The Hippopotamus Pool - Elizabeth Peters [168]
‘That’s the spirit, Vandergelt,’ Emerson exclaimed. ‘I will tell you what I learned this evening. It is not a great deal, but what the devil! It is a beginning.
‘They were seen boarding the afternoon ferry and disembarking in Luxor. None of the crewmen could hazard a guess as to where they went after that, so I next inquired of the carriage drivers. I finally found one who remembered seeing Nefret and another Sitt get into a carriage. After some animated and maddeningly prolonged discussion they agreed it was the carriage of Ali Mohammed. He had gone off with a party of tourists, no one knew where, so I had to wait for him to return. I need not tell you,’ Emerson said quietly, ‘that it seemed an eternity. It was, in fact, over an hour, but I had no choice but to wait. He remembered them – Nefret is hard to forget – and offered to take me to the place where he had driven them.’
‘The Luxor?’ I asked, as Emerson paused to light his pipe. ‘That was incredibly bold of the cursed woman. How could she hope to keep Nefret there?’
‘I don’t believe they remained at the hotel,’ Emerson said. ‘But before I could continue my inquiries I observed a group of men erupt out of the bar and onto the street. I recognized O’Connell; I caught only a glimpse of his companion, but that particular galabeeyah and turban were strangely familiar, so I looked into the bar to ask what had happened, and was thunderstruck – to say the least – when I saw Ramses. He was beginning to come round, but he was still uncertain as to where he was or how he had got there. Fortunately the Dutch gentleman speaks English quite well; he told me of the dramatic appearance of Daoud, a knife in one hand and the unconscious body of Ramses over his shoulder; he had forced his way past porters, clerks and doormen and was demanding assistance for Ramses and rescue for the Sitt Hakim at the top of his lungs.’
‘He was clever to think of going to the hotel,’ I said, with an approving nod at Daoud. ‘It was the nearest place in which he could count on finding help.’
‘I looked for him,’ said Daoud smugly, indicating Kevin. ‘He is always in the bar of the Luxor.’
‘A vile canard,’ said Kevin with a broad, unabashed smile. ‘It’s thankful I am that I was there on this occasion, but once Daoud had told his story, he had every chap in the place ready to rush to the rescue.’
‘To resume,’ said Emerson loudly.
‘I beg your pardon, Professor,’ said Kevin.
‘Hmph,’ said Emerson. ‘To resume: I stayed with Ramses until I was certain he was all right. He had not the faintest recollection of how he had got there, but he was able to give me some indication of where he had been, and I began to put the pieces together. O’Connell on the rampage, Daoud in Luxor, Ramses delivered – who else could have instigated a melee like that but you, Peabody?’
‘Thank you, my dear,’ I replied, much gratified.
‘And I knew I was right,’ Emerson continued, ‘when I got near the place and heard shots, shouts, and people battering on doors. I apologize for being delayed, but luckily you didn’t need me, did you?’
‘No,’ Evelyn said. ‘Walter was there. But I think he should go to bed now.’
Walter tried to look modest. His eyeglasses had been broken in the struggle but it was not their absence that made his face look so changed. A man does not have to be a hero to gain confidence in himself; he only needs a woman to think he is one. In this case, however, Walter had earned his laurels.
‘I am perfectly fit, my dear,’ he said. ‘And I cannot rest until we have explored every possible clue. Radcliffe, has it occurred to you that the trip to Luxor may have been