With a violent tug Lahib Zayed felt himself pulled to his feet. Evangelos had an iron grip on the front part of his galabia. “Where is she?” he growled into the Arab’s frightened face.
Stephanos Markoulis, dressed casually in an open-necked shirt, put down the small bronze figure he’d been examining and turned to the two men. “Lahib, I cannot understand why, after letting me know Erica Baron came into your shop asking for the Seti statue, you hesitate to tell me where she is.”
Lahib was terrified, uncertain who scared him the most, Muhammad or Stephanos. But feeling Evangelos’ fingers tighten on his galabia, he decided it was Stephanos. “All right, I’ll tell you.”
“Let him go, Evangelos.”
The Greek released his grip abruptly so that Lahib staggered backward before regaining his balance.
“Well?” asked Stephanos.
“I don’t know where she is at the moment, but I know where she is staying. She has a room at the Winter Palace Hotel. But, Mr. Markoulis, the woman will be taken care of. We have made arrangements.”
“I would like to take care of her myself,” said Stephanos. “To be sure. But don’t worry, we’ll be back to say good-bye. Thanks for all your help.”
Stephanos motioned to Evangelos, and the two men walked out of the shop. Lahib did not move until they had gone from view. Then he ran to the door and watched them until they had disappeared.
“There is going to be big trouble here in Luxor,” said Lahib to his son when the two Greeks were out of sight. “I want you to take your mother and sister to Aswan this afternoon. As soon as the American woman appears and I give her the message, I’ll join you. I want you to go now.”
Stephanos Markoulis had Evangelos wait in the outer lobby of the Winter Palace Hotel while he approached the registration desk. The clerk was a handsome Nubian with ebony skin.
“Is there an Erica Baron staying here?” Stephanos asked.
The clerk turned to the daily ledger, running his finger down the names. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. I’d like to leave a message. Do you have a pen and paper?”
“Of course, sir.” The clerk graciously gave Stephanos a piece of stationery, an envelope, and a pen.
Stephanos pretended to write a message. Instead he just scribbled on the paper and sealed it in the envelope. He gave it to the clerk, who turned and put it into box 218. Stephanos thanked him and went to get Evangelos. Together they walked upstairs.
There was no answer when they knocked on the door to 218, so Stephanos had Evangelos work on the lock while he stood guard. The Victorian hardware was easy to manipulate, and they were inside the room almost as fast as if they’d had the correct key. Stephanos closed the door behind him and eyed the room. “Let’s search it,” he said. “Then we’ll wait here until she comes back.”
“Am I going to kill her immediately?” asked Evangelos.
Stephanos smiled. “No, we’ll talk to her for a little while. Only, I get to talk with her first.”
Evangelos laughed and pulled open the top drawer of the bureau. There in neat stacks were Erica’s nylon panties.
“Are you certain?” asked Yvon in disbelief. Raoul looked up from his magazine.
“Almost positive,” said Erica, enjoying Yvon’s surprise. After receiving the message in the Great Pyramid, Erica had decided to see Yvon. She knew he’d be pleased about the statue, and she was quite sure he’d be willing to take her to Luxor.
“It is almost unbelievable,” said Yvon, his blue eyes shining. “How do you know they plan to show you the Seti statue?”
“Because that’s what I asked to see.”
“You are incredible,” said Yvon. “I have been doing everything possible to find that statue, and you locate it just like that.” He waved his hand in an easy gesture.
“Well, I haven’t seen the statue yet,” said Erica. “I must get to the Curio Shop this afternoon, and I must go alone.”
“We can leave within the hour.” Yvon reached for the phone. He was surprised the statue was back in Luxor; in fact, it made him a little suspicious.
Erica stood up and stretched. “I’ve just spent the night on the train, and I’d love to shower, if you don’t mind.”
Yvon gestured toward the adjoining room. Erica took her tote bag and went into the bathroom while Yvon was talking with his pilot.
Yvon completed the plans for transportation, then checked the sound of the shower before turning to Raoul. “This possibly could be the opportunity we’ve been hoping for. But we need to be extremely careful. Now is when we must rely on Khalifa. Get in touch with him and let him know we’ll be arriving around six-thirty. Tell him that Erica will be meeting tonight with the people we want. Tell him that there will undoubtedly be trouble and that he should be prepared. And tell him that if the girl is killed, he’s finished.”
The small jet rolled slightly to the right, then banked gracefully, passing over the Nile valley in a wide curve about five miles north of Luxor. It passed through one thousand feet, then straightened on a heading due north. At the correct moment, Yvon cut the air speed, pulled up the nose, and landed smoothly over a cushion of air. The reverse thrust of the engines shook the plane and brought it down to taxi speed in a very short distance. Yvon left the controls to come back to talk with Erica while the pilot taxied toward the terminal.
“Now, let’s go over this once more,” he said, turning one of the lounge seats around to face Erica. His voice was serious, making her uncomfortably anxious. In Cairo the idea of being taken to see the Seti statue had been exciting, but here in Luxor she felt the rumblings of fear.
“As soon as we arrive,” Yvon continued, “I want you to take a separate taxi and go directly to the Curio Antique Shop. Raoul and I will wait at the New Winter Palace Hotel, suite 200. I’m positive, though, that the statue will not be at the shop.”
Erica looked up sharply. “What do you mean it won’t be there?”
“It would be too dangerous. No, the statue will be somewhere else. They will take you to it. It’s the way it’s done. But it will be all right.”
“The statue had been at Antica Abdul,” protested Erica.
“That was a fluke,” said Yvon. “The statue was in transit. This time I’m sure that they will take you somewhere else to see the statue. Try to remember exactly where, so you’ll be able to return. Then, when you are shown the statue, I want you to bargain with them. If you don’t, they will be suspicious. But remember, I’m willing to pay what they ask, provided they can guarantee delivery outside Egypt.”
“Like via the Zurich Credit Bank?” said Erica.
“How did you know that?” asked Yvon.
“Same way I knew to go to the Curio Antique Shop,” said Erica.
“And how is that?” asked Yvon.
“I’m not going to tell you,” said Erica. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Erica, this is not a game.”
“I know it’s not a game,” she said heatedly. Yvon had been making her more and more anxious. “That’s exactly why I’m not going to tell you, not yet.”
Yvon studied her, perplexed. “All right,” he said at length, “but I want you to come back to my hotel as soon as possible. We can’t allow the statue to go underground again. Tell them that the money can be on account within twenty-four hours.”
Erica nodded and looked out the window. Even though it was after six, shimmering heat still radiated from the tarmac. The plane came to a stop, and the engines died. She took a deep breath and unhooked her seat belt.
From an observation post near the commercial terminal, Khalifa watched the door to the small jet swing open. As soon as he saw Erica, he turned and walked quickly to a waiting car, checking his automatic before climbing into the driver’s seat. Certain that tonight he was going to earn his two-hundred-dollar-a-day salary, he put the car in gear and drove toward Luxor.