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He walked over to one of the low, shuttered windows and sat on the sill.
‘Do carry on.’
Owen hesitated.
‘Not secret, is it? If it is, I will at once remove myself. Though, as you said a moment ago, you are in a sense one of my servants.’
‘The Khedive’s servants, certainly. No, Your Highness, you are, of course, welcome to stay. I was merely going to ask the Chief why he sent for me this morning.’
‘But is not that obvious?’
‘No, far from it. The proper procedure, you see, when a crime is reported, is to notify the Parquet, not the Mamur Zapt.’
‘I see. Well, man, answer him. Why did you send for him?’
‘The Mamur Zapt was nearby,’ muttered the Chief.
‘Well, that seems reasonable. You were nearby. And, by the way, that was very prescient of you.’
‘Hardly. I was conducting a search for arms.’
‘Really? In this vicinity? There does seem to be a lot going on in this neighbourhood. Arms, you say? Well, I suppose that’s important.’
‘Yes. To the Khedive as well as to me.’
‘You think so? Yes, I suppose you’re right. They’re just as likely to be used against us as they are against you. We and the British have a lot in common. We’re both unpopular.’
‘Only with some people, Prince.’
‘Well, yes. These Nationalists! Very trying people. My father keeps wondering whether to bring them in or keep them out. Bring them in and they want to change things. Keep them out and you deny them the chance to share in our unpopularity. Which is hardly wise, don’t you think? I’m all for bringing them in.’
‘You could always go half way. Bring them in so that they share the unpopularity but don’t give them enough power to change anything.’
‘Ah yes. Of course, that is the British solution. And very effective, too. But then, what about these guns? These arms of yours? Don’t you think there’s a danger that if people are disappointed they’re more ready to try extreme solutions? What do you do then?’
‘Conduct arms searches.’
‘I see. Why, Captain Owen, you’ve persuaded me! I am now convinced that your work was very important. Too important to be interrupted. So, fellow, why did you interrupt him?’
The District Chief, who had not altogether followed all this, looked blank.
‘I was wondering whether he’d received a phone call,’ explained Owen. ‘A phone call to suggest that there were other things more important.’
‘Oh, me, you mean? No. I always start at the top. I get round to the bottom later. As, of course, you see.’
‘I was puzzled,’ said Owen. ‘The message from the Chief came first. Before the message from Mr McPhee.’
The Prince looked at him sharply.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘that is interesting.’ He slipped off the sill, walked across to the Chief and stood in front of him. ‘That is interesting. Well,’ he said silkily, ‘did you receive a phone call this morning?’
‘No,’ said the Chief, ‘no phone calls.’
‘Or any other kind of message?’ asked Owen. ‘Did someone come to see you, for instance?’
‘No.’
‘The Mamur Zapt will check,’ warned the Prince. ‘If I were you I’d get it right the first time.’
‘No one came. There were no messages, effendi. I swear it.’
‘So why,’ asked the Prince, ‘did you send for Captain Owen?’
‘I thought—I thought—the Mamur Zapt was near—and—’
‘There may be a simple explanation,’ said Owen. ‘Laziness.’
‘Laziness?’
‘He heard there was someone senior in the neighbourhood and saw it as a golden opportunity to pass on the responsibility.’
‘But isn’t there a difficulty here? You said yourself earlier that you are not his superior, not directly. Yes, and that in any case the normal procedure was for the matter to be reported to the Parquet.’
‘These are facts of which I meant to remind him.’
‘I see. Good.’
The Prince wheeled away.
‘Carry on,’ he said over his shoulder.
‘Another time. Your Highness, I must apologize. I have been delaying you. You yourself had business, I think, with the District Chief?’
‘Well, yes. Certainly.’
‘Don’t let me delay you further. Please carry on.’
He walked over to the window and sat on the sill.
‘Don’t mind me,’ he said encouragingly.
The Prince sat silently for a moment looking at Owen. Then he suddenly smiled.
‘Touché!’ he said. ‘However, I don’t mind you hearing.’ He crooked his finger. The Chief came towards him.
‘The body that was washed up this morning: I am interested in it. If I am interested, other people will be, too. Now. One!’ He held up his forefinger. ‘If anyone comes round inquiring, I want to know who they are. Two!’ He held up the second finger. ‘You are to tell them nothing. They may offer you money. If you take it, I shall hear, and you know what to expect, don’t you? On the other hand, if you report all to me it may be that I shall give you money. Understand? Three!’ He clasped the third finger. ‘It may be that you will come across information which you think would interest me. Information about the body, for instance. Not about the girl, I don’t need that. Just the body. I am prepared to pay for such information and pay well. Now, have you got all that?’
‘Yes, Your Highness.’
‘I’m sure you have. But just to make even surer, I am going to ask you to tell me what the three things are that could make you rich.’
He held up his forefinger and looked questioningly at the District Chief.
‘If people come asking,’ said the Chief hoarsely.
‘You are to say nothing. Good. And the second?’
‘I am to tell you who they are.’
‘Excellent!’ The Prince looked at Owen. ‘The man is well on his way to becoming rich, wouldn’t you say?’
‘There are sometimes dangers in trying to get rich too quickly.’
‘Oh, pooh! Don’t be a spoilsport. The man wants to get rich. Let him have his dream! Now, fellow, what is the third thing you have to do?’
He held up the third finger. The Chief kept his eyes fixed on it.
‘To bring you information, Your Highness. Information about the body.’
‘Good.’ The Prince patted him on the back. ‘Good fellow! You have learned your lesson.’
‘Thank you, Your Highness.’
He seemed uncertain, however.
‘Well?’ said the Prince. ‘What is it?’
‘I—I—there is a thing I don’t quite understand, Your Highness.’
‘Yes? What is it?’
‘The body, Your Highness. You said you wanted information about the body, Your Highness.’
‘Yes?’
The District Chief hesitated, then took the plunge.
‘What sort of information, Your Highness? I will go and see the body if you wish and describe it to you. In detail, naturally. But—’
He looked uncomfortably to Owen for support.
‘No, no, no!’ said the Prince hastily. ‘Not that sort of thing!’
‘Then—?’
‘The body has disappeared,’ said Owen.
‘Disappeared?’
‘Gone. From the sandbank where it was apparently found.’
‘Gone?’ said the District Chief, as if he could not believe his ears. ‘Gone?’
‘That’s right. When I got there it had gone.’
‘Abu?’ said the Chief faintly. ‘Ibrahim?’
‘We got there together. It had already gone. Ibrahim rather doubted it had been there in the first place.’
The Chief unexpectedly went ashen. He bowed his head between his hands.
‘God!’ he said. ‘God!’
‘I want to find it,’ said the Prince. ‘Quickly, and before anyone else does. Got it?’
CHAPTER 2 (#ulink_2632256c-94a3-55c5-bee3-78c3af9b00d9)
Unusually, there was a meeting on the British side about how to handle it. Garvin was there, Commandant of the Cairo Police and Owen’s nominal superior; McPhee, Deputy Commandant, earnest, concerned and straightforward—too straightforward by half to be a Cairo policeman and far too straightforward for something like this; Paul, an aide-de-camp of the Consul-General’s; and Owen.
The Consul-General usually steered clear of too direct an involvement in Egyptian policing. Garvin reported formally to the Khedive—and the Consul-General was punctilious about the forms. He was particularly careful of any involvement with the Mamur Zapt, which was why Owen not only reported formally to the Khedive but was nominally subordinate to Garvin.
It was, therefore, unusual to have a meeting of this sort. But then, as Paul, chairing the meeting on behalf of the Consul-General, made clear, the circumstances were unusual.
‘It’s not every day that an heir to the throne gets involved in something like this.’
‘Is he an heir to the throne?’
‘One of many. The Khedive has a number of sons and all of them see themselves as potential heirs.’
‘Where does this one fit in?’
‘He is the son of the Khedive’s third wife, so not high up in the stakes. On the other hand, his mother is still a favourite of the Khedive’s, which is often significant. He is able and energetic, which makes him stand out among the Khedive’s progeny. And front runners in a thing of this sort are unfortunately prone to accidents.’
‘He seemed a bit of a playboy to me,’ said McPhee.
‘That car, of course. But look at it another way: as an indication of Narouz’s interest in things modern and things Western.’
‘I see.’
‘Yes. I thought you would. The Consul-General, and Al-Lurd before him, see him as a man England could do business with.’
Al-Lurd was Lord Cromer, the man who had run Egypt for over twenty years before the present incumbent. If two such people, the one popular with Conservatives, the other a nominee of the new Liberal Government in London, took that view, the Prince had a lot going for him.
‘It would be unfortunate,’ said Paul, ‘if he were to be derailed at this point.’
There was a little silence.
‘Is that a directive?’ asked Owen.
