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| Shelby ([email protected]) September 25, 2002 Long after Ardeth had gone, Rick remained in the kitchen sitting at the table looking down at the locket. He now had one answer, which solved the mystery of where the bodies of his wife's parents had been put, but there were also more questions. More than anything else he wanted to find out what had become of Alan, and possible find him and make him answer to the murders which had hurt his wife and brother-in-law so deeply. ~*~*~*~*~ Not so far from the O'Connell home, in the huge building which was known as the British Museum, Evelyn sat in her office with the door shut and locked. The beautiful young woman sat deep in thought, transported back to the time after her parents had died, a time of great pain for she and her brother, Jonathan. A day had passed since the funeral, and Evelyn had refused to leave her room. In the safety of her room, a place filled with shelves of books, dolls and other toys for a young girl, she sat on her floor holding the locket her parents had given to her a few weeks before they had gone to Egypt. Evelyn had been upset about them leaving, and had been very outspoken about having to stay home in London. "But I can help you and father," she said as she sat on the steamer trunk at the end of her parents bed, wearing a white nightgown which hung down to her ankles. Her face was tear stained, as she had been crying since they had told her she and Jonathan would be staying home. Setting down the dress she had taken from the closet, Adinah walked over to where her daughter sat and knelt down. "Evelyn, your father and I would love to take you with us, but this is going to be a very busy time for both of us. We want you and Jonathan to be well taken care of, and while we are on the dig, that won't be possible," she tried. Evie sniffed and looked into her mother's eyes. "What if something bad happens to you and father?" she asked. Last night she had dreamed that she had been in the desert, standing on one dune, and her parents standing on another. She had dreamed that the dune they were standing on had swallowed them, and that had left her very frightened. Sitting beside her daughter, Adinah lifted her up, then held her on her lap. "Nothing will happen to your father and myself. We have been on several digs, and we will be very, very careful," she said trying to reassure her little girl. Not far from where they sat, Howard watched his wife and his daughter, then made a decision. "Evelyn, I have something for you. You're mum and I were going to give this to you for your Birthday, but I think that perhaps you need this now. From his pocket he pulled out a black velvet box, and walked over to his wife and his little girl, putting it into her small hand. Carefully, Evelyn opened the box and smiled. Inside the box was a beautiful gold locket. Gently she took it out and opened it finding a picture of her father on one side and her mother on the other. "Oh thank you," she said to both of them. She sat forward and let her mum put the necklace around her neck, then starred down at the two people she loved more than anything in the world. Time had passed, but the picture's in the locket were the same as the day she had first seen them. At her desk, Evelyn held her locket out looking at her parents. She sighed and closed it up, giving the locket a kiss, then decided it better to get home. Today was not a day for her to try and focus on her work at the museum. She wanted to find answers to the questions which had been plaguing her since her parents death, and it was time to stop putting that off. After gathering her coat, Evelyn left for home, not knowing that some of the answers lay waiting for her, in the hands of the man who she had been destined to love through centuries, a man who had saved her life more times than she could count. Thinking about her husband, Evelyn let a smile form on her face, and as she drove to the house, she was ready to relax and let his love once again ease her pain. Lady Pyrrha ([email protected]) October 6, 2002 Unfortunately for Evelyn, the man who she hoped would bring her comfort could do no such thing. As she walked in the door, he looked up and his hand quickly closed over whatever he held. He gave her a small, forced smile, but her gaze stayed on his hand. �Rick?� she asked, walking around the kitchen table to stand before him. �What�s in your hand?� �Hi, honey. You�re home early,� he said instead of answering her question. He stretched his arm across the table, hoping to keep his hand away from her. �Yes, I couldn�t think at the museum, so I just came home. Now, what�s that?� she demanded, pointing at his fist. Rick sighed. He had been in no hurry to tell his wife about her parents, and he had even less of a desire to show her what he held. �Maybe� maybe you should get Jonathan,� he stalled. He knew that he would have to tell her, no matter how much he hated to. She so believed that since her parents hadn�t been in those coffins that they had to be alive. It hurt him to be the one to prove her wrong. �This is serious, isn�t it?� she asked, her eyes widening. �What do you have?� �Evie, go get your brother. I�ll tell you both together.� Evelyn nodded, leaving the kitchen and her husband to find Jonathan. Whatever news Rick had, it could not be good. She could tell from his voice. And a small sense of dread forming in the back of her mind made her suspect that it had something to do with her parents. No more than fifteen minutes had elapsed when Evelyn was back in the kitchen with the remains of her adult family. She sat at the table next to Rick while Jonathan leaned against the doorframe. �This had better be good,� he said in a hoarse voice. Rick cleared his throat, then began to speak. �I, um, Ardeth stopped by this morning.� �Really? How is Ardeth?� Evelyn asked. �He was fi-� �Oh, cut to the chase,� Jonathan snapped. �Why was he here? It�s never for a good reason,� he muttered more to himself than to the couple at the table. �He came to tell me that they�d found your parents.� �What?� Jonathan asked. Hope swelled in Evelyn�s chest, but Rick's next words cut it away from her. �They were dead; buried in a common grave in Luxor.� �No!� Evelyn shouted. �It can�t be them! Ardeth never met them and after so many years the bodies would be unrecognizable! It can't be them, it just can�t.� �Evie,� Rick said, his eyes sympathetic. �He brought these.� He opened his hand for the siblings to see the two matching wedding rings and the locket that Ardeth had delivered. Evelyn stared at them, unable to say anything else while Jonathan cursed angrily. �The rings are theirs; the inscription,� he said, starting to hand them to his wife, but she ignored them. She hung her head, silent tears coursing down her face. �Evie,� Rick whispered her name. He placed the golden objects on the table and wrapped his arms around her, finally comforting her for different reasons than she had originally intended. Behind him, Jonathan picked up on of the rings, reading the inscription inside that Rick had mentioned. It did indeed read as he always remembered. Once, when he was small, his mother had shown it to him after a particularly bad dream. �We�ll find that man, Evie,� Rick said softly, nuzzling her hair. �We�ll make him pay for this.� �By Jove, we will,� Jonathan seconded, his hand tightening around his mother�s ring. Heidi Rittner ([email protected]) October 17, 2002 Evie placed her right hand over Jonathan�s closed fist. �Jonathan, please do calm down. I know it hurts, but you are not alone. My heart longs for them also. We need to be here for each other. Please don�t close me out.� |