"George is going to be thrilled to see you there." Julia said as they went out of their house arm in arm.
"He has been talking about it all week, I think he would not forgive me if I didn't go." William laughed. "He was so excited he looked like a child."
"The Tomb of the Unknown Princess, it sounds so exciting!" Julia exclaimed.
"And now who looks like a child?" William laughed, kissing her on the cheek.
"Don't tell me you're not curious William, I know you have been waiting not so patiently for this exhibit."
"I have to admit, I am curious."
When they entered the reception hall where all the objects were displayed, they saw that George was busy signing his books.
"He seems to be rather successful." William said when he saw the line that had formed in front of the table where he was settled to sell and sign his books.
"Well, the book is really good. Did you read it? I saw you bring it home the other day but I didn't see you actually read it."
"I read it on my lunch breaks now that I have no one to eat with." he said, sending a pointed look to his wife.
"Well, I'm sorry William but I don't have the time to cross the entire city to have lunch with you." Julia said, sadness creeping on her face.
"Hey, I was just teasing Julia, don't worry." William reassured her, squeezing her hand.
"I know but I miss having lunch with you too." she said. "Now, I'm going to get my book signed by the author." she declared, moving to the end of the line.
As she waited for the line to move, William walked around, looking at the different objects, reading the signs, absorbing all the knowledge he could. He startled when he felt a hand on his back. He turned around to find Julia smiling at him.
"Did you get your signature?" he asked.
"Yes I did." she said, smiling. "What are you looking at?"
"This … cup, it has a fascinating history. It belonged to ..."
"Doctor Ogden! What a pleasure to meet you! How is your private practice going?"
The couple turned from the display and faced Doctor Grace.
"It's going all right, thank you. I still need to get more patients but it's on the right track." Julia said, smiling.
"That's good! If anyone I know gets sick, I'll make sure to recommand you."
"That's very nice Doctor Grace, thank you. And how is the work at the morgue going for you? William tells me that you are good."
"Really? That's nice to hear. It would be even better coming form him." Doctor Grace said, a smile on her face, making him blush.
"Don't take any offence in that Doctor, I am almost sure that William made a promise to himself not to be kind to any coroner since I left."
"Julia!"
"What? You told me she does very good work, why don't you tell her, you used to tell me all the time."
"Alright. I'm sorry Doctor Grace. You do a very good job at the morgue and I'll make sure to tell you."
"That would be very nice, thank you Detective." Doctor Grace said, smiling.
As Julia was going to speak, the audience was called by the director of the exhibit to see the opening of the sarcophagus of the princess. The small group moved to the front to have a better view. When Mr Greenwood opened the sarcophagus a snake came out and bit him on the arm. A few seconds later, the man was dead on the floor.
"A second unveiling three days after the first one, this is interesting. And we have you to thank for that." Julia said, a smile on her face, as they walked in the exhibit once more.
"Not only me. If Doctor Bajjali hadn't hinted at the inconsistancies on the sarcophagus, I would have never found who the Unknown Princess really was."
"Don't sell yourself short, William. You made a historical discovery!" she exclaimed.
"Julia, don't talk so loud, people are looking at us." William said, blushing.
"William, my humble hero." Julia laughed, kissing him on the cheek before moving deeper in the exhibit.
William followed, looking around for some artefacts that he would have missed, thinking about the fascinating Egyptian history. He was brought out of his thought when he bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I … Julia? Are you alright?" William asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. Let's go over there, they are going to unveil the mummy and ..."
"Why did you stop in the middle of the way?"
"I was thinking about something, I … I don't know, I ..."
William looked around them and he tensed when he saw him.
"Has he been bothering you again?" he asked
"No, I haven't seen him since … that night. I just … I can't get the fact that he saw us out of my mind."
"Don't worry about it Julia, he didn't see anything. And he should be the one being embarrassed not you."
"Well he was not the one being half naked, was he?" Julia whispered.
"Doctor Ogden, Detective Murdoch, what a surprise to see you here! This exhibit is really interesting, isn't it?"
"Doctor Garland, I thought I had made myself clear the last time we saw each other. You are not to appraoch my wife. And if I remember correctly, she also made it clear that you are to refer to her as Mrs Murdoch." William said, threat clear in his tone and voice.
"I'm sorry, Mrs Murdoch, but I will not stay hidden in my home in the odd chance that I would run into you somewhere in this big city." the doctor said, leaving them to approach the mummy.
"I don't say that often but I hate this man. If you see him, tell me. The slightest thing can be used to arrest him." William said, gritting his teeth.
"Don't worry, I will tell you. And I will make myself very clear to him next time I see him."
"No, please don't talk to him. It could be used in his favor in some ways."
"Alright, I won't. Now, let's go see how the world reacts to your historical discovery." Julia said, smiling and kissing him before pulling him by the hand to join the audience around the mummy.
They watched as Dr Bajjali introduced Queen Maat. Mr Rutherford, the director of the exhibit and of the expedition prepared to reveal the mummy to everyone. He pulled on the handle that was supposed to make the mummy move and stand straight. It didn't. It electrocuted him instead.
"It's the curse again, Sir!" George exclaimed.
Happy 14th July to all my French readers if there are any and please everyone send your good thoughts so we can win the Football World Cup tomorrow ️🏆 !