Missing in Egypt (25 page)

I could hardly speak – although I had suspected that somehow John was involved, I hadn’t wanted to believe it and was hoping and praying that I had been mistaken.
 
“What did John say?” I managed to gasp.
 
“We haven’t interviewed him yet.”
 
“Can I come in to the station?
 
You see, he’s a very good friend of mine.”
 
“In that case” Di replied “they will probably need to take a statement from you too”.

I arrived at the police station, dreading the news I was about to receive.
 
“John Turner is still being interviewed” I was told.
 
“Come in and we’ll take your statement”.
 
I didn’t want to make a statement until I heard John’s story.
 
Not that I was going to pervert the course of justice, but I would feel better telling my story if I knew he had already confessed to whatever he was involved in.
 
“I need to ring my boss and let him know what has transpired” I countered.
 
I rang Jim and he congratulated me on helping to track down the missing antiquities.
 
“I’ll put out a press release straight away” he said, in true political form.

As I returned to the front desk, John was being brought out of another office.
 
He mouthed “I’m sorry” as they led him away and I knew my worst fears had been confirmed.

I learned the story from the Customs officer who had accompanied John to the police station.
 
It seemed that when John had the opportunity to talk to Gahiji immediately after his arrest he had demanded to know the name and contact number of his boss.
 
He told Gahiji in no uncertain terms that unless the containers had already left the country there was no way they would be able to get them out without his help.
 
He only had a few minutes to make a decision and Gahiji opted to give John the information.
 
John then contacted this Mohammed who admitted they had not been able to get the containers away that night.
 
John then told him his only chance of getting the containers out now was with his help.
 
He could tell them when the search was called off and how to slip them through Customs.
 
Once the first container arrived safely in
America
, Rohmald had paid him his first commission.
 
The second one was due once he had cleared the container in
Australia
.
 

Later, after I had made my statement, I was allowed a few minutes with John and he again apologised.
 
“I have been a fool” he told me.
 
“I have never done anything dishonest in my life, but I saw an opportunity to earn some really big money and I went for it. I was able to make contact with Mohammed thanks to Gahiji and I told him that, for a price, I could help him get the containers out.
 
We waited a couple of weeks and then I arranged for the container to
America
to be sent as my personal effects.
 
Not much notice is taken of the goods of an Embassy official relocating. I kept in touch with my contact in Customs and when I knew the Customs operation had been stepped down, I gave them the all clear to ship the one to Australia, offering to clear it through Customs in Australia myself.
 
I thought a Caucasian like myself would draw less suspicion that someone of Egyptian background such as Rohmald.
 
I have given them Mohammed’s phone number so hopefully they will be able to track him down and he too will be put away.
 
Through my greed and stupidity, I have lost my reputation, self-respect and, worse of all, you.”
 
He looked up at me hopefully but I could not meet his gaze.
 
The man I had put my faith in had let me down badly and I knew it was the end of our relationship.
 
John would be going to prison for some time and when he came out he would have no job and no prospects.
 
Most of all, he was not the man I thought I knew and had fallen in love with.
 
I walked out of the police station feeling totally shattered.
 

I was consoled by the fact that Mohammed would be jailed for masterminding the theft and that the Egyptian government would have one container full of antiquities returned to them.
 
They might even be able to track the American one from information from Mohammed, although I doubted he would admit to that one.
 
However, it transpired that this was not to be.
 
When Customs rang Mohammed’s number he had already left the address and the new owner did not know where he had gone.
 
Although he was able to give them Mohammed’s surname he managed to slip through the net, probably with a new name. It was unlikely the authorities would ever catch up with him.

Rohmald himself was questioned extensively but eventually they had to let him go.
 
Even though John testified that he had paid him the money, there was nothing to link him with the theft, apart from his relationship with his brother.
 
He steadfastly claimed that he knew nothing about the antiquities and was only guilty of paying a debt on behalf of his brother.
 
He maintained he knew nothing of the container his brother had addressed to him.

As for me, I silently vowed that men were definitely off the agenda – work would again be my salvation.
 
However, a little nagging voice inside my head suggested that, like the Sphinx, one day I might lift my head high and rise up out of the sand once more.