Dead Men's Hearts by Aaron Elkins Read Free Book Online Page B

chewed at his lower lip. “Of course it was dark, and there was a great deal of excitement, what with Arlo hopping about, and the light flashing everywhere. It’s possible that I may have been… didn’t I point it out?”
    TJ shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
    “I didn’t?” He grew more unsure still. “That’s odd, I’m sure I remember…” He poked randomly at piles of trash with his foot. “Well, it’s not here now, at any rate.”
    “No, it doesn’t seem to be,” TJ said.
    “Could someone have taken it?”
    “Taken it?” TJ said. “You mean,
taken
it? Between then and now?”
    “I mean—never mind.” He continued to worry his lip. “Now that I think of it, I suppose it could have been an illusion caused by the flashlight beams. All those moving shadows…”
    “I can ask the others if they saw it.”
    “Yes, do. No, don’t. We’ll keep this between ourselves. I shouldn’t want anyone to think…”He cleared his throat and drew himself up, recovering some of his firmness. “And need I point out that nothing about this outlandish affair need be repeated to our visitors? There is no reason in the world for Bruno Gustafson or anyone else connected with the foundation to know anything about—”
    “Urn,” said Tiffany. She was trying to decide how—or whether—to break it to Haddon that Bruno already knew about the finding of the skeleton. He and Bea had provided the pizza and joined in its eating the previous night, and the discovery in the enclosure had naturally become the main topic of conversation once she, Arlo, and Jerry had arrived.
    “Urn,” she said again. “There’s a slight problem—”
    “Hi!” Bruno himself said brightly, appearing magically at the entry to the enclosure. “What’s going on in here?”
    Haddon blinked and walked toward him, blocking his view. “Why, good morning, my dear Mr. Gustafson. I understood that you were flying to Abu Simbel today.”
    “Nope, just Bea. I’ve been there before and it’s just—Hey, looka here—TJ, is that the skull you were talking about?”
    Haddon glowered murderously at her.
    TJ cleared her throat. “Uh, well, actually, Mr. Gustafson, it’s, uh—”
    Haddon flung up his hands. “Never mind!” he shouted skyward. “We at Horizon House have no secrets. We are an open book. Tell all, tell all!” And he stamped off, his tuft of beard stiffly leading the way.
    A momentarily crestfallen Bruno watched him go. “What did I say?”
    TJ smiled. “Nothing, he’s been under a little strain, that’s all. It’s nothing personal.”
    “Glad to hear it. Hope he’s okay.” He looked happily down at the skull. “So tell me, what’s the story?”
    “It’s a long one, Mr. Gustafson,” TJ said.

    Chapter Six
    Gideon was not at his most scintillating. He was, in fact, having trouble keeping awake. It had been a long couple of days.
    He and Julie had left Port Angeles before dawn the previous morning, starting with a three-hour trip by car and ferry to the airport. Then a long wait at SeaTac, followed by sixteen grubby hours and ten increasingly debilitating time-zone changes to Cairo International Airport. This was followed by a hair-whitening forty-five-minute taxi ride into the city to clear up a problem with their visas, and then back to the airport by means of a taxi journey that was marginally less bloodcurdling than the first one (or were they already getting used to it?). They’d missed their flight to Luxor and had had to wait for two hours in the grungy, noisy airport, fidgety and disoriented, until the next one left.
    They had arrived at Horizon House in time for a shower, a dazed tour of the facility and a round of introductions, followed by cocktails that they hardly needed but accepted anyway, and a heavy “roast beef” dinner that Gideon was fairly certain had been water buffalo, not that his taste buds were at their most discriminating.
    Afterward, as he did most evenings, Haddon had invited a few