Author's note: Sorry it's been a while since I updated, but here's the next instalment! I'm hoping to have some time over Christmas to work on the story, so fingers crossed! In case you've forgotten where we're at, Steve and Tanis are out of the hospital following the Mummy's attack. Both are recuperating, but they still haven't spoken after their 'near miss' romantic encounter. Meanwhile, following the revelation that the killer is recreating the revenge ritual from David Summers' Masters thesis, Mark, Jesse and Amanda are hot on his (or her !) trail. They are now back at the latest crime scene, the office of Natasha Summers.
Enjoy!
As the three doctors entered the crowded archaeology department and turned into Natasha Summers' office, Mark picked out a familiar face, a civilian amidst the sea of police officers.
'Oh, hello there' he called cheerfully, with a wave of his hand 'It's Mr. … erm Mr ?' Mark paused suddenly unsure. For the life of him he couldn't remember the porter's name, although he knew they'd been introduced.
The man smiled 'Its Anderson, Doctor Sloan, but call me John, please.'
Mark smacked himself lightly on the head 'Anderson, of course it is, I'm sorry'. Remembering his manners he turned to Jesse and Amanda who were hovering slightly behind 'John, I'd like to introduce my colleagues, Doctor Jesse Travis and Doctor Amanda Bentley' he said. Both smiled awkwardly and John raised a hand in greeting 'They're helping me with the case' Mark explained.
John sighed ruefully 'I heard about your son Doctor Sloan, How's he doing?'
Mark smiled 'Oh well you know it's good of you to ask. He had a nasty bump on the head, but he's doing a lot better now'.
'And the woman?' John prompted
'Tanis is fine too'.
'Nasty business' John said shaking his head.
Mark sighed 'I know, we got lucky'. He paused looking around as if for the first time. His eyes alighted on the books in John's hands 'So they've got you working already?' he said incredulously.
John shook his head ruefully 'Not exactly' he replied.
'The might of the pharaohs' Jesse read laboriously, squinting to make out the print on the dust jackets from his rather distant vantage point. 'The Mysteries of Giza', 'The wrath of Ra' He grinned 'Nothing like a little light reading'.
'Why Mr. Anderson' Mark said in surprise 'I didn't know you had an interest in the ancient civilization'.
John blushed slightly 'I know a little, occupational hazard, but these aren't mine.' He put the books down on a nearby shelf and shrugged 'I'm assisting the police in an inventory of Dr. Summers' office, for all the good it will do'.
'Oh' Mark sighed 'Well I guess every little helps'
John laughed, but his tone was harsh 'I don't see what they expect to find, it's pretty clear the killer has gotten away again.'
Amanda looked at him indignantly 'You know the advances in forensic technology are phenomenal' she said 'if the killer has left as much as a hair at the scene of the crime we'll track him down'.
He looked at her and shrugged 'We'll Ma'am you're the expert' he said bitterly 'What do I know, I'm just a porter after all'.
Amanda shifted awkwardly. Looking for a distraction to break the sudden silence, Mark reached for the books John had placed on the shelf. Inadvertently he caught one of Natasha's artefacts with his elbow 'Oh my' he gasped, unable to stop the inevitable disaster. Reacting instantly, John jumped forwards, catching the object in his outstretched hand, a fraction of a second before it would have smashed on the floor.
'Nice save!' Jesse applauded
'I'm so sorry' Mark said 'That was terribly clumsy of me'.
John smiled and wiped his forehead, which was suddenly slick with sweat 'No harm done Doctor Sloan, but you need to be real careful around here, some of these artefacts are priceless, including this one'. Lovingly he caressed the little statue of the god Ra 'This was recovered in a recent excavation of the Valley of the Kings' he explained 'it's the only one of its kind ever found'.
Mark let out a low whistle 'And I nearly smashed it into a thousand pieces!' He patted John on the shoulder 'Lucky for me you have such great reflexes!'
John grinned amiably 'I used to play a little ball, guess you never forget!'
Mark smiled back 'I guess not' he said.
***
Back at the beach house Steve had come to a decision. The longer he left it, the harder it was gonna be to face her. Best get it over with now and then maybe, just maybe, they could get back to normal. He'd decided to act as if nothing had happened. Sure it'd be awkward at first, but in the long run it'd be easier on them both. He guessed she'd be relieved, save her the embarrassment of having to let him down gently. He cringed, the humiliation almost sending him back under the covers. But he was no coward. Sure he'd been acting like one for the past couple of days, but now it was time to get on with his life.
It was gonna be hard covering up his feelings, but then he was no stranger to keeping things bottled up. Besides if nothing else, he was going stir crazy lying in this bed. He knew Tanis was interviewing Natasha Summers this afternoon, his father had told him. An interrogation would be perfect – talking to the suspect would leave little or no time to talk to Tanis.
Having made his decision he sat up abruptly, anxious to be on his way. The spinning room reminded him he'd have to be more careful. Taking a deep breath, he smiled wryly - may be the concussion wasn't such a feeble excuse after all. He certainly wasn't back to full fitness; it'd be so easy to take another day or maybe two to recuperate.
'Come on Sloan you're doing this' he told himself firmly.
Moving gingerly, he dressed and wrote a note for his father. Looking longingly at the keys to his truck he thought better of it and dialled a cab. Sitting down at the kitchen table he waited patiently for his ride, and all the while his insides performed somersaults at the thought of seeing Tanis again.
***
'Mark what exactly do you hope to find here?' Amanda asked. Despite her earlier words to John Anderson, she was struggling to maintain the confidence of her convictions. Looking around Natasha Summers' office she shrugged helplessly 'You know forensics have already been over this place with a fine tooth comb.'
Mark stroked his chin thoughtfully, as he paced the room, stopping every so often to more closely examine a photograph or artefact. His mind was obviously elsewhere.
'Mark!' Jesse prompted from his position in Natasha's armchair 'Give us a clue, what are we looking for here?'
'Sorry Jess?' Mark wrenched his attention back to the young man before him 'What was that?'
Jesse smiled 'Earth to Mark! Are you with us?'
Mark smiled back 'You know' he said 'I was just thinking that usually you can tell an awful lot about a person by the way they decorate their office'.
'Usually?' Amanda said raising an eyebrow.
'Uh huh' Mark frowned 'But in the case of Natasha Summers there's nothing'
'Whaddaya mean nothing?' Jesse said 'Look around you Mark, there's pictures, souvenirs, books …'
'Yes' Mark agreed, 'but there's nothing really personal. What's on display here is the image Mrs. Summers wants the world to see'. Noticing Amanda and Jesse's puzzled looks he tried to explain further 'Look at these photographs, what do you notice about them?'
Jesse screwed up his face 'They're all in exotic locations?'
'Well yes they are' Mark said 'but that wasn't really what I was getting at'
'They're all recent!' Amanda exclaimed excitedly
'Exactly' Mark said with satisfaction 'Which means that there's a whole earlier part of her life that she doesn't want anyone to know about'.
'Whoa!' Jesse's eyebrows had shot up into his hairline.
'And you know what else I think?' Mark said
'What?' Jesse and Amanda chorused in unison
'That David Summers' office will be exactly the same.
***
In the interrogation room Tanis did a final check of everything she needed for the interview. Her notes, the tape recorder with tape in place and the obligatory coffee – yep she was good to go. She tapped her foot impatiently. She'd done interrogations alone hundreds of times, but today she felt vulnerable. She'd gotten used to Steve's strong reassuring presence at her side. 'C'mon Archer' she chided herself 'You're a big girl now, you can handle a little interrogation'.
Inadvertently she thought of Steve – what was he doing right now, she wondered. She wished she could have spoken to him on the phone, at least cleared the air between them. As it was the longer she went without seeing him, the more nervous she was about his return. In fact, it had gotten to the stage where she broke out into a cold sweat every time she thought about it. What would she say? How would she act? It would take plenty of careful planning if she didn't wanna make a fool out of herself again. She sighed, at least time was on her side, the way Steve was avoiding her right now, she wouldn't have to deal with facing him for quite a while yet. She smiled ruefully – thank heaven for small mercies!
The door when it finally opened made her jump. She looked up to see Natasha Summers, looking every bit as beautiful as she remembered. And then Tanis gasped, but it wasn't Natasha's beauty that had taken her breath away, rather it was the man accompanying her. Instead of the uniform she'd expected, Natasha Summers was escorted into the interrogation room by Steve Sloan.
TO BE CONTINUED ……