Chapters (77)
- Cover
- Endorsements
- Books by Elizabeth Goddard
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- A Preview of Book 2 in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN COURAGE Series
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
“Erin! Erin, are you there?” Nathan’s concerned voice shouted over the cell loud enough she could hear it over the boat’s engine and rushing water.
Carissa joined her at the rail. “Erin, what’s happened?”
The darkness closed in on her all over again, but this was different than before. Why hadn’t she seen the warning signs? She had to fix this.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she lifted the cell to her ear again. “I need details.”
Nathan relayed that her mother was in the hospital but in stable condition.
Ending the call, Erin stared at the cell. Mom was in trouble. The fact that the awful news had come from the man she’d left behind compounded the pain in her chest. This, after she and Carissa had barely survived a boating accident.
Evil wouldn’t let her forget that it existed, even for a few hours.
Author’s Note
As with all my novels, I take truth—some interesting story that snagged my attention—and create a fictional tale based in reality. I’ve always been fascinated with artifacts trafficking and have read several books on the topic over the years. Like all my stories, I begin with a premise, then develop and grow the idea as I write. My USFS special agent would investigate archaeological crimes, and in this scenario that would mean crimes against Native American cultural items. Within this context, I realized I wanted the story to reflect a global issue, one of many that happens behind the scenes and in the cover of darkness—places like the dark web or even online and right “in our face,” as it were. The artifacts-trafficking world requires many players, starting with those who dig and loot from recorded archaeological sites or previously unknown sites, to museums, private collectors, and even antique road shows. Most of us go about our lives unaware of such happenings.
Still, we can relate on some level. We all grew up watching and loving Indiana Jones, but in truth (ask any archaeologist), he is a tomb raider. Hey—I still watch those movies over and over. I love them!
As I continued to research for my story, I again came across the Iraq Museum looting that happened during the US military invasion in 2003. In fact, I’ve always wanted to write a story that would somehow convey to a bigger audience the historical and cultural pilfering that happened to the museum. In the region as a whole, it continues to happen, even though governments have joined together to crack down on those who would steal cultural items. Museums and countries have since been required to return items to the countries of origin (and yes, the United States is included in countries returning illegally acquired artifacts). And as you might assume, some countries are more cooperative than others.