“But what can be done?” Farida repeated, despair edging into her voice.
Whit turned his head and met my gaze. I read his expression clearly, heard his voice as if he’d spoken out loud.
Only finding my mother would save them now.
CAPÍTULO ONCE
“I’ll follow them,” Whit said grimly. “Perhaps I can talk some sense into Maspero. It was only a matter of time before the department learned of the discovery, and now he looks foolish. Everything he does next will be to regain control of the situation. I might be able to reason with him—” He broke off, shaking his head slightly, as if realizing the improbability of such a feat. Then he glanced at me. “I’ll be back as soon as I’m able.”
I averted my gaze. I found it hard to look at him without feeling a razor-sharp spike of anger ignite my blood, without remembering the night when he’d held me in his arms and lied to my face.
“With answers,” Farida said. “Please.”
From the corner of my eye, I caught him nodding, but not to Farida, to me. I could feel the weight of his stare. Then he strode out the door, and I finally lifted my eyes in his direction. He broke into a run the second he’d descended the front steps. The last time he ran that fast, he was chasing after my carriage as if his life depended on it. Farida and I stared into the street long after Whit was out of sight, where other guests were enjoying lemon squash and cups of coffee. “What if I never see him again?” came Farida’s anguished whisper.
Before I could reply, a familiar voice rang from behind us, coming from the packed lobby.
“What on earth has happened?” Isadora demanded, pale blue skirt swirling around her ankles. “Everyone is in a flutter, talking about the authorities coming to the hotel.”
“They were here to make arrests,” I said.
“What?”
I motioned toward Abdullah’s granddaughter. “Isadora, I’d like to present Farida, Abdullah’s granddaughter, to you. I believe you didn’t have the chance to meet her in Aswan. Farida, this is my… my sister, Isadora.”
Farida startled and looked at me questioningly. “I wasn’t aware you had a sibling. Your parents never mentioned another child.”
A faint tremor rippled through Isadora so quick I might have imagined it. When she spoke, her voice had its usual direct quality to it that I’d come to admire. “A pleasure to meet you. I gather this morning’s interlude had something to do with the two of you?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” I hissed. “Let’s go up to the room to talk.”
We made a somber party, squished on the narrow bed, the tall stacks of boxes surrounding us like fortress towers. I really needed to figure out what to do with my parents’ possessions. Farida settled against the wood headboard, fingers twisting around the bedding. Her dark hair was pulled into an elaborate roll, and the long stretch of her skirt flounced around her like the cap of a mushroom.
Isadora sat at the foot of the bed, watching us uneasily.
“When did you arrive?” I asked Farida.
“Yesterday evening,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “I came as soon as I heard what happened. My poor grandfather—he feels so defeated, and now for this to happen? I wanted to care for him, and now I won’t be able to.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Isadora said. “But can someone please tell mewhat happened?”
“Monsieur Maspero had my uncle and Abdullah arrested,” I said. “For failing to report their discovery and the subsequent thievery of Cleopatra’s cache, and of course, her mummy is missing also.”
Isadora raised her brows. “What will happen to them?”
“Ricardo will most likely face trial in the mixed courts,” Farida answered. “As for my grandfather… I doubt he’ll be dealt with fairly in anycourt.” Her bottom lip trembled, and her hands tightened into a death grip. “When he wrote me, he only mentioned his injuries, but he was vague about the actual theft.”
I glanced at my sister. “She deserves to know the truth.”
Isadora pinched her lips, as if expecting my response. “It was my father,” she said in a hushed voice. “He was hired by Ricardo as security, but he used his position to access the dig site.”
“And I believe our mother had a hand in this plan,” I said. “It’s no accident her lover ended up in that role on Philae. Mamá must have known Ricardo was looking for someone to guard the island.”
Farida’s eyes had gone wide, flickering between us. “I’m sorry, I seem to have missed crucial information. Lourdes and—” Farida gestured toward Isadora. “And your father?”
Isadora and I nodded in unison.
“And Lourdes was involved in the theft?”
