Kathlyn Trent, Marcus Burton 01 - Valley of the Shadow by Kathryn Le Veque Page A
Book: Kathlyn Trent, Marcus Burton 01 - Valley of the Shadow by Kathryn Le Veque
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Authors: Kathryn Le Veque
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victoriously. "Congratulations, Dr. Burton. You've found a pharaoh, just not the one you're looking for."
Lynn was almost angry at the revelation. "But Ay has a tomb in the west valley!"
"They never found his mummy in it. In fact, it is the general consensus that it was plundered in antiquity. It could have been a ruse from the real tomb. From what I know of Ay, he was a wily and cunning son of a bitch. He killed his king for the throne."
No one had an argument for that and cartouches didn't lie. Lynn looked helplessly at Marcus, whose expression was like stone. In fact, everyone was looking at Marcus, waiting for a reaction of some kind. Kathlyn's distant voice filtered through the hole again.
"Hello?" she called. "Did you hear me?"
No one was willing to speak until Marcus did. He took a breath and turned back to the hole. "Yes, I heard you," he said. "We need to get you out of there and move this rock so we can take a better look at that seal."
"Do you know who it is?"
Marcus cast the group in the shaft a long look. "Yes, we think we do."
"Who?
"Ay."
"Ay,” she recollected him from her Egyptology courses. “The successor of Tutankhamen and predecessor of Horemheb, founder of the Ramesside Dynasty.” She called up into the hole in an earnest voice. “If you give me a knife, I can make Ramses VIII out of it in a jiffy. No one will ever know the difference!"
They all knew how much finding Ramses' tomb meant to Marcus and it was a compassionate bit of humor in a very bittersweet moment. Mark and Otis snickered; even Dennis smiled. Marcus put his hand through the hole in a nearly tender gesture, as if to touch her. "No, that's okay," he said. "Ay is just fine with me."
"Is it?"
"Absolutely."
"I'm sorry, Marcus. I didn't find the right guy for you."
It was growing too emotional, too sentimental for his taste, at least in a public venue. But to hell with it. "Sweetheart, you did just fine. Now let's get you the hell out of there so I can move this goddamn rock."
Juliana had been standing away from the group, but she had heard every word. She pushed through the men and extended her hand to Burton.
"Congratulations, Dr. Burton," she said. "This one will put you in the history books."
Marcus got down off his crate and took her hand; she was a smart, pretty lady, and he had come to like her. "Thanks," he said. "But your friend deserves all the credit for this one. I didn't do a damn thing."
"You brought her here. And you listened to her. That makes it just as much your find as hers."
Marcus gave her a lop-sided smile. "Got any idea how to get her out of there? She hurt her wrist on the fall in and can't hold a rope so we can pull her back through."
They all knew Juliana was the creative mastermind, on every level. Ed may have been the mechanical and educational genius, but sometimes he overlooked the obvious. It took Juliana less than a second to think of something. Moving for the upturned crate he had been standing on, she leapt up onto it.
"I'm skinny enough to get in there with her. I'll tie the rope around her waist and you can pull her out."
"Good enough," Marcus said. A sense of excitement was growing in him and he could feel it flowing, heightening his sense of purpose. He turned to the people standing behind him and clapped his big hands together. "Come on, people, shake a leg. We've got a doctor to extract and a boulder to move."
Kathlyn was out in less than five minutes. The boulder took another two days.
CHAPTER SIX
“I got the message five minutes ago, Kat. We’ve got clearance to go.”
Kathlyn stared at Debra Jo as if the woman had just grown another head. She was so stunned that she had to sit down. With a heavy sigh, she curled up on a canvas chair that was covered with dust, just like everything else. It had been murder keeping the computers clean out here, even in the relatively clean area of the Debra Jo’s administrative
Lynn was almost angry at the revelation. "But Ay has a tomb in the west valley!"
"They never found his mummy in it. In fact, it is the general consensus that it was plundered in antiquity. It could have been a ruse from the real tomb. From what I know of Ay, he was a wily and cunning son of a bitch. He killed his king for the throne."
No one had an argument for that and cartouches didn't lie. Lynn looked helplessly at Marcus, whose expression was like stone. In fact, everyone was looking at Marcus, waiting for a reaction of some kind. Kathlyn's distant voice filtered through the hole again.
"Hello?" she called. "Did you hear me?"
No one was willing to speak until Marcus did. He took a breath and turned back to the hole. "Yes, I heard you," he said. "We need to get you out of there and move this rock so we can take a better look at that seal."
"Do you know who it is?"
Marcus cast the group in the shaft a long look. "Yes, we think we do."
"Who?
"Ay."
"Ay,” she recollected him from her Egyptology courses. “The successor of Tutankhamen and predecessor of Horemheb, founder of the Ramesside Dynasty.” She called up into the hole in an earnest voice. “If you give me a knife, I can make Ramses VIII out of it in a jiffy. No one will ever know the difference!"
They all knew how much finding Ramses' tomb meant to Marcus and it was a compassionate bit of humor in a very bittersweet moment. Mark and Otis snickered; even Dennis smiled. Marcus put his hand through the hole in a nearly tender gesture, as if to touch her. "No, that's okay," he said. "Ay is just fine with me."
"Is it?"
"Absolutely."
"I'm sorry, Marcus. I didn't find the right guy for you."
It was growing too emotional, too sentimental for his taste, at least in a public venue. But to hell with it. "Sweetheart, you did just fine. Now let's get you the hell out of there so I can move this goddamn rock."
Juliana had been standing away from the group, but she had heard every word. She pushed through the men and extended her hand to Burton.
"Congratulations, Dr. Burton," she said. "This one will put you in the history books."
Marcus got down off his crate and took her hand; she was a smart, pretty lady, and he had come to like her. "Thanks," he said. "But your friend deserves all the credit for this one. I didn't do a damn thing."
"You brought her here. And you listened to her. That makes it just as much your find as hers."
Marcus gave her a lop-sided smile. "Got any idea how to get her out of there? She hurt her wrist on the fall in and can't hold a rope so we can pull her back through."
They all knew Juliana was the creative mastermind, on every level. Ed may have been the mechanical and educational genius, but sometimes he overlooked the obvious. It took Juliana less than a second to think of something. Moving for the upturned crate he had been standing on, she leapt up onto it.
"I'm skinny enough to get in there with her. I'll tie the rope around her waist and you can pull her out."
"Good enough," Marcus said. A sense of excitement was growing in him and he could feel it flowing, heightening his sense of purpose. He turned to the people standing behind him and clapped his big hands together. "Come on, people, shake a leg. We've got a doctor to extract and a boulder to move."
Kathlyn was out in less than five minutes. The boulder took another two days.
CHAPTER SIX
“I got the message five minutes ago, Kat. We’ve got clearance to go.”
Kathlyn stared at Debra Jo as if the woman had just grown another head. She was so stunned that she had to sit down. With a heavy sigh, she curled up on a canvas chair that was covered with dust, just like everything else. It had been murder keeping the computers clean out here, even in the relatively clean area of the Debra Jo’s administrative
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