The Copper Egg by Catherine Friend

Author:Catherine Friend [Friend, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Lesbian, Romance
ISBN: 9781626396142
Amazon: B01E8533PG
Goodreads: 30114013
Publisher: Smashwords Edition
Published: 2016-05-16T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Claire

Thursday, March 30

The next morning, Claire knew what she and Nancho would find when they returned to the dig site they’d started yesterday. They parked and began the walk to the site. Claire was about to warn Nancho not to be upset when he stopped, cursing with despair.

Their flat dig site had been turned into five towering piles of sand next to five holes. Nancho reached the nearest hole first. Four pots and a few dozen sherds lined the edge of the hole. They found the same at the other holes. Someone had dug furiously, tossed aside bones, and left the artifacts as if to say, “See, this was all we found.”

Nancho turned to her, wild-eyed. “Me no tell. No tell!” His English skills, not good to begin with, disappeared with his anguish.

She touched his arm. “I know. It’s okay, I believe you. It was one of the people following us. They must have tracked us on foot.”

Claire surveyed the damage. It was impossible, of course, to know which of her three tails had reached the site first and dug it up. Perhaps they’d encountered each other, so she briefly entertained herself with the image of three groups of angry people digging up a site she knew had very little in it. This site wasn’t large enough to be Chaco’s tomb.

“Let’s go home.”

Nancho slumped with despair over the steering wheel. The poor guy was so sure they’d found it.

*

Claire was starting to worry about always ending up at Las Dulces. There were places where she could buy a nutritious breakfast of beans and rice, or pork and rice, or goat and rice. Yet here she was, once again, stuffing her face with sugar. It was entirely possible that she might be an emotional eater.

She wanted to call Sochi. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Sochi in the church, every millisecond of their encounter burned into Claire’s memory. As a result, sleeping was becoming a challenge. Clearly, Mom was right. Claire needed closure. She needed to work through her negative feelings, her deep sense of betrayal, and move on.

Claire stared at her phone. Now. She would do it now.

“The orejitas are my favorite as well. They are worth it even though I always get powdered sugar on my suit.”

Shading her eyes, Claire peered up at the man standing beside her. Not until he sat down could she see he wore a suit likely more expensive than her DC condo. His graying hair was short and bristly. His Japanese features revealed no emotion, but his voice, when speaking perfect Spanish, seemed friendly enough. Behind him four men, also in suits, stood in a protective row. One of them was the Japanese guy who’d been following Claire in the SUV. She smiled up at him. “Hey, long time no see. We’ll be heading out in about an hour. Shall I text you when I leave?”

The young guy’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

“Oh, and I’m sorry about all the work you had to do last night,” she added.

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