The Hippopotamus Pool - Elizabeth Peters [169]
‘In disguise,’ Ramses said. ‘Well done, Uncle Walter.’
‘Thank you, Ramses,’ said his uncle.
‘However,’ Ramses continued, ‘it is my opinion that attempting to pick up the trail would be a waste of time. There is no one more anonymous in this land of black-veiled women than another black-veiled woman. We should rather try to determine the identity of the individual who has taken her. Miss Marmaduke is a dupe or a subordinate. She was given orders by someone else.’
‘The letter proves that,’ I said impatiently. ‘It also proves that Riccetti was not responsible for kidnapping Nefret.’
Ramses coughed. (I was beginning to dislike that cough.)
‘The phraseology of the letter leaves open the possibility that the writer was in league with Riccetti. However, other indications suggest that you are correct, Mother. If he were holding Nefret, he would have taunted you or threatened you during that dramatic confrontation you described so vividly.’
‘But he is not out of the picture,’ Emerson muttered, clenching his fists. ‘He will be back, more dangerous than ever.’
‘I’m not so sure about that,’ Cyrus drawled. ‘You folks haven’t had time to sit still and think straight tonight, but consider what happened. Riccetti got away with his low stunts before because nobody in authority really cared what he did to a bunch of poor Egyptians. This time he kidnapped an English boy and tried to shoot up a whole crowd of foreigners. The British administration isn’t going to put up with that sort of thing.’
‘And neither will British public opinion,’ Kevin said eagerly. ‘Don’t underestimate the power of the press, Mrs E. and gentlemen. My story and those of my colleagues will have every British citizen howling for justice.’
‘Hmph.’ Emerson stroked his chin. ‘Do you mean I may be forced to admit that the confounded press is of some use after all?’
‘God forbid, sir,’ Kevin said piously.
‘You may be right,’ Emerson admitted. ‘All the same, I hope we haven’t seen the last of Riccetti. I would like to deal with him personally. See here, O’Connell, you do understand that no word of Nefret’s disappearance must get out?’
‘Yes, sir, I do.’ Kevin’s face grew sober. ‘It’s not a word I’ll breathe till the little colleen is safe home again. You’ve no idea who could have engineered her disappearance?’
‘We know how she was lured away,’ I said. ‘And by whom. That knowledge is of no use to us, since Miss Marmaduke has also vanished. At one time I believed that Abd el Hamed was a member of the same group, but of late I have begun to wonder about that. I saw him, or a man closely resembling him, near Riccetti’s house a few days ago. Curse it, Abd el Hamed must be involved in some manner; on two occasions he sent would-be killers onto this boat. He wouldn’t risk that unless he stood to lose something vital to his interests or those of the individual who employed him.’
All eyes turned to David. He sat unmoving, his head bowed, and the silence lengthened.
‘We are brothers,’ Ramses said finally. ‘He would tell me if he knew.’
David raised his head. He looked, not at Ramses, nor at Evelyn, whose hand had stroked his hair, nor at Walter, who had saved his life that evening, nor at his grandfather – nor at me. His gaze locked with that of Emerson, blue eyes and black intent on one another.
‘I have thought till my head was empty,’ he whispered. ‘I have told you all I know. I spied on Abd el Hamed, yes. I hated him! Often at night when I could not sleep for hunger or bruises, I would creep out and listen, hoping to learn something that would harm him. Many came to see him in secret – the thieves with their stolen goods from the tombs, the dealers from Luxor, the Inglîzi who bought the antikas. No strange man came in secret. No man who was –’
‘Just a moment,’ Emerson said, his voice strained and harsh. ‘No man, you say? No strange human beings?’ He used the plural word nas, which means ‘people.’
A great light seemed to burst in my brain. ‘Good Gad!’ I cried.
David’s eyes grew round. ‘They said “man.”’ He