Raiders of the Lost Heart(76)

Oh no. It seemed Ford had been right to be worried this morning. Corrie and Ford looked at each other, then back at Ethan.

“Come on. Follow me,” Ethan said, leading the charge out of the shed and around to the back, still within sight of everyone and everything but far enough that no one would be able to hear them. Aside from a few glances from the others, no one paid them any mind.

“Okay,” Ethan said once they were situated, “see the panel at the back here?”

Corrie and Ethan looked over, but, again, nothing seemed unusual or out of place. “Yeah, what’s the problem?” Ford asked.

“The whole thing has been removed. See?” Ethan said, easily lifting the wood panel from the frame.

“Did they take anything this time?”

“They did. Do you remember that wooden bowl? Well, it’s gone.”

A sickening sensation washed over Corrie’s stomach. That bowl had been a huge find. It was almost intact and even had a small amount of grain in the bottom.

“Well, then, that settles it,” Corrie said. “Ford, you’ve got to send everyone home.”

“Are you serious right now? We found—” Ford started but stopped himself when Corrie’s eyes widened and she started shaking her head.

“Found what?” Ethan asked, his brow furrowed.

“Maybe it’s better if we talk about this later,” Ford said, glancing briefly at Sunny then back toward Ethan.

“Maybe we all need to start trusting each other,” Ethan said, crossing his arms.

Ford opened his mouth as if to protest, but then quickly shut it. Good. If there was one person Corrie trusted on this dig as much as she trusted Ford, it was Ethan.

“Okay,” Ford said. “But trust goes both ways, man.”

“Fine. Sunny and I have been . . . keeping each other company for a while. I didn’t tell you because, well, because she’s your student. And, honestly, things haven’t really been the same between the two of us since your dad died.”

Corrie winced internally, ready for Ford to blow a gasket. But instead, he sighed.

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ve been having a hard time these last few years. My mom . . . she’s sick,” he said, sinking his shoulders.

“I know,” Ethan said, placing his hand on Ford’s shoulder. “But I’m here for you. Always. We all are,” he said, motioning around the group.

Ford smiled at them, and it warmed Corrie’s heart. “I know.”

“So, what is it? What did you find?” Ethan asked, clearly satisfied with that small acknowledgment.

Ford glanced at Corrie again, as if looking for permission. She nodded.

“We found Chimalli.”

“What! Where?” Ethan said.

“Behind the waterfall.”

“Behind the waterfall?”

“Nature’s curtain,” Sunny said.

Corrie smiled, proud that Mendoza’s recounting of Chimalli’s life was right.

“But that’s not all,” Ford continued. “We didn’t just find Chimalli. There were drawings on the wall. Two other bodies. And it looks like the tecpatl is buried beneath one of the bodies.”

“Three bodies?” Ethan started, but Corrie finally chimed in.

“It’s Chimalli and his family. According to the drawings, Yaretzi and their child became ill, and it appears Chimalli may have taken his own life.”

“But I thought—”

“So did I. Turns out I was wrong.”

“So you’re not a descendant of Chimalli?” Sunny asked.

Corrie shook her head. “Appears not.”

“Well, I know that would have been pretty awesome, but you two still made one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of our time! You’re going to be famous!” Ethan said.

“It was all Corrie,” Ford said.

She shot a look at him. “No, we both found it.”

“We wouldn’t have even been here if it wasn’t for you. And you know I never would have swum under that waterfall without your goading.”

“Oh, please, you just didn’t want anyone to see your naked ass,” she teased, momentarily forgetting they were in the company of others.

Now Ford was the one staring wide-eyed.

“Naked ass? Sounds like your afternoon has been . . . surprising as well,” Ethan said with a smirk.

“We were . . . uh . . . we didn’t have swimsuits and we didn’t want to get our clothes wet,” Ford rambled.

It was actually kind of sweet hearing him try to protect her honor. But, man, he was a terrible liar. She had to put him out of his misery. “Relax, Ford. Ethan already knows.”

“Ethan knows?”

“Oh, Ethan knows,” Ethan said. “And now Sunny does, too.”

All three of them looked at Sunny. “Yeah . . . I figured it out this morning when I came by your tent. You looked freshly fucked, and, jeez, it’s about time.”

Corrie snickered. Sunny wasn’t into that whole teacher-student thing in more ways than one, as evidenced by her complete and utter honesty when talking to him.

“How long has Ethan known?” Ford asked Corrie.

“A couple of days.”

“She told me to clear your name after I accused you of being the thief,” Ethan clarified.