"Tell Mr. Rockford to step in here." "Yes, Mr. Pennington." A few minutes later, Sterndale Rockford, Pennington's partner, entered the office. The two men were not unlike-both tall, spare with grey hair and clean-shaven clever faces.
"What's up, Pennington?" Pennington looked up from the letter he was rereading.
He said: "Linnet's married " "What?" "You heard what I said! Linnet Ridgeway's married!"
"How? When? Why didn't we hear about it?"
Pennington glanced at the calendar on his desk.
"She wasn't married when she wrote this letter, but she's married now.
Morning of the 4th. That's today." Rockford dropped into a chair.
"Whew! No warning? Nothing? Who's the man?"
Pennington referred again to the letter.
"Doyle. Simon Doyle." "What sort of a fellow is he? Ever heard of him?" "No. She doesn't say much… "He scanned the lines of clear upright handwriting. "Got an idea there's something hole and corner about the business That doesn't matter. The whole point is, she's married." The eyes of the two men met. Rockford nodded.
"This needs a bit of thinking out," he said quietly.
"What are we going to do about it?" "I'm asking you." The two men sat silent.
Then Rockford said: "Got any plan?" Pennington said slowly: "The Normandie sails to-day. One of us could just make it." "You're crazy! What's the big idea?" Pennington said: "Those British lawyers-" and stopped.
"What about 'em? Surely you're not going over to tackle 'em? You're mad!" "I'm not suggesting you-or I-should go to England." "What's the big idea, then?" Pennington smoothed out the letter on the table.
"Linnet's going to Egypt for her honeymoon. Expects to be there a month or more…
"Egypt-eh?"
Rockford considered. Then he looked up and met the other's glance.
"Egypt," he Said, "that's your idea!"
"Yes-a chance meeting. Over on a trip. Linnet and her husband- honeymoon atmosphere. It might be done."
Roelfford said doubtfully:
"She's sharp, Linnet is… but-"
Pennington said softly:
"I think there might be ways of-managing it." Again their eyes met.
Rockford nodded.
"All right, big boy." Pennington looked at the clock.
"We'll have to hustle-whichever of us is going."
"You go," said Rockford promptly. "You always made a hit with Linnet. Uncle Andrew. That's the ticket!"
Pennington's face had hardened.
He said:
"I hope I can pull it off.'
His partner said:
"You've got to pull it off. The situation's critical… " xi William Carmichael said to the thin weedy youth who opened the door inquiringly:
"Send Mr. Jim to me, please."
Jim Fanthorp entered the room and looked inquiringly at his uncle. The older man looked up with a nod and a grunt.
"Humph, there you are." "You asked for me?"
"Just cast an eye over this."
The young man sat down and drew the sheaf of papers towards him. The elder man watched him.
"Well?"
The answer came promptly.
"Looks fishy to me, sir."
Again the senior partner of Carmichael, Grant amp; Carmichael uttered his characteristic grunt.
Jim Fanthorp re-read the letter which had just arrived by Air Mail from Egypt.
"… It seems wicked to be writing business letters on such a day. We have spent a week at Mena House and made an expedition to the Fayum. The day after tomorrow we are going up the Nile to Luxor and Assuan by stearaer, and perhaps on to Khartoum. When we went into Cook's this morning to see about our tickets who do you think was the first person I saw-my American trustee Andrew Pennington. I think you met him two years ago when he was over. I had no idea he was in Egypt and he had no idea that I was! Nor that I was married! My letter, telling him of my marriage, must have just missed him. He is actually going up the Nile on the same trip that we are. Isn't it a coincidence? Thank you so much for all you have done in this busy time. I…"
As the young man was about to turn the page, Mr. Carmichael took the letter from him.
"That's all," he said. "The rest doesn't matter. Well, what do you think?" His nephew considered for a moment-then he said: "Well-I think-not a coincidence…" The other nodded approval.
"Like a trip to Egypt?" he barked out.
"You think that's advisable?" "I think there's no time to lose." "But why me?" "Use your brains, boy, use your brains. Linnet Ridgeway has never met you, no more has Pennington. If you go by air you may get there in time." "I-I don't like it, sir. What am I to do?" "Use your eyes. Use your ears. Use your brains-if you've got any. And, if necessary-act." "I-I don't like it." "Perhaps not-but you've got to do it.' "It'snecessary?" "In my opinion," said Mr. Carmichael, "it's absolutely vital." xii
Mrs. Otterbourne, readjusting the turban of native material that she wore draped round her head, said fretfully: "I really don't see why we shouldn't go on to Egypt. I'm sick and tired of Jerusalemi" As her daughter made no reply, she said: "You might at least answer when you're spoken to." Rosalie Otterbourne was looking at a newspaper reproduction of a face. Below it was written:
"Mrs. Simon Doyle, who before her marriage was the well-known society beauty, Miss Linnet Ridgeway. Mr. and Mrs. Doyle are spending their honeymoon in Egypt."
Rosalie said: "You'd like to move on to Egypt, Mother?" "Yes, I would," Mrs. Otterbourne snapped. "I consider they've treated us in a most cavalier fashion here. My being here is an advertisement-I ought to get a special reduction in terms. When I hinted as much I consider they were most impertinent-most impertinent. I told them exactly what I thought of them." The girl sighed. She said: "One place is very like another. I wish we could get right away."
"And this morning," went on Mrs. Otterbourne, "the manager actually had the impertinence to tell me that all the rooms had been booked in advance and that he would require ours in two days' time."
"So we've got to go somewhere."
"Not at all. I'm quite prepared to fight for my rights."
Rosalie murmured: "I suppose we might as well go on to Egypt. It doesn't make any difference."
"It's certainly not a matter of life or death," said Mrs. Otterbourne.
But there she was quite wrong-for a matter of life and death was exactly what it was.
Part Two
Chapter 1
''That's Hercule Poirot, the detective," said Mrs. Allerton.
She and her son were sitting in brightly painted scarlet basket chairs outside the Cataract Hotel at Assuan.
They were watching the retreating figures of two people a short man dressed in a white silk suit and a tall slim girl.
Tim Allerton sat up in an unusually alert fashion.
"That funny little man?" he asked incredulously.
"That funny little man!"
Tim said: "What on earth's he doing out here?"
His mother laughed.
"Darling, you sound quite excited. Why do men enjoy crime so much? I hate detective stories and never read them. But I don't think M. Poirot is here with any ulterior motive. He's made a good deal of money and he's seeing life, I fancy." "Seems to have an eye for the best-looking girl in the place.'
Mrs. Allerton tilted her head a little on one side as she considered the retreating backs of M. Poirot and his companion.
The girl by his side overtopped him by some three inches. She walked well, neither stiffly nor slouchingly.
"I suppose she is quite good-looking?" said Mrs. Allerton.
She shot a little glance sideways at Tim. Somewhat to her amusement the fish rose at once.
"She's more than quite. Pity she looks so bad-tempered and sulky."
"Perhaps that's just expression, dear."
"Unpleasant young devil, I think. But she's pretty enough."
The subject of these remarks was walking slowly by Poirot's side. Rosalie Otterbourne was twirling an unopened parasol, and her expression certainly bore out what Tim had just said. She looked both sulky and bad-tempered. Her eyebrows were drawn together in a frown and the scarlet line of her mouth was drawn downwards.