Sergeant Mackenzie had the same effect on the guards at the Egyptian Museum as his cousin Abdul Rahman. He, Clara and Bella were ushered past the queues of tourists and inside. Bella looked around her in awe. ‘Bleedin’ heck, Miss Vale, it makes the Hancock look like a school project!’
‘It does,’ said Clara. ‘It’s quite magnificent. When we’ve solved this case hopefully there’ll be time for a proper tour.’
They were led through the atrium and up the stairs to the second floor. But instead of going to the galleries that housed the treasures of Tutankhamun and Ahhotep they were taken to a private wing that housed offices, workrooms and the laboratory. The guard asked them to wait outside the laboratory while he disappeared into one of the offices. A few minutes later he returned with a distinguished-looking European gentleman in tow. He had a full head of white hair and an equally impressive beard.
‘Monsieur Lacau.’ Mackenzie gave a curt nod. He turned to Clara and Bella. ‘This is Monsieur Professor Pierre Lacau, Director of the Egyptian Museum. Monsieur Lacau, this is Miss Clara Vale and Miss Bella Cuddy from England. They are here on behalf of Dr Daphne Coleman of the Hancock Museum.’
‘The Hancock?’ asked Lacau, frankly appraising his visitors. ‘Yes, I was expecting someone. But the telegram said it was a gentleman. A Mr Jack Danskin.’
Clara’s mind whirred. She had suggested to Mackenzie, to give them some credibility, that they be introduced as representatives of Daphne Coleman at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle. It was, of course, now only tangentially true, as Daphne had become persona non grata with the board. But Clara hoped that latest development, about an internal dispute at a small, provincial English museum, had not reached the august corridors of this world-leading institution. She had not anticipated that the Hancock would announce Danskin’s visit. She wondered if they had also mentioned Daphne’s disgrace. She would have to tread carefully.
She adopted a pleasant, professional demeanour and addressed the professor. ‘Unfortunately Mr Danskin is indisposed. He fell ill on the journey here. He is currently convalescing at the hotel. So Miss Cuddy and I are here instead. Did the telegram mention us, too?’
Lacau’s eyes narrowed. ‘It did not, mademoiselle. But … your name, Miss Vale, is not unknown to me.’
Clara’s heart fluttered. Oh no, had they been blacklisted?
But then Lacau’s expression softened. ‘Please accept my condolences on the passing of your uncle, Miss Vale. My good friend Dr Rahman informed me of it. As well as your very generous donation to Egyptology that you made on his behalf. He also told me you were the one who returned the missing jewels of Ahhotep. I was hoping to thank you personally, but was waiting for Rahman to return from his trip so he could make introductions. But here you are.’ He gave a gallant, Gallic bow. ‘I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Vale. And,’ he turned to Bella, and repeated the gesture, ‘Miss Cuddy too.’ He returned his attention to Clara. ‘How may I help you, Miss Vale?’
‘If it isn’t too much bother I would like to see the jewels. To confirm that they are safely in your custody. Then I can report back to the Hancock that my mission is complete.’
Lacau cocked his head to the side. ‘Surely passing them onto my colleague, Dr Rahman, was “mission complete’.’’
Clara chose her next words carefully. ‘It was, of course, but I have yet to see them in the museum.’ She hoped that Lacau would not infer from this that she was suggesting Rahman was being dishonest.
But, to her relief, the director’s mind did not wander down that path. ‘I understand. However, I think it best if you waited in my office and I will bring them to you. We have some very delicate investigations under way in the laboratory and need to limit external contaminants.’ He smiled at Clara. ‘I have heard you come from a scientific background, Miss Vale, so I know you will understand.’
Clara nodded. ‘Of course.’
Lacau gave the guard some instructions in French to take the sergeant and the ladies to his office. Fifteen minutes later the director, carrying a laboratory tray, joined them. He placed the tray on the desk and pulled back a linen cover to reveal the jewels of Ahhotep – all present and accounted for. Clara, Bella and Mackenzie let out a collective sigh.
Mackenzie, Clara and Bella were sitting in a secluded bower in the museum gardens. Mackenzie chose the spot as it was out of earshot of the museum staff and off the beaten track for the tourists queuing to view the ancient treasures. Despite that, he still did a reconnaissance of the area to ensure they were truly alone. When he was satisfied that they were, he encouraged them to take a seat on the curved bench inside the bower.
‘Well,’ he said, eventually, ‘now that we know we can trust one another – and my cousin’s name is cleared – I think it’s time we share what we know.’
‘Will this be at gunpoint, Sergeant?’ asked Bella, still smarting from their encounter at the university.
Mackenzie smiled. ‘If Miss Vale does not pull her gun, then I shan’t pull mine.’
Clara gave a wry smile in reply. ‘I don’t think there’ll be any gun pulling. But I think what Miss Cuddy is asking is – is this interview under compulsion? Is it official police business or is it something else? And, most importantly, are we free to leave un-accosted?’
Mackenzie nodded. ‘All fair questions. Look, Miss Vale, Miss Cuddy, I’ll lay my cards on the table here. I am acting in my private capacity. I have been working with my cousin since the body in the Nile investigation. I know Abdul has confided some of this to you, and I trust he had good reason to do so. So I will follow his lead.’
‘Thank you,’ said Clara. ‘I appreciate that. So can you tell me what you and your cousin have been working on? I know some of it already.’ She went on to tell him what Rahman had told her about the Guardians of Kemet and the more militant Warriors of Amun-Ra. She revealed that he had shown her the photograph of the graffiti on the wall of Tutankhamun’s tomb of the cobra eating the falcon and how since 1923 there had been an apparent resurgence of the Warriors of Amun-Ra – or at least people inspired by them or pretending to be them.
Mackenzie nodded in agreement. ‘Yes, that is what we have been investigating. And what I was investigating when the porter – Yusuf Sayeed’s – body was found. Abdul and I have not made much progress with the case – but then you, Miss Vale, arrived with the jewels of Ahhotep and soon after that Scotland Yard informed me that another body has been found with the same cobra head incision.’
‘Maryam’s mummified body,’ said Clara.
‘No,’ said Mackenzie, shaking his head sadly. ‘Not just Maryam Hassan’s body.’ He looked over his shoulder, checking again that they were still alone, then he lowered his voice. ‘I’m afraid there is now a third victim. I heard this morning. A body has been found in a storage facility at Edinburgh railway station.’
Clara’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Dear God, no!’
‘I’m afraid so. Two bodies, actually. One an ancient mummy believed to be the one missing from the British Museum and the other, a very recent victim.’
‘Is it James Farnsworth?’ asked Bella, her normally bold voice eerily soft in the secrecy of the bower.
‘Yes, Miss Cuddy, it is. He was found inside a coffin, on top of the mummy. He had been strangled – the same way Maryam was – and a cobra was incised on his abdomen.’
Clara let out a long sigh, then said, ‘So the Warriors of Amun-Ra are on the path of mass murder.’
‘Yes, I think they are. And I need your help to find out who they are before they kill again. Because,’ he said, worry etched across his face, ‘I fear my cousin might be their next victim.’
‘Dr Rahman?’ asked Clara. ‘Why do you believe that?’
‘Because, Miss Vale, my cousin is one of the last active members of the Guardians of Kemet. As were Yusuf Sayeed, Mohammed Hassan and … James Farnsworth.’
Clara gasped. ‘Farnsworth was a Guardian of Kemet?’
Mackenzie nodded. ‘An honorary member. As he is not Egyptian. And so is someone else you know …’
Clara’s and Bella’s eyes met in sudden understanding as all the pieces started to fall into place. ‘It’s Daphne Coleman, isn’t it?’ whispered Clara.
‘Yes, Miss Vale, it is.’
Clara, Bella and Mackenzie allowed the shock of the recent revelations to settle between them. Clara’s mind was in turmoil, but she did her best to focus again. Eventually, she said: ‘Thank you for sharing that with us, Sergeant Mackenzie. I will need to speak to Daphne again. To warn her she might be in danger.’
Mackenzie raised a finger. ‘No need, Miss Vale. I have taken the liberty of requesting that Scotland Yard arrange for her to be put under police protection in Newcastle.’
Bella snorted. ‘You mean arrest.’
Mackenzie’s eyes narrowed. ‘No, Miss Cuddy, I mean she is being protected. Just as I hope to protect my cousin.’
Clara interjected before tension could rise again between her assistant and the policeman. ‘I understand that. Thank you. But I think the best way of protecting them is to find the killer, wouldn’t you agree?’
Mackenzie nodded. ‘Yes, I agree. But it looks like the killer is currently in Great Britain.’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Clara and went on to tell him about Reg Yorke and how he had been seen in Saqqara only last week.
‘That doesn’t make sense now, miss,’ Bella interrupted. ‘Unless Yorke travelled up to Scotland after appearing in Newcastle, killed Farnsworth, came back down to Newcastle and searched your house, then travelled down to London and on to catch the train to Istanbul in time to beat you here by four days. I think it more likely that there is more than one killer.’
Mackenzie raised a surprised eyebrow. Clara smiled. ‘Yes, Bella, you’re right. It does seem more plausible. We’ll have to give it some more thought. Also, when, exactly, Farnsworth was killed. On the train or when he arrived in Edinburgh. Scotland Yard didn’t say he was found dead on the train, did they?’
‘No, they didn’t,’ said Mackenzie. ‘They said it was in a storage facility at the station. So either he was alive and got himself to the storage facility where he was killed, or he was dead on the train and someone transported his corpse from there. Either way, it suggests someone involved in all this was in Edinburgh. Either to do the killing or clean up after someone else.’
Clara nodded. ‘That’s all very true. But Yorke is in Egypt. He’s been seen at Mohammed Hassan’s house. You said, Sergeant, that Hassan was, or is – we have no indication yet that he, too, is dead, only that he’s missing – a Guardian of Kemet. Do you know this for certain?’
‘I do,’ said Mackenzie. ‘Abdul told me. Hassan’s father and grandfather before him were also guardians. His grandfather was one of the founding members, along with Abdul’s father, who was my great-uncle. So it runs through the family.’
‘Might Maryam have been a guardian? And that’s why she was killed?’ asked Bella.
Mackenzie shrugged. ‘I don’t know. She was very young. It is possible she was being trained to become one. Or it might be that she was simply killed because she found out something about the Warriors of Amun-Ra. Of their illegal activities.’
‘Killed by whom?’ asked Clara.
‘And why did they do it so horribly?’ asked Bella. ‘Why turn her into a mummy?’
‘And who would have the knowledge to do that?’ added Clara.
Mackenzie nodded. ‘Again, all good questions. I’ll add to them, how did those missing jewels of Ahhotep end up with her body? And who sent them to England? To be opened at the unveiling of your uncle’s memorial collection?’
‘It’s all quite melodramatic, isn’t it?’ observed Clara.
‘Aye, miss,’ said Bella, ‘you can say that again. So we think this poor lass found something out about the warriors or the missing jewels. Or maybe she was just killed to punish – or put pressure – on her father.’
‘And where is her father?’ asked Clara.
Clara, Bella and Mackenzie all shook their heads and contemplated the questions in silence. Eventually Mackenzie said: ‘There is something else I need to tell you both.’
‘What is it?’ asked Clara.
He sighed. ‘Well, I’m not sure how this ties into Maryam’s death, but Abdul had come to believe that Mohammed Hassan might be a double agent. That he had been approached by the Warriors of Amun-Ra to work for them. Hassan had become increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of change. Even though he worked for the Europeans on digs, he said he would far rather work for Egyptian archaeologists.’
‘And he was seen with Yorke, too, wasn’t he?’ asked Bella. ‘The same fella who we think is working for these murdering warriors.’
Clara nodded. ‘That’s right. So, where do we go from here? Dr Rahman asked me to keep my eye on the European archaeologists. Do you think he believes one or more of them to be involved with these Warriors of Amun-Ra?’
Mackenzie nodded. ‘He did. That group you are with, Miss Vale, have all at one time or another been considered suspects. Some of them still are.’
‘Oh?’ asked Clara, perking up. ‘He believed they were actual Warriors of Amun-Ra?’
Mackenzie shrugged. ‘I’m not entirely sure. The original Guardians of Kemet had honorary non-Egyptian members, so it is not impossible that the new warriors do too. But I think it more likely that they were acting as conduits to the international black market.’
Clara puzzled this over. ‘You said all of them had been considered suspects and that some of them still are. Can you tell me who? That will help me narrow down my investigation. Let’s start with Professor Petit.’
Mackenzie shook his head. ‘No, Petit has been cleared.’
Pity, thought Clara, she would have liked that odious individual to get his comeuppance. ‘Then who hasn’t?’
‘The German – Stein – and the American, Davies. The porter, who was working for the Guardians of Kemet, had told Abdul that they were acting suspiciously. But he died before evidence could be provided.’
Clara frowned. ‘So, we only have the word of a dead porter?’
Mackenzie shrugged. ‘That’s all I know, I’m sorry. But remember, he wasn’t just a porter. He had worked with those archaeologists for many years. I was taken off the case so couldn’t pursue it any further. Until now. So, Miss Vale – and Miss Cuddy – with your help, perhaps we can make some progress.’
Clara and Bella looked at one another and nodded in unison. ‘We’ll do whatever we can to help,’ said Clara.
‘Good,’ said Mackenzie. Then looked at his pocket watch. ‘I must get back to the station. I can’t justify my absence from duty for much longer. As soon as I am able, I will make some inquiries to see if I can track down Abdul. Please, ladies, stay at your hotel until I contact you again. By all means find out what you can about the archaeologists, but do not try to go further afield on your own. It could be dangerous.’ He looked at them both earnestly with deep, dark eyes. And then he called out loudly in Arabic.
Fuad slipped quietly into the bower and bowed sheepishly to Clara and Bella.
‘King Fuad! He’s your man?’ asked Clara.
‘Of course,’ said Mackenzie and gave a playful wink.