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There were mumbled voices, and Alice smiled back at the camera. “It’s called the Alice Show. Isn’t that perfect?” She clapped her hands in delight. “Although I shall have to talk to my agent about getting a better set. This one is rather basic. And don’t even get me started on the food.” She spoke off camera again. “We need a new food truck.” She looked back into the lens. “Jorge said if I do a good job I’ll get ice cream.” She beamed, looking a little demented.
Patricia threw her hands up and glared at the iPad. “Can I talk to her through this thing? I need to tell her that nobody’s buying her act. A two-year-old could do a better job. Hell, Liz Hurley could do a better job, and her acting is no better than a puppet show. Wooden. Totally wooden.” She poked Julia’s shoulder. “Where’s the mic button?”
“You can’t talk to her. It’s a one-way feed.”
“This is embarrassing,” Patricia said as she watched Alice wax lyrical about her favourite ice cream. “People with dementia don’t behave like that. She should be nominated for a Razzie Award.”
“Patricia!” Joe barked. “Quiet!”
“The nice producer says I have to tell you about mummy.” Alice frowned with exaggerated confusion. “Do you mean my mummy? I think she’s dead.”
Patricia groaned loudly, and Joe shot her another glare. “I will gag you.”
She made a zipping motion over her lips.
“Jorge says he wants his mummy back.” Alice made a sad face that reminded Joe of a mime performance. “That’s heart-breaking; he misses his mummy. What did you say, Jorge? I couldn’t hear you because I’m talking to Patricia.”
There was silence while Alice focused on her kidnapper.
She nodded. “Jorge says you have to bring his mummy to him or I won’t get to come home.” She looked slightly panicked, but smiled widely. “Don’t worry about that. I like it here. I’m going to be a star! Do you hear me, Marcus? This is where I told you I’d end up. I’m going to be a star!” She waved her hands above her head, and the feed cut out.
The screen went blank and there was silence. Until the cell phone rang.
Patricia shot to her feet, her eyes went straight to Joe. “What do I say?”
“Tell them the truth. Tell them you don’t have the mummy and you need time to get it.”
“I don’t even know where it is! It was gone by the time we broke into the house.” Her voice rose with the beginnings of hysteria.
“Tell them that. Ask for more time.” Joe lifted the phone and walked to Patricia. “It’s important that you get more time. Make them believe you can find the mummy. Got it?”
“Got it.” She didn’t look like she did, but Joe had no other option than to hand over the ringing phone.
“Hello?” Patricia said in a tremulous voice.
She listened while everyone in the room leaned in towards her.
“I don’t have it. Someone had already taken it by the time we got there.” As she listened, Patricia paled. “No! No. I can find it. I just need some time. I’m sure I can find it.” She stared into space, agony on her face. “I n-need more time than that.”
The caller said something else, and then Patricia’s hand fell to her side, still clutching the phone. “He says we have three days. If he doesn’t have the mummy by Friday, Alice will lose her usefulness.”
A grim silence enveloped the room.
“I really need wine.” Patricia headed for the minibar, placing the phone carefully on the table when she passed. It was her only lifeline to Alice.
Joe looked at Julia, whose face was a mask of fear and worry. “Julia, if they plan to keep using the phone, maybe Elle can get something from it that will help us?”
“I’ll email the details to her now.” Julia looked less terrified now that she had a task to keep her mind occupied.
“In the meantime, we need a starting place. We need to know everything you know about this mummy, Patricia. Including why these guys are so hot to trade your friend for a corpse that wouldn’t sell for as much as a cheap used car. I get the feeling there’s something about this particular mummy that isn’t showing up in our research on it. Something you obv
iously know.”
Patricia ducked her head as her cheeks turned pink. Oh yeah, she knew exactly what was going on, and it was time she shared. If there was one thing Joe hated, it was being kept in the dark. Especially when there were lives on the line.
“And Gran?” Julia looked up from her tablet. “Who is Marcus and why was Alice talking about him?”
Joe’s eyes snapped to Julia. “I thought that was her husband.”
