Free Canyon Sacrifice by Scott Graham Page A

thoughts.
    â€œShe’s around here somewhere,” he said. “She’s gotta be. Where could she possibly have gotten off to?”
    â€œFarther today than she ever would have yesterday, no thanks to you.”
    â€œWhich is why she’s somewhere nearby, just out of sight,” Chuck countered. But Carmelita, proud though she’d been of her solo trip to the bathroom, never would have awoken this morning and purposefully set off somewhere out of sight of camp. Doing so simply didn’t fit her cautious nature. Might she inadvertently have wandered somewhere beyond their view? That, at least, was a possibility worth investigating.
    â€œExpanding circles,” Chuck said, naming a basic archaeological work method. He pointed in the direction opposite the campsite of the woman from Albuquerque. “You loop that way. I’ll swing the other. We’ll meet back here in a few minutes.”
    Chuck went just far enough on his loop through the campground to catch sight of the Albuquerque woman’s campsite. It was empty, the tent and large black SUV gone. He returned from his unsuccessful search to find Janelle pounding on her brother’s hatchback. Clarence’s haggard face appeared in the car’s sloping rear window. He pulled on his pants, crawled out, and stood unsteadily, rubbing his eyes.
    â€œHave you seen Carm?” Janelle demanded.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œHave—you—seen—Carm? Since last night?”
    â€œUm, sorry, Sis. No.” Clarence looked to Chuck for help. “What’s going on?”
    â€œCarm’s wandered off somewhere,” Chuck told him.
    Clarence’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s not like her.”
    Janelle took hold of his shoulder. “Which is why I’m trying to get your attention.”
    â€œYou checked your car?” Clarence asked.
    She dropped her hand and nodded.
    â€œWhat’s missing of her stuff?” Clarence asked her.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œI mean, what’d she take with her? What’s she wearing?”
    Chuck looked at his assistant, impressed. Clarence had nailed the first two rules of site study.
    The first: Don’t just do something, stand there . That is, think things through. Ask questions. Get answers. Don’t begin the initial survey of an archaeological site, much less digging, without a plan.
    And the second: Begin at the very beginning, that’s a very good place to start . Complete the full site assessment first, set up grid units based on the best sense of what’s underfoot, then excavate each unit in turn, beginning with the one that holds the most promise and working outward from there.
    Chuck led the way to the camper. The air inside was staleand musty. The lighting was dim, diffused by the camper’s canvas walls. Clothes, toys, and sleeping bags were strewn across the sleeping platforms, while sneakers, sandals, and boots were scattered on the floor—a compact version of the upheaval that had come to Chuck’s small house in Durango when Janelle and the girls arrived three weeks ago.
    Chuck turned a half-circle, uncertain where to begin. Janelle stepped past him and kicked at the shoes on the floor.
    â€œShe’s wearing her hiking boots,” she said. “The new ones.”
    She slid Rosie, still asleep in her bag, to the rear of the girls’ sleeping platform and clawed through clothes, dolls, stuffed animals, electronic toys, and children’s books. She came up with the red shorts and blouse Carmelita had worn the day before. She lifted Carmelita’s silky yellow pajamas from the jumble of clothing and toys and held them to her chest, her eyes closed.
    â€œShe’s wearing her sweats, the ones she had on last night,” Janelle said, turning to Chuck and Clarence. “Her favorites.”
    Clarence stepped to the edge of the girls’ sleeping platform. “With the stripes? The blue