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That confirmed my own suspicions based on what Thorne himself just told me.
“This new discovery of yours has put a fly in the ointment with these negotiations then,” I added for her.
And the reason Thorne pulled me aside to make sure that I shared any discovery with him. Was this the reason behind his cryptic remark about how it would be better if Ididn’tfind anything significant?
“You’re saying that either Black or Thorne or both fabricated the story about the grad student’s forgery?” I questioned. “Why?”
But it was obvious.Follow the money, honey.
I was tempted to share my private conversation with Thorne, then decided to keep quiet. At least for now. After all, I didn’t know Maggie Thunders’ own agenda, or what groups she might be working with to stop this project for her own reasons.
“Let me tell you what I really found last October,” she said. “It started when my grandmother shared something with me on her deathbed.”
I listened to the woman share the incredible story that had been passed down from generations, sparking her search for a cave allegedly filled with magical secrets. Only their holy people knew of it, and it was to be passed down to their descendants prior to their death.
“I didn’t find the cave that Grandma Ruenna referred to,” Maggie continued. “But I did find something much better, in my opinion.”
“The hieroglyphs.”
Maggie grinned wide. “It was incredible. I authenticated it personally. My mistake was sharing it with the elder council, believing they would do the right thing on filing it for historical protection.
“Three days later, there was some kind of explosion that could never be identified, and the cave and everything inside the mountain was completely destroyed. My team tried to excavate the tunnels with a slim hope that we could somehow salvage the glyphs themselves.”
She shook her head. “Nothing but dust. Then just when I thought we found something else significant, there was another accident from alleged faulty equipment that caused a fatality with one of the workers.”
“Fatality? I heard a man’s hand was just severed at the wrist.”
“Try his head at the shoulders,” Maggie muttered in a chilling tone. “Look it up.”
I planned to. Just as soon as I returned to my hotel room tonight.
“Tom was furious, and there was a lot of political backlash that the Council worked hard to tamp down,” Maggie continued. “After that, they unanimously decided to shut down the entire operation and ban me and my team from the area. Safety and liability reasons, they claimed.”
But that didn’t stop Maggie Thunders from going against their directives and venturing out on her own again.
“And you found these new glyphs.”
“I did,” she said with a wide grin. “Five miles south of the first site. I don’t know how I could have missed it the first time. Closer to the original site of our ancestors’ village, in fact.”
“Why did you tell your Council about the new discovery, if you suspected a coverup of the last one?” I questioned.
Personally, I would have kept the information quiet until I could get some political power on my side to protect it.
“I had no choice,” Maggie answered, her smile melting. “The Council approached me the next day producing their own photos. Yes, in answer to your next question. Someone had been watching me. That’s when Tom kindly informed me that they were putting me on a short lease and had contacted their own historical expert to check out my findings.”
Me, of course. A nobody. A lame high school teacher whose reputation and findings they could easy discredit.
No wonder Maggie resented my presence. I would be steaming with indignation, too.
“No worries,” I said. “Even if they reject both our findings, they won’t be able to discredit Dr. Collin Bangor’s.”
Maggie gave me a double-take. “Bangor? You know Collin Bangor?”
Intimately, unfortunately. And my jerk-faced ex-boyfriend owed me bigtime after dumping me physically and emotionally in the jungles of Brazil last summer. Time to call in that huge debt.
“He’ll back me up,” I assured her. “Guaranteed. Even if I have to drag his scrawny ass here to the Pacific Northwest myself with all of the political muscle he can muster. After I see what you’ve got, I’ll call him tonight to catch the next redeye flight out here. I’ll have him bring a few powerhouse buddies, too.”
Maggie turned back to the jolting, unpaved fire road she was driving up with an appreciative grunt. “I underestimated you, McEwan. Maybe we can work together after all.”
