"I see." I was struck by a sudden thought. “I suppose you also have police contacts back in Damascus?"
“Of course. The chief is most cooperative. It was his information regarding your contact with both Russian and American agents that first aroused my suspicions concerning you.”
"That Egyptian fink must send out a newsletter," I murmured, thinking of Potemchenko.
“I beg pardon?"
"Nothing. It's not important. But if you were alerted then, why didn't you pick me up back in Damascus?"
“I found out too late. You had already gone on to Baghdad. And by the time I found that out, I had already dispatched Ben-Kavir to Baghdad on business. I wired him a warning concerning you, but it arrived too late to save him."
“You don't really believe I had anything to do with having Ben-Kavir killed."
“I’m not sure. From all accounts, the gunman may actually have been trying to murder you and hit Ben-Kavir by mistake. At any rate, I wished to speak with you about it. So I flew to Kabul to meet your train. I was most disappointed when you weren't on it. The only thing my men found in your compartment was a British girl dressed in a sheet. You do leave the oddest things in your wake, Mr. Victor. I have learned that this British girl is also a secret agent. You have been involved with the American, Russian and English secret services. Now wouldn't you say that was an odd series of coincidences for one who claims to be a private citizen engaging in scientific researches?"
“I guess I'm just spy-prone." I remembered something he'd said before. “You told me you had two reasons for coming to Kabul. Do you mind telling me what the other one is?"
He looked at me a long moment and shrugged. “Why not? Without going into the details, I have learned that one whom I looked upon as an old friend has been perverting that friendship, using me to the point where I regard it as a betrayal. This friend was in Kabul."
“Was? You mean he isn't here any more?"
"He fled the city just before my arrival."
I took a deep breath and decided to gamble on a certain amount of frankness. I was, after all, the sheikh's prisoner. Somehow I had to get him on my side if I was going to get on with the search for Anna Kirkov. “This friend of whom you speak," I said carefully, “am I correct in surmising that he is an Egyptian named Mustafa Ben Narouz?"
Sheikh el Atassi’s eyebrows shot up. “You are full of surprises, aren't you, Mr. Victor? What do you know of Mustafa Ben Narouz?"
"1 know that he’s mixed up with a Russian girl named Anna Kirkov. I know he brought her to your palace outside Damascus. I suspect that you have been instrumental in transporting her from there to Baghdad and then to Kabul.”
“Your surmises are very interesting, Mr. Victor. And, in a strange way, they both confirm and disprove my suspicions about you."
"I'm afraid you'll have to explain that."
“I shall. Considering your activities, Mr. Victor, I asked myself these questions: What could a man be up to who both fought and worked with the agents of nations antipathetic towards each other? Why would such a man be so interested in harims and brothels? What could be the purpose of such a man? The more I thought about it, the more I realized there could only be one answer."
"And what's that?"
"Simply that you must be acting for a higher authority than a national one, Mr. Victor. The answer I came up with is that you must be an agent for the United Nations. And a U.N. agent acting in the fashion in which you have been acting in this part of the world could only be after one thing, Mr. Victor."
“What's that?" I was beginning to feel dizzy, like a man going down for the third time in a pea-soup plot.
“You are collecting evidence for the U.N. Anti-Slavery Commission."
Slowly, it dawned on me what he was talking about. The U.N. had established a commission to investigate the white slavery going on in the world. This trade, extensive in the Middle East, frequently consisted of the kidnapping of young girls, the forcing of them into prostitution and the distributing of them to brothels all over the world. The U.N. Anti-Slavery Commission was dedicated to ending involuntary prostitution of this sort. From what I new of Sheikh el Atassi, his interests would make him take a dim view of such a campaign. Looking at it from his point of view, it was easy to see how he'd arrived at the conclusion that I was in the employ of this agency. The question was how to convince him that he was wrong.
“Assuming you're right," I said cautiously, “what possible interest would I have had in having Ben-Kavir killed?”
“There are many things I do not understand, Mr. Victor. I told you that before. I am willing to listen to any explanation you may care to impart."
"All right." I took a deep breath. “First of all, I have nothing to do with the U.N. I couldn't care less about your white slavery involvements. My sole interest is similar to yours. I want to catch up with Mustafa Ben Narouz and through him to find Anna Kirkov."
“Why?”
“I can't tell you that."
“You’re in no position to be reticent, Mr. Victor. One word from me and you will join our friend in the cofffin over there."
“It would be a little crowded.”
The sheikh smiled. "1 should see to it that you had one all to yourself."
“But why kill me?” I argued. "Even if you're right about what I’m doing, what would you gain? The U.N. would only send another investigator. You might not be able to spot this one until it was too late. Wouldn’t it be to your advantage to keep me under surveillance and play along with me until I can prove you're mistaken? After all, if you're not, you can always have me killed."
“There is some logic to what you say, Mr. Victor. But I should still like to know what you want with Mustafa and the Russian girl."
“And I still can't tell you. But maybe you can tell me why you've suddenly got it in for Mustafa Ben Narouz. I thought he was a buddy of yours.”
“I have learned that in the matter of the girl he has been using me as a dupe of the Red Chinese. He told me nothing of their involvement with the Russian woman. He lied and led me to believe that she was just another girl slated for a harem in Pakistan. I put my transportation facilities and my brothels at his disposal. Now I find that I have been actually helping him cooperate with an organization in direct rivalry to mine, an organization run from Peking."
"Is that why you had Dr. Suno Wong killed?" I jerked my thumb at the body of the Chinese scientist.
“I didn't have him killed, Mr. Victor. One of your fellow conspirators took care of that."
"One of my fellow conspirators?"
“Yes. The Russian agent, Potemchenko had him assassinated at the very time he was about to lead my men to the place where Mustafa was hiding Anna Kirkov.”
“That trigger-happy Russian ape!" I said disgustedly.
"Quite. If he too is seeking Anna Kirkov, he could not have done anything more stupid. Less than an hour after his bullet killed Wong, my rivals had spirited Mustafa and the Kirkov girl from the city."
"Do you know where they were taken?"
"I suspect Karachi The Chinese Reds have a strong organization operating there. It works to arouse the Pakistanis against the Indians. Also, it serves as a distribution point for the opium Red China surreptitiously exports to the rest of the world. Plus the fact that they control the prostitution of the city. This used to be the province of my syndicate, but the Red Chinese drove us out. This is another reason for my bitterness towards Mustafa. The friend of my enemies is my enemy." He quoted the old Persian proverb grimly.