The Death Code

Chapter Two ~ Recipe for WHAT?!?

Chapter Two

Work was monotonous, conversation with fellow employees tedious and the clock wasn't moving. Normally Jules enjoyed hovering in the catacombs (as the underground vault was lovingly referred to) but Pete and Dr. Hernandez were in a meeting and she was anxiously awaiting word.

Jules could have booked her own appointment with the great and mighty Jorge but they gambled that Pete would have a quicker, more receptive audience alone. Family did matter in some instances.

"Did you see the baskets?" Miles called from two rows over. He was an intern hoping to be a museum curator someday. "I think they would look nice in the case, easily viewed." Creating a display table for the front lobby wasn't in Jules' work description but she'd thought poking around the items waiting for review would get her mind off the meeting upstairs. She was wrong.

"Sure. I think three would fit perfectly. Maybe offset them with some beads if we have any. Check the dates though, I think that's the isle we miscataloged."

Miles mumbled something about the intern before him being stupid then went back to look at the file numbers. He wasn't wrong, Cory had been a bumbling idiot. Misdating Hopi baskets wasn't the only problem Jules had found.

The heavy door to the vault swung open slowly. Jules rushed out from behind the dusty bookshelves to greet Pete. He was blinking furiously trying to adjust to the dim room.

"Why haven't we put lights in? It's like one of those horror movies..."

"What'd he say?" Jules' voice shook with excitement.

"Say about what?" Miles poked up from the display counter.

"Nothing." They both snapped together. Miles took a step back, unused to such attitude.

"He's interested." Pete grinned. "He thinks the writing looks very similar but he wants to analyze it more closely. He also thought the story about finding it in a book was crap." Pete chuckled. "I couldn't convince him otherwise. He finally said, okay, don't tell me."

"Why would I make that up?" Jules frowned. "And if he thinks I'm lying he might not be willing to help..."

"He'll be willing to help." Pete interrupted. "He's very excited. He's calm and collected at all times but I know him, he's jumping around on the inside. He even smiled a tiny bit."

Jules laughed. Dr. Hernandez wasn't known for his bubbly personality. The man was on a mission to uncover as much of the past as possible and nothing got in his way.

"He wants the original immediately. He asked if you could bring them to him tonight."

"Of course I can." Jules mentally thumbed through the rest of the afternoon. "I can run home now."

"I'm going with." Pete smiled to his eyes. "I want another look before we take it in there."

"We? I found it."

"We." Pete was solid. "I got you an appointment. I bring stuff to the table too." He snorted in fake contempt. "I gots connections."

Back at the house Jules rummaged through her sock drawer, blindly hunting for the small safe she'd hidden the document in.

"Have you told Tom?"

"No. Why are you so anxious about that?"

"Cause, it just seems wrong...somehow." Pete sighed. "He's going to find out and then what?"