Escaping Skeletons

Escaping skeletons

A Chessie Partin Archaeology Mystery

Chessie Parton gets an excited call from her boss, Dr. Mark Card. The State Department wants him (he wants Chessie to assist him) to head an archeological expedition to the Argentine/Brazilian border area to "examine a recently discovered site." The whole project is super-secret; this bothers brother Reading.

At a meeting with government officials, the "archeological" project is suspicious to all, particularly when it is discovered that CIA and FBI officials have some involvement. The opportunity seems to outweigh their concerns and preparation begins. Chessie's research into what they may find startles her. Card shares her opinion and another meeting discloses the real reason for the trip. Concerns heighten when the clandestine nature of the travel plans are disclosed. Right before the trip is to take place Chessie and Dr. Card receive threatening phone calls. The calls have to have come from inside the government. Chessie and Card insist on non-government security-Reading and his friend are enlisted to accompany them. Reading makes last minute, secret changes in Chessie & Card's travel plans. That proves wise since the plane they were scheduled to fly blows up in route. They meet four other "scientists" with specific skills when they land in Sao Paulo who will accompany them to the site. The trip from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Teyu Cuare Park, their first stop in Argentina, is filed with terrifying moments including poison tipped knives, deadly snakes in their beds, and "bandits" with machine guns. Things look better when they are joined by an Argentinian intelligence team. Once there, they discover ruins of an attempt to resurrect the Reich in S.A., including a booby-trapped cemetery. What the team finds alarms them. The project is broadened to include additional "sites" and a secretive whirl-wind trip through several areas in Argentina. Chessie and company struggle to remain disguised for their safety. As they see more, they become increasingly alarmed. The final straws come when a history changing discovery and event occurs and Chessie, Card and Reading discover that at least two in their party are assassins, not scientists or security. They struggle to survive, escape death, see that culprits in government are caught, punished and their careers destroyed and to decide if they should release the information they've learned to the world.