“Madame, it is good to see you alive,” Khan said evenly. Aware of the growing crowd gathering to watch them, he stepped forward to Susan as if reaching out to shake her hand, lowered his voice, and said, “But you should not have returned to Cairo. Your life here in Egypt is finished. Go back to the United States and start a new life.”

“General Baris warned me not to return to the capital, to go into hiding until just before the funeral and to go back into hiding immediately afterward,” Salaam said, her voice loud enough for all to hear. “But all I could think about was what happened to us at the celebration, and I knew I had to confront you directly, to see your face as I accused you directly—”

“Accuse me? Of what?”

“I have been able to piece together what happened that morning at the mosque. You substituted your own handpicked Judiciary guardsmen for the presidential guards that normally would have been on duty during the procession, and you gave them strict orders to always face the procession, not scan the crowd for any sign of danger. By the time the assassins were in place, it was too late for them to react to save my husband.”

“Are you suggesting that I had something to do with that terrible attack, Madame?” al-Khan said. “That is purely ridiculous! Why, I was no more than five steps behind you and your husband—I could have been blown to bits as well! Why would I put myself in such harm? I even helped pull you clear of danger once I realized what was happening! You seemed prepared to throw your body in front of that bomb in a vain attempt to save your husband from his destiny. I gave you the chance to live.”

“Maybe the rumors that you wore a Kevlar bulletproof shroud under your robes are true—because bystanders farther away than you were severely injured, while you and that rat-snake Zuwayy walked away unscathed—”

“Unscathed? They told me one of my lungs had to be re-inflated, and His Highness King Idris the Second of Libya suffered flashblindness and loss of hearing that still lingers! We were lucky to escape with our lives! You actually think we would have engineered such a sloppy and dangerous assassination attempt in such close quarters?”

“I think you put yourself in just enough harm so no attention would be drawn to you directly,” Salaam argued.

“You are delusional,” al-Khan said, dismissing her with an angry wave of his hand. “I am glad to see you are alive, Madame, and I pray for you and your late husband. But I warn you, do not spread false rumors or try to discredit my good name. There are laws against such activities.”