Tomb of the Golden Bird - Elizabeth Peters [165]
“Emerson, please!” I said.
Anticipating the need for a council of war, I had instructed Fatima to move the furniture in the parlor accordingly. When Mr. Smith saw my arrangements he murmured, “Very efficient, Mrs. Emerson. Where am I to sit?”
I indicated a chair. The others took their places. Smith studied their faces with polite interest. “I take it that everyone present has a right to be here?” he asked, staring pointedly at Margaret.
“They do,” I said, in a tone that allowed no debate. “There is one more witness to come. Daoud, will you bring him here?”
Sethos entered with his head held high and his features impassive. He had the air of an accused criminal expecting a harsh sentence. The sight of his chief brought an exclamation of surprise from him.
“You? Here?”
“Don’t stutter,” I said. “Mr. Smith, the first order of business concerns our mutual friend here. He told us that the so-called secret message was no more than a string of meaningless numbers. That was an untruth. Yesterday I broke the code and read the message.”
“Mother, you didn’t,” Ramses exclaimed. “That is—how?”
“I found the right book,” I said, with a little cough. “Purely by accident. We will discuss that at another time. What I want to know from Mr. Smith is who misled whom?”
“Ah, I see,” Smith said. “Our friend’s veracity is in question. He had no business telling you that much, but since he did I may as well clear him. He told you what he believed to be the truth.”
Margaret’s rigid form relaxed and she let out a long sigh. Sethos glanced at her and then looked away. “Thank you,” he said ironically. “Now, sir, perhaps you will explain why you lied to me?”
“You know the rules,” Smith said. “You were told what you needed to know. Nothing more.”
“The devil with your bloody rules,” growled Emerson. “I need to know everything—who was plotting against whom and why and wherefore. And if you mention the bloody Official Secrets Act I may lose my temper.”
“Heaven forbid,” said Smith piously. “Very well. I am prepared to break certain rules in order to set your minds at ease—and prevent you from stirring up trouble.”
“Proceed,” I said, taking pen in hand. Smith started to object, but wisely decided not to.
“There was only one conspiracy,” he began. “Bashir’s group and the malcontents in Iraq were part of the same plot, though neither group was aware of the other, or of the real aim of the people behind the affair. Both had been infiltrated by men who meant to use them to attain their own ends—professional killers, trained in the techniques of assassination. Poor fool that he was, Bashir meant no harm to anyone. These people and their bloodless coups…Really, they oughtn’t be let loose without a chaperon.
“When Ramses and his wife suddenly decided to go to Cairo, the assassins took alarm. They knew the message was not a fraud and they feared he was about to expose the real conspiracy. They were tracking you two from the moment you arrived, and you made no effort to elude pursuit. Breakfasting in full view of the world on the terrace at Shepheard’s! Somehow or other—we may never know how—Bashir got wind of their intentions and tried to warn you. He was a martyr, if you like,” Smith concluded, with a nod at Ramses.
We paid Bashir the tribute of a moment of respectful silence. He had repented of his errors in judgment and possibly saved the lives of Ramses and Nefret. Then Emerson said, “Three murders. Why?”
“Is it not cui bono a rule of criminal investigation?” Smith asked. “Who profits? Ask yourself what would have happened had these crimes been committed.”
His air of superiority was grating. Ramses, who disliked him anyhow, said, “Egypt and Iraq would have dissolved into chaos. Britain would be forced to intervene. Possibly a full-fledged military intervention and the reestablishment of a formal mandate.”
“Quite right,” said Smith, with a gracious nod. “And who would have profited from that?”
“The jingoists and imperialists in Britain,” I suggested. “There has always been a vociferous majority who believe the European powers have the