It was clear now. From the expression on the sheriff’s face, and Devin’s, they thought the same thing.
Someone wanted to scare her or get rid of her.
But why?
twelve
“There is only one thing that bothers me much ... I do want to be worthy of her and do not want her to be disappointed.”
~Earl Douglass
MONDAY, JULY17, 1916•JENSEN
Eliza’s head pounded.
After leaving the Meyer ranch, she stopped in to see Deborah on her way to the quarry, only to find that she was sick. When she filled her friend in on what was happening, the poor woman had cried, she was so disappointed that they couldn’t dig for a while.
Then Eliza went to see Earl. After a long discussion, she still couldn’t convince him to open the quarry to the public again. To make things even worse, the sheriff had stopped in and told Earl about the note she’d received. Since the head of the dig didn’t wish for any destruction to come to the priceless fossils, he wanted Eliza to take a few days off, telling her that she needed to grieve her grandfather anyway.
Not what she’d hoped to hear.
Her fingers itched to be doing something.
Now, she was at lunch with Devin and Dr. Masterson. This should be a wonderful thing. But it wasn’t. She needed to face facts. Wherever she went on this trip, disaster seemed to follow.
A pat on her shoulder brought her back to the moment. She smiled at Dr. Masterson and tried to focus on what Devin was saying.
Devin patted her shoulder again. “Yes, sir. We’ve been the best of friends since we were children.”
“Ah. Well, I understand now how Miss Mills knows so much about your writings.”
Devin’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, and he took a sip of his coffee.
Their food was brought out to them, and Eliza couldn’t even remember ordering. But she dug into her meal anyway. It was delicious but sat like a brick in her stomach. With a sigh she put her fork down. Maybe a refreshing drink would help. She sipped her lemonade, smiling as Dr. Masterson joked and talked about the abundance of poorly written papers. Normally that would have Devin speaking up, but instead, he laughed along.
He was holding up his part of the bargain. And surprisingly well.
“Are you at a university?” Dr. Masterson studied Devin.
“Yes. University of Pittsburgh.”
“I’m well-acquainted with it. In the paleontology department?”
Her heart jumped. They hadn’t discussed what he would say if this question came up.
“English.” Devin quirked an eyebrow.
“English? That’s ... interesting. What made you decide to teach English instead of paleontology?”
“Seeing all the poorly written papers.”
Laughter rounded the table.
Before Dr. Masterson could say anything else, Devin set his cup down on the saucer and leaned back in his seat, looking the part of the scientific academic. “What will you be studying next, Dr. Masterson?”
The older man leaned forward, an eagerness in his eyes. “Frankly, I want to do a study into the formation of coal. That’s why I was so fascinated with your paper.”
“Oh? For what purpose?”
