information that would endanger you even more, and he’s had to fight you as well as Blenkiron in the process.’
Cursing under his breath, he swerved – to avoid some obstacle in the road, I assumed – and the car jolted along the shoulder for a few yards before he got it back on the paved surface. I steadied John’s head with my other hand. ‘How far are we from Hammadi?’ I asked.
‘Another thirty or forty kilometres. Are you trying to change the subject?’
‘Yes.’
‘You were full of questions a while ago. Here’s your chance to get some of the answers you’ll never get from him.’
I didn’t say anything. The events of the past week were unrolling in my memory like a foreign film I hadn’t understood the first time I saw it. The captions Feisal had supplied cast a different light on every scene.
He had put on a pretty good act in public, but I might have noticed he never used a term of endearment or touched her if he could avoid doing so. In private . . . Knowing Mary as I now did, I felt sure she had enjoyed goading him into dangerous and ultimately futile outbursts of anger. The bruises on her arms were a graphic demonstration of at least one occasion on which she had succeeded, and she had retaliated, promptly and effectively. If Schmidt’s loud concern about my phobia hadn’t alerted her, my own behaviour would have done so.
That incident had been a joint project – Larry getting me down into the tomb, Mary or one of the others bollixing the lights. John must have suspected something was going to happen, but he had been helpless to prevent it. All he could do was get to me as quickly as possible.
That wasn’t the only time he’d managed to find an excuse to be around when he feared I might be in trouble. Seeing Schroeder-Max at the rest house had aroused his suspicions; he had invited himself along on that stroll from the Valley to Deir el Bahri because he was afraid to leave me and Schmidt alone with Larry and Ed. And he had prevented Mary from accompanying us, not only because she was an additional threat to me, but because . . . Because getting away from her, by any means and for any length of time, would have been like a breath of clean air to a man trapped in a sewer.
But the memory that would haunt me longest was the one of that night he had followed me out on deck while Schmidt was dancing with Mary. By that time he must have been half-crazy with worry and frustration and disgust, and the necessity of hiding those emotions. No wonder he’d lost control of himself. But only for a few moments. Realizing we were being observed, he had deliberately provoked me into a demonstration that would prove we were still at odds, and that would get me off the deck, back into the comparative safety of my room.
There had been time, that night and on a few other occasions, for a brief private exchange. ‘Oh, by the by, Vicky, I’m not really married to that little bitch, this is a setup and you are in desperate danger, so when I give you the signal just trot off and go into hiding and stay there. And take Schmidt with you.’
Of course I’d have obeyed, without question or argument. As would Schmidt.
Right.
Feisal slowed and pulled off the road. He turned, his arm over the back of the seat.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.
‘Nothing’s wrong. I hope. We’ll be approaching the bridge shortly, and I don’t want to wake him yet. I don’t suppose he’s had a decent night’s sleep since – ’
‘Stop it, Feisal.’
‘There’s just one little point I want to emphasize. When he agreed to Blenkiron’s proposal, his own survival wasn’t part of the deal. It wasn’t even mentioned. He was bargaining for your life, not his, and he was willing to let you go on thinking the worst of him if that would help to ensure your safety. I don’t entirely blame you for doubting him, but if I understand the hints I’ve heard from various people he’s put his neck in a noose for you before. Didn’t it oocur to you, even once, to give him the benefit of the doubt?’
Feisal’s tactics had been as effective as a battering ram. The walls were down, and I was flat on my face in the rubble. I had a feeling that if I ever managed to hold my head up again I’d see something that would make that devastating experience worthwhile, but all I could think of at the moment was how much I hated Feisal. When you are crawling on your belly like a snake you like to have another snake along for company.
‘So what have you done for your old schoolmate lately?’ I demanded. ‘You’d still be cooperating with Blenkiron if Jean-Louis’s murder hadn’t cast some doubts on your own survival. The poor devil didn’t tell me a damn thing; they killed him solely as a precaution, the way you’d get rid of a wasps’ nest on your porch.’
‘Johnny was quick to point that out,’ Feisal said wryly. ‘And I admit it wasn’t until then that I agreed to get you to a safe place. There was no way he could do it himself, they were watching him like a pack of vultures, and he was getting desperate. I don’t claim to be any nobler than the next man, Vicky. Johnny did talk me into supplying you with a weapon some days ago. Hamid was one of us, I had no difficulty in getting at his keys. However – ’
‘However,’ said a remote voice, ‘you are going to be in great difficulty if you don’t get moving again. What did you stop for?’
Feisal slammed the car into gear and pulled onto the road. ‘I thought you needed – ’
‘I could do with something to drink. And an end to idle gossip about things that are none of your damned business.’
‘How much did you hear?’ I demanded, grateful for the darkness that hid my face.
‘Quite a lot,’ John said.
‘Are you lying?’
‘I always do, don’t I?’
I was in no condition to pursue the subject. ‘If you’ll remove yourself from my lap I’ll get you a drink.’
‘Country matters, lady?’ I might have known he couldn’t resist that reference. A truck thundered towards us, the bright light and contrasting shadow giving his upturned face and tumbled hair the look of a cheerful scarecrow, but I was too familiar with the cadences of his voice to miss the signs. He sat up, yawning. I heard the rustle of cloth and a faint click. Time for two of those little yellow pills? How many more could he take before he started climbing the walls?
I bent over and rummaged in the basket Granny had packed. She must have emptied her larder. There was enough food for a dozen people – bread, boiled eggs, fruit, a six-pack of soda. I opened one of the cans and handed it to John.
‘I don’t know what this is – ’ I began.
‘Neither do I. It tastes like battery acid. Never mind, it’s liquid. Where are we?’
‘A quarter of an hour from Nag Hammadi,’ Feisal answered. ‘I hope it was only a morbid fancy that made you mention roadblocks? If we don’t cross here – ’
‘There are other bridges farther north. And, if memory serves, a road of sorts on the east bank?’
‘Yes, to both. You didn’t answer my question. What makes you think they might be waiting for us at Hammadi?’
‘Foggington-Smythe followed Vicky out of the hotel. He was watching when we left.’
‘Why didn’t you say so earlier?’ Feisal demanded.
‘Why should I? Either he saw us or he didn’t. If he did, and if a lot of other equally unpleasant surmises are correct, they could be waiting for us at Nag Hammadi.’
‘But how – ’ I began.
‘Oh, Christ, do I have to spell everything out for you? Use your head. Your guess is as good as mine as to what Blenkiron will and can do, but his resources are extensive. Always anticipate the worst, remember?’
He had edged away from me and was sitting bolt upright, staring straight ahead. Ten minutes, I thought. Give him that much, at least.
Feisal began, ‘What are we – ’
I leaned forward. ‘How well do you know the roads?’
There was a perceptible pause before Feisal answered. ‘That depends on what roads you mean. The main north-south highway crosses the river at Hammadi and runs along the west bank from there to Cairo. There’s a secondary road on the east bank, but parts of it haven’t been completed.’
‘Where are the bridges?’ I asked.
I was trying to buy John a little more time, but as Feisal expanded on the geographical features I found myself wondering how Schmidt meant to employ same. Damn it, I knew the old boy better than John did, I ought to be able to follow his thinking.
