Page 14 of Major

“Does she have any special dietary needs?” asked Stormy. “I mean, does she eat meat? Does she prefer fish to chicken?”

“Mom,” he laughed, “I don’t know that yet. I promise I’ll let you know when I know.”

“Alright, we’ll see you soon,” said Jalen. “And Major? Don’t worry about a thing. We’re going to protect your girl and the child.”

“I know, Dad. I know.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Hiro? Pigsty? What do we have?” asked Luke, sitting across from the nerds.

“Whatever her father was looking for was considered ‘classified’ by the Egyptian Department of Antiquities and the British Department of Antiquities.”

“Wait, he was working for both?” frowned Eric.

“He was working with both. We’re not sure how or why, but I can tell you that if this was about a sarcophagus, a tomb, a temple, a pyramid, anything remotely Egyptian, the British would not have been involved at all.”

“What about the other archaeologist?” asked Eric.

“Goldmeir. She was well-known and well-respected in the archaeology community. But she did not specialize in Egyptian archaeology.”

“Then what was her specialty, Hiro? I mean, what else would she be doing digging in the desert of Egypt?” asked Luke.

“She was a biblical archaeologist.”

“Biblical? Like she dug up ruins or things mentioned in the bible?” frowned Eric.

“Exactly. She wasn’t a spring chicken. She was in her early sixties at the time and had been doing this for years. By all accounts, she was the expert on biblical archaeology. Anyone who wanted to know anything about the subject went to her.

“According to May, she discovered several lost scrolls and a crucified hand. It’s the only one ever found in the world to prove that the Romans did indeed crucify their victims.” Pigsty looked at the two men, who seemed utterly confused.

“Why would they be there? Why would they be in Egypt?” asked Eric. “I admit that I’m not a biblical scholar, but what would they be looking for there?”

“I can’t answer that,” said Hiro, shaking his head. “May is on her way back from a conference in San Francisco. Once she’s here, we can get better insight into what they might have been looking for.”

“What about things like finances, books, anything that might have been suspicious about either one of them?” asked Luke.

“Both made modest incomes. It’s not exactly a profession where they get rich. If you find true archaeological treasures, it usually belongs to the state or country in which it was found. You might get some sort of reward from the museum or government, but it’s not a lot. Most of these men and women are paid by their respective universities, museums, governments, and sometimes private donors to conduct the digs. They occasionally write a book or participate in a documentary or something like that.

“Aasad Fayek had a life insurance policy of fifty thousand and a few hundred dollars in his bank account. That’s all. Goldmeir had similar, except she had about two hundred thousand in a savings account from an inheritance given to her by her parents. I’ve looked this over. There’s nothing suspicious financially for either one,” said Pigsty.

“And still nothing on why they were digging there?” asked Eric.

“No. Not yet. We’re hoping that they’ll give more information once we have May and Elena speak with them,” said Hiro.

“Hey, guys,” said Sly, walking into the room. “I got some hits back on our Dr. Hijad. He was an Iranian-born surgeon specializing in female care. Graduated from Oxford, did his residency in London, and has been operating a private practice for fifteen years. Five years ago, he bought a rather large estate outside of London.”

“Large. How large?” asked Eric.

“Massive. The home is thirty-one thousand square feet, a castle really. It’s more than four hundred years old with three hundred acres of gardens, forests, ponds, all of it.”

“Is he married?” asked Luke.

“Yes. His wife and son were both visiting her parents in Glasgow for the last two weeks. The press snapped this photo of them getting off the plane. She’s wearing dark glasses, but I’m not able to tell if she’s upset or not.”

“I might be a little behind times, but do doctors make that kind of money?” asked Eric.

“No,” said Hiro, shaking his head. “The price tag on that home was eighty-seven million.”

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