Murder at the Feast of Rejoicing lm-3

by Lynda S. Robinson

  Besides, he had no great faith in confessions obtained by force. Often one got only what the victim thought one wished to hear. With his men on guard, there would be no more deaths. He would revisit the granary before dark, talk to Idut and Aunt Cherit. Yes, there was much to do, and he could afford to wait for Bentanta to lose her courage. But if she didn't, would his be as great when he had to follow through with his threats?

  Not wanting to know the answer to this question, Meren left the guest house and walked toward his own. As he made his way through the trees that clustered around the high walls, he heard shouting. People crowded around the front gate, pointing and muttering. Reia strode ahead of him, parting the observers.

  As the onlookers stepped aside, the shouting grew louder, then ceased. Abruptly those closest to the center of the commotion scattered, leaving Meren to stare at Kysen and Ra. At the same time, a roar erupted from his brother's lips. Ra sprang backward. A dagger leaped into his hand, and Kysen drew his own.

  "I'll teach you manners, you lowborn son of a goat!"

  Ra's arm darted at Kysen's gut. Kysen parried the thrust, and the blades clashed together. Metal slid against metal until the two weapons locked at the hilt. As the two pushed against each other, Meren jumped at them, grabbed Ra's dagger arm, and jammed his foot into his brother's chest. Ra flew to the ground, still holding his dagger. Meren stood between his son and his brother and glared at Ra.

  "What demon possesses you that you dare attack my son?"

  Ra wiped sweat from his upper lip with the back of his hand. "He tried to keep me from leaving. The cur told me to go back to my chamber as if I were some pubescent girl! He says I'm suspected of killing Sennefer and Anhai, the dung-eater."

  Meren held his ground as Ra sprang to to his feet and walked toward Kysen. He grabbed his brother's forearm, immobilizing the hand that held the dagger.

  "You don't want to fight Kysen," he said. "You want to fight me. Why don't you do it?"

  Ra jerked his arm free and glared at Meren. Then his lips twisted into a smile. "By the wrath of Amun, I've wanted to do this for a long time. Come then, mighty Eyes of Pharaoh, great and powerful Friend of the King, fight me if you dare. I'll kill you before the sun sets."

  Chapter 13

  Kysen hurried over to his father as Meren removed his gold collar, belt, and overrobe. "He came charging out of the house saying he heard you'd forbidden him to leave. I was nearby when he tried to bully the sentry into letting him out of the gate."

  "Did you say he was suspected?" Meren asked. Reia took his jewels and robe.

  "Of course not. I said no one was above suspicion, and he took offense." Kysen glanced at Ra, who was glaring at them from across the clear space formed by the crowd. "This isn't good, Father. Your wounds aren't completely healed. Let Reia and the men take him."

  Meren took Kysen's dagger from him. "No. He has attacked you in front of my people and challenged me. Neither of us can go back, and taking him prisoner would deal him a humiliation he'd never forgive."

  Kysen knew that set look on his father's face. Meren had made a decision from which he wouldn't waver. He stepped back, caught the eye of one of the sentries, and gave him a hand signal. The man nodded, pursed his lips, and whistled. Another whistle sounded inside the house grounds, then another.

  At the same time, Meren and Ra began to circle one another. The sun hung low in the sky, just visible through the trees. Meren kept his back to it, working his way closer and closer to his brother while making Ra face the light most of the time.

  More people joined the crowd-farmers, fishermen, servants. Several charioteers shouldered their way to the front of the throng. Kysen signaled again, and they spread out in a loose ring around the two fighters. Feeling helpless, Kysen moved with them, watching Ra's dagger. Meren was a warrior, but Ra was seven years younger.

  The two drew close enough to strike, but Meren remained on the defensive. Crouched, balancing on the balls of his feet, Ra waved his blade back and forth in front of his brother. Meren refused to look at it, watching Ra's face instead. Finally losing patience, Ra thrust his dagger straight at Meren's gut. Meren hopped out of reach, almost forcing Ra to overbalance. He jabbed again, this time from the side. The blade caught Meren at the waist, drawing a thin line in blood.

  The crowd gasped, and a woman shrieked. Kysen saw one of the charioteers holding Idut by the arm as she shouted at her brothers. Neither paid her any attention. Ra was smiling after his hit, but Meren ignored it and moved to keep his back to the sun. Ra darted at him, his dagger leading. At the last moment, he tossed his weapon to his left hand and struck. Meren ducked underneath the path of the blade, spun, and shoved Ra, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees.

  Kysen wasn't surprised when Meren simply straightened and waited for his brother to recover. From the beginning Meren's stance and lack of offensive movements had told Kysen he didn't intend to fight Ra as he would an enemy. Ra seemed to realize this too, for he jumped up and turned on Meren, his sweating face red, teeth bared.

  "Fight me, you cursed son of the Devourer." Ra walked quickly toward Meren. "I'll not let you take this from me as you have everything else."

  Before he finished speaking, Ra launched himself at Meren. He crashed into his brother, who fell backward as he grabbed Ra's dagger arm with his free hand. They landed with Ra on top. Meren pulled Ra's arm while shoving with his body. Ra toppled to the side, ending up on his face, spitting dirt.

  Meren jumped to his feet, turned, and stood over his brother, his chest heaving. "You've drawn my blood, Ra. Surely you're recompensed for any insult." He lowered his dagger and turned away.

  Ra rolled over, wiped dirt from his eyes, and saw his brother walking toward the front gate. Springing to his feet, he sailed at Meren, dagger held high and pointed at his brother's back. Kysen put his fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle that was accompanied by those of the charioteers.

  At the sound, Meren whirled around and brought his dagger up just as Ra's blade descended. Metal slid against metal until the weapons locked hilts. Meren fell beneath the impetus of Ra's charge, planted his feet on his brother's stomach, and threw him over his head. Ra hurtled through the air. His head cracked against hard earth as he slammed into the ground on his back, stunned. His dagger flew from his hand.

  There was a sudden quiet as Meren got quickly to his feet and went to his brother. Flailing with arms and legs, gasping for air, Ra tried to rise, but ended up looking like a writhing fish tossed on the riverbank. Kysen picked up Ra's dagger and joined Meren to kneel beside the fallen man.

  Meren grabbed a fistful of Ra's hair and pulled the dazed man upright. "Remember. I wasn't the one who wanted to fight, Ra. And remember this too. If you ever touch Ky again, I'll fight you as I would an enemy instead of a spoiled little brother." Ra slapped Meren's hand from his head and cursed. "You're staying here."

  Meren said. "You can remain as a guest or as a prisoner. I care not which. Come, Ky. We've work to do."

  Kysen had listened to his father's last words with growing surprise that kept him silent while Meren ordered his men to remove Ra to the house. Always, deep within his ka, there had remained a nagging feeling of disbelief that Meren could hold for him the affection a father held for a son of his blood. To be presented with such overwhelming proof of Meren's love was like being gifted with perfection by the gods. He didn't know how to feel or how to respond. Luckily, Meren seemed unaware of the magnitude of his actions. He handed his dagger to Reia, waved a hand to banish the crowd of onlookers, and then glanced at Kysen.

  "We can only pray to Amun that my fool of a brother will think before acting in the future. Damnation. Here comes Idut. Delay her, Ky. I'm going to wash. Meet me in the granary. I want to look at it again before all the light vanishes."

  "Aunt," Kysen said as he stepped in her path. "You don't look well. Didn't you enjoy Father's little game with Ra?"

  "Game? That was no game. Meren! You come back here, Meren.
"

  Kysen danced in front of his aunt as she tried to go around him and thought of a half-lie. "A royal messenger has just arrived. Father must attend to it at once. May I send for beer? You seem overheated, Aunt."

  A messenger had come from the king, but he'd arrived long ago and was filling his belly in the kitchen while he awaited Meren's letters of reply. Kysen managed to divert Idut long enough for Meren to disappear into the security of his apartments.

  Not long afterward Kysen entered the granary court to find Hray in the process of issuing ration payments to the workers. While waiting for his father, he questioned

  Hray again. No, the overseer had seen nothing out of the ordinary, touched nothing when he found Anhai.

  Meren joined them. "But there was one thing out of the ordinary, Hray."

  "There was, lord?"

  "Your grinders fought over their querns and grindstones."

  "Aye, lord. They're a quarrelsome lot sometimes."

  Kysen glanced at the bowed querns and the oblong grindstones. "It appears that several of the laborers have favorite implements. Two of them prefer the same ones."

  "Yes, lord."

  "Indeed," Meren said. "And when you found Anhai's body, two of the grindstones had been switched, precipitating an argument. What I want to know is whether the querns and grindstones were left in their proper order after the day's work."

  "Oh yes, lord," Hray said, jerking his head up and down. "I make them keep the querns and grindstones matched, and I make the two laborers take turns with the set they both prefer. I don't tolerate fighting over the tools. Wastes time."

  "And yet the stones were mismatched," Kysen said. While Meren dismissed Hray, he went over to the awning and picked up a black grindstone, hefting it in his hand. Returning to Meren, he pointed the stone at him. "It's heavy. Wouldn't it have made a mark if someone hit Anhai with it?"

  Meren took the stone, grabbing it by the end. Something in that gesture bothered Kysen, but he couldn't decide how. They stared at the black stone together. The surface was smooth from constant grinding and had a dull sheen. Kysen rubbed it with his fingers, but they came away clean. No trace of any substance at all. He returned the stone to its quern.

  As he did so, he passed a water jar hanging suspended in a net. The vessel was made of clay, allowing some of the water to seep and keep the rest cool. He picked up a pottery cup and poured water into it. He drank all the water before he rejoined Meren, who was standing at the base of the granary in which Anhai had been found.

  While the laborers and Hray filed out of the granary court, they stood contemplating the tall structure.

  "Reia and the others have collected reports on all the servants and guests," Meren said. "We have yet to question Wah, Idut, Sennefer's parents, and Aunt Cherit."

  "You don't think Aunt Idut or dear old Cherit-"

  "Of course not, but they may have seen something."

  "You spoke to the Lady Bentanta?"

  Meren kicked at the door in the base of the granary. "That woman has more boldness and insolence than a she-falcon. I swear when she looks at me she sees a boy with a sidelock."

  Kysen's glance took in Meren's greater height and charioteer's build. "I don't think so."

  "She must, or she wouldn't have refused to answer my questions. I subjected her to a formal inquiry, and she threw it back in my face. She's hiding something, Ky, and I'm going to find out what it is. If she doesn't give in tomorrow morning, I'll-curse it-I don't want to do what I'm going to have to do."

  "Don't worry. If you tried to frighten her, you succeeded. You're good at it." Kysen glanced around the courtyard. "It's growing dark. Time to eat. And I'm going to get some sleep before I have to go to the haunted temple."

  "At least we've been successful there," Meren said.

  "And what of Ra?"

  "I'm going to Green Palm tomorrow morning and talk to those tavern women myself. Then I'll confront Bentanta."

  "Which of them do you think did it?" Kysen asked.

  "I don't know."

  "Would you rather find Bentanta guilty?"

  Meren's head jerked in his direction. His eyes widened, and Kysen heard a sharp intake of breath.

  "Of course," Meren said. "Of course, I'd rather it was her than my brother, no matter how irritating he is."

  "It's just that you seem uncertain."

  Meren fixed him with a forbidding stare. "I'm uncertain about who has committed this evil, and I'm worried about the danger to the rest of us."

  "Of course," Kysen said. "Shall I have the cook send food to your chamber? I don't think you want to eat in the hall with Idut."

  After the evening meal, Kysen left Meren to deal with a pile of correspondence and went upstairs to the office. He was going over the results of questioning the servants and slaves when Iry arrived, escorting Wah. The man had been an ubiquitous presence at Baht. He hovered over Idut dispensing sympathy, compliments, and gifts. He listened to Great-Aunt Cherit's numerous stories of people long dead, nodding and feigning interest. He had tried to gain interviews with Meren, even tried to waylay him during Sennefer's fatal illness. Meren had remarked with venom that if Wah tried to leave as Ra and Hepu had, he might be tempted to let him go.

  Now Wah trotted into the office, eager as a hound, his ever-present basket of dates in one hand, the other wiping runny kohl from his eye. Kysen offered him a stool and took Meren's chair. He had to force himself to do this, for his impulse would be to take the stool. But Meren wouldn't have approved. His rank as a royal inquiry agent demanded that he present an air of authority. Iry settled himself nearby to take notes.

  Wah gave the charioteer an apprehensive look before folding his long frame to fit on the stool. "Such terrible happenings, dear Kysen. I've tried to comfort your aunt and the Lady Cherit. They need me, since you and your father are so busy trying to find the evil one responsible for these deaths. Poor Anhai and Sennefer. Have you found out who it is? I hear the Lady Bentanta is confined to her chamber, as is Nakht-um, Ra, that is."

  "The charioteer Reia tells me you agreed with reports that during Hepu's Instruction at the feast Bentanta left with Anhai."

  "Yes," Wah said as he popped a date in his mouth. "I saw them quarrel. Quite a few people did. And later they left together, which I thought odd considering how little tolerance they seemed to have for each other. Forgive me, but I don't understand why the Lady Bentanta was here at all. I know Idut said she was visiting Sennefer and Anhai when the invitation arrived for the feast."

  This was why Meren disliked Wah. The man probed and pried and busied himself in affairs that didn't concern him, and he wouldn't stop talking. Kysen found himself trying to strangle the arms of his chair and grinding his teeth.

  "Did you see Anhai at all after Hepu finished his Instruction?"

  "No, but I saw Sennefer." Wah laughed. "I remember being able to spot him no matter how thick the crowd because he had a fresh unguent cone on, and it was lopsided. It was a wonder it didn't fall off before it melted."

  "And this was after Hepu had finished?"

  "Oh, yes. Sennefer was talking to one of Antefoker's daughters. The poor girl was blushing and hiding her face behind a fly whisk. I never did understand how Sennefer escaped being garroted by some irate father or abused husband."

  "Do you know of anyone like that who might have wanted Sennefer dead?"

  "I hear there were many," Wah said, giving Kysen a curious glance. "But I thought Sennefer died of poison wine, Lady Bentanta's pomegranate wine."

  "And your servants at the guest house say you retired from the feast along with Nebetta and Hepu, before Sennefer."

  "Am I under suspicion?" Wah drew himself up, but failed in his attempt at dignity; in his position on the stool, his knees stuck up nearly to his ears.

  "I'm merely making a thorough inquiry," Kysen said.

  "Well then, I retired after thanking Idut and your father for an enjoyable feast, and I slept through the night. You may ask my servant."r />
  "I have," Kysen said. "And I've made other inquiries. You were with my aunt for most of the feast, and you even remained in the hall listening to Hepu's entire Instruction."

  "I found it most rewarding. Your uncle is a man of high character and honor."

  "You think so?"

  Wah bit into another date and contemplated the remaining half fruit in his fingers. "I've tried to speak with your father several times without success, my boy. I'm worried about your aunt and your sisters. It might be safer for them if I took them to Memphis until you've solved this crime."

  "You?"

  "After all, I'm Idut's proposed husband. It's my duty to look after her, and as a future member of the family, I'm concerned for the well-being of my little nieces."

  Kysen had no intention of letting this date-munching place-seeker get his hands on his sisters. "I thank you, Wah. I'll put your suggestion to my father. In the meantime you'll continue to lend your support to Aunt Idut by remaining with us."

  "Of course. My, you've been busy making so many inquiries. I had no idea you'd checked my every movement at the feast."

  "Not just you, but yes, we have. We know that you rose late after the feast, after Anhai's body was found, and that you spent the morning lending comfort to the family. I also know that you didn't speak with Sennefer until everyone went to the garden to eat. He fell sick while you were nearby, on the couch."

  "You're surpassing thorough." Wah set his date basket down on the floor. "So you already know that I didn't come near poor Sennefer."

  "But did you see anyone go near Sennefer's wine cup when he was in the garden?"

  "Oh, I suppose most of the family went near it, but only Bentanta remained close to him long. But what of Ra? I hear he claims to have been asleep most of the day."

  Kysen rose, causing Wah to do the same. "My thanks for your help, Wah."