Page 114 of Sands of Sirocco
Sarah clenched her jaw, her lower lip trembling despite the effort.Tears slid onto her cheeks, and she wiped them away with the back of her hands.“Why did you come back?”
“A lot has happened since we parted.”Ginger stood, feeling clumsily inadequate to address Sarah’s broken heart.After all, she’d brought this on Sarah, even if unintentionally.“The man I took you to meet with yesterday—”
Sarah crossed her arms.“He came here tonight.Nenet barely had time to hide me away.”She breathed shakily.
Then it had been Osborne.
Noah put his gun in the holster and offered her an arm, which she accepted.“Are you all right?”
Sarah looked paler now and sat wearily on a nearby chaise.“I’m beginning to understand that Paul was mixed up in something more dangerous than I realized.Would anyone care to explain to me what’s going on?”
Ginger felt horrible for having dragged Sarah into this.The archeologist had been relatively safe while her connection to Freddy Mortimer went undiscovered.
Sitting beside Sarah, she fidgeted with her skirt.“My father lost his fortune.I think he must have spent most of it on that concession.He became indebted to a family friend, a man as soulless as they come.His name is Stephen Fisher.He had sympathies to the Germans and used my father’s debts against him to pull him into his criminal activities.My brother too, at the end.I discovered it by chance last spring.”
Sarah met Ginger’s gaze.Her eyes didn’t contain fear, just questions.“And the spy—Stephen Fisher—he’s on the loose?”
“Yes.”Noah crossed the darkened space to the window.He peeked outside the curtain.“Fisher got away when we tried to arrest him in the spring and recently resurfaced and allowed himself to be captured.I believed the whole time he had some plan, but I wasn’t certain about the objectives.One was to pin all his crimes on my shoulders.The other was to find you.”
Sarah sat straighter.“And Osborne?”
“Osborne appears to be working for him.”Ginger gave Sarah a sheepish look.“I didn’t know—”
“I’m not angry with you,” Sarah said.“But why me?It makes no sense.”
Noah straightened.“By any chance, Mrs.Hanover, do you have any experience in cryptography?”
Sarah rubbed the back of her neck.“Some.Why?”
“Is it possible that your husband would have written to you in a code that would have been difficult for anyone but you to decrypt?”
“I …” She pursed her lips.“The short answer is yes.I’ve always written my excavation notes in code, one that Paul knew but would be gibberish to most people.Are you telling me that Paul left me a note?”
As the morning moved steadily toward sunrise, the space they were in became more visible.A large hall with a squared staircase.Bookcases lined most of the walls beside them.No wonder Sarah was so bright—she surrounded herself with books.
“That’s Noah’s theory.”Ginger shifted in her seat.“They captured our friend, a man named Jack Darby, who happens to be a cryptologist.We think they hoped he would be able to decrypt the message Paul may have left you.We need to rescue him and then find the concession paperwork, if we can.”
“Jack Darby?”Sarah arched a brow.“I might have known he was involved in this mess.”
She knows him?“You’re acquainted?”
“The archeological circle in Cairo is a tight-knit community.And fellow Americans have a way of standing out.Yes, I know him.I haven’t seen him for a couple years.”Sarah lifted her chin toward Noah, with a quick intake of breath.“No wonder you look familiar to me, Mr.Benson.You’re his friend, right?I think we’ve met before.Years ago on a dig in Aswan.I still went by Sarah Anderson back then.”
The revelation wasn’t shocking, but Ginger looked at Noah in surprise.
He gave a slow nod.“That was a long time ago, but, yes, I think I recall.”
That Sarah had met Jack and Noah before gave her an air of trustworthiness Ginger hadn’t expected.“If the community is so tight-knit, how is it that Paul assumed two identities so successfully?Wouldn’t someone have recognized him?”
Sarah shook her head.“I think that was part of the fun of it for Paul.He was quite good at his disguise.When he was Freddy, he was an English fop, ran in a circle of high society.Your father may have been the only one who ever saw through it.I’m assuming he told Olivia Hendricks eventually.Even I didn’t discover it for a few years, but that’s also because he carefully avoided me as Freddy.”
Sarah stood, a more determined look to her face.“I suppose it may be helpful for me to get some of my books about Malta, just in case that’s where Paul left the concession.”She paused and gave Noah a once-over.“You’re not actually a criminal, right?You’re being framed?”
That she asked as an afterthought made Ginger hold back a smile.The feeling of friendship she felt toward Sarah appeared to be reciprocated.
Noah’s eyes hinted at humor.“No, I’m not,” he said dryly.
“Then I’m going with you.Five percent is all I have left from that bastard husband of mine.But five percent of a few billion dollars someday might make my life easier.And if Jack Darby needs help, I want to be a part of it.”Sarah stood and craned her neck at Ginger.“I have a burqa upstairs—I’ll go find it.”
