“Yeah?” Amanda said. “And go through all the paperwork to get started again—with someone else?”
Jon sighed. “You don’t need to come on like the Hulk,” he told her.
As they walked away, Will joined the Krewe; the others were carefully checking their air tanks.
Kat sat at his side, staring out at the water as they headed to the site. Sean came over and hunkered down near them. “I’m going to take a few minutes after the first dive to work with Earl on setting up a remote. After what you said last evening, I think we need a camera down there. Someone’s coming and going from the site, or at least that’s what it looks like.”
Will nodded. He indicated Kat with the slightest movement of his head, but she saw him. “Hey, if you need to work on that, too, just do it!” she said. “I only have the vision or whatever it is when we first reach the salon. Once we get to the hold, I’m okay, and coming up I’ll be okay, too. If we’re connecting chains to big crates, I have a feeling that all hands will be required.”
“If I’m needed, I’ll help out with them,” Will assured her.
“I’m a functioning member of the Krewe,” Kat said.
Sean was watching her intently. “Every one of us needs the others to watch our backs—and whatever you’re learning may be very important. What Kelsey saw in dreams led us to the truth at the Alamo, remember?”
Kat didn’t argue. She studied the water, her blond hair streaming around her, blue eyes as deep as the lake and sky.
But that day, Will needn’t have worried. Kat paused by the salon, then turned to him and shook her head. Nothing was happening. They followed everyone else to the hold.
The real difficulty was fitting themselves and the chains that were attached to the crane above inside the hold. The hull was broken out, but it was jagged in some areas and, in others, zebra mussels could cause serious damage to dive suits and equipment. Jimmy didn’t attempt to help. Amanda managed to be just as authoritative with her hand signals beneath the water as she was with her voice on top. Tyler, Sean and Will moved as directed, trying to maneuver the large, tarp-covered crate through the broken area of the hull and onto the lake bed. Will noticed the big block writing that indicated it contained the valuable sarcophagi. Once they had it out, he and Tyler handled the crate while the others worked with the chains at Amanda’s command. Finally, the crate was secured, the massive hook set into the center ring and two more on either side, and it was time to raise it. Jimmy gave the chain a tug, indicating to his uncle and the two interns above that they should start turning the giant winch, and the divers began to follow the slow ascent of the crate.
When they reached the boat again, the divers emerged while the weight of the water balanced the crate. They divested themselves of their tanks and regulators as they got the crate on board. Finally, the feat was accomplished, and although Amanda wouldn’t allow anyone to touch the crate once it was positioned, she was beside herself with jubilation, certain they had, at the very least, obtained the sarcophagi.
Amanda was happy; she didn’t want to dive again that day, she wanted to get her treasure back to the center where it could be opened in a climate-controlled room under the right circumstances.
“And without any fear of a curse!” Jon said cheerfully.
She was immediately dismissive. “Oh, please! Newspapers started all that. Sure, the pharaohs warned people away from their treasures. Who wants to go to the world of the gods without a lot of jewels and servants? But did the lights in Cairo go out because Tut’s tomb was discovered, or did they always go out in Cairo at the time? I’m pretty sure that was the case. Some people did die naturally, or through accidents that would have occurred, anyway. It’s like…even a broken clock is right twice a day. People can make events look like a curse. I mean, Howard Carter lived for years and years—and he’s the one who actually found the tomb.”
“Didn’t someone die when the sarcophagus was opened?” Tyler asked.
“If so, it had to be that some kind of organic matter in the corpse was toxic. Anyway, we take precautions in the laboratory,” Amanda said. “There’s no curse, and you know that!” she said, glancing around at the others. “Let’s go back. This is a triumphant day!”
Earl Candy stared at Will and Sean, and Will said, “A few of us are going to board the security boat for the day and set up a remote camera, Amanda.”
“What? Why? You already have a boat standing guard,” Amanda said.
“To keep an eye on everything below. We want to guard your treasures,” Will told her.
“That’s great!” Jon said with undisguised eagerness.
“I’m still confused.” Amanda frowned. “You’re not bringing anything up, right? It’s illegal. The Preservation Center is the only entity approved to handle the recovery.”
“Amanda, I swear, we’re not going to touch anything,” Will said. “We’re just trying to safeguard what you’re doing.”
“Fine,” she agreed, although she was clearly unhappy about it. Then she looked at her crate again, and Will wondered if she’d ever be capable of giving a lover such a look of absolute adoration.
Alan contacted the security boat, and the two vessels brought out their bumpers, linking up long enough to transfer men and equipment.
Will paused, feeling anxious as he thought of Kat.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Tyler Montague. “I’ll stick with Kat like glue, I promise.”
Will nodded, ready to resume his work. But then he felt another touch on his shoulder and turned to see that Kat was smiling.
“I’m okay. You take care, huh? And don’t let Sean get too carried away with his filming.” She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek, then waved as he and Sean joined the film crew on the security boat.
With an uneasy feeling, one he couldn’t explain, Will watched the Glory head back to dock. But he gave himself a mental shake and listened to Earl describe the camera; he even joined in on the discussion about where he and Sean should set it.
As he prepared for the dive, Will thought about the uncomfortable feeling that seemed to be gnawing at his gut.
And then he knew why.
It was the mummy.
Amun Mopat’s mummy was going into Chicago.
And, according Austin Miller’s revenant, the mummy did it.
10
Kat wasn’t worried about getting back to the hotel or wherever she needed to go; she could always call a cab.
But when they reached the docks, she found that Tyler had gotten Will’s keys to the rented Honda, and they could leave whenever they were ready. Alan King and the film crew would bring Sean and Will back.
“Want to watch them unload?” Tyler asked Kat as they looked at the ship and everyone milling around.
“I think I’d rather watch Amanda when they open that crate,” Kat told him.
He nodded. “They’ll open the crate in a climate-controlled room at the Preservation Center. And it won’t be for a while. They have to get it off the boat now, into a truck and then get it to the center.” Tyler gestured down the dock. “And all hail! The press is here.”
Media had come in droves. Kat could see TV reporters and cameras from all over the country—and the globe. She recognized some of the major networks: CNN, BBC, NBC and more.
Apparently they’d all gotten word that the mummy of Amun Mopat was coming in. Kat wondered if someone—Amanda?—had purposely alerted them.
“Hey,” Kat whispered to Tyler. “How come they’re here today? This is the third day we’ve been out on the lake, and Brady actually discovered the wreck and died on Monday!”
“Either they learned that the Glory went out this morning, or they got a heads-up that something major was happening.” He grimaced and indicated Amanda.
“I wondered about that myself,” she murmured.
“They’re here!” Amanda announced grandly. She looked like a queen about to meet her people.
“We don’t know what’s in there yet,” Jon warned her. Obviously he hadn’t been party to this media scrum.
Amanda leaped from the boat to the dock and started down its length to the gate, where the reporters had been held at bay.
Questions shot out at her.
“You’ve brought up the first of the treasures!” one man cried. “Is it the mummy?”
“Do you have visual proof that it’s the Jerry McGuen?” a woman with an English accent asked.
“Are you afraid of the curse?” someone else asked.
“Did the ship kill your coworker?”
“Did the curse kill Brady Laurie?”
“Do you think the death of Austin Miller is connected?”
“Do you believe in the curse?”
“When will you report to the scientific community on your discovery?”
“Will you be filming when you open the crate?”
The questions came in a flurry from all directions. Amanda raised a hand. “Please!” she said and laughed pleasantly. “Yes, it’s the Jerry McGuen, and King Productions—working on a documentary about our historic find—will have footage for the media soon. I’m a scientist, and I don’t believe in curses. I’m heartbroken that both Brady and Austin are dead. Brady’s excitement led to his carelessness, I’m afraid, but I’m sure he’s watching over us as we continue his work, and that he’s thrilled! Austin must have died knowing that, as well. We’ve followed through on his dream! Now, I believe we’ve found—”
Jon Hunt had been standing quietly behind her. He stepped forward at that, cutting her off. “We believe we have definitely found a major artifact from the tomb, but exactly what it is, we don’t really know yet. As soon as we do, we’ll have a press conference, and tell you all about it. We have to ask you to clear the way, however. We’re going to unload and get our find to the Preservation Center.”
