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‘What sort of help?’
‘I guess the legal sort.’
‘How come? What did she say?’
‘She said something about her daughter …’
‘Her daughter? Can you remember exactly what she said?’
Clarissa heaved a sigh. ‘I really wish I hadn’t drunk so much last night.’
Emily rubbed her forehead. ‘I know what you mean. Perhaps if I hadn’t been so drunk either I would remember what you said to me last night.’
Clarissa stood up and walked over. ‘I think a clue is in this ledger she was looking at last night.’
‘You think she was looking at this ledger?’
‘Yes, you heard what Joss said.’
They both turned to the ledger. ‘Let’s see who was visiting in …’ she turned the ledger on its side to look at the year.
Clarissa sat next to Emily on the bed. They both turned the pages looking for an entry with Alice’s name. ‘Here, look!’
‘Let me see.’
Clarissa passed the ledger over.
Emily put it on her lap. ‘That’s Alice and her husband.’
‘But look here …’ Clarissa leaned over and pointed to an entry further down. A chap had turned up late at night. ‘Look, at the name.’
‘It looks foreign,’ commented Emily.
‘Egyptian – maybe?’
‘Hold on just one sec.’ Emily rushed out of the door. She was back a moment later with her phone. ‘I’ve got an app on my phone, so I have access to our bookings.’
‘Is it the same name, the Egyptian that Alice is so interested in? This is going to sound insane, or maybe not, but what if she was here with her husband, but she ended up having a one-night stand with the Egyptian? She’s got a daughter around your age – right?’
‘Yeah, I mentioned that. So, you’re saying she might have slept with this guy and her husband never knew he was bringing up someone else’s child?’ Emily frowned. ‘But wouldn’t her daughter look, you know, a bit Middle Eastern?’
‘Depends on which side of the family she takes after. Look on your phone, see if it’s the same guy.’
Emily said, ‘We might not be able to tell. I mean, the handwriting in this ledger isn’t very legible, is it? And it’s not like I can check on our database of past guests because my parents didn’t use a computer back then.’
Emily switched on her phone. Clarissa saw her expression. ‘What is it?’
‘Oh, my god. I think you have your news story.’
‘So, it’s him – the same guy?’ Clarissa frowned. She really wasn’t thinking straight that morning. She heaved a sigh, looking at Emily staring at her phone. ‘Emily, I don’t think someone having an affair, and having a child out of wedlock is going to be particularly newsworthy or be my big break.’
‘I agree.’ Emily thrust her phone in Clarissa’s face, ‘But what about this?’
Clarissa stared at the live news feed of a press conference in London. They were waiting for their star guest, by the name of Omar Youssef.‘Is that the same guy, the one staying here at your guest house, the eminent archaeologist who discovered that new tomb in the Valley of the Kings?’
Emily grinned. ‘I think so.’
‘Oh, my god,’ exclaimed Clarissa. ‘He’s like practically famous.’
