7 - The Camel of Destruction by Michael Pearce

Author:Michael Pearce [Pearce, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General
ISBN: 9781590580417
Google: jyopnwEACAAJ
Amazon: 1590580419
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: 2003-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

‘And when I arrived,’ said McPhee, ‘there was Owen orchestrating the crowd!’

‘Managing it,’ said Owen. ‘I was getting it to calm down.’

‘It didn’t look like that to me,’ said McPhee.

‘You should have been there a moment or two earlier!’

‘I came as quickly as I could,’ said McPhee, taking this as a reproach. ‘The car was being cleaned.’

Garvin sighed. He was the Commandant of the Cairo Police, weary in the ways of Egyptian policing.

‘As far as I can see, there was no actual violence.’

‘Three constables have lodged a complaint,’ said McPhee stiffly. ‘Undue violence perpetrated against their persons.’

‘She kicked them up the backside,’ said Owen.

‘That’s what I meant, sir,’ said McPhee, turning to Garvin. ‘Whose side is he on?’

‘If that was the extent of the violence,’ said Garvin, ‘I’ve seen worse cases: about twenty times a day.’

‘It’s the principle of the thing,’ said McPhee severely. Garvin sighed again.

‘Is there any reason,’ he asked, ‘why we should give any time to this whatsoever?’

Owen hesitated. ‘Yes, there is.’

He told them about the possible development of the Derb Aiah area. McPhee, especially, listened with interest.

‘But that would take in the tekke,’ he said.

‘The little mosque with the blue tiles? All sparkle?’

‘Yes.’

McPhee knew his mosques. He was an enthusiast less about things architectural than about things religious and collected shrines and feast-days and old Cairo saints with avidity. Garvin tolerated this eccentricity as he tolerated Owen’s. ‘It would be terrible if that was to go,’ McPhee said.

‘You think it could cause trouble?’ Garvin asked Owen.

‘I think there’s something else that would cause more.’ He told them about the proposed north-south road. ‘Through the City!’ said McPhee, appalled.

‘It’ll never happen!’ said Garvin dismissively.

‘There’s a planning application in.’

‘Doesn’t mean a thing.’

‘The Khedive’s keen.’

‘Means even less.’

‘I don’t know about that. It could be another case like the Agricultural Society.’

‘What?’ said Garvin, caught off-balance and looking at Owen as if he had suddenly realized that he was suffering from sunstroke.

‘When he couldn’t get anywhere, he got on and did it himself.’

He told them about the founding of the Society.

Garvin looked at his watch.

‘Yes, well, thank you. Can I suggest you follow up other things? Both of you.’

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