Shadowed-Death by Design

Chapter Eighteen - Into Total Darkness?

    

Jean-Louis spoke accusingly at first. "Lucy, you seem a little cool toward me. Is something wrong? Something has changed. We are not like we were in Rouen. It is the professor, isn’t it? We were doing fine until you met him!”  

When Lucy concluded her serious talk with Jean-Louis, she found it relaxing to write. “Afterwards, I phoned Aimee to explain what was happening. She admitted that she had felt some ‘sparks’ with J-L. I told her there is nothing between the two of us, and to go for it! After her time with him in Rouen, she wonders if she could be falling in love with him. I told him the truth about Aimee within plain view of other students as witnesses. I was so afraid of J-L’s jealous rage! J-L was relieved that it was not his imagination about Rouen. He said it must have been Aimee of whom he had grown so fond, and that no wonder I was lukewarm with him! He was jealous over nothing! He seemed to accept me switching places with her so I gave him her phone number. P.S. Mauro is so patient. I am not afraid of him at all. I think he would calmly forgive me anything!”  

Later, after Lucy and Mauro perused Grandpa Guiseppe’s journals, he inquired, "Lucy, how does it feel to commune with the ancients, to develop an obsession for them and hopefully for me? Have you considered my proposal?”

After she consented to accompany him on the Egypt dig, Lucy phoned Diane, just to check in with her. "Diane? Can you hear me alright on this phone?"

“Hello? Lucy? Are you coming back to Paris, to our apartment? You remember, the place for which you pay half the rent, but you are never here? Where are you?”   

“I am in Italy. I am not sure when I am returning. This is my only chance to get to know Mauro. After he and I have exhausted the Museum of Archaeology, I might fly with him to another dig. I do not know my itinerary.”

“You had better come home, Lucy! You should touch bases here with Marie and Franc. Don’t you want to see what I’ve done with our apartment? Our landlord has a form which we both need to sign. And I have got a gift for your next trip! You had better come get it!” Coerced by Diane, Lucy returned to their Paris apartment. Diane had tickets to a posh charity art auction and plans for both of them. “Lucy, we are so fortunate to have been invited! It will be teeming with eligible young bachelors! Not to mention that we need some real art for our bare walls!”  

A couple days later, Lucy and Diane arrived at the auction, impeccably dressed and coiffed. “Diane, did you just hear that announcement that an oil masterpiece entitled ‘Chateau Nouveau,’ by Matisse Louere, has been misplaced?" Diane nodded yes. Each auction guest was given a numbered sign to display for the auctioneer during silent bidding. “Ladies and gentlemen, Piece F is an original oil by relatively unknown painter Luis Philippe, entitled ‘Sauvignon.’ The beginning bid is seven hundred Euros.” The auctioneer pointed his gavel in the direction of a young man holding the number thirty. “I have seven hundred Euros. Do I have eight hundred Euros?”

Diane held up her number fourteen to bid on the small painting. The auctioneer indicated Diane. “I have eight hundred Euros. Going once, going twice, going three times.” He slammed his gavel and made the announcement, “Sold to the attractive young woman displaying number fourteen." After Diane bid on two more and acquired both, Lucy intervened. “Diane, you have quite an eye for color and form, but you’ve already spent thirteen hundred dollars? If you have money for originals, why do you need me as a room mate to split the rent?”  

"Not now, Lucy. They’re an investment. I can’t believe my good fortune in acquiring all three of them! Excuse me, while I go ‘accidentally and coincidentally’ bump into the handsome young man who is my bidding competitor. We may have more than art in common! Perhaps his number thirty is my lucky number.” Diane laughed as she made her way along the row of seats. Soon she returned with a cardboard tube filled with her rolled treasures and the young gentleman’s hand in the other. He was carrying an identical tube. “Lucy, I would like you to meet Monsieur Jacques Bonet. She is already spoken for, several times over, Jacques. See you at home, Lucy. Keep your eyes peeled for the lost masterpiece! When it is located, it will be auctioned. At the very end of the auction, they will have a charity raffle. Don’t miss it! Let’s go, Jacques!” The couple exited, Jacques Bonet carrying Diane’s paintings, as well as his own. Lucy stayed until after the raffle. When she opened the door to the apartment, she stuck her head inside and warned, “Diane, I am finally home! I hope I am not too early, but I stayed until the end." She looked all around. "Diane, I don’t see your Monsieur Bonet. Has he left already? I’m sorry. Didn’t it go well between you two?"

“He’s gone, Lucy. That's the story of my life! Your trip is coming up soon. I insist that you use this nice large suit case to diminish the chances of losing many smaller bags.” 

“Thank you! It’s really nice! You must be rolling in money, Diane! But I am very tired. Good night.”  

The following morning, Lucy was off to Egypt. “Mauro, how long until we land in Cairo? Should I start trying to spot the Sphinx?” As the plane engine began to sputter and stall. “Last time we refueled, all the gas tanks indicated full. Suddenly, the gauges are all showing empty. We are going down, for a nice smooth landing on the plane’s belly. I will keep the plane’s nose up. Hold on, here we go!” The plane’s bottom scraped the tops of sand dunes before it finally stopped. “Lucy, are you alright? Let me get you out of the plane. You’re shaking.” He scooped her up in his strong, capable arms, and sheltered her body with his own behind a dune. “We have to stay down, in case the plane catches on fire and explodes!” He kissed her, and she returned his kiss, finally coming up for air. “What do you immediately need from the plane, Lucy? We will need to travel light, only survival stuff.”        

“You do not need your umbrella. And is there anything you absolutely need from your new suit case? Because we will have to come back for it. Anything valuable or irreplaceable? I cannot guarantee your things will still be here when we get back. Dune bandits abound here, with so many tourists on which to prey. And what about your backpack?”    

“No. I do not usually go anywhere without it, but this will have to be the exception. Just my duffle.”  

Mauro returned. “Ever ridden a camel before, Lucy?" He pointed out two approaching camels, led by two robed Bedouin men whose heads were covered with white cloth against the relentless desert sun. "I found a pin size hole in each of the gas tanks. Not a drop of gas left! It was foul play! It seems that someone did not want to burn up the plane and its contents or risk an explosion, for some reason. What among our possessions would someone want? My Grandfather Giuseppe’s hundred year old archaeological journals may be the reason we are being sabotaged. They may be valuable, even priceless! Now, how about that camel ride to the Sphinx?”  

“Yes. See the shorter man, the one with white fabric wrapped across his face? The wind is not even blowing the sand. The other man's face is not covered. Curious, isn't it?” 

“Yes, Lucy. There are not many artifacts left inside the pyramid. The Cairo Museum has emptied the relics over the decades to protect the priceless treasures from thieves. I will take care of the plane and be back soon. I will get you into the pyramid with my credentials and my grandfather’s name.”

Having successfully negotiated dozens of rungs on the ramp ladder that led down into the bowels of the pyramid, Lucy was engrossed in examining the detailed hieroglyphs on an ancient lid leaning against the wall adjacent to its sarcophagus. Fascinated, she inadvertently lagged behind her tour guide. Suddenly her nose and mouth were covered with a damp cloth. As her eyes closed, her body was placed inside and the lid was hoisted, sealing the sarcophagus air tight---