Death at the Museum by London Lovett

Author:London Lovett [Lovett, London]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild Fox Press

Chapter 19

Class had just gotten out on the floor near Professor Fisher's office. I was walking upstream as a school of college students swam past me. The professor's door was closed. I knocked just as the door handle turned. A young woman, late teens, possibly, was on the other side of the door. We both laughed at our synchronized timing.

Dr. Fisher was standing behind the girl. "Miss Taylor, allow me to introduce you to my niece, Anna. Anna, this is the journalist from the Junction Times."

Anna had green eyes and a spray of freckles across her nose. "Hello, nice to meet you." She fingered a thick gold chain around her neck as she looked back at her uncle. Whatever was on the end of the necklace, it was hidden beneath her t-shirt. "Thanks again, Uncle Sammy. I'll see you at Sunday dinner."

I smiled and nodded at her as she sidled past.

"Come on in, Miss Taylor. I'm afraid I don't have any more information about the chalice." I followed him into his office with its artifacts and mummified critters. It seemed he was still in the process of rearranging things. Piles of books and towers of papers took up every seating space. I wondered if the piles on chairs were a ploy to keep students . . . and journalists . . . from lingering too long in his office.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping you'd heard word about the return of the chalice."

He shook his head solemnly. "No, I'm afraid not, and Cairo is extremely angry. They'll never trust us with a treasure again."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. I think the whole town was looking forward to seeing the Lotus Chalice. It's terrible to think it might be in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to handle it properly. Dr. Fisher, is there anyone else you can think of who might have had access to a lab key? A student perhaps?"

Professor Fisher's face leaned back. "Surely you don't think I handed my key card off to a student? It is considered a privilege to have unfettered access to that lab, and I take the responsibility very seriously."

"No, no, I'm sorry if I offended you. Of course, I'm sure it's a privilege. It's just that the list had some student names, so I thought someone, a grad student, perhaps, might have had temporary access to the lab."

He was shaking his head before I finished. "I always accompany my students in the lab. Yes, occasionally one has been granted access, but at the moment, none of my students have a key card. I can't speak for the rest of the people on that list," he said, accusatorilly. "Others are much more lax with the rules than me."

My ears perked up like that of the mummified cat looming over us from the shelf above. "Do you think one of the other key holders might have lent out their access card?"

He immediately wiped away the accusation. "I didn't mean to imply that anyone else was doing anything inappropriate.

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