“Okay,” Abigail said. If it had been up to her, she would have hurried to the Bubastite Portal, and then driven away as fast as they could. Riley didn’t appear to share her sense of urgency, or maybe he was just more cautious than she was.

  Riley might have guessed what she was thinking, because he added, “Don’t worry, we won’t waste any time. I want to have a look around first.” He took her arm and guided her along to the Temple of Amun. Abigail, in spite of herself, was pleased that he did, because it gave her an opportunity to see the Karnak Temple precinct up close and personal.

  They were walking around the mammoth columns away from the other tourists when a man appeared. He ran into Abigail and then fell down, falling between the vast statues and the intricate carvings on the sun-dried brick.

  Abigail looked down to see blood on her hands.

  12

  KARNAK

  Riley at once bent down to the man and checked him for weapons before looking at the man’s arm.

  The man struggled to his feet, his breathing coming in ragged gasps. He clutched his arm. “I was stabbed,” he said in an Oxford English accent. He looked at Abigail, his mouth open. “Abigail?”

  “Charles?” Abigail said in disbelief.

  Riley looked from one to the other. “You know this man?”

  “I need to hide,” the man said. “People are trying to kill me!”

  Riley pulled the man behind a statue and motioned that they should all sit down. “Keep it quiet,” he said in hushed tones. “Explain yourself.”

  The man looked indignant. “Explain myself? Why should I explain myself? People are trying to kill me. I have to get away.” He stared at Abigail. “What are you doing here? I didn’t recognize you at first, with the dark hair. I prefer blondes.”

  Abigail didn’t have a chance to respond because Riley said, “Who is this man?” His tone was terse, and he was wearing a scowl.

  “He’s an Egyptologist,” Abigail said. “I’ve met him several times at conferences over the years.”

  The man offered his good arm to Riley. “Dr. Charles Fitzgerald II. Nice to meet you. And you are?” He quirked one eyebrow.

  “Riley. What are you doing here?”

  “I’m being stabbed in case you didn’t notice,” Charles said, immediately holding pressure on his arm.

  Riley frowned. “It looks superficial to me.”

  “That’s easy for you to say.”

  “Who stabbed you? What happened?” Abigail asked him.

  The man let out a sigh of resignation. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Try us,” Riley snapped.

  “Let’s just say rather bad people tried to force me to translate something for them. They brought me here, but when I wasn’t able to tell them what they wanted to hear, they threatened me and stabbed me.”

  “They tried to kill you?” Abigail said in shock.

  He shook his head and then winced. “No, I think if they had really wanted to kill me, they would have succeeded. They thought I needed more motivation.” He narrowed his eyes. “Abigail, did they try to make you translate something for them?” He looked at Riley with fear in his eyes.

  “Riley won’t harm you,” Abigail said. “He’s a friend of mine.” She looked at Riley. Had Charles been working for Vortex?

  “We might be able to help you, but you’ll need to tell me more,” Riley said. “It’s possible we have a common enemy.”

  By Riley’s tone, Abigail could tell he didn’t trust Charles.

  It appeared the feeling was mutual. “Look, I don’t know if I can trust you,” Charles said.

  “But you trust me, don’t you?” Abigail said in a pleading voice. “We really might be involved in the same matter. It’s best if you tell us.” She shot Charles a reassuring smile.

  Charles shrugged his good shoulder. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you have to give your word that you won’t say anything to anyone. It’s a matter of life and death, you understand.”

  Abigail nodded.

  Charles shot Riley another suspicious look, and then said, “I was minding my own business going about things as usual, when a man came to see me and said he was working for the government. He showed me identification.”

  “Which government?” Riley interjected.

  “Not your government. MI6 of course,” Charles said. “He said he wanted me to go to Egypt because MI6 had come across a papyrus that was said to reveal the location of the Goliath’s spear. You know, Goliath from the Bible. Defeated by David with a slingshot.”

  “I know who Goliath is,” Riley said tersely.

  Charles pushed on. “They said I had to accompany them to Egypt in a hurry, but when they showed me the papyrus, it didn’t say anything about the spear’s location at all. There was a clearly illustrated spear, a scene about David and Goliath, and there was mention of Pharaoh Shoshenq. I couldn’t see anything else of any use, so I suggested we come here.”

  “And what happened next?” Riley prompted him.

  “Well, they weren’t at all pleased. They said they thought I was hiding something from them, that I wanted the spear for myself. They said maybe they had to find someone else who could read hieroglyphics. Anyway, when I got here to the Bubastite Portal, I didn’t see anything of any use. We got here early, before the tourists, you see. I’ve been here for some time, staring at it. I think they thought it was delaying tactics because they dragged me behind a palm tree and stabbed me. Some tourists came along, so I managed to get away. They’ll be looking for me!” His voice rose to a high pitch.

  Riley and Abigail exchanged glances. “Should we tell him?” Abigail asked.

  “How well do you know this man?” Riley asked her.

  “He has a good reputation,” Abigail said. “I’ve never heard anything bad about him. Everyone seems to like him. I’ve known him for years, but I don’t know him very well.”

  Charles rolled his eyes. “I can hear you. I’m standing right here.”

  Riley ignored him. “I don’t see that we have much choice,” he said to Abigail. To Charles, he said, “How many people are here? How many people brought you here?”

  “Just one,” Charles said. “Particularly nasty fellow, English accent. Looks like a stereotypical criminal. Tall, dark hair. I eventually figured he wasn’t really working for MI6, after all.”

  “Did you get a name?” Riley asked. “And do you have a better description?”

  Charles frowned. “He said his name is James Smith. He was my height and looked like me: tall, dark hair, brown eyes, very handsome, but unlike me, he was tanned. He spoke Arabic fluently, but he also spoke English fluently. I couldn’t tell you his nationality. He could be from anywhere.” Charles waved one arm expansively. “Do you think I need stitches or something?”

  Riley peered over and looked at the wound. “No, it’s superficial. You don’t need stitches. Just keep some pressure on it for a while.”

  “What were you going to tell me?” Charles said. “And do you think we can stand up now? My back is sore.”

  “We will remain crouched down while I explain matters and then I’ll decide,” Riley said. “The man who came to you was not working for MI6. I’m working for the American government.” He waved his identification under Charles’s nose. “I work for an organization that stops ancient artifacts from falling into the wrong hands.”

  “And why is Abigail with you?” Charles asked.

  Abigail opened her mouth, but Riley spoke first. “We approached Abigail and asked her to translate the papyrus.”

  Realization dawned on Charles’s face. “Aha! So, you’ve seen it too? And it’s led you here to the Bubastite Portal as well?”

  “Exactly,” Abigail said.

  “Then maybe we should put our heads together. Two heads are better than one, and all that,” Charles said. “Between the two of us, we should be able to figure out the clues on the papyrus and locate the spear.”

  Abigail shot Riley a look. She could tell he was none too pleased. She couldn’t blame him for being suspicious of Charles, but she figured Riley was suspicious of everyone.

  “Let’s go and look at the Bubastite Portal now,” Riley said.

  Charles frowned. “What if that man is there?”

  “Did he have a gun?” Riley asked him.

  Charles shook his head. “I didn’t notice one, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have one.”

  “Then keep a few paces behind us,” Riley said. “Don’t make it look as though we know each other.” With that, he carefully stood up and looked around. “I can’t see anyone. Let’s go.” He took a few paces and then turned back. “You can’t walk around with blood on your arm.”

  “I have my backpack,” Charles said. He pulled a jacket out of it. “It’s probably a little too hot to wear it, but I’ll have to, I suppose. I should stop the bleeding first, though.”

  Riley looked in Charles’s backpack and pulled out a tee. He ripped it into shreds despite Charles’s protestations. “It’s to make a bandage,” he said finally.

  Abigail took the shreds of material fabric from him. She wrapped them firmly around Charles’s arm and then tied in knots. “Is that too tight?”

  Charles smiled at her. “It’s just right. You have a lovely touch, Abigail.”

  Riley glared at him. “Put your jacket on now,” he snapped. “And follow us at a few paces.” He took Abigail by the arm and marched her away.

  When they reached the Bubastite Portal, Abigail gazed at it in wonder. “It’s amazing,” she breathed.

  Charles appeared at her shoulder. “Look there! There are scenes of Shoshenq making offerings to the gods and goddesses. Now, this scene shows him grasping captives by the hair and striking them.” He pointed below that scene. “All those rows there are the names of Canaanite towns he overcame.”

  “I thought I told you to keep behind us,” Riley said in a low tone.

  “I’m just an Egyptologist explaining to the ignorant,” Charles said with a smirk. “There used to be one hundred and fifty-six names here, but many of them are lost. This was an amazing feat of engineering, two rows of these huge columns with open papyrus capitals. Shoshenq enlarged the temple here by adding to the huge court in front of the Ramesside pylon. This south entrance is the Bubastite Portal, and it’s between the Temple of Ramses III and the Second Pylon. Are you following me?” He addressed the question to Riley.

  “Not particularly,” Riley admitted, “but do you see anything there that would give you a clue to the spear’s whereabouts?”

  Abigail looked up and shook her head.

  “Don’t be so hasty,” Charles said. “Let’s have a good look. This is the Pharaoh that the Bible says came up against Jerusalem. Now, one of the interesting names mentioned here is the Field of Abram, but these inscriptions don’t give any details of this.”

  “That’s right,” Abigail said. “These inscriptions only mention the victory over the Asiatics.”

  Charles nodded and peered closely at the inscriptions. “So, the Bible also says that Shoshenq I took away all Solomon’s treasures including his shields of gold. It stands to reason that Shoshenq would have taken away Goliath’s spear as well. The Bible says he took away all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the King’s house. The papyrus shows Shoshenq holding the spear. So then, if the Bubastite Portal doesn’t give any clues as to where the spear is, what do we do next?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” Abigail said. “We are missing something, but I don’t know what.”

  A shot rang out. Abigail was knocked to the ground.

  13

  LUXOR

  It took Abigail a moment to realize Riley had knocked her to the ground. He held her down, his hand over his head.

  Riley suddenly released her. Abigail looked up into Charles’s shocked face. “What, what happened?” he stammered.

  A man appeared in front of them. “Myles, what happened?” Riley asked him by way of greeting.

  “Someone was about to shoot you,” Myles said. “We’d better get out of here before the police come.” He jerked his head toward Charles. “Who’s he? Is he with you?”

  “Not exactly,” Riley said. “Abigail knows him. He’s an academic, an Egyptologist. He turned up here and said someone stabbed him.”

  Abigail noticed the look that passed between the two men.

  “And you must be Abigail,” Myles said, offering her his hand. “And who are you?”

  Charles drew himself up to his full height. “Dr. Charles Fitzgerald III, Egyptologist of some renown, if I do say so myself.”

  “Abigail says he’s legit,” Riley said.

  “Well, we’ll sort that out later,” Myles said. “Let’s take my car.”

  Charles opened his mouth to say something but clearly decided the better of it. Riley indicated that Charles should walk in front of him and they all followed Myles to his car. It was a black SUV with tinted windows.

  “Actually, Abigail and I will drive my rental car back to the hotel,” Riley said. “I can’t abandon it here. We’ll meet you at the hotel.” He gave Myles the address.

  When they were in the car, Abigail said, “Why can’t we just leave the car here? Why do we take it back to the hotel?”

  “Because there is a dead body here now. If there are Vortex agents around, they’ll take care of it, but we don’t know if there are. No doubt, the police are already on their way ,and even though I’ve covered my tracks, it’s best if the police don’t find an abandoned rental car here.”

  Abigail felt foolish. “Oh,” she said in a small voice. It was quite obvious after he explained it. “Will you leave it at the hotel?”

  Riley nodded. “I’ll tell them that I’ve met up with friends and I’m going on with them. I’ll leave some cash for someone to take it back to Cairo. That will tie up loose ends nicely.”

  After Riley made the arrangements for the car, they headed for Myles’s vehicle. Riley opened the door for Abigail and they both climbed into the back seat.

  “Where to?” Myles said.

  Riley raised a questioning eyebrow at Abigail. She held up both hands, palms upward. “I don’t have a clue. I need to have another look at the papyrus.”

  “We should probably head back to Cairo for now,” Riley said. “We need to figure out what’s going on.”

  “So, tell me your story,” Myles said to Charles.

  “It’s not a story,” he protested. “I’ve already told the others.”

  “You haven’t told me,” Myles said.

  Abigail thought Charles would protest further, but after an interval, he spoke. “Like I told Abigail and her friend back there”—he jerked his thumb over his shoulder—“a man came to see me and said he was from MI6. He showed me his ID, which looked fine to me. Anyway, he said he wanted me to accompany him to Cairo to look at a papyrus. He wouldn’t tell me any details until I was in Cairo, and then he showed me a papyrus. He said it gave the location of Goliath’s spear.”

  “And it didn’t?” Myles asked.

  Charles shrugged. “Not as far as I could see. What about you, Abigail? You said you couldn’t see anything on it either.”

  “That’s true,” she said.

  Charles pushed on. “Then I knew Shoshenq inscribed details of some of his expeditions on the Bubastite Portal, which is why I came to look at it. Abigail had the very same thought independently.”

  “That’s true,” Abigail said again.

  “Go on,” Myles said.

  “When we got here, I couldn’t see anything helpful on the inscriptions, so the man became enraged and stabbed me. I figure he was trying to frighten me into action. I managed to get away and that’s when Abigail and the other guy found me.”

  Abigail could see Riley was frowning hard.

  “It was probably the guy you took down,” Riley said to Myles. “Vortex seem convinced that the papyrus told the whereabouts of the spear.”

  “I’ll have to look at it again,” Abigail said. “The Bubastite Portal was a dead end.”

  Myles shot a look across at Charles. “And do you have any ideas?”

  “None at all,” he said. “If I did, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Perhaps if Abigail and I look at the papyrus together it will help, but I don’t have the papyrus. I take it you guys have a copy?”

  “We do,” Riley said.

  Charles craned his neck and looked into the back seat. “And if you have it with you, could you show it to me now?”

  “Look but don’t touch,” Riley said. He produced the papyrus copy out of his backpack and showed it to Charles. “Does this look like a copy of the one you saw?”

  Charles peered at the paper for a while. “Yes, it looks identical. It is a copy. Still, I can’t see that it gives the spear’s location.”

  “Why don’t we brainstorm?” Abigail offered. “I’ll read out what it says to see if it makes any sense. Two heads are better than one.”

  “Sure, but can we get something to eat? That agent—Vortex, did you say?—didn’t feed me much.”

  “We’ll get food when it’s safe to do so,” Myles said.

  Riley handed Abigail the papyrus.

  “It gives the account of the spear’s travels…”

  She would have said more, but Charles interrupted her. “Yes, I know that already.”

  Abigail was somewhat irritated. “We’re brainstorming, Charles. I’m going to state what is obvious and then you let me know if anything occurs to you.”

  He chuckled. “Okay, you’re the boss. Your bodyguard is bigger than my bodyguard. Okay, I don’t have a bodyguard.” He laughed at his own joke.

  Riley shook his head in disgust.

  Abigail pushed on. “It tells of the spear belonging to Ramses III. It says it was brought back from the land of Abram.”

  “The Bubastite Portal mentions Shoshenq and the land of Abram,” Charles said. “But it doesn’t give any details.”