Mark smiled and shrugged his shoulders 'That's right'.
Recovering his composure Nate grinned 'Well Doc, I wasn't expecting that, but I gotta tell ya it's the most interesting goddamn question I've been asked all day!''Who was this guy?' Nate wondered. Certainly he was no run of the mill cop, with their endless questions about where he'd been, and who he'd been with. No this guy was a completely different proposition.
'So Doc,' he said chewing his lip thoughtfully 'what exactly do ya wanna know?'
'Well' Mark let out a breath 'You know, I heard that Dr Schwenck was kinda interested in rituals'.
Nate smiled 'You could say that yeah, given that he based his entire career on rituals and the occult'.
'And what about you?' Mark asked
'Me?' Nate paused and moved slightly in his seat 'Well, my Doctoral research, is a deconstruction of the protective ritual of Horus' he grinned sheepishly 'so I guess you could say that I'm kinda into rituals too'.
'Mmmh, I see' Mark nodded, his interest obviously piqued.
Under Mark's intense gaze, Nate shifted uncomfortably and took a drink from the glass of water in front of him.
'You know Doc' he said 'it's not so strange, pretty much the whole department here specialises in the occult - gods and goddesses, priests and temples, rituals and ruins. If ya wanna study the darker side of Ancient Egypt' he grinned 'UCLM is definitely the place to be'.
'The darker side?' Mark asked raising his eyebrows
'Sure' Nate replied 'Although when I say darker, I mean spooky, unusual ya know?'
Mark nodded and the archaeologist continued eagerly.
'Take David Summers and his wife for instance, they are ….' he hastily corrected himself 'I mean were, both prolific in terms of their research into the after life. Natasha's main interest is in reincarnation rituals' he smiled 'and boy does she take her work seriously'.
'Whaddaya mean?' Mark asked.
Nate paused 'Well it's like this Doc, most of us academics spend our time trying to find rationale explanations for ancient beliefs, right?'
Mark nodded.
'But her?' Nate shook his head wryly 'She believes in it herself'. He smiled 'I guess it's the being half-Egyptian thing ya know? She's always saying she feels a kinship with the ancient civilisation'.
'Oh' Mark replied intrigued 'I hadn't realised'.
'Oh yeah' Nate continued assuredly. 'From what I heard, that's why David was so attracted to her, she's different ya know? She's not just studying archaeology she's living it.' He grinned 'The fact that she's so goddamn beautiful probably didn't hurt either!'
Mark smiled 'And what about Dr. Summers himself, you said he was interested in the dark side too?'
Nate rubbed his head thoughtfully 'Well David had moved on to excavation techniques and preservation technology, but I've got a feeling that originally he was heavily involved in the study of some type of rituals'. He rubbed his head thoughtfully 'vengeance, protection, rejuvenation? – I'm not sure'.
Looking at Mark he grinned 'Now don't go quoting me on that Doc will ya, cause I'm kinda hazy'. He paused 'I'm guessing it was his Masters research when he was at Yale, ya know unpublished kids' stuff, before he made it to the major leagues'.
'I see' Mark said thoughtfully, stroking his moustache. 'You know' he said, I've always been kinda fascinated by Ancient Egypt myself. Do you think it would it be possible to get a hold of that research?'
Nate shrugged, his tone casual 'Sure Doc, knock yourself out. You should be able to get a copy at the central library. They have a section on the third floor, where they store a whole bunch of academic papers'. He paused thoughtfully 'if not, I think you can get the librarian to request a copy from Yale'.
Mark beamed and reached over to shake Nate's hand 'Well Mr. Johnson it's been very interesting'. He winked 'Now how's about I go see if I can get you out of here?'
'I'd sure appreciate it Doc' the young archaeologist replied; letting out a breath – 'I'm an outdoors kinda guy, sitting around here all day' he grinned and picked up his glass of water 'what can I say, it just ain't me'.
As Mark reached the door he paused 'Oh, I almost forgot – can I just ask you one more question?'
Nate shrugged 'Sure Doc, shoot.'
'When the Ancients prepared bodies for the after life' Mark said 'what did they use to ensure successful preservation?'
Taken by surprised, Nate choked on his water.
'Are you alright?' Mark asked patting him on the back.
Nate held up a hand 'I'm fine, it just went down the wrong way is all'.
He coughed and took another sip of water. Finally regaining his composure, he looked up at Mark 'I have to admit I'm not an expert Doc', but usually a combination of oils and resins were used for embalming. Combined with the linen wrappings, they kept the body free from decay'.
'And what exactly was in those oils and resins?' Mark asked.
Still coughing slightly, Nate paused and took a deep breath 'Well now you've got me Doc' he replied 'I couldn't rightly say.'
Mark smiled amiably 'Oh I'm sure you can come up with something.' He paused and looked genially at the young man 'after all Mr. Johnson you do have a degree in archaeology'.
Nate smiled tightly 'Well I'm no chemist, but if ya really want me to make a guess?'
Mark nodded
'Well' Nate paused, 'from my undergraduate days, I think I remember Natron was one of the components'.
'Natron?' Mark frowned
'Yeah' Nate replied lightly 'It's some sort of a mixture with a sodium carbonate base - or was that bicarbonate?' he shrugged casually 'I'm really not too sure'.
'You know' Mark said 'I've never heard of Natron'.
Nate let out a breath 'I don't think it's used any more. From what I remember it was pretty potent - soporific effects in small amounts, maybe even toxic in large doses'.
'Really?' Mark raised his eyebrows.
Nate smiled 'The ancient technology was amazing Dr. Sloan, but it definitely had it's drawbacks! Their embalming oils worked real well, but not only were they intoxicating, I think they would leave the flesh of the corpse withered and discoloured after about a week. From what I remember, the Natron eventually damaged the eye sockets too'.
'I see' Mark said thoughtfully
Warming to his theme Nate smiled confidently 'I guess that's why it's not used for preservation any more. In fact, I don't think they even make it any more'.
He looked at Mark closely; the old guy was fascinated, hanging off his every word. He paused, and smiled stiffly 'So, is there a reason you want to know about this Doctor Sloan?'
'What?' Mark asked innocently.
'Embalming' Nate replied 'What exactly is your interest?'
Mark looked at him genially 'Oh didn't I make it clear?' he asked sweetly.
'The professors that were murdered …' he paused 'I'm pretty sure they were embalmed'.
At Nate's shocked expression Mark smiled 'Thank you Mr. Johnson, you've been a great help'.
Author's noteJust to say thanks again for the reviews!
I've been trying to post fairly regularly so far, but I've got a busy time coming up soon, so just to let you know although it's okay at the moment, there may be longer gaps between postings in the not too distant future. But I promise I will finish the story!!