âAll three of you?' Shufoy asked.
âSurrounded by guards,' Thena laughed. âOur temple is near the river, it is not unknown for a crocodile to join us when the shadows fall, whilst we have a number of snakes.' She paused. Amerotke knew Lady Thena must have learnt about General Suten's death. âI'm sorry.' She looked away in embarrassment and returned to her food.
âLord Amerotke,' Paser put his goblet down, âwe heard the news from the court that the tomb raiders have been condemned and punished. Such a blasphemy.' He made a face. âRoyal tombs, those of nobles! We even heard they discovered and ransacked the sepulchre of Lord Rahimere, who was disgraced and buried secretly. Such a pity! Rahimere's widow died here recently. Sheâ'
âTell us what has happened!' Lady Thena interrupted rather swiftly.
Amerotke gave a short description of what had occurred, half listening to the beautiful song of a nightingale from the gardens beyond.
âIt's not wild.' Impuki smiled. âWe keep the songster in a cage, hanging from a branch outside. Its call is so haunting, but ⦠to business!'
âFirst,' Amerotke pushed his platter away; he wasn't hungry, his stomach felt agitated, yet he had to be courteous, âthe architect Sese, father of the Lady Nethba.'
Impuki sighed. âLord Amerotke, Sese was a man well past his sixtieth summer. He complained of deep pains in his stomach, sometimes he would vomit blood. He was an architect and worked in the quarries; sometimes these places can cause infections in the lungs, though this was not the case with Sese. The source of his sickness was his stomach. I examined him most carefully, here.' Impuki used
his hand to demonstrate. âLow on the left side I felt a large lump, some sort of abscess or tumour. I examined his anus and detected a similar lump just within the rectum. I considered all the signs. Sese was dying; basically his internal organs were rotting away. This was causing obstruction and bleeding. There was nothing I could do but use poppy juice to ease his final days.'
âYet the Lady Nethba claimed he was in good health?'
âGo into the House of Twilight,' Thena replied. âIn our hospital you will find men and women who look healthier than anyone around this table, but their days are counted short. Some deaths are silent and swift. My husband is right. Sese died of a malignancy within, there was nothing we could do.'
âHe made a bequest to the temple?'
Impuki threw his hands up in desperation. âMy lord Amerotke, you are in one of the richest temples in Thebes. Walk round our gardens, visit our storehouses and granaries, the House of Silver, the House of Life; we do not need such contributions. Sese was grateful for the kindness and solace he received.'
Amerotke nodded understandingly.
âThere's much more important business.' Paser rapped his nails on the table. âWe can call on any physician in Thebes to confirm that Sese's death was of natural causes and that he received the best attention from our physicians. Lord Amerotke, I am chamberlain of this temple, responsible for its day-to-day business. You are not only here because an old man died?'
âNo, not just that. The captain of your temple guard had his testicles and heart removed and was left to bleed to death. Captain Mafdet was a respected veteran, a high-ranking official in what you have described as the richest temple in Thebes. Who killed him and why? Secondly,' Amerotke placed his cup on the table, âfour of your temple girls have disappeared. Hesets, virgins dedicated to the
Mother Goddess; these are the daughters of powerful merchants who have petitioned the Divine House about their fate. But let us begin with Captain Mafdet.'
âHe may well have been respected by the House of War,' Paser replied angrily, âbut Mafdet was also a thief and a charlatan.'
âA thief?'
âOn a number of occasions we found items missing from the House of Potions, our dispensaries where medicines, either created here or imported from outside, are carefully stored. Some of these potions are very valuable; the juice of the poppy is one. On a number of occasions the Scribes of the Tally found jars disturbed, medicines stolen.'
âAnd you blame Captain Mafdet?'
âThe thefts began shortly after his appointment a year ago.'
âDid you like him?'
âHe was lazy and insolent,' Impuki explained. âHe liked to strut before the temple women, and sometimes he drank more beer than was good for him. He liked to boast that he'd once been a prominent member of Lord Rahimere's retinue, until he recalled how that nobleman had fallen in disgrace. He hid behind the recommendation he'd received from General Omendap. He was, in fact, a lazy braggart. On the night he was murdered I had ordered him to take torches and search the temple grounds.'
âFor the hesets?' Shufoy asked. âAt the dead of night?'
Impuki wiped his mouth on a napkin. âOver the last few months four temple girls have disappeared. The first vanished late in the afternoon; that was the last time anyone in the temple saw her. A few weeks later two more went missing, as if they had been spirited away. The final one disappeared in the middle of last month. Now, temple girls,' Impuki gave a half-smile, âwell, they differ, don't they, from temple to temple? Some are dancing girls and suffer all the tribulations such a profession brings. The hesets of
Isis are, however, vowed to virginity. They are daughters of the Great Mother, she who lives in eternal light. They come from good families and live a life of great comfort.' He raised a hand. âNever once in the history of this temple has a sacred heset ever run away. Oh,' he shrugged, âthere have been scandals, but that is part of life: a beautiful young woman may catch the eye of a visiting soldier, priest or courtier.'
âBut they never run away?'
âNo, my lord Amerotke, they don't! What has happened, and our records will prove this, is that temple girls have been raped, violated.'
Lady Thena was now nodding in agreement.
âIn the reign of the Divine One's father, shortly after he had returned from his war in Canaan, two army officers violated a temple maiden and were impaled alive on the cliffs above Thebes. But why should a girl run away? In this temple they are safe, pampered, looked after; it is the only life they know. Outside, well it would be like placing a baby gazelle amongst a pack of ravenous hyaenas. So you see, my lord Amerotke, I believe these girls are still here. May the Great Mother have mercy on us. They may have been killed, their bodies buried. The Temple of Isis is like a small city, with its extensive gardens and rich orchards; some places are rarely visited.'
âDid you suspect Mafdet?'
âMafdet was a soldier,' Impuki agreed. âHe was not married but he liked the ladies. I know he visited the houses of pleasure. He liked nothing better than to strut like a cock in front of the temple girls.'
âWere they friendly with him?'
âHe thought they were, but you are talking about young, immature women. Lady Thena is responsible for the temple virgins. On a number of occasions,' Lady Thena nodded in agreement, âshe had to have words with Mafdet about his attitude and manner.'
âIf you didn't like him,' Shufoy asked, âthen who appointed him to the post?'
âLittle man,' Impuki smiled, âyou know the way of the world. As I've said, Mafdet was recommended by the House of War, by Generals Omendap and Suten. In these matters we have little choice but to keep the Divine One happy.'
âMafdet was strong,' Amerotke mused. âHe was used to violence. He liked his beer and the ladies. He also knew the temple grounds and precincts. Are you saying, Impuki, that he lured these girls to some assignation, raped and killed them, and buried their corpses in the temple gardens?'
âIt's possible. The disappearances started after his arrival.'
âSo we come to the motive for his killing.' Amerotke gestured at his three hosts. âYou are hardly grieving.'
âLord Amerotke,' Paser laughed, âto the faithful we may look devout, even holy, as we raise our hands amidst gusts of incense and pray to the Goddess. However, among my colleagues there are those I don't like and there are those who don't like me, yet it doesn't mean we are going to commit murder.'
âWhat happened the night Mafdet died?'
âI met him,' Impuki explained. âI had harsh words about his arrogance. He left and returned to his house, where he drank some beerâ'
âI understand,' Amerotke interrupted, âpoppy juice was mixed with that?'
âUndoubtedly,' Paser agreed. âMafdet's killer, once he was drugged, simply lashed his hands and feet and carried out that dreadful deed. On that night, Amerotkeâand you may ask the temple guards and servantsâLord Impuki, Lady Thena and myself were here. We had worked late that day and had a great deal to prepare for the Feast of Jubilees. We retired in the early hours and never left this building. As I've said, you are free to ask the servants.'
âAnd nothing suspicious was reported?'
âIf there was,' Impuki replied, âwe would have told you.'
âThese girls â¦' Amerotke picked up a piece of meat and chewed it carefully. The wine was very good, filling his mouth with sweetness. Although the hour was late, he felt alert; he was glad to be here. This beautiful chamber with its oil lamps flickering, the fragrant wine and savoury food: such elegant opulence drove away those images of black-garbed figures swirling at him, or Sithia's dying convulsions.
âFour girls have disappeared.' He glanced at Lady Thena. âI can talk to their friends?'
âOf course.'
âAnd none of them have reported anything untoward?'
âLord Amerotke, it was as if the girls had never existed. They were temple girls, being trained in the service of the Divine Mother. They loved gossip, they liked to sing and dance, perhaps flirt with priests or guards. They looked forward to the jubilees and festivals, visits from their relatives, then one day they were gone. Four girls disappearing over a space of five months.'
âHave the temple precincts been searched?' Shufoy asked.
âAs much as we can, but there are places where corpses could be secretly buried and lie for years undetected.'
Amerotke cradled his cup and stared above their heads out of the window. The songbird had now fallen silent, and the only sound was the night wind moving amongst the trees. The smells which drifted in reminded him of his own garden: the mingling of fruit and flowers, the smell of freshly cut grass.
âYou talked about what happened in the Hall of Two Truths today, and you mentioned General Suten. According to the evidence, Suten was mingling poppy seed with his wine.'
âGeneral Suten,' Lord Impuki replied, âwas a good man, a war hero, a cunning, valiant commander. He was a man who could not escape from his fears, particularly the nightmares which had seized him out in the Red Lands.
He often came and talked to me and I would give him advice. You see, Lord Judge, I can heal ailments of the body but not the mind. Sometimes General Suten lived in a world of shadows. He may have been very brave when captured by the Libyans, but the horror never left him. You do know that the charioteer who was captured with him later committed suicide, drowned himself in the Nile?'
âAnd you prescribed juice or powder of the poppy for the general?'
âI examined General Suten very carefully, I searched his body for any ailment. I asked him about his stools and his urine. A special physician in this temple, a guardian of the anus, examined him internally. We could find nothing wrong. Little man,' he turned to Shufoy, âwhen you are happy, does your belly tingle?'
âAye,' Shufoy growled, âand when I am in fear I belch like a trumpeter!'
Impuki laughed. âSomehow the heart affects the belly; that was the case with General Suten.'
âDid he talk about his household?' Amerotke asked.
âHe was deeply in love with the Lady Lupherna, very pleased that he had good retainers like Heby and Menna. I gave him a pouch of powder so that General Suten could enjoy his food and sleep at night. He kept this as a secret from his household. I was horrified to hear the news. General Suten would often come here to look in our kha, the library.' Impuki added, âPaser here is our Sieau, Chief Librarian.'
âWhy was that?' Amerotke asked. âI mean, why your library?'
âGeneral Suten was very proud of his memoirs,' Paser explained. âThe Swallow squadron was part of the Isis regiment. The swallow is sacred to the Great Mother. We keep a temple history here, as do other temples; he often came to consult our books.'
âWas he murdered?' Lady Thena asked. âI heard rumours from those who attended court that those snakes were deliberately brought up, that General Suten was drugged. I wondered,' she glanced quickly at her husband, âI wondered what really happened?'
âWhat my wife means,' Impuki hastened to explain, âis that on the few occasions General Suten came here, he talked about ridding himself of his nightmares. He wondered if he had a demon within him which should be exorcised.'