34

Lou didn’t speak on the way to the dam. If she did, she’d throw up. Her stomach was in knots. Her eyes stung, and she wanted to run. Run so far away that no one would ever find her. Although she knew from bitter experience that running away didn’t help, it only succeeded in making the situation so much worse; she didn’t care. She didn’t want to be here. Didn’t want to face what she knew would greet her at the dam.

Varian had succeeded in his threat. He’d discredited her in a very vile, public way and ensured she’d never work as an archaeologist again. The phone in her pocket chirped. She ignored it and when the caller finally rang off, she chucked the handset under the seat in front of her.

Jack’s phone rang. “Fitzgerald…Yeah, Jim, she’s here.” He held out the phone. “It’s for you.”

Lou shook her head, the lump in her throat and ache in her heart growing. She didn’t want Jim’s sympathy. Just the sound of his voice would cause the flood of tears she was barely containing, to fall.

“Sorry, mate, she doesn’t want to talk right now. Sure, I will.” He tucked the phone away.

As they turned off the main road, she shifted her gaze to the window, staring out at the scenery. It was crazy. She’d called Jack Dad for years, but he’d always be Jack in every other way bar name. Closing her eyes, she could see him the day they’d first met in Cornwall and again on the beach on Agrihan where he’d saved her life.

Maybe he should have let her die.

Jack pinched her arm, and she glared at him. “I know that look, kiddo,” he said in that tone she hated. The one that meant she was in for a lecture.

“Can’t I even have one second of self-pity?”

“No. It isn’t good for you.”

She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “Fine, but it’s my innermost thoughts, and right now the whole world thinks I’m a cold, calculating, murdering cow.”

“That’s not true,” Evan said. “There’s an Indian tribe on the African subcontinent that doesn’t.”

“An Indian in Africa?” she repeated. “They don’t even have TV in some places.”

“They read it on the Internet,” he retorted quickly. “This tribe doesn’t think you’re a cow. They’re convinced you’re a cat. And don’t laugh. You’re not allowed to laugh because you’re cross and sulking.” He paused. “Don’t smile either.”

Lou tried to keep her face straight and failed. “Jim does that, and I hate it.”

He nodded.

“Varian won.” A low whistle escaped her lips. “My career is over just as he promised. I can kiss that university job good bye as well.”

“The one that combines field and class work?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, that one. I spoke to him the other day, told him how interested I was. He said he’d get back to me and now there is no chance.”

“Hey. You don’t know that, kiddo.” Jack rubbed her arm.

“Yeah, I do.” Her phone rang. She toed it further under the seat in front of her. “That’s probably him now.”

“Answer it.”

She shook her head. “No.”

Evan leaned down and grabbed the phone. “Dr. Fitzgerald’s phone. Evan Close speaking.” He paused. “I’m sorry; Dr. Fitzgerald isn’t available right now. She’s gone to ground because of the news coverage and subsequent defamation of her character, while she watches her career dissipation light blinking and going into overdrive.”

“Give it here. You two are as bad as each other.” Lou groaned and snatched the phone. “I’m here, please ignore him.”

“Dr. Fitzgerald, it’s Professor Cunningham at Cumbria University.”

Lou covered the mouthpiece. “I hate you.”

“Hate isn’t a very nice word,” Jack chided.

She wagged her head and spoke into the phone as the car pulled into the road leading to the dam. “I planned to call you this morning.”

“Really? May I ask why?”

“I’m sure you’ve seen the news reports. I don’t want to tarnish the reputation of either your department or the university. That’s what would happen once the media found out I worked there.”

“I’ve also read the article you had published in this month’s History Today. I receive an advance copy, and your paper really is excellent work. Your theories panned out beautifully, and you backed up every single one with evidence of proof. Answer me one question. Are the news reports true?”

“Of course not.” She shifted on her seat, aware of the fact everyone was listening even if they pretended not to do so. “I didn’t kill AJ. In fact there have been…”

She broke off. She was digging herself a bigger hole and needed to stop. “No, no, they’re not.”

“After the conversation with you the other day, I didn’t think they would be. I was actually phoning to offer you the position, but if you’d rather not take it…”

“Hold on. You were?” She could scarcely believe her ears. Her heart pounded and a faint spark of hope began to burn. Perhaps it wasn’t just Evan and Jack who believed in her.

“I still am. Take a couple of days to think it over. Let the media circus die down, and let me know by say, Thursday.”

“OK, I’ll call you back on Thursday. Thank you. Bye.” She hung up and stared at the phone. “I don’t believe it.”

“What did he want?” Evan asked.

“He offered me the job.” Even saying the words out loud didn’t make them any more real.

Evan grinned. “See. Congratulations.”

“He’s given me until Thursday to think it over.”

“You should take it,” Jack said. “You just said you always wanted a job like that. Something that combines field work and teaching.”

Lou shrugged. “There’s a job to finish here.” She inhaled sharply as the car swung into the car park overlooking the dam. “Good grief. Look at it!”

A huge crack ran the height of the dam. From this angle it appeared to be a couple of feet wide. Huge piles of rubble were visible on the lake floor. A slight vibration under the car coincided with chunks of concrete falling from the side of the dam, splashing into the water below.

“Evan, how long has it got?” Lou rubbed clammy hands against her legs.

Evan seemed as pale and shocked as she felt. “It’s impossible to say. I need to get down there and check for myself. But looking at it, barring a miracle, it doesn’t have more than two days at the most.”

Jack nodded to the swarm of journalists and TV cameras standing at the side of the car park. “We have to get through that first.”

“That’s easy.” Evan’s lips thinned. “It’s what I pay these blokes for. Ira, park as close as you can to the portacabin without going onto the dam itself.” He pulled out his phone and dialled. “Ralph, it’s me. Where are you?”

Lou couldn’t tear her gaze away from the dam as the car edged closer, the sight both mesmerizing and terrifying.

“OK, give me a few minutes. We’re pulling up in the car now.”

Lou regarded the media swarm with trepidation, unable to keep from shuddering. “I don’t want to go out there.”

Evan put his phone away. “So don’t. Stay in the car and hide. Or you go out there, face them, and tell them that this is a criminal investigation, which it is. Therefore you can’t answer any of their questions.”

She sucked in a deep breath. “OK.”

Evan touched her hand. “Just stay between me and your dad. You’ll be fine.” He glanced towards the front of the car. “You blokes get to earn your keep for a change.”

Both security men laughed. Then they got out of the car and moved swiftly around to open the door.

Lou stepped out of the car. The journalists circled, shoving mics and cameras in her face.

Ira and Zach stepped closer, as the others got out of the car.

“Dr. Fitzgerald, do you have anything to say about the allegations Monty Sparrow made against you?” a reporter shouted.

“Are you responsible for the death of AJ Wilcox?”

Evan stood on one side of her, Jack on the other.

Inwardly quaking, Lou almost lost her balance as the ground beneath her feet moved, sending another torrent of small chunks sliding down the dam into the water. They didn’t have time for this. OK, here goes nothing. “I’m not answering questions, but I do have a short statement.”

Silence fell over the reporters.

“AJ was a friend. I am, in no way, responsible for his death. All the events of the past week here at the lake, including the four attempts on my own life, are the subject of an on-going police investigation. As I’m sure you’re aware, that means that I can’t discuss any of them with you. I have confidence in the ability of the police to find whoever is responsible and bring them to justice. I understand they have made an arrest and suggest you speak to them for any further details they may be able to provide. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do here.”

Evan glanced at Ira. “OK, let’s go.”

Flanked by Evan and Jack, Lou let the security officers lead her through the journalists. She ignored their shouts. Varian wouldn’t like that statement one bit, but she hadn’t named him. Unlike him, she had some principles, and mudslinging to the media wasn’t one of them. She glanced at Evan. “Now what?”

“Pray we can stop that dam from falling,” he replied quietly. “But that will take a miracle.”

Jack grimaced. “We’ll be fine. I know Someone in the miracle business.”