Asp of Ascension (A Nefertari Hughes Mystery #1)

Chapter Fourteen

"This is so cool." Maude's voice came from the behind the massive "The mascara tube Cleopatra used is almost the exact same as you'd buy at Sephora today."

Terry covered her yawn. "Mm-hmm," she said. There was some kind of convention at the hotel last night, and her room happened to be beside the hospitality suite. The paper-thin walls vibrated all night with loud laughter and music. Her eyelids felt like sandpaper every time she blinked. They had only spent two nights at the hotel, but it felt like a hundred years.

"It was made of stone," Maude continued in an animated voice, "but the wand and the bristles are identical to modern brands." Several heads turned in her direction. Her exuberance earned their study table a warning from the closest librarian.

Zach looked up from the notepad balanced on the arm of the chair, his pen stopped in mid stroke. His fitted plaid shirt had the first two buttons undone, and there was a hint of chest hair. On anyone else it would just be a shirt, but on Zach it looked fashionably aloof. It wasn't so much his looks, but his confidence. Terry was certain he'd never had someone spill chocolate milk on his lap.

He sat across from her with one foot resting on his knee and his varsity jacket slung over the back of his chair. He ignored the librarian and leaned forward, taking a candy from Maude's opened tube of Love Hearts. She also had several Tootsie Pops ready for backup.

Terry watched him from the corner of her eye. He squinted at the candy, then lightly tapped the edge of his left eyebrow with his pen a few times. Then he smiled. "Let's kiss," he read.

"In bed with no clothes on," Maude whispered automatically. He laughed with her as he popped the candy into his mouth.

Terry smiled. Hanging out in the library, snacking on candy with Maude, and having Zach's attention every time she spoke of Cleopatra was refreshing enjoyable—even if he only saw her as a teacher. For the past few days she and her dad had been eating every meal at the hotel restaurant or at Sarah's cluttered apartment. The food was usually pre-packaged or takeout. Sarah joked about having a large wine fridge instead of a place for vegetables—her teeth were purple by the end of most meals. What Terry wouldn't give for a simple kitchen with a warm oven of homemade food.

"Like, she invented mascara!" Maude was reaching some kind of red zone of excitement. Terry caught Zach grinning at her. The stare held until Terry was positive her warm blush would give her away.

She took the pen she'd nabbed from the hotel room that morning and wrote 'mascara' on a list she'd started. Their fake beauty article was shaping up nicely. Terry had to admit it was an interesting slant on Cleopatra, plus it helped fight all the creepy feelings Dr. Mullaca evoked every time Terry set foot in the museum.

Her dad hadn't mentioned much about the coffin since that first meeting, but Sarah had let it slip that Dr. Mullaca's constant talk of ancient curses was responsible for some of the construction staff working in the Egypt room to quit. Plus, the fact she was a snake expert fed into paranoid rumours she was keeping a pet cobra in the basement. "She even has a snake tattoo on her arm," Sarah had said over the rim of her wine glass. "I saw it when she was putting on her lab coat."

"Terry!" Maude's voice pleaded.

She looked up to find both Maude and Zach staring at her. "Sorry, what?"

"Did you get that last one?" Maude asked, pointing to the list. "The milk and honey facial mask?" Terry shook her head and yawned again. Maude's expression softened. "What was it last night?" she asked. "Elementary school choir or fighting newlyweds?"