"The Locked Tomb Mystery" by "Elizabeth Peters" (Barbara Mertz, a.k.a. "Barbara Michaels") (first published in Sisters in Crime, edited by Marilyn Wallace, 1989; reprinted in The Year's Best Mystery and Suspense Stories -- 1990, edited by Edward D. Hoch, 1990; in The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits, edited by Mike Ashley, 1993; in The Mummy's Tomb, edited by John Richard Stephens, 2001; and in The Mammoth Book of Egyptian Whodunnits, edited by Mike Ashley, 2002)
It's the Eighteenth Dynasty, Egypt, and the game is afoot!
Although they say today that you can't take it with you, things were much different in ancient Egypt.
An unpopular, wealthy old hag, Senebtisi, has decreed that her wealth be buried with her to ease her journey along the Western Road, leaving her son, Minmose, to struggle with his trade as a stone carver. Although he resented this, Minmose was a loyal son and followed her wishes. Boxes and baskets of goods and large jars of precious oil filled her tomb, and Senebtisi's mummy was adorned with a mask and armlets of pure gold. Her funeral was conducted by the sem-priest Wennefer, one of the most respected men in the country; it was Wennefer himself who sealed the burial chamber and inscribed wards against demons at the entrance. The tomb itself was of solid rock -- walls, floor, and ceiling -- with not the slightest break. The necropolis was well-guarded. A year passed and, as will happen from time to time, reports of tomb raiders arose and relatives of the dead grew uneasy and afraid that the tombs of their loved one might have been violated. Among those who were uneasy was Minmose, who, with Wennefer, went to Senebtisi's tomb. The seal on the entrance was unbroken, but on the possibility that tomb raiders might have entered by tunneling through the walls or the floor, Minmose and Wennefer broke the seal and entered. The tomb was in a shambles; Senebtisi's torn and tattered mummy lay on the floor, the gold -- and perhaps other treasures -- missing. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the tomb were unviolated. Truly, indeed, a locked room tomb mystery...
The pharaoh was Nebmaatra, also know as Amenhotep III, who would become the father of the rogue king Akhenaten. Nebmaatra was incensed at this outrage and ordered Amenhotep Sa Hapu, the director of the king's works, to investigate. (Amenhotep Sa Hapu was a historical character known for his wisdom and administrative ability; one thousand years after his death, he was elevated to divine status as a god of wisdom -- one of only two non-royal architects to be so honored. For the author's purposes, he has solved a number of tricky murder cases in the past.) As a detective, he knew who had robbed the tomb, but now he had to figure out how the crime was committed. In his investigation, he is aided by the Egyptian Wadjsen (Peters is not above a little wordplay).
A nifty little tale, worthy, perhaps, of Edward D. Hoch's Dr. Sam Hawthorne.
As "Peters," Barbara Mertz was best known for her 20 novels about Victorian-age Egyptologist Amelia Peabody and her husband Radcliffe Emerson and their son, "Ramses." As "Peters," she also wrote six mysteries about art historian Vicki Bliss, four about librarian Jacqueline Kirby, and nine standalone mysteries. As "Barbara Michaels," Mertz penned twenty-nine Gothic and supernatural thrillers. She also wrote three nonfiction books under her own name, two of which concerned ancient Egypt, an co-edited the Agatha Award-winning Amelia Peabody's Egypt: A Compendium. She had a PhD in Egyptology. She was the founder of Malice Domestic, and was a member of several societies concerned with ancient Egypt. In addition, she founded a scholarship for women writers. At least ten of her books were nominated for major awards and she received two Grand Master Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award, and was honored with Malice Domestic's first Amelia Peabody Award. She was one of my wife's favorite mystery authors.
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