Plus, the lady is sneaky. When she showed the tunic to the Great Wife, the Great Wife laughed and fed me antelope chunks, so Lady Shepenupet forced a laugh, too. But that night there was a strange-smelling bit of meat on my snack tray. Coincidence? Maybe. But I didn’t go near it.

  I moved a bit closer to Tedimut.

  “I think it must have been Lady Shepenupet herself who made the mistake,” the girl said softly. “She’s the one who orders the Great Wife’s jewels from the treasure room and sets them out every day. But I’m the youngest of the Great Wife’s servants, so Lady Shepenupet blames me for everything. And I can’t complain, or I’ll lose my position. So I did as Lady Shepenupet asked, and I took the amulet back to the treasure room. Or I tried to, at least…”

  As Tedimut faltered, Miu purred as loudly as an army of locusts.

  Hugging her close, Tedimut went on. “It was just before dawn, and hardly anyone was around. I ran as fast as I could, but I don’t know that part of the palace very well, and I lost my way. I stopped to get my bearings, and something came flying at my head. I think maybe it was a stone. When I came to, the amulet was gone.”

  She buried herself in Miu’s fur.

  “Look at that bump,” Khepri murmured in my ear. “Something sure hit her.”

  I nodded. In the shaft of light from the vent, you could see a lump the size of a duck’s egg on the side of Tedimut’s head. I winced. That had to hurt.

  “I was so scared, Miu,” Tedimut whispered. “I thought at first I’d only dropped the amulet, but it was nowhere to be seen. Then I heard Lady Shepenupet shouting my name. I knew she would blame me for losing the amulet. I would be beaten, and if she accused me of stealing it, they might even cut off my nose. So I climbed up to the window—”

  “The window where Miu found her scent,” Khepri whispered.

  “—and I escaped,” Tedimut finished. “I crossed the roof like a cat, Miu, and I found this hiding place.”

  Clever, agile, resourceful…this girl really was like a cat. I was impressed.

  “But what do I do now? I can’t stay here forever. I’m already so thirsty and hungry. And there’s nothing here for me to eat or drink—only jars and jars of olive oil.” Tedimut gulped. “But if I try to leave, I’ll be caught, and then it’s all over.”

  She was stuck here with no snacks? Poor girl! But I agreed that she had to stay put. “She’s right,” I said to Khepri. “There are guards all over the palace, and they’ll be watching for her.”

  Overhearing, Miu lifted her head and looked up at me. “That’s not the only problem. That Pharaoh of yours has offered a reward for Tedimut’s capture, so everyone else will be looking for her, too.”

  “He’s not just my pharaoh,” I said, stung. “He’s yours, too.” Even if he has made a mistake this time, I added silently. I would never be disloyal enough to say so aloud, but—between you and me—Pharaoh does slip up occasionally. By now I was pretty sure that this was one of those times.

  “You’re Pharaoh’s Cat,” Miu said to me. “You need to make him see reason.”

  “You want Ra to reason with Pharaoh?” Khepri gave an incredulous click. “He doesn’t have that kind of power, Miu. I mean, when all’s said and done, he’s just a cat.”

  “Just a cat?” Miu and I chorused indignantly, at exactly the same time.

  “Well, you know what I mean,” said Khepri.

  “No, I don’t,” Miu said, and for the first time I agreed with her.

  “What is it, Miu?” Tedimut craned her head upward, trying to see what Miu was meowing about. “Is there something up there?”

  I darted back, trying to stay out of sight, only to find that Khepri was in my way. Pharaoh’s Cat is a model of grace, of course, but a slippery beetle is a challenge even for me. Paws grappling for balance, I tried to save myself from falling through the slats.

  “Ra!” Khepri lunged for my tail.

  That did it. Twisting and clawing at the air, I toppled with Khepri to the shelf below. I landed right in front of Tedimut, in an awkward half-crouch.

  Tedimut stared at me in astonishment. Curled in her lap, Miu blinked in disbelief.

  It was not my best moment, but it got even worse. Before I could pull myself together, the door to the storeroom creaked open.

  My ears swiveled. I couldn’t see the door. The clay jars were in the way. But I knew what that sound meant.

  A guard, I thought. Hunting down Tedimut.

  The door opened wider, and the gloom of the storeroom brightened. Tedimut bit her lower lip, but otherwise she stayed as motionless as a column in Pharaoh’s audience hall.

  Honestly, a cat couldn’t have done it better.

  Sandals pattered across the floor. I tensed. So did Tedimut.

  “What are you doing?” someone shouted from the door. “You’ve got the wrong storeroom. Those jars are full of oil. Try the next storeroom down—and be quick about it.”

  The sandals scuffed their way out. The door banged shut.

  Tedimut heaved a shaky sigh.

  That was close, I thought.

  To my surprise, my heart was racing faster than it had in years. Determined to regain my usual poise, I snapped out of my awkward crouch and arranged myself in the time-honored Bastet pose: chin up, front paws extended, eyes narrowed, ears alert. My slender collar gleamed in the dim light from the vent.

  Of course, Khepri was still sticking fast to my tail, but I did my best to ignore that. Symmetry and perfection, that’s what I was after. Classic elegance.

  Tedimut watched me.

  “Are you…Pharaoh’s Cat?” she whispered. Even in the shadows, her eyes shone. She glanced down at Miu, still in her lap. “Oh, Miu, you brought him to save me, didn’t you? Thank you, thank you.” To me, she bowed her head. “O Great One, Defender of the Small, Lord of the Powerful Paw, I entrust myself to your care.”

  Khepri fluttered his wings. “Honestly. The way people treat you, Ra…”

  “I don’t see what’s so wrong,” I said.

  Khepri hopped off my tail. “What’s wrong, my dear Ra, is that now she expects you to save her.”

  “Well, yes, I did gather that.” Khepri always thinks he’s so much smarter than me. But this time I was one step ahead of him. I puffed up my chest. “Saving her is exactly what I’m going to do.”

  Miu and Khepri both froze.

  “You’re going to save her?” Khepri repeated in disbelief. “You?”

  Miu looked like she’d swallowed her dinner the wrong way. “How can you possibly help, Ra?”

  “Why, by taking the case,” I said grandly. “Miu, you look after the child. Khepri, you stay with them. I’m off to solve this crime.”

  Miu and Khepri stared at me openmouthed. I could tell I had impressed them. I trotted forward and nuzzled Tedimut’s bowed head in my best regal manner. “Never fear, child. You’re in the paws of Pharaoh’s Cat now.”

  The child didn’t understand me, of course. But when she raised her head, the awe in her bright eyes was gratifying.

  I nodded graciously at her and turned to go.

  “Wait!” Khepri latched onto my tail, trying to pin me down. “What do you think you’re doing, Ra? Cats don’t solve mysteries.”

  “It’s not such a bad idea,” Miu said thoughtfully to Khepri. “If we can find out who the true thief is, then we have a chance of saving Tedimut. And a cat like Ra can go wherever he wants in the palace. He could find out clues for us.” In a more doubtful voice, she added, “Although whether he could make any sense of those clues is another question.”

  “You forget who I am,” I said proudly. “I’m Pharaoh’s Cat—Ra the Mighty. I can do anything I like.” I pulled free of Khepri and climbed toward the tiny vent where we’d entered.

  “Wait!” Khepri called out. “You’re going to need help. Take me with you.”

  “Oh, no.” I was nearly at the vent. “This is a mission for Pharaoh’s Cat, and Pharaoh’s Cat alone.”

  “But you have to take me,” Khepri said. “Otherwise I’ll put—”

  “Dung in my snacks?” I didn’t turn around. “Don’t even think about it, Khepri. A bargain is a bargain, and I did what you wanted. If you go back on your terms, you’ll have the gods to deal with.”

  Khepri was quiet, but Miu stirred from her place beside Tedimut. “But surely you need a sidekick, Ra,” she purred up to me.

  I stopped in midstride. “A what?”

  “A sidekick. An assistant. All great detectives have one,” she explained.

  I ran a paw over my whiskers. “They do?”

  Khepri scrambled up toward me. “Yes, Ra. It’s one of the rules.”

  I nodded, trying to make it look as if I’d always known that.

  “Okay,” I said as Khepri hopped onto my tail. “You can come with me. But remember how it works: you’re the sidekick, and I’m the Great Detective.”

  “That’s right, Khepri,” Miu said.

  I thought I saw her wink. But maybe it was just the light.

  “Oh, you’ll be the one leading us,” Khepri promised me as he climbed onto my back. “I’ll just be there in the background, getting baffled, and asking you to explain things to me, and being amazed by your powers of deduction. You know—a sidekick.”

  I nodded again. Really, what a perfect role for Khepri. In my experience, beetles are good at keeping to the background.

  “Then off we go,” I said. With Khepri clinging tight to my head, I jumped through the vent.

  * * *

  At first it was a relief to be back in the light, but as soon as I began trotting across the baking roof, my paws started to hurt.

  “So where are we going?” Khepri asked.

  I wasn’t quite sure, but I didn’t plan to tell him that. I glanced around, trying to orient myself, though all I could really think about was my poor scorched paws.

  Khepri was looking around, too. “I think we’re near the Great Wife’s quarters.”

  My paws had suffered enough. “And that’s exactly where we’re headed,” I said, jumping through the nearest window.

  Up on my head, Khepri gave an approving click. “Good choice, Ra. If you ask me, the best place to start is the Great Wife’s robing room—”

  “I don’t believe I did ask you, Khepri.”

  “Er…right,” Khepri said. “You had another idea, then?”

  I did—and it wasn’t the robing room. Instead I headed straight for the doors I’d seen, which led into the Great Wife’s bedroom. As I expected, the guards let me through. They hadn’t seen me here in some time, but Pharaoh’s Cat may walk where he likes. And even if he has a beetle on his head, nobody makes a fuss.

  As we went in, Lady Nefrubity came hurrying out. She didn’t pay any attention to me. She never does. But then I don’t pay much attention to her, either. She used to serve Pharaoh’s mother, and she wears more black kohl on her eyes than anyone else in the palace, but in all the time I’ve known her, I’ve never heard her say anything interesting, or talk above a mumble. And she’s certainly never offered me any treats.

  I stalked right past her.

  “Wow.” As we came through the doorway, Khepri shuffled higher on my head to get a better view. “This is some room.”

  “This is nothing,” I said. “You should see Pharaoh’s room. It’s twice the size.” Still, this one had its charms. Light and airy, it had a huge bed and windows that opened onto a garden. It was full of good memories, too. From time to time, I visited the Great Wife, and she would feed me tidbits from her snack plates.

  Some people say the Great Wife has a temper, but I’ve never seen it. She adores animals, and she’s always very generous. At least she is with her favorites—like me. And she loves snacks almost as much as I do.

  “This place looks pretty fancy to me. Gilded bed, gilded chairs, painted walls…” Khepri was straining so hard to see everything that he nearly toppled over onto my nose. “No dung, though,” he finished sadly.

  “Right,” I said. “Because that’s just what every Great Wife wants in her bedroom. Dung.”

  “Yes,” Khepri agreed. “When I marry, I’ll bring my wife fresh dung balls every day.”

  “Don’t invite me to the wedding, Khepri.” I looked around. Dung wasn’t the only thing missing from this room. The Great Wife wasn’t here, and neither were her ladies.

  “They must have gone out,” I said, disappointed. Now that I thought about it, I did remember hearing something earlier this morning about Pharaoh and the Great Wife attending ceremonies in the temple today. Which meant there wouldn’t be any special treats for me from the Great Wife’s plate…

  …unless there were leftovers somewhere.

  I sniffed the air. It smelled like there was spiced meat on the other side of the bed. Hoping for the best, I rounded the corner and stopped short.

  I’d nearly stumbled over Aat, the Great Wife’s leopard.

  Aat was sleeping, of course. She sleeps even more than I do—and when she isn’t sleeping, she’s grooming herself. Like the Great Wife, she prides herself on looking beautiful. And I suppose Aat is sort of beautiful, if you like your beauty with a side order of ferocious teeth and claws.

  Khepri obviously didn’t. “Yikes!”

  “Hold on,” I whispered as he scuttled back toward my neck. The light from the windows was shining on a plate on the floor—and the plate had chunks of goat on it. All I had to do was tiptoe around Aat, and that meat would be mine.

  I was a whisker’s length from the plate when Khepri lost his grip and hit the floor. Click!

  He wasn’t hurt, but the sound woke up Aat. “Intruders!” Her eyes only half open, she trapped us between her claws.

  Aat’s claws scraped dangerously close to my tail.

  “Stop that!” I yelped as Khepri ducked for cover under my belly. “Aat, it’s me. Pharaoh’s Cat.”

  “Oh.” Aat withdrew her claws a smidgen. Her yellow eyes glared at me above her heavy gold collar. Studded with jewels, it matched one that the Great Wife sometimes wore—except that Aat’s collar was attached to a long golden chain. Although Aat didn’t like to talk about it, the other end of the chain was tied around a stone pillar. “What are you doing here, Fluffball?”

  “She calls you Fluffball?” Khepri said in a tiny voice.

  It’s true. Aat’s called me that for years, probably because she knows I hate it. What kind of name is Fluffball for a cat of consequence? You’d think Aat would show some respect now that I’m Pharaoh’s Cat. After all, my human is the Pharaoh; I outrank her. But it was no use giving Aat a lecture on manners, especially not when her claws were so close.

  “Why is that little beetle burrowing into your fur?” Aat wrinkled her enormous nose. “You’re not wearing him as an accessory, are you? It’s not a good look for you, Fluffball.”

  “Khepri’s my friend.”

  Aat made a face. “So what brings you and your little friend here? Let me guess: you’re looking for snacks.” She glanced at the plate. “I hope you weren’t thinking of eating that goat meat, Fluffball. The Great Wife left it there for me.”

  It wasn’t a good idea to show interest in any food that Aat wanted. “Goat? I hadn’t noticed.”

  “You, not notice food?” Aat’s mouth rippled in a toothy smile. “How very funny, Fluffball. What else would bring you here?”

  “Investigations!” hissed Khepri from under my fur.

  He was right. I’d almost forgotten. “Actually, Aat, I came to talk to you about jewelry.”

  I figured that would get her attention. Aat loves jewelry even more than the Great Wife does, and that’s saying something.

  Aat looked me over, twirling her spotted tail. “I can see why you’d want advice, Fluffball. If you ask me, you should get yourself a proper scarab. One made of stone. Live beetles are just too, too disgusting.”

  “Khepri’s not disgusting,” I said. “Scarab beetles are very neat by nature.” As long as you ignore the way they like to play around with dung. “Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to ask about.”

  Aat was losing interest in the conversation. Watching her tail more than me, she asked, “Then why are you here?”

  “Because I heard the Great Wife lost a valuable amulet this morning,” I told her. “Do you know anything about it?”

  “I should say so!” Aat forgot her tail and sat up straight, eyes gleaming. “I saw everything. And that little thief completely ruined my morning grooming session.”

  An eyewitness! I hadn’t expected that, given that Aat was usually chained up. “So you know who the thief was?”

  “Of course. It was that stupid little servant girl, the newest one. I can’t remember her name. Starts with a T…”

  Uh-oh. Had I made a big mistake in trusting that bright-eyed girl? I didn’t want to believe it was possible. “You mean Tedimut? You saw her steal the amulet?”

  “Yes, that’s the name.” Aat’s eyes were still blazing with anger. “And of course I didn’t see it, Fluffball. How could I? I was right here where I was supposed to be, on my sleeping cushion, waiting for her to groom me.” She glanced back at the cushion, which was near the door of the bedroom. “That’s one of her duties every morning—to look after me. And she never came. I was wondering where she was when Lady Shepenupet started shouting her name. Everyone went hunting for her, and when they came back, they said she’d stolen the amulet.”

  “But no one actually saw her take it?” I asked, just to be sure.

  “We didn’t need to,” Aat growled. “The amulet is missing, and so is she. Isn’t that proof enough?”

  I hadn’t been a fool to trust Tedimut after all.

  “Besides,” Aat went on, “it’s not the first time things have disappeared. Ever since that girl started working here, we’ve had problems. Lady Shepenupet should have dismissed her weeks ago.”

  “What sorts of things have gone missing?” I asked.

 

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