Dane spat out his mouthpiece as he broke the surface, and sucked in a lungful of hot, humid air. Matt and Corey were waiting for them, along with Saul. The three of them lifted the breastplate from the water, and then hauled the two divers out.
Dropping to one knee, he removed his mask and turned to look at Jade, who lay on her side, breathing hard.
“I don’t know about you,” she panted, “but I’m thinking we shouldn’t go back down there anymore.”
“Do you think?” Dane said, grinning despite the dozen or so pains he felt throughout his body. “Do me a favor. If we ever dive together again, check with me before you pry anything out of the floor.” Still panting, he took a few deep, calming breaths. “I just hope that whatever we found was worth it.”
“It will be,” she said. “Did you see the symbol on the seal?” Dane nodded, remembering the clover around the cross. “That was the mark of Fray Marcos de Niza.
Chapter 4
“Dude, this place is seriously dry. Somebody turn on the humidifier.” Bones unscrewed the top of his bottled water, chugged half of it, and dumped the rest on top of his head. He let loose with a massive belch, and tossed the empty bottle into the back of Isaiah’s pickup. “You didn’t tell me it would be like this, Cuz.”
Isaiah frowned. “You realize this is a desert. What did you expect?” He hitched the backpack over his shoulder and leaned in through the driver’s side window to grab his clipboard and notebook. Straightening, he fixed Bones with a level gaze. “Bones, this is a serious dig, and the first one I’ve ever directed. Promise me you won’t be…” He paused, searching for the words.
“Be myself?” Bones asked. He had to laugh when his cousin nodded in affirmation. “All right Cuz, I’ll behave. Honest injun!” He raised his hand like a plains warrior.
Isaiah rolled his eyes. “Bones, you know I hate it when you talk like that. It degrades our people.” He shook his head. He knew Bones well enough to know his sense of humor would never change. “Forget it. Grab that other bag.” He nodded to a black duffel bag in the bed near the wheel well on Bones’ side of the truck.
“Are you sure we’re related?” Bones kidded, hefting the bag. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe we’re swimming in the same gene pool, know what I mean?”
“Our mothers were related. I don’t claim you at all, Cuz.” Isaiah grinned and winked. “Let’s get going. I don’t want to be late on my first day.” He led the way down a dusty gravel drive past a line of dirty trucks and SUVs that Bones assumed belonged to the workers on the dig. Falling a few steps behind his cousin, Bones licked his finger and wrote “YOUR MOM IS THIS DIRTY” on the back of a Range Rover before picking up the pace to catch up.
“You know you love having me around,” he said, clapping a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder. “By the way. Think you could explain to me how my Tonto act disgraces our ancestors, but it’s all right for you to dig up their bones?”
“We’re not exhuming any graves,” Isaiah said. His long, thin face visibly pained. “We’re examining pictographs, and excavating artifacts from the site
“Oh,” Bones said, shrugging. “I thought it was because these guys are Fremont and we’re Cherokee.”
Isaiah snapped his head around and raised a finger, looking every bit the junior college professor that he was. His lecture was thankfully cut off by an attractive young woman in a business suit.
“Excuse me. Are you Dr. Horsely?” she asked, though her tone indicated that the question was a mere formality. She knew exactly who Isaiah was.
Bones chuckled, drawing annoyed glances from her and Isaiah. His cousin’s family name was Horse Fly, but Isaiah had legally changed it when he went to college.
“Yes, I’m Isaiah Horsely. How may I help you?” Isaiah took the woman’s proffered hand, looking distinctly uncomfortable. He had always been shy around women.
“I’m Amanda Shores of the Deseret Bugle. I’d like to ask you a few questions about the dig.” Not waiting for Isaiah’s reply, she thrust a digital recorder in his face and pushed the record button. “What do you expect to find in this site?”
“I can’t say yet,” Isaiah said, taking a step back. “This site’s very existence is a new revelation, and we’ve made only a preliminary survey. There are quite a few fascinating pictographs…”
Amanda cut him off. “Why do you think Mr. Orley has kept this site a secret for so long?” She took a step toward him, keeping the recorder in his face. “What do you think he has to hide?”
“He kept the site a secret in order to protect it.” Isaiah looked decidedly uncomfortable. “I have no reason to believe he is hiding anything.”
“We really have to go Miss Shores,” Bones said, taking Isaiah by the arm and guiding him around the reporter.
Amanda was not deterred. She stepped in front of Bones, blocking his path. “And who might you be?” Challenge shone in her hazel eyes as she faced him.
“Uriah Bonebrake, but you can call me Bones. I’m just a grunt on this expedition, helping Dr. Horsely with his project. But if you’re going to do a write-up on me, would you mention my band? We’re called ‘Custer’s Next-to-Last Stand’. I’ve got a demo tape…”
“I’m sorry, that’s not my department,” Amanda said, cutting off the recorder and tucking it into her purse. She pointedly turned her back on Bones as she turned back to Isaiah, proffering a business card. “Here’s my card, Dr. Horsely. If you find anything of interest, I would appreciate a call.” She said it as if it was an order rather than a request.
Isaiah nodded and tucked the card into his pocket. Together he and Bones made their way toward the dig site.
“What is Deseret, anyway?” Bones asked.
“That was the proposed name of a state that Mormon settlers tried to establish back in the 1800’s.”
“So, you gonna’ call her? The reporter chick, I mean.” Bones stole a glance over his shoulder as Amanda climbed into her car. “She’s cute in a brunette gymnast sort of way.”
“You’re crazy, Bones. I don’t know how you lived this long.” Isaiah chuckled and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “And yes, I just might call her.”
They walked in silence for a short while. Bones took in the high skies and rugged terrain. It was beautiful, but a bit confined for someone accustomed to the sea. He tried to imagine being a native tribesman a thousand years ago, fighting to survive in this desolate land. Isaiah had assured him that despite appearances, Utah was far from barren. In fact, the land was teeming with life if you only knew where to look for it. Bones supposed that made it like the ocean in a way: bleak on the surface, but abundant life concealed within its depths.
They had not walked far when a short, square man in a weathered John Deere hat hailed them. He wore a flannel shirt in spite of the heat, and sweat rolled down his florid face. He drew a pack of Beech Nut from the back pocket of his jeans and packed a wad into his cheek before speaking.
“You gonna’ keep them diggers over at the site where they belong?” He looked at Isaiah as if daring him to say ‘no’. “I don’t want ‘em nowhere else. This is a working ranch, and I ain’t got time to be chasin’ college kids all over the place.”
“We’re fully aware of the parameters of the dig site,” Isaiah said. “Mr. Orley, I’d like you to meet my cousin, Uriah Bonebrake. People call him Bones.”
Bones reached out to shake the rancher’s hand, but the fellow just stared up at him for a long moment. He spat a small stream of tobacco juice onto the dusty gravel. “You’re one big damned Indian. I think you’re the biggest ‘un I’ve ever seen.”