Death on Tour (31 page)

“I wondered about that. I thought it might be part of her act.”

“I’m sure it was at one time, but it was becoming all too real. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s the main reason things got out of control. Flora at least wasn’t able to make cool judgments anymore. She should have stopped the operation the minute Millie Owens became a threat. In fact, according to Mohammad, that was one of the many scenarios they had worked out in advance. If any of the other tourists noticed or commented on anything whatsoever, the whole thing was supposed to be canceled, and Mohammad himself would swoop in to remove the item and replace it with something similar but very fake. But instead, Flora killed her.”

“Flora did it?” I’m not sure why I was surprised. Maybe because Flora had seemed fluffier and softer than Fiona, with her talon-like hands and stringy shoulders.

“Yep. According to Flora herself, she killed Millie, and Fiona took out the vendor in Abu Simbel. By then, Mohammad had joined the tour so that he could prevent that sort of thing, but you’ll remember he had to help carry Kathy Morrison to the first aid tent. While he was occupied, the two ladies took the opportunity to retrieve the diamonds. But the vendor refused to take the outdated currency they had.”

“Yes, what was that about? I heard them talking about that too, but I didn’t understand.”

“One of their many operations was a little money laundering. On Elephantine Island, they met with your friend, Aladdin, and traded him a load of Egyptian pounds for Sudanese currency, which they were to use to buy the diamonds at Abu Simbel. That transaction went without a hitch, except that Aladdin double-crossed them. A couple of years ago, the Sudan switched from the Sudanese dinar to the Sudanese pound. The dinars are now all but worthless. I suppose it might be possible to exchange them for pounds, but not without going through the Sudanese banks and certainly not without attracting attention. It was a lot of money.”

“So when they got to Abu Simbel, their money was no good?”

“Exactly. And the vendor wasn’t going to give them their diamonds. And again, they had a chance to walk away, to contact Mohammad, but they decided to act on their own. Flora distracted him by bursting into tears and when he leaned forward to comfort her, Fiona stabbed him in the neck. Flora was quite proud of her acting skills and was happily describing it all in gory detail. Fiona was frantically trying to shut her up.”

“I bet she was.” I gave a little shudder. “Horrible.”

“Horrible and crazy. Flora especially.”

“Did they say anything about my necklace?” I asked. I still thought of it that way.
My
necklace, heavy and warm against my throat.

“That was the final straw. All through the tour, you must have noticed over and over how strangers were approaching you and Kyla, making odd references to sisters and Utah?”

“Yes! What was that about?”

“That was the code for all the transactions Mohammad had lined up for Fiona and Flora. The parties involved were to look for and contact two sisters on the tour to pass money or goods. What no one foresaw was another set of sisters on the trip. I know you’re cousins, but you and Kyla looked more like sisters than Fiona and Flora do. Plus, who would suspect two little old ladies of being involved in anything illegal? The contacts, scanning the group for two sisters, fastened on the two of you every time.”

I thought about it. “The guy in the carpet shop—he asked me about Utah and wanted me to go in that back room. He scared me.”

“From his point of view, I’m sure he couldn’t understand why you weren’t cooperating. It must have been very confusing.” He gave a little chuckle.

“I saw Fiona with him as I was leaving. I actually felt sorry for her,” I remembered. “I thought he was going to con her into buying an expensive rug. What did he actually want from them?”

He shrugged. “No one knows. By the time the authorities tried to arrest him, he had vanished. And Fiona and Flora aren’t saying much.”

“So, the guy in the rug shop, the guy on Kitchener’s Island who called himself Aladdin, and the stall keepers in Edfu who gave me the necklace,” I said slowly. “They all thought they were supposed to contact Kyla and me.”

“And one tour group owner,” he said ruefully, meeting my eyes.

“Ah.” My mouth dropped open a little as I processed this. Several things clicked into place. “That’s why you were following me … us … around. That’s what you were talking about at the hotel on Elephantine Island. I could not figure out what you were getting at.”

He nodded. “I was an idiot. As soon as Anni told me about hearing someone talking about sisters, I was sure it was the two of you. But the more I got to know you, the less sense it made. Give me a little credit, I really couldn’t see you as a murderer.”

“No, you just thought Kyla had pressured me into a life of crime.” I stifled something between a laugh and a sigh. “You know, part of the time, I actually thought you sort of liked me. And all the while, you thought I was a murderer. Or at least an accessory.”

He laughed with me. “I did like you. That’s why I was trying to get you to come clean about your life of crime.”

“Turn in my evil cousin, who’d led me astray.”

“Exactly.”

“When did you know you were wrong?”

“Well, remember I was questioning my own judgment right from the start.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But I was positive at the Valley of the Kings. I saw the knife cut on your arm. After I figured out that you’d been handed a necklace you didn’t know anything about, things started to make more sense. I looked around for anyone else who might be involved and finally took a look at Fiona and Flora. They seemed too old and senile at first glance, but they were the only other group members who were at Seti’s tomb at the right time.”

I blinked. “You mean it was Flora and Fiona who attacked me and tried to take my purse?”

“One of them at least.”

“But whoever it was knocked me down. He … or she … was strong!” I protested, indignant that he thought one of those old ladies could overpower me.

“Probably Fiona then. She’s a big woman, and she’s in surprisingly good shape. Very surprising, in fact.” He looked embarrassed.

I stared. “Wait, you mean…”

“Yup. They popped out of nowhere while I was following Mohammad. I thought they were lost and was actually trying to show them the way back to the group. I didn’t want them to blow my cover. Fiona sidled over to me with a map, and while I was pointing out where we were, she knocked me flat. Flora injected me with the morphine while I was trying to get up. I guess I’m just lucky she didn’t knife me. And even luckier that you came along before they talked Mohammad into killing me.” He took a drink of beer. “Totally humiliating.”

I grinned. “You’ll get over it. Besides, in a fair fight, my money would be on you.”

“So, you think I could take her?”

“I’m sure you could. Well, two out of three anyway.”

He gave me a mock glare, and then we both burst into laughter.

“What will happen to them, anyway?”

“The U.S. State Department found a lawyer for them and has filed dozens of protests and appeals, but so far the Egyptians haven’t budged. On the plus side, there’s enough attention and pressure from the United States to ensure that they aren’t mistreated.”

I thought about that. “I guess that’s good. Do you think they’ll send them back here?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? I’m not sure which outraged the authorities more—murder or antiquities theft. I imagine either one normally warrants the death penalty. But in this case, especially in light of their age and nationality, I think they are probably looking at long prison sentences.”

Satisfied, I sat back in my seat. The afternoon sun, still filtering warmly through the new leaves of the live oaks, was gently sinking toward the horizon. A bee hovered lazily around the pink petals of the roses in the garden, and two squirrels chased each other down the bole of a tree across a patch of grass and then up and over the back fence. Belle raised her head and uttered a fierce little growl, but she didn’t bother to get up. I was intensely aware of the man sitting next to me, long legs stretched out comfortably, the light turning his hair a soft chestnut color and his eyes bright green.

“Another beer?” I asked him. “Or some tea?”

“Maybe tea this time. If it’s made.”

“The pitcher’s on the counter. Do you need sugar?”

“Nope. Straight up for me.”

I smiled and went for the glasses. When I returned, he was leaning forward, scratching Belle’s curly little head. He took the glass with a word of thanks, his fingers brushing mine and giving me a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I sat, searching for something to say. “You know, the one thing I never figured out. What was up with the Carpenters and Jane? I’ve never seen anyone so frightened in my whole life. I’m just positive that she was a different girl. Kyla still thinks I’m nuts.”

He smiled. “Well, not about that at least. They left before I was out of the hospital, but Anni knew all the details. She was helping them the whole time.”

“Anni?”

“She’s a very bright person. She’s now in charge of all WorldPal tours in Egypt, by the way. I gave her Mohammad’s old job and a big raise. Amazing woman.”

“That’s perfect. She was wonderful. I’m really glad for her,” I said with satisfaction. “So tell about Jane.”

“Well, the Jane we saw on the trip is actually the daughter of close friends of the Carpenters. Her real name is Barbara, and she and the real Jane Carpenter practically grew up together. About a year ago, this Barbara met and married an Egyptian man from a wealthy and very connected family.”

Alan took a sip of tea and went on. “I guess he seemed nice enough as a student in Australia, but after she went to live with him in Cairo, he changed. He became physically abusive, and when she tried to leave him, he took her passport. She tried to get to the Australian embassy, but he had his men follow her wherever she went. This went on for months, but at last, and I’m not sure how, she managed to get word to her parents. They wanted to come and get her immediately, but Egyptian laws regarding women are tricky, and they were afraid that if they tried to go through the regular channels it would alert the husband and he might take it out on their daughter. He might even have killed her—apparently he threatened to do so often enough.”

“That’s terrible. They must have been so desperate.” I couldn’t even imagine how helpless and terrified they must have felt.

“They were. But their friends, Ben and Lydia, thought up a great plan. Practically foolproof. Can you guess?”

My jaw dropped a little. “They swapped girls?”

“Exactly. They thought that since their daughters were close in age and close enough in appearance, they might be able to get Barbara out using their own daughter’s passport. A really careful customs screener would notice, but they thought that if ‘Jane’ was ill, they might get away with it.”

“According to Anni, it worked perfectly. The hardest part was getting word to Barbara, but they managed, and the Carpenters signed on with WorldPal. You can’t beat a tour if you want to be inconspicuous. The real Jane met up with Barbara in the Khan market, and swapped clothes with her in a dressing room. She gave her the passport and money, and told her how to meet up with her parents. The asshole husband was already insisting that Barbara wear the full head covering, what’s it called? A burka? Anyway, that certainly worked to her advantage this time. The real Jane, fully covered in Barbara’s burka, wandered through the market for several hours, followed by the goons. When enough time had gone by for Barbara to be safely at the Mena House with the Carpenters, Jane ditched the burka and headed for a cab. The husband’s men tried to stop her, but she apparently started screaming and caused a huge scene.” He grinned at the thought. “She wasn’t a cowed little victim, and obviously she wasn’t the woman they were supposed to be guarding. Thank goodness, they weren’t quick enough or maybe smart enough to realize that she had actually been involved. Anyway, a crowd gathered and it was enough for her to get in a cab and vanish into Cairo before they could stop her.”

“Amazing. How clever of them. But how risky!” I breathed.

“It was absolutely brilliant. Barbara joined the tour as Jane. I think the one thing the Carpenters didn’t count on, apart from your having seen the real Jane, was how beaten down and terrified Barbara had become. Ben told Anni he hardly recognized her, she’d changed so much. It was a constant effort to keep her playing her part.”

“But wait, what happened to the real Jane? She didn’t have her passport.”

“They had it all planned out. As soon as the tour ended, and Ben and Lydia were safely on their way home with Barbara, Jane reported that her purse had been snatched and her passport was gone. There was a day or two of hassle, but in the end, the Australian embassy came through with a new one and she flew home.”

We sat together in companionable silence while I mulled it all over. “Well, I guess that’s it then. Everything is all wrapped up.”

“Hmmm. Well, not quite.” He gave me a crooked smile, his eyes uncertain.

I raised my eyebrows.

“We still don’t know whether you’ve forgiven me for suspecting you were involved.”

I laughed. “That sort of goes both ways. Do you forgive me for the same thing?”

“Absolutely. I even forgive you for chucking that rock at my head.”

I gasped, feeling my face go bright red. “You knew that was me?”

“Mohammad ratted you out. Not that it mattered. I told you, the police had so much else to work with, they didn’t really care about what had been done to me. But Mohammad was desperately trying to tell everyone who would listen that he had never hurt anyone.”

“I’m really sorry about that. I was trying to hit Mohammad, but I missed.” I looked down at my hands. “I’ve always been a terrible throw. I don’t know why I thought I could hit him.”

Alan laughed, a real, happy laugh that made me start giggling a little. “It all worked out. You saved me from them, and you didn’t kill me in the process. So what about it? Are we square?”