Tempest Court. Jan Walters
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Название: Tempest Court
Автор: Jan Walters
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Зарубежные детективы
isbn: 9781646540242
isbn:
“Kaitlyn.”
“What a nice name. Did you have fun today?”
The girl nodded and then paused. “I did until I saw the mummy.”
Layla tilted her head, studying Kaitlyn. “Why would you say that?”
“His finger moved.” The little girl’s face twisted into a grimace.
Layla rocked back on her heels. Of all the things Layla expected to hear, that wasn’t it. Wanting to reassure the girl, Layla took her tiny hand in hers. “Sweetie, I can assure you that the mummy cannot move.”
Kaitlyn’s lower lip trembled. Tears filled the innocent eyes. “Are you sure? ’Cuz I swear I saw it move.”
Layla wrapped her pinky finger around Kaitlyn’s. “I pinky swear. The mummy can’t move. Maybe you saw someone move on the opposite side of the case or saw a shadow.”
Relief filled Kaitlyn’s face. “Yeah, maybe that was it. Thanks so much.”
“You better go now. Your teacher will be looking for you.”
At that moment, the teacher waved at Kaitlyn. “Nice meeting you, Kaitlyn.”
The little girl waved and skipped down the hall. Layla rose and returned to her desk. After several minutes of staring at the blank screen, she rose and strode toward the mummy case. What was going on? First, Henry hearing things. Now the little girl imagining things.
Most of the crowd had left. Layla switched on the overhead lights in the exhibit hall, flooding the room with brightness. The exhibit was quiet. She stared down at the mummy for the second time today. She wished she knew more about Lumeri who lay encased below. She carefully focused on his hands. Barely breathing, she waited. For any movement. The slightest change.
When the muscles in her neck cramped, she straightened. She felt foolish. Here she was gawking at a mummy, waiting for him to move because a young girl told her that he had moved.
“Okay, Lummy, no shenanigans tonight! I’ve got to go home.”
Turning, Layla jumped as her cell phone rang. “Hey, Kevin. Dinner? Perfect. See you at seven.”
She flipped off the ceiling lights and turned one more time to study the case—still the same. With a shake of her head, she walked to her office. She had a date with Kevin, her hot cop. She smiled, already planning on what to wear.
Chapter 14
Brett hung up the phone. Kevin invited them to dinner tonight. He quickly called Lisa and found out she had to work overtime. Since he didn’t necessarily want to eat alone, he agreed to meet them.
Kevin and Layla were already seated when he arrived at the restaurant. He slid into the booth and motioned for the waitress.
“Thanks, guys, for inviting me. You saved me from eating a frozen dinner.” Brett grinned.
Kevin’s arm draped over Layla’s shoulder. The pair looked cozy. Kevin’s blue eyes studied her face. Layla gazed up at Kevin as if he were a Viking god. Geez! Maybe he should have stayed home.
“So how’s the exhibition going, Layla?”
“Brett, I’m so overwhelmed with the turnout. It’s much higher than projected. You can’t believe the number of people, including school kids, who come through every day.”
“I wish they would have had stuff like this when I was a kid.” Kevin grinned. “Especially the mummy part.”
Brett nodded. “Yeah. Have you ever seen Abbot and Costello’s Meet the Mummy?”
Kevin and Layla shook their heads. Brett groaned. “You’ve got to go online and find it. My mom loves those old movies. She made me watch it with her when I was a teenager. Surprisingly, it’s pretty funny.”
Layla’s brow drew together. “How can a mummy movie be funny?”
Kevin smirked. “Yeah, dude.”
Brett kicked Kevin underneath the table. “I find the idea of a man wrapped up in gauze, who can barely move, by the way, chasing people very funny.”
“Yeah, especially when the mummy has one outstretched arm and moans constantly.” Kevin’s eyes lit up mischievously.
“Oh, stop it, you guys.” Layla tweaked Kevin’s cheek. “We don’t have to worry about a mummy chasing anyone. They’re dead.” Layla paused before adding, “Although a young schoolgirl came to my office today. She thought she saw the mummy move a finger. Can you imagine that?”
Brett’s laughter faded. What the heck? “What did you say?”
Layla ran a hand through her loose black hair and shrugged. “I know it didn’t happen, but it’s strange. No one has ever said that to me before. It was a little unsettling.” She took a deep breath, biting her lower lip. “We’ve had the mummy in our possession for months now, and nothing suspicious has ever happened.”
“So did you go look at the mummy?” Brett straightened.
Kevin’s eyes narrowed on him. “O’Shea, why are you so interested?”
“No reason. Just curious to see if Layla went and checked.”
Layla glanced at both men. “Of course, I did. I stood there for a half hour. There was nothing strange or unusual. I felt like an idiot for even giving credence that the mummy could move.”
“Trust me, better safe than sorry,” Brett muttered.
“What’s that mean?” Layla cast him a suspicious glance.
Kevin clapped his hands, startling Brett. “Okay, no more talk of mummies. We all agree they can’t move. Done.”
With a tight smile, Brett let it go. But the seed was planted in his head. What did the child see? Did the mummy move, or was it the kid’s imagination? He mentally shook his head. Nope, not going there!
As he rose to leave, Layla touched his hand. “I should have some information next week on the canopic jar that you brought in.”
He nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate your help.”
As he drove home, strange thoughts filled his head. Layla was an expert in Egyptian mythology. She wasn’t alarmed or worried about the mummy, so why was he? Just because there had been two horrific paranormal cases in the past couple of years didn’t mean all his cases would continue like that. Maybe those cases were just flukes. Or was Chief Anders right about him being a “shit magnet.” He laughed out loud, ignoring the strange looks from people in the car next to him at a red light. He was just a normal detective.
Pulling into his driveway, he locked the car and entered the kitchen. Sounds from the TV came from the bedroom. Lisa called out to him. All thoughts of the mummy quickly faded. He felt a sudden need for Lisa.
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