Night Train to Memphis - Elizabeth Peters [141]
I assured him I shared Fido’s passion for baked beans.
‘I’ll get to it, then,’ Keith said, unfolding himself and rising. ‘Feisal should be back any minute. I hope Mr Tregarth is better. I’ve never seen injuries quite like those. It’s almost as if someone deliberately . . .’
‘I don’t think you want to know the details,’ I said. ‘It’s not because we don’t trust you.’
‘That’s okay. The less I know, et cetera. Here’s Feisal,’ he added. ‘Baked beans coming up.’
Schmidt rushed to greet Feisal. ‘Sehr gut, mein Freund, you are safely returned. What is happening?’
‘It could be worse,’ Feisal admitted. ‘The whole damned village knows we’re here, of course.’
‘How did you explain our presence?’ I asked. I know small towns; gossip is a favourite sport and personal questions aren’t considered rude, just friendly.
Feisal ran his fingers through his dusty hair and squatted down on the floor. ‘I said I’d been hired to drive a couple of Kendrick’s archaeological friends, who had come to visit him for a few days. Nobody questioned the story, but the sooner we move on the better. How’s Johnny?’
Johnny made his appearance at that point. ‘Anything else of interest?’ he inquired.
‘Not much. I didn’t want to ask questions about the kidnapped American tourist and nobody brought it up. You know villages; they’re more interested in local scandal than in issues of national importance. Turn on the radio, Kendrick, and let’s see if we can get a news broadcast.’
We were eating dinner – Keith had also opened a couple of cans of beef stew – before the news came on. It was, of course, in Arabic, and I had to wait for a translation, but I could tell by Feisal’s lengthening face that it would not be good news for us.
‘They know we’ve changed vehicles,’ Feisal said, switching off the radio. ‘Amr reported the jeep stolen. Damn him!’
‘One can’t blame him for protecting himself,’ John said. ‘And his friends and family. So they know we’re on this side of the river?’
‘They seem to have lost track of us,’ Feisal admitted grudgingly. ‘We might have doubled back, getting through the checkpoints before they found out about the jeep, or struck out into the desert. But we can’t use the jeep any longer, they’ve got a description and the number.’
‘Can we buy another car?’ I asked
John glanced at me. He didn’t say anything, but I knew that look, and I realized that once again he was one step ahead of me. If he had planned to leave the cruise here, he must have made arrangements for transport away from the site.
After a brief pause – I give the guy credit, it was very brief – Keith cleared his throat. ‘You can take my Land Rover. I guess it’s the least I can do, since it was your money that paid the hire fee.’
John’s faint smile faded and he said bluntly, ‘You’re too intelligent not to suspect by now that you’ve been set up, Kendrick. I didn’t expect matters to develop as they have and I’m sorry about taking advantage of you, but not sorry enough to let you off the hook. We’ve got to have that vehicle. I don’t think you’ll get in serious trouble over this. If anyone – police or otherwise – learns we were here, don’t try to be clever or heroic. Tell them we robbed you, lied to you, or held you up at gunpoint – any story you like. We’ll back you up.’
‘Let’s hope it won’t come to that,’ Keith said. ‘I don’t understand what the hell this is all about, but as my granny used to say, you’ve got to trust somebody sometime. You will let me know what happens, won’t you?’
‘You’ll hear it on the news broadcasts,’ John said. ‘One way or the other . . . All right then, we’ll be on our way in the morning. Feisal, you and Schmidt take the Land Rover. You’ll look very innocent with your dear old mum in the backseat. Vicky and I will wend our way to Minya and – ’
Feisal shook his head. ‘It won’t wash, Johnny.’
‘There’s a greater chance . . .’ John began.
‘I agree. We’ll have to divide forces. But neither of you speaks Arabic. Schmidt does.’
‘Only enough to swear and tell dirty jokes,’ I said.