Thanks so much for the wonderful review, Lilylynn! Here's the next batch!

Penny - September 11, 2002
Rick sat in the kitchen alone, sipping coffee and pouring over the journal. He felt like a thief, in the big rambling old manor, glancing nervously at the door, every few seconds. He'd waited for Evie to leave this morning taking Alex to school, before going to the museum. He watched her leave, going down the long tree lined drive and out through the tall iron gate. Giving himself a nod of reassurance he marched up the flight of stairs, straight into the bed room, and he lifted the journal, from inside the night stand.

Now here he sat alone, well almost alone. Jonathan was hiding out in the east wing, hold up in his room no doubt, locked away from all of them. The journal had opened too many old wounds and Rick's questions on the subject only served to pour salt on them. For somewhere in Jonathan's hurt psyche, the child in him not only felt his parents were dead, but they had abandoned him and his sister as well. Because if the bodies in the coffins weren't his parents, where the hell were they?

It was clear he wasn't thinking straight. Especially after that tangent three nights ago, when Rick tried to broach the subject again. Poor Jonathan was a powder keg and Rick was a lit match! He should have just fired a broad side at him and been done with it. But Jonathan blew up none the less. And it wasn't a pretty picture. His eyes went from a tortured, bloodshot blue to a storm cloud gray in a matter of seconds.

"I don't know what the deuces you're talking about, O'Connell!" O'Connell. That should have been Rick's first clue to abandon ship right there. Jonathan hardly ever called him O'Connell anymore, except on those rare occasions when they'd reminiscence, about what Alex called the 'GOOD OLD DAYS', when he referred to Hamunaptra.

"I don't have the foggiest notion where you come up with this dribble!" he'd screamed at Rick. "What the hell business is it of yours, anyway? Where the hell do you get your ideas from? Evie doesn't know what she's talking about!" With that his brother-in-law had stormed out of the library and made himself scarce.

Hopefully, he'd get an answer to the wire he sent a week ago. Maybe then he could figure out where to go from there, to help his family. He took another sip of coffee and grimaced. It was cold. As he got up to refill the cup, the door bell alerted him that someone had come calling at the manor. It wasn't even eight thirty yet. God, he hoped it wasn't Evie! He quickly snatched up the book and opened a cabinet door, found a large pot with a lid and set it inside. Satisfied the book would keep, he went and answered the front door.

The look on Rick's face when he opened the door, went from shock, to surprise, to a frown. He just stood looking at the man, not wanting to ask why he had come, but knowing he had too. "It's not gonna be good is it?" The tall man in turn just shook his head. Rick sighed and opened the door wider so Ardeth Bay could come in.

They sat in the kitchen and Rick poured them each a cup of coffee. Ardeth frowned, looking as weary as he felt. His task had not been an easy one, nor one he would have wished to deliver to any family of the Med-Jai. When he spoke his voice held a deep regret. "I fear I have brought more pain to your home, ahi." He laid two gold wedding bands inlaid with lapis on the table in front of Rick. "We have found the bodies of Robert and Adinah Carnahan. They were placed in a common grave at Luxor." Rick felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. Damn!

Ardeth sighed seeing the look that crossed Rick's face. "We found this item as well." He placed the tarnished gold locket with its broken chain next to the rings.

Rick stared at it and finally picked it up, feeling the cool metal between his fingers. "How do you know..."

"Read the inscription on the back, ahi," Ardeth offered quietly.

Rick swallowed a painful lump and turned the locket over reading to himself. To Adinah, ALL MY LOVE,ALL MY LIFE, Howard.

"Now, open it and look at the pictures and tell me what you see." Experience told him to let it alone. Don't open it. Opening things and reading things always managed to get them in trouble somewhere down the line. Their track record just wasn't that good.

"Rick?" He heard the urging tone of the Med-Jai's voice. "You asked me to help. Please. Look inside."

His hands started to tremble as he pushed a thumb nail inside to pop the clasp. There before him, two small faces smiled for the camera. Two faces he knew quite well. A boy and a girl, although they were no longer children. They were adults, grown. One with a child of her own, who looking at the pictures again, Rick could see Alex in both of them. This was definitely Evie and Jonathan. He sat the locket gently back on the table and ran a hand through his hair. "See?" his conscience told him. "I told you not to open it. Told you not to."

"I trust this is enough evidence, ahi. We have taken the remains to a safe place and will help Jonathan and your wife put them to rest if they wish it, in a place that is suitable."

"How...Ardeth how did you find them? Evie was what? About seven when they died? How did you know where to look after that many years?"

"The Med-Jai know many people, my friend. Contrary to popular belief, we do not shoot everyone we meet," he answered raising an eye brow as if to make a point.

Rick could only grin. "You never change," Rick laughed.

"But you have my friend, there is gray in your hair."

"Hey! Do I poke fun at your robes? Leave my hair outta this!" His grin suddenly was gone. "Alright give. Let's hear it and cut through the chase."

"There was an old man, Aswad Fulana. He worked on the digs with your wife's parents. He knew them very well. Knew the children."

Rick butted in. "Then why didn't he come forward? Why in hell wait till now?"

"He was afraid for his life and he was afraid for the lives of Evelyn and Jonathan. You see, right after we found him, he was murdered."

Rick took a deep breath. Yeah, he thought. Books, puzzle boxes, chests, and lockets were definitely not going to be on his Christmas list this year.

Shelby (pen name Eviefan)September 25, 2002
Long after Ardeth had gone, Rick remained in the kitchen sitting at the table looking down at the locket. He now had one answer, which solved the mystery of where the bodies of his wife's parents had been put, but there were also more questions. More than anything else he wanted to find out what had become of Alan, and possible find him and make him answer to the murders, which had hurt his wife and brother-in-law so deeply.

Not so far from the O'Connell home, in the huge building which was known as the British Museum, Evelyn sat in her office with the door shut and locked. The beautiful young woman sat deep in thought, transported back to the time after her parents had died, a time of great pain for she and her brother, Jonathan.

A day had passed since the funeral, and Evelyn had refused to leave her room. In the safety of her room, a place filled with shelves of books, dolls and other toys for a young girl, she sat on her floor holding the locket her parents had given to her a few weeks before they had gone to Egypt.

Evelyn had been upset about them leaving, and had been very outspoken about having to stay home in London. "But I can help you and father," she said as she sat on the steamer trunk at the end of her parents bed, wearing a white nightgown which hung down to her ankles. Her face was tear stained, as she had been crying since they had told her she and Jonathan would be staying home.

Setting down the dress she had taken from the closet, Adinah walked over to where her daughter sat and knelt down. "Evelyn, your father and I would love to take you with us, but this is going to be a very busy time for both of us. We want you and Jonathan to be well taken care of, and while we are on the dig, that won't be possible," she tried.

Evie sniffed and looked into her mother's eyes. "What if something bad happens to you and father?" she asked. Last night she had dreamed that she had been in the desert, standing on one dune, and her parents standing on another. She had dreamed that the dune they were standing on had swallowed them, and that had left her very frightened.

Sitting beside her daughter, Adinah lifted her up, then held her on her lap. "Nothing will happen to your father and myself. We have been on several digs, and we will be very, very careful," she said trying to reassure her little girl.

Not far from where they sat, Howard watched his wife and his daughter, then made a decision. "Evelyn, I have something for you. You're mum and I were going to give this to you for your Birthday, but I think that perhaps you need this now. From his pocket he pulled out a black velvet box, and walked over to his wife and his little girl, putting it into her small hand.

Carefully, Evelyn opened the box and smiled. Inside the box was a beautiful gold locket. Gently she took it out and opened it finding a picture of her father on one side and her mother on the other. "Oh thank you," she said to both of them. She sat forward and let her mum put the necklace around her neck, then starred down at the two people she loved more than anything in the world.

Time had passed, but the picture's in the locket were the same as the day she had first seen them. At her desk, Evelyn held her locket out looking at her parents. She sighed and closed it up, giving the locket a kiss, then decided it better to get home. Today was not a day for her to try and focus on her work at the museum. She wanted to find answers to the questions which had been plaguing her since her parents death, and it was time to stop putting that off. After gathering her coat, Evelyn left for home, not knowing that some of the answers lay waiting for her, in the hands of the man who she had been destined to love through centuries, a man who had saved her life more times than she could count. Thinking about her husband, Evelyn let a smile form on her face, and as she drove to the house, she was ready to relax and let his love once again ease her pain.

Lady Pyrrha - October 6, 2002
Unfortunately for Evelyn, the man who she hoped would bring her comfort could do no such thing. As she walked in the door, he looked up and his hand quickly closed over whatever he held. He gave her a small, forced smile, but her gaze stayed on his hand.

"Rick?" she asked, walking around the kitchen table to stand before him. "What's in your hand?"

"Hi, honey. You're home early," he said instead of answering her question. He stretched his arm across the table, hoping to keep his hand away from her.

"Yes, I couldn't think at the museum, so I just came home. Now, what's that?" she demanded, pointing at his fist.

Rick sighed. He had been in no hurry to tell his wife about her parents, and he had even less of a desire to show her what he held. "Maybe… maybe you should get Jonathan," he stalled. He knew that he would have to tell her, no matter how much he hated to. She so believed that since her parents hadn't been in those coffins that they had to be alive. It hurt him to be the one to prove her wrong.

"This is serious, isn't it?" she asked, her eyes widening. "What do you have?"

"Evie, go get your brother. I'll tell you both together."

Evelyn nodded, leaving the kitchen and her husband to find Jonathan. Whatever news Rick had, it could not be good. She could tell from his voice. And a small sense of dread forming in the back of her mind made her suspect that it had something to do with her parents.

No more than fifteen minutes had elapsed when Evelyn was back in the kitchen with the remains of her adult family. She sat at the table next to Rick while Jonathan leaned against the doorframe.

"This had better be good," he said in a hoarse voice.

Rick cleared his throat, then began to speak. "I, um, Ardeth stopped by this morning."

"Really? How is Ardeth?" Evelyn asked.

"He was fi-"

"Oh, cut to the chase," Jonathan snapped. "Why was he here? It's never for a good reason," he muttered more to himself than to the couple at the table.

"He came to tell me that they'd found your parents."

"What?" Jonathan asked. Hope swelled in Evelyn's chest, but Rick's next words cut it away from her.

"They were dead; buried in a common grave in Luxor."

"No!" Evelyn shouted. "It can't be them! Ardeth never met them and after so many years the bodies would be unrecognizable! It can't be them, it just can't."

"Evie," Rick said, his eyes sympathetic. "He brought these."

He opened his hand for the siblings to see the two matching wedding rings and the locket that Ardeth had delivered. Evelyn stared at them, unable to say anything else while Jonathan cursed angrily.

"The rings are theirs; the inscription," he said, starting to hand them to his wife, but she ignored them. She hung her head, silent tears coursing down her face.

"Evie," Rick whispered her name. He placed the golden objects on the table and wrapped his arms around her, finally comforting her for different reasons than she had originally intended.

Behind him, Jonathan picked up one of the rings, reading the inscription inside that Rick had mentioned. It did indeed read as he always remembered. Once, when he was small, his mother had shown it to him after a particularly bad dream.

"We'll find that man, Evie," Rick said softly, nuzzling her hair. "We'll make him pay for this."

"By Jove, we will," Jonathan seconded, his hand tightening around his mother's ring.

Hollywood Heidi (pen name JasmineHR) October 17, 2002
Evie placed her right hand over Jonathan's closed fist. "Jonathan, please do calm down. I know it hurts, but you are not alone. My heart longs for them also. We need to be here for each other. Please don't close me out."

Jonathan's features softened and he opened his fist as he looked at his sister. He sighed. "I'm sorry old mum. As your big brother, I feel I should be comforting you and I get angry that their death still has such a strong effect on me."

He took Evie's hand and placed their mother's ring on the ring finger of her right hand. He picked up his father's ring and turned it in his hands, then placed it on the ring finger of his right hand.

Jonathan smiled and looked to his sister. "Well fancy that. They're the perfect fit." He looked down at his father's ring on his hand and felt a closeness to his parents knowing that they had cherished the rings symbolizing their love almost as much as they had cherished their children.

"Well, let's get to work and try to figure this out." Rick got up and retrieved the journal from the cabinets.

When he turned back towards Evie, her arms were crossed and she was giving him 'the look'. "What?" He asked innocently. "I only took it to see if I could find anything that would help us figure this out."

The hours ticked by as Rick, Jonathan, and Evie began reading each page of the journal looking for any clues. They only stopped twice; once to pick up Alex from school, and also for dinner. It was now nearing midnight. Alex had long gone to bed and they hadn't found much in the journal so far.

"I think that's enough for tonight," Rick said standing up. "Tomorrow's Sunday, so we'll have the whole day to do some more research. We need to be fully awake for this."

Jonathan nodded his agreement and stood up from the table stretching and Evie followed suit. "Right you are chap."

They headed out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. "Where are you going?" Evie asked when she noticed Jonathan pass the stairs.

"Just getting myself a nightcap, then I'll be off to bed."

Evie nodded and she Rick started up the stairs with their arms around each other. They barely made it up five steps when they came to an abrupt stop and turned as they heard a knock at the door. Jonathan emerged from the parlor with glass in hand.

"Who on earth could that be? It's nearly midnight!" Jonathan asked putting down his glass and heading to the door.

"Wait, Jonathan. Evie, stay out of sight." Rick let go of Evie and headed back down. He pulled a gun out of the drawer of the table in the entry, handed it to Jonathan, and pulled another gun out for himself. The two men crept to the front door. Rick signaled for Jonathan to stay against the wall, in the shadows to the left of the door. Jonathan nodded. Rick opened the door partially, keeping his hand with the gun hidden.

"Forgive me sir for intruding at such a late hour but we must keep this meeting a secret. I have some information about the Carnahans."

A harmless old frail man stood there with eyes darting around looking for anyone that may have followed him.

Rick opened the door wider. "Come on in."

The old man entered and Rick gave a quick look around outside before closing and locking the door. "Follow me. We'll talk in the parlor."

They each took a seat in the parlor and the old man began speaking. "Where to begin…" he mumbled to himself and looked up at the three questioning faces. "Forgive me. I have not introduced myself. I am Charles Sonderburg."

"Welcome to our home Mr. Sonderburg. I'm Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell, this is my husband Rick, and my brother Jonathan Carnahan. I believe I heard you say you have some information about my parents?"

"Ah, so that much is true. Aswad mentioned the Carnahan's having a boy and girl," he smiled and looked at the confused faces. "Let me explain myself. You see, I was a caretaker for Aswad. A few months before his murder, he was diagnosed as having a mental illness, most likely from being a witness to something traumatizing that had taken place in his past. It seems in his old age, he could not suppress the images any longer. His doctor had sent me to be a live-in and to care for him. He would ramble on and on for hours about different adventures he had been on. Then, there were times he would seem to go farther from sanity, claiming he kept seeing a man from his past spying on him and hunting him. I finally got the name of this so-called spy of his imagination and looked up the information on him. It seems the man he spoke of died nearly a decade ago. Aswad kept insisting he was seeing him, and so I brought him to the graveyard to show him, that it couldn't be and that he was safe. Sure enough, the name of the man he spoke of was engraved on the tombstone where I found out it would be. I thought seeing the tombstones would help him to come to his senses, but I fear I made his mental state worse. He kept insisting, claiming that it must then be the ghost of that man."

Jonathan interrupted, getting impatient that an important detail was left out. "What was the name on the tombstone?"

Charles thought as he scratched his head. "I can remember where the tombstone is, but the name escapes me. I believe it was something like Albert Skor…er Skar…"

"Alan Skarzinski?" Evie supplied.

"Yes! That's the man! So you have heard of him." Charles began searching his pockets. "I've brought some letters and such that Aswad had in his possession." He continued patting pockets in his shirt and jacket. "I figure they may be of more use to you than the safe they were placed in." He checked the last of his pockets. "Oh blast it. I left them in the safe. I fear my memory is not as good as it used to be. I've also been a bit preoccupied and jumpy since Aswad's murder."

"It's quite all right, Mr. Sonderburg," Rick stood up and held out his hand. "We appreciate you helping us out. I think it'd be best if we all get a good nights sleep and meet up again tomorrow. You can bring everything then."

Charles stood and shook Rick's hand. "That would be splendid. When and were shall we meet?"

"How about the museum?" Evie asked. "We can use my office to continue this conversation. How does 10 a.m. sound?"

"That would be just fine Mrs. O'Connell. I'll be there at 10 a.m. sharp with the letters and such." He bowed to her and shook Jonathan's hand. "Good night, Mr. and Mrs. O'Connell; Mr. Carnahan."

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