Death on Tour (11 page)

“I’m thirsty. I want a beer,” she announced, as though expecting me to conjure one from the air.

“You won’t be able to get a beer here. You know the Egyptians don’t serve alcohol any place except the hotels.”

She clicked her tongue. “I can’t believe we are stuck in this wilderness for a whole hour. There’s nothing here but plants and dirt.”

“What did you think a botanical garden was?” I asked.

“I feel like I’m just being herded around, like we’re kids on a field trip or something.”

“What did you think a tour was?”

She glared at me again. “Aren’t these people driving you crazy?”

I thought about it. “Not really. This is a pretty good bunch overall. And we’d never be able to do everything we’re doing without a tour guide. It’s worth it.”

“Ah, there you are!”

We both jumped. Out of the bushes stepped a very small Egyptian man, wearing khaki pants, a white cotton shirt open at the collar, and a relieved expression. “I have been looking for you everywhere. Come with me.”

Kyla and I looked at each other. “I don’t think so,” we said in unison.

He looked taken aback. “But I have the items you wanted.”

“We don’t want anything,” I said. I looked around uneasily. Although I could hear voices in the distance, at that moment I could see no one else along the path. The dense foliage made a very nice screen for a private meeting.

“No, no. There is a misunderstanding. I am Aladdin,” he added, as if that explained all.

We just stared at him. I was hoping he would go away, or that someone else would come around the corner.

“Sisters? You are sisters? From Utah, yes? You must come with me. I am Aladdin,” he repeated, and reached out as if he were going to take Kyla’s arm.

With one swift movement, Kyla jumped to her feet and poked him in the chest. She was a tall girl, and her eyes looked down into his, shooting fire. “I don’t care if you’re Ali fucking Baba himself. We’re not going anywhere with you, you got that? And if you don’t leave us the hell alone, I’m going to start screaming, and then I’m going to beat the shit out of you. Do you understand that?” She was quivering with rage.

I rose also, not entirely sure whether I was presenting a united front with Kyla or whether I was getting ready to save this strange little man’s life. Fortunately, Aladdin staggered back a few paces and held out his hands.

“Sorry. I am sorry, pretty ladies. I meant no offense.” He backed away and then turned and ran. A wise man.

We watched him disappear around a corner. The world returned to normal. The sun was still shining on the water. The wind rustled in the branches overhead. I drew a deep breath of relief. “What in the world was that about?”

Kyla shot me a look that made me think Aladdin had the right idea.

I went on. “Did you hear him ask if we were from Utah? That’s the second guy who’s done that. Remember the freaky carpet guy in Cairo? He asked me about Utah too. Don’t you think that’s odd?”

She ran a scathing eye over my clothing. “Maybe he thought you were a Mormon.”

I flushed. I was wearing my travel uniform. Jeans, oxford shirt with matching tee underneath, and sneakers. I looked fine. The fact that I wasn’t wearing sky blue capris and suede flats did not mean I was a frump. It didn’t.

“You know, if you’re so interested in Alan Stratton, you only had to say,” she went on.

My jaw must have dropped a little. “Because I talked to him on the boat? He was sitting next to me. Besides, I didn’t realize you had called dibs. In fact, I seem to recall you saying something about the size of the stick up his ass.”

“At least it’s not as big as the one up yours.”

Okay, that was a good one. Still, I couldn’t let her distract me or make me laugh. That would send her over the edge, and besides I was getting really angry.

“Look, he’s a nice guy, and I admit he’s very attractive. But that’s it. I’m not trying to steal him away from you. For one thing, I didn’t know you wanted him and for another, that’s really more your style. Not mine.”

For a moment I thought she would explode, then she shut her mouth and almost visibly regained control.

“We could probably both use some alone time,” she said. Her tone was reasonable even if her teeth were clenched. “I’m going down to this market and see if I can find a cold Coke, since I can’t get anything better. Why don’t you enjoy nature for a while and I’ll see you later.”

She turned on her heel and stalked off without giving me a chance to answer.

This, too, was typical of her. She got into a mood and turned into Bitchzilla for a while, but sooner or later the evil spell wore off and she returned to her sarcastic, bossy, lovable self. It wasn’t much fun for those of us who retained our human form full-time. And just when I thought I was used to her moods, she could still say something to infuriate me.

I started walking, mostly to have something to do. The path closest to the western shore provided a marvelous view of both water and sand. The far bank rose sharply from a scrubby line of trees in a forbidding bank of undulating dunes, giving way to the rocky outcropping that housed the Tombs of the Nobles. From this distance, the tombs, a series of small doorways carved right into the stone, looked more like a mysterious and primitive village than the resting place of the lords of Egypt. Steep rock staircases led from the doors right to river’s edge. I started wandering slowly along the path, taking pictures of plants to my left and dunes to my right. I glanced at my watch occasionally. Sticking to a schedule was another of the small drawbacks that went with being part of a tour group.

A group of school children came running down the path, laughing and shouting. I smiled at them and turned down another path leading to the center of the island. I like kids in general, but I made it a policy to avoid roving feral packs of them.

As I reached the main path that ran down the center of the island, I saw Kyla talking with Alan. She was curling a strand of her dark hair around a finger and smiling that brilliant smile up into his face. I couldn’t see his expression, but he wouldn’t have been human if he hadn’t been dazzled. In fact, the only surprising thing was the sharp pang of jealousy that stabbed through me. What did I care if Kyla flirted with some guy on our tour, a guy we would never see again after next Sunday? Yes, he was nice looking, but so what? I knew dozens of nice-looking guys. Well, half a dozen. Okay, three. And they were married. But, again, so what? I decided to slip down a side path before they could spot me, but I was too late.

“Jocelyn,” called Alan and smiled, and I had no choice but to join them.

Kyla was shooting daggers at me to go away, but I ignored her and held up my camera. “Let me get your picture.”

Alan smiled and stood straight, while she leaned into him in what I considered a most suggestive way. I snapped the picture.

“
We
were just heading toward the market to get something to drink,” said Kyla.

“Yes, do you want to join us?” asked Alan.

I could see how enthusiastic Kyla was about that idea. I almost said yes just to annoy her, but decided there was no point. I had never been able to compete with her and any pathetic attempts on my part now would just embarrass me and amuse her. No … that wasn’t fair. Kyla might be in full bitch mode at the moment, but she loved me and wouldn’t have intentionally gone after someone that she knew I wanted, not again. I probably didn’t want him anyway, I told myself sternly.

Realizing they were waiting for me to answer, I said quickly, “No, you all go ahead. I’m going to take some pictures on the Aswan side.”

“We’ll walk with you,” said Alan pleasantly.

“No, really, that’s okay,” I said.

“But I want to go sit down,” said Kyla at the same time.

“I’ll catch up with you,” I promised.

“No problem. This is on the way,” he said. And the three of us walked on together.

Being a man, Alan was probably completely unaware that the warmth of the afternoon had just been replaced by a subarctic front. Kyla was refusing to look at me, her lips pressed into a thin little line. I wanted to kick her in the pants.

“Did Kyla tell you about our encounter with a guy named Aladdin?” I asked, desperate to say something.

“Aladdin?”

“Really. He said his name was Aladdin. He wanted to show us his wares. Very creepy.”

I stopped to take a picture of the largest hibiscus I had ever seen. I loved plants, at least those cared for by others. I had a hard time keeping anything alive.

“What kind of wares?” asked Alan.

“I don’t know. We didn’t get that far. He wanted us to go with him, but Kyla convinced him otherwise. You were great, by the way,” I added.

She was torn between annoyance and gratification. “Well,
someone
had to stand up to him.”

Alan looked from Kyla to me, finally picking up on the undercurrents. “You were smart not to go with him, but he was probably just an overeager salesman.”

I frowned. “Except he was really persistent. And he almost acted as though we should recognize his name.”

“He probably thought that tourists like the name Aladdin,” said Kyla impatiently. “What difference does it make, anyway?”

Alan looked like he was about to say something, but just then the group of boys playing in the grass kicked a ball too hard. It sailed past us and looked as though it was on its way to the Nile. Alan made a lunge for it, missed, and then ran after to save it from dropping off the steep bank.

Kyla took the opportunity to grab my arm.

“What is up with you?” she hissed in a low angry tone.

I eyed her narrowly. She wanted a fight, I just wasn’t sure why. “What do you mean?”

“Alan. Do you have a problem with me talking to him?”

Wow. She used to be much more subtle when we were in high school and she’d been making the moves on Matt Fletcher even though she knew I had a huge crush on him. I’d cried into my pillow back then, but I was far too old for that now.

“Is that what you’d like? It’s no fun if someone else doesn’t want him?” I kept my tone low, but I didn’t bother to hide my irritation.

She went white, then bright red. “At least I have a life. What do you have? Riding herd on a bunch of ungrateful delinquents all day and then spending the evening with a beer and a remote isn’t much to be proud of.”

“Better than vodka and a vibrator,” I snapped.

We glared at each other like a couple of grizzlies getting ready to go at it over a cub. Or maybe like a sleek jungle leopard against a wildebeest. A peacock and a wet hen? A Doberman versus a dachshund? Anyway, all we needed was a fight ring and a bell to turn this into the ugliest showdown since Tyson gnawed off Holyfield’s ear. Fortunately, Alan returned, tossing the ball back to the kids.

Kyla grabbed his arm. “Come on, Alan, let’s go find a drink. Jocelyn, you can catch up later, right?”

Tactful she was not, but her methods were effective. Alan escorted her up the path at a very respectable clip, leaving me in the proverbial dust. He glanced at me over his shoulder, and I quickly turned to take a picture of something or other.

I managed to arrive in the little market on the southern end of the island right on time for our group meeting. Everyone else was already there, even Fiona and Flora. I joined Lydia, Dawn, and Nimmi at a low railing. They were looking down at a lower level where DJ was busy haggling with a woman over a brightly colored scarf. Even from this distance I could tell it was of exceptionally poor quality, but DJ was having so much fun. His hands waved enthusiastically as he talked, up by his ears one minute, down low the next. His audience was commenting loudly on his performance and giggling like kids.

I glanced back at the rest of the group. Kyla was sitting alone on a bench holding a plastic bottle of Coke, and Alan stood thirty feet away, talking with Ben and Lydia. I did not know quite what to make of that.

After a few minutes, Anni called us together and we followed Hello Kitty a very short distance to look at the Aga Khan mausoleum where it perched across the water on the western shore. By now, the sun was well on its way to the western horizon and the building was almost a silhouette. Although pretty in its way, and probably enormously expensive, the building was very new. I might have learned why this seemed to be such a tourist point of interest, but I caught sight of a man in white near the drinks booth and stepped away. It was Aladdin, looking pleased with himself.

I slipped away from the others and followed him a few paces, trying to look like I was just casually walking down the path. I probably didn’t need to bother—he never looked back, and I didn’t have to pretend long. He called a greeting to the man behind the counter of the cold drinks stand, and slipped inside the little booth. Just a hawker after all, I thought. I turned back and almost ran into Alan, who had come up behind me silently.

He looked at me with a strange expression. “Problem?”

I glanced past him to where Kyla was glaring. “No. Just wanted something to drink.”

I turned back to the stall quickly and bought a Coke I did not want, glad that Aladdin was hidden from sight. I could feel Alan’s eyes on me as I returned to the group.

*   *   *

By the time we got back to the hotel, I felt uncomfortable and discouraged. Kyla was frigidly polite, which on the whole was a good thing. She could have taken us right back to high school by giving me the silent treatment, a game she had mastered and practiced a lot. It was a game I didn’t like much. My problem was that I was incapable of holding a grudge. One good night’s sleep, and I was ready to be friends again. She, on the other hand, had once ignored me entirely for almost a month when I’d criticized the boyfriend du jour. She thawed toward me only after she learned through another friend that I’d been right and that he had been playing footsie with her archenemy, Sandra Kowalski. Since that day, we’d been best friends and hadn’t had more than a moody spat or two or six hundred. Nothing serious though. Now we were seven thousand miles away from home and sharing a hotel room. We were going to have problems if she decided that I was untouchable.