleared his throat, erasing all signs of it.

“And some things,” I added, “aren’t.”

“Hurry up,” Lane said. “We’re going to be late. Breakfast is from seven to seven thirty, before everyone heads off for the dig.”

“Tell them I have a hangover.”

“You drink too much.

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