Epilogue
Samantha sat in her second-floor study in the east wing of Gellermann Manor opening the last of the packets sent by scientists and journalists from all over the world hoping to be selected for the next public tour of the ancient catacombs of the Unikwëti of Lenni-Lenape. Before she could finish reviewing its contents, the telephone rang.
“Hello?”
“Mija! I’ve got the lab results in on the latest samples we took from the catacombs!”
“Wonderful, Professor! And how old does the lab think they are?”
“Get this. Are you sitting down? This has been corroborated by three separate labs. Hold on Mark, I’ve got Samantha on the line. Are you sitting down, mija?”
“Yes! I’m dying here!”
“You know last year’s samples took us back to 300 B.C., right?”
“Professor, will you just spit it out?”
“All three labs date all ten fossilized bone specimens and the artifact collection to 4000 B.C.”
“What? Did you say 4000 B.C.?”
“That’s what I said!”
Samantha couldn’t speak.
“Hello? Are you still there?”
Mark must have taken the phone from the professor.
“Sam? This means the whole theory about the Lenape crossing over the Bering Straight and coming from Africa or the Orient is completely undermined. This might mean that North America was populated much earlier than any of us originally believed!”
“I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it!”
“Mommy? What can’t you believe?” Four-year-old Becky asked from the hallway.
“Listen, Mark. I’ll call you guys back later. I can’t wait to tell the others. And don’t forget to send me a report of all these findings in writing when you have the chance, so I can present them to the board.”
“Sure thing, Captain!”
“And Mark?”
“Yes?”
“Congratulations again on your new baby boy. Please give Millie my warmest wishes.”
“Thanks, Cap. Will do!”
Samantha hung up the phone, trembling a bit and feeling light headed. A picture of Rebecca Nisha fell over on her desk, so she set it right again, as always.
“Mommy, Jes says dinner’s almost ready and you’re not even dressed.”
“Come here, Pumpkin, and give your Mommy a kiss.” She took the girl into her lap and exchanged a quick peck on the lips. “Is Daddy home?”
“Here I am. I’m on my way to the shower.”
“Don’t I even get a hello?”
“Daddy! Daddy, we want a hello!”
Tuki rushed in to the room, swept his Nisha girls into a big embrace, and said, “Hi sweethearts! Sorry I’m late.” Then to Samantha, “We were working on a really good bill we hope to have ready for the next congressional meeting.”
“That’s okay. I’ve still got to dress myself.”
“Hmm, care to—”
“Shhhh!” Then she gave him a flirty look. “I’ve got big news.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Follow me.” She took her husband and daughter’s hands and led them to the balcony overlooking the foyer.
“Granddad, can you hear me? Granddad?”
Brandon limped from the parlor into the foyer with Baby Charlie in his hands. “What is it, dear girl?”
“Jes, can you hear me?”
“Jes, old man! Samantha has something she wants to tell us!” Brandon called through the foyer.
Jes came hobbling in from the kitchen. He looked up. “Madam?”
“What’s going on, Beck? Tell us already,” Tuki complained.
“Four thousand B.C.! The specimens from the catacombs date back to four thousand B.C.!”
“Did you hear that, Jes? Four thousand B.C.! By golly, break out the oldest wine in the cellar! This calls for a celebration! I’ll call Claire right away and ask her to join us! We’ve got enough food, don’t we Jes?”
“Yes, sir. We’ve got plenty.”
“Charlie? You want Auntie Claire to come for dinner?”
The baby cooed in his great-grandfather’s arms as his parents and sister laughed overhead.
“Wëli will be flabbergasted!” Samantha said as she and Tuki went to dress for dinner.
“If he ever had any fears over forming this foundation, you can bet they will be laid to rest tonight when he learns what we’ve been able to tell him about our people.”
“Our people?” Samantha glanced back at him.
“Of course, Wulik Etchilhillat. Yours and mine.” He smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders.
A soft, plump arm wrapped itself around his leg.
“And mine, too, Daddy?”
“Yes, Wisawtayas. Yours, too.”
***THE END*******
The Mystery Tomb is part of Eva Pohler’s Mystery Book Collection. The Mystery Box tells how a woman’s life gets turned upside down when a box is delivered to her by mistake and she’s drawn into a haunting tale that has a shocking connection to her and her family. The Mystery House, is about three friends and empty-nesters who decide to flip a house together and discover a horrifying mystery. To learn more, go to https://evapohlerthrillers.wordpress.com/.
Eva Pohler is also the author of two young adult series based on Greek mythology: The Gatekeeper’s Saga, about a teenager whose life becomes entangled with the gods of Mount Olympus when one of them falls in love with her, and The Vampires of Athens, about a teen from New York who studies abroad in Athens and discovers that vampires and demigods are real. She is also the author of a three-book series called The Purgatorium, about an island where a doctor and her staff terrify suicidal teens into fighting for their lives.
To find out more about Eva Pohler and her books, please visit her website at http://www.evapohler.com.
To get a free copy of The Mystery Box, go to http://www.evapohler.com/mystery-box-offer/.