Annnnd now I’m confused.
“Wait... I thought you said she wasn’t into men,” Corrie then said to Ethan.
“No, I saidFordwasn’t her type,” Ethan said with a smirk.
“Oh, yeah, totally. I’m into men, women, whatever. Blonds really aren’t my thing, though. Nor is that whole professor-student thing. I mean, how cliché. No offense, Dr. Matthews.”
“Why is it that every time you say ‘no offense’ I feel like I should be offended?” Ford said, playfully, and Corrie let out a full-throated Corrito Burrito laugh.
“Well, now that we gotthatout of the way, I thought you were sick with food poisoning?” Ford asked Ethan.
Ethan’s face twisted as if wincing inside. “Yeah... so, that may not have been true.”
“What the hell, man?” Ford said, now his tone agitated.
“What the hell,me? Where the hell haveyou twobeen all day? We were looking for you hours ago,” Ethan spat back.
“We... we were... exploring.”
Nice save, Ford.Real believable.
“Well, whileyouwere outexploring,” Ethan said with a pointed look to Corrie, “wewere here investigating our situation and keeping an eye on the artifact shed. I faked being sick with the rest of them so I had a reason to hang around camp, in case someone else was faking sick sotheyhad an excuse to be alone in camp. The thief. It appears he’s back.”
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 shutit. 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.
