trusty turtle slippers and stumbled to the front door.
As soon as I swung open the door, I was ready to tackle him for the Styrofoam cup he was holding, but I thought better of it. Instead, I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before snatching the coffee out of his hand. I hoped the kiss would make up for my lack of manners.
“You are such an angel,” I told him, just before taking a big whiff of the coffee, in the hopes it would help to get my heart pumping.
The subject of angels made me think of Julius. I hadn’t heard from my guardian demon in a couple of days, which wasn’t really that unusual. But still, when there was something going on, he tended to make an appearance.
Maybe I’d have to stop by his apartment. How or why a demon needed an apartment, I had no idea, but I figured it might be time to pay him a visit for a change.
“Are you okay?” Tim asked.
“Sorry … come in,” I told him, before turning toward the kitchen and the coffee maker. One cup might be enough to keep my eyes open, but I had a feeling this was going to be one of those days when I might need two or three pots of the go juice.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Slept in the lobby of the Social Science building. “I take it there was no luck with the search last night?”
Shaking my head, I tested the coffee. It wasn’t too hot, but still warm enough to be good. I took several quick swallows, but it still took a minute for the caffeine to work its magic.
“Are you okay,” Tim asked again.
“Yes, just coming back from the land of the dead. Sorry.”
“So I haven’t talked to Fontaine yet. What happened last night?”
“We got a search party together and search most of the island, but we didn’t find a thing,” I explained, my mouth dipping into a frown.
“Maybe she was taken off the island,” he suggested.
“No … I can still feel her. If she’d been taken off the island, the connection would be weaker. Someone has to be hiding her in a place not accessible to a search, like their house maybe.”
“And no sign of monsters?” he asked, a cockeyed grin lighting up his boyish features..
“Nope … no monsters.”
“Well I have some news,” he informed me.
That’s when I realized I hadn’t offered him a seat. It wasn’t that I was being forgetful, or rude on purpose. I was just accustomed to Julius, who would sit whether he was invited to or not.
“Have a seat.” I motioned to a kitchen chair.
Tim sat down and placed his coffee on the table. “The Anthro Department was able to test the sample and found natron powder. They will have to carbon date a sample to find out how old the linen is, but the natron powder is telling.”
My knowledge of ancient Egypt was about as extensive as my knowledge of physics, which meant I knew next to nothing.
“Sooo … what does all that mean?”
“It means that so far, it looks authentic. Natron powder is a mixture of sodium compounds usually found around lakes west of the Nile River. It’s what the ancient Egyptians used to help dry and preserve the body, prior to wrapping it. We won’t know how old the sample is until they finish with the carbon dating though,” he explained.
I couldn’t help but wonder how likely it was that a killer would go through so much trouble, just to make it appear as if he were some kind of old mummy. Probably not too likely, but yet it all seemed real enough. This led me back to Granny’s, witchcraft combo curse, theory.
It was time to take a closer look at the witches on the island. I could immediately scratch Granny off the list of suspects. My grandmother didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Now I wasn’t too sure about Uncle Aaron. He had his weird moments.
“I do have an idea,” Tim interrupted my thought process, which for some reason reminded me that I had a headache.
“What’s that?” I asked, as I was searching the cupboard for a bottle of aspirin.
“We could hire
As soon as I swung open the door, I was ready to tackle him for the Styrofoam cup he was holding, but I thought better of it. Instead, I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before snatching the coffee out of his hand. I hoped the kiss would make up for my lack of manners.
“You are such an angel,” I told him, just before taking a big whiff of the coffee, in the hopes it would help to get my heart pumping.
The subject of angels made me think of Julius. I hadn’t heard from my guardian demon in a couple of days, which wasn’t really that unusual. But still, when there was something going on, he tended to make an appearance.
Maybe I’d have to stop by his apartment. How or why a demon needed an apartment, I had no idea, but I figured it might be time to pay him a visit for a change.
“Are you okay?” Tim asked.
“Sorry … come in,” I told him, before turning toward the kitchen and the coffee maker. One cup might be enough to keep my eyes open, but I had a feeling this was going to be one of those days when I might need two or three pots of the go juice.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Slept in the lobby of the Social Science building. “I take it there was no luck with the search last night?”
Shaking my head, I tested the coffee. It wasn’t too hot, but still warm enough to be good. I took several quick swallows, but it still took a minute for the caffeine to work its magic.
“Are you okay,” Tim asked again.
“Yes, just coming back from the land of the dead. Sorry.”
“So I haven’t talked to Fontaine yet. What happened last night?”
“We got a search party together and search most of the island, but we didn’t find a thing,” I explained, my mouth dipping into a frown.
“Maybe she was taken off the island,” he suggested.
“No … I can still feel her. If she’d been taken off the island, the connection would be weaker. Someone has to be hiding her in a place not accessible to a search, like their house maybe.”
“And no sign of monsters?” he asked, a cockeyed grin lighting up his boyish features..
“Nope … no monsters.”
“Well I have some news,” he informed me.
That’s when I realized I hadn’t offered him a seat. It wasn’t that I was being forgetful, or rude on purpose. I was just accustomed to Julius, who would sit whether he was invited to or not.
“Have a seat.” I motioned to a kitchen chair.
Tim sat down and placed his coffee on the table. “The Anthro Department was able to test the sample and found natron powder. They will have to carbon date a sample to find out how old the linen is, but the natron powder is telling.”
My knowledge of ancient Egypt was about as extensive as my knowledge of physics, which meant I knew next to nothing.
“Sooo … what does all that mean?”
“It means that so far, it looks authentic. Natron powder is a mixture of sodium compounds usually found around lakes west of the Nile River. It’s what the ancient Egyptians used to help dry and preserve the body, prior to wrapping it. We won’t know how old the sample is until they finish with the carbon dating though,” he explained.
I couldn’t help but wonder how likely it was that a killer would go through so much trouble, just to make it appear as if he were some kind of old mummy. Probably not too likely, but yet it all seemed real enough. This led me back to Granny’s, witchcraft combo curse, theory.
It was time to take a closer look at the witches on the island. I could immediately scratch Granny off the list of suspects. My grandmother didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Now I wasn’t too sure about Uncle Aaron. He had his weird moments.
“I do have an idea,” Tim interrupted my thought process, which for some reason reminded me that I had a headache.
“What’s that?” I asked, as I was searching the cupboard for a bottle of aspirin.
“We could hire
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