Canyon of the Sphinx by Kathryn Le Veque Read Free Book Online Page A

looked at her. He'd known
the woman all of three minutes and she was already going for the jugular. She
was aggressive, pushy, feisty and sharp as a tack. He could tell just by
looking at her. But she radiated an aura that the television didn't capture, a
glowing magnetism that had him very curious. Yet he couldn't blame her for her
irritation, especially in light of the sketchy data that UIR apparently sent
her, but he couldn't help feeling very protective about his work.  He was
terrified that somehow she would get the scoop on it and turn it into a
half-hour cable program under his nose.
    "Didn't the information UIR
send you state that clearly?" he asked.
    Kathlyn shook her head. "It
did not. All I was told was that you needed help locating your objective, and
that the objective is something along the same par as El Dorado which, in fact,
happens to be right up my alley considering my field of specialty. Other than
that, the data was very nearly cryptic. I'm really coming in here blind."
    Murphy lifted his eyebrows.
"You come half way around the world on what you consider to be cryptic
information?" he shook his head ironically. "If you’re thinking to
find El Dorado here, you're going to be disappointed. This isn't a treasure
hunt, Dr. Trent."
    "I never though it was; but
then again, I don't hunt treasure. I locate things most people only dream about
and make them a reality," she cast him an icy glare, very out of character
for her. But for some reason he had managed to tick her off. "As far as
the sketchy information, that's your university's fault, so don't blame me. I'm
doing what I'm told to do, cryptic information or not. So would you be kind
enough to tell me what in the hell you want me to do for you, Dr. Murphy?"
    Murphy sized her up. She was
sizing him up, too. Although he wasn't thrilled with her presence, he certainly
didn't want to pick a fight with her, and their conversation to this point had
gone badly. His initial politeness with her had turned to something
not-so-polite. Christopher Murphy was many things, but he wasn't belligerent or
antagonistic by nature. In fact, he was very much a softy. He began to feel
rather bad about his attitude. Indicating for her to sit at the picnic table,
he sat down across from her.
    "Look, I'm sorry if we've
gotten off on the wrong foot," he said quietly. "Let's just start out
fresh, okay?"
    Kathlyn didn't know why she was
so irritated at him. She was so used to dealing with Marcus and his wild temper
that she found, as of late, she wasn't as patient or calm with people as she
used to be. She was starting to act like her husband and that was a bad flaw.
Murphy truly hadn’t been anything other than polite. Forcing herself to relax,
she smiled weakly.
    "No problem," she said.
"I guess the jet lag is getting the better of me. I'm not usually so
cranky."
    Murphy smiled shyly. "Hey,
you have every right. It sounds like no one has been particularly
helpful."
    "That's not unusual in my
line of work."
    Murphy could only imagine.
"Well, let me try to change all of that and give you a little background
on this from my perspective,” he began. His voice had a soft, soothing quality
that put everyone at ease. “Mesoamerican culture is probably one of the most
overlooked as far as richness and diversity. Everyone is always focused on the
Egyptians because of their fascination with the pyramids, or the Roman Empire,
or the cultures of the far-east. The world has never been particularly excited
about the Zapotecs and Olmecs and Toltecs simply because they are, to this day,
still a tremendous mystery. Buried out here in the jungles, this branch of
archaeology is relatively new when compared to Oriental or Egyptian studies. But
that doesn't make it any less important. The Olmecs had full-blown cities going
on when London was still a village. They had a calendar that is still accurate
to this day, plumbing, organized religion, you name it. These weren't wild
natives that lived in mud