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months.
    â€œThe women will share the large tent at the far end. The men will take the other. Professor, you and I will each take one of the smaller tents. There is a room off the kitchen we can use for an office.”
    ****
    Francie surveyed the campground. The tents were new and furnished with cots and bedrolls. There was plenty of room for the three women and their belongings. It was more comfortable than some of the other accommodations she'd had to endure on digs. There had been times she’d slept on the ground in a sleeping bag, thankful for the mosquito netting around her. Once, she’d gone on a dig in Israel and stayed in a kibbutz with strangers. She had been a frightened pre-teen, thankful her father was with her.
    After stowing their belongings, the crew quickly got to work. The dig area was marked with ropes, and the surface dirt had been removed. Professor Theo took charge of explaining the routine and job expectations to the newer members while Francie, Dimitri, and Yannis built two table screens to be used for sifting the dirt and sorting their finds. Dimitri was a quick learner. Once Francie explained what was needed, he simply nodded and went to work. Yannis, however, was content to stand back and wait to be told what to do every step of the way. Francie hoped he wouldn't continue this behavior throughout the dig.
    Someone was staring at her again. She looked around her, but Alex was busy with the professor. Who else could it be? She turned her gaze up the hill, toward the mansion.
    A tall lean man stood at the top of the hill, watching them work. His salt-and-pepper hair was trimmed in a professional style and his gray suit slacks fit him well. He held his jacket, his tie was loosened, and his white shirt was open at the neck. Though he was far away, Francie felt his gaze boring into her. This must be Zotis, the owner of the estate. She bent again to her task, though she found it difficult to concentrate with the man on the hill staring down. Silly , she told herself. He's not looking at you. He's just watching over the entire crew.
    But another glance upward confirmed his gaze still pointed her way. Alex ended his conversation with Professor Theo and climbed up the hill to meet with the newcomer. Their discussion was brief, and when Zotis turned away, Francie felt a sense of relief, as if a dark cloud had been lifted.
    After the screens were assembled, Dimitri went to the food tent to prepare dinner. Soon, the scent of beef, onions, and tomatoes spiced with cumin, cinnamon, and garlic filled the air. Dimitri was evidently preparing stifado, a traditional Greek stew. Francie's stomach growled, and she remembered she hadn't eaten all day. She had been too excited about the trip to eat that morning, and lack of funds had prevented her from buying food on the ferry.
    When Alex called a halt to the day's work, she was more than ready to eat. The dig site was set up, and they would be ready to begin work in earnest the next day.
    Before heading to the dining cabin, the crew cleaned up. Tools were wiped off and put away. Francie noted that Yannis, again, stood off to the side, his ever-present Blackberry his only concern. She frowned.
    â€œSomething wrong?”
    The man seems to be everywhere . She nodded toward the preoccupied crew member. “Yannis spends a lot of time on that Blackberry. For a graduate archaeology student, he doesn't seem to know what he's doing. And he doesn't seem willing to pull his weight in the work and cleanup.”
    â€œPerhaps he's preoccupied with a girlfriend he left behind. But you're right. He should be helping. I'll talk to him.” Alex loped over to the other man, his long legs covering the distance in no time.
    Francie scolded herself for noticing the man's legs and turned her attention back to her own work. She cleaned off her trowel, wrapped it carefully, and stowed it in her backpack. Focus, she reminded herself.

Chapter Five
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    The crew had been on