Dominic smiled, brimming with new hope. They were alive, enjoying a peaceful evening together with the sound of children playing in the background. He scooted his chair close against hers and put his arm around her shoulders.
“What are you going to do now?” he asked.
“My mother and I talked about getting a bus to San Pedro Sula or Guatemala City as soon as they are running again. Someone said maybe tomorrow the road would be clear.”
“You’re leaving then.” He tried to keep the disappointment from his voice.
“I’m thinking of leaving, yes.” Her lips turned up into a lopsided impish smile. “There’s still the Hieroglyphic Staircase project, but without my computer it would be difficult to continue.”
“I think you should stay and finish the project. You could scare up another computer. You still have a contract. You’re still the acting Museum director. You could help me organize the homeless children’s shelter. Felicia is pretty sure she can raise the money through her friend, Jack, in the banana business.”
“Ah, Felicia, she has far reaching tentacles.”
“She puts her whole heart and body into fundraising.”
Elena laughed at Dominic’s wry smile. “Maybe the end does justify the means.” She paused. “Will you be staying?”
“Yes. I’m staying. There’s small, fledgling Episcopal Church in a town not far from here that needs pastoral support. I might see if I can be of help.”
He didn’t say it was to keep his bargain with God. Some day maybe he would tell Elena about the pact he made with the Creator that he was only too happy to fill.
“That’s wonderful, Dominic. And Miguel and Gordo? What will happen to them?”
“The shelter for homeless boys is already in operation at my house. I’ll take care of them. I can’t let them continue living as they have. I’ll invite their friends to come live with us, too. You could help me.”
Elena wound her arms around his neck and hugged him tight, drawing whistles from a passerby.
“Dominic Harte,” she said, “you are a good man.”
He gave her a wry smile. “You are a wonderful woman. You should stick around so Mr. Good and Ms. Wonderful can get to know each other better.”
She laughed. “I guess you could use help with those boys, and I would dearly love to finish the hieroglyphic project.”
“Now you’re talking words I want to hear.”
“Even though I’m glad my name has been cleared, and it looks like the smuggling ring will be brought to justice, I still need to solve the mystery of what the hieroglyphics say. That would be a feather in my professional cap.” She hesitated. “There’s one other thing.”
“What’s that?” said Dominic.
“I wonder if there really is treasure up there at the top of the Hieroglyphic Staircase.”
“One way to find out is to go up there and do a little excavating. The police would be interested.”
“Connie said she’d help. But I’m not sure the Mayan warrior ghost will let us in on his secret.”
Careful excavation produced nothing behind the fifty-second step of the Hieroglyphic Staircase. Elena and her field workers meticulously pulled each stone forward and searched. Nothing. No hollow cave, no treasure box, no stash of gold. Connie Lascano was satisfied they had left no stone unturned.
The Harvard archaeological team returned and was astounded to learn of what had transpired. One of the team members said he was not surprised to hear a ghost had figured in. He said he had seen the belligerent fellow himself while working late in the ruins. Elena smiled when she heard the admission coming from so eminent a scholar.
She was glad Jorge Gomez never discovered there was no hiding place behind the fifty-second step. Raul Oliveros thought there was still hidden treasure, but he was in custody along with Diego and his brother. It would be a long time before they were free.
Elena wasn’t sure if there were treasure, but it didn’t matter. She was glad the Mayan warrior ghost’s secret was secure with him.
About the Author
Marjorie Thelen lives and writes novels outside a small town on the Oregon frontier. She enjoys writing stories that entertain her and, hopefully, her readers. The Hieroglyphic Staircase is the second in the series Mystery-in-Exotic-Places. The first was The Forty Column Castle, which is available in online bookstores. If you would like to learn more, visit her web site: www.MarjorieThelen.com