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"Are they going to do thermoluminescence dating on those pieces of ceramics?" she asked.
Gabriel grinned before he replied, "Yes."
Quinn wondered why he was grinning at her like that but forgot to ask when she got a look at the equipment in the next room they entered.
"Oh my God! You have an ICP-MS!" she nearly swooned, "Oh, I am so jealous. Have they identified any interesting trace elements in Whispering Winds soil?"
He was charmed by her unbridled passion before he said, "I honestly don't know. I'm not all that involved in the analysis."
She could barely contain herself as they continued through the room and her fingers were itching to get involved.
They reached another door which Gabriel held open for her as he explained, "In the next room are some artifacts that have already been cleaned and cataloged which I know you will enjoy."
The excitement surged through her; the same excitement she always felt at the discovery of finding something buried and hidden away from human eyes. As soon as they entered the room, Quinn was drawn to one specific artifact and the sight of it had her heart pounding hard in her chest. Without a word she walked over to it and just stood silently staring. Without taking her eyes from it, she asked, "It's been dated?"
"Yeah, early 1700s. They found it in the basement of one of the old tenant houses. Amazing, considering the conditions it was stored in, that it's in such good condition."
"My God," she whispered as she reached out and touched her finger to the old wood seat that Archer had once sat upon.
"People are debating what it is but I swear it looks like a primitive dunking tank," Gabriel seemed to be asking her a question without asking one at all. But Quinn was lost in her thoughts.
For the rest of the tour, she was unusually quiet and when he brought her up to the security office, she was very reserved when meeting his team. After, they sat in his office but Quinn had hardly recovered.
"What's going on, Quinn?" Gabriel asked gently.
She seemed almost surprised when she looked up to see him sitting opposite her. "Nothing. Thanks for the tour."
"Would you tell me again about your dream," he asked, "the one you had during your coma?"
"Not today," Quinn could hardly hold back her tears.
"Can I ask why?"
His probing seemed to agitate her and she answered rather curtly, "Why do you care so much?"
"Because it seems that it's very important to you," he said evenly.
"And that's important to you because?" her unfinished question hung between them.
"Because you are important to me."
There were so many emotions racing through Quinn. And his innocent comment nearly pushed her over the edge. To look at this man who reminded her of Archer and who she was undeniably drawn to, to see the dunking tank which was proof positive that her coma-induced dream hadn't been a hallucination at all, was just too much for her. Quinn stood. "I should go. Thank you, really, for the tour."
She started for the door but his next words stopped her in her tracks: "I think Derek orchestrated the accident. I think he wanted you away from Whispering Winds so he would have the place to himself to find whatever the hell it is he's looking for."
Quinn's eyes narrowed slightly sizing up Gabriel. "So you think he's up to no good, too?"
"Yes, but I haven't been able to figure out what he's looking for."
"Any thoughts at all?" Quinn asked.
"Well, I think it's more a family legend than actually real, but Nicholas mentioned the Scarcliff treasure, a treasure from Archer's time. But what it is and where it's located is a mystery."
Quinn thought on that for a moment. "If Derek was after that then why would he be digging? Unless..."
Gabriel loved watching her as she reasoned it out, loved how her mind worked. But when she didn't continue, he asked, "Unless what, Quinn?"
She waved his question off and took a step toward him as she changed the direction of her thoughts and asked, "I imagine there were some satellite imagery and geophysical surveys done with magnetometers before the area was excavated, right?"
