Mummy Dearest: The XOXO Files, Book 1 Read Online Free Page A

chin. “Okay. Can you make it visual?”
    “What did you have in mind?”
    “Don’t look so nervous. We’ll roll the cameras and follow you, just make sure you narrate everything you do. And don’t block the camera with your body. You see what I mean?”
    “I think so.”
    “It’s not complicated. Mostly we’ll be filming the mummy itself. We’ll only use a fraction of the frames we shoot, anyway.”
    “Then why—?”
    “Because we don’t know what will work and what won’t till we’ve got it all. We don’t have time to script this. We’ll have to fix it all in post.” He said to Karen, “He’s very shiny.”
    “I know.” She reached for the big brush and dusted my nose once more. “You’re scaring him.”
    “Nothing to be scared of.” Fraser delivered another of those light, bracing punches to my arm. “This is going to be great . We’ll get you examining the mummy and then afterwards I’ll interview you.”
    “What are you going to ask?” I closed my eyes as Karen held up a weird bent tool that looked like it would be good for extracting an eyeball.
    “Relax, Dr. Hackenbacker. I won’t question you about anything that will embarrass you at your faculty tea party. It’ll just be some general questions about what first interested you in the princess, maybe some stuff about Egypt in the Sixth Dynasty.”
    I was surprised he knew Merneith was Sixth Dynasty, but maybe that wasn’t fair. Fraser’s show might be stupid, but he was far from it. I scrutinized him with new interest. He was stocky but not fat. Not a hard body, but not soft either. A lived-in body. I hadn’t taken him seriously earlier, but seeing him in his own milieu, definitely in charge and clearly capable, gave me a different perspective. He had an air of authority. Despite the joking around, his crew respected him.
    He was saying, “Frankly, we don’t really have a lot for this segment, so you coming along when you did is serendipity.”
    “So happy to oblige.”
    He tilted his head to one side and contemplated me. “No offense, but you’re wound about as tight as anyone I’ve ever met.”
    “None taken. I come from a long line of Slinkys.”
    He laughed. Reluctantly, I laughed too.
    I finished with makeup and stood to the side watching as The Mysterious team finished setting up their set.
    “Quick and dirty,” Karen informed me.
    “Who?”
    She laughed. “Us. The crew. The shoot. We’re squeezing this one in. The show, I mean. Fraser got a letter from the museum curator, and he was so excited he drummed up financing for one more show this season. He’s a genius.”
    “I bet.”
    She nodded. “He’s got a real instinct for this kind of thing. A special sense.”
    Oh brother. “Like a sixth sense?”
    “That’s probably it, yeah.”
    “Okay, Dr. Lawson,” Fraser suddenly yelled from across the room. “Show time.”
    My stomach began to gurgle in alarm. Or maybe it was the fact I hadn’t eaten all day. Which was probably a good thing, come to think of it. I picked my way through the stands and lines and oddball exhibits. The mummy case was bathed in surprisingly hot, blinding light.
    “We can still see you with your eyes closed,” Fraser remarked.
    “You should do comedy,” I told him, opening my eyes a fraction against the irradiation.
    “I do, depending on which critic you ask. Here. Look at the birdie.”
    I risked a look. Fraser was grinning at me. He pointed.
    “That thing over your head is a boom microphone. Phil is our audio guy. Say hi to Doctor Lawson, Phil.”
    “Hi.”
    “Hi,” I returned in a voice I didn’t recognize.
    Fraser said, “We’re not going to try to mic you because I can foresee the problems already. So don’t worry about that. Just talk. Describe what you’re doing in a normal, clear voice like you’re giving a lecture in your classroom. Phil will take care of the rest.”
    “I got it,” Phil agreed.
    Fraser said, “We’re only using two cameras for this. Okay?