Lock down!” Dr. Jordan called out as he ran after Ms. Cassatt. The kids and Ms. Stad followed him. Dr. Jordan grabbed the phone from the reception desk and repeated the urgent phrase through the intercom. His voice echoed throughout the museum.
Within seconds, two security guards arrived, keys jangling from their hands. The one with SIMON WOOD on his name tag ran to the front door and locked it, while the other one, DEBORAH WEINSTEIN, said, “Back doors are secure. What’s happened?”
“Have you seen Mirabel?” Dr. Jordan asked them, his dark eyes darting around the room.
Both guards shook their heads.
“Search the museum. We have to find her!” he commanded. “She’s stolen one of the artifacts.”
The Code Busters and Ms. Stad stood frozen, watching the drama. Was Ms. Cassatt actually the thief? Where had she gone?
Dr. Jordan left the entry room and joined the guards in their search for the missing woman. Quinn turned to the others and finger-spelled:
Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on this page, this page.
Before Ms. Stad could stop them, the kids took off. They spread out, each one checking a different room, looking for any sign of Ms. Cassatt. Moments later, they met back in the lobby.
“Where could she have gone?” Cody asked.
“The lab?” Quinn suggested.
“Dr. Jordan and the guards went there,” M.E. said.
“There’s only one other place.” Luke pointed to the dark tunnel that was blocked off by a sign that said NO ADMITTANCE. UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
The Code Busters looked at one another. The tunnel was supposed to resemble a hidden passageway like those in the ancient pyramids. Cody had been dying to see it.
The perfect place to hide, she thought.
The kids moved closer to explore the opening of the tunnel. It looked dark and kind of creepy. It reminded Cody of a mine entrance she’d seen in the California Gold Country, where she used to live. Above the entrance was a series of hieroglyphs. Cody pulled out her decoder card and quickly translated the message aloud.
Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on this page, this page.
A chill crept up Cody’s spine. While she didn’t believe in things like curses, she still didn’t like the message. She shrugged it off and stepped inside.
The opening was narrow—just tall and wide enough to allow one person to enter at a time. Cody felt a cold breeze on her arm, but looking ahead, she saw nothing except darkness.
“I’m going in,” Cody said. She climbed over the rope that blocked the entrance and took a few steps into the chilly, dark tunnel.
She paused and listened.
Nothing.
Pulling out her cell phone, she tapped the flashlight app and shone it ahead. She took a few more steps, moving deeper into the tunnel, then stopped to listen for sounds.
She felt something touch her back and spun around.
“Luke!” she gasped. “You scared me! Don’t creep up on me like that!”
“Sorry,” Luke said. “Didn’t want you to go in there alone.”
Cody smiled. She turned toward the dark and shone her cell phone light into the deep recesses of the tunnel. The place totally creeped her out, especially when she thought about the mummy that lay in its tomb ahead.
She shivered.
There’s no such thing as mummies coming back to life, she reminded herself a few times. But memories of scary movies featuring cloth-wrapped, zombified mummies were all she could think of. Thank goodness, Luke was right behind her. It was nice to have someone brave to back you up.
Suddenly, Cody heard a sound. A tapping, like Morse code. She turned to Luke. He was tapping on his cell phone, using the walkie-talkie app. She recognized the coded message he was sending to Quinn and M.E.
Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on this page, this page.
When Luke was done tapping, Cody continued deeper into the dimly lit darkness. She noticed that the tunnel began to widen, and glancing back, she could no longer see light coming from the tunnel entrance. She took another step, and another.
And then froze.
An eerie moan was coming from deeper inside. She grabbed Luke’s arm. Her instinct was to run in the opposite direction and get out of this dark tunnel. But she told herself again, Mummies aren’t real. They don’t moan. And they don’t come back to life. Or try to kill you.
Like Ms. Cassatt?
The moan came again, this time louder, creepier. It sounded as if someone was in pain.
Had Ms. Cassatt been injured? Had she fallen in the dark? Did she need help?
Cody was torn between wanting to run and wanting to see if Ms. Cassatt was hurt. Still holding Luke’s arm, she took a few more steps through the twisting tunnel toward the sound.
When she stopped, she heard someone breathing heavily. It was coming from her right side. She flashed her cell phone light toward the noise, and screamed.
Ms. Cassatt stood tucked in a tiny alcove. Her eyes looked as wild as a feral cat’s. In her hand she held a heavy-looking statue the size of a rolling pin.
She raised the object above her head, ready to bring it down on Cody’s skull.
At the last second, Luke jerked Cody out of the way. She fell to the floor and scurried back on all fours.
“I’ll get you, you little brats!” Ms. Cassatt screamed. She stepped out of the alcove and raised the object again.
“Stop!” came a voice from behind Cody. She turned to see Quinn and M.E. racing up the tunnel toward them. The light of Quinn’s cell phone bounced as he ran.
“Stop!” Quinn screamed again. “You can’t get all four of us, so you might as well put that down. Dr. Jordan is right behind us. He has the police with him.”
Cody let out the breath she was holding. She was impressed at how forceful Quinn sounded—just like a cop on TV—but figured he was just as scared as she was.
Was he telling the truth about Dr. Jordan and the police? If they were right behind him, wouldn’t she have heard them? Wouldn’t they have arrived by now?
She had a sinking feeling Quinn was bluffing. But now what were they supposed to do?
Cody suddenly had an idea.
“Inn-quay, ou-yay istract-day er-hay ith-way obestray ight-lay app-ay,” she said in pig Latin.
“What’s all the gibberish?” Ms. Cassatt snapped, hoisting the weapon. “Knock it off or I’ll knock your blocks off!” She started swinging the statue like a baseball bat.
Cody scrambled up and backed away. She saw Quinn tap his phone. What was taking him so long?
Finally, he held his phone toward Ms. Cassatt. Suddenly, a strobe light appeared, lighting up the dark tunnel with a blinding, pulsing light.
Ms. Cassatt covered her eyes.
“It’s the police!” M.E. screamed. “They’re here!”
Great trick, Cody thought. At least for the moment. Now there was only one thing left to do.
“Un-ray!” Cody yelled.
Code Buster’s Solution found on this page.