“It’s Guy, right enough,” said Emerson. He picked up the mangled remains of a monocle and tucked it in his pocket. “Let us make ourselves scarce, Peabody. I hear the patter of police feet and I think we ought to discuss how much to tell them. Trying to explain this situation is going to tax even your fertile tongue.”

It is not my habit to avoid confrontations with duly appointed representatives of the government, but in this case I had to admit Emerson was right. With a few exceptions police officers have very little imagination and a wholly unjustified prejudice against females. So we retreated to Shepheard’s, with Ramses, David, and Daoud close behind. Daoud insisted that he would stand guard outside the hotel. I felt a pang of pity for those who would assume they could sweep past him, their noses in the air.

Once we reached our chambers, Emerson went to the sideboard. “It is early, but after that ghastly episode I think we are entitled to a whiskey and soda. Boys, will you join us?”

Ramses stood at the window, his back turned to us. “No thank you, sir.”

“I most certainly will,” David murmured. “Explosions always make me thirsty.”

“I propose,” said Emerson, “that we leave Cairo as soon as we have delivered the bust to Maspero. As we have just had demonstrated, it is too easy to carry out a murderous attack in these crowded streets.”

“I agree, Father. The sooner Mother is away from the city, the safer she will be.”

“We cannot leave yet,” I protested. “Not until we have ascertained how many copies of the Nefertiti head Harun has already made. We can’t have new ones popping up unexpectedly, and we must relieve him of the one he is using as a model. It is the original. I wish we had taken it, even though that would have constituted thievery since it falls under Morgenstern’s propriety.”

“Tomorrow morning we will inform Maspero of the situation and call on Harun before taking the midday train,” Emerson said. “Ramses is right; we must get you away from this cursed city before another Godwin tries to blow you to bits.”

I did not reply.