The Code Busters darted through the twisting tunnel—smack into a large, dark figure. Cody shone her light on the man’s face. A police officer! In the beam of her flashlight app, Cody saw two more uniformed cops behind him. Farther back, she caught a glimpse of Dr. Jordan.
“Whoa there! Slow down!” the officer said, holding up a hand. He shone his flashlight in Cody’s face. “What’s going on?”
Cody squinted at the bright light and pointed back into the tunnel. “She tried to kill me! My friends came …” Cody stopped to catch her breath.
“She’s got a big, heavy statue,” Quinn said.
“And she was about to hit Cody with it,” Luke added.
“She’s back there!” M.E. said, pointing into the darkness.
The officer directed his light into the black tunnel. “I don’t see anything.”
Dr. Jordan stepped forward. “Sergeant Casey, if the kids say Mirabel Cassatt is back there, then she is. I’d consider her desperate and dangerous.”
“Okay, everyone, stand back,” Sergeant Casey said to the group. He turned to another officer. “Finsilver, stay here with these people. Parker, follow me. Let’s go.”
Officer Finsilver began herding the kids and Dr. Jordan back toward the entrance, his flashlight illuminating the way. Sergeant Casey and Officer Parker continued down the dark hallway. The sergeant’s flashlight beam bounced off the tunnel walls. Moments later, they were out of sight.
Suddenly, Cody heard a boom! She jumped. M.E. grabbed Cody’s arm in fear.
“Keep away from me!” Cody heard Ms. Cassatt’s loud voice echo from the depths of the model tomb. “I’ll smash this mummy to pieces. Then this stupid museum won’t be so special anymore.”
Dr. Jordan ran forward, past Officer Finsilver and the Code Busters, a look of terror on his eerily lit face.
“Mirabel! No! Please! You know how much the museum relies on that mummy for visitor traffic. It’s irreplaceable. Please, just come out. Let’s talk about this.”
Officer Finsilver began following Dr. Jordan, calling, “Sir! Come back! Sir!”
The Code Busters were right behind him.
“Ha!” Cody heard Ms. Cassatt’s hollow voice bounce off the walls of the tunnel. “You can’t fool me, Malik. The minute I do that, the cops will arrest me. No, we’re going to do this my way.”
The officer caught up with Dr. Jordan and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him. Dr. Jordan shook it off. “We have to stop her!” he said. “We can’t afford to lose our mummy. It’s our biggest draw.”
“Back up!” Officer Finsilver ordered.
Sergeant Casey’s voice rang out again. “What do you want, Ms. Cassatt? Let’s end this thing peacefully.”
“I want you to send in one of the kids so I can protect myself and get out of here safely,” she called back. “I want the rest of you to back out of the tunnel and leave the museum!”
Cody felt a chill run through her. Ms. Cassatt wanted one of the Code Busters?
“Not going to happen, Ms. Cassatt,” the sergeant said. “We’re not putting any of these kids at risk, and you know it. You can just forget about—”
Before Sergeant Casey could finish his words, Cody turned to M.E. She had a plan. Cody tapped out a message in Morse Code on her friend’s arm:
Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on this page, this page.
As soon as Cody’s message spread via arm taps to the other Code Busters, the four kids quietly backed down the tunnel, leaving behind Dr. Jordan and the officer. Cody heard the sergeant continue trying to negotiate with Ms. Cassatt, his voice fading as the friends made their way to the entrance. Cody hoped they would keep arguing so the Code Busters would have time to put her plan into action.
“Are you kids okay?” Ms. Stad asked when she saw them exit the tunnel. She rushed up and hugged all four of them at once.
“We’re fine,” Cody said. “We … uh, I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Me too,” said Quinn.
“Well, hurry back!” Ms. Stad called. “I’m taking you out of here immediately! Mr. Pike and the other students are waiting for us on the bus.”
Luke shook his head. “We can’t leave. They locked us in, remember.”
“Then you’re not leaving my sight,” Ms. Stad said.
The kids headed for the restrooms at the far side of the lobby.
“Quinn and I can’t go in there!” Luke whispered to Cody after she started inside the girls’ bathroom. “We’ll get arrested, or something.”
“No, you won’t!” Cody said. “Don’t be such a chicken. It’s just a bathroom.” Cody was surprised that such a brave kid was afraid of the girls’ room. Of course, she’d probably feel the same way if she had to go into the boys’ bathroom.
Quinn looked at Luke and shrugged, then followed Cody and M.E. inside. After Luke looked around to see if anyone was watching, he entered the small room.
“What are we doing in here?” Luke whispered nervously.
Instead of answering him, Cody said, “I saw extra rolls of toilet paper on the backs of the toilets. Quick, grab a bunch.”
They did as Cody directed, then returned, each carrying a few rolls.
“Now what?” asked M.E.
“Now let’s make a mummy!” Cody said, grinning. She looked at Luke. “You’re the tallest, so you’re going to be the mummy. Come on, let’s start wrapping! And hurry! We don’t have much time.”
Luke grimaced, but stood still as the others began to wrap his arms, legs, torso, and head with toilet paper.
“Don’t cover his eyes,” Cody told Quinn, who was wrapping Luke’s face with multiple layers. “He has to be able to see.”
With the three of them working together, the kids managed to turn Luke into a pretty cool-looking mummy in only a few minutes. Cody stood back and admired their work. She tucked in several loose ends, then said to Luke, “Perfect! Can you walk?”
Luke raised his arms like a zombie and took a few stiff steps forward. He even walks like a mummy, Cody thought. This just might work.
“Quinn, give me your phone,” she said.
“Why? You have your own phone.”
“I’ll be using mine, and Luke needs one.”
Quinn handed his cell phone to Cody. She quickly searched the apps site, then loaded a new app.
“Okay, come on. We have to get back before it’s too late.” Cody explained the details of her plan as they headed for the tunnel. When they neared the entrance, she saw Dr. Jordan, Officer Finsilver, and Ms. Stad standing just outside the opening.
Ms. Stad turned around. “What took you so—” she began to say. She stopped when her eyes fell on Luke the Mummy. She gasped. “What in the world are you kids …”
Cody looked at the others, then finger-spelled,
Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on this page, this page.
Without saying a word, the kids ran into the dark tunnel, their path lit only by Cody’s cell phone light.
“Hey, stop!” Officer Finsilver yelled. He started after them, but they were faster than the cop, who was laden with heavy police gear. He wasn’t quite as nimble in taking the twists and turns of the tunnel. Moments later, the Code Busters spotted Sergeant Casey, his back to them.
Beyond him, in the beam of the sergeant’s flashlight, Cody saw the shadowed form of Ms. Cassatt. She stood holding the heavy statue, her thickly outlined eyes wild with desperation.
Cody turned to Luke. “Get down before she sees you,” she whispered to the mummy. He ducked down, then knelt on his hands and knees.
Sergeant Casey whirled around when he heard Cody. “What are you kids doing here? Get back! Where’s Officer Finsilver?”
Officer Finsilver arrived seconds later, huffing and puffing. “They were too fast!” he cried. “I couldn’t stop them!”
Ignoring the sergeant, Cody raised her arms and called out, “Ms. Cassatt? It’s me, Cody. You said you wanted a kid so you could get out of here? I’m the one who got us into this mess, so I’m volunteering.”
Sergeant Casey stared at her. “Oh no you’re not! Not on my watch!”
“Smart move, girl!” Ms. Cassatt called out. “Now, hurry up. The rest of you, get out now! Or the mummy gets it.”
Cody turned and whispered her plan to the sergeant. He shook his head. “No way. Too dangerous,” he said.
She looked at Ms. Cassatt, who was standing about five feet away, her face drawn, eyes menacing. Between the sergeant and Ms. Cassatt sat a decorative sarcophagus large enough to hold a human body. The Plexiglas top lay open and had been pushed aside. Cody nodded to Luke. He took his cue and began crawling toward the front of the sarcophagus, keeping low to remain hidden by the massive artifact.
“Back off!” Ms. Cassatt yelled at the sergeant again. “I mean it. Once I’m out of here, you can have the kid back. Until then, she’s my insurance policy. Clear the tunnel!”
Cody whispered to the sergeant, “Shine the light right in her face.”
The sergeant frowned but then did as she asked. Ms. Cassatt immediately turned away from the blinding light. As she did, Luke stretched out on the floor on the sergeant’s side of the tomb.
Meanwhile, Cody slipped her phone out of her pocket and prepared to press an app icon.
“Come here, you little brat!” Ms. Cassatt commanded Cody. “The rest of you, beat it!” She held the heavy statue over her head, ready to bring it down on the priceless mummy inside the open tomb.
Cody pressed the icon on her phone. A red light filled the dark room and began to pulsate.
“Miiiiirraaaaabbbbeeelllll Caaassssaaattttt …,” echoed a low, unearthly voice.
Nice job, Luke, Cody thought. She swore he sounded just like a mummy speaking from the dead for the first time in centuries.
A claw-shaped hand, wrapped in layers of white toilet paper, suddenly shot up from behind the sarcophagus, casting a giant shadow on the walls from the flashlight beam.
Then an arm appeared …
And a shoulder …
A body rose up, its arms extended, eerily facing Ms. Cassatt.
The hideous voice came again: “Miiiiiirrrrraaaaaabeellllllll Caaaaaaaaasssssssaaatttt …”
Luke the Mummy leaned toward the frightened woman, his clawed hands reaching for her.
Ms. Cassatt gave a deafening scream and dropped the statue.