Secret of the Ankhs: A Maggie Edwards Adventure (Maggie Edwards Adventures Book 2)

by Nellie H. Steele

  Normally a museum the size of Rosemont’s Natural History Museum would never host such rare and valuable artifacts, but since Maggie had been an integral part of the tomb’s discovery, the museum got top billing to host the grand event first before the pieces were placed in their permanent location at the Cairo Museum.

  They reached the top of the stairs. “At long last,” Henry said, breathing a sigh of relief.

  “Oh, stop,” Maggie answered. “It wasn’t THAT bad.”

  “I’d have preferred to skip it.”

  “You can’t spend all your time on adventures with Uncle Ollie or in a dusty tomb, Henry,” Maggie replied as they strolled through the massive entry doors.

  “I can too,” Henry retorted. “And I would have if I didn’t have such a lovely girlfriend to escort to this party.”

  “Flatterer,” Maggie answered with a smile. Their conversation ended as Maggie gasped as they entered the museum’s lobby. “WOW!” she exclaimed. “The exhibit looks amazing!”

  Maggie’s uncle, Oliver Keene, approached from the docent’s desk. He grinned from ear to ear. “Looks great, huh?” he asked Maggie as she leaned in for a hug.

  “Hi, Uncle Ollie! Yeah!” Maggie agreed. “Wow, what a night for our little museum! I am so excited I could burst!”

  Henry greeted Ollie with a firm handshake. “You clean up nicely,” Ollie commented. “Can’t believe Maggie got you into the monkey suit.”

  “That she did, mate,” Henry answered, tugging at his collar. “Would have been tossed out on my ear if I showed up in my normal gear.”

  “We’ll make a gentleman out of you yet,” Ollie teased. “Well, as much as I am certain you would like to remain in the spotlight, Henry, I was hoping to steal Maggie to meet a few people.”

  “Don’t let me hold you back,” Henry quickly answered, holding his hands up in front of him. “I’ll just be over here in the corner enjoying the artifacts.”

  Maggie blew him a kiss as Ollie guided her away to meet several of the museum’s major donors. Maggie spent almost two hours chatting with various guests, describing her adventure, discussing her shop and making small talk. Henry skirted the edge of the room, smiling and nodding at her as she circulated from person to person.

  After finishing her conversation with an avid artifact enthusiast and Fortune 500 business owner, Maggie scanned the room. She spotted Henry and Piper chatting together near a large bust of Cleopatra. Piper’s multicolored hair was swept up into a large beehive style on her head. She wore a brightly colored jumpsuit consisting of gauzy palazzo pants topped off with a halter top.

  Maggie sashayed over to them. “There you are!” she said, wrapping her arm around Henry’s waist.

  “Here I am, princess. Admiring the artifacts as promised.”

  Maggie turned her gaze to Piper. “Have you been enjoying the exhibit, Piper? I haven’t seen you all night, though I’m surprised I missed you in that color!”

  “Actually, it has been kind of interesting,” Piper admitted. “It’s pretty cool that you of all people found all this stuff when other people have been searching for it for centuries.”

  “Don’t underestimate Maggie,” Henry replied. “She’s one smart cookie.” Maggie glanced around the room. “Lost someone, princess?”

  “No,” Maggie answered. She turned to Piper. “Didn’t you say you were coming with a date?”

  “Uh…” Piper mumbled.

  “Well?” Maggie inquired, her voice giddy with excitement. “Where is he?” She grinned, her eyes darting around for anyone she didn’t recognize.

  “You are the only person who can stand in a museum filled with priceless artifacts from the tomb of one of history’s most influential figures… artifacts that YOU discovered in what some consider the greatest archeological find of history and be more concerned about my date than anything else,” Piper retorted.

  Maggie scrunched up her nose. “So, anyway, where is this mystery man?” Piper crossed her arms, setting her mouth in a firm line. “Oh, come on, Piper! I just spent hours talking about this stuff with people. But we’re friends! I’m interested in your life! If I didn’t ask, you’d be complaining that I didn’t care who you dated.”

  “We’re not exactly dating…” Piper began.

  “Semantics… you brought him with you to a major event, he must be special! Why are you being so coy about this? Come on! Who is he?”

  “Listen, boss lady, I should probably explain a little backstory before I tell you…”

  A new voice entered the conversation, interrupting Piper’s explanation. “Stunning as always, Mags,” Leo said. Henry rolled his eyes as Maggie’s ex-boyfriend, Leo Hamilton, sidled up to their group. “Is that Knock Me Dead Red?”

  “Good memory,” Maggie replied.

  “It was always your favorite lip color for an event. And we sure went to enough of them together over the years.” Leo glanced around the room. “Whew, this really is something, huh? Can’t believe I was a part of a discovery like this.”

  “Barely, mate,” Henry reminded him.

  “Just as much as you, Indiana Jones,” Leo retorted.

  “Henry’s right, you were kind of just along for the ride and a constant objector during it, if I might add,” Maggie said. She crossed her arms, her gaze falling on Leo as she cocked her head. “How did you get an invitation to this event, anyway? You’re connected, but not this well.”

  Leo grinned at her, wrapping his arm around Piper. “I’m Piper’s date.”

  Maggie’s mouth dropped open, and she stared between Leo and Piper, stunned into silence. After a breath, Maggie raised her eyebrows, drawing in a deep breath. “Well…” she started.

  “That’s not an accurate representation of the situation,” Piper said, cutting her off.

  Maggie shook her head. “No, no, it’s fine. There’s no need to explain. You are both adults. I just didn’t expect it, that’s all.”

  “I had every intention of telling you and explaining…” Piper began again.

  Maggie held up her hand, cutting her off. “No explanation needed. Like I said, we’re all adults here. You don’t need to explain your choices to me.” Maggie swallowed hard. “Well, we’ll leave you two to enjoy the exhibit. Come on, Henry, there’s a few people I want to introduce you to.”

  Maggie grasped his hand in hers, dragging him away. “Slow down, princess,” Henry objected as Maggie stormed across the room. He tugged her to a stop in front of a display of ornate jewelry.

  “I don’t want to miss Sir Livingston. He’d love to meet you. He’s a charming old Brit. You’ll just love him,” Maggie rambled.

  “Maggie,” Henry interrupted. “Are you okay?”

  Maggie stared at him, wide-eyed with a smile plastered on her face. “I’m fine!” she insisted. “Why wouldn’t I be fine?”

  Henry’s eyes slowly drifted back and forth as though the answer was obvious. Before he could respond, Piper rushed up to them. “Listen, Maggie… I can explain.”

  “Oh my gosh! Will everyone stop treating me with kid gloves? I am fine. I’m not upset. There are no explanations needed. I am perfectly fine. I ended things with Leo, remember? There’s nothing between us. I’ve moved on, he’s moved on. I was just surprised. You hardly seem each other’s type, but it’s not my business. So, let’s just drop this!”

  “No one would blame you for being upset, princess. Not even me. Although, you clearly got the better end of the deal here,” Henry chimed in with a wink.

  “We aren’t dating!” Piper shouted. Conversation near them ground to a halt, heads turned their way, music stopped. Piper rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and staring at the floor.

  Maggie smiled graciously at the crowd and gave a nervous chuckle. “Classic Cleopatra love triangle,” she joked.

  A few chuckles erupted before people returned to their conversations and the music resumed. “Nice going,” Maggie breathed. “All right, all right, if it’s so important to explain, come on.” Maggie gr
abbed Piper’s arm, then turned to Henry. “You wait here for me. I was serious about meeting Sir Livingston.”

  Maggie pulled Piper along, threading through the crowd toward the ladies’ room. Maggie pushed through the door and into the restroom. She made her way to one of the mirrors, opening her purse and pulling out her compact. “Good time to touch up my makeup,” she noted. “So, how did you end up with Leo as a date?”

  Piper shifted her weight from side to side as she launched into her story. “I was totally going to come with Sketch, but then he flaked on me, like I said. I was super mad at him, fuming actually. I went to the pastry shop for a chai latte and a cool off and I ran into Leo. He asked me about the shop and whatever and then about the party. I was so mad I told him about Sketch. And then he offered to be my date. And at first, I was like, no way, dude, whatever. But then I was like that would really stick it to Sketch. But still, I was like nah. But then he said he’d pay me fifty bucks, so I figured what the heck, right? I can make some jingle and shove it in Sketch’s face at the same time, win-win! I fully meant to tell you, but then I just didn’t know how so I didn’t. I totally did NOT mean to spring this on you though, boss lady.”

  Maggie reapplied her lipstick, shoved it in her purse and spun to face Piper. She pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows. “Honestly, Piper,” Maggie said with a shake of her head. She sighed.

  Piper grimaced. “Yeah?” she questioned.

  “I’m not mad at you. I was just shocked, that’s all. I mean, who would have EVER thought you’d be here with Leo?!”

  “Really? You’re not mad?” Piper inquired.

  “Really, I’m not,” Maggie said, squeezing Piper’s arm. “Why would I be mad? Leo and I are not together anymore. I’m happy with Henry.” She glanced around then added, “Although, I’m impressed you care so much, Piper. I didn’t realize how much I meant to you.” Maggie pressed her hand over her heart, pretending to tear up.

  Piper returned to her usual flippant self. She shrugged her shoulders, taking a nonchalant stance. “I mean, I don’t. Like if you were mad, okay, so what? I just figured, you know, I didn’t want to get fired or whatever.”

  Maggie gave her a knowing glance. “Uh-huh,” she murmured. Maggie stole another glance in the mirror. Satisfied, she turned back to Piper. “Well, with that over with, I guess we should get back out there. I wouldn’t want you to miss another second with your enchanting date.”

  “OMG, I am never going to hear the end of this, am I?” Piper complained.

  Maggie gave her a wry smile. “Nope,” she answered. “Now, come on, I’ve missed enough of this party discussing this. Let’s get back out there!”

  “You are waaaaaay too excited about this,” Piper moaned.

  “Come on, I want to show you a few of the pieces I like. It’s really too bad they didn’t send the boat from the first chamber we visited. That was amazing!” Maggie grasped Piper by the arm and dragged her toward the door.

  They took one step before they were plunged into darkness.

  Chapter 2

  Blackness settled around them. Maggie stopped short with a gasp. Several shouts and surprised exclamations reached her ears from partygoers outside of the bathroom.

  “Uh,” Piper muttered, “what happened to the lights?”

  “No idea, the backups should come on soon though.” They waited a moment, still surrounded by darkness. As her eyes adjusted, Maggie dug through her purse. She snatched her cell phone and toggled on the flashlight.

  “So much for the so-called backups,” Piper groaned.

  “Yeah,” Maggie answered. “Something is weird here.”

  “Somebody didn’t do their job,” Piper said in a sing-song manner.

  Maggie glanced around the empty ladies’ room. She shined her light under the stall doors, confirming they were alone.

  “What are you doing?” Piper inquired.

  “Something seems off,” Maggie answered. “Come on.” She grabbed Piper by the hand. “Let’s go find Henry.”

  “And Leo,” Piper reminded her.

  “Yeah,” Maggie said with a groan. “Because he’s always useful in a crisis.” With a roll of her eyes, she pushed through the bathroom door. The lobby outside remained dark, as did all other spaces in the museum. Only the starry night sky, peeking in through the sky-lit rotunda overhead and a few cell phone flashlights illuminated the space. Soft murmurs arose around the room as other guests conjectured about the power failure.

  Maggie scanned the room, searching for Henry’s familiar form. Fingers brushed her arm, causing her to jump. She spun to face her adversary, finding Henry. Her flashlight shined brightly in his eyes and he held a hand up to block its light. “Maggie, are you all right?” Henry questioned.

  “Sorry, yes,” Maggie responded, lowering her flashlight. “We’re fine. We were still in the ladies’ room when the lights went out. What’s going on?”

  Henry grasped her elbow, guiding her to a corner. “No idea, but I don’t like it.” Maggie grabbed Piper’s hand, pulling her along with them.

  “Neither do I,” Maggie agreed. “Something is wrong.”

  “I’d put money on that, yeah,” Henry answered.

  Cast in moving shadows as Maggie’s cell phone flashlight bobbed around, Piper screwed up her face. “What are you two yammering on about? The lights went out, big deal!”

  “Nah, something’s off,” Henry disagreed as Ollie joined their group.

  “Uncle Ollie!” Maggie exclaimed. “Are you okay? What’s going on? Have you heard anything?”

  “The guards rushed past me a few moments after the blackout,” Ollie responded. “They did not seem optimistic about the outage.”

  “What did they say?” Maggie questioned.

  “I didn’t overhear much, but from the sounds of their conversation, they suspected the power had been tampered with. Both the primary and secondary emergency lighting,” Ollie answered.

  “Hmm,” Maggie murmured.

  A figure rushed toward them. As he approached, Maggie made out Leo’s face. “There you are. Thank God you’re all right,” Leo said, staring at Maggie.

  “Uh, yeah, and I’m fine too,” Piper chimed in. “You jerk,” she added under her breath.

  “Uh, yeah, I mean, that’s what I meant,” Leo said as Henry raised his eyebrows at him.

  “We’re all fine,” Maggie assured him in an attempt to break the tension. “But something is very off here.”

  “Yeah, you’ve said that like a hundred times,” Piper groaned. “We get it, something is weird. But, like, why would someone cut the power and tamper with the backup lights? It makes no sense.”

  “It makes complete sense,” Maggie countered. “Some of the most priceless artifacts in the world are in this room.”

  “So, what?” Piper questioned. “This is a robbery? I don’t see anyone stealing anything. Everyone is just hanging out until the power comes back on.”

  “I doubt you’d see them, Piper,” Henry retorted. “If they are worth their salt as a thief, they’re long gone by now.”

  “Oh, right, because you know so much about thievery, huh? I think you’re all making more out of this than it is. The power went out, and the generators didn’t kick the backup lights on. Someone probably forgot to maintenance the generators or something.”

  “We’ll see,” Maggie declared.

  An outburst sounded across the room. “Sounds like trouble,” Henry noted.

  “Wow, thank you for that astute observation,” Leo retorted. “Still on top of your game there, I see.”

  “Give it a rest, Leo,” Maggie chided. Voices floated across the room, allowing them to make out the conversation. An argument ensued between a contingent of guests and museum security guards. The guests demanded to leave the event but the guards refused their request.

  “No one is leaving until we’ve got this figured out,” one guard contended.

  After a few additional moments of bickering, the small party surr
endered, returning to the bar area for a complimentary drink, as suggested by the guard. Within another moment, lights shined at one of the room’s many entryways. Several museum guards, flashlights glowing, entered the space. Maggie recognized the museum’s director, Stan Gibson, among them.

  “Folks!” Stan shouted. “Folks, if I could have your attention, please?” After several shushes, the din in the room quieted. “Ah, thanks. First off, I’d like to apologize for the inconvenience. And second, I’d like to let you know that we’re working on solving the problem and hope to have the lights on very soon. At this time, we ask that everyone remain here. For everyone’s safety, we don’t want people wandering around the museum or outside the museum. Again, we’re very sorry for the inconvenience and please have a complimentary beverage on us and try to enjoy yourselves. Hope to have the lights on soon!”

  Murmurs rose through the room as groups of party guests discussed the new information or headed for a drink.

  The man and his contingent of guards crossed the room, passing Maggie and her group along the way. Maggie caught part of their conversation as they hurried past her.

  “… close are we with the damage?” Stan asked.

  “Cut clean through,” one of the guards answered. “Electrician’s almost got it wired…”

  The rest of their conversation was lost in the din of the room.

  “Cut wire,” Henry murmured.

  “Yeah,” Maggie answered. “That’s got to be on purpose.” Ollie glanced around the room. “What is it, Uncle Ollie?”

  “Oh, ah, nothing, nothing,” Ollie responded.

  Maggie crinkled her brow and was about to follow up when bright lights burst on overhead. The room filled with fluorescent light from the emergency lighting as people squinted and glanced up at the source. Applause and cheers broke out as the room illuminated.

  “There!” Piper exclaimed. “See!”

  Maggie rolled her eyes at Piper as the museum director appeared at the entryway again. “Folks, if I could have your attention once again. As you can see, we have the backup lighting working and we’re continuing to work on restoring the main lighting. I know several of you have asked about leaving. Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot allow anyone to leave the building. I’m sure you understand the value of the objects we house within these walls. We need to do a quick inventory before we can allow anyone to leave.”