The Serpent on the Crown - Elizabeth Peters [36]
Ayyid made a note. “Several of the guests claim to have seen a tall figure robed in black descending the stairs,” he said dryly.
“I am not surprised,” said Ramses with equal dryness. “There was no such figure. She threw the empty robe over the balcony.”
Nefret leaned forward. “What did Mr. and Miss Petherick have to say? Surely they don’t believe their stepmother was carried off by a supernatural demon.”
Mr. Ayyid did not point out, as he might have done, that he was supposed to be the one asking the questions. “They claim she was abducted by someone who wanted the statue. How valuable is it?”
“Quite valuable,” Ramses said. “But that is an absurd suggestion. Mrs. Petherick didn’t have the statuette in her possession; we did.”
“Who was aware of that?”
“Everybody in Luxor, I should think,” Ramses replied.
“And there have been several attempts to break into your house,” Ayyid said sternly. “Why did you not inform the police of these incidents?”
“We prefer to deal with such things ourselves,” I said. Mr. Ayyid’s expression strongly suggested that he disapproved of this point of view. I was about to elaborate, reminding him of our long experience in criminal matters, when Ramses got in ahead of me.
“There was no harm done, sir, and no danger of harm. Only a fool would believe he could locate a hidden object without a prolonged search and the risk of—”
He broke off abruptly. Ayyid’s eyes narrowed.
“But Mr. Adrian Petherick is not a sensible man, is he? And he is obviously obsessed with retrieving the statue.”
“He’s not such a fool as to risk something like that,” Ramses said. “He knows my father intends to return the statue to Mrs. Petherick; he heard him say so.”
“She is the legal owner?”
“We assume so.”
“But you don’t know for certain?”
“We are unacquainted with the terms of Mr. Petherick’s will,” Ramses said. “If you believe that question is relevant, you are in a better position to determine the answer than we.”
“Perhaps.” Mr. Ayyid made another note. “Can you describe the first intruder?”
“He had gone by the time Ramses arrived,” I said, since Ramses was looking somewhat put out. “I saw only his legs disappearing over the wall. He wore European trousers. Ali claims he was tall and formidably strong, but I do not believe we can rely on that assessment.”
“I would like to question Ali Yussuf.”
“Feel free to do so, but you won’t get much out of him. It was dark and he was dozing.”
“And on the second occasion? You would not say no harm was intended that time.”
“It may be that there was no intention of causing serious injury,” Ramses said. “The primary purpose was to get us out of the house so that the fellow could conduct another search.”
“Hmmm.” Ayyid looked skeptical. “No one caught even a glimpse of the criminal?”
Ramses explained about the footprints. “We haven’t had a chance to develop the film yet. I will make sure you see them, but I admit there was nothing distinctive about them.”
“Bare feet,” Ayyid said thoughtfully. “Any man can take off his shoes.”
“May I ask why you are putting such emphasis on this affair instead of pursuing the search for Mrs. Petherick?” I inquired.
My critical tone did not disconcert Ayyid. He closed his notebook and rose. “I would do so, Mrs. Emerson, if I had the slightest idea of where to look. However, at this moment we have no evidence that her disappearance can be considered a criminal matter. Should you hear anything, I hope you will forgo your normal habits and communicate with…Allahu Akhbar! What is that?”
He had not seen it coming. We had; but we were so thunderstruck and its progress was so rapid we had no time to react—a large tawny beast, moving in great bounds like those of the lion it resembled. Behind it was Daoud, waving his arms and uttering broken ejaculations. Behind Daoud the curiosity seekers scattered in