whom I had been discussing tomb reliefs, broke off in mid-sentence. With a murmured ‘Excuse me,’ he rose and headed for the door.
Schroeder, hat in hand, bald head shining with sweat, awaited him. I thought it was a little odd that the man hadn’t joined us, and I wasn’t the only one to wonder. Everyone stopped talking and stared. Everyone except John. After a quick glance at Schroeder he leaned back and lowered his eyes. He hadn’t spoken since we sat down.
After a few minutes Schroeder left and Larry returned, shaking his head and smiling. ‘He takes his duties too seriously, as I keep telling him. Some unimportant detail about tonight’s reception.’
‘How long has he been with you?’ I asked guilelessly.
‘Let’s see . . .’ He turned to the omnipresent Ed. ‘How long has it been? A couple of years?’
‘’Bout that.’ Ed returned to his beer. He was not much of a conversationalist.
If Ed could remember when Schroeder signed on, he had been with Larry even longer than two years. I reminded myself that I was no longer interested in details like that.
Schmidt polished off another lemonade and two candy bars, and announced he was ready to resume the tour. I was trying to think of a way of taking him out of it when Larry said, ‘It’s too nice a day to spend underground. How about taking the path to Deir el Bahri, Vicky? It’s in the bay south of here, over that range of hills, and the view of the temple from above is wonderful. The bus could pick us up there, couldn’t it, Feisal?’
Feisal nodded and Schmidt exclaimed, ‘Good, good. An excellent idea! I will come too.’
‘But Herr Direktor,’ Feisal protested, ‘it is a long, hard walk. Forty-five minutes . . .’ He eyed Schmidt’s rotund shape dubiously and added, ‘Or longer.’
What was more, Schmidt hadn’t been invited. I didn’t waste my breath mentioning this. The walk might be the lesser of two evils. It couldn’t be more taxing for Schmidt than the hot dusty airlessness of the tombs.
‘We’ll take it easy,’ Larry said, with a reassuring nod at me.
‘An enticing prospect,’ said John. ‘I’ll join you, if I may.’
‘Yes, a walk would be lovely,’ Mary said eagerly.
‘No.’ He turned to her. ‘It would be too strenuous for you, in your condition.’
Mary’s jaw dropped and a charming blush spread over her face. I don’t know what my face looked like, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t charming.
‘Anyone else?’ Larry asked, after a moment of embarrassed silence. ‘All right, then, we’ll see you all later.’
Ed hadn’t said a word, but I was not surprised to find him making up one of our party. He tried to give Schmidt a hand during the first and most difficult part of the hike, the steep climb up from the Valley, but was huffily rebuffed. Once we had reached the top, Schmidt mopped his perspiring brow and gasped triumphantly, ‘Ha! Such a fuss you make over a little walk. If you had climbed the Zugspitze and the Matterhorn . . .’ His breath gave out, so he left it there, and we all looked impressed except John, who was grinning like an idiot.
We admired the view for longer than it deserved, to give Schmidt time to recover, and Larry pointed out the locations of other tombs. Pale in the sunlight, the great pyramid-shaped peak called the Lady of the West rose over the valley it guarded.
The next part of the walk led across the rocky summit of the plateau. The path was rough but level, and Schmidt charged valiantly ahead. John kept pace with him. I started to quicken my step. Larry took my arm. ‘I want to talk to you, Vicky. That’s why I suggested this.’
I glanced over my shoulder. Ed was some distance behind, hands in his pockets.
‘What about?’ I asked.
Larry lowered his voice. ‘About a mutual friend. His name is Burckhardt.’
I stumbled over a stone no bigger than a Ping-Pong ball. Larry’s hand steadied me. ‘Sorry. You didn’t know?’
‘I don’t know a damn thing,’ I sputtered. ‘That son of a polecat Burck – ’
‘Let’s not mention the name again, okay? Don’t get the wrong idea, Vicky.’ His face wrinkled in an attractive, deprecating smile. ‘I haven’t been leading a double life, like some superhero in the comics. I was informed of the situation by the Egyptian government. They know how intensively I have worked for better relations between Egypt and the West, and how deeply I care about the wonderful antiquities of this country. The announcement I will make this evening . . . Well, you’ll hear that in due course. The idea that someone could use this trip as a cover for activities designed to destroy everything I’ve worked for . . .’
‘I understand.’
‘I know you do. And I can’t tell you how much I – all of us – appreciate what you’re doing. It was for your own protection that I was told not to contact you earlier. Now things have changed.’
‘That’s why Mr Schroeder came,’ I said. ‘To tell you – ’
‘That the refrigerating unit didn’t break down, Vicky. It was a deliberate act of sabotage. It can’t be repaired, it will have to be replaced. God knows how long that will take. The tour will have to be cancelled. Hamid will make the announcement when we return at noon. You see what that means, don’t you?’
My eyes were fixed on Schmidt, who was gesturing animatedly. A sound like the howl of a coyote drifted to my ears. I caught a few of the words; they had to do with heaven, mama, and train whistles.
‘I’m not sure I do,’ I said slowly. ‘What alternatives will the passengers be offered – aside from a refund of the fare?’
‘That, of course. But I expect most of them will choose to remain in Luxor for a few days, since this is the high point of the tour. Fortunately – or unfortunately, from the viewpoint of the tourism industry – there are plenty of hotel rooms empty. After that . . .’
He looked expectantly at me. ‘Some may decide to return to Cairo,’ I muttered. ‘Sooner or later everybody will end up in Cairo. Where the museum is.’
‘Yes. Vicky, have you any idea of who these people are?’
‘Yeah.’ I gestured. ‘Him.’
Schmidt and John had stopped, waiting for us to join them.
‘Not Anton!’ Larry exclaimed.
‘Don’t be ridiculous. Him.’ I couldn’t pronounce his name.
‘Mr Tregarth?’ Larry sounded almost as incredulous. He slowed his steps. ‘But he’s a well-known – ’
‘Crook. I’ve encountered him before. I don’t know who the others are; he’s the only one I recognized.’
‘Surely he wouldn’t bring his pregnant bride along.’ Larry looked shocked.
‘Excellent cover, wouldn’t you say?’
I heard John laugh. Schmidt had taught him a new one. A few words floated back to me: ‘When I woke up, I had shackles on my feet . . .’
‘Come. Vicky, hurry, why are you so slow?’ Schmidt yelled. ‘It is a glorious view.’
‘One more thing,’ Larry said quickly. ‘I want you to stay with me while you’re in Luxor. I have a house here, you know – ’
‘Of course I know. You’re holding the reception there, right?’
‘Right. You’ll be safer there than in a hotel. Anton too, of course.’
Schmidt has twenty-twenty hearing. ‘What about me?’ he demanded.
‘I’ll tell you later, Schmidt,’ I said. ‘It’s a surprise.’
Schmidt loves surprises. Beaming, he demanded that I admire the view.
The temple of the female pharaoh, Hatshepsut, lay below, its colonnades and courtyards sharp-etched by shadow and sunlight. It is probably the most graceful, perfectly proportioned structure in Egypt. I had looked forward to seeing it.
But not under these circumstances. Beside me, hands in his pockets, hair shining like silver-gilt, John was humming wider his breath. ‘‘‘It takes a worried man to sing a worried song . . . I’m worried now – but I won’t be worried long.’”
That’s what he thought.
