Krewe of Hunters 7 The Unspoken (17 page)

“I make sure things like that happen, you know. This is our living,” Captain Bob said with a grin. “And your friend, Mr. King, pays very nicely.”

“Glad to hear it,” Will said, grinning back.

Thirty minutes later, he and Sean were dropped off at the hotel. Will’s cell rang as they left the elevator—Kat, saying that she and Tyler had just reached the center, and Amanda and her team were waiting for the documentary crew to arrive. Kat spoke quietly, and he knew she didn’t intend to be overheard.

“Will, I got some interesting information off Amanda’s cell phone. Tyler and I have been checking out her recent communications. She sent a threatening email to both of the major salvage companies who had contact with the Sand Diggers. But she also called Landry Salvage—every day!”

“Who was she speaking to?”

“The switchboard. We can’t track calls to specific extensions, only to the main number.”

“There’s something…fishy about that woman,” Will said drily. “We’ll have to look into it. Does Logan have a report on anyone who might have a diving motor device?”

“Both Landry and Simonton have one. He found a few others that were privately owned, but he’s already gotten alibis on those. Oh, and a few companies up in Wisconsin have them, but from what he can discover, they can’t be connected to what’s going on here.”

“All right, thanks. Sean and I will be there in about thirty minutes. Don’t start the party without us.”

* * *

The crate was going to be opened in a climate-controlled clean room and everyone present had to be suited up—face masks, booties, hair in a gauze cap.

The area was kept cool to avoid degradation that might set in with any kind of heat. Even a speck of dust could harm certain instruments or damage artifacts that had been underwater for years. They wore masks to avoid contaminating the objects…and to protect themselves from any ancient bacteria or microorganisms that might have survived.

There were sterile stainless-steel tables to receive the treasures in the crates, but everything, including the crowbars, had been sterilized first. Earl’s camera and the microphone and boom had to be cleaned and covered, as well. If she wasn’t consumed by the fact that they were looking for a murderer, Kat would have found the whole procedure fascinating.

She was already gowned and masked when Will and Sean showed up, but Will came right over to her. She raised a brow and he grinned behind his mask. “At last—all shall be revealed.” And although she couldn’t forget the murders for a second, Kat suddenly felt excited.

Despite all the precautions and the machinery, pure brawn was needed at times. Will, Sean and Tyler were called upon to help as the giant crate was dismantled. There was layer after layer of packaging, which was in itself a historic find. Canvas and wood chips had been used for waterproofing inside the crate and under the tarp; another box was beneath those, and it took well over an hour to get through the packing to the real treasure. But then they reached it.

The outer sarcophagus was the size of a coffin and a half. It had been carved out of granite and was staggeringly heavy. Even with the use of robotic arms, winches and small cranes, it took real effort by all the men to maneuver it.

Jon Hunt was as much in awe as Amanda, remarking on the preservation of the sarcophagus, the beauty, the design.

Extremely carefully, the seals were broken, and the lid was finally removed.

Beneath it lay another sarcophagus.

Earl moved the camera close, and Bernie wielded the microphone while Amanda explained the intricate designs and what they signified. Amun Mopat had seen himself as perhaps greater than the pharaoh he’d served, and that pharaoh had been one of the most powerful ever to rule. She spoke briefly about the New Kingdom and the glorious reign of those pharaohs and their priests. Toward the end of her talk, she pointed to hieroglyphics on the coffin depicting creatures who’d had so much significance in Egyptian life, such as the cobra, the jackal and the cat.

Then it was time to open the inner sarcophagus. There was silence when the lid was lifted.

Kat almost gasped aloud.

Amun Mopat wore a gold and bejeweled death mask, which depicted him in the prime of life.

His face, on the mask, was the face she’d seen in her dreams.

* * *

Will knew that he and every member of the Krewe tried
not
to stare at Kat.

But, of course, they’d all seen the picture Jane had drawn from Kat’s description, and now…there he lay.

In death.

Kat didn’t move; she barely blinked. She didn’t give away a thing in front of the others. Will was impressed by her lack of reaction. Eyes were the most telling feature on the human face, and her eyes were all that was truly visible.

Amanda noticed nothing at all wrong. She marveled at the discovery for the camera and the microphone and went on to say how they wouldn’t disturb the mummy further until it had been CAT scanned, X-rayed and all the noninvasive work possible was done. At the end, she preened for the camera, Earl Candy shot the mummy from all angles and Amanda announced that they were done for the day.

But when Earl turned off the camera, she was still staring at the mummy.

“What?” Jon asked her.

“We haven’t lifted the mask,” she murmured. “But…I thought the scepter would have been in the sarcophagus.”

“Amanda, are you
ever
happy?” Jon burst out. “We’ve found the mummy. The
mummy,
Amanda. And it’s in excellent shape, and all the outer trappings are just about perfect. I’m going out for a drink to celebrate. Who’s coming with me?”

“I’m in!” Earl exclaimed. “I am so in!”

“Let’s get out of these bunny suits and take a little time to relax,” Bernie agreed. He appeared to be extremely happy.

Will glanced at Alan King.

Alan was more cautious, but he nodded. “It’s late, no one’s eaten since lunch, and I’d say we owe ourselves a celebration.”

“I’ve got a bottle of fifty-year-old tequila in my office. I bought it off a Mexican. I’m not stealing any treasures!” Jon said. “Shots all around!”

“Out of the clean room—and out of the bunny suits!” Amanda said, joining in, if rather belatedly.

Will stayed close to Kat as they exited first into the alcove, where they removed their “clean” covering, and then into the lobby. Jon Hunt led the way to the conference room and excused himself while he went to get the tequila. One of the interns entered, bearing platters of snacks, and the receptionist hurried in, too. She was looking at her watch, however—anxious to leave for the day. Will had the feeling that momentous discoveries didn’t mean as much to her as the fact that she was already in for massive overtime.

“I am one of the few who loathe tequila,” Kat whispered to him.

“Just raise the glass!” he told her.

Soon, they were assembled and the shots passed around. Earl balanced his while he held the camera; he wanted the celebration on film.

“To Brady Laurie and his vision. May he rest in the heaven of his choice! Brady, we are so grateful to you. Wherever these treasures may go, your name will be held in high esteem,” Alan said.

“To Brady!” the others chorused.

For a while, the group remained seated around the table, chatting. Will asked Jon Hunt about the security they had for the center.

“We have a state-of-the-art alarm system,” Jon said. “And a guard on duty at the reception desk through the night.”

Logan stepped over to join them. “We’ll have a team from the Chicago office of the FBI watching the building tonight, too,” he said. “And the Chicago police are aware of the discovery—and the risk of fortune-seekers breaking in.” He looked at Jon. “I’d say it’s time to get it all locked down for the night.”

Everyone seemed to agree. The visitors were ushered out, waiting in front while the center employees closed the offices. Will met with the guard who came in for his shift. The man tried to seem assured, but he obviously hadn’t expected to be guarding a place that might be under siege.

As they stood on the lawn in front of the center, Will stepped over to Logan. “Should one of us stay here through the night?” he asked.

Logan sighed. “Not you or Kat. She’s the key on this, and you’ve been working with her. You two need the rest. Like I said, we’ve got a couple of local agents who are going to be watching, but I’ll have Tyler and Jane on lookout for a while. Kelsey and I will hold it down while they get some dinner, and then they can take over. I believe there’s a break in the diving tomorrow?”

Will nodded. “Amanda wants to play with her new toy,” he said.

Logan drew closer. “Kat’s vision was of Amun Mopat himself.” He spoke in a low voice.

“Yes, but I don’t believe the ancient ghost of a priest caused a ship to sink.”

“And you don’t think the storm caused it to sink?”

“No, I don’t. Today I studied the way she went down. My guess is she was rammed.”

“Sunk on purpose?”

“Yes.”

“And you think that might have something to do with what’s happening now?” Logan asked him.

“I don’t know how or why, but yes.”

Logan didn’t argue with him. “We have to find the connection, but we’re not going to do that tonight. People have to sleep. We’ll meet tomorrow and figure out where we’re going. Get Kat back to the hotel, and both of you…get some sleep.”

Will was glad to do as ordered. Kelsey and Logan stayed out front; he left with Jane, Tyler, Sean and Kat, so that they could all grab something to eat before Tyler and Jane started their nighttime stakeout.

They returned to the hotel, having grown accustomed to the restaurant there. Not only was it a comfortable place, the other diners had already finished due to the lateness of the hour, so the group could speak freely. But as they sat down, Will found himself remembering that it was only a few days ago that someone—
someone in the hotel
—had been prowling around their floor.

Leaving
authentic
mummy wrappings smudged on the wall.

He made a mental note to ask Logan if the guest roster had been thoroughly checked out for the night in question. One thing was certain; their visitor had not left the hotel after being on their floor that particular night.

“Steak!” Jane said. “A steak. I’m starving. And Chicago is known for its steak!”

“Italian food, too,” Tyler reminded her.

Kat had been quiet. Jane placed a hand over hers and Kat started, looking at her friend. “Kat, I’m not surprised that the image you’ve seen is that of Amun Mopat. When I was researching today, I came across similar images. But, according to what I read, the priest wasn’t popular with one of Ramses’s descendants, the boy king, Tutankhamun. During that era, his images and statues were all broken or marred. But, of course, his image does remain in places where those who came after him didn’t know who he was. You must have seen it somewhere.”

“Icebreaker,” Will said.

“Icebreaker?” Tyler glanced at him. “You want a drink?”

Sean laughed. “No. Will thinks that an icebreaker rammed the
Jerry McGuen.
”

“Why?” Jane asked.

“Because,” Kat said, “someone didn’t want the
Jerry McGuen
making it to Chicago,” she said with certainty.

“Interesting concept.” Will looked at the others thoughtfully. “All right, we’ve been going at it from what would
seem
to be the obvious angle—someone out there ready to kill for the treasure. But what if someone is killing others so the treasure
won’t
be found?”

“Someone who believes in the curse of Amun Mopat,” Kat said.

“After a hundred-plus years?” Tyler asked skeptically.

“I think it’s possible,” Will said.

“That brings us back to the Preservation Center itself, the Egyptian Sand Diggers or
perhaps
one of the two salvage companies.” Jane counted them off on her fingers. “The connection is what we need.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Will said.

“I’ll go to the library tomorrow and look at their newspaper archives for 1898,” Jane said.

“We can find out who was in business with icebreakers at the time, too,” Sean added.

“That’ll be important,” Will said with a nod.

“How does an icebreaker fit with my…vision of a giant Amun Mopat coming to swallow up the
Jerry McGuen?
”
Kat mused aloud.

Will noted that Tyler squeezed her hand. They were good friends; they’d known each other a long time.

He envied Tyler.

“We’ll figure it out,” Will said again.

Kat was silent for a minute. “We’re all quite accustomed to the fact that souls can stay around. We try
to make contact. There are rare occasions when the dead saw what happened, when they can help an investigator uncover clues that can prove the truth. So…would it be so ridiculous for Amun Mopat to be…somewhere?”

“You’re saying, what? His soul’s been haunting the lake for all these years? And before that, his soul was haunting…his own tomb?” Jane asked.

Kat shrugged. “I don’t know. I do know that I saw his face—or the mask of his face—
before
we saw him.” She paused. “There was something odd about the face. It had no animation. Now I know that’s because it was a death mask.” She smiled ruefully at Will. “Usually, when we meet a ghost, even a new ghost, there’s an animation about him or her. Austin Miller, for instance—I could see him just as he must have been before he died. But he was animated. He was like he’d been when he was…alive.”

They finished their meals, Kat managing to eat a Greek salad, while Will ate English-style fish and chips.

Jane, done with her steak, yawned and stretched, then eased her chair back. She tapped Tyler on the shoulder. “We should go spell Logan and Kelsey. We need to let them get back here.”

“Yep,” Tyler said. “But, come on—we’re taking it until six in the morning.”

“What happens at six?” Sean asked him.

Tyler grinned broadly. “You come on!”

“Oh. Well, then, excuse me, I’m going to get some sleep.”

“We’re right behind you. I’ll just sign for dinner,” Will said.