Julian shoved his arm into the hole while placing the skull down into the sack. Then he used the trowel to scoop dirt from the sack back into the hole before the earth above it crumbled too much more. The more dirt he packed in, the better it felt. So he kept shoving dirt, pushing it in with the trowel, until the sack was empty except for the skull.
Drenched with sweat and breathing heavy, he worked his way down the tall ladder. It shook with each step until he was down on the ground. He looked up at his work. No one would be able to tell where it had been.
As long as no one saw it, he was safe.
He dragged the ladder back up to his shed and put it away. Then he buried the skull in a different corner of his garden.
His heart hurt. Mother was the only one who had been able to help him when things were bleak. But she wasn’t here. Fear of people finding out mixed with fury that his father had done this to him and made his mind swim. He didn’t know what to do.
Anna.
She would know what to do.
He needed Anna. With him.
Forever.
THURSDAY, JULY25
Joshua sat at the breakfast table with his family listening to all the goings-on from the ranch. It had been nice to stay home yesterday with his family, though he wasn’t happy with how he’d left things with Anna.
Give her time. She would come around.
When she’d sent a note to him, and presumably the rest of the team, yesterday that they wouldn’t be digging today, he wasn’t sure if it was because she was still mad at him and her father, or if she’d come to her senses and needed some time to think through what she was going to do.
Or perhaps she needed to speak to Mr. Gilbert?
The possibilities had swirled in his mind all day. He’d spent a good deal of time praying for his fiancée and her father. The whole situation was a nightmare.
He’d said nothing to his family about his suspicions of Julian in Mary’s disappearance. He could barely swallow the thought himself, but what if it ended up being true? What if Julian did have something to do with Mary?
A knock sounded at the door.
Martha went to it and came back to the table. “Joshua—” her eyes were wide—“It’s a telegram for you.”
“Thank you.” He took it and opened it at the table even though all eyes were on him.
Unfolding the paper, he read:
Haven’t received response from you. Pre-term examinations have been moved up. You must return by July 31 or forfeit your position.
Professor Wright
His heart thrummed as he reread the missive. He looked at the calendar Mom kept in the kitchen. The one way to ensure he returned in time was if he left ... tomorrow.
“What is it?”
Joshua looked at his father and laid the paper on the table. “I need to leave tomorrow.”
His family all spoke at once, but there was only one person he wanted to see and speak to right now. “I’m sorry. I need to go see Anna.”
He ran out the door, jumped on his horse, and raced to the Lakemans’, hoping and praying he could catch her before she left for the dig site.
At her home, he pounded on the door.
Louise answered. “Mr. Ziegler. Is everything all right?”
“Is Anna here?”
