Page 34 of Major

“You were so excited every time we found something,” he laughed. “It was like watching a child open a birthday present. Rocks, pottery, cloth, anything would make you so excited we could hardly contain you. She’s not easy to manage sometimes, Major.”

“I think I’ve found that out,” he smiled. “It’s one of the many reasons I love her.”

“I can see that, and it makes me happy.”

“Efram, did my mother know anything about this? Was she knowledgeable about anything my father did?”

“I wish I could tell you that she was aware, but she was not. She never came to the sites unless it was to drop you off or pick you up, and even then, for her, it was an inconvenience. She despised the sand, hated the amount of time your father spent at the sites, and began hating him for turning your mind to archaeology.”

“He didn’t turn my mind.” Efram stared at her with a daring glance. “Alright. Maybe he did. But I was happy there. I am happy discovering new things.”

“Let this one go, Elena. Whatever it was your father was looking for, let it go. It’s not worth dying for.”

Elena said her goodbyes to Efram, more confused than she was an hour ago. They needed help on the inside. Someone who could tell them if this was real or a hoax.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Daphne? Darling, we have people coming for dinner tonight,” said her mother. She had a rich, beautiful accent of British and West African. It always made Daphne smile.

“Mother, I’ve had enough formal dinners. I’m going to have dinner in my room tonight. Please give my apologies.” Her phone started to buzz, and she recognized the number.

“Daphne!”

“Excuse me, Mother,” she said, walking toward the library. It was filled with books that were hundreds of years old, others new, and still others in various languages. “Hello?”

“Hi, Daph,” smiled Elena.

“Are you alright? Married life treating you well?” she laughed.

“Married life is perfect. If you don’t mind, I’m going to put you on the speaker and video phone.”

“Of course.” She held her breath, hoping to see Brix. When his face didn’t appear, Major knew she was disappointed. Beneath the table, he sent a text to Brix. “Hello.”

“Daphne, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Luke, this is Eric and Hex. We’re part of the leadership team here." She nodded, smiling at them.

“Daph, I was wondering if you’ve heard of anyone attempting to sell biblical artifacts through the auction houses,” she said.

“Biblical? Anything in particular? Paintings? Sculptures?”

“No, nothing like that. I mean artifacts from the time of Jesus.”

“Elena, could you be more specific?” she laughed.

“Ark of the Covenant and Veronica’s Veil.” Daphne opened her mouth, staring at the people in the room. She laughed, then sobered when they didn’t laugh with her.

“Are you mad?”

“I’m afraid not. We think that my father was trying to find these items when he died, and we believe that someone thinks I have the answers to their whereabouts.”

“Dear God,” she whispered. “Sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.” The entire room chuckled at the woman.

“I take it that’s a no,” said Luke.

“I’ve taken some time off these last few weeks, so I’ve been a bit removed from the auction house. I don’t handle biblical or religious relics, but they do cross my desk now and then. I can check in with the auction house to see if anything has come up.”

“No. No, don’t draw attention to yourself,” said Luke.

“I can do it remotely just by checking what’s in the inventory. It will also list ‘possible’ items that could come up for auction.”

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