“Dr. Jones, great to see you again,” his voice echoed over to us. “So glad you could come on such short notice.”
Andrew clasped the man’s hand with his own. “Dr. Carlos Garcia, this is Adriana and her brother William. Adriana, William, this is Dr. Garcia, my father’s great friend and one of my best mentors. Carlos and I have been on many memorable journeys.”
Dr. Garcia laughed and tugged on his bow tie. “Yes, many wonderful adventures. Some of us thought we would never see our loved ones again. Good times.” He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. “We can catch up over dinner tonight, and I’ll tell you about some of them. Now, Andrew, did you bring the bracelet?”
Andrew cleared his throat and turned to me. With his eyes, he indicated to me to show the bracelet to Dr. Garcia. “Yes, but…”
With a squeamish look on my face, I outstretched my arm.
The old man put his glasses back on, took my hand into his soft one, and examined the bracelet. “Marvelous work, just marvelous. I just have one question.” He straightened. “Why did you put it on?”
My cheeks turned hot with embarrassment, and my eyes jumped from him to Andrew, then back to him. “There was a bit of confusion with the delivery. I thought it was for me, and I was wrong, and then Andrew couldn’t figure out how to take it off and?—”
“I believe we can open the chest while it’s on her,” Andrew said. “According to all the information I was able to find, keepers wore it on a wrist, and just as the chest unlocks, the bracelet unlatches too.”
“For security reasons, wouldn’t they want it on their wrist all the time?” William asked.
“No, they needed to be able to pass it to the next keeper.” Dr. Garcia pursed his lips, his focus on the bracelet. He moved his head from side to side, humming as if thinking about what Andrew had just said, then smiled. “All we can do is try. Follow me.”
We shadowed him through a gallery with sculptures of many sizes, then we turned and proceeded through a huge room with collections of tapestries and textiles. He stopped by a massive door and fished a key ring out of his side pocket. Selecting one, he unlocked the door and ushered us down the stairs into a basement office overstuffed with stacks of paper, crates, and shelves that groaned under the weight of thick books and binders.
Dr. Garcia pushed his way between us and stopped at a large desk. “Here is the chest,” he said, puffing.
In the center of the desk sat a massive black metal box decorated with an intricate network of carvings. Four serpent-like creatures coiled their bodies around it, their heads coming to the top and resting at an indentation in the center. It was nothing like what I was expecting. In my mind, it should have been a wooden trunk with a dome top like I often saw in museums or pirate movies. This box was intimidating, with an aura of menace. I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.
“Now, Adriana, come closer, if you don’t mind.” Dr. Garcia motioned to me. “This should be simple. You need to turn your arm and press this part”—with his index finger, he touched the crown on the bracelet—“inside this indentation here.” He pointed to a spot on the chest.
Simple enough.
I gave my purse to William and walked over to examine the mysterious box.
“It seems so unfriendly.” I circled it, checking out the wondrous artwork. Fifty thousand dollars might not be worth me losing my arm. The snakes’ heads could snap at my wrist, breaking it, or their venom dissolve my skin and bones. Or worse, suck the life out of me and turn me into a shriveled body like Imhotep inThe Mummy. “These things look like they can come alive at any moment.”
“Nothing will come alive,” Andrew said.
He was right. I knew I shouldn’t let my imagination get the best of me, but I had a very real fear it would explode if I did something wrong.
“What if it’s booby trapped?” I glanced over my shoulder at Andrew.
“It’s not,” Andrew and Dr. Garcia said in unison.
With my heart rate up a notch, I glanced at each man in the room. They all waited on my next move with an air of expectancy. Even William seemed to hold his breath.
“Okay.” I exhaled, leaned forward, reached my arm over the box, and then lowered it with the center stone pointing down. The bracelet snugly fit into the cold crater. One second passed. Two seconds passed. Nothing happened. And nothing sprang to life.
“Now what?” I asked.
“Now press on it.” Andrew moved towards the table and pressed his hands on the edge of it as he took a closer look.
I did what he said. There was a faint click. My breath caught in my throat. William took in a sharp, loud gasp.
And nothing.
No sound of turning metal wheels. No clicking of unlocking locks. No movement of scaly bodies.
Andrew bent his knees until his eyes were on the same level as the top of the metal box. William brought my purse to his chest and hugged it, biting his bottom lip.For real?Was this that exciting to him?
“William?” I said. “Remember to breathe.”
