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“How would we do that? Two people can’t man theElephantine,and we certainly can’t swim back to Cairo. We’re on an island, surrounded by a river filled with crocodiles.”
“But you made it here on your own,” I pointed out.
“Hardly,” she said at the tail end of a scoff. “I joined a party of tourists. We could do the same, but it’ll be weeks until my friend arrives. And I’m here for a reason, Inez. My brother has done me wrong, has doneuswrong.”
“Then we ought to write to the authorities,” I pressed. “It’s the right thing to do.”
She shook her head. “We have to actnow,Inez. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay dead. This is the time to move against Ricardo; he’ll never suspect it.”
“But he does, otherwise he wouldn’t have hired Mr. Fincastle.”
She waved a breezy hand. “He did that to ensure his protection against his competitors.”
Miércoles. There weremorepeople to fear?
Suddenly, I wanted to leave the damned island. To put this whole miserable business behind us. “Why can’t you leave all this? You gave Egypt seventeen years of your life.” I thought about the six lonely months every year without my parents, back in Argentina, hurt that they never took me with them. Missed birthdays and holidays, countless hours I’d never get back. Now my father was gone, and all I wanted was to hold on to Mamá. Terror gripped me. I didn’t want to lose her to Egypt. “Hasn’t it taken enough?”
Mamá let out a shuddering breath. A quiet sob that fractured my heart. “Ican’t. I thought you understood.”
“What? What don’t I understand?”
“Ricardo murdered your father.” She gasped in between each word. “He died in my arms.”
A loud ringing roared in my ears. My breath was trapped in my lungs, a tight pressure that made my head spin. Despair carved itself on my skin, and I rubbed my arms, feeling suddenly cold. “What?”
“Your uncle got rid of him.”
I flinched, and covered my face with both hands. Mamá moved closer and hugged me, holding on tight.
Her voice became fierce against my ear. “I won’t let him get away with it. I want him to know it wasmethat ruined him. The person he underestimated, the sister he believed insignificant and not smart enough to understand his work.”
A prickle of unease settled onto my skin. In my life, I’d never seen her giveso much of herself away, even to me. She was always so poised, so contained. I wiped at my eyes with my sleeve, overwhelmed with grief and heartache. I hated seeing my mother this way, but I understood her anger, her rage.
She pulled far enough away to stare into my face. “Will you help me, Inez?”
There was no question. She was alive, and I would do anything to keep it that way. Whatever happened next, we’d do it together. I prayed it would be enough to keep us both alive. My uncle was a cannon that could obliterate us, Abdullah, the entire digging crew. He had much to gain from this monumental discovery. I nodded and she smoothed down my curly hair, so like my father’s. He didn’t deserve what had happened to him.
“Yes,” I said. “But I think we should warn Abdullah. He needs to know the truth about the man he’s in business with.”
All the blood leached from her face. “Didn’t you hear me?” She reached for my arm and held on tight, her nails digging into my skin. Panic laced her words. “Your uncle is a killer. What will happen to Abdullah if he gets in my brother’s way?”
“I don’t—”
“He’ll kill him,” Mamá whispered. “Inez, I can’t— I can’t—”
“What, Mamita?”
“I can’t lose anyone else. Abdullah is my friend, and I won’t let you put him at risk. Inez, you must swear to me that you will keep him safe andsay nothing.”
“I swear it,” I breathed.
She held on to me for several more beats, as if to assure herself that I truly wouldn’t put Abdullah in harm’s way, that I would keep my word and not turn my uncle’s murderous eye toward him. I held her stare unflinchingly, and she slowly nodded.
Mamá released my arm and I exhaled, fighting the urge to rub the tender skin. “How can I help?”
“I have an idea that might work.” She bit her lip. “It will take courage, Inez.”
I made a face at her. “Have I not told you the story of how I got to Egypt?”
