Linda #2
“Yeah, Gran,” Jake piped up. “We’re not all weirdly mind-linked to each other like you, Aunt Maggie, and Uncle Michael. We can’t tell what you are all thinking.”
“Yeah, that’s really creepy how they do that,” Toby added. “When I was little, I used to think they could read my mind too.”
“Yeah, I know, right?” Jake agreed. “It’s like just… weird.”
All eyes turned to the two preteens who had once again gone off in their own direction before turning back to Linda, who looked down at the fragment one more time.
"I think," Linda said carefully, "we may just have found a Calusa settlement."
Nobody spoke; they all just went quiet, wide-eyed, and gaped at Linda.
“Linda!” Martin breathed. “If that’s…” He pointed to her hand.
"If it is," Michael continued, "and Owen will tell us in about ten minutes whether you’re right, then by Florida law, this ground cannot be sold, developed, or transferred until the Division of Historical Resources completes a full archaeological survey of the site."
Linda let that sit for a moment.
"How long does that take?" Linda asked.
"Twelve to eighteen months," Michael answered. "Minimum."
Martin looked from Michael and Maggie to Linda. "The Wayne Group can't buy what they can't legally transfer."
Linda looked back at the pool one more time.
At the earth ramp. At the section wall with its careful layers of soil and time.
At the spot three feet below the broken concrete where a piece of fired clay with seven incised notches had been sitting in the dark for two thousand years, waiting for someone to find it.
Linda closed her hand around the fragment, her heart pounding like a bird trapped in a cage, blowing out a slow breath, trying to contain her excitement as she didn’t want to be let down on the fine chance she could be wrong.
“So not dinosaurs,” Jake piped up.
“But a small settlement,” Toby said softly, his eyes widening in awe. “Of people that lived long before even our grandparents, Uncle Michael, and Martin.”
The adults' brows rose as they stared at the nine-year-olds for a few moments before bursting into laughter, letting out the tension that had engulfed them for days.
Owen came across the back lawn of Hearts Hotel at a pace that was not quite a run but was not a stroll either.
He was a tall man, broad through the shoulders, with a worn canvas bag over one shoulder, and his phone in his hand.
His gaze was already on the pool area before he'd cleared the line of palms.
Linda watched him come waiting by the ramp. Owen reached the orange mesh perimeter as Ray stepped forward and lifted the fencing for him without being asked. Owen ducked under it and came to where Linda was standing at the top of the ramp, throwing a quick, polite greeting to the spectators.
His eyes went to the fragment in her hand first.
"May I?" Owen’s eyes lifted to hers, and Linda held it out to him.
He took it with his one hand while reaching for his glasses to perch on his nose with the other.
Owen didn’t speak as he examined the object.
He turned it, tilted it toward the light.
His thumb moved across the incised lines the same way hers had, tracing the arc, finding the notches, and Linda could see he was doing the exact same examination she’d done.
Owen nodded slowly, still looking at the piece.
"Where’s the deposit?" Owen asked.
"Near the section wall to your left," Linda told him. "There are at least two more fragments visible in situ. Possibly a third further down in the profile, but it's only partially exposed, and I didn't want to go further without you."
Owen looked at the section wall, handed the fragment back to Linda, and walked to the edge of the excavation.
They went back down into the pool where he crouched, pulling a small flashlight from his canvas bag, then angled it along the section wall, running the beam slowly across the soil layers from top to bottom.
Linda crouched beside him.
"There," Owen said, angling the beam at the second fragment. "And there." The third, lower down.
"Is it the same deposit?" Linda asked.
"It’s the same deposit," Owen confirmed. "Look at the color change. Everything above that line is disturbed, mixed, you've got construction rubble, concrete aggregate, probably some fill they brought in when they put the pool in. Everything below it is a different story."
"Dark, organic, undisturbed," Linda said.
"Undisturbed," Owen agreed. "This deposit has been sitting here a very long time, Linda. Whatever is in it went in before anyone put a structure on top of it." He moved the beam to the second fragment. "See the exterior surface on that one?"
"Burnished," Linda said.
"Yes, burnished," Owen confirmed. "It’s the same finish as yours. It’s also the same clay body from what I can see, sand and shell temper. And look at the edge there, that curve."
"It's from the same vessel," Linda said.
"Or the same assemblage," Owen replied. "It could be multiple vessels from the same context.
It could be a midden deposit, a floor deposit, or something else.
We won't know until we open it up properly.
" He stood and looked at the section wall for another long moment. "But Linda, this isn't a stray piece."
"That’s what I thought too," Linda agreed.
"This is a site." Owen's head turned and scanned the area.
"I know," Linda said quietly.
They stood together at the edge of the excavation in the late afternoon light, two people who had spent the better part of their adult lives learning to read the ground, reading it now in the same direction.
Owen looked at the fragment in Linda's hand one more time. Then he looked up at the hotel building behind them, at the old stone facade, its wide veranda, and the palms along the east wall before turning back to her. She could see that same light in his eyes, glowing with excitement.
"We need to call the Division of Historical Resources," Owen told her. "Tonight, if possible, but if not, first thing tomorrow. The moment this is officially reported, the site will be protected, and nothing on this land can be sold, transferred, or developed until the survey is complete."
"I know the procedure," Linda said, unable to stop the smile curving her lips at the thought of what this could possibly mean.
"I know you do," Owen replied. "I'm saying it out loud because it needs to be said out loud." He turned to look at her directly. “And Linda…” He paused, swallowing. “There is one more person we need to call.”
She sucked in a breath, and her heart slammed against her ribs as she’d had the exact same thought as he did. “Owen…” She bit her lip.
“It’s only fair,” Owen pointed out. “And she is one of the leading experts in the Calusa so it could only help the case.”
Linda's breath caught as she looked at him. “Uncle George is not going to be happy.”
“He’d be even less so if he lost the hotel,” Owen pointed out.
Linda stared at him for a few moments and nodded. “I’ll make the call.”
“Who are you calling now?” Michael asked, frowning.
“Someone from Uncle George’s past,” Linda breathed and then walked off before anyone could ask more questions, feeling that while they could save the hotel, it might just be at the cost of her Uncle’s broken heart.