The Mummy's Curse (13 page)

Dr. Jordan took it from her and flipped it over. Underneath were tiny carved hieroglyphs. But this Eye was different from the Eye the kids had first seen in the Life Studies room.

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“Hmm,” he muttered. He reached into his deep lab coat pocket, brought out his magnifying glasses, and put them on. After studying the small insignia, he withdrew a knife and scraped a small piece off the back. Then he removed his glasses and frowned. “There's real infiltration of the corrosion on the epidermis of the bronze metal, which cannot be faked.”

Cody had no clue what he'd just said, other than the words “cannot be faked.”

“This symbol,” he continued, looking at the
inscription, “is the name of the god of hieroglyphs.” He steadied his gaze on Ms. Cassatt. “I'd still have to do a few more tests, but I think this Eye of Horus is authentic. Where's your necklace, Mirabel?”

Ms. Cassatt gave a nervous laugh. “I don't know. The chain broke and I put it down somewhere. It's only a replica. You know that.”

“Check your pockets,” Dr. Jordan said.

“What? I'm not going to—”

“You made Cody do it,” Luke said. “Now you should, too.”

“There's nothing in my pockets,” Ms. Cassatt said. Her face had gone white.

“Yes, there is,” M.E. said, pointing to the small bulge in Ms. Cassatt's pants pocket.

Ms. Cassatt shook her head, then reached into her pocket and withdrew a gold chain. But no pendant.

“It's the chain,” Ms. Cassatt said, glaring at M.E. “So what?”

“So where's the Eye that was hanging from it?” Quinn asked.

“I told you a minute ago, I put it down somewhere
when the chain broke. You're not implying that—”

Dr. Jordan took the chain from Ms. Cassatt's hand and examined it. “There's nothing wrong with this chain.”

“I'm telling you, it broke! I took the amulet off and set it down. I must have lost it. As I said, it was only a replica. It may have looked real, but I have a friend who makes excellent copies.”

Dr. Jordan stared at Ms. Cassatt. “You know a forger?”

Ms. Cassatt grunted. “I wouldn't call him that. He's an artist.”

“Most forgers are artists, Mirabel,” Dr. Jordan said. He shook his head, as if disappointed in his colleague.

“Don't twist this around, Malik,” Ms. Cassatt said. “I mean, maybe it was
you
who stole the Eye from the case and switched it with a fake. You have a key, just like me. And you know a lot about forgeries. Maybe
you
slipped the real one into that poor girl's pocket to make it look like she did it. Yes, maybe
you're
the thief, Malik Jordan.”

“Well, let's call the police and have them settle this, then, shall we?” Dr. Jordan said.

But before he could get out his cell phone, Ms. Cassatt grabbed the amulet and ran from the room.

L
ock 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:

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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.

“No sign of her,” M.E. said.

“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.

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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
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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.

Only real people did that.

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.