Lion in the Valley - Elizabeth Peters [23]
“It is a difficulty,” I admitted. “Whatever else he may have been, Kalenischeff was no hero.”
“But he may have been a member of a conspiracy directed against the lady,” said Ramses, from his window seat next to Emerson. “Assuming for the sake of argument that the object of that conspiracy was the extraction of money by one means or another, Kalenischeff may have decided to betray his confederates by marrying the lady instead of assisting in the original scheme. He would gain sole control of her fortune by that means instead of—”
“I was about to propose that theory, Ramses,” I said severely. “Look out the window. There is the Step Pyramid of Sakkara.”
“I am doing so,” said Ramses. “The cat Bastet also appears to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the view, but I assure you it does not interfere in the slightest with my ability to join you in—”
“Miss Debenham must have been taken by force,” I insisted. “No properly brought-up Englishwoman would run away—”
“Her conduct makes it fairly evident that she was not properly brought up,” said Emerson.
I ignored this remark. “She would have remained, chin up and shoulders squared, to face the music. And I feel I am safe in asserting, Emerson, that she would have come to me. She had received my letter; it was found, open, on her dressing table.”
“That is a point against the lady,” Emerson said stubbornly. “It proves that she did return to her room last night. It places her at the scene of the crime, Peabody, a scene from which she has disappeared. According to the police, she also changed her clothing.”
“But they don’t know which garments are missing from her wardrobe. She may have been carried off in her night-clothes, Emerson. The horror of it!”
“Along the corridors of the hotel, down the stairs and out into the street?” Emerson laughed disagreeably. “No, Amelia; not even your favorite Master—”
He stopped himself, pressing his lips together and scowling at me.
“Now it comes out,” I exclaimed. “I did not want to accuse you unjustly, Emerson, but you force me to be blunt. You are determined to blame poor Miss Debenham for a crime she did not commit because of your unaccountable reluctance to face the truth. How you can be so stubborn, after your own encounters with the man—”
“I warn you, Peabody,” Emerson snarled.
“Who attacked us and harassed us at Mazghunah last year? Who organized the inefficient amateur tomb robbers of Egypt into a great professional conspiracy? Who is a master of disguise, as was proved by his appearance in the role of Father Girgis, priest of the church at Mazghunah? Who, Emerson?”
Emerson, breathing furiously through his nose, did not reply. “The Master Criminal,” piped Ramses.
Emerson turned an awful glare upon his son. Unperturbed, Ramses went on, “I share your dislike of that sensational and ambiguous appellation, Papa, but I am forced to agree with Mama that no more appropriate name comes readily to mind. We have good reason to suspect that Prince Kalenischeff had fallen out with his master; his decision to leave Egypt, suddenly and secretly, suggests as much. And I am inclined to agree with Mama’s belief that this mysterious personage was the one behind the attempt on me last night. The criminal mind is a fascinating study; it may well be that the person in question harbors some resentment toward me because I—with your assistance, of course—foiled his attempt to steal the Dahshoor treasure.”
Emerson acknowledged the reasonableness of this assessment with a muffled “Curse it.” He said no more, because I spoke first.
“Ramses is correct, Emerson. The guides who were with him said they were dismissed by an American gentleman. There were a number of tourists atop the pyramid last night. In fact—in fact, I may have spoken to the man! Who else could he have been but a confederate of the Master Criminal?”
“Why not the Master Criminal himself?” Emerson tried to speak sarcastically, but he was half convinced by my irrefutable logic, and his doubt showed in his voice.
“Because the Master Criminal was lying in wait at the foot of the pyramid!