Pharaoh's Gold

by Nathaniel Burns

  The Master Craftsman looked from him to Neti and finally to Seota before he spoke. “I guess I will have to comply then.” The man looked back towards Shabaka and irately demanded “Who do you want today?”

  Shabaka turned to Neti who pulled out a small scroll. She made a show of opening and reading it before announcing, “Addo, Seco, Joi, and Masla.”

  The Master Craftsman went rigid at that, “But they are all my gold smelters!”

  “The records indicate them,” Neti said.

  “What records?” The Master Craftsman demanded.

  “Those compiled here,” Shabaka said and the watched as four men hesitantly approached them. “Just have them line up in front of us,” Shabaka said indicating the area where the Master Craftsman stood.

  “You are not taking them for questioning?” The Master Craftsman asked, confused.

  “It is not your place to question my methods.” Shabaka firmly said, “You are only to comply with my request.”

  “Then why the guards?” the Master Craftsman demanded.

  “To stop anyone who tries to get away,” Neti calmly said.

  The Master Craftsman shrugged his shoulders and indicated for the men to come forward.

  “None of them are off?” Neti asked, surprised.

  “With all the delays, I need all of them in them here,” The Master Craftsman said,

  Shabaka looked over the four men, who came to stand in front of him. They were of various ages and the one had what appeared to be a recent scar across his left arm that looked like a heated rod had touched him. Another had a finger missing. Collectively, they all seemed fit and physique. Their heads and bodies were shaved clean while they wore the utmost minimum clothing.

  Shabaka, for a moment, thought that their lack of clothing may cause Seota some level of discomfort, especially since one of them seemed to look over Neti like a man starved of the view of women.

  Shabaka turned to Seota and asked, “Can you identify the man?”

  Seota nodded and lifted her hand to point to the one man, and said “he is the second one on the right.”

  Shabaka looked the man over. He appeared to be the youngest of the four. He was very physique with clear bright eyes and wore the most clothing.

  Shabaka indicated to one of the guards to step closer and then pointed to the man, firmly instructing, “Search him.”

  The entire hall fell silent as the guard started searching the man. Some moments later the guard revealed a few gold nuggets, which he held out towards Shabaka.

  “Seco?” The Master Craftsman said in disbelief, “But you are my most trusted.”

  Shabaka looked at the gold and then to the man, before firmly demanding, “Care to explain?”

  “I have done nothing wrong,” Seco said.

  “As I said, do you care to explain?” Shabaka repeated.

  “You have already judged me” Seco accused. “So what would the point be?”

  “I have not done anything of the sort,” Shabaka firmly, even calmly replied.

  “Have you not?” Seco again challenged.

  “No I have not.” Shabaka stated and indicated to the hall. “We are in the craft hall, you are a gold smelter and it is only understandable that you would currently have gold in your possession.”

  The man looked at Shabaka and Neti, confused, which caused Neti to step forward. “The records indicate that of all four the smelters, you have the least loss of gold.”

  “And that makes me appear a suspect?” Seco demanded. “I thought you were investigating Geris’ murder and missing gold.”

  There was a murmur throughout the hall that quickly died down when Shabaka gestured to Seota and said, “We left Seota here yesterday to observe those in the craft hall. She reported to us that you exchanged nuggets with the others.” Shabaka then gestured to the gold the guard still held, “Which makes those not as easy as one would imagine to explain.”

  Seco looked from Shabaka to Seota, and then scoffed, “Well, obviously she did not look closely enough,” The man then turned to the guards, before adamantly continuing, “Neither does she know anything about gold.”

  Shabaka clenched his fists but show little other response as he said, “Seota is not a gold worker, although I guess she could teach you a thing or two about cloth, clothes, and appearing decent.”

  Seco’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Shabaka and unyieldingly stated, “Yes I do exchange gold nuggets with the others. And as you have said, we work within the hall thus it is not a crime.”

  “I will decide whether a crime has been committed,” Shabaka decreed.

  “Ha! Just like the pharaoh. You will condemn a man just because it suits you.”

  “Speak ill of the pharaoh and you will have to answer to his wrath. So I suggest you explain yourself,” Shabaka angrily said.

  Seco turned and gestured to the others, “As you can see I am the youngest between them, although not apprentice young. Also, out of the men practicing my craft, I am the best at identifying quality gold nuggets, unlike the fools who currently sort and weight gold. I can tell the difference between superior west gold and that which come from the eastern deserts. So, in exchange the portion of poorer quality gold that I am given for that of a better quality.”

  Shabaka looked at the other men, one at a time, but none seemed surprised by the man’s declaration. “Is what he says the truth?” Shabaka asked.

  The men all nodded.

  Shabaka then turned to look at Neti for a moment, but his thoughts were interrupted when Seto arrogantly demanded, “Seeing as you have not found anything, could we get back to work. The pharaoh’s gold does not smelt itself.”

  To this Neti responded, “No, we are not done yet.”

  The unexpectedness of her words had even Shabaka turn to look at her in shock.

  “As you have stated, we are investigating the murder of Geris and the reports of missing gold.” Neti took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing, “And since the record keeping we initiated in the hall was to record the gold movement within the hall. However, you, with your nugget exchange, has rendered the results of those records inaccurate.” Neti stepped forward as she continued, “If we were so inclined we could claim that you purposely threw off the figures, which could then be viewed as an attempt to hinder our investigation.”

  “Well, it is not my fault if the men who sort the gold and weight it cannot identify superior gold. I am the best at that and I only work with the best,” Seco heatedly replied.

  “That may be so,” Neti said calmly which confused the man somewhat, “But in doing so you have committed a crime. You have interfered with our investigation and that is punishable by the Pharaoh.”

  Seco remained silent if somewhat chided by that.

  “It is now up to us to decide how great a crime that was. And since the initiation of the records, this division, the area that you work in, is the one where the gold seems to be disappearing. That means that one of you would therefore be guilty of theft.”

  To that, Seco shook his head, however Neti continued. “Since your actions, not only facilitate the opportunity for the person to steal the gold, you have made all of your fellow workers look guilty as well.” Neti pointed to the men who looked at each other in shock. Two even shook their heads in disbelief, before Neti continued. “But because it will not be reasonable for us to arrest and bring before Ramesses all four of you, and in doing so remove from the hall a group of crucial workers, we are going to give you an option.”

  “What is that?” Seco demanded.

  “From now on, there will be no more exchanging of gold nuggets. If you are not happy, then speak with the sorters or even select your gold yourself before it is weighed. But no more exchanges after it is weighed. And if you do, and I will place your Master Craftsman in charge of ensuring that you do not, you will be brought before Ramesses.”

  Seco looked from Neti to Shabaka and then finally nodded, “I will agree, but only if I am to chose my
own nuggets before weighting.”

  “If that is what you wish, then it is up to the Master Craftsman to grant or deny the request.”

  Neti looked towards the Master Craftsman and the man hesitantly spoke up, “If it is possible, then yes he can chose the gold he wants to work with.”

  Shabaka turned to the Master Craftsman and firmly said, “If he does not comply with these conditions, all of your smelters in fact, then you will also be held responsible and also brought before Ramesses in a public hearing.”

  The master craftsman remained quiet, thus Shabaka demanded, “Do you understand this?”

  “Yes.” the Master Craftsman said.

  “Then they can return to work,” Shabaka said and gestured to the guard to return the gold to Seco

  Shabaka, Neti, and Seota left the hall, and just as they were out of earshot, Shabaka dismissed the guards and allowed them to outstrip them, before saying, “Thank you, Neti.”

  Neti smiled, “I would hate for an arrogant person to get the better of us.”

  “It’s good that at least you can keep a clear head in the face of such antagonism.”

  “He’s guilty?” Neti stated

  “What!” Shabaka demanded, coming to a complete standstill. “How do you know?

  “How many people have we questioned in similar situations?” Neti asked,

  “Many,” Shabaka said.

  “And given the situation, outnumbered by guards, singled out for a crime, how many become nervous even when they are not guilty.”

  Shabaka thought it over for several moments before he answered, “Everyone.”

  “So why wasn’t he?”

  Shabaka again remained silent for several moments, before he said, “Because he somehow knew that if it were put to the test, we did not have enough to incriminate him without a doubt.”

  “He swapped the nuggets in order to throw the number off and in such a manner still be able to take some. It may not be as much as he would like to, but it is more than he would have had,” Neti said.

  “And since he had not left the hall with the gold, we cannot claim that it has been stolen,” Shabaka said looking at Neti, “That sounds to me like a very cleaver thief.”

  “If only we could arrest him on that,” Neti said. “But as it is, the suspicion alone would not be enough to request Ramesses’ authorization to search his house.”

  “And I can imagine he would contest it and even claim that we damaged things,” Shabaka said.

  “We need to find another way of approaching this, and since he now knows we are keeping an eye on the records.”

  “Trying to catch him away from the hall with gold nuggets will also make it difficult, since for all we know he could be melting and casting the nuggets,” Shabaka said and then grew quiet for a while. “I think the best approach would be to have the mejay keep an eye on him, and report back on his movements.”

  “It is possible if they can move without actually being seen by him.”

  “I am certain that no one would object to mejay officers moving along the rooftops. I am even certain that Ramesses could come up with a reasonable explanation for the need.”

  “That would then also make it possible for us to see who he interacts with. We could even question any messengers sent to him,” Neti said.

  .Shabaka grew silent for several moments, “I’m not even certain I want to request all that of Ramesses. He is angry enough at the lack of progress we have made with this one.”

  “Tell him we are going after the man responsible, possibly even uncover the entire network, just like we did with the gems.”

  Shabaka smiled, “He would prefer news of something like that above anything, but we cannot foster such hopes in him.” Shabaka then released a heavy sigh, “Actually, compared to that investigation, we have spent very little time on this matter, but still too much.”

  “The villains are getting more ingenious and we need to be smarter than them if we hope to capture them.”

  Shabaka nodded. “I will explain to Ramesses as best as I can, although it will be easier with you there as well.”

  “Then I will be there.”

  16

  Chapter Sixteen

  For two days, the mejay followed Seco, Their initial attempts were clumsy, and so much so that the Seco quickly learned that was being watched and kept to a predictable routine of returning home ever evening after work.

  Shabaka tried to keep a positive attitude in that they knew where the man lived thus made it easier to observe. However, even that did not help them much since from appearances the man kept his existing standard of living, which involved an estate on the outskirts of the city where his wife tended a large vegetable garden and several goats. The reports Shabaka received reported that the wife appeared happy and that she would often entertain other women and happily converse with others when they gathered at the river’s bank to do washing.

  It was on the third evening that things changed. A nondescript man came to the house to call on Seco. He was of average height and build and quickly blended in with a group of people. Had it not been for the fact that he carefully approached Seco’s house, no person would even had noticed him.

  The man knocked on the door and looked about him. Seco opened the door and peered out as he spoke to the man. They disappeared inside for several long moments before the man left.

  The mejay on the nearby roof lifted his arm to the other a few homes away who did the same. He first then pointed to the man. Without a word, the second followed him. The first then turned to the opposite end of the roof where he once was and again stuck his hand in the air, this time spreading his fingers. Another, a few homes, away did the same.

  Shabaka was discussing the shifts required for the observation, when the massage arrived that the visitor had been checked several streets from Seco’s house and that the mejay was awaiting instruction.

  Shabaka followed the messenger to where the man had been detained. The man looked at Shabaka with contempt and then demanded, “What is the meaning of this? I have a great many thing to do this evening and your men have now prevented me from doing so.”

  Shabaka looked the man over and calmly asked, “What is your name?”

  The man’s expression changed from distain to disbelief, quickly followed by anger as he demanded, “What is it to you who I am?”

  Shabaka remained calm, as he said, “You have a choice, sir. Either you identify yourself or we will tie you to the post in the whipping yard and extract it from you.”

  Shabaka’s calmness however only served to anger the man even more, as the man threw back, “You have no right to do that!”

  “I may not, but I can request punishment to be handed down from Ramesses,” Shabaka calmly continued.

  The man then became still, with his voice lowering to a more mundane tone as he answered, “I am but a humble citizen walking in the street. There is no reason for your men to detain me or for you to question me.

  Shabaka made no response to the man’s words, and instead again requested, “What is your name?”

  The man looked at him for several long moments before replying, “Zawe.”

  “And what is your business with Seco?” Shabaka asked.

  The man scoffed at that and even shook his head as he replied, “You know, I thought Seco was misguided when he said that there were people following him, but now it seems he was not. I really should go and apologize to him.”

  Shabaka glared at the man as he repeated the question, “What is your business with Seco?”

  “I have no business with him,” Zawe said.

  Shabaka’s one brow rose, he however remained quiet.

  “We often go out for a beer together or to go watch the scorpion fights, which there is one on this evening.”

  “If that was so, and your friendship is so simple, why is he not with you now?” Shabaka asked.

  “Because he is paranoid at the thought that he is being followed,” the man quickly r
eplied. “And considering this, I should have heeded his warning better.”

  “A man who is not doing anything wrong, should not be concerned about being followed,” Shabaka said and carefully watched the man’s reactions. After several long moments he said to the guards, “Let him go, he’s not the one we’re looking for.”

  Shabaka’s dismissal visibly piqued the man’s interest, as he quickly asked, “Who are you looking for?”

  Shabaka looked at the man for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and replying, “There is someone who is targeting the hall’s gold workers and one was recently killed.”

  “Seco never told me,” the man said in surprise. His actions seeming somewhat fallacious when he added, “That must be why he is so reluctant to come out this evening. He should be thankful that you are keeping an eye out for him.”

  “We have not made it public so would appreciate it if it was kept that way.” Shabaka said,

  “Certainly, not a person shall learn it from me,” he man said, almost too enthusiastically. “Thank you, for looking out for him.”

  “Only fulfilling our duties,” Shabaka said and the watched as the man walked away. Once he was far enough as not to hear, Shabaka turned to the highest ranking member of the group and said, “Have one of your men follow him. Find out as much as you can about him.”

  The guard looked at him, before he asked, “Why did you let him go then?”

  “Since if he is one of them, allowing them to think we are oblivious of what they are doing will make them careless. And nothing results in stupid mistakes faster than a sense of overconfidence.”

  The guard nodded and then signaled for one of the men to follow him, only to turn to Shabaka and say, “We know where the scorpion fights are this evening. I could tell you.”

  Shabaka shook his head, “No. If they are testing us, as we are them, they would expect us to go to the scorpion fights.”

  It took a further three days before the mejay stopped another man a short distance from Zawe’s home. The man appeared to be a mere messenger, who remained seated on the ground almost pityingly as Shabaka approached him.