Dr.Kellinggot a thoughtful look on his face that Brielle recognized. He was getting an idea, and it was going to be a doozy. “Brie, turn the phone back around so I can see him.Irmine, I want you to see if you can’t communicate with the thing.”
Brielle gave him a wide-eyed look. “Do you think it’s possible?”
“We won’t know until we try.”
She sat up on the edge of her chair and shone the phone at the creature. “Garenth?Garenth!”
The thing opened its eyes and lifted its face until it caught sight of the phone. It staredat the instrument in her hand but made no other move.
Irminebegan speaking to it in Arabic, enunciating his words slowly. At firstGarenthcontinued to stare at the man, but then his expression changed. Gradually, a look of understanding and hope came over his face. He responded toIrmine’squestions in that gravelly voice that spread goosebumps over her flesh. Brielle propped herarm with her other hand as she listened to the exchange. After a few more minutes,Irminepaused and addressed them in English.
“He does speak a form of Arabic, but it’s ancient. It’s changed a lot after so many years. Some of the dialect is hard to understand, and he’s probably thinking the same thing about the way I speak, but at least I managed to get some information from him.His name isGarenthbin Al-Emin. He was a general in the army ofSerqet.”
“Serqet?”Kellingchimed in. “That pharaoh is so obscure, knowledge about him is hardly known!”
She turned the phone back around. “You two can discuss that later. Tell us what else you learned.”
“It seems he was in some sort of power struggle with a man namedSerasin, who was counselor vizier to the pharaoh.Serasinmanaged to convince the pharaoh thatGarenthwas a traitor, and had him incarcerated.
“I’m not real certain about the whys andhows, but it seems a priestess of the Egyptian godPetbecame to visitGarenthwhen he lay dying after he’d been tortured. She gave him something to drink, and promised him he would get his revenge onSerasin. But in orderto do so, he promised her he would keep the mother idol sacred.”
“Mother idol? Could he be talking about that vial with the hideous face?”
“What vial?”Kellingdemanded. “I don’t recall sending you a vial.”
“Yes, you did,” she corrected him. “That little statuette you claimed to find underneath his hand? It’s a vial. I was examining it earlier this evening,and the head popped off. At first I thought I’d accidentally destroyed it, but it was evident the head was the stopper. In fact, that little gold ring around its neck is the seal. Uncle Chet, I found traces of something still inside the vial. I took a couple of swab samples to send to the lab in the morning.”
“Where is the vial now?”
“That man, that intruder took it,along with a few other items. He kept saying he was looking for something he called akalorshai. A seal. But the swabs are still in your desk drawer.”
Garenthspoke again, this time at Brielle. She glanced at the phone. “What did he say?”
“He wants to know where the mother idol has been taken,”Irmineinterpreted. “He says if he doesn’t get it back, he will die andSerasinwill win.”
“But I have no idea where it could be, or even who took it,” she said, givingGarenthan apologetic look.
Irminepassed her answer to the creature, who pointed at her and responded.
“He says he can find it because the mother idol is calling to him, but he’s going to need your help.”
“How can I help? There’s nothing I cando. Hell, I can’t even talk to him!”
“He seems pretty convinced you can help him find it,”Irmineanswered.
“Brie,”Kellingspoke up. “I’m catching the next flight I can back to New York. You stay safe until I get there. Better yet, turn yourself in to the police. You need to clear your name of this whole matter as soon as possible.”
“What aboutGarenth? I can’t leave him alone in the city. He’s already been shot at. No telling what else could happen to him,” she argued.
“I’ll tell him to lay low until you get back with him,”Irmineoffered.
She emphatically shook her head. “He can’t stay here. We don’t know if this warehouse is deserted.” She bit her bottom lip. “Can you tell him to remain in hiding until I’m donewith the police?”
“Where would that be?”Irminegave a breathy laugh. “He’s sort of hard to keep concealed.”
She grinned. “Tell him to remain on the museum’s roof. If anyone spots him there, he won’t look that out of place.”
Irminespoke with the creature, who answered.
