Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Oliver took notes in class, but his brain wasn’t engaged enough to understand them.
He’d written the same phrase three times without realizing it, then scratched them all out.
Not only was it a Monday, but apparently word about his arrest had made the rounds on campus.
He was aware of other students staring, some brazen enough to snap a picture.
He tried to ignore it all, but it was difficult.
And exhausting. He knew, though, if he engaged with anyone, he’d just end up all over social media even more, but with a hashtag like #angrykiller or #crankycampuskiller.
Actually, that last one wasn’t too bad.
He’d spent the weekend alternating between sleeping in their bed and napping on the couch. Dave had hovered in doorways, biting his lower lip and rubbing the back of his neck. He’d brought him snacks and drinks and completely surrendered the remote.
After class, he and Robin merged with the students in the hallway and left the Communications building.
The sun-drenched quad was bright and warm.
He rolled up his sleeves, but it didn’t help.
Sweat prickled around his neck as they cut across a grassy section.
Campus security was out in force; Oliver counted five officers on foot patrol.
It should have made him feel safer, but it actually made him more nervous.
Were they out to patrol and provide protection for the student body or keep an eye on him?
“What are you going to do now?” Robin asked.
“I might poke around campus a bit. See if I can find a trail or some indication of where the mummy has been hiding out.”
“Want company?”
“I don’t want to get you in trouble.” Oliver glanced at them. “Everything okay at home?”
“You mean at her home?” Robin’s expression darkened. “She reminded me of that several times last night.”
“She’s worried about you.”
“She’s not my mother.”
“That doesn’t matter. I don’t have siblings, but Dave’s got several brothers, and even though they fight on a regular basis and tease each other mercilessly, they’re all extremely protective of each other.” They were quiet for a couple of steps. “You’re still staying there?”
“I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“I’m sorry. That sounds tough.”
“It is what it is. I mean, I get it. They have two young daughters, and they don’t want the cops to search their house or have strange people come around and ask a bunch of insane questions.”
“Has that happened?”
“Not yet, but after seeing you on the news last night, she got kind of freaked.”
“I get it. It’s a pain in the ass.”
Robin stopped walking and pointed. “Hey, is that Dave?”
Oliver followed Robin’s line of sight. Dave waited in the parking lot, wearing a backwards baseball cap, fitted blue t-shirt, and khaki shorts.
He leaned against the car, his hands braced on the hood behind him.
Oliver stopped, his breath caught in his throat.
Then he registered the matching poses on either side: Cody in aviators and a blue Critter Catchers polo, and Demetrius in a white one.
Both wore cargo shorts and work boots like they'd left a job to come lend support.
The three of them were causing quite a stir across the quad.
“It is him. And he’s brought reinforcements.”
He continued toward the parking lot, Robin beside him. When they were a few yards away, Dave saw him and smiled. He pushed up from the front of the car, Cody and Demetrius following. When Oliver reached them, Dave pulled him in for a strong hug.
“Hey now,” Cody said. “PG-13.”
“It’s just a hug,” Demetrius said. “Leave them alone.”
“They’re attracting a lot of attention, and there’s plenty of campus security out here who might want to blow off some steam.”
Dave ended the hug and glanced over his shoulder at Cody. “Good point, but also a complete buzzkill.”
“Cock blocker,” Oliver added.
Cody grimaced. “Don’t use that phrase.”
Oliver caught Dave’s eye. “Why did you bring them?”
“We’re here for support,” Demetrius said, moving in to hug Oliver.
“We came to support my soon-to-be brother-in-law,” Cody added.
“Um, hi, I’m Robin.” They held out a hand to Demetrius. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Demetrius.” He shook with Robin. “I’m married to this guy, who I think you’ve met.”
“Robin and I are old pals.” Cody held up a fist and Robin bumped it. Oliver repressed an eye roll.
“We can leave if you want,” Demetrius said. “But we thought it might be helpful to have some other…” He glanced at Robin. “Like-minded friends around to bounce ideas off.”
“Robin knows it might be a murderous mummy,” Oliver said.
“Oh. Welcome to the Critter Catchers club, I guess.”
“You guys have a club?” Robin nudged Oliver. “The Case of the Murderous Mummy sounds like an amazing title for your first TikTok video.”
Cody chuckled. “I like this kid.”
Robin’s eyes narrowed. “I’m twenty.”
“Still a kid.”
“If you guys want to help,” Oliver said, “I was considering doing a lap around the outside of the Earth Sciences building and try to find any evidence that might have been missed.”
“Mummy related?” Demetrius asked.
“Or human. Just anything out of the ordinary.”
Cody gave a tight smile to a passing campus security officer. “Like maybe all these officers?”
“Supposed to make us all feel safer,” Robin said.
“Is it working?”
“Not really.”
“Two groups?” Dave suggested. “First group goes one way around the building, and the other the opposite?”
“I like that,” Oliver said. “Good plan.”
“Cody and I can go around one side,” Demetrius offered.
“We’re like Fred and Daphne from Scooby-Doo,” Cody said, then grinned. “Guess which is which?”
“I’m not doing that,” Oliver stated. “Dave, Robin and I will go the other way, and we can all meet up in the back.”
“Anything specific we should be on the lookout for?” Demetrius asked.
“Strips of faded and dirty material,” Dave said. “Strange tracks in the dirt.”
“Blood?” Robin suggested. “Maybe if it returned here after, you know, killing someone, it might have had blood on it.”
“Kid’s sharp,” Cody said, and Robin blushed.
Oliver and Robin stowed their bags inside Oliver’s car before they all headed for the Earth Sciences building. As they walked, Demetrius caught Oliver up on Clarabell’s findings in Samira’s journal.
“Wait,” Robin said from just behind them. “Who’s Clarabell?”
“A tiny demon who showed up on Demmy’s and my honeymoon and who we haven’t been able to cast back to Hell,” Cody said.
“Dude…” Dave’s tone held a minor threat.
“Am I wrong?”
Dave sighed. “Not entirely.”
“Ignore them,” Demetrius said to Robin. “Clarabell is a paranormal investigator—”
“Instigator is more like it,” Cody said.
Demetrius went on without missing a beat.
“And she’s got a lot of knowledge about these kinds of things, plus a bunch of contacts in the community.
” He returned his attention to Oliver. “She was able to get more translations done based on the words Samira had completed already. From what she deciphered, the word mery is used as both a name and the word ‘beloved.’”
Oliver stopped in his tracks. He met Dave’s eyes, and they said together, “The mummy really is gay.”
“So Amenmose is searching for Mery?” Robin said. “And he’s killed the others because they aren’t him?”
“Maybe…” Oliver’s thoughts were racing. He stared at the Earth Sciences building, just a few yards away now. “Or Amenmose is angry about being awakened. Maybe he was happy with Mery in the afterlife, and when he awoke, he was torn away from him.”
“That’s awful,” Demetrius said.
“And it found the others because of the gross fungus that got all over everyone?” Cody said.
“Probably,” Oliver said.
“And it hasn’t gotten to either of you because you live even further away from campus than the others,” Dave suggested.
“But you all had to have showered,” Demetrius said. “Wouldn’t the spores wash off?”
“Not if we inhaled them,” Robin said, then they turned to Oliver. “Bruh, we should have been masked up.”
“No kidding.” Oliver paused, thinking. “Vera said from what she could tell, the spores came from a pouch inside the sarcophagus. I wonder if that was just part of the ritual or if it was some kind of intentional placement for him to be reanimated in the future?”
“But for what purpose?” Dave asked.
Cody raised a hand. “A few questions, if I may.”
“Will I regret saying yes?”
“Hey, I can be serious.” Cody counted them off on his fingers.
“One, where is this mummy hiding out in between all his murdering? Two, what is he ultimately searching for? If you can figure that out, you’ll have something to use as bait.
Three, even if you breathed in those spores, wouldn’t you have, I don’t know, expelled them by now? ”
Oliver shrugged. “Not sure. I’m not familiar with fungal spores.
They could have a limited lifespan, long enough to keep a connection between us and Amenmose.
As for the first two questions, maybe we’ll find something today to help us narrow down where the mummy is taking shelter.
And I have no idea what Amenmose might be trying to track down. ”
The memory of touching Amenmose made Oliver rub his thumb and forefinger together. The linen strips, stiff with preservative and sand, and the hard bone beneath. A chill went through him as thin filaments of connections began to come together in his mind.
“Or someone,” he said.
“You think it’s searching for one specific person?” Dave asked.
“Maybe Dr. Brennan,” Robin suggested. “Or Dylan. They were both there in Egypt when the tomb was opened, and they oversaw the removal and transport of the coffin.”
“Maybe,” Oliver said, but he was distracted. “Has Clarabell found any descriptions of Mery? Other than Amenmose referring to him as his beloved?”
“I don’t know,” Demetrius replied. “Do you want me to call her?”
“Not yet,” Oliver said. “Maybe later tonight, I’ll pay her a visit myself.” His brain continued to replay the opening of the coffin and the sensation when he touched the mummy. “Let’s go back to where all of this started.”