Chapter 8 – Digesting The Information
At these words, they all stopped eating. A captive audience.
“Yes?” Griffin prompted.
“She said it was a five-sided ruler with markings on it.”
“A what?” Maddie sounded suspicious.
Even Faye was taken aback. “Griffin, do you have any idea what she meant?”
“No, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Sybil never mentioned a find like that to me.”
“We’ve been very careful to keep away from anything that they might consider interesting,” Faye mused to herself. “Sybil knew that. She wouldn’t deliberately go after a recovery if there was any chance they might want it too.”
“If it’s ours, then we get it back,” Erik stated matter-of-factly, popping open a can of soda.
“No dear, we don’t.” Faye sighed. “If we lose a valuable find, then we lose a valuable find. It’s far more important for us to protect our anonymity.”
“So we let them kill one of ours and take something that belongs to us?” Maddie’s eyes were blazing with indignation. “Again?”
Faye glanced at her sadly. “Yes, I’m afraid we must. It seems like the last straw but we can’t retaliate. There’s too much at stake here to risk exposure.”
“I suppose.” Maddie relented slightly. “What about the kid? Do we tell her anything?”
Faye folded her hands on the table, regarding her guests gravely. “Sybil died to protect our secret. We owe her a great debt. She always said she wanted to keep Cassie safe.”
“By safe you mean in the dark?” Erik asked, a slight edge of sarcasm in his voice.
“‘If ignorance is bliss, ‘twere folly to be wise,’” Faye observed softly. “I believe we have an obligation to respect Sybil’s wishes.”
The group was silent for a few moments, mulling over the old woman’s decision. When the phone rang suddenly, they all jumped. It wasn’t the phone on the wall, but a cell phone lying on the kitchen counter.
Griffin looked puzzled. ”Who would be calling you at this hour and on that line?”
“Guess we’re gonna find out.” Erik reached over and handed the phone to Faye so she wouldn’t have to struggle to her feet.
She nodded her thanks to him. “Hello?”
There was a long pause.
“Why, yes, of course you may.”
Another pause.
“Oh, I think it’s much too late tonight. You’d never find your way here in the dark. How about tomorrow at noon?”
Faye then gave her address and detailed directions to her house.
“Fine, I’ll see you then. We’ll have much to talk about.” She laid the phone down on the table. A look of bewilderment crossed her face.
The other three stared at her, waiting for an explanation.
Faye wordlessly got up and started to make another pot of coffee.
“Faye?” Maddie prompted. “Are you all right?”
“Hmmm?” Faye turned absently toward her guests. “Well, as I was saying, I believe we have an obligation to respect Sybil’s wishes to keep Cassie away from this business.”
“Yes…” Erik nudged her along.
She looked around at their baffled faces. “I just never expected her to change her mind—posthumously.”
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Genre – Archaeology / Thriller
Rating – PG
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