The Vandemark Mummy by Cynthia Voigt

locked at all times when it is not in use. The college also maintains a 24-hour security watch over the campus. “The whole city will benefit from this gift,” President Blight said. “I’m sure that was in Mr. Vandemark’s mind when he decided to honor the college with the collection.”
    The front page picture was the mummy, her face turned into grainy black and white. One picture on the back pages, accompanying the continuation of O’Meara’s article, showed the storage room seen from the corridor, the open doorway framing a picture within, with vague shapes on shelves, and the mummy lying on its table. Another was a photograph of the group standing around the table (“Those present include Samuel Hall, far right, and Mark Batchelor, of the Portland Museum, second from left.”). The third was of the artifacts on the shelves, with the wreath at its center (“Artifacts that accompanied the mummy on her long journey. The funeral wreath was described by Mr. Batchelor as priceless.”).
    Phineas’s father groaned aloud as he read the article. He swore aloud when he’d finished.
    â€œShe didn’t quote you at all,” Althea said to her father.
    â€œMaybe I’m not quotable.”
    â€œShe quoted Ken.”
    â€œWhat upsets me is that the woman has as good as given a map. The room number is the clearest thing in any of these misbegotten photographs.”
    â€œYou actually think somebody would want to steal the stuff?” Phineas asked.
    â€œI can’t imagine it, not seriously,” his father answered. “Who’d want a mummy? I mean, what would you do with it? It’s not as if you could hang it over the fireplace like a Picasso. There’s not much of a market for stolen mummies, not like cameras, VCRs, cars. But I don’t like it.”
    â€œWhat about the wreath?” Althea asked. “They keep saying how valuable it is.”
    Phineas was more interested in who would want to steal a mummy. “What about devil worshipers? I bet they’d love to get their hands on a body. Or a grave robber? Schools use bodies for science don’t they? Or, aren’t there people who just like dead bodies? There are, like people who have a thing about shoes, body fetishists.” Now he started to think of it, he could think of a hundred reasons for someone to steal the mummy.
    â€œI don’t like it,” Mr. Hall repeated.
    â€œI don’t like Ken,” Althea offered.
    â€œI don’t mind him,” Phineas said. “But then,” he needled, “he didn’t put me down like he did you.” The truth was, sometimes Althea needed a little squashing.
    â€œI’m glad we didn’t tell O’Meara about the alarm,” Mr. Hall said. “If we had, she would probably have madethat her headline, with a diagram and instructions for how to turn it off.”
    â€œI wouldn’t worry, Dad. Anyone who didn’t know his way around down there couldn’t even find the room. The room numbers don’t follow any pattern,” Althea offered.
    â€œBut the number is there, by the door.” Mr. Hall couldn’t be comforted.
    â€œWe could guard it if you want,” Phineas offered. “We could camp out there, taking watches, in our sleeping bags.” He thought that might be fun, and scary down there in the dark, mazelike corridors.
    â€œSpeak for yourself, Phineas. You wouldn’t catch me doing that,” Althea said.
    â€œWe’re being irrational,” their father announced. “Only an expert would be interested in the collection, and an expert would know it’s not worth stealing. We’ve got locks, we’ve got an alarm system, we don’t need to worry.”
    Phineas was a little disappointed to hear that.

CHAPTER 8
    The sound slammed up against the darkness.
    Phineas was out of bed, out of the room, halfway down the stairs before it came again.