Canyon of the Sphinx (3 page)

CHAPTER
TWO

Kathlyn had most of her things
boxed up and ready to go. Whenever she went on these 'hit and run' expeditions,
she always traveled lightly. The six-man crew that traveled with her, a mixture
of drivers and electricians and carpenters that called themselves the
"Roadies", had everything neatly packed up just the way she liked it.
The guys had become fixtures in Egypt and two of them had even married Egyptian
women. Though they expected to come along on this trip, Kathryn had decided to
leave them behind.  There was a statement in that; whenever the Roadies came
with her, there was permanence to it. Kathlyn didn’t want her stay in the
Yucatan to be permanent; therefore, the Roadies were staying in Egypt, if only
for the symbolism they represented.

She hastily finished filming with
The World of Exploration and the crew had headed home yesterday. The producer
promised her it was going to be a smashing comeback for her television career.
But she wouldn't be doing any narrative or voice-overs until the footage was
edited, and that wouldn't happen until after she returned from the Yucatan.
With that in mind, she could focus on her coming objective.

It was a searing day in the
Sahara; even the spring could be brutal. The children were at home with the
nanny, leaving Marcus to work in his tomb and Kathlyn to make sure everything
was ready to go. Clad in short jean shorts, a white tank top, big black work
boots and an old duster that followed her around everywhere, she was bent over
a shipping box containing a printer and a small satellite dish. Her long blond hair
was in two braids, like a sex-kitten Swiss-miss, and she wore stylish
sunglasses. Even in the middle of the desert, she looked like an American movie
goddess. 

A taxi pulled into camp, the old
car belching black smoke and oil. Kathlyn glanced up, not particularly
interested in who it was until one of the roadies nearest the taxi whistled.
The man motioned to her and she sighed with irritation, rearranging the printer
so it wouldn't bash the satellite dish. Wiping her hands on her shorts, she
made her way over to the taxi.

The roadie was in the open trunk,
already removing bags. The taxi door swung open and a woman emerged wearing
gray designer slacks and white silk shirt. She had long, straight dark hair,
parted in the middle, and a pert little nose. She looked at Kathlyn and her
stenciled-on brown lips smiled.

"Dr. Trent," she said.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you. I'd know you anywhere. I'm Jensen
Elder."

Kathlyn was a little taken aback.
She wasn't quite sure what she had expected, but it certainly hadn't been a
young, beautiful woman.  She was stunning. Kathlyn shook the woman's
outstretched hand.

"Welcome to the ends of the
earth," she said pleasantly. "So they convinced you to leave
civilization and rough it out here with us for a while, did they?"

Jensen laughed and removed her
sunglasses; she had striking black eyes. "Actually, I've been dying to
visit. I think I'm the one that bullied Dr. McGrath into letting me come, if
only temporarily."

Kathlyn couldn't disagree.
"It'll be worth it." She noticed the roadie standing with the bags.
"Take Mrs. Elder's things to the VIP tent, please. She's going to be working
there."

"Actually, it's Miss Elder.
I've wanted to meet you for so long, Dr. Trent. I'd love it if you'd call me Jensen."

Kathlyn nodded. "And none of
this Dr. Trent stuff. I'm Kathlyn. If you want to get settled first, I'll take
you up to the tomb in a little bit. My husband will want to meet you."

Jensen looked around, her
expression holding the same wonder in it that Kathlyn's had the first time she
had beheld the Valley of the Kings. "I can hardly believe I'm finally
here," she said. Smiling quickly at Kathlyn, she picked up one of her
smaller bags. "Thanks so much for the hospitality. I really look forward
to be a full-time part of all of this."

Kathlyn began to walk with her.
"Well, you're very much needed. My administrator has been doing most of
it. Marcus is a fabulous archaeologist and a math whiz, but he doesn't have the
patience for bean counting."

"And I hear he has a temper,
too."

Kathlyn burst out laughing.
"When the veins on his head start to throb, run away. Run far, far
away."

Jensen giggled. "I'll try to
remember that. See you in a while."

Kathlyn stopped, letting the
woman continue on. Her gaze lingered on her a moment, checking her out as women
tend to study one another. She was beautiful, no doubt about it. But she had a
big butt. Well, she had to find one flaw in her, didn't she? Kathlyn laughed to
herself. She was comfortable with Jensen already. She hoped her presence here
was a good fit.

Everything was ready to be loaded
onto the truck within the hour.  Kathlyn supervised the stacking of equipment
as her team piled their stuff on board. Juliana jumped in to help even though
she wasn't going; having recently found out she was pregnant with her first
child, she and Lynn had decided it would be best that she stay behind this time.
But it didn’t mean she wasn’t going to help load up as she usually did.

But that was before her husband
caught her.  An inch over six feet and nearly as wide as Marcus, Dr. Lynn Davis
was a handsome African-American with cocoa skin and bulging muscles.  When
Kathlyn had first met him, she thought he had been a hoodlum because he shaved
his head and wore a menacing goatee. Stomping around camp with a bandanna on
his head, an old 'World Gym' tank top and massive leather gloves, he always
appeared as if he was looking for a fight. The Egyptians both loved and feared
him; they thought he was a movie star and some had even taken to emulating his
dress.

 Dr. Davis came down from the
tomb on a rare break and yelled at his wife for exerting herself. Juliana
climbed off the truck, looking like a scolded child as her husband grabbed her
by the hand and led her off. Kathlyn just laughed; she remembered well how
Marcus had been the same way when she was pregnant.  But she also felt sorry
for Juliana; it would be the first expedition she would not be going on and she
was understandably feeling left out. Kathlyn was feeling a little lost over it,
too.  She hoped that Lynn wouldn’t reprimand her too severely. 

Debra Jo was helping Kathlyn
stack up a couple of boxes when the redhead caught sight of the camp's newest
member. Her blue eyes narrowed curiously.

"Kat," she jerked her
head sideways. "Who's that?"

Kathlyn glanced up. Jensen was
walking towards them, dressed in desert-appropriate clothing. "That's the
new controller. I promised to take her up to the tomb to meet Marcus."She
climbed of the stake-bed with Debra Jo in tow. "Since you've been doing
most of the site accounting, it's probably a good idea for you bring her up to
speed. McGrath says she's a smart cookie and, with an upcoming audit, we need
her on site."

"She's very pretty,"
Debra Jo commented. "Is she married?"

"Beats me."

"Boyfriend?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Are you sure you want her
around here?"

Kathlyn cast her an impatient
look. "Marcus and Lynn are married. She can have whoever the hell else she
wants."

Debra Jo chuckled. "Whatever
you say, Kat."

Kathlyn ignored her. Jensen waved
excitedly at Kathlyn, all eager and glowing. She was ready to tour the tomb and
meet the legendary and formidable Marcus Burton.  After brief introductions to
Debra Jo, the red- head went about her business as Kathlyn and Jensen made
their way through the camp, across the road and into the parking lot of the
Valley of the Kings. 

It was hot and dusty as they
moved through the entrance.  There was also a crowd of tourists they had to
navigate through.  The steps leading up to Ay’s tomb, or KV64 as it was called,
were almost immediately to their right and they trudged up the steep slope.  Since
it was an American-run site, a platoon of Marines had been assigned to the
operation from the onset and even now there were several Marines at the tomb
mouth, insisting that one of them accompany the women into the tomb because
Jensen's clearance credentials hadn't been passed on yet from the State
Department. It was a familiar Marine who finally followed them into the cool,
musty depths.

Master Sergeant Tony Bubalo had
been on site since the beginning. An easy going personality, he had ‘gone
native’ and made friends with the archaeologists right off the bat. Kathlyn
genuinely liked the sergeant, as did Marcus. They had been through a few hairy
adventures together in the short time they had known one another and a strong
sense of trust had been built. Tony was in his mid-forties, trim and tan, with
brilliant blue eyes and arms like cannons.  He followed silently behind the
women as they made their way into the dark network of chambers, giving Kathlyn his
trademark toothy grin when she turned around to look at him.

Jensen was awed by the tomb, as
everyone was when they first saw it.  The small landing at the top of very
steep stairs was designated Chamber A, and the stairs themselves were
designated Stairwell B. At the base of the slippery steps, a long, narrow and
partially collapsed corridor, called Corridor C, led them into the bulk of the
elaborately decorated chambers, D, E and G.

Marcus was in the sarcophagus Chamber
G. It had taken a couple of years to remove Ay's outer coffins, leaving only
the mummy lying in his cold granite bed. A sheath of beaded linen had been laid
out over the corpse and it had taken seven months to clean away the dirt and
debris to get a better picture of the pattern of the shroud. As the trio passed
through Chamber F, the only chamber that had the distinction of being
completely undecorated, a tall, blond man came into view.

He was handsome and debonair even
coated with dust, reminiscent of a young Errol Flynn.  Dr. Gary Crawford, an
Egyptologist from Southern California University, politely introduced himself
to Jensen. Chamber F had been his particular focus from the beginning, a dank
and macabre place in the midst of a pharaoh’s splendor. They had found a mass
of tangled skeletons in it that Gary was still trying to figure out. After a
few exchanges pleasantries, Tony hung back with Gary and let the two women
proceed to the next and final chamber.

Chamber G was lit with a couple
of mercury vapor lamps, making the turquoise-colored walls even more vibrant.
Marcus, Dennis and Lynn were stretched out over the coffin, two brilliant
spotlights over-head as they worked on thousands of beads and precious stones
in the shape of Nekhbet, the vulture goddess. Juliana was in a corner where
Lynn could watch her, carefully studying something Kathlyn couldn't see.
Kathlyn cleared her throat softly.

"Everyone, we have a
visitor," she said.

Dennis looked up, his blue eyes
immediately curious. Lynn passed a glance over his shoulder, and it took Marcus
a few seconds before he even bothered to look up.

"This is Jensen Elder,"
Kathlyn indicated the men from right to left. "This is my husband, Marcus
Burton, and that's Dennis Reams, and Lynn Davis." Then she pointed at
Juliana. "And that's Dr. Davis, formerly Dr. Juliana Maurer. Before she
married Lynn she was my cohort in crime."

Juliana snarled at her in a
good-natured way. She was the first one to rise and shake Jensen's hand.
"I'm still her cohort," she said. "Only my leash is a little
tighter than hers is.  Welcome to the snake pit."

It was obvious that Jensen was
humbled in the presence of people she had only read or heard of. "It's a
real pleasure, Dr. Davis. I'm so honored to finally be here."

Juliana smiled graciously. The
men's reaction was slightly different; Lynn gave the woman the once-over before
turning back to his work.  Dennis replied as cordially as Dennis was capable,
but also turned back to his work. Marcus stood up and pulled off a glove.

"You've got your work cut
out for you," he extended a hand to her. Even though his words were
pleasant, his manner was still cold and intimidating. Marcus Burton was not
known for his congeniality at first introductions.  In fact, he’d been known to
scare most people off.

But Jensen wasn’t scared off; at
least, not yet. She shook the massive hand.  "The advantage is that I'm
already familiar with it, so hopefully it won't take too much adjustment. I
just want to make sure we're ready for those auditors."

Marcus' cobalt blue eyes
appraised her just as he did everyone he first met. It was like being put under
a laser beam.  After a moment, he turned back to the sarcophagus. "If you
have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."

For Marcus, it was a warm
welcome. Jensen, however, felt as if she had just met the Devil and lived to
tell about it. Marcus Burton was a gorgeous man; he had, in fact, been named
one of the World's Most Beautiful People, along with his wife, four years
running by People Connection Magazine. But his coldness was enough to frost her
glasses.  She had heard that he was a mean one and she could see that the
reputation was probably well-earned. How on earth Kathlyn Trent broke into that
hard shell was a mystery.

"Perhaps we shouldn't take
any more of their time," she whispered to Kathlyn. "I'd like to get
started right away if that's okay."