The boy took in a lungful of air and then began to cough and wheeze. After a few seconds of this, he thrust his hand into his pocket, took out an inhaler, shoved it his mouth and squeezed the trigger. The medicine made a hissing sound as it was released. With a deep shuddery breath, he got his respiration under control. Putting the unit back in his pocket, he turned his glare on Kelsey. “Just read the letter and if you think you can help, meet me at the MET’s Egyptian exhibit tomorrow night at seven o’clock. I don’t care what he says; he’s not going to leave me out of this. For God’s sake, I’m his son. And next time I see you, do me a favor and put on some decent clothes. It’s distracting trying to speak to you when your breasts are pointing out like that.”
Startled, she stared down at her chest, her nipples poking through the negligee like pointed glass. Before she could utter a reply, the kid turned and pounded down the brownstone’s steps.
Kelsey called out to him. “Hey, Romeo, you got a name?”
He stopped at the bottom step and turned. “It’s Jibade, but just call me Jay. It’s easier for everyone. My father could have named me anything French. Rémi, Julien, even Laurent, but no, he goes and names me Jibade, an Egyptian name. God forbid that man ever did anything to make life easier for me.” He coughed again and jammed his fists into his jean pockets. With one last lingering look at her, he disappeared into the night.
#
Kelsey turned back to the apartment and shut the door, taking care to lock all the bolts behind her. As she moved into the foyer, she saw Desmond sitting on the steps.
“I’m sorry, honey. Did I wake you?”
His wavy brown hair was stuck up in disarray and she bit her lip to stifle a laugh.
He stood up stiffly and walked down the remaining stairs. “Nah, the darn cat woke me up.” With that comment came a black streak of lightning bolting down the steps, which then raced down the front hall and disappeared into the kitchen. “Used my face as a pillow until I tossed her to the floor.”
Kelsey grinned and moved into the living room.
Desmond followed. “Kelsey, is it normal for you to have people delivering things to you in the middle of the night? Is this something else I’ll need to get used to?”
She cocked her head and held up the envelope. “With me you never know. Special delivery from a Boston University student.”
Desmond arched his eyebrows. “Is he one of your… friends?”
The way he said it made her pause. She stared at him and wondered if they were going to get into it again right now. “He’s not, but if he was, would you have a problem with that?”
Desmond clicked his tongue. “No, I guess not.”
Oh, not again. “Desmond, you’ve got to stop this. There are a lot of guys in my life. You knew this when you decided to date me. I’m not going have this conversation with you and defend myself every single time a man looks or speaks to me.” She moved over to him and placed her hand on his arm. “You either trust me, or you don’t. It’s as simple as that.”
He sighed. “I do trust you, and I knew the deal when we began dating that every guy in existence is hardwired to want to have sex with you. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, though. So, tell me about this lothario. What’s his deal?”
She shook her head, letting this fight go. The way things were going with him, she was sure the topic would come up again. Desmond had become increasingly jealous and upset the past six months with how men acted around her. She’d tried to talk to him about it, and she could tell he’d tried to hide it, but there wasn’t much she could do. For God’s sake, she’d practically moved in with him to allay his fears, but it didn’t seem to help. Well, he was either going to be able to deal with it, or he wasn’t. “I’ve never met him before. But apparently I know his dad, and he’s not too happy about it.” She opened the letter and stared at the first few lines. Her vision blurred and she swayed on her feet.
Kelsey, I need your help. My name is Armand Dupuis and I was a good friend of your parents. Perhaps you remember me?
“Kelsey, are you okay?” She heard Desmond call to her, but it sounded faint, as if he were far away. He put his hand on her arm to steady her and she pulled her gaze away from the letter.
Kelsey shook her head to clear it. “I’m fine, just… startled.”
They sat down on the couch to read the letter together.
I was your parents’ archaeology professor in graduate school. Even after they received their master’s degrees they continued to join me and my team during the summers for expeditions; right up until you were born. I can’t tell you how sorry I was to hear about their tragic deaths. I learned that Claire and Martin Goldman took you in. I had the opportunity to meet them at your parents' wedding and thought they were fine people. I knew you would be in excellent hands.
Kelsey stopped reading. He wrote about the murder of her parents, which had happened twelve and a half years ago when she was ten. Her parents were adventure seekers and their lifelong passion had been to find the mystical land of Xanadu. After her three-year old brother, Robbie, died of leukemia, her parents, along with eight-year old Kelsey, decided to move to Tibet to start fresh and pursue their dream of finding this land. After two years working with the monks at the Bodhidharma Monastery, Kelsey’s father was gifted a map that could possibly take them there. Unfortunately for all of them, a man named Raul Salazar also wanted the map. Salazar had been the highest ranking member of the Colombian drug cartel in the United States. Using his money and influence, he managed to stalk them and then kill her parents as soon as they got that map in their hands.
And he hurt me as well…
Desmond squeezed her arm. He knew all about Raul. In fact, the reason they’d met was because Raul was also responsible for the murder of Desmond’s brother, Connor.
And I got a very loving, caring, but exceedingly jealous boyfriend in the process.
“I’m okay, really. Just surprised, that’s all. Armand Dupuis is the archaeologist who was written up as Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year” about…what was it? I think it was twenty- five years ago? Remember, he found that tomb with the perfectly preserved sarcophagus in pure gold?”
Desmond recalled that. “Of course. The discovery of the mummy of the conjoined twins, right?”
Kelsey nodded. “It’s the only golden one of its kind ever found. It made the man’s career.” She turned back to the letter.
I remember when I met you. You were just six-years old when your parents brought you to Egypt along with your baby brother, Robbie. I remember how fun it was to have little ones around. We’d been working on a site my ancestor, French Egyptologist Gustave Jéquier, had previously excavated in the necropolis of Saqqara South and I was away from my own family for a long stretch of time. Your parents were invaluable in helping me confirm whether one of the three pyramids on the site really belonged to the 13th century Dynasty King, Khendjer.
Kelsey, I never mentioned this, but you made quite an impression me. You mastered a rudimentary ability to communicate in Egyptian in just the two months you were here. Of course, your mother had prepared me for how gifted you were.
I recollect you always wore pigtails. I know you’re older now, but when I think of you, I picture you with a small spade and brush in your hands, kneeling in the sand searching for artifacts, your pigtails bouncing on either side of your head.
Do you remember the time you couldn’t get to sleep and I told you the fairytale of The Prince and the Three Fates?
Kelsey glanced at Desmond to explain. “We had been in Egypt for over a month when were in a pretty bad cab accident by the market. It’s how I got that scar on my shoulder.” Kelsey pulled back the edge of her negligee from her left shoulder and showed him the faint x-shaped scar right above the crease of her armpit. “I wasn’t locked in my seatbelt and I hit my head on the seat in front of us. There was apparently glass everywhere and they had to take a huge shard out of my back.”
“That’s awful.” Desmo
nd’s forehead creased in concern.
Kelsey shrugged. “I don’t remember much of it. One minute I was singing some Egyptian fairy tales with my mother, and the next thing I remember is waking up in someone’s apartment, all bandaged up.”
“Was anyone else hurt?”
Kelsey shook her head. “No, just me. I had been out with my mother and Armand, shopping. I believe my father was with my brother at the residence at the time.”
“Were you badly hurt?”
“I did hit my head, but other than a bad headache and my back being sore, I was fine. Well, except for a few weeks after that I had nightmares.”
Desmond nodded. “I can imagine. Dreams about car accidents and all that.”
Kelsey frowned. “No, actually. They were all about these big black glowing monsters in my room and under my bed. I made my parents check the closet every time I went to sleep. Typical stuff. I mean, I was only six. My parents figured I was just anxious about the accident and the anxiety must have triggered the nightmares. My dad gave me that jade and opal bracelet I used to wear, to make me feel better. He told me it was 'filled with good luck and happy dreams.'”
“Anyway, we had been staying at Armand’s house the entire summer, so one night when I couldn’t get to sleep, Armand came into my room and told me a story. It’s this old Egyptian tale about a prince who was destined to die a hideous death by a crocodile, snake or a dog. Each time an incident related to his imminent death occurred, the prince’s wife came to the rescue and ended up saving him from one of the horrible accidents.”
Desmond raised his eyebrows skeptically. “And that was to have helped you get back to sleep?”
She crinkled her nose. “I didn’t say it worked.”
They turned back to the letter.
But, I have had to go into hiding. I thought finding the Golden Twin Coffin would be the defining moment of my career. But, I have uncovered a second archaeological find that will spin the entire fabric of our existence, as we know it, on its head. Unfortunately, there are people who don’t want this knowledge to come out. As a result, I can’t come forward until I have more proof and can be assured of my safety. Your parents would have understood. Your parents let their minds remain open across a wide range of topics and across a multitude of cultures, but initially their passion started with the same things that inspired me. With the old Egyptian Astronomy and magical festivals such as Heb-Sed. With the hieroglyphics and paintings of the gods and the stars.
Current theology has led us to the belief that the Egyptians were all about reincarnation and prolonging their lives, but then why do we see throughout history so many empty tombs in Egypt? In their belief system, a physical body must be present to move on. It is the same in other religions. But, wasn’t Jesus’s own tomb empty when a group of women went to visit him? Have you, yourself, ever thought of this?
I believe when your parents went to Tibet and studied with the monks, that it wasn’t just Xanadu they were trying to find. I believe they were on a quest to learn about reincarnation and the afterlife, not just for Buddhists, but for every single religion in the world. And I believe it all centered, first and foremost, on the summer you spent with me Egypt.
In fact, I know it does.
Kelsey paused. Well, I’d know if the afterlife exists or not, wouldn’t I? She recalled how six months ago she and Desmond chased down Raul Salazar in Tibet. The Buddhist monks there were protecting a secret so sacred that the very fabric of all human existence rode on their backs. And Raul had been there trying to destroy it.
Kelsey turned to Desmond. “Do you think Armand knows about me?” About my spiritual soul?
Desmond shook his head. “I can’t see how. He’s not questioning the existence of reincarnation and the afterlife. He seems concerned about all the empty tombs discovered throughout history and what that means.” He nodded towards the letter for her to continue.
I need you to come to Egypt. With your parents gone, I have few others I trust. There are powerful people after me who do not want the secret I’m holding to be made public, but I realize I must tell the world what I’ve found. I’m not proud of some of the things I’ve done in my life, and as I’ve gotten older I realize that I must atone for them… beginning with you.
I have left information in my residence in Egypt for you to start with while I settle my affairs. I’ve asked Jibade, my son, to deliver this letter to you. He may try to help, but please dissuade him. He is a fragile boy and his constitution is better suited to academia, where his health won't be compromised, rather than traipsing through dusty deserts. Keeping him safe and out of this is important to me. I do not want him involved. One day, I hope he’ll understand.
So please, come to Egypt alone and seek a way to help me in my Quest of the Empty Tomb. For all the tombs. This overriding riddle has intrigued humanity for centuries, and the answer may not only solve the mysteries of Egyptian myth, but transcend all religions and our very belief in who we are… and where we really come from.
I beg of you. Please come. I need all the witnesses I can get.
The letter finished with his address in Egypt and an additional note for his doorman to give her a key to his apartment when she arrived. Kelsey glanced at Desmond. “Any thoughts?”
He cocked his head. “I guess we’re going to Egypt. I’ll put in for a few weeks off at the precinct.”
Kelsey stared into his blue-green eyes and then her gaze drifted to his cheek. The bruise he’d received two nights ago after a confrontation with a perp had finally purpled. “You don’t need to come with me, Desmond. I’ll be okay doing this one on my own. I’ll check things out and report back. Besides, now that you’ve made detective, your plate is full with the new smuggling investigation. The people down at the Organized Crime Control Bureau won’t be too happy at you taking off right now. You nearly caught Misterio the other night and you’re the only person who’s actually seen him.”
Desmond absently rubbed his cheek. “I wouldn’t necessarily call it ‘seeing,’ Kelsey. The guy was covered in black military gear from head to toe. He looked like he was channeling an evil superhero.”
“Superhero or not, you let him get too close.”
Desmond scoffed. “I can handle myself just fine.”
Kelsey stared at him pointedly. “You’re lucky he didn’t shoot you. What were you doing, sneaking up on him like that? Rule number one. Never let them get close enough to touch you, Desmond.”
Desmond grinned and the corner of his mouth quirked up in the corner. “I like to play dangerously.”
Kelsey shook her head “You play dangerously and the next time I see you, you’ll be lying in a box.”
He scoffed. “I can handle him. We got so close this time. Snuck right up on him as he was moving his goods. I still can’t believe we surprised the bastard. Jumped him before he could grab his gun. He’ll remember my punch to his jaw though.”
Kelsey grunted. “What he’ll remember is the way his partner hit you from behind so he could escape while you were still lying on the ground trying to put your eyeballs back in your head. I’m shocked they didn’t kill you.”
Desmond flared his nostrils. “Well, they didn’t kill me. They both fled like cowards and lost this last shipment. And now we know Misterio’s not working alone and it’s not just guns he’s smuggling.” His eyes brightened with excitement. “They’re analyzing the specimen now. It’s some sort of toxic plant no one’s seen before, or at least not in centuries. They’re calling in botanical experts so we know what we’re dealing with. We could be interrupting some biochemical attack or something.”
Kelsey turned to the easel in the corner of the living room. “You know, if you leave, you also won’t be able to work on your new hobby.” She saw Desmond’s fingers flex. Every time he thought about his hobby, his fingers twitched, as if they itched to pick up a brush so he could disappear for a few hours into his artistic mind.
Desmond had taken up painting. Actually, it had bec
ome a bit of an obsession. Ever since they’d returned from Tibet he’d been creating scenes from the time he’d spent in Xanadu during meditation. He’d turned out to be a surprisingly gifted artist, and now there were at least fifteen canvases hanging up throughout the brownstone and at her apartment. Subjects ranged from the strange animals in the land to the beautiful flora. There were even some depictions of scenes and places she’d never seen before. One painting in particular glorified in brilliant detail a city with magnificent architectural designs and spires reminiscent of hotels she’d seen only in Dubai and Tokyo. A majestic mountain rose in the background, reminding her of her time in the Himalayas. The mountain in the paintings stretched right to the sky. She’d had no idea, nor did he, that he had such an imagination.
She stared at one of her favorite paintings, the one hanging above the mantel. Desmond had captured her riding her fedelia, Ishu, and they flew across the sky with a striking aurora borealis in the background. She had another favorite in her apartment of her and Desmond sitting in her garden glen in Xanadu, along with Dorje, his fedelia, and Ishu nestling together in the background.
Desmond rubbed her shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come? Misterio will still be here when I come back, and I’m sure Flanagan can handle him for a few days. And… I can stop painting for a bit.” He unconsciously flexed his fingers again.
Yeah, right, buddy.
“I’m sure. Now, come on, it’s late. Let’s go back upstairs and get you back into bed,” she purred.
Her tone made him raise his eyebrows and his mood changed immediately. With a grin, he leaned over and fingered the shoulder strap of her negligee. He slid it down her shoulder and placed a gentle kiss within the crook of her neck. “Are you tired?”
The Quest of the Empty Tomb Page 2
