Barbara Silkstone - Wendy Darlin 04 - Miami Mummies by Barbara Silkstone Page B

rolled up in his head and he collapsed knees first, ending up flat on his back.
    I worked my feet under me into a squatting position. I was directly under the shattered part of the window. If the shooter stuck the gun through the hole, I could spring up and grab it and with luck hold it ’til Roger could help.
    The shooter must have decided it was a failed mission because I heard feet pounding down the corridor.
    I duck-walked to Roger. “Are you okay?”
    He smiled at me and patted my knee. “Thanks, sweetheart. That was quick thinking.” He got to his feet, brushing himself off, picked up his hat, and showed me the bullet hole in the crown, saying, “But a little hard on the wardrobe,” before jamming it on his head.
    The first chance I got that holey hat was going to hit the trash. Ick.
    Roger acted as if we hadn’t just been used for target practice. He walked around the two mummy cases, verifying they were intact. He stopped by Igor’s carcass. “I guess we should revive this guy.”
    I knelt beside Igor and whispered in his ear, “Someone is stealing your iPad.”
    He bolted upright almost taking my nose off. “What? OMG somebody shot at me.” He passed out again.
    This time I slapped his face lightly until his eyes fluttered open. He sat up slowly. “I have to file a report about this. Where are my glasses? OMG they were shot.” He passed out again.
    It was looking like a long afternoon.
    Roger muscled him to a sitting position, propped him against the wall, and squeezed his cheeks. “Igor can you hear me? Stay calm. You aren’t in danger.”
    His eyes opened with a look of panic. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a capsule which he dry swallowed. He blew out a breath. The panic left his eyes. “Medical bacon.”
    The gunfire must have affected my hearing. “Medical bacon?”
    He nodded. “Comfort food in a capsule. Drives cholesterol through the roof but what the hey?”
    Roger shook his head. “Listen, Igor, you asked us to tell you when we’re leaving so you could lock up. Well, break out your keys because we’re gone.”
    Panic started to show in his eyes again. He popped another capsule. “But… but… this mess?”
    Roger made a show of looking around. “What mess?”
    He took out his iPhone and snapped a few photos of the mummies. We left Igor sitting on the floor babbling about reports and eased into the corridor. We inched along the walls and scooted out the door into the parking lot, quiet as mummies in a tomb.
    Not one gun-toting mummy stealer in sight. We jumped in Goldie. Her engine purred to life. I backed out and headed toward the guard gate. “Okay, Roger, who were you going to name just before the shooting started?”
    “Kyzer Saucy because I’m positive he’s behind the theft of the mummies in Peru. But bringing those mummies here doesn’t compute.”
    “Saucy? You said he wants to kill you and somebody just tried. That computes. Perhaps you’ve become the man who knew too much.”
    “I can’t figure it. Saucy wants me dead because I’m getting close to him and his multimillion-dollar-stolen-mummy-and-antiquities operation. But to bring his action to the states is really pushing his luck. The feds just broke up a major mummy smuggling ring in Virginia.”
    “Is Saucy connected to Senator Grant? Tippy thinks he’s mixed up in the mummies being found on her property then mysteriously being moved out here.”
    Roger shrugged. “Not that I know of, but anything’s possible with Saucy. One thing is obvious. Somebody’s trying to keep me away from that dig and killing me is an acceptable option to accomplish that. Let’s get there fast before they succeed.”
    We reached the guard booth which was empty and turned onto the unpaved road that brought us here. I checked the rearview mirror a dozen times. We weren’t being followed. The more I thought about it the more it worried me. Mummies among the kale and cabbage.
    Goldie sputtered. I looked at the gas gauge.