Ragman, page 1
JG Faherty
Ragman
FLAME TREE PRESS
London & New York
Abydos, Egypt, 1888
The priest lay on the stone floor, his blood staining his white robes in shades of crimson and claret that matched the colors of the setting sun outside the temple.
“Why?” he asked, the word barely reaching the eleven men standing around him.
“Because you couldn’t let well enough alone, old chap. Were these” – one of the men held up two canvas sacks – “really worth your life?”
The others in the circle nodded. A few smiled or chuckled as they hefted their own satchels, each bulging with the gold artifacts they’d taken from the lower levels of the ruins. They’d discovered it purely by accident, ducking into the entranceway of what they believed was just another ancient temple near the Valley of the Kings to escape a sudden dust storm.
Instead, they’d found themselves at the beginning of a warren of tunnels that led them deeper into the ground until they reached a pair of towering falcon-headed statues guarding the entrance to a cavernous chamber filled with statues, chalices, and jewelry. They’d stuffed sack after sack with jewelry, gold statuettes, and other artifacts without making a dent in the gleaming treasures lining the shelves and alcoves carved into the sand-colored stone walls.
Celebrating their tremendous discovery – one they knew would make them rich beyond belief – they hadn’t noticed the man in the white robes until he spoke.
“Thieves! You dare defile the Temple of Sokar?”
Without saying a word, Simon Gordon drew his revolver and fired, the report more like an explosion as the shot reverberated from wall to wall inside the pyramid-shaped chamber.
Reginald Oliver dropped his sack, the canvas muting the clang of metal on stone.
“Good lord, Simon!” Reginald gestured at the Egyptian, who lay moaning on his back, tiny crimson rivers already filling the spaces between the stone blocks. “What the bloody hell were you thinking?”
“You know what the locals do to grave robbers?” Simon motioned with his gun. “They chop off a hand if you’re lucky. Usually it’s both, and then you get thrown into prison. I prefer to avoid that type of fate. A corpse makes a bloody terrible witness.”
Now they stood around the dying man, their faces etched with worry.
“Let’s just go.” James Collingsworth motioned toward the exit. “No one knows we’re here. With any luck, we’ll be halfway to Cairo before anyone finds this bugger.”
Everyone muttered agreements and filed out of the room. Except Simon Gordon, who stared down at the man and shook his head.
“Sorry, old boy. I can’t take the chance.” He pointed his gun at the man’s chest. The man moaned and lifted his head.
“A curse upon you for your actions. I will have my revenge.”
“I don’t think so, sport.”
Any reply that followed was drowned out by the roar of Simon’s pistol.
The man’s body twitched and he went still. His eyes closed and his head lolled to one side.
Hours later, long after the men had returned to their boat, two priests discovered their brother covered in blood and flies.
Only he wasn’t dead.
“I will avenge this desecration, in Sokar’s name,” he whispered, red foam bubbling between his lips. “Bind my Ka so that I may return.”
And they did.
Port Said, Egypt,1888
Simon Gordon knew something was amiss even before the two soldiers called out his name. The four Egyptian police officers accompanying him, their dark faces scowling in the late morning sun, portended bad news.
“Yes, I’m Lieutenant Simon Gordon,” he responded, emphasizing his military title.
“You’re to come with us.”
“What is the meaning of this?” He backed up a step. He had a sick feeling he knew the answer. He’d woken to find the others already checked out of their rooms, despite them all agreeing the previous night they’d head to the steamship together.
“The Inspector General requires your presence.”
Simon backed up again, only to find his retreat blocked by two more officers. They each took an arm in a bruising grip. Before he could object, one of the officers opened his bag, revealing the top of a golden chalice. An inspection of his steamer trunk revealed it to be filled with artifacts and jewels.
“Looks like your mysterious birdy was right,” a soldier said, confirming Simon’s fears.
I’ve been double-crossed.
As the officers dragged him away from his belongings, he looked back at the ship, imagining the others watching from the railings and laughing.
You’ll pay for this. All of you. I will have my revenge.
New York City, One Year Ago
Silence filled the Egyptian Cultural Museum, from the shadowed alcoves of the exhibit halls to the empty corridors and offices, where only scattered safety lights pushed back against the darkness.
Matt Schwartz loved the air of mystery the museum held late at night, the way the questions of the ages seemed to come alive and gain weight, each enigmatic treasure adding to the overall atmosphere. The museum wasn’t the largest in the city; the Museum of Natural History and even the Guggenheim dwarfed it. But in many ways its smaller size added to the experience, made a person feel as if they were really in an ancient burial chamber.
He followed his regular route from room to room, his flashlight briefly illuminating each exhibit and bringing them to life for a moment.
As always, he saved the best room for last. The Mummy Room, he called it, although that wasn’t the official name. The sign on the wall read:
New Kingdom
c. 1570 BCE - c. 1069 BCE
Age of the Pharaohs
To Matt, though – and the hundreds of visitors that came to see it each week – it would always be the Mummy Room, as it had been since the moment the main attraction arrived.
The mummy had no name, but that didn’t detract from its fascination. Just off the wide main hall, it lay in eternal repose in its unadorned black sarcophagus, a roughly human-shaped form wrapped in grayish-yellow cloth, a little less than six feet in length, indicating a person of medium height within the bindings.
Matt strolled over to the placard next to the sarcophagus. He’d read it so many times over the past year that he had every word memorized. The salient points returned to him as he stared at the unknown person in their casket.
The sarcophagus of mud, dyed black instead of the usual gray or brown. The lack of a name on the coffin. The lack of a false door at the foot or head, which was typically placed there so that the person’s Ka, the Egyptian version of the soul, could leave the Earth for the land of the afterlife, the Duat. The strange inscription on the coffin’s lid.
All very cryptic, and when the exhibit first opened, historians and Egyptologists had flocked to the tiny museum on the East Side to study it.
Who are you? Matt leaned closer. The dusty odor of the mummy tickled his nose. The desire to lay his hand on it rose up, as it always did when he stood near. But that was forbidden. The wrappings were incredibly fragile, ready to fall apart at the slightest disturbance. Even if nothing happened, the security cameras would show….
Wait.
The cameras weren’t on. There’d been a note about that, the video system being offline until the morning because the servers were getting upgraded.
This could be my only chance to touch history.
Matt stared a moment longer. Finally, desire trumped guilt and he leaned over the railing to place his hand on the mummy’s chest, where the heart would be. The wrappings were rougher than he expected, almost brittle. The coarse fibers warmed quickly under his palm, and up close he swore he smelled hints of pine sap and hot tar.
As he held his hand against the mummy, he wondered what the man’s life had been like. Had he been an ordinary citizen, maybe a security guard much like Matt himself? Or perhaps the bastard son of a royal, buried in secret so as not to ruin the family name? The inscription on the sarcophagus gave no clue.
“When the time arrives, the sleeper will awaken so that he may complete the vow.” Matt whispered the translation, which some authorities believed indicated the mummy had been a soldier or guard of some kind, charged with watching over someone in the afterlife.
After a few more moments, Matt reluctantly stepped away. He had rounds to continue. He tapped his ID card against the sensor by the door to register that he’d checked the room at the appropriate time, and headed for the next exhibit. Two hours later, he’d completed his route through the museum and entered the New Kingdom Hall again. One more chance to touch history and then he was through for the night. His light flashed over the coffin and—
Ragged strips of cloth were scattered across the floor and draped over the railing in front of the empty sarcophagus.
Vandals! Matt’s heart raced as he crossed the room. Someone had broken into the museum. He pulled out his phone. He had to call nine-one-one and….
Why hadn’t the alarm gone off?
Phone in hand, he turned in a slow circle, aiming his light around the room. All the doors and windows were alarmed. Which meant whoever had removed the priceless mummy had been in the museum before it was locked up for the night.
And those same trespassers might still be around.
His hand shook as he searc
A sudden stench filled the air, rotten meat and something else. He turned.
Dry, bony fingers grabbed his face. The stink of decomposing flesh enveloped him, drenching his nose and mouth with foulness. The fingers tightened, digging into skin with bruising force. A second hand gripped his throat, choking off his scream.
An image appeared in Matt’s head, desert sands of blood-red, a black sun in a white sky, an ebony river filled with bodies. On the bank stood a green-skinned giant of a man, dressed in white robes and wearing a conical hat trimmed in gold. His eyes shone like golden coins.
Then everything went black and Matt’s sense of self faded, the memories of his life dissolving until nothing remained.
* * *
Ahmes the Second, High Priest of Sokar, let the dead man fall. All that remained was a wizened husk inside the clothing, its skin stretched so tight the bones appeared ready to burst through. Ahmes, his own body fully restored, bowed and whispered a quick prayer of thanks for his resurrection.
“Gratitude, Sokar, for delivering me to the land of the living and granting me the opportunity to right grievous wrongs. In the name of Osiris, I will not fail you.”
Ahmes stripped off the remains of the linens his fellow priests had wrapped him in before he died, wrappings stolen from bodies of ancient kings and priests because there’d been no time for a proper burial ceremony. In order to enable his resurrection, he’d needed to be bound and entombed while still alive. The suffering had been immense.
But worth the pain in order to enact his revenge.
Strange words and wonderous images filled Ahmes’s brain as the dead man’s memories melded with his own. Truly, the world had changed during his time in the land of the dead. More years had passed than he’d anticipated, but his priests had done their job well. Instead of traveling the Duat to the Temple of Osiris for judgment, his Ka had remained with his Sek, his physical body, while his Ba, his essence, remained in limbo, hidden from all but Sokar. Once the proper touch activated the spell cast by his fellow priests, his full being had recombined.
Now, armed with all of Matt Schwartz’s knowledge, as well as his life force, Ahmes dressed himself in the guard’s clothing and made his way to the exit.
It was time to carry out his blood oath.
Chapter One
New York City, present day
“Help!”
Tom Reardon stopped as the cry echoed off the darkened buildings. It had come from across the street, most likely the small alley between the Starbucks and the used clothing store.
At a little after two a.m., Sixty-Fifth Street was as close to empty as it ever got. The only businesses open were laundromats and bars, including McWill’s, the pub Tom had just left. The perfect time and place for a mugger to ply their trade.
When the shout wasn’t repeated, he shook his head and continued walking toward the corner. Probably just some drunks on their way home. Or a couple arguing. He checked his phone. His Uber was still five minutes away. He should have been in bed hours ago instead of spending too much of his paycheck. But these days home was just an empty, cold place that did nothing but remind him of everything he’d lost. At least with several shots of whiskey inside him he could fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Another shout from the alley. Despite knowing better, old habits forced him to trot across the street and peer into the near pitch blackness. Sure enough, two murky shapes struggled, one of them pinning the other against the alley wall.
Don’t interfere. You’re not a cop anymore.
Getting involved would just create all sorts of problems. Getting questioned. Maybe appearing in court. And possibly ending up with a bullet or knife in the gut.
Except that wasn’t how his gram had raised him. You never turned your back on someone who needed help. He’d never forgive himself if somebody died when he could have prevented it. Cursing his southern-bred sense of honor, he entered the alley.
“Hey! What’s going on?”
The two shapes separated and one fell. As Tom’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, details appeared. The person standing was a male, not very tall, dressed in white pants and shirt under a gray coat. The woman on the ground was curled into a ball. Based on the layers of mismatched clothing, most likely a street person. A toppled shopping cart nearby added credence to his assessment.
A sharp, musky odor surrounded them, like cheap incense. The woman moaned and Tom moved a little closer.
“Ma’am, are you all right?”
The woman’s head lolled back, revealing a shriveled death mask of a face. Her skin had pulled tight over the bones, drawing her lips back so that her teeth jutted out. Nothing remained of the nose except two holes. Opaque eyes stared up at him. A foul smell emanated from her mouth, stronger than the perfume in the air.
Something slammed into him and his head struck the brick wall. Stars filled his vision and he cursed his stupidity for getting distracted. Hands grabbed him and a burning sensation engulfed him, as if his skin was on fire. He cried out. The gritty taste of sand filled his mouth and he sucked in the muddy scent of river water, much like the Mississippi where he’d spent his childhood. With one hand he tried to push his attacker away and with the other he drew his gun from its ankle holster. He pulled the trigger without aiming. The report was deafening in the small space. The stranger let him go and Tom toppled onto his side. Through tears of pain, he watched the man bolt from the alley.
Then the darkness claimed him.
Detective Daniel Reese knelt next to the corpse and couldn’t help the stray thought that popped into his head.
Jesus, Tom Reardon would’ve gone crazy for a case like this.
Thinking about his ex-partner still turned his stomach, but they’d shared a car and a desk for more than five years, so as much as it pissed him off, it didn’t surprise him there were times when the man popped into his thoughts.
Especially when it came to the grotesque mutilation of a prominent international businessman in an apparently locked room.
Reardon always had a yen for the sensational and mysterious. Loved reading everything from whodunnits to unsolved true-crime books to the gossip pages. He got a thrill out of seeing someone famous at a bar or restaurant, even in Manhattan, where celebrities were as common as city rats – and often just as pleasant to deal with. It was something Dan never understood. He could give two shits if someone famous asked to share a cab with him. With the exception of a couple of sports figures and actresses, of course.
Given his choice, Dan would never ask for a high-profile murder case. Especially one this brutal. Nine times out of ten they just meant trouble. As in too much pressure from the brass to get things solved yesterday and the press constantly wasting his time with questions he couldn’t answer. And more often than not, they never got solved. And yet here he was, saddled with a whopper. When the story inevitably got plastered all over the news, Tom would probably have a good laugh over the irony of it all.
Fuck it. Gotta treat it like an ordinary case. Do things by the book. No mistakes, no leaks in the press.
Right. Not so easy when you had dozens of reporters already camped out on the other side of the yellow tape outside the building, braving the early morning drizzle. Nothing travels faster than gossip, especially when it involved the murder of a socialite. And this was so much more than an ordinary robbery or domestic situation that got out of control.
Whoever killed Roger Collingsworth, CEO and dictator supreme of the Collingsworth empire, was a grade-A sicko. The old man’s head lay on its side a good two feet away from the body, and based on the extensive blood splatter, the decapitation happened while he was alive. A pretty nasty way to go. Dan assumed his neck had been cut at least partway through before the decapitation. A knife, a garrote, maybe some kind of mechanical device, although no weapon had been found. Not like someone, or even a couple of someones, could do that with their bare hands. And based on the footprints in the blood, there’d only been one attacker.
