Linda Castle by Temple's Prize

Author:Temple's Prize [Prize, Temple's]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Temple read the last newspaper in the stack despite his mounting rage. Someone at Dandridge University had gone out of their way to dredge up the shadows of his past. He was fairly sure he knew who that person was.

“Damn you, C.H.” Temple growled. “Why can’t you just let the past stay buried?”

A grimace curved his lips. C.H. had made a career out of digging up antiquity. Why should Temple’s saga be any different than the burial ground of longdead dinosaurs?

Temple put the various editions of New York papers back into a stack and tied the twine around them. Every paper had carried tidbits about the ten-year-old mystery—the lingering and still unsolved mystery. Each editorial left the question of his guilt openended—not one reporter had entertained the possibility of his innocence. Temple shook his head in disgust. As usual, people would look for the easiest target, and they would find him.

It wouldn’t be long until Ashmont University started to squirm under this kind of scrutiny. It would not matter to the wagging tongues that there was no proof—never had been. It would not matter that all the clues had led in an entirely different direction. They would look at Temple Parish and see a thief—a street rat. Then he would be an outcast again, struggling to find a place to work in the profession he loved. His gaze fell upon the top paper.

The bold headline announced Montague’s additional twenty-thousand-dollar bonus.

“With that kind of money, I wouldn’t have to worry,” Temple murmured. “I could finance my own expedition—I could be independent and the ghosts from the past couldn’t touch me.”

He closed his eyes and a weary sigh escaped his lips. Now that Montague had announced his intention of awarding the winning digger a cash bonus separate from the university endowment, Temple could not allow himself one more minute of sentimentality. His very survival was at stake.

“I have to win,” he said aloud. “And I cannot allow Connie to stand in my way.”

He stepped outside into the blazing sunlight. It was quiet again. Two days had gone by without a glimpse of Holt Morgan. Temple grimaced at his continued jealousy. If he did not get his wayward feelings about Connie under control, the rugged Montana silence would truly be the harbinger of his professional destruction.

Temple snagged his shovel and a canteen of water. He did not even allow himself so much as a single furtive glance in the direction of Connie’s camp. He kept his eyes on the stubby grass as he walked to the area he had been inspecting. Now was the time to stop this crazy preoccupation before he lost all pretense of control.

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