Prologue
If she hadn't tripped over her feet while gawking at the mummies in the basement of the museum. Imka would never have spotted the tiny bit of blue diamond spider.
It was almost buried in the pile of dirt .
Be careful, Imka! Joan buckett , the fourty something curator who was standing next to imka , stretchedd out a quick hand to keep her from falling.
She didn't go down, thank goodness. She still had a nasty bruise on her thighs from the tumble she' d taken two week ago. Wishing to heck she was a little less klutzy. Imka righed herself. That's when she spotted the bit of blue. She thought at first it was a shard of glass or broken piece of artifact. Curious, she nudged it with the toe of her heels .
Mrs buckett leaned closer and squinted under glasses.
What is it?''
"I 'm not sure." Imka dug a little deeper in side the carat. Hey! It looks like a blue diamond spider necklace.
It wasn't the first blue diamond spider necklace she had seen since take a job offer as an an assistant archivist in the museum. There has been lot of imitation of it.
This one , imka saw when she pried it out of the dirt , looked different from all the artifact. It's body was longer, leaner . And it had lost one of it's leg. When she turned it over , the hieroglyphics on its belly were so worn they were barely distinguishable.
"Look like one of those cheap fake," mrs buckett commented.
' feels like it , too imka confirmed. Probably dropped in the basement by mistake.
You can keep it as a souvenir to show you work in the museum.
She wasn't about to get crosswise with the director or antiquities law . She was cautioned by the director about stealing, she need this job as she has been unemploy for two years .
The necklace imka dug out of the dirt looked and felt like a modern day version. But it wouldn't hurt to get the opinion of some one more knowledgeable about these things.
The curator had moved ahead to the next section of the basement.
Lara!
Yes, imka?
I found this buried in the pile of dirt. Imka uncurled her palm to reveal the little blue spider. Do you think it's of any value.
The curly haired curator gave it a casual glance . Then she frowned and looked more closely.
You found this?' she said slowly. Here?
Yes
When she took the necklace and turned it over, the crease between her dark brows deepened. She studied the marking for so long that imka was convinced she found the real deal.
This is ..."
She stopped, shook her head and dropped the spider into her palm.
This is nothing, you may keep it.
Are you sure? I don't want to lose my job or thrown in jail for ...
No , no. Trust me it worthless. You can keep it with you.
Joan buckett beckoned urgently from the other side. Found it what we came down for.
