Redvers once again asked no questions, simply offering wordless support.
Blinking into the sunlight at the entrance, I took a series of deep, gulping breaths and my heart rate began to inch back toward normal. I could see that tourists were beginning to fill the place—earnest, cheerful chatter floated up to us on the light breeze, and I was glad we had arrived early. Many people were arriving in open-air motorcars; shading my eyes, I could see parking lots dotting the landscape. It appeared some were for vehicles and others for animals, since numerous other visitors arrived by horse or camel as we did.
“Would you care to climb to the top?” We were still standing on the pyramid and Redvers pointed skyward.
I gave a little laugh. “I’m quite fine with seeing them from below, thank you.” I didn’t need to see the view from that height, and I didn’t want to admit that my legs still felt a little weak from the episode inside.
Redvers shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve already seen it. And it’s getting crowded. As long as you’re fine.” He gave me a warm smile, and I gave him a hesitant one in return.
We started the brief climb back down.
“Thank you. For earlier,” I blurted.
He paused for a moment and looked back at me. “There’s nothing to thank me for.”
I gave a brief nod.
As we reached the ground, I struggled with whether to address the situation further—I was embarrassed that he had seen me during a full-blown attack, and I tried to decide whether I wanted to give him some sort of explanation. But would it make me feel better or worse? I couldn’t decide. Redvers was carrying on as if nothing was amiss, so I decided to follow his lead. At least for the time being.
We swung around to the other two pyramids, Khafre and Menkaure, which were much smaller in stature than the pyramid we had just exited. Neither of them was open to the public, and I was ashamed at the little tug of relief I felt.
Moving around the corner of Menkaure, the smaller of the two pyramids, brought us to the three queen’s pyramids. Almost like a project to use some leftover supplies, these pyramids were diminutive compared to the pyramids of the kings, even these smaller two. It irritated me that the women’s monuments should be so much less impressive.
A pair of men standing near the small trio drew my attention and I squinted in an attempt to get a better look. One of the men struck me as very familiar. He was wearing a khaki outfit complete with pith helmet and a cane, the head of which reflected bright gold in the sun.
“Does that look like Colonel Stainton to you?” I gave a nod in the direction of the men. “I believe that’s his cane.”
The other man appeared to be Egyptian, and even at our considerable distance, I could tell that his brown robes and turban were filthy, covered with the surrounding sand. From their body language and gestures, their conversation did not appear to be going well.
Redvers turned to look. “It does look very much like him.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a very small set of binoculars, which he put to his eyes. “Yes, that’s definitely the colonel.”
I stared at him for a moment, then indicated the pair of binoculars that had conveniently appeared. “More magic tricks? Where have you been hiding those?”
He gave me a mischievous grin. I shook my head and we continued to watch—Redvers with the obvious close-up advantage—as the two men began to gesture angrily. For a moment, it looked as though they would come to blows, and in my excitement, I pulled the binoculars from Redvers’ hands and put them to my own eyes. In my peripheral vision, I could see him staring at me in openmouthed amazement.
“Eyes front, Redvers. You might miss something.”
The Egyptian man crossed his arms over his chest and the colonel threw down his cane. “I haven’t seen Colonel Stainton out of his room since his daughter died. It seems strange for him to be out here.” I lowered the binoculars for a moment. “I wonder what they’re arguing about . . .”
I trailed off as the colonel retrieved his cane and stomped away. I handed Redvers his glasses, perversely disappointed that the men’s exchange had come to a peaceful end, despite my fondness for the colonel. Redvers readjusted the vision and followed the colonel’s figure until he was lost in a crowd. Tourists mixed with local sellers, encouraging the visitors to take a short camel ride or purchase lukewarm water from their goatskin flasks. When we looked back to the small pyramid where the exchange took place, the local man had disappeared as well.
Redvers appeared thoughtful and secured his binoculars in the pocket they had been hiding in. “You didn’t want those back, did you?” He sounded vaguely amused.
“No, there’s nothing to see now. Do you know the man he was with?” Redvers did, after all, seem to know quite a few of the locals.
“No, but there’s excavating going on at some of the outlying areas. He might be a worker from one of the dig sites.”
We both contemplated that in thoughtful silence. I tried to come up with a reason why the colonel would be arguing with a dig worker in broad daylight, but eventually gave up without unearthing a convincing reason.
“Hmm,” I finally said.
“Hmm?” Redvers cocked an inquiring eyebrow.
“Anna told her father that she didn’t approve of the company he was keeping. She was obviously referring to me at the time, but the way she said it . . . It seemed she also meant someone else. I wonder if this was the company she was referring to.”
“Hmm, indeed.”
After viewing the pyramids, we came back around toward the Khufu, where we had begun, but now we approached the mysterious Sphinx holding court before it. Carved out of a solid piece of limestone, the years and marauders had chipped away at it, but its beauty was still evident.
The enormous sculpture had bricks laid over its feet, and I wondered aloud if it was an effort at preservation. Redvers agreed, pointing out some other areas where the damage was evident, and he explained how the soft stone had been eroding over the years, in some places more than others. On the nearest side, we could see where attempts were being made to cover areas of deep damage with bricks that matched the golden color. Even damaged and missing a nose, the half man/half lion seemed oddly content with its lot as a guard of the Great Pyramids.
We headed to the Khafre temple lying near the Sphinx’s feet—in ruins now. It was empty, as the majority of the tourists seemed more interested in the pyramids. A quick glance up told me more than a few were taking advantage of the view from the top. Redvers disappeared around a column ahead of me and I heard a scraping noise. It sounded distinctly like rock scraping hard against rock, but I couldn’t remember seeing workers near the temple, or near the Sphinx. I looked up and saw a fine dusting of sand filter down toward me, narrowly avoiding my upturned face. I stepped back and craned my head backward, holding my wide-brimmed hat down firmly on my head.
Nothing. Just crumbling pillars of ancient ruins.
Another scraping noise, this time a bit closer, and I scurried back a few feet until my back was flat against a limestone pillar, eyes fixed toward the last place I had heard the sound.
The noise ground to a halt. Then silence.
CHAPTER TWENTY
My heart gave a few quick beats. Was I simply paranoid? Or could someone have followed Redvers and me out to the pyramids? And did that person mean me harm? I wouldn’t have thought so, except for my run-in with the scorpion the day before. My head whipped back and forth, looking for any signs of movement, but it seemed the noise had stopped for good. My shoes crunched sand as I moved around, seeking a better view of the pillar tops around me.
A moment later, Redvers popped his head back around a post. He noticed where my attention was still focused, took a glance upward, and then raised an eyebrow.
“Coming?”
“Did you hear something just now?” My gaze was still focused skyward.
He came more fully around the pillar, shaking his head and looking about. “No, did you?” A note of concer
n crept in at the edges of his voice.
I finally looked at him, tearing my gaze from the pillar tops. After the episode in the pyramids, I didn’t want to give him any more reason to think I might be fragile. Or unstable. I decided not to press the issue.
“Never mind.” I gave him a steady smile. “Must have been a bird.”
“Most likely. There are lots of quail in the area. If you’re finished here, I think our rides are ready.” He disappeared around the column once more.
I took one last look around me and, shaking my head, joined him.
* * *
We reclaimed our camels from the local, who also passed a large saddle pack over to Redvers. After digging for a moment, Redvers retrieved a water skin, letting me drink first. I didn’t know what kind of arrangements he had made, but I was grateful. The inside of my mouth felt as though I had been chewing on a sand cracker. Having sated my thirst—for now—I clambered back atop my camel without assistance, gave two clicks, and my camel stood, stopping Redvers in his tracks. I nearly laughed at the surprise on his face, although I still had a death grip on the saddle horn.
“Did you need some help getting on, Redvers?” I asked. “I’m more than happy to assist you, if you need it.” I gave him a sly smile and he laughed, climbing aboard his own camel. We set off away from the buzz of tourists, the pyramids, and the hotel, moving farther into the vast, wind-swept desert.
“I have to thank you for taking me out here today, Mr. Redvers. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.”
“You are most welcome. I always enjoy a trip out to the pyramids. Did it manage to distract you?” Redvers asked.
I laughed. “I can assure you that it did.” I paused for a moment, thinking about what we had seen. “Although it was strange to see Colonel Stainton, wasn’t it? I haven’t seen him in days, and then to find him arguing with someone out at the pyramids as if nothing happened.” My brows pulled together. “Do you have any idea what he was up to?”
“It’s hard to say,” Redvers said vaguely.
I sighed. “Well, it probably has nothing to do with his daughter’s murder. But I’m still curious.” I shook my head. “Curiosity really is one of my worst vices.”
“I’m afraid someone else thinks so as well.” He paused. “What do you know about the two girls your aunt has been spending so much time with?” For a brief moment, I thought he was changing the subject; then I realized what he was implying.
“You don’t think either of them had anything to do with Anna’s murder, do you? They’re just girls. What motive could they have?”
“That’s what I’m asking you.” Redvers’ face was quite serious.
“Redvers! They are barely eighteen years old.”
He sighed. “The murder notwithstanding, what do you know about them? They are spending an awful lot of time with your aunt. I’m a bit concerned for her.”
I was touched that he was worried about my aunt’s welfare. I thought for a moment, mentally putting together everything I knew about them, and then told him the little I knew.
“I don’t know much else, apart from the fact that Lillian is an absolute fanatic about golf, and Marie . . . Well, Marie seems to be a fanatic about Lillian.”
Redvers raised his eyebrows.
“Marie is like an enthusiastic Labrador around her,” I said.
We rode in silence for a few moments.
“What about your friends from America—Charlie and Deanna?”
“The Parkses? What did you think of them?” The four of us had shared a drink at the bar the night before, although Redvers and I had excused ourselves after only one so we could get our early start.
“They were very charming,” he admitted. “Although I’m curious how a couple of roving actors could afford this kind of trip.”
“I wondered the same thing. I think I heard Deanna mention something about their troupe taking up a collection for their honeymoon fund.”
“Generous,” he said, and I nodded in agreement. It was generous, but I had no reason to believe they had been lying. Besides, the pair was so likable, it was easy to believe their fellow actors would be willing to chip in toward a large wedding gift.
“I already asked them whether they knew Anna. Apparently, Charlie played cards with her a few times, but that seemed like the extent of it.”
“And you said Deanna’s act involves snakes? Are they poisonous?”
I shook my head. “I see what you’re getting at, but snakes are very different than poisonous insects.” I hated that he was planting doubt in my mind about my friends. “And what reason could Deanna have for killing Anna? They barely knew each other.”
“Well, we need to explore all options if we have any chance of finding who did it.”
I knew that, but it didn’t make suspecting friends and family any more comfortable.
Redvers was quiet for a moment and I assumed he was still thinking about Deanna and Charlie Parks. He surprised me.
“I would like to suggest you stop poking a stick into dark holes, but I’m not going to convince you to do that, am I?” His voice was mild, but he looked serious.
I was glad it wasn’t only my aunt Redvers was concerned about. “Probably not. Even if I was no longer considered a suspect, I’m afraid I just can’t let it go.” I had to keep picking at the loose threads to see if something—or someone—would unravel. The deeper reason, of course, went back to my nightmarish marriage. I wouldn’t take the path of least resistance ever again, regardless of the consequences. That path had cost me considerably.
“Even though someone might have threatened you already.”
It was a statement, not a question, but I answered it anyway. “All it means is that I’m getting close to answers. We aren’t even sure it was a threat.”
We had reached the dune, and I was grateful for the interruption. The view was stunning, and we pulled our camels to a halt to enjoy it. From this distance, you could see all six pyramids, king’s and queen’s alike. The tourists were dwarfed by the monuments, reduced to crabs scrabbling across the sand. It was worth the extra time in the sun to take it all in, but after a few moments, we headed in the direction of the hotel.
“What about the doctor? You know, it just occurred to me that he said something strange when I spoke with him.”
Redvers looked over at me.
“He said Anna knew how to party. Do you think they were involved together somehow?”
“From what I know about Miss Stainton, I have to admit it’s a possibility.”
I felt foolish that I hadn’t asked the doctor more about Anna, but I remembered how ill at ease I had felt talking with the man in his stifling quarters. Alone. “Could she have been involved with drugs? If the doctor is, maybe she was, too.” It was pure speculation. But now that I said it out loud, it didn’t seem that outlandish. “Perhaps that’s the type of partying he meant.”
“We don’t really have any proof that the doctor is involved in drugs, either. But I’m afraid that’s one area of investigation that I’m going to insist you leave to me.” Redvers’ voice was firm. “I can’t in good conscience let you flounce into a Cairo drug den asking questions. You’ll get yourself killed.”
“I never flounce.” But I conceded he had a point. I wouldn’t even know where to go about finding a drug den, much less asking questions in one. “Do you promise to tell me what you learn?”
He promised. And even though I had no doubt he could handle himself, I also made him promise to be careful.
I refused to examine why I cared.
Instead, I turned my mind back to our pool of potential suspects. “I have to admit, I still think our best suspects are either the doctor—it was his gun, after all—or Mr. Samara.”
“The doctor says he was alone in his rooms—which means he has no alibi. And our dear Mr. Samara claims he was in the gambling room until it closed, and then went back to his room with some young men to play a few more hands of cards,” Redvers said. I digested thi
s.
“That’s the first I’ve heard of his alibi. Have the police found the young men he says he was with?”
Redvers’ dark eyes looked at me approvingly from beneath his bone-white hat and I blinked at the rush of pleasure.
“They have not, as a matter of fact. He insists they were from one of the downtown hotels.”
“Convenient,” I replied.
“It’s possible that the young men—there were apparently two of them—have already checked out and gone, but it seems unlikely.”
I nodded. It did seem unlikely.
The hotel was now in sight, the green palms and lush grass beckoning us from the harshness of the dry and dusty sand. But the view also reminded me of the death in our midst—even more so than our conversation. The trip to see the pyramids had been a most welcome distraction, but now I needed to be back on my toes.
We had fallen into an easy partnership. I felt a little thrill that Redvers was finally discussing the case openly with me and asking for my opinions. Bouncing ideas back and forth with him helped clear things up in my mind.
Not for a moment did it occur to me to consider Redvers a suspect.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Back at the hotel, Redvers and I shared a light lunch. The waiters were kept busy refilling my water—I couldn’t quite wash the feeling of grit from my mouth. Covering a yawn, I excused myself when we finished and retired to my room. The sleepless night and long morning in the sun had finally taken its toll and I was in dire need of a nap. I managed to remove my sensible walking shoes before collapsing directly onto the bed.
I awoke several hours later, completely disoriented. I had slept soundly, without dreams and without moving. I had a moment of heart-stopping panic when I realized that I had fallen into bed without checking it for poisonous guests first. But since I had survived the nap, I let it go, and promised myself to be more vigilant in the future.
Murder at the Mena House Page 11