Page 100 of Ancient Obsession

“You were very brave, and you are very smart. Everything you did helped save me and my friends and family. Thank you.”

“Mr. Berridge?” Detective Carter stood a short distance away. “I need a statement before you leave for the hospital.”

Oliver stood. Then he turned back to Samira. “May I get your phone number so I can return your notebook?”

“Oh, of course.”

They both laughed when they realized neither of them had their phones.

“I left mine in the room when I changed,” Oliver said. “The police have yours. Talk with the detective about getting it back.”

She nodded, then took his hand. Her fingers were cool and dry, her mouth set in a determined line. “I was honest with the detective about everything. All of it. You should do the same.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a lot of experience with this kind of thing.”

She cocked her head. “With mummies?”

“With pretty much anything creepy.” He squeezed her hand and let it go. “Get some rest and be well. Give Dave your number, he’s my fiancé.” Oliver gestured and Dave lifted a hand. “He was with me when we found your notebook.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

He started to turn away, then remembered something. “How did you know which car is mine? When you left the note?”

She shrugged. “I saw you pull into the lot a few times. We had classes around the same time on Tuesdays.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh. My car’s been parked there all this time. Do you think I’ve got a bunch of tickets?”

Oliver chuckled. “I’m sure campus security will write those off once they get everything sorted out.” He walked to the detective. “Let’s get this over with.”

Carter led the way up the path toward the offices where, just a short time before, he’d changed into his tuxedo, excited to be getting married. By all rights, he and Dave should be sharing their first dance right now.

And Lucien, Dominic, and Vera should all still be alive.

He took a steadying breath and followed Carter into the room where his jeans, shoes and shirt waited for him, like a costume for some other part of his life.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The days after blurred into a tangle of meetings with police, university officials, archaeology professionals, and doctors. Dave tried to limit the number of interactions and flow of information in order for them both to recover, but it was difficult. Because of the concussion, he could only manage short periods of screen time before needing to lie down. The questioning happened over the course of several days, sometimes multiple sessions a day.

A staff member at the botanical garden had discovered a bed of leaves in a back corner. Bits of dirty linen lay among the wilted greens. All of it was a few feet from the vine-covered door Cody had seen. Apparently, the vines had hidden the fact the door was slightly ajar and able to be opened. Carter’s team had examined it all and returned the bits of bandage to Dr. Brennan.

Dylan’s body was found in the woods outside the campus fitness center the day after the wedding attack. He’d been killed in the same horrific manner as the others. From what Carter and the forensics team could piece together, the mummy had surprised him after his last workout. They decided Dylan had fled into the woods and the mummy caught up to him there. Of the original team, only Samira, Dr. Brennan, Beryl, and Ricky remained.

Dr. Brennan and the university threatened to bring legal action against Oliver and Samira, claiming they were owed money for destruction of an archaeological artifact. But Dave got in touch with each of their guests as well as the event staff and collected mobile phone video of the mummy’s rampage. He placed a call to Dieter, and within a day the university had received a letter requesting they cease any legal action or else he would file a suit against the university for having no cameras outside the buildings, and no fire suppression system in the examination room.

They heard nothing more after that.

A short time later, Oliver told him he’d heard Dr. Brennan had left on sabbatical. Dave hoped it would last a very long time.

Oliver would respond when spoken to, but his words and tone were measured. When Dave’s family dropped by to say goodbye before they all flew home, Oliver tried to act engaged, but his attention drifted and he had to ask several times for things to be repeated. How was he supposed to support someone who had just been stalked by an obsessed and murderous mummy?

They talked around the possibility of a rescheduled and pared down wedding, but neither of them took the initiative. Dave had early on created a spreadsheet to keep track of the wedding costs. When he updated it to include amounts for damages to the gardens, their tuxedos, and hospital visits, the total stunned him.

He did not share any of it with Oliver.

After a week, Dave logged back into work and played along like the wedding had gone according to plan. He doubted anyone on their Teams calls would believe any of it if they heard the truth. The rumors online were running rampant, but a lot of people dismissed the videos as AI.

The week after the Fourth of July, Robin came by for a visit. Dave was glad to see Oliver shifting in his chair, leaning slightly toward Robin. Within the first ten minutes, Oliver had laughed more with Robin than he had in the past few weeks. Dave found he was able to breathe a bit easier just hearing him laugh again.

Robin went on for a while about how cool and funky Clarabell was. The two of them had kept in touch after the wedding, and when Clarabell had learned about Robin living in their sister’s basement, she immediately told them to pack up and move into her spare bedroom. It had taken some work to convince their sister, but the addition of a new job at Hollow Grounds coffeeshop—at which point Oliver feigned terror and said, “Save the lattes!”—had helped her say yes. Robin’s eyes were wide with excitement as they talked about the cryptids they’d been learning about.