Canyon of the Sphinx Read Online Free PDF Page B

papers in Jensen's hand. "You figure it out."
    She left the tent. Marcus watched
her walk across the darkening compound with two kids in tow and one in her
arms, knowing how upset she was. Whenever she started using foul language, she
was very angry indeed. He scratched his dark head and looked at Jensen.
    "Ms. Elder," he said
slowly. "I understand that you have a job to do. As I said before, we need
your help and we appreciate it. But off the record, don't ever come at my wife
like that again. She's the hardest worker we have around here and her integrity
is flawless. If she says she didn't sign those expense reports, then she didn't
sign them. I suggest you take her word for it."
    "I wasn't trying to accuse
her," Jensen said. "But her name is on them, Dr. Burton. Who else am
I going to question about them?"
    Marcus just looked at her. Jensen
could see a faint tick in his jaw. "This conversation is over for
tonight," he turned back to his desk. "We'll start fresh tomorrow and
figure out what in the hell happened."
    Jensen left without another
word.  Crossing the compound, she was smiling.
     
     
     
     

 
    CHAPTER
THREE
     
    The plane set down in Cancun,
Mexico in the late morning. Being January, the weather was gorgeous and the sea
breeze was balmy. Disembarking the AirMexico jet they had taken from San Juan,
Kathlyn and her team stepped out in to the warm tropical sunshine. It was
slightly humid. After the dry heat of Egypt, the temperate climate felt
wonderful.
    The airport sat well away from
the city.  It was a small airport with a worn tarmac and the old-fashioned
portable stairs that they rolled up to the side of the plane.  The pilot had
come out as Kathlyn was disembarking to shake her hand and tell her what a fan
he was of her programs.  With loads of carry-on luggage, they made their way
across the tarmac to the small terminal to collect the rest of their baggage.
    Once inside, there were vendors
everywhere trying to sell timeshares and tours. Poor little kids were hanging
around trying to sell them candy and gum. Mark and Otis acted as Kathlyn's
bodyguards as they moved through the terminal. Debra Jo walked behind them
while Andy and Larry brought up the rear. For this occasion, the doctoral
students were dressed in khaki pants with enough pockets to carry every item
they owned. They wore long sleeved shirts and pith hats with netting to protect
against bugs, and Andy carried a huge bottle of insect repellant in one of his
trouser pockets. They looked like they were ready to explore the entire Amazon
basin.
    The people from UIR were supposed
to meet them by the baggage claim but Kathlyn saw no sign of them as they began
to collect all of the baggage from the round-about conveyor belt. Andy and
Larry stacked it nicely by the exit, taking turns watching the stuff while the
others collected and stacked.  Kathlyn grabbed her own personal bags and stood
with Mark, keeping her eyes peeled for Dr. Murphy and his gang.
    They weren't long in waiting. A
young, sinewy man with wide brown eyes walked up to them, smiling an infectious
gap-toothed smile.
    "Dr. Trent," he thrust
out a surprisingly large hand. "I'm Dr. Adam Levine, Dr. Murphy's
associate. I'm so pleased to finally meet you. Welcome to Mexico."
    Kathlyn shook his hand.
"Thanks," she said. "We've got a lot of gear here; I hope you
brought a truck."
    Adam nodded. "Three of them,
actually." He grinned like an idiot. "I'm really thrilled to meet
you.  I'm sort of in awe right now, so you'll have to excuse me."
    Kathlyn waved him off.
"Don't be. It'll just make the reality of it that much more of a let-down. 
So how far out is your site?"
    "About four hours to the
southwest. We're near the Belize border."
    "On a nice, bumpy dirt road,
I'm going to guess."
    Adam snorted. "Dirt if we're
lucky. Mud is more like it."
    Kathlyn smiled knowingly. She'd
seen a lot of roads like that and worse.  "Did Dr. Murphy come with
you?"
    "No," Adam shook his
head. "He had some