Page 70 of Ancient Obsession

They walked along the line of evergreens to the back corner. Oliver was surprised to see a large greenhouse extension. It stood as tall as the building itself, sunlight shimmering across the glass panels. “I didn’t realize the botanical garden was so big.”

“It’s amazing inside,” Robin said. “They even rent it out for events and stuff. Students manage all of it with a faculty advisor. Sometimes I go in there between classes.”

Dave moved along the back of the building, peering behind the evergreen bushes. Oliver followed, eyes cast down. It had rained a couple of nights before, and this area lay in the shadow of the building, so the ground was still soft. Birds fluttered to and from nests built in the upper corners where the greenhouse connected with the building itself. Insects buzzed around him, and Oliver shooed them away.

When they were close to the greenhouse, he stopped. Dropping to a crouch, he gently touched the edge of a footprint. It hadn’t been made by someone wearing shoes because there was no tread. The print was slim and clearly showed an indentation of toes. But there was also a crosshatch pattern across the bottom.

“Footprint?” Dave squatted beside him. “Someone was barefoot.”

“Right, but see here? There’s a pattern across it.” Oliver pointed without touching the dirt. “It’s like the bare foot was covered by some kind of material.”

“Oh, shit. I see it.” Robin was bent nearly in half, hovering in the space between Oliver and Dave. “You think that’s from the mummy?”

“That or someone was wearing toe socks as they walked through the mud,” Oliver said.

Demetrius and Cody rounded the corner of the greenhouse and approached.

“Find something?” Demetrius asked.

Oliver pointed to the print and explained about the pattern across the bottom.

“Fucking mummy,” Cody grumbled. “Now what?”

Oliver took several photos of the print before standing up. He studied the back of the building and the side of the greenhouse. There was a door on the side, and he approached and tugged the handle. It was locked.

“Did you see a door on the other side of the greenhouse?” he asked.

“We did,” Demetrius replied. “But I didn’t try it. There’s one in the back wall, but it’s one of those emergency exit doors that sounds an alarm if it’s opened.”

“Huh.” Oliver swiped through the photos he’d just taken. “I do think this footprint was left by Amenmose, but…” He noted the direction the footprint was facing and shifted his position. He had a line of sight extending out beyond the back corner of the greenhouse. “No idea where he was coming from or going.”

They squeezed behind the bushes, Oliver enduring several scratches from the stiff branches. They found no other footprints or scraps of binding materials. After they’d extricated themselves from inside the hedges, Oliver set his hands on his hips and grunted.

“I’m stumped,” he said.

“But you found a footprint,” Robin said, face glowing. “That’s got to prove something, right?”

“Not much,” Demetrius said. “That print could be explained away by the police. We’d need some physical evidence to even try to convince them.”

“Like the mummy itself,” Cody added. “Strolling into the police station and confessing.”

Dave reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “It’s Gina,” he said before accepting the call. “Hey there, Gina.”

“That’s the owner of the rental hall,” Oliver said. “She and her husband have been great.” He started toward the back of the greenhouse. “I’m going to try that door on the other side.”

“What?” Dave exclaimed.

Oliver stopped in his tracks and turned. “Oh, shit.” Dave faced him, eyes wide and a hand on top of his head as he listened. “What’s wrong?”

Dave held the phone away from his mouth. “They flooded.”

“What?” Oliver’s voice was as high as Dave’s.

“All right, enough investigating for today.” Cody extended his arms, corralling everyone toward the corner of the building. “Let’s get back home.”

“We’re on our way,” Dave said into the phone. “But we’re in Glenmont, so it may take a little while.” He disconnected and stood staring at Oliver. “They’ve been having trouble with a sewer line, and it backed up into the event space.”

“Oh no,” Oliver said. “They can’t get it cleaned up in the next few days?”