in the lab, which are then matched with historical record regarding habitation in the area. We can also speak with First Nations chiefs to check tribal records kept in those particular communities. Trust me when I say that we have numerous respectful ways of determining ethnicity, origin and, in many cases, lineage of the deceased.”
“That sounds perfectly reasonable.” Sam shrugged. “I don’t see the problem here. Work stops until that all gets figured out and then construction resumes. There’s nothing unusual about the occasional necessary work stoppage.”
“No, Sam. When I say work stops, I mean it stops. The construction company has to step back, and since we’re dealing with government policy and sensitive First Nations issues, sometimes these situations can take months to resolve.”
“Months?” Sam felt his eyebrows leap upward. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when government is involved.”
Kara looked down at her hands and then back up at him. “And on rare or more difficult cases, years.”
Ed slammed the palm of his hand down on the desk. “And there it is, folks. Years. And the only people out there working and getting paid, while my company hemorrhages money, are those so-called ‘expert’ archaeologists in the field. I know how you people work. I know you jump from contract to contract. I guess it’d be nice to have a steady paycheck for a few years, wouldn’t it? All you need to do is find one little bone and claim it’s human—”
Sam had heard enough. “Mr. Tigh.” He risked a brief glance at Kara, whose eyes had turned red around the edges, her jaw tight. He thought he saw the subtle quiver of a woman enraged, and he didn’t blame her one bit. “That’s a very serious accusation you’re leveling at Ms. Park. Do you have evidence to support this claim? A reason to believe that she might sabotage your company’s work for her team’s gain, beyond hearsay?”
Kara’s gaze snapped to him. “I would never plant archaeological evidence, Sam. That would be career suicide, and completely unethical in too many ways to list right now. I can understand your concern for your company’s bottom line, Mr. Tigh, but I assure you I’m only here to do my job—”
“A week early, Ms. Park! Just enough time to get everything set up so that when your team arrives and you head out to dig, lo and behold—”
“Mr. Tigh.” Sam stood, his chair scraping back with a harsh screech. “I’m going to escort Ms. Park from the premises, and while I do so, I urge you to consider the implications of what you’re saying and how you’re going to back up this claim. Before I go, however, there’s still the matter of the attack out at the site today. I need to ask if you can think of any reason why someone might harm Mr. Helfer and Ms. Park. Have you received any messages, phone calls, emails, anything you can think of that might be relevant?”
Ed scowled as he stood to match Sam, pulling his shoulders back and puffing out his chest. “Absolutely not. Our public relations team has kept pace with negative press and successfully tamped down on any dissent regarding a pipeline in this area. Are you even certain these two were attacked? Because from my side of the desk, Ms. Park is the one standing here while my foreman is receiving medical assistance, so for all I know—”
“I suggest you stop speaking immediately,” Sam said. “Before you say something you regret.” He nodded to Kara. She stood and headed for the door. “And yes, they were attacked. You have the eyewitness statement of a law enforcement professional who’s standing right in front of you, who happened on the scene just in time. Things could have been much worse than they are—though I suppose we’ll need to hear back about your foreman’s condition before we can be sure of that. Mr. Tigh, I understand that you want to do right by your company, but you’ll make no friends with law enforcement in this area if you insist on making baseless accusations. I’d like to think we can work together to ensure that no one else is harmed on your work site, because you’d do well to remember that your company is responsible for the safety of its workers. I recommend making that phone call Ms. Park suggested when we first arrived—get some private security out there, or set up a perimeter alert. I have a feeling that your insurance providers aren’t going to be thrilled to hear about the attack today, and will probably tell you the same thing. I’ll be back to speak with you soon.”
He turned on his heel and followed Kara out of the building.
The moment they reached the patrol car, she collapsed.
Kara pressed her hands against the car tire to steady herself. She only needed to take a few deep breaths, get centered, maybe close her eyes for a few minutes...
“Kara!” Sam knelt beside her. “Are you all right?” He peered at her while she blinked at him, overwhelmed by a sudden wave of exhaustion. “You look like you could use some serious rest. It’s been a long day, and we can talk about all of this tomorrow.”
She nodded as he helped her stand, heat rushing to her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to show weakness like that—she couldn’t afford to show weakness at all, not in front of Sam, not in front of anyone, because Ed was right. It would be too easy to plant remains and pretend that extra work needed to be done, but she would never, ever consider such a thing. She’d never known anyone in her field to even think of it, and the very accusation that she would be anything other than fully professional was both insulting and humiliating. Tigh had barely even spared her a glance when they’d walked in the room, dismissing her from the start. It didn’t make any sense. Gaida Industries hired her, so why select her company’s bid if they thought she couldn’t do the job correctly in the first place?
“It has been a long day,” she agreed, pulling open the car door. “Sorry. I don’t think I’ve eaten for over twelve hours, and the very notion...”
“I get it.” She glanced sharply at Sam, but felt her anger soften when she saw the sincerity in his eyes. “That was uncalled for. If the man is going to level accusations at you, he’d better have a good reason for it.”
She nodded, but something still ate at her insides. “It’s like he didn’t even care that there was an attack. I mean, yeah, he implied that I made it up, but you did see the guys running away from the site, right?”
Sam nodded. “I did. And believe me, I’m going to be back in here tomorrow for a longer chat with Ed Tigh about that particular incident. But it’ll do no good trying to continue the conversation today when tempers are flared. Hopefully, Helfer will be released tonight, and I can bring him into the office tomorrow for a more productive conversation.”
“Because, of course, Ed will only believe the word of his foreman. My testimony doesn’t matter, even if Mike tells the same story word for word. And that’s not sarcasm.”
Sam winced. “I know. I have a feeling that Tigh is one of those types who’d believe the word of a man over that of a woman regardless of the situation, and while I find that abhorrent and unacceptable in this day and age, I’ll do what’s necessary to get to the bottom of this, all right? You have a job to do, and I don’t want to see anyone get hurt out there again, regardless of their employer or purpose for being there.”
“Thanks.” Kara took deep breaths to calm herself as Sam drove. Light raindrops pattered against the windshield. How did she get into this mess, anyway? She’d thought it would be a good idea to come up a week early and get some of the groundwork done for her team, which would save them a ton of time in prep. The team would be able to get to work immediately instead of spending time researching,
