Nightshine by Viehl Lynn

Author:Viehl, Lynn [Viehl, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 2011-11-01T07:00:00+00:00

PART THREE

Night of Tears

Chapter 12

September 29, 1978

Mexico City, Mexico

“You’re sure what you saw was gold,” Foster Stanton said as he hunched over to follow Chavez into the narrow shaft. “You could be wrong, you know. It might be copper, or pyrite inlay, or some sort of resin—”

“Not this,” the electrician promised. “I know the difference.”

Stanton knew he was betting his professional reputation—not to mention his personal liberty—on the word of an almost illiterate utility worker. But since Chavez had been a member of the original work crew that had accidentally unearthed an eight-ton stone disk carved with the relief of an ancient Aztec goddess, the archaeologist had no choice. No one from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History allowed anyone but their own people to work the site, and their lack of funding and equipment had brought the dig practically to a standstill.

Fortunately the electricians who had been rerouting the city’s power conduits were still permitted access, and Chavez had vouched for Stanton. Removing the artifact would be much more difficult, but first Stanton had to determine whether the find was even worth his trouble.

The electrician stopped, tucking his flashlight under his chin as he grabbed a panel of particleboard and moved it aside.

“Through here, señor,” Chavez said, holding up his flashlight to illuminate the low entrance he had uncovered.

Stanton saw the crumbling condition of the mud-covered walls and hesitated. “Has anyone been in here to reinforce the ceilings?” An odor wafted out and he almost choked. “What is that smell?”

“That’s from the old sewer pipe. The ceiling will hold.” Chavez gave him a disgusted look. “What are you, afraid? You want a priest to bless the place first?”

Stanton held a handkerchief over his nose and mouth as he bent over and ducked into the small chamber. The air inside smelled of decay, not human waste, but he forgot about the bile rising in his throat as soon as Chavez trained his light on the partially dug pit in the floor, and what gleamed through the disturbed earth. “My God.”

The statue appeared to be a life-size sculpture of a Mesoamerican nobleman. Stanton fell to his knees, bruising them on the shells surrounding the edge of the pit, and reached in with a trembling hand to brush away more soil. He uncovered the leg of the statue from knee to hip, where he discovered the jagged edges of the top of the limb where it had separated from the torso.

He jerked up his head to glare at Chavez. “Did you hack off the leg?”

“No, señor. I found it just as you see.” The electrician winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “It is too heavy for the two of us to carry out. We will need more men.”

“Solid gold.” Stanton felt exactly what Carter must have the first time he laid eyes on the riches contained in Tutankhamen’s tomb. “It’s impossible.” He laughed as he started digging around the leg with his hands. “It’s miraculous.”

“We must go now.” Chavez slapped a hand against his arm.

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