McGrave's Hotel Read Online Free PDF Page B

reveal a second coffin nested within, like a nested Russian egg. This second coffin in turn was removed and opened, at which point everyone had to look away from the outpouring of reflected light. The third and final container proved to be a coffin of pure gold, brilliant to behold, meticulously designed to look like Queen Siti herself. Its glow filled the chamber of the trailer, and James thrilled to see the beauty rendered by the sculptor. The queen would have been a stunner in 1936. She had a movie-star face framed by a plaited wig of fine locks that hung to her breasts. A headband formed of a royal cobra circled her hair, and she held a floral scepter in her hand.
    Housed within this priceless receptacle, James knew, rested the three-thousand-year-old mummified remains of the lady herself.
    “She’s so pretty,” James said.
    “They discovered her in the Valley of the Queens,” Mohammed Bey informed him. “She was known as the Beautiful One Who Sings. Her beauty inspired a cult that continued through the Third Intermediate Period.”
    “I wish I could have known her then,” James said. Her presence took James back to his family summer in Egypt and to the Great Pyramid.
    “Two million blocks of stone, kiddo,” his mom had said. “Each over two tons.”
    Then and now, James wondered at the brilliance of the architect who had designed it, at the magnitude of the labor force that moved all those stones into place.
    “Come,” said Mohammed Bey in the belly of the trailer. “Danger lurks, and we must be quick.”
    The four large porters draped the golden coffin in a nondescript oilskin shroud and hoisted it to shoulder height. They would leave the outer casings behind and follow James to the queen’s suite in the hotel. Mohammed Bey and his business associates would accompany the procession.
    “The entire enterprise is strictly hush-hush, a task commissioned by Egypt’s King Farouk himself,” Mohammed Bey explained to James. “The shadow of war lies heavy over Egypt,” he continued. “An invasion could come at any time. Many of our treasures, including the remains of our royal ancestors, are being moved to underground locations where bombs may not be felt. For others, we seek refuge outside the boundaries of Egypt.
    “Tonight, in your hotel restaurant, we shall meet with the curator of the Brooklyn Museum. We shall discuss the option of Queen Siti spending some time there. She would like to see a little of your United States. We hope the reverse is also true, that your citizens would enjoy spending some time with her.”
    In the elevator, James watched the ascent closely as the lights indicated the floor-to-floor progress. He didn’t want to have to explain paranormal building structure or green phantasms to these important visitors.
    At the forty-second floor, thanking goodness to be there, James supervised their arrival. There was still a long corridor to traverse. He would take the lead with Mohammed Bey beside him. Next came the four porters with the golden coffin, the remaining gentlemen following behind.
    The trek commenced with James alert to any possible interference. If he could conclude his business with the Egyptians in the next few minutes, he might return to the lobby in time to escort Victor Lesley’s first aspiring actress.
    James also knew that, although foreign dignitaries occasionally rated VIP status, these Egyptians were pleasant gentlemen who constituted Mr. Nash’s “contingent of foreigners,” not the visitor he feared. That VIP had yet to appear.
    As the assembly approached the first hallway perpendicular to their corridor, James could hear a distinct high-pitched squeal, as if a door with a rusty hinge were swaying to and fro. He raised his hand to stop the procession.
    The eerie squeaking continued, coming closer, closer, closer.
    James held his breath in apprehension. What was about to appear around the corner?
    He sighed in relief as a housekeeping maintenance cart appeared,