Myriad emotions played themselves out across Emile's face. "You have a cell phone," he said.
Hedi took it out of his pocket and threw it on the ground. "Take it," he said.
Emile stared at it for a moment, then back at us. "Look at this," he said, waving his free arm about him. "Nothing. Sand. Scrub. A thin line of green along the coast. Yet, it has betrayed me, time and time again, wiped out years of hard work just like that," he said, snapping his fingers. "I'm taking your car," he said at last. "All of you, stay back."
He walked backward, watching us, until he reached the Land Cruiser, put it in gear, and pulled away. We never took our eyes off the car, hardly even breathed, until it disappeared.
"I knew you'd come," Chastity said, hugging her mother.
"Me, too," I said. "What do we do now? Start digging?"
It took us about an hour to get the stranded Toyota completely uncovered. Hedi got in and turned the key. We all cheered when it started.
"Hedi," I said as he drove, somehow finding traces of a road I couldn't see. "I must have gotten turned around out here in all this sand. I thought the Libyan border would be over there." I pointed at right angles to where Hedi had directed Emile.
"It is," he said in a voice so low I could barely hear him. "The desert has a way of taking care of matters like this."
14
"W E ARE GATHERED here today to honor Carthalon, citizen of Qart Hadasht," the old statesman said. "For his services to our great city. Were it not for his warning, our city might have fallen into the hands of Bomilcar, a man who held our trust, and who abused it for personal gain. He will pay with his life for what he did, death by crucifixion in the public square.
"But that is not why we are here today. Today, the Council of the Hundred and Four dedicates our magnificent new sea gate to our wise young friend, Carthalon. A plaque which is being prepared by our best artisans will be placed here, to remind us daily of what we owe him. Carthalon has asked that the tablet also contain the name of Hasdrubal, a most honorable man, who gave his life in the service of Qart Hadasht."
"Here, here," several people cried.
"We honor your request, Carthalon," the statesman said. "Hasdrubal's name, too, shall be on this plaque, along with the story of what you both accomplished.
"There still remains one question, does there not?" the statesman said to Carthalon after the crowd had dispersed.
"There are many," Carthalon said. "But I assume you are wondering who killed Abdelmelqart and Baalhanno."
"I am. Did they meet their deaths as pawns or participants in this tawdry plot to take over the city?"
"Ah," Carthalon replied. "That we may never know for certain, although I can tell you what I believe to have happened. Hasdrubal taught me that on balance there are really only two motives for the taking of another life: greed and love. I've thought a lot about that, and have tried to understand the meaning behind what I saw take place on that ship. As tempting as it is to attribute all that happened to the work of one man, or at least that both deaths were as a result of the plot against Qart Hadasht, I believe that the victims lost their lives at the hands of different people, and for different reasons. Baalhanno died because of greed, both his own, and that of the others. He was the man who watched everything, and then tried to gain advantage from it. He accosted Gisco and told him all that he had seen, and asked to be a part of it, threatening to expose him if he did not agree. Gisco saw to it that Baalhanno would never reveal the plot, nor share in the wealth. Mago, I would guess, was the one who shoved Baalhanno over the side, at Gisco's behest. Gisco will meet his fate along with Bomilcar."
"And Abdelmelqart?"
"Hasdrubal found evidence that the cedar box containing the statue of the ancient baal had been tampered with; that is, an attempt had been made to pry it open, either by Abdelmelqart himself, who was on watch that night, or by someone else whom Abdelmelqart caught in the act. Both Hasdrubal and I thought this meant his death was linked to the plot. However, now I am not certain of this. It was early in the voyage, the crew was well aware the cargo was a rich one, and they were being exceedingly well paid to undertake the trip. Did it matter if Abdelmelqart saw the statue? Probably not. He was generally respected by the rest of the crew, and while I am uncertain of the intentions of Gisco and the others for the end of the voyage, with bad weather coming, all hands were needed on the ship. I concluded that in that matter, at least, Mago was a thief, but not the killer.
"This way of thinking made me look for another motive: love, or perhaps the death of love. Hasdrubal knew Malchus to be Abdelmelqart's rival for the hand of Bodastart. I believe Malchus was the kind of person in whom this rejection and loss would fester. Hasdrubal told me that Abdelmelqart had objected to Malchus's presence on the journey, that he felt the man had never reconciled himself to what had happened. Malchus, in my estimation, rather than getting on with his life, instead preferred to plot his revenge. He simply saw an opportunity, finally, signed up for the same voyage as his rival, and took advantage of a moment when Abdelmelqart was alone."
"And that is the end of it?"
"Mago and Malchus were both swept overboard. That much I know. Neither has been seen in Qart Hadasht since. Perhaps it is safe to assume that the sea has prevailed in this matter."
I NEVER SAW Emile again. I have no idea whether he got his bearings and made his way into Libya or not. He had bank accounts in several places. All were seized. There wasn't much money in them. Either he was broke, or he had already made plans to get away and is living the good life, somewhere far from home. Sometimes in my dreams I see his bleached bones, stark against the desert landscape. At other times he's in a tropical paradise surrounded by women who dote on him.
Nora languishes in what I am sure is a dreadful prison, awaiting her sentence. Peter Groves, convicted of arson, is luckier. He is serving out his sentence in a U.S. jail.
On a more positive note, Susie and Cliff, I'm told, are conducting their romance via long distance, and Cliff is giving Aziza advice on her money. She and Curtis are still together, which I can only assume means he got help.
More important, perhaps, Aziza has told all about her problems as a young model. She's started a program for young people in that profession to help them avoid what happened to her. The company she thought would throw her out on her fanny so fast we wouldn't see her go by--to use her expression--is a sponsor. I admire her courage greatly.
I got the puppets, eventually, and Clive and I were the hit of the housewarming party in Rosedale.
And while the trip to the desert for the McClintoch Swain tour was inevitably cut short by unforeseen events, they all did see the sun go down over the dunes, something I believe everyone should have the opportunity to do at least once in their lives. Some of them even said they'd sign on for the next MS trip wherever it was going, which just goes to prove something. I have no idea what.
It was a great relief to put my charges onto their various flights back home, and to have a couple of days and the flight over the Atlantic to sort out my thoughts. One of the things I was going to have to decide, unless it had already been decided for me, was what I was going to do about any future relationship with Rob. Briars, stunned by all that had happened, called his wife, Emily, when we got back to Taberda. She told him she'd be on the next plane. She's a very nice woman, and I think they'll be okay. What struck me was that the relationship wasn't perfect, but they were better together than apart.