Death on Tour - Janice Hamrick [98]
“Fiona and Flora,” I said, trying for quiet and convincing. My throat hurt. A lot.
To my surprise, while DJ and Kyla looked dumbfounded, Anni just nodded thoughtfully.
Catching my look, she said, “I knew they weren’t what they were pretending to be. I’ve been around a lot of elderly women, and they just did not, what do you say? Ring true. How ironic, though, that I asked Mohammad to keep his eye on them.”
After that, things happened rather quickly. A team of paramedics arrived and carried Alan away on a stretcher, DJ in tow to make sure that everything was done properly. I felt a twinge of remorse that I’d ever suspected him of anything. I wanted to go with them, but Anni stopped me.
“You can’t do anything for him, and I need you to help describe what happened to the police.”
She flagged down the police officers when they arrived, and began explaining with a torrent of hand gestures and rapid Arabic, which made me wonder just why she thought my presence was necessary. Two of them peeled away immediately, presumably to search for Mohammad. The remaining officer listened with growing skepticism to Anni, taking notes in a small notebook. He looked over at me when she pointed.
“Jocelyn, come here. I want to show him your neck.” Anni beckoned to me.
“What?” I asked, stepping forward.
“Your neck. You have bruises already. Can’t you feel them?”
I pulled down the collar of my oxford shirt and heard Kyla’s gasp. I could still feel Mohammad’s huge hands where they had gripped me, but I didn’t see until much later the angry red and purple marks that they had left on my neck. The officer’s attitude changed in a flash, and he pulled out a radio and barked instructions.
The sound and light show ended and tourists streamed out of the theater area on their way back to the buses. Anni clicked her tongue in frustration.
“I must meet my group at the bus and see that they make it back to the ship,” she said. “And these two must be exhausted. Do you need them tonight?”
The officer hesitated, and then shrugged. “We can come to the ship if we need anything further.” He referred to his notes. “The Nile Lotus you said, yes?”
I grabbed Anni’s arm as a thought hit me. “They’ll come to the bus!” I said.
“What?”
“Fiona and Flora. They might come to the bus with everyone else. They couldn’t have seen me before. I mean, they couldn’t have known it was me that Mohammad was chasing. I could have been anyone—some kid who overheard what they were saying or a security guard. And if they didn’t know it was me, they might try to brazen it out and rejoin the tour.”
“That would be very foolish,” said Anni.
“But how else are they going to get out of the country?”
As it turned out, I was finally right about something. Fiona and Flora turned up at the bus, late as always, looking more confused and bent than ever. Kyla and I watched from the windows as Anni delayed them at the steps just long enough for the police to swoop out of the shadows and arrest them. I thought our bus would flip over on its side as everyone leaped to the windows.
“What are they doing to those old ladies? They can’t do that! We’re Americans!” said Jerry, outraged. He jumped to his feet. “I’m a lawyer! Let me through. Lawyer coming through!” shouted Jerry. He literally pushed Keith out of his way and went charging off the bus.
It was too much. Kyla and I clutched each other’s arms and fell back in our seats laughing. I could see Jerry talking to the police. He tried throwing himself protectively in front of Flora and Fiona, gesturing wildly. Even through the bus windows, I could hear muffled shouts of “American citizen” and “rights.” I thought one of the policemen was going to punch him, and I could see another reaching for the handcuffs. Fortunately for Jerry, Anni grabbed his arm and said something in his ear. He deflated like a pricked balloon, or maybe just a prick.