Ron Goulart - The Curse of the Obelisk

36 RON GOULART
"Should they make a move, just duck under our table and let me—"
"Like heck I will. I've been a newspaper reporter for eight years. A couple of louts in fezes and
pantaloons don't scare—"
"Relax, they may not have anything to do with the obelisk."
"Seems like just about everybody in Paris does," she said. "Max Orchardson, Anwar Zaytoon
and lord knows who else. Do you think that hunk of granite really does contain the secret of eternal
life?"
"Doesn't matter what I think," answered Harry. "Orchanlson and Zaytoon are obviously
convinced— and I'd like to know who or what convinced them all this time after the thing was
hauled here from Egypt."
"I've been looking into that angle." She reached into her purse for her notebook. "After we
parted company this afternoon I called on a few people I know in Paris."
"You were supposed to stay in your room."
"C'mon, it's unlikely Orchardson'll try to hypnotize me twice. And most other threats I can cope
with."
Harry shrugged. "Who'd you talk to and what'd you find out?"
"About four months ago, and this initial information I got from Allegre himself, a onetime
professor from the University of Graustark spent a week at the Musée des Antiquités," she said as
she opened her notebook. "He devoted a good deal of his time to photographing and measuring the
Osiris Obelisk. He got, according to Allegre,, quite excited on his last day there. Left abruptly at
midday, never to return. His name is Alexander Fodorsky."
"You talked to some of your contacts about Fodorsky?"
"I did, and it turns out his reputation of late has been sort of unsavory," the auburn-haired
reporter replied. "He'd been a reputable scholar up until two years ago, which is, why Allegre let
him hang around. His special fields are Egyptology and Orientology. More recently, however, he's
grown interested in sorcery and the black arts."
"Any links between him and Orchardson?"
"Fodorsky is rumored to have been a house guest of his in London last winter."
Harry leaned back, glancing up at the deepening night overhead. "Fodorsky must've found out
something about the obelisk, something Courdard and his colleagues may not've been aware of. He
passed the news on to Orchardson."
"And somehow Zaytoon got wind of the secret, too."
Harry said, "Why is Orchardson killing off everybody who was on the expedition?"
"He can't be certain they don't know something about the secret. So he eliminates them." She
shut her notebook. "In a way I'm disappointed there really isn't a curse. With a good ancient curse
my paper's guaranteed syndication of my articles all over the—"
"Our Zouaves," cut in Harry, "are making a move."
Casually she looked over. "They do seem to be, don't they?"