The Quest of the Empty Tomb

by Elyse Salpeter

  Until we meet, Armand.

  Margie

  Kelsey had to read the letter twice. It was dated six months before they’d traveled to Egypt. The entire letter confused her and left her with more questions than answers. What did her mother mean, “she simply wanted her to get older?” Did she mean her? And what about her meeting Jibade, or the Usthatan calling her to pay a debt? Who were they?

  A strange feeling crept into her gut. What had her mother been hiding from her father that only Armand Dupuis could know about?

  Her cell phone vibrated. She pulled up her voicemail, this time privileged to listen to a tirade of verbal obscenities from Jay. She deleted the message without waiting to hear it until the end.

  There was also a text from Ari to contact him. They must have found something. She unzipped her knapsack and took out her computer, setting up Skype to find out what they knew.

  Chapter 5

  CLAIRE

  “Hey, Sis.” Ari’s face filled the screen. “How was the flight?”

  “Uneventful, though things have gotten interesting.” She heard keys tapping in the background. “Is Julia there with you?”

  Julia popped her head in the screen. “Of course. Where else would I be? He’s got me glued to the computer these days. You’d think he had a secret crush on me or something.” She winked at Ari and disappeared from the screen. Kelsey heard the taps of the keyboard again.

  Kelsey raised her eyebrows and Ari’s expression confirmed that he indeed, did not have a crush on Julia.

  Kelsey held up the letter. “Let me read you something Armand left for me. You’re not going to believe this.” She read him her mother’s letter.

  His eyes widened, but he remained uncharacteristically quiet.

  “So, what do you think?” Kelsey said.

  “It sounds like your mother and Armand made some sort of deal that would have to be paid with you as the currency.”

  “It has to be something else. My mother never would have used me like that.”

  Ari cocked his head. “Not according to that letter. And she and that archaeologist were complicit in it, too. And used you to the extent that you would be put in danger, or why would you need protection?”

  “You’re assuming the letter is about me,” Kelsey said.

  “Of course, it is,” he scoffed. “Who else could it be about? She wanted him to meet you.” He considered something for a moment before he spoke. “You know, Kelsey, the letter also has a different... flavor to it, if you know what I mean. I don’t write letters so affectionately to my professors, regardless of how long I’ve known them. And how she signed it?”

  My dearest Armand… and she signed it Margie. The whole thing didn’t sit right with Kelsey, either. Her mother’s letter sounded more than just the closeness between a student and her professor. No, they were just over-analyzing things, as usual. They were close friends.

  “Erase that line of thinking right now. My mother wouldn’t do anything like that to my father. My parents were madly in love and practically inseparable. They just felt very close to this man, and both of them knew him personally for years. They spent summers with him, for God’s sake, and he went to their wedding. Now, just tell me what you found out.”

  “Fine, we’ll get back to this later, but I’m telling you it means something, and you know I’m usually right about these things.” Ari took out a notebook and started flipping the pages. He paused and then read off some information. “The theory of the empty tombs goes back for centuries. We know many times they’re empty simply because they’ve been robbed. Other times they’re empty as a deception. The people left the tombs unoccupied and buried the deceased in other places so they would never be disturbed. Many religions believe empty tombs have to do with the person being reincarnated, or in Christianity, where God raised Jesus from the dead.”

  “Yes, but you don’t believe that, do you?”

  “What I personally believe or don’t believe doesn’t matter right now. I’m just stating the facts as I know them. Now, there are a ton of conspiracy theories as well, including medical theories. One theory is that the person never actually died. People were mistakenly thought dead all the time in the old days, and then they’d miraculously awaken. It’s why safety coffins with bells were finally developed for people who feared premature burial.”

  “I know about those. Go on,” Kelsey said.

  “Some people believe that many of the empty tomb sites in Egypt were all cover-ups. That something of value was found in the tombs that would ‘place history on its head’ if it got out, so they created a ruse so that no one would know the real reason.”

  “You mean something as earth-shattering as discovering that Jesus never actually rose?”

  “Exactly. Could you imagine something like that coming out? Possibly the cover-ups and missing bodies are all just deceptions so the public never becomes aware of what really happened. Now, other cultures have had their fair share of empty tombs, as well. There are stories in Buddhism where the bodies of certain bodhisattvas have disappeared from the temples. It’s happened from Japan to South America. Even in the United States, we have our own ghost stories of empty graves. Start with New Orleans, swing out to the southern towns in the bayous, hit St. Augustine, and work out from there. Everyone who has an open mind knows that the folklore and ghost tales of cultures usually start with a grain of truth.”

  Kelsey nodded. “So what you’re saying is that all of these could be connected in some way and Armand believes he may have discovered the true overriding belief?”

  “We won’t know until we speak to him, but it sounds like it. This Usthatan discussion has me concerned, though.” He turned his head to speak to Julia. Kelsey heard Julia’s keys tapping furiously.

  “I’m already looking that up. Hold on,” Julia called out. She’d obviously been listening to the conversation and had immediately started researching. She might be a busy blabbermouth know-it-all, but she was also brilliant and obsessed with research.

  Ari turned back to her. “Did your mother ever speak to you about any of this before she died?”

  Kelsey shook her head no.

  “And you never saw Armand after that last stay in Egypt?”

  Kelsey shook her head again. “Then what was my mother talking about with regards to the Decan protecting her? It sounds like a proper name.”

  Julia popped up on the screen. “It is. I found a ton of stuff on Decans that has to do with Egypt. The old pyramid builders were star worshipers and the stars and the arcs of the constellations as they traveled the night sky are what they used to set their yearly calendars. Not to mention that Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is called Queen of the Decans.

  Kelsey nodded. “Wasn’t Sirius’s husband Orion?”

  “Yes, or Osiris, as he was also called. Not to mention that he was one of the thirty-six Decans in the nighttime sky.”

  Kelsey shook her head, confused. “But a Decan is just a set of thirty-six stars. This Decan my mother was referring to seemed to be a real person.”

  Ari piped up. “It could just be a title, of course. But what if he were somehow related to the Egyptian Decans? It’s not much of a stretch based on the recent connection to Armand. Hold on a second.”

  Kelsey could hear Ari talking to Julia, and again her rapid tapping of the keys. He popped back on the screen. “Think about this. The old pyramid builders believed that when you died your soul traveled to the pointed star – straight to Sirius, and you became a brother or sister to the stars. Not to mention that, get this, Ustha is actually one of the real names of one of the thirty-six Decans. There has to be a connection between that particular Decan and the Usthatan. Just because there’s a connection we don’t see yet, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Keep your options open Kelsey. Don’t be so close-minded.”

  She nearly stuck her tongue out at him. Even across the world he could be obnoxious and condescending.

  “You know, I wonder something
else. Hang on…” Ari said.

  Just then, Kelsey’s screen split in half vertically and she saw Ari dialing his mother.

  Claire Goldman picked up and her bright smile filled the screen. “Well, look at this. How lucky am I to have two of my children gracing me with their presence today? To what do I owe this lovely honor?”

  Kelsey grinned. Claire Goldman was Ari’s birth mom and her godparent. When Kelsey’s parents were murdered when she was ten, Claire and her husband Martin took her in. They formally adopted Kelsey when she turned fourteen.

  Ari piped up. “Hey, Mom. Nice to see you. Can we ask you a question?”

  “Sure honey, what’s up?”

  “Did you ever know a guy named Armand Dupuis?”

  Claire instantly paled, and Kelsey could see the sudden tension in her jaw.

  “Why are you asking about him?” She tried to sound casual, but did a poor job. Her voice shook, and Kelsey could tell she fought to remain calm.

  “Because he wrote me a letter, asking for my help,” Kelsey said. “Are you okay, Mom?”

  Claire blinked a few times. “He wrote you a letter? What exactly did it say?”

  “He told me he was in trouble and wanted me to help him. He’s had to go into hiding and believes something that happened to me in Egypt relates to this. I’m in his apartment in Egypt right now.”

  Claire’s eyes bulged and she nearly leapt through the computer screen. Her face filled the monitor. “Kelsey, I want you to come home right now and stay away from that man! Let him solve his own problems!”

  Kelsey was taken aback by her sudden, furious explosion.

  So was Ari, apparently. “Mom, what the hell? What’s going on?”

  Claire ignored him. “Kelsey, I’m begging you not to get involved. I don’t usually butt into your affairs and there’s very little I deny you. But for once in your life, please listen to me and stay out of this! Come home right now.”

  “Mom, I can’t do that just yet. Please, you have to tell us what you know. If it has to do with my parents, I have a right to know what’s going on and what’s made you so upset. You obviously know something.”

  Claire leaned back, crossed her arms and shook her head vehemently. “No, this is not something I’m going to discuss with either of you and this conversation is over. All I’ll say is that this man is a terrible, horrible person. Leave it be and let him fight his own battles.”

  Kelsey was shocked. Claire never hid anything from her, not ever. “I’m not a child any longer that you need to coddle and protect. Did you know my mother wrote Armand a letter before we went to visit him in Egypt when I was six years old? I just read it. She said that Armand was going to help my mother pay a debt. Do you have any idea what she meant by that?”

  Claire squared her shoulders. “I have no idea.” Her voice was tight and she stared at an imaginary spot at the top of the screen.

  Ari narrowed his eyes. “You always were a bad liar, Mom. You can’t even look at us when you’re talking. What are you hiding?”

  Claire shook her head. “Nope, I’m not discussing this. In fact, I’m getting off the line right now.” She reached out and her screen blinked off.

  Ari and Kelsey stared at each other in shock.

  “What does she know?” Kelsey asked.

  Ari stared at her. “Whatever it is, it isn’t good.”

  “Get her back on!”

  She could see Ari typing and the screen split again. She could see him dialing, her mom’s phone number blinking on the bottom of the screen, as the call tried to go through. The screen remained dark.

  “She’s not picking up, Kelsey.”

  “Balls!” Kelsey spewed, smacking the table and sending the letter flying.

  “You know what this means, right?” Ari asked.

  “It means I’ve got to find Armand and he’s got to tell me what’s going on.”

  Ari clicked his tongue. “I wonder something.”

  “What?”

  “When you find him, are you going to have to finally pay the debt?”

  Kelsey pursed her lips. “What if I already have?”

  Chapter 6

  THE USTHATAN

  Kelsey booted up Armand’s computer, but discovered the hard drive had been deleted. She did a thorough check of his apartment, and when she found nothing else to shed any light on what he wanted her to do, she had the doorman call a cab to take her to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It housed the world’s most extensive collection of pharaonic antiquities in the world, and she wanted to take a closer look at the Golden Twin Coffin that had made Armand’s career. Found at the Ahmose I’s pyramid at Abydosm, it was the only tomb in history that housed a set of infant conjoined twins. The mummies had been treated like royalty and the sarcophagus echoed the shape of the two babies, joined at the hip. Armand’s find had rocked the archaeological world and made him a superstar.

  The Museum had two main floors, with the ground floor housing an extensive coin collection and compendium of papyrus works. Kelsey breezed through many of the galleries, passing by artifacts from the New Kingdom which included everything from tables and statues, to sarcophagi. She spent a bit of time examining a display of water clocks and then moved on to the Golden Twin Coffin display. It was housed under glass with a sign proclaiming what it was. “Nash Altwam Althhbay,” Egyptian for The Golden Twin Coffin. A photo of Armand during the excavation and the manner in which the artifact had been discovered was detailed on a wall poster beside the display. It explained how even finding this treasure was so incredible. Supposedly, he’d been rummaging through an old Egyptian bookstore and had come across a document so ancient, no one could understand how it hadn’t fallen apart from the ravages of time. The parchment held a detailed map to a site of a minor royal, but it was situated in an area no one had ever excavated before and in an entirely different location than this royal family was known to have lived. Usually they buried royals near where they resided, and with no sites nearby, they realized the city might have been buried by sand. A huge excavation ensued, strictly because of this find.

  Using the map, Armand discovered a small complex that housed a single tomb. At first it appeared the temple had been robbed. He found none of the typical jewels and ceremonial bowls or any coins within the small temple. After removing piles of crumbled debris, a narrow passageway was revealed. This passageway appeared compromised. The diggers could see markings on the walls and even the remains of shovels and pickaxes, so Armand didn’t hold out much hope for what he’d find. And yet, at the end of the passageway lay an antechamber, empty, save for three sarcophagi. Two were comprised of heavy stone and completely intact, with the lids depicting a male and female inside. In the middle, between the two sarcophagi was another stone sarcophagus, but it was damaged. The lid had mysteriously been broken in two, and both pieces of stone lay on the floor. Inside, covered only by a thin layer of dead leaves and flowers, was a perfectly intact coffin. It was the infamous Golden Twin Coffin. It resembled a typical Egyptian sarcophagus with a painted sculpture of the deceased babies within, but this one had the two babies depicted connected at the waist. DNA testing determined that the conjoined twins were the male children of the deceased parents buried in the tomb with them. Though examinations showed the children had been well cared for, initial examinations guessed that they didn’t survive past their first month.

  Kelsey stared at the photograph of Armand as he stood next to the Golden Twin Coffin while his team removed it from the tomb. Yes, this was how she remembered him. He had the same wavy blond hair and those unusual blue, sloe eyes. He was handsome and Jay resembled him greatly.

  As Kelsey studied the picture, a wave of nausea washed over her so strongly she feared she would vomit right on the museum floor. She turned to flee to the bathroom and barreled straight into a businessman standing right behind her.

  “Mi scusi!” he blurted in Italian apologetically and clutched his hand to his chest.

  Kelsey skirted by him and
ran down the hall towards the restroom.

  Moving made her feel better and she rested on a bench for a moment. She put her hand to her stomach and closed her eyes. When she was sure the feeling had passed, she decided to stay for a bit longer and examine the King Tutankhamun exhibit. The Gold Mask of Tutankhamen was exactly as she remembered from her visit here when she was six. Composed of solid gold, it was simply an incredible find. She glanced around at the other pieces of the collection they had found at his tomb. She found it remarkable that these pharaohs were buried with everything they would use in their regular life, including vases and flasks, bracelets, weapons and decorated chests. Tutankhamen even had his daughters' fetuses buried with him. Though some theorists held the belief they might have been put there for him to relive his own infancy stage in his next life.

  She turned to walk upstairs to the second floor of the exhibit when she froze, pretending to examine a collection of weapons on a wall display in front of her. A mirror hung on the wall to her left and through the reflection she saw the Italian businessman who had bumped into her by the Golden Twin Coffin. He was deep in conversation with an older man.

  The same man she’d sat next to on the plane. He even wore those same ridiculously colored orange pants.

  Kelsey didn’t believe in coincidences. Not even for a minute.

  Her phone vibrated. She casually took it out and answered the call. “Hello?”

  “Where are you? Why didn’t you show up?” Jay was furious and screamed obscenities non-stop.

  Obviously he had just landed. For a minute she thought of simply hanging up, but then had an idea. “You have a hotel yet?” she asked, hoping he’d shut up just long enough to hear her question.

  “What? A hotel? No, of course I don’t have a goddamned hotel. I’m in a cab on the way downtown. I swear to God, you’re going to…”

  She raised her voice loudly, interrupting his rant. “Head over to the Ramses Hilton. Get a room and use a different name. I’ll meet you in the main bar.”