She covered her face with her hands and began to sob. The gasps and ragged inhalations were disturbing, but I felt only a twinge of remorse for speaking to her as I had done. I refrained from tapping my foot as I waited for her outburst to subside. Daoud’s eyebrows were lowered and his mouth curled downward in sympathy. It might have been amusing, I thought, if he smothered her in a hug of sympathy. There have been incidents when his intentions have been overly zealous.

I took a handkerchief from one of my pockets and dropped it in Liezel’s lap. “Wipe your eyes,” I said gently. “I will ask the woman who lives nearby to bring you food and water. Tomorrow you need to accompany the workmen to the site so that I can enlighten you about Eric’s demise and tell you how to deal with the police in Minya. You will have to contact the German embassy to arrange to have Herr von Raubritter’s remains shipped back to Germany.”

The volume of her distress rose to an uncomfortable level of decibels. I hooked Daoud’s arm and propelled him out of the tent. It was possible that I had underestimated a German’s capability to express grief. I suppose I should have lingered to comfort her, but I needed to return to the Amelia in order to freshen up before the dinner guests arrived. I could almost hear Emerson snorting with derision.

Fifteen

When I arrived at the dahabeeyah, I encountered Emerson in our quarters. He had washed away the day’s accumulation of dust and perspiration, shaved, and changed into clean trousers and a white shirt. He was enthusiastic about assisting me with a sponge bath, and I feared we would be late to receive our guests. Shortly thereafter, we reassembled ourselves and went up to the top deck. Emerson brought me a whiskey and soda while I described my encounter with Liezel. “Her story,” I continued, “was flimsy and made very little sense. She claims that she came to Egypt to find out if von Raubritter was enjoying his holiday. Even if there is a glimmer of truth in that, how did she know that he was in Amarna?”

“It is possible that he wrote her a letter that included specific information about his location, but that does not explain why she would expend her time, energy, and a not-insubstantial amount of money to find him. She said they were colleagues. It would be helpful to know the topic of their research.”