LC 04 - Skeleton Crew Read Free

pump was still pumping water-water that
leaked into the dam. She took a slow, deep breath and went back
to her work.
    Near the skeleton's shoulder, Lindsay uncovered part of the
lower jaw. The skeleton lay with his head tilted, chin resting on the
clavicle. The same fabric partially covered the facial bones.
Lindsay wiped the sweat from her face with her forearm, smiling
at her find, working as quickly as she could to uncover the face.
    "I saw you looking at the walls." Lindsay almost jumped at the
voice. She looked up from her work to see Gina. "Sorry, didn't
mean to startle you. Just stretching my legs, taking a break."
    "That's all right." Lindsay changed positions, stretching her
own muscles.
    "I noticed you have a West Construction hat. You know them?"
    "I know John West. I met him on a dig a couple of years ago."
Lindsay sat cross-legged on the plank and massaged her tired
shoulder.
    Gina sat down in front of her. Her bare legs were caked with
sandy mud, and she had a smear across her forehead from pushing her hair out of her eyes. "He talked to us when we first got
here. Told us how the cofferdam works. The greater the pressure
from the outside, the tighter the walls fit together. It's a matter of
structural geometry." Gina smiled, shrugged her shoulders, and
looked around at the walls. "Isn't it funny that such a big place can
make you feel claustrophobic?"
    "Structural geometry not withstanding, when you think that
these walls are holding back the whole Atlantic Ocean-"
    "Yeah, boggles the mind." Gina stood up. "Better get back to work. See you around lunchtime. You know we have lunch
catered, don't you?"

    "Catered?" Lindsay lay back down on her stomach and started
back to work.
    "This place on the coast packs us fresh sandwiches, cakes, and
fruit every day. Not bad, really." Gina looked over Lindsay's
shoulder at the skeleton under excavation. "Our first victim of the
wreck of the Spanish Star. Exciting."
    Lindsay teased a dirt-encrusted layer on the frontal bone of the
skull with her trowel and sprayed it with water, gently rinsing
away some of the mud. "No. I suspect that he was already dead
before the ship sank."
    Trey, who stood only a plank away, and some of the others close
by looked over at Lindsay. "You aren't that good," Trey said, grinning at her.
    "Yes, I am." She turned her head and smiled back at him. "I've
found fabric, and it looks like he was sewn into sailcloth. Isn't that
what they did with the dead on ships before burial at sea?"
    "Fabric? Let me see." Juliana rose and pushed past Gina to see
the skeleton.
    "Jeeze, Juli-" Gina caught herself before she fell off the plank.
    Juliana squatted down beside Lindsay. "Yes, it's fabric. It could
be his clothes."
    "Could be," said Lindsay, "but this particular piece looks like it
covers his skull and part of his face. We'll see when it's finished."
    Trey and some of the others crowded on the narrow plank looking down on the mud-stained skeleton. The skull, arm, and shoulder were beginning to stand out in relief. Half the skull and
portions of the shoulder were obscured by a brown textured
veneer.
    Later, when they broke for lunch, Lindsay was surprised at the
sense of relief she felt as she emerged from the well of the cofferdam into the open sea air. She stood next to the outer bulkhead, letting the breeze cool her body, watching ships that seemed
miniature in the distance.
    "Better have a sandwich before they're all gone." A brown
paper bag appeared in front of her face. It was attached to a suntanned arm. She took the bag and looked at the giver. It was the
silent Jeff. "When the diving crew gets here, they'll scarf down
what's left."

    "Thanks," Lindsay said, digging into the bag. She found a
sandwich, Twinkies, potato chips, a pear, and two towelette packets. She fished out the sandwich and gave it a sniff. Tuna fish.
    "They're all tuna fish," he said. "I hope you like it. The caterer
said they'd have to charge