The Eye of Horus Read Online Free PDF Page A

sloping in from the sole, like the beginnings of a shoe, and a braided strap curling up from the toe to form a T with the strap across the instep.
    “Do you think she was his only wife?” he asked without looking up.
    “A man could have however many wives he could afford. Since most people of her class would have a full pasteboard cartonnage over the linen wrapping, not just a head maskand a foot mask, that suggests a lesser wife, probably one of several.”
    “Maybe he didn’t
want
three or four wives.” A smile played at the corner of his mouth.
    “What makes you say that?”
    “Something about her eyes, or maybe it’s her mouth—both, unless my imagination has gone through the roof. I suspect looking at her might do that to you.”
    “What … about her eyes?” Kate urged, trying not to prompt him.
    “It’s just, well, she has such a look of—” He paused, searching for the right word. “Call it intelligent curiosity combined with, oh, I’m not sure—as if there’s a spark of mischief hiding behind that serious facade. Like she’s smiling somewhere inside.” He turned to Kate with a self-deprecating smile. “I hope you’re not going to tell me it’s just some stylized portrait they put on all the young women back then.”
    Kate watched his lips curve up, pulling a fan of lines at the outer corners of his eyes. Then the fold above them closed down while his cheeks lifted in a classic Duchenne, the only one of several well-documented smiles known to produce happy emotions, or at least a good mood—one more thing she knew about him, despite the beard. That and the fact that he was very good at reading X rays. Had to be to get gender from the skull alone with little more than a casual glance, which probably meant it wasn’t as casual as he made it appear.
    “No, she’s definitely one of a kind,” she answered, just as Elaine poked her head around the door.
    “All locked up and ready to go.”
    “Okay, we’re coming, too.” Kate went to the closet for her coat and on the way out flipped the switch on the viewbox, letting the X ray go dark.
    They walked down the hall together and through the reception area to the main entrance, where the security guard locked the door behind them. It was pitch-dark outside and felt near freezing. “I always forget how cold it can get here in November,” Dr. Cavanaugh mumbled into his collar. “We were still running the air-conditioning when I left Houston.”
    “I heard it might snow tonight,” Kate remarked, trying to think of some way to ask if he’d be interested in a trade—Cleo’s appraisal of the ivory necklace for a professional reading of that X ray.
    They were almost to the parking lot when he slowed and put out a hand to detain her. “Look, I know how you could learn a lot more about her, and without disturbing a hair on either head.” His breath formed a cumulus cloud in the frigid night air. “Maybe if I could describe what I have in mind and you told me more about—” He glanced around as if searching for something. “It’s too cold to stand out here. How about going someplace for a cup of coffee or a beer? Unless you have someone waiting for you at home?”
    She did, and he wouldn’t be a bit happy if she was late again. But a chance like this didn’t come along every day. Sam would just have to wait.
    Vince’s Italian Ristorante specialized in Neapolitan pizza. Anything else, Vince had told her more than once, was a bastard—unworthy of the name. He greeted them from behind the cash register and suggested they pick their own table.
    “Near the fireplace okay with you?” Dr. Cavanaugh inquired. Kate nodded and started across the room, relieved to see that only one table was occupied. She didn’t want to miss anything he had to say.
    Once seated he glanced around at the decor, taking in the red-brick walls and checkered tablecloths, then commented, “Smells great in here. Would you like something to eat?”
    She assumed he was