CHAPTER 19

Brainpower

Cats are like gods in Egypt, but I’ll admit our reputation might be a teensy bit overblown. We can’t cure diseases or protect women in childbirth or vanquish evil spirits, the way the cat goddess Bastet can. Yet we flesh-and-blood cats do have some magic in us, a magic that even the tiniest tabby kitten possesses. When we purr, we can make humans talk.

It’s a magic that works best on our own family. With strangers, we might only get a “Nice kitty.” Not exactly the kind of information you can use to crack a case.

Still, it seemed worth a try.

“Climb aboard,” I told Khepri. “Let’s go find Yaba.”

With a sigh, Khepri hopped on. “I don’t think this is going to work, Ra.”

“Of course it will,” I said. “It’s a brilliant idea.” I headed off in the direction that the Steward had dragged Yaba.

Miu came with me, but she had her doubts, too. “Ra, we don’t even know her.”

“She’s married to Pharaoh,” I said, “so that makes her family.”

“I’m not sure a diplomatic marriage counts.” Miu trailed behind me. “Even Pharaoh hardly knows her. It’s not what I’d call a strong family tie.”

“And she’ll be locked up,” Khepri reminded me. “How are you going to get in to purr to her?”

“I’ll think of something.” Pharaoh’s Cat is nothing if not resourceful. I bounded forward with confidence.

I lost my bounce, however, when we found the Steward in front of a stout wooden door. He was giving orders to Hormin and Qen.

“I don’t care what Yaba says,” the Steward insisted. “Don’t let her out. If you do, you’re fired.”

Hormin bent his head and sniffled. “Yes, my lord Steward. We understand.”

“She’s sneaky,” the Steward warned. “Don’t let her fool you. And don’t let anyone in.”

Qen looked like he was about to complain, but Hormin elbowed him and said, “We won’t, my lord.”

As the Steward hurried away, Qen hissed, “Why’d you let him saddle us with another job, Hormin? We haven’t had a break since yesterday night.”

“You don’t say no to the Steward,” Hormin told him. “Besides, he said he’d send someone to take over from us soon. We won’t be here long.”

“Want to bet?” Qen slumped against the doorframe, his nose redder than ever. “I have to tell you, Hormin, I’m having second thoughts about working here. I know you say it’s worth it, but—”

“Stop being such a big crybaby,” Hormin snapped. “We’re guarding a spoiled princess, okay? It’s not a big deal.”

“That’s another thing,” Qen said. “Yaba isn’t spoiled. She’s nice. She always smiles at us. I don’t like that they’re locking her up.”

“I can’t believe you’re defending her,” Hormin said. “She made fools of us with that sleepwalking act. And here you are, sweet on her, like she’s your girlfriend or something.”

Qen’s whole face was bright red now. “I’m not sweet on her. I just said she smiles a lot. Anyway, it’s not like she’s the only one who was wandering around last night. Remember that noise we heard near Lady Satiah’s room?”

“And you think we’ll keep our jobs if we mention that?” Hormin shook his head. “No, Qen. You go making accusations against Lady Satiah, and she’ll feed us to the crocodiles.”

“Hey, that’s more evidence against Lady Satiah,” I whispered to Khepri.

“Maybe,” was all Khepri said.

As Hormin and Qen continued to bicker, I stared at the door behind them. The wood was so thick you could barely hear Yaba shouting, “Let me out!” Even worse, the door had two hefty bolts locking it shut, far too high for any cat to reach. When I sauntered up for a closer look, Hormin stomped hard, almost squashing my tail.

“Scat!” Qen growled.

“Yeowch!” I retreated toward Miu.

“Keep going,” Khepri whispered in my ear. “They’re still staring at you.”

Miu nudged me along. “We’re never going to get in there, Ra. And even if we did, Yaba might not talk to you. We’ll have to solve this case some other way.”

I hated to admit it, but she was probably right. As we walked away from Hormin and Qen, I thought hard, and soon I had an even better plan.

“Okay,” I said. “Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll follow Lady Satiah’s every step. She’ll have to go to Dedi at some point. And when she does, we’ll catch her in the act.”

It was a great idea, one of my best. But Miu and Khepri couldn’t appreciate just how clever it was.

“But what if she isn’t guilty, Ra?” Miu said. “We’ll have wasted a whole day while the real criminal gets away.”

“And even if she is guilty,” Khepri added, “she might not deal with Dedi herself. She could give the dirty work to someone else, the way she made the Steward lock up Yaba. And we wouldn’t miss it.”

Okay, so maybe my idea wasn’t quite so great as I thought.

Discouraged, I stalked through the nearest arched doorway. It opened onto a neglected garden guarded by a grubby statue of ibis-headed Thoth, god of wisdom. Gazing around, I thought of Pharaoh, walking in his gardens. Pharaoh, who had asked me to guard his children.

“Well, then you come up with an idea,” I told Miu and Khepri. “Because we have to do something. Dedi is missing. He’s in danger. We can’t turn our backs on him.”

Khepri kneaded my fur impatiently. “No one’s asking you to turn your back on anyone, Ra. I’m just saying that we need to stop dashing around without a proper plan.”

“I agree,” Miu said, coming up beside me.

“Brainpower,” Khepri said, still kneading my fur. “That’s what will solve this mystery.”

“You think I’m not using my brain already?” I was upset. “Khepri, I’m using everything I’ve got. Heart, nose, paws, head. I’ve been working so hard I haven’t even had breakfast. But it’s no use. Dedi is lost.”

Was Dedi locked away somewhere like Yaba? Was he scared? In pain? I’d managed to push that thought away for most of the day, but I couldn’t any longer.

“What if we don’t get to him in time?” I shivered. “Pharaoh will never forgive me. I don’t think I could forgive myself. I mean, I know I sometimes call Pharaoh’s kids annoying, but they’re my family. I’ve known Dedi since he was a baby. I’d do anything to keep him safe. I…I…”

Something strange was happening to me. Normally, I find it quite easy to talk about my family. But my throat was suddenly tight.

Miu brushed against me. “Oh, Ra. Of course we know you love Pharaoh’s children. And we’re going to find Dedi. I’m sure of it.”

Khepri peered down over my brow, his beady eyes contrite. “I’m sorry, Ra. I wasn’t trying to criticize you. I just meant we should take a few minutes to look at things logically. Let’s draw up a list of suspects. Lady Satiah is one, and so is Yaba, but I’m sure there are more.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay. I guess we could do that.”

“First, we need to look at opportunity,” Khepri went on. “Who had a chance to attack Dedi?”

I considered this. “Well, there aren’t many watchmen here, so I’d say pretty much everybody in the palace had a chance.”

“Except for the kitchen staff and most of the servants,” Miu said. “They’re locked into their own wing of the palace for the night. I heard them talking about it when I was inspecting the kitchens.”

“And you’re sure they couldn’t get out?” Khepri asked her.

“You bet they can’t,” came a kooky whistle above me. “Oop-oop.”