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CHAPTER

41

MATTHEW PRIDED HIMSELF ON FEARING very little, but being hauled into a foreign police station as if he were a criminal topped all previous death-defying moments. Even when he was hanging by one arm off the side of a glacier, he had felt more in control. Matthew had been escorted into an interrogation room and told to take a seat, and he hadn’t been there long before the door opened again.

A broad-shouldered officer entered. His eyes told the story of a hard life, and the wrinkles and gray hair bespoke of a man in his fifties. Given the chevrons on the uniform the man wore, Matthew guessed he was a lieutenant or sergeant. Reda came in after him holding a file folder. He closed the door behind them and stood next to it.

“I demand to be taken to the embassy and given a phone call.” Matthew ground his teeth and squared his shoulders, doing his best not to portray any signs of fear.

“I’m Sergeant Youssef.” He took a seat across from Matthew, all calm and cool.

Matthew’s chest tightened. “Did you hear a word I said?”

“Yes, I heard you.” The sergeant was studying him.

Matthew’s temper flared. “Then listen. My friends and I are Canadian. I request that you take us to the embassy.” He only felt a little bad for leaving Alex out of his protest.

Youssef sank back into his chair and gave a smug smile. “I don’t have to do any such thing.”

Matthew balled his hands into fists under the table. “You said there’s a missing artifact?” Maybe if he played along, he’d get somewhere.

The sergeant and the minister remained silent.

Matthew continued. “My friends, Alex, and myself have nothing to do with this. Do you have any proof that we are?” Maybe an appeal to logic would help shake something from this stone-faced bastard. Matthew looked at Reda. “You know that none of us would have done what you’re accusing us of.”

Reda’s gaze swept over Matthew, analyzing, judging. “The four of you had unsupervised access to the site.”

“You mean when you weren’t around?”

“Yes, and the artifact under discussion went missing before cataloging began,” Reda clarified.

Four of you… Before cataloging began…

But there were more than four of them who’d had access to the site before cataloging. There’d been Jasper, Seth, Timal, Andres, and Danny. Jeff, as well, but it’s not like they could go after him.

“You said four,” Matthew began, “but your math is off. Technically, ten people had unsupervised access to the site. Nine are still with us.” Matthew glared at Reda defiantly. “Have you brought the others in for questioning?”

“Who we question is not your concern,” Youssef stepped in.

Matthew clenched his jaw. “When you are violating my rights and my friends’ rights, it is my concern.” His earlier trepidation was long gone, morphed into indignant anger. “My friends and I are innocent.”

Youssef opened his palms toward Matthew. “Prove your innocence, then.”

“Funny,” Matthew said drily, “but in North America, it’s the job of law enforcement to prove guilt, not the other way around.”

“Ah, but you are not in North America. Do you need a GPS? A map?” The sergeant smirked and glanced at Reda, who was still over by the door. “For an archaeologist, you need to study your geography.”

“What is this artifact you think we stole?” Maybe if Matthew knew what it was, he’d be able to offer something, though he couldn’t imagine what.

Reda walked up next to where Youssef was sitting. He pulled a sheet of paper from the folder he was holding and tossed it across the table. It was a photograph of the main antechamber.

“This picture was taken the night you and your friends first discovered it,” Reda said.

Matthew glanced at the sergeant, who seemed relaxed, settled into his chair as if he were at home on his couch watching TV.

Reda tossed out another photograph. “This was taken after the portable lights had been brought in but before cataloging began. Do you see a difference between the two?”

Matthew picked up the pictures, holding one in each hand. He searched both and came up empty. He shook his head.

Reda gestured to the pictures. “Keep looking.”

Matthew studied them. “Listen, I’ve never been good at the Where’s Waldo? thing.” He set down the photographs.

Reda’s face creased with confusion.

“They’re puzzles where you try to spot a cartoon guy named Waldo in a crowd,” Matthew clarified.

“Humph.” Reda took another sheet from his folder, and this time he handed it directly to Matthew. “How about now?”

Matthew snatched the page, albeit reluctantly. It showed a comparison of three photos. All were of the same section of the main antechamber. At the top half of the page, the two images he’d already looked at were side by side. The one to the left was marked Before and the one on the right was labeled After. The bottom half of the page showed an enlarged version of the Before shot, with the focus on a section with a circle drawn around an artifact. It still had a coating of dust on it, but the shape was unique.

It mostly resembled a rectangular chest but turned vertically, and the top was the shape of a triangle. At its peak was what looked like a small disc. In the four corners, there were higher points that stood on their own and came to oval tips. Based on the artifacts around it and Matthew’s memory of scale, he’d say it was about fifteen inches wide, twenty inches high, and roughly fifteen inches deep. He didn’t recall seeing this specific artifact in person.

Matthew admitted to that and added, “It’s possible that it’s still in the tomb to be cataloged. Things were moved around.”

Reda shook his head. “No. It’s gone. Someone stole it, and I believe it was you, your friends, or Alex. Or all of you.”

Matthew obviously wasn’t getting anywhere claiming their innocence, so it was time to try another tactic. “Tell me why you think one of us stole it. What about Jasper, Seth, Timal, Dan—”

Reda held up a hand to silence him.

“No, this is crazy,” Matthew rushed out. “You’ve known Alex forever. You’ve worked with me in the past. Give me one good reason why we’d take it.”

“This particular artifact is priceless,” Reda ground out, maintaining eye contact with him.

Tingles shot up the back of Matthew’s neck and cascaded down and over his shoulders. A blanket of clammy chills clung to him. This artifact must be connected in some way with the Emerald Tablets for Reda to be fixated on him and his friends. Reda knew how important finding them was to Matthew, how important it was to Alex. Matthew looked at the sergeant, unsure whether or not to mention them in front of the man. He was also worried that by bringing up the Tablets in reference to the artifact at all, it would somehow suggest guilt.

There was a knock on the door, and Youssef answered it. He stepped into the hall for a moment.

Reda continued to hold eye contact with Matthew during this time but said nothing.

The sergeant came back into the room but didn’t take a seat again. He addressed Reda. “Their bags checked out. No sign of the missing artifact.”

“I told you,” Matthew spat.

Reda spoke to Youssef, still keeping his eyes on Matthew. “It still doesn’t mean they’re innocent. They could have hidden it or sold it.”

“We’ve already started tracing their electronic footprints and have the records coming in from their phones.”

“Another violation of our rights,” Matthew growled.

The sergeant slid him a cool glance.

“Right, I’m not in North America.” Matthew crossed his arms and slouched back into his chair.

Youssef continued, not paying Matthew any attention. “How do you wish for us to proceed, Minister?”

Reda regarded Matthew for a few seconds. “Why don’t you leave us alone for a while? Maybe get the doctor a glass of water. Just knock before you reenter.”

So he was Doctor again? Maybe his protests of innocence were finally getting through to the minister.

“As you wish,” Youssef said and left the room.

Reda waited for a bit after the door had been shut. He looked over at the large mirror on the wall. No doubt it was one of those two-way mirror dealies like the ones Matthew had seen on cop shows. He wondered who was on the other side. Did they know about the Emerald Tablets? He still wanted to inquire if the artifact had something to do with the Tablets, but reason held him back.

“We need to talk.” Reda’s mouth set in a straight line, and he sat across from Matthew.

“I have been talking, but the problem is that you and the sergeant don’t listen to a word I say.”

Reda pressed a fingertip to the table. “This is a very sensitive matter, as I’m sure you can appreciate.”

The hairs rose on the back of Matthew’s neck. “Now you’re trying to present yourself as my ally? Trying to make me feel like we can relate? You should have thought of that before accus—”

“I need your help,” the minister interrupted.

“You need—” Matthew ground his teeth. “Do you listen to yourself when you speak? Why should I help you?”

“I know what I’ve put you through may seem unnecessary from your standpoint.”

“You think?” Matthew snapped. “What makes you think I’d want to help you now?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll spend your lives in an Egyptian prison.”

“For what?” Matthew shook his head. The darkness in Reda’s eyes told him that the man would concoct a charge if he had to. “You’re threatening me, and I don’t respond—”

“I’m promising you.” Reda’s gaze was relentless. “Someone stole that artifact, and you’re going to help me get it back.”

Matthew didn’t even know the man in front of him anymore. The Egyptian Minister of Antiquities had been a man he’d revered. “Do threats normally work for you?”

Reda didn’t respond, and Matthew straightened up in his seat.

“Listen, I know nothing about this artifact, but I’m sensing—” Matthew paused, considering if he should come out and ask if the artifact was connected to the Tablets “—there’s more importance to the artifact than it simply being a piece of ancient Egyptian history.”

Reda regarded him with a well-groomed arrogance. “Isn’t that enough?”

“Why don’t you try being straightforward with me, and see where that gets you…” Matthew inclined his head.

There was a long silence.

“I believe it’s connected to the Emerald Tablets,” Reda eventually said.

To hear Matthew’s suspicions confirmed didn’t surprise him any. “Connected how?”

“From what can be made out, there are inscriptions on the sides. We believe the entire thing may provide directions to the Tablets.”

Matthew looked down at the pictures on the table. “You can tell that through layers of dust?”

“I’m not without my resources,” Reda began. “An enlargement was done of the artifact, and a graphic specialist was able to decipher the side that shows by utilizing light and shadows. They found definitive impressions.”

“Hieroglyphics?” Matthew asked, and Reda nodded. “Were you able to read them?”

Reda regarded him with serious eyes. His posture was rigid, and he slid his jaw left, then right, and right, then left. “Are you going to help me get it back?”

“A moment ago, you didn’t present it as if I had an option.”

“I know that you are the most qualified to secure the artifact, and you’re hungry to find the Tablets.”

“You’re also aware that my friends and I have other obligations and need to get back home.” As it was, Robyn was dancing a fine line with her boss, given the spotty Internet connection. Cal needed to get home to Sophie. Matthew had to… “Our work visas were only valid for the month.”

“Consider that taken care of.”

“And the others? Are you going to question Jasper, Seth, Timal, Andres, and Danny?” If the minister was seeking his cooperation, Matthew wanted some in return.

“Andres and Danny have been cleared. Jasper, Seth, and Timal are currently in the wind.”

“Huh, that’s a sign right there that you should probably take a closer look at them.”

“And, we are. But until we find them, I need your help.”

“As you said.” The minister’s audacity was unbelievable.

“The artifact hinted at not only the Emerald Tablets but the hidden Library of Thoth.”

Matthew straightened in his seat. According to myth, the Library would contain numerous scrolls and writings.

“I see this excites you,” Reda said.

Matthew loosened his posture, hating that his body language had betrayed him. He wasn’t going to add a verbal confirmation.

Reda must have sensed Matthew wasn’t going to say anything, and he continued. “The directions that we can see in the photograph are incomplete.”

“So get the artifact back from who stole it and follow the map you believe exists on it.” Matthew shoved back with indifference.

“I thought that you prided yourself on hunting down legends, Dr. Connor. Your reputation says you’re damn good at it, too.”

Matthew let a few seconds pass in silence. That’s exactly what he did, and he enjoyed the hell out of doing it. And maybe debunking cities and/or items people had relegated to fantasy had something to do with his rebellious streak and the need to prove people wrong. Still, there were times he found himself sliding straight to skepticism first. This was one of those times. While Matthew had tried to remain positive throughout the cataloging process in the last few weeks, he had to admit to having doubts about the Tablets’ existence. But the source of his skepticism now wasn’t so much in regard to the existence of the Library or the Tablets, but rather the faith Reda was placing in this artifact.

“What makes you think that this map leads right to them?” Matthew would cling to realism for the moment. “And even if you had directions, what’s to say they’d be reliable anyway? There were other indications that they would have been with the pharaoh. We saw how that worked out.”

“Some things you need to take on faith,” Reda started. “But further examination of the hieroglyphics and drawings on the walls inside the tomb have provided us with other clues.”

Matthew sat up straighter. “Why am I just hearing about this now?”

Reda regarded him for a few seconds, holding out in silence. “It’s just recently come to light.”

Matthew had this sinking suspicion that might not be the case.

Reda tapped a finger on the enlarged image of the artifact. “See the profile? There are tips sticking up in all four corners, and the top of the artifact comes to a point in the center and ends in a disc.”

“Yes, I noticed.”

Reda pulled out another photograph. “This was taken from the painting in the secondary antechamber. Look familiar?”

Matthew picked it up. “It looks like the artifact…”

“Uh-huh,” Reda said. “And it gets better because the more I studied the hieroglyphics, I found snippets of what didn’t seem to belong.”

“I’m not following.”

“Insertions, as it were. Random depictions in the midst of another story. Needless to say, they stood out to me.”

Matthew’s mind went straight to Jasper. He’d never mentioned anything striking him as being out of context when he’d interpreted the hieroglyphics. It seemed that may have been intentional.

“I think the murals also contain a partial map,” Reda continued.

“Because the image of the artifact is next to the ‘insertions’?” Matthew was grasping to understand.

“That and the hieroglyphics on the one side of the artifact was a duplicate of one we found in a mural.”

“So there is a map on the artifact and enclosed in the murals?” Matthew just wanted to make sure he was hearing all this correctly.

“I believe so.”

“Then why do you need the artifact?”

“As I mentioned, the murals only provide us with a partial map,” Reda said.

Silence fell between them for a few seconds.

Reda studied him. “You thought that keeping the Tablets from falling into the wrong hands was important before? Well, now it is even more so. I believe whoever has this artifact may hold the key to finding both the Library and the Tablets. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

Now Reda was questioning his values? Who did this man think he was? But Matthew wasn’t sure he had it in him to refuse this offering. And what if Reda made good on his threat of imprisonment? Matthew’s back was against the wall. It wasn’t much better than when the City of Gold had been the ransom for Sophie’s freedom.

Setting aside his personal feelings, he assumed the weight of his moral obligation. “Guess we don’t have much choice.”

“I was hoping you’d see it that way.” Reda got up, a smile resting on his face.

Oh how Matthew would have loved to wipe that grin right off.