Khepri and I looked at each other. Maybe it had been an innocent mistake, then. Or maybe not.

  “Did you notice anything else unusual before dawn this morning?” Khepri called up to the doves. “Was there anyone who wasn’t where they should be? Or anyone behaving strangely?”

  The two turtledoves conferred, wings rustling.

  “Not just one person,” Ini said at last. “There were several. After I left the treasure room, I saw the Overseer running across the audience chamber. He’s usually at the temple at that hour.”

  The Overseer! I could well believe he’d been up to no good. “When was that, exactly?”

  “Right before the hunt for the girl started,” Ini said. “I remember all the shouting.”

  “And just before then, I saw the Director of the Royal Loincloths skulking near the Great Wife’s rooms,” Ibi added eagerly. “He should have been in Pharaoh’s robing room.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that, so I did my best to ignore it. I heard a little whirr from Khepri, though, which meant he was thinking hard.

  “And then there’s Yuya, the children’s tutor,” Ini said. “He was late getting to the schoolroom, and he’s been jumpy as a gazelle all day.”

  “It could be that he’s short of money again,” Ibi put in. “I heard him asking Lady Nefrubity for help yesterday. She’s his aunt. She told him she would help pay off his debts, but only if he stopped gambling.”

  Khepri had stopped whirring. “Did she say anything else to him?” he wanted to know.

  “Not that I heard,” Ibi said. “That’s when the servants brought in our food, so I missed the rest.”

  I could sympathize with that. In my experience, it’s hard to pay attention to anything else when there are snacks in front of you. In fact, just hearing Ibi mention food was enough to make me start wondering what would be on my dinner plate tonight.

  Khepri, however, was still full of questions. “What kind of man is this Yuya? Is he bold or timid? Weak or strong? Honest or shifty?”

  “You-oo can see for yourself.” Ini cocked her head toward the doorway. “He’s coming now. I can tell by the footsteps.”

  Khepri raced up to my head to get a better view. I stretched out my neck, because I was curious, too. Yuya had been appointed royal tutor a few months ago, but I’d not yet had any dealings with him.

  A young man stepped through the doorway. Ibi was right: he really was jumpy. He was biting his lips and breathing fast, and his gaze darted all around the schoolroom before landing on me.

  “Scat! Get out of here, cat!” He drew his foot back to kick me.

  Yuya’s heavy foot almost struck me, but I was too fast for him. I sailed through the doorway, Khepri clinging to my fur.

  “See you later,” I called out to Ini and Ibi. “Come find me if you see anything else suspicious!”

  Yuya appeared in the doorway. “Get out of here, you nuisance.”

  Nuisance? Didn’t he know who I was?

  Apparently not, because he picked up a sharp stylus and raised it like a dart.

  “Hey, those are for writing, not throwing!” I shouted, but he hurled it at me anyway.

  Luckily it struck the tile floor, but I saw he had another one in his hand. I stuck out my tongue and raced away.

  “Well, that was very interesting,” Khepri said once we were out of danger.

  I stopped in midstride. “Interesting? Is that what you call it? Khepri, the man almost broke my ribs.”

  “He never had a chance,” Khepri said. “You were too quick.”

  That was true. I felt a glow of pride. I was more than a match for that mummy-brain.

  “But he certainly did want you out of there,” Khepri said thoughtfully. “The question is why?”

  “Because he’s a lousy excuse for a tutor,” I said. “People like that shouldn’t be allowed to teach children. They set a bad example.”

  Come to think of it, maybe that was why the royal sons had been a bit rough with me of late. Frankly, I preferred the way Tedimut treated me. Now, there was someone who set a good example.

  “Maybe Yuya thought you were trying to attack the Prince’s doves,” Khepri said.

  “I wasn’t anywhere near them!” Well, no closer than a foot or two.

  “Or maybe he has something to hide,” Khepri said. “Something he doesn’t want anyone to know about, even Pharaoh’s Cat.”

  “Especially Pharaoh’s Cat.” Aha! All the pieces were falling into place. “But it didn’t work, Khepri. Because I see now that he’s guilty. He’s the one who took the amulet—”

  “I didn’t say that,” Khepri interrupted.

  “I know you didn’t. I did. I’m the Great Detective, remember? Yuya’s obviously the kind of lowlife who would steal anything. And think of what Ini said about his aunt, Lady Nefrubity. She must be the person who helped him.”

  “Not so fast, Ra.” Khepri slid down to the floor. “The way I see it, we have at least three suspects. Well, three teams of suspects, anyway. I think we should go over the case against each of them before we come to any hasty decisions about who’s guilty.”

  “It’s not a hasty decision,” I grumbled, “not when the answer is staring us in the face.”

  “Humor me,” said Khepri. “There’s Yuya and Lady Nefrubity, yes? Lady Nefrubity was the one who asked the treasure room for the Eye of Horus. So she could have warned Yuya that it would be sent back there, and he could have ambushed Tedimut in the hallway.”

  “And that’s exactly what he did,” I said. “The brute.”

  “Maybe,” Khepri said. “But why?”

  “For the gold and the jewels,” I said. “He needs to settle his debts. That’s what he said to Lady Nefrubity yesterday. Ibi heard him.”

  “But Ibi says Lady Nefrubity told Yuya to stop gambling. That doesn’t sound like someone who was about to help him commit a crime.”

  “It was a cover-up,” I suggested. “She offered to pay Yuya’s debts, remember? And I don’t think she has much money. Maybe she has some savings I don’t know about, but probably she was going to get what she needed by stealing the amulet.”

  Khepri looked doubtful. “You think she would stoop to robbery to help her nephew?”

  “If anyone would, it’s Lady Nefrubity. Aat said she never stops talking about her nieces and nephews. She’s obsessed with her family.”

  “But Lady Nefrubity wouldn’t have known it was Tedimut who would be sent back with the amulet. So she couldn’t have told Yuya who to attack,” Khepri objected. “It was Lady Shepenupet who decided that. So maybe it’s Lady Shepenupet who’s at the bottom of the plot. She couldn’t have stolen the jewel herself—she was in the Great Wife’s bedroom when it happened—but maybe she was working with the Overseer or the Director. Or both.”

  “It wasn’t the Director,” I said, but I was a little uneasy. I’d forgotten how good the case against Lady Shepenupet was. And it was true that the Director had said he felt guilty.

  “Presumably they would have stolen it for the money, too,” Khepri said. “Lady Shepenupet and the Director are connected to all sorts of wealthy people, and some of them might pay well for something as precious as the Eye of Horus. It could only be worn in secret, of course. Unless they broke it apart for the gold and jewels.”

  I wasn’t used to having to think so hard. My head was spinning. “Are those all our suspects, then?”

  “No, there’s one more.” Khepri hesitated.

  “Who’s that?” I asked.

  Khepri quickly glanced around the dark hall we were in, as if he were afraid someone might be listening. Coming close to my paw, he lowered his voice and told me a name I hadn’t expected to hear.

  “The last suspect is the Great Wife herself,” Khepri said softly. “We know she hated the amulet. Plus, she’s in need of money.”

  “The Great Wife needs money?” I was startled. “Says who?”

  “I’ve heard them talking about it in the stables,” Khepri said. “My very favorite spot, the stables.” He gave a happy little sigh. “So much dung.”

  “Enough about the dung,” I said. “What did you hear about the Great Wife?”

  “That she spends more than she should. She showers her favorites with gifts—”

  “And who could blame her for that?” I said. “Personally, I find it delightful.” Especially when that favorite is me.

  “—and she likes her luxuries,” Khepri went on. “I mean, just look at that bedroom of hers. Gold everywhere! No wonder she has trouble keeping to her allowance. They say she used to be able to talk Pharaoh into giving her more, but Pharaoh is growing stricter about money. One of the grooms overheard the Great Wife complaining about it to one of her ladies.”

  Hmmm…I’d certainly heard that Pharaoh was trying to keep a closer eye on expenses. His father and the Royal Mother had spent lavishly, but Pharaoh kept saying that times were different now. Thankfully, he wasn’t cutting back on my snacks, so I’d thought no more of it. But maybe the Great Wife had more reason to be concerned.

  “What if the Great Wife was upset that she wasn’t getting the riches that the Royal Mother had enjoyed?” Khepri speculated. “And what if she saw the amulet as a solution to her problems? Maybe she persuaded the Director or the Overseer or Yuya—or someone we don’t know—to stage a theft. Once the fuss dies down, she could sell the amulet, or even melt it down. It’s a crime to do that behind Pharaoh’s back, of course. Only Pharaoh can dispose of the royal jewelry. But he would never know.”

  I twitched my tail. I didn’t like this line of talk. After all, the Great Wife had been known to feed me from her own plate—a sign of good character if there ever was one. And she was Pharaoh’s Great Wife, so she was part of my family. I needed to defend her.

  “Aat told us that the Great Wife likes Tedimut,” I pointed out to Khepri. “So why would she let Tedimut get blamed—and have guards hunting her down?”

  “From all I hear, the royal family isn’t as concerned about their servants as you seem to think,” Khepri said.

  My fur rose. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m saying the family takes their servants for granted,” Khepri said calmly. “They don’t spend much time thinking about the people who make their lives so easy. If they lose a cook or a gardener or a sandal-bearer, they just get a new one.”

  There was an uncomfortable pause. Uncomfortable for me, anyway. I didn’t like admitting it, but Khepri had a point. I’d seen plenty of servants come and go in my time, and no one in the royal family ever cried about it.

  “It’s better than it used to be,” was all I could say. “The old pharaoh and the Royal Mother were much harder on the servants. People say Pharaoh is a kinder master. And of course the Great Wife is more generous—”

  “Maybe to her favorites,” Khepri cut in. “Like Aat.”

  I winced at the mention of Aat. “Okay, okay. So the Great Wife’s judgment isn’t always perfect, I’ll grant you that. But she’s not cruel, Khepri. And she’d have to be vicious to pin the crime on Tedimut and let her suffer the consequences.”

  “Maybe she meant for Tedimut to be found knocked out on the floor,” Khepri suggested. “That way it would be clear that the girl was the thief’s victim, and she wouldn’t be punished. The Great Wife probably didn’t plan for Tedimut to run away.”

  “You’re trying too hard.” Talking about all these motives was making my head hurt. “Why do we need to consider so many suspects, anyway? I’ll bet you anything Yuya’s hiding that amulet in the schoolroom right now. That’s why he chased me away.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” Khepri said. “We don’t know if he’s guilty. But I agree: we probably should check on him.” He clambered onto me. “Turn around, Ra.”

  “Now?” I shook my head. “Khepri, he’ll only chase me out again. We’ll go back later tonight, when the coast is clear.” And after I’ve had some snacks.

  “And what if Yuya takes the amulet out of the schoolroom before then?” Khepri asked.

  “Then Ini and Ibi will follow him,” I said. “I told them to tell me if anything suspicious happened.”

  “And what if they fall asleep?”

  He had a point. Ini and Ibi weren’t at their best at night.

  “Oh, fine,” I grumbled. “We’ll go now.”

  As we retraced our route, all I could think about at first was my tail, and how I didn’t want it broken. But then my hunting instincts kicked in, and I started to get excited. If we were lucky, we’d catch the thief right in the act. Tedimut’s name would be cleared, and I’d be a hero!

  When we reached the schoolroom, the doors were bolted shut.

  Khepri tried to crawl through the gap underneath them, but it was too narrow. “I think Yuya might be in there, though,” he reported. “I heard something rustling.”

  “That could be Ini and Ibi.” I bent down to the crack and called out to them. No one replied, but I did hear rustling.

  “He’s in there, and he’s locked us out.” I paced beside the doors. “So what do we do now?”

  “Is there any other way in?” Khepri asked.

  “Only a tiny opening up high for the doves,” I said. “I couldn’t get through even if I somehow got up there. And a human certainly couldn’t.”

  “Then we wait here,” Khepri said, “until Yuya comes out.”

  * * *

  Waiting turned out to be harder than I thought. The longer we stood in front of those doors, the worse I felt. My whiskers drooped. My paws ached. My stomach rumbled.

  “I’m hungry,” I told Khepri.

  “We’ll eat as soon as this is over,” Khepri promised.

  That didn’t sound soon enough to me. “Maybe I’ll just dash back to the pool and see what’s for dinner.”

  “Okay,” Khepri said. “Go ahead. I don’t mind being the Great Detective for a while.”

  “Oh, no,” I said. “Wherever I am, I’m still the Great Detective.”

  “Not if I’m the one who finds the amulet, solves the crime, and saves Tedimut,” said Khepri.

  That was hard to argue with, even for me. I sat myself down. “I guess I’m not so hungry after all.”

  But of course I was hungry—and tired. Khepri seemed tired, too. When I curled up by the wall, he settled down in the crook of my tail with a sigh.

  He nodded at the door. “Let’s hope Yuya comes out soon.”

  We waited some more, but nothing happened, and I started to think about food again. I imagined myself stretched out by the pool, the sun warm on my fur, a plate of yummy roasted quail in front of me. With maybe a few morsels of stewed antelope on the side…

  I closed my eyes for a moment to picture the plate more clearly. Before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep.

  * * *

  An outraged whisper jerked me out of my dreams. “Ra! Khepri!”

  I opened my eyes. Khepri scrambled to his feet.

  Miu stood before us, eyes blazing. “I don’t believe this. I was hoping you’d solved the crime. And here you are, fast asleep!”

  “No, no, no.” I stifled a yawn. “We’re not sleeping. We’re watching. We’re guarding the schoolroom doors.” I pointed at them.

  I blinked. The doors were now slightly ajar.

  “Uh-oh!” Khepri and I exclaimed.

  We ran to the doors.

  The schoolroom was empty.

  “He got away!” I shouted.

  “It sure looks like it,” Khepri said.

  Miu came up behind us. “Who got away? What are you talking about?”

  “Yuya,” I said. “The royal tutor. He’s the one who stole the amulet, and now he’s taken it somewhere.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Khepri said. “Maybe he didn’t steal it in the first place. Or if he did, maybe he left it here.”

  I ignored the first part of what he said. But the second part made sense. “You’re right, maybe it’s still here. Let’s search for it—and let’s track Yuya down.”

  “We can’t do both at once,” Khepri said.

  “Sure we can. We just need reinforcements.” I leaped onto a bench. “Ini! Ibi! Wake up! Come help us!”

  Ini poked her head out. “What is it?” she asked sleepily. “What are you-oo doing back here, Ra? It’s the middle of the night.”

  I had no real idea what time it was, but it was true that everything was very dark and quiet. Khepri and I must have slept for hours.

  Ibi appeared beside his sister. “Ra, who-oo’s that strange cat with you-oo?”

  I made quick introductions. (Pharaoh’s Cat knows how to handle all social situations, no matter how complicated. I’m just like Pharaoh himself in that way. It’s part of our mystique.) After a bit of chittering between themselves and a few wary looks at Miu, Ini and Ibi came down.

  As they settled on a bench that was a fair distance from us, I briefly explained the situation, and Khepri began to fire off questions. The birds couldn’t hear him very well, so I repeated them. “How long did Yuya stay, and what did he do while he was here? And where did he go afterward?”

  “I wish we knew-oo,” Ini said. “But we were both asleep.”

  “You, too?” Miu could barely contain her frustration. “What’s wrong with you all? Am I the only one awake on the job?”

  Khepri gave her a warning click. “Please don’t be so critical, Miu. We need their help.”

  “Just like you need ours,” I pointed out.

  Miu sighed. “All right. But please, can you stop talking and do something?”

  “We were getting to that before you interrupted us,” I said. “Ini, Ibi, can you check the palace for Yuya? We need to know where he is. If you find him, one of you should stay with him, and the other should come back here and get us.”

  Ini and Ibi complained a bit because they didn’t like flying around the palace at night. But I’m very persuasive, if I do say so myself, and finally they flew off.

 

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