Frank Zafiro: The Bastard Mummy

“I know. But those people are stupid. You know when someone smart like Dr. Ingram offers, we’re not going to find anything.”

“We still have to look.”

“I know,” Elias sighed. “And it’s always a waste of time.”

Angela Moore didn’t offer them coffee, tea or water-she offered beer.

The detectives politely refused.

Angela shrugged and lowered herself onto the afghan-covered couch, sipping from a can of Keystone Light. “Suit yourself.”

“How long have you and Tony been married?” Finch asked her.

She laughed. “Too long.”

Finch raised a brow. “You two having some marital difficulties?”

Angela took another swig of beer. “Marital difficulties? That’s a nice way to put it, yeah. Another way would be that our marriage is a disaster.”

“Why?”

Angela scowled. “None of your business. Look, I’ll answer your questions, but don’t go getting all personal, got it?”

Finch kept his expression neutral. “All right.”

“Besides,” Angela said, “you don’t think Tony took this mummy, do ya?”

“We don’t know who took it.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Tony didn’t do it. He might be worthless as a husband, but he’s not a thief.”

“What time did he come home last night?” Finch asked.

“What time did he say he came home?”

Finch shook his head. “That’s not how it works, Mrs. Moore. What time did he come home?”

She smiled slyly and took another pull from the beer can. “If I say he was home by ten o’clock, would that clear his precious name?”

“We want the truth,” Finch replied. “That’s all.”

Angela shrugged. “The truth is, I fell asleep on the couch at ten. He wasn’t home yet.”

Elias made a note on his pad.

“But I woke up when he came home at two,” she added.

Finch raised his brow. “Two?”

“Two.”

“Any idea where he was?”

Angela finished her beer. She crinkled the can and sighed. “Why don’t you go ask him? If you find out, call me. I’d like to know, too.”

On the way back to the museum, both men were quiet, thinking. Finally, Elias spoke up. “No alibi for Leavitt. No alibi for the janitor. No alibi now for Moore. The kid Eric supposedly falls asleep at the switch. And only the lady professor checks out.” He turned to Finch. “We’re getting nowhere, Finchie.”

Finch opened his mouth to reply when the car’s cell phone rang. He punched the button and spoke into the hands-free microphone clipped to the visor. “Finch.”

“This is Crawford. Where are things on this mummy case?”

Elias rolled his eyes.

“We’re making progress, lieutenant,” Finch replied.

“What kind of progress?”

“The spinning-our-wheels kind,” Elias muttered.

“What’s that?” Crawford asked.

“We’re working on a timeline,” Finch said. “And eliminating suspects.”

“But still no mummy?”

“No, sir.”

“And no bastard, either,” Elias added.

“What did you say?” Crawford boomed.

“The mummy is actually a bastard son,” Finch explained quickly.

Silence. Then, with disbelief, “You’re kidding me.”

“No, sir.”

Crawford seemed to recover from his surprise. “Well, find the mummy, whatever his parentage, and do it soon. I just got a call from the FBI and they have an agent on the way. He should be there within the hour. Plus, I got a call from some insurance agency and they’re flying someone in tonight. So if you don’t wrap this up pretty quick, you’re going to be hip deep in help.”

“We don’t need any more help,” Elias said.

“It’s not a matter of need. It’s politics.”

Elias shook his head in disgust.

“We’ll bring you up to speed when we know something else, lieutenant,” Finch said.

“Do that,” Crawford grunted, and broke the connection.

Finch glanced over at Elias. “FBI, huh?”

Elias still bore a disgusted look on his face. “How do you say ‘Ruby Ridge’ in Egyptian?”

“This is interesting,” Adam said.

Finch leaned forward. “What?”

Adam pointed at the screen. “First off, this isn’t the greatest of security systems. It’s really no better than your average residential alarm system.”

Moore appeared at Finch’s side. “We’ve been on a budget for a while. Besides, we’ve never had a major exhibit like Pedubastis before.”

Finch ignored him. “What did you find?”

“The digital record shows when the alarm was set and disabled and by which code.” Adam pointed at the screen. “Here, it shows that it was set at 0512. It looks like they have some sort of zonal mode-”

“That’s for doing the rounds,” Moore explained. “Each zone is alarmed but disarming it only disarms that zone, instead of the whole museum.”

Adam’s eyes flicked to Moore, irritation plain on his face. “It’s a common configuration for large buildings.” He turned back to the screen. “After 0512, you can see this long list here of compartmentalized disables and resets-”

“Eric was doing his rounds,” Moore said.

“-as the security guard made his rounds. Then, at 0541, there is a system-wide reset. I assume that means the guard was back at his regular post.” Adam tapped a key and the window minimized, replaced by another. “This is the telephone log for that time period. There is an outgoing call at 0542, and another at 0544.”

Moore leaned forward. “Those are Director Leavitt’s numbers. The first one is his home and the second one is his cell phone.”

“So the guard got no answer at home and he tried the cell,” Finch said, more to himself than anyone else. He turned to Moore. “What time were you called?”

Moore thought for a moment. “A little before six, I think. I know I was here by a quarter after six.”

“0613,” Adam said, “if the alarm system’s clock is accurate.”

“Sounds about right.”

“And who was already here at that time?”

“Director Leavitt and Eric. Eric told me what happened. Director Leavitt was busy on the phone, calling you guys and getting Dr. Ingram and Mike down here.”

“Is the basement level alarmed?” Finch asked.

Moore shook his head. “No. The only way to the basement is through the main floor, so there’s no need for an alarm.”

Finch considered his answer for a moment, then returned his attention to Adam. “Anything before 0613?”

“Yes. Another disable at 0559.”

“Leavitt?” Finch asked, glancing at Elias.

Elias nodded. “Has to be.”

Adam nodded in agreement. “That makes sense. Now look at this.” He switched windows again, bringing up the alarm screen. “Prior to 0512, the last activity was at 0100 this morning. Someone disabled the alarm at the front door and then re-enabled six minutes later on a sixty-second delay.”

“Which code was used?”

“Looks like the main code,” Adam replied. “Before that, a separate code was used to set the alarm at 2257.”

“That’d be the janitor leaving,” Elias said. “But who came in at one in the morning?”

Finch glanced at Elias. His partner jerked his head toward the hallway and the two stepped outside.

“What do you think?” Finch asked.

“Could be any of them.”

Finch nodded. “Leavitt’s wife was in a separate bedroom. And Moore’s wife said he didn’t get home until two o’clock.”

“The janitor has zero alibi.”

“And the professor’s alibi is her girlfriend, who’s biased.”

“And the security guard screwed up the tapes, so we don’t have squat,” Elias said glumly.

Finch rubbed his chin. “Well, we do know when the mummy was most likely taken-around one in the morning. Maybe we need to go at each of them again. See who’s alibi breaks up when we try to pin them down a little more.”