He would bring more fame and honor to Carnegie than Douglass could ever have dreamed of doing. First, he would drain Carnegie Quarry of every last bone and fossil, ensuringthe museum’s displays would not only be the largest in the world, but would have his name on each one.
Then they would move all dig operations to Montana and capitalize on several quarries producing various fossils in the Badlands. And from there, who knew what heights he could reach?
Finally, everything was going his way.
FRIDAY, AUGUST11, 1916•CARNEGIEINSTITUTE
Mr. Andrew Carnegie sat behind his massive desk and looked up at Devin over the rim of his spectacles. “Thank you, young man.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
“Had you not come to me about the rumors that were going around, I would have learned about this debacle far too late.” He lifted the morning’s paper and shook his head. “Mr. Nelson would have covered his tracks, I’m sure. And I would have lost the best preparator and authenticator I’ve ever had.” The older man leaned back in his chair.
“All thanks to one of the secretaries at the museum, sir. Sarah called me because she knew Eliza wasn’t guilty. You should thank her as well.” Devin stood as straight as he could. This was the second time he’d been in Mr. Carnegie’s office, and he still couldn’t believe he was here.
Never had he been in the presence of anyone who had so much wealth, nor anyone who’d given so much wealth away. Other than Eliza’s family. It was truly impressive.
Carnegie removed his spectacles and smiled at him. “I will make sure to thank Sarah as well as soon as I’ve dealt”—he poked the paper with his index finger—“with this.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Are you sure you won’t sit and have lunch with me? I’d loveto hear about your work in the English department and your many years of friendship with Eliza.”
“As wonderful of an offer as that is, sir, I’d like to get to the train station as soon as possible.” Devin glanced at the massive grandfather clock in the corner of the room. If he could finish with Mr. Carnegie in twenty minutes, he’d make the afternoon train with a few minutes to spare.
Carnegie quirked one eyebrow. “Headed west?”
“Yes, sir.”
“To a quarry in Utah, might I presume?”
“Yes, sir.” Devin tried not to chuckle, but it came out anyway. “Might I ask a favor before I go?”
“Fire away.”
“Might I use your telephone? The sheriff in Jensen sent me a telegram asking me to call, and I haven’t been able to get through.”
“Go right ahead.” Mr. Carnegie turned the phone toward him. “And if you or Eliza need my assistance in any way, I’m ready to help.”
“Thank you, sir.” Devin didn’t waste any time putting in the call with the operator. This was the part that took a while, if the call could make all the connections. When the sheriff answered, Devin breathed a sigh. “Sheriff, this is Devin Schmitt. I received your telegram.”
As the man gave him the rundown, Devin nodded and lifted his shoulders. “I’ll be on the next train, sir.”
SATURDAY, AUGUST12, 1916•JENSEN
That female paleontologist was ruining everything again.
She’d probably found the painted rock, her special marker, and took it. Made it part of her silly fossil collection.
All it did was make finding her box of gold much more difficult.
To make things worse, that woman was back at the ranch digging for fossils again. Why hadn’t all that stopped when Lucas Meyer was arrested? Most of the workers had left—it had been perfect.
She should have been able to get out there and follow the map in peace. As it was, it would probably take her a good week to find it all, dig it up, and cart it off.
Now Miss Mills’s presence was delaying that even more.
But what could she do?
