Page 32 of Fighting for Mallory

The professor’s expression revealed nothing. Her eyes remained carefully blank, in Luca’s opinion. “No. And I cannot imagine why there would be. Ancient Egyptian practices ended with the advent of Christianity. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a class beginning in ten minutes.”

Dr. Samir escorted them out of her office. They felt her eyes boring into their backs as they headed down the corridor to the nearest staircase.

Outside in the bright sunlight, Mallory declared, “Dr. Samir knows something.”

“She definitely wasn’t forthcoming at the end of our interview. Look, while we’re here, let’s visit the university library and do more research. There’s bound to be more we can learn from other textbooks. And maybe newspaper archives will have articles on unsolved murders with missing hearts.”

“Good idea. Do we dare approach local law enforcement or the FBI?”

“No, but we can ask Tex and the people Maverick works for to do a deep dive into similar murders.”

Luca and Mallory spent several hours scouring ancient documents, manuscripts, and texts provided by a helpful librarian who worked in the rare books area of the library. They gained more insight into the Court of Ma’at, including its forty-two ancient laws that sounded similar to Christianity’s Ten Commandments. Written originally as negative statements, the laws were translated into positive declarations by an arch-priestess of Ma’at during the latter decade of the twentieth century. They couldn’t find a connection between the Court of Ma’at and the snake cult. It seemed a distortion of the ancient practice of weighing the heart.

The librarian also helped them access the newspaper archives, all stored in computer files nowadays. They scanned headlines going back five years across major national newspapers and smaller local ones. Their persistence paid off. In a Jefferson County newspaper, they found an article about the death of a local preacher whose heart was missing and a similar report about a career criminal. The murders had not been solved by the authorities.

“No mention of a cult,” Mallory noted, whispering.

“No. One thing is clear. This cult is weighing hearts to create or maintain harmony and balance. For every good heart that’s weighed there’s an equally evil one.”

“If Valentin and Bentley were killed to keep balance between good and evil, why have I been targeted? While I’m not as good a person as Valentin, I’m not as evil as Bentley. And here’s a frightening thought. Who will die to balance my death?”

Luca shook his head. “Maybe it’s not about weighing your heart. Maybe they’re targeting you because you put Mercado and Tino in prison where they were killed.”

“My head is spinning, Luca. I can’t think anymore today.”

“Let’s find a place to eat dinner and check into a motel. Tomorrow, we need to do some sleuthing in Jefferson County.”

They shut down the computers they’d been using and left the rare texts for the librarian to shelve. On their way out, a group of students, all young men who appeared foreign, watched them.

In a bar and grill near the university, Luca and Mallory were led to a table near the back of the restaurant. Both placed themselves where they could see the entrance and the diners in front of them.

When they were halfway through with their meal, Mallory drew in a sharp breath. “Luca. Look. Aren’t those the same young men who creeped us out at the library?” They had entered the restaurant and made their way toward the bar.

“Yeah.” Cold fear crawled across his scalp.

“Do you think they followed us here?”

“Not sure. They don’t seem to be paying us any attention.”

Their waitress interrupted them to ask if they needed anything. Luca said they didn’t but asked if she knew the group of young men seated at the bar.

“I don’t know their names, but I recognize them. They come in about twice a week like most of the college kids.”

“Just out of curiosity, have you ever noticed if they have tattoos?”

“Oh, sure. Snakes. Whole bunch of ‘em have the same tattoo. Probably belong to one of the fraternities on campus.”

Luca pulled thirty dollars from his wallet. “This should cover our bill.”

“Thanks. You folks have a nice evening.”

He grabbed Mallory’s hand and muttered, “Let’s get the hell outta Memphis. No way we’re staying here.”

They left the bar and grill through an exit near the restrooms. Luca continued to hold Mallory’s hand and kept the other on his Glock. He scouted the area around their car before urging Mallory to run toward it. Luca didn’t feel safe until he determined that they weren’t being followed and were well out of Memphis.

Jefferson County wasn’t nearly as far away as Luca would have liked, but he found a quiet, clean motel near the sheriff’s department and checked in.

As Mallory emptied their duffel bag, she asked, “How is it we ended up in the vipers’ nest?”

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