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he said. “At least, if you can get a job.”
    “Is it hard to find a job as a paleontologist?”
    He sat back and wiped his face with a bandanna. “There aren’t a lot of jobs. Take the museum here. Most of the staff is young, and far from retirement. And if a position does open up, you can bet that Kyle will make sure Steffi gets it.”
    His gaze settled on Steffi. She was dipping strips of burlap into the thick white plaster and laying them over the corner of the damaged rock. I couldn’t read Tom’s expression.
    He went on. “But one major find can make you famous. Then you’re in National Geographic , lecturing at museums around the world, in demand everywhere.”
    I studied him. He wasn’t bad-looking, but his mouth turned down at the edges, and he was already getting frown lines between his eyebrows. “Is that what you want? Fame?”
    “Doesn’t everyone?”
    “So how do you get there?”
    He sighed. “My best hope is to find something that will make for a great graduate project and get me some attention. That can lead to future funding.”
    He lapsed into silence, and I studied him surreptitiously as we worked. Could Tom have a motive? Maybe he wanted to steal the fossil so he could claim he found it somewhere else and get the recognition he seems to want so badly. Could I be working side by side with a thief?

5
More Mysteries
    I had a hard time concentrating on the fossil, with all the questions in my head. Plus, it kept getting hotter. But I didn’t want to damage the bone by being careless. I was trying to help Kyle, not cause more problems.
    Conversation died off across the site. All I could hear was the clink of tools, the buzzing of insects, and the shuffling sounds of people changing their positions. The sun beat down on us, and I wiped my face on my sleeve.
    “All right, gang,” Kyle called out. “Lunchtime!”
    Cheers erupted in the hollow. We got to our feet and stretched. George looked at her watch and said, “Ninety-two degrees.”
    I joined Bess, who was wiping wet plaster off her hands. “Do you feel up to using your natural charm?” I whispered.
    She grinned. “Always.”
    “Walk with Tom,” I said. “It sounds like he’s jealous of Steffi, and Kyle is on Steffi’s side. I’d like to know if there’s anything there, but he might get suspicious if I keep asking questions.”
    She saluted. “Agent Bess is on the case.”
    I dropped back behind the group as we walked, pondering other suspects. What about Jimmy and his mother? Had our meeting last night given them the idea of stealing fossils? Or had they already been at work?
    Steffi was a mystery all by herself. She was smart and strong and tough. My instinct was to like her. But what about the confusion last night? Why had she pitched her tent so far from everyone else? And why would she be having secret conversations with Jimmy, if that was the case? She must have been surprised when he appeared last night, or she wouldn’t have screamed. But then she acted like nothing had happened.
    I didn’t know much about the other people in the group. I’d have to fix that. And of course, it might not be anyone in the group at all. But with fossils missingfrom the Land Rover as well as the dig site, a passing stranger seemed unlikely. Only someone close by would know where to find everything.
    I shook my head, trying to clear it.
    When I looked around, I realized I had no idea where I was.
    George said, “Um, Nancy, I think we’re supposed to go this way.”
    “Huh? Oh, right.” It’s a good thing I have my friends to keep me on track while I’m distracted by a mystery. Otherwise I might wind up lost in the desert!
    Back at camp Felix greeted us with a smile and a cooler filled with cold drinks. The icy lemon-lime soda coursed down my throat and knocked all other thoughts from my head.
    I drank about half the can, then looked at Bess and smiled. “Some morning, huh?”
    She nodded and took another sip of her soda. Even in