The Mummy's Curse (11 page)

Cody heard Ms. Stad calling all the students from the lobby.

“Uh-oh. Time to go back,” she said, disappointed they hadn't solved their mystery. She was just about to follow the others out when she had an idea and ran back to the counter where Dr. Jordan had been working. Behind it was a wastebasket, filled with wrinkled papers, soiled cloths—and latex gloves.

Cody retrieved the pair of gloves from the top of the pile. The fingertips were smudged brown. She stuffed the gloves into her hoodie pocket and returned to the lobby with the others to rejoin their classes.

“Listen up, everyone,” Ms. Stad called out. “Mr. Pike and I have reviewed all your answers to the codes, questions, and riddles from earlier. And we have a grand prize winner! The group that had the most correct answers and now gets a sneak peek at the next planned exhibit with Ms. Cassatt is … the Code Busters!”

“Yes!” Quinn and Luke's fists shot in the air. Cody and M.E. high-fived each other.

Winning this reward lifted Cody's spirits. At least she and her friends would get to see something the other students wouldn't until their next visit to the museum. She hoped Ms. Cassatt would show them some cool artifacts, and maybe even a mummy.

“Quiet down, please,” Ms. Stad continued after her announcement. “Not only did they find the most Eyes of Horus throughout the museum—thirteen, one more than the parent volunteers found, in fact—but they also solved all of the puzzles! Great job!”

Wait a minute
, Cody thought.
Something's wrong.
An alarm sounded in her head.

She did the math again to make sure. Ms. Stad said there were originally twelve Eyes. But they had found thirteen. Maybe the parent volunteers didn't count wrong. Maybe another Eye of Horus had been added to the collection. A fake? If so, maybe the real one wasn't hidden in the workroom. Maybe it was hidden right in front of their eyes!

“All right, students,” Ms. Stad announced. “Now that Cody, M.E., Quinn, and Luke are back from their
preview, it's time to reboard the bus and head back to school. Find your buddy and line up, please.”

Cody shot a panicked glance at M.E. It had been cool seeing the upcoming exhibit, but she'd hoped to get a chance to search the museum for the extra Eye. She finger-spelled a message so no one would overhear her:

M.E. frowned at her friend and finger-spelled:

Code Buster's Key and Solution found on
this page
,
this page
.

Cody ignored her friend and signed, “Hurry!” then went to find her teacher while M.E. passed the message along to the boys.

“Ms. Stad!” Cody called, elbowing through the crowd of students who were lining up for the bus.

“What is it, Cody?” Ms. Stad asked, as she counted heads. “You and M.E. need to get in line. We're leaving in five minutes.”

“I … I,” Cody stammered. She couldn't tell Ms. Stad her suspicions without proof. Her teacher would think she was crazy. But she had to check out the rooms again to make sure she was right. “I … left my cell phone in one of the rooms. I need to find it! M.E. and Luke and Quinn said they'd help me. It'll only take us a few seconds. We'll be right back!”

Before Ms. Stad could respond, Cody raced to meet her friends at the entrance of the Daily Life room. She hoped her little white lie would buy her enough time.

“Find all of the Eyes you can!” Cody ordered the puzzled Code Busters. She held up the cell phone snapshot of the Eye that was in the unlocked case. “Look for one that's the same as this.”

“Why are we doing this?” M.E. asked, while the boys began searching.

“I think there's an extra Eye somewhere that doesn't belong. Remember when we counted the
Eyes and found thirteen, when Stad said the parent volunteers only found twelve? Well, the thirteenth one has got to be the real Eye of Horus, added
after
the parents counted them. If we find it, then maybe we can prove the one in the case is a fake. I think Dr. Jordan hid it with the other artifacts, figuring it would blend in and no one would notice it. I'm sure it's been right in front of our eyes the whole time.”

The girls joined the boys in their search, but none of them found a match in the Daily Life room.

“Follow me,” Cody said, racing to the Burial Practices room. After a quick but thorough search that turned up nothing, they moved on to the Gods and Religion room, and finally to the Kings and Pharaohs room.

And then, inside a case filled with jewelry worn by Egyptian royalty, Cody spotted a statue of a cat painted with hieroglyphs and covered in jewelry. “Look!” she said, alerting the others. “See that cat?”

M.E. peered into the case. “The one with all the necklaces, and earrings, and a tiara? I wish I had all that stuff. What about it?”

“Look closely.”

M.E. blinked. “Wow. I didn't even notice it before.”

“What?” Quinn asked.

M.E. pointed. “Look what's hanging around that cat's neck. A bunch of necklaces, including an Eye of Horus!”

“Yes!” Cody said. “And it's identical to the one in the case. It probably wasn't there when the parents checked. I'll bet none of the other kids saw it because that cat is wearing so much jewelry. It just blends in.”

Cody held her cell phone picture up to the display case to double-check.

The amulet was identical.

“That's it!” M.E. squealed. “We found it!”

Before Cody could respond, she heard footsteps behind them. She lowered her cell phone and froze.

“Found what?” came a deep voice.

The Code Busters turned around slowly. Standing in the doorway was Dr. Jordan.

There was no smile on his face this time. His eyebrows were drawn together.

“What are you kids doing in here?” he said, ominously, his dark eyes reflecting his sudden dark mood. “I thought you'd left.”

Thinking fast, Cody suddenly lifted her arms out like an airplane, then jerked them up to form a giant
Y
, and finally dropped them down as if framing a full skirt. She was signaling her friends.

Code Buster's Key and Solution found on
this page
,
this page
.

They all raced from the room.

T
he Code Busters ran up to Ms. Stad and breathlessly began to explain the situation.

“The Eye is a fake …,” Cody said.

“We found the real one …,” M.E. continued.

“We know who switched them …,” Luke added.

“He's after us!” Quinn blurted.

“Whoa, whoa!” Ms. Stad said. “Slow down! What are you talking about? I thought you went into the museum to look for your phone, Cody.”

“I was …,” Cody stammered. “I mean, I … I was looking for something …”

Cody realized she'd been caught in a lie. It was a small lie, but now Ms. Stad might not believe anything else she said.

The teacher crossed her arms and looked at each of the four kids, disappointment etched on her usually pleasant face. But before she could say anything else, a voice bellowed from the doorway of the museum.

“Hold it right there!” Dr. Jordan stood on the top step, his hands on his hips, his dark eyebrows scrunched together menacingly.

Ms. Stad looked up at the man, then back at the kids.

Uh-oh,
Cody thought.
We're in deep trouble now.

Dr. Jordan stepped down and headed for the small group.

“Is something wrong?” Ms. Stad asked him. The Code Busters moved behind her for protection.

Dr. Jordan peered at them before addressing Ms. Stad. “I'll say there is. I believe these kids have
something that belongs to the museum. Isn't that right, kids?”

Cody stepped forward, frowning at the accusation. “No, we don't. You're the one who took the real Eye from the case and switched it with a fake.”

Dr. Jordan's mouth dropped open. He suddenly looked more puzzled than angry. “What are you talking about? I saw you kids over by the Eye of Horus in the Daily Life room. You were acting very suspicious. When I went to check on the display after you left the room, I found this. It's a fake. Do you kids know anything about this?”

“No,” M.E. said. “We thought you took it.”

Dr. Jordan frowned at M.E. “What's that on your hands?” he asked.

M.E. turned her hands over to look at them, then quickly put them behind her back.

“Why are your fingertips stained?” Ms. Stad looked at M.E. “What is he talking about, MariaElena? What's that on your fingers?” M.E. reluctantly withdrew her hands from behind her back and showed them to Ms. Stad, who inspected them
closely. She turned to the other Code Busters. “Let me see your hands, too.” Quinn, Luke, and Cody held up their hands. Ms. Stad looked at Cody. “What's that stain on your fingertip?”

By now a crowd of students had gathered around the scene, wide-eyed and openmouthed. Embarrassed by the drama, Cody felt her neck turn hot, and she broke out in a sweat. She almost wished she could crawl into a sarcophagus and disappear.

Quinn began explaining. “Listen, Ms. Stadelhofer. M.E. and Cody got those stains when they touched the fake Eye in that case, but they didn't steal anything. Cody accidentally bumped the case and the door popped open. That's when we realized it wasn't locked. Then M.E. reached in—”

“But I wasn't going to steal the Eye!” M.E. exclaimed, interrupting Quinn. “I just wanted to see it. I put it right back.”

“It stained my fingertip, too,” Cody said to Ms. Stad. “But I promise, we left the Eye there in the case. We thought maybe it was a fake, so we were going to tell you about the unlocked door, but
when we went back to check, the case was locked up again.”

“I'm confused,” Ms. Stad said, shaking her head. “You found the case open, so you picked up the Eye, and then you put it back and closed the case? Why didn't you tell me
before
you went back to check on it?”