the corps. I think science is a lot more isolated.”
Pete nodded solemnly. “Except in situations like this.”
“Yeah, but even here everyone works on their own and shares the results. That’s different from working for hours and hours with twenty other girls to make sure all of your movements are precisely in sync.”
“Would you ever go back to it?”
She shook her head emphatically. “No way. I’m too old now. You get some freaks who dance into their forties, but most of us get injured and drop out way before that. Youth and beauty is everything in the world of showbiz.”
I listened to their conversation with interest, feeling like I was finally starting to get to know Pete better. He was quiet and always polite, and he did come to me with questions every now and then. Most of the time, though, he was content to work on his own.
I guessed he was about twenty-seven, maybe twenty-eight, slim, with dark ginger hair that was cut close to his head, skin liberally dusted with freckles. He was always piling sunscreen on his arms and nose when he was working outside. I figured he must burn easily.
Andre was another character again. He’d worked with Pete several times before, so I wasn’t surprised when they set up next to each other. After careful observation, I’d decided that while Pete’s quietness came from being a little shy and possibly intimidated, Andre seemed more reflective and astute. I hadn’t quite figured out his personality, and the social setting hadn’t revealed anything new about his character. He hung back from the group, accepting the bottle of whiskey when it passed him, talking in low tones with Brad.
Boner laughed at something, breaking my concentration, and leaned into my side, tipping his head to murmur into my ear.
“What do you think of Joseph?”
I rolled my eyes. “A pain in the ass,” I said bluntly. “He doesn’t have anything new, just the same old blah blah, save the planet, blah blah.”
“You’d think he’d be bored with that by now.”
“Apparently not. He wasn’t here for me, though. I don’t know whether to be offended or not.”
“What do you mean?” Boner asked, and then it clicked. “Ah. Eric.”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been following Eric around, hassling him with threats of the authorities and stuff. It seems like the sort of thing he’d do—make more trouble with the amateurs rather than the universities.”
“Or us.”
“Yeah. Interesting how he turned up just after Eric got put in the hospital, though, don’t you think?”
“Do you really think Hunter Josephwould do something like that? He seems a bit too goody-two-shoes to me.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s something to think about, though.”
We turned back to the campfire, and I hoped no one had overheard our conversation. I didn’t want my accusations to get back to Joseph, especially when I had no evidence. It seemed every day one more thing to worry about landed in my lap. It made me nervous about tomorrow.
W ITH R IVER running the lab, I could finally get back out to my little corner of the dig and work in the mud again. With the team divided up in a much more logical order, I could take over where I left off, satisfied that no one would have done any damage to the partially excavated skeleton.
I had forgotten what a strict ringmaster River could be when given any position of authority. In my own defense, I didn’t remember putting River in a position of authority, but she seemed to have taken my request for her to set up base camp as an instruction to organize my life.
At one in the afternoon, she appeared with a whistle and announced lunch break.
The whistle shocked me. I worked with no radio or music playing—unlike a lot of my colleagues, I found it a distraction. I looked over at Raven, who met my gaze, rolled her eyes, and hoisted herself out of her trench.
“Does she do that a lot?” I asked.
“Unfortunately,” Raven
Pete nodded solemnly. “Except in situations like this.”
“Yeah, but even here everyone works on their own and shares the results. That’s different from working for hours and hours with twenty other girls to make sure all of your movements are precisely in sync.”
“Would you ever go back to it?”
She shook her head emphatically. “No way. I’m too old now. You get some freaks who dance into their forties, but most of us get injured and drop out way before that. Youth and beauty is everything in the world of showbiz.”
I listened to their conversation with interest, feeling like I was finally starting to get to know Pete better. He was quiet and always polite, and he did come to me with questions every now and then. Most of the time, though, he was content to work on his own.
I guessed he was about twenty-seven, maybe twenty-eight, slim, with dark ginger hair that was cut close to his head, skin liberally dusted with freckles. He was always piling sunscreen on his arms and nose when he was working outside. I figured he must burn easily.
Andre was another character again. He’d worked with Pete several times before, so I wasn’t surprised when they set up next to each other. After careful observation, I’d decided that while Pete’s quietness came from being a little shy and possibly intimidated, Andre seemed more reflective and astute. I hadn’t quite figured out his personality, and the social setting hadn’t revealed anything new about his character. He hung back from the group, accepting the bottle of whiskey when it passed him, talking in low tones with Brad.
Boner laughed at something, breaking my concentration, and leaned into my side, tipping his head to murmur into my ear.
“What do you think of Joseph?”
I rolled my eyes. “A pain in the ass,” I said bluntly. “He doesn’t have anything new, just the same old blah blah, save the planet, blah blah.”
“You’d think he’d be bored with that by now.”
“Apparently not. He wasn’t here for me, though. I don’t know whether to be offended or not.”
“What do you mean?” Boner asked, and then it clicked. “Ah. Eric.”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been following Eric around, hassling him with threats of the authorities and stuff. It seems like the sort of thing he’d do—make more trouble with the amateurs rather than the universities.”
“Or us.”
“Yeah. Interesting how he turned up just after Eric got put in the hospital, though, don’t you think?”
“Do you really think Hunter Josephwould do something like that? He seems a bit too goody-two-shoes to me.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s something to think about, though.”
We turned back to the campfire, and I hoped no one had overheard our conversation. I didn’t want my accusations to get back to Joseph, especially when I had no evidence. It seemed every day one more thing to worry about landed in my lap. It made me nervous about tomorrow.
W ITH R IVER running the lab, I could finally get back out to my little corner of the dig and work in the mud again. With the team divided up in a much more logical order, I could take over where I left off, satisfied that no one would have done any damage to the partially excavated skeleton.
I had forgotten what a strict ringmaster River could be when given any position of authority. In my own defense, I didn’t remember putting River in a position of authority, but she seemed to have taken my request for her to set up base camp as an instruction to organize my life.
At one in the afternoon, she appeared with a whistle and announced lunch break.
The whistle shocked me. I worked with no radio or music playing—unlike a lot of my colleagues, I found it a distraction. I looked over at Raven, who met my gaze, rolled her eyes, and hoisted herself out of her trench.
“Does she do that a lot?” I asked.
“Unfortunately,” Raven
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