The Trader´s Pact

by Nathaniel Burns

  Shabaka flatly stated, “So you actually know very little?”

  Mipi quickly countered, “Under the traders there are two types, perhaps three types of traders. Those who do fair and legal trade. Those who trade in illicit goods; and those who do both. Since my father trades in spices and there is nothing illicit about spices, we’ve never needed to seek out such places. Only those who need a place like Apisite-Repiste will seek such a place.…or any place like it.”

  “Any suspicions on where it could be?” Neti asked, ignoring Shabaka’s obvious glare.

  Mipi made to shake his head but instantly hesitated. “It will be smaller, much smaller, with only a small group privy to its existence. They will not make the same mistakes again, not with you here in Thebes.”

  “Before we continue, there is something you have to acknowledge and accept;” Neti said, “It is mandatory.”

  What is that?” Asked Mipi.

  “I know that traders have secrets that they will not share with outsiders, the same as embalmers do not talk outside the trade. Your status and loyalty to the pharaoh and Egypt will compel you to divulge such information if it is to help us with an investigation.”

  “I understand that, just as I know I would make a much better contribution here than as a lonely trader.” Mipi said.

  Shabaka looked at Neti for several long moments and said, “We will need to discuss matters with the third prefect, who will also be responsible for part of your training. There will be a period of trial to see if you are capable of dealing with the investigations and the bodies.” Shabaka said and then pointed to Neti. “That is her duty, but you will be trained by her for the times she is not immediately available.”

  Mipi eagerly nodded in obvious excitement.

  “We will still discuss your payment type, but initially it will be five kite per working period of ten days, while you are training. Once you become prefect it will be adjusted to one debben and two kite.”

  Mipi looked at them in astonishment, “That much?”

  “You will start tomorrow morning,” Said Shabaka.

  From the doorway an astonished Moses spoke, “What you are not going to introduce me?”

  “Moses meet your replacement,” Shabaka taunted.

  “Ha-ha, not funny.” Said Moses, stepping into the room.

  “I was being serious. You never know when Ramesses decides to move you.” Shabaka added causing Mipi to look at them.

  Neti made more formal introductions, “Mipi, meet Moses. He thinks of his stomach first and then his mind is fixated on his pending wedding.”

  “Neti!” Moses said in mock disgust.

  “Recognize you from the battles they often have here to select guards for the palace. I have been trained in stick fighting and wrestling. I have no fear.

  “Good he’s half trained already,” Moses cheerfully said, and then looked at Neti before asking, “Can he read and write as well?”

  Neti nodded.

  “Even better, he can then take your notes when you work with any bodies.”

  “It’s not that bad,” Neti countered.

  “Ha, try holding down your last meal while writing in that stench!” Moses exclaimed.

  Neti simply laughed. “I told you not to eat before attending a body.”

  “We will see you in the morning.” Neti said, smiling.

  Moses escorted Mipi out and Shabaka turned to Neti and angrily asked, “Did you have to ask him about Apisite-Repiste?”

  “Consider it a test. If he goes and tells everyone we know nothing they could get reckless.”

  Immediately Shabaka appeared taken aback.

  “That way we test his loyalty. Besides we learned far more from him than he from us. ”

  “I hadn’t looked at it that way.”

  10

  Chapter Ten

  The following morning a nervous looking Mipi stood at the palace gate as Neti approached. The first guard inclined his head and then said, “This man claims to be a prefect, he requested entry, which we declined since none of the other prefects have arrived. As per the rule of the court he is to be identified by one of the people he proposes to be or face punishment.”

  Neti looked at Mipi, but said, “he is not a prefect…” However she had not even finished her sentence and she could see Mipi preparing to argue, “Yet. He is in training.”

  The moment he realized what she had said Mipi visibly relaxed.

  The guard again inclined his head and said, We shall allow him entry next time.”

  “No you will not,” Neti firmly stated, causing the guard to straighten. “Not he or any trainee may enter the palace without one of us being here. The law stands. And until such time as they have passed, they will not be allowed passage.

  The guard nodded.

  Neti stepped past Mipi and said come.

  Once they were in the prefects’ room she reached for several sheets of papyrus, a inkpot and a quill. Before stating, “If you want to be a prefect you will need to learn to temper your anger.”

  “What do you mean?” Mipi asked.

  At the gate you were preparing to react even before you finished listening to what I was saying. As prefects we should not allow our feelings or perceptions to interfere. We listen first.

  Mipi nodded,

  Neti held out the papyrus sheets to him, along with the ink and quill and said, “You are to come with me today.”

  Mipi hesitantly asked. “I have to work with bodies?”

  “Most of our investigations starts with a body, so you had better get used to it.” Neti said.

  “I have no problem with that but I know nothing about embalming.”

  Neti shook her head and said, “To do that you need to be a certified mummifier like me. You will however have to learn how to tell if the person has died normally, or whether there would be a reason to investigate his death.”

  “I don’t know how to do that.”

  “That is why you are to accompany me.” Neti stated.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the state per-nefer. I don’t have any bodies at mine, where Marlep usually has a body or two lying around.”

  As they entered the per-nefer Neti picked up an unusual sweet smell, but said nothing as Marlep approached, and looked her and her companion over with some hesitation before purposely approaching them. Neti lowered her head in greeting and said, “Good morning Marlep it is good to see you. “

  “As usual a pleasure to see you as well Neti-Kerty. What may I help you with today?”

  “I have come with a strange request and hope you can help me.” Neti pointed to Mipi as she spoke, “I am training this youngster and require your assistance.”

  Marlep noticeably stiffened and appeared visibly taken aback, before he flatly stated, “You do not yet have the authority to train embalmers.”

  Neti Shook her head, “I am not training him to become an embalmer, he is training to become a prefect. I need to familiarize him with bodies before we actually have to investigate a murder.”

  Instantly Marlep smiled, “I see, but if you needed another embalmer you could just have mentioned it.

  “There is no actual need for an embalmer, they need not do more than identify a possible need for us to investigate the person’s death. Just as Moses would.”

  “How do you need my assistance?” asked Marlep.

  “I have to familiarize him with the prominent features and things I look for on a body, and since I do not have any, I was hoping you could assist me with one since you always have a few laying about.”

  Marlep tilted his head some and then said, “It is not the best manner of putting it, but yes we never have a shortage of bodies. Are you looking for anything in particular?”

  Neti shook her head, at this moment I still have to accustom him to the smell and the appearance.”

  “To prevent the queasiness first timer experience.”

  Neti nodded.

  “I will agree to help you b
ut only if you agree to help me.” Marlep said.

  “I would be more than happy if it is within my power.”

  “Since you are training him, and you possess skills that will be useful for our young embalmers to learn, I would like to include them. I think it would be a good lesson for all to understand what you look for, And in doing so remove some of the mystery some seem to think you work under.”

  Neti nodded.

  “I have a new group of four currently training with Leht.” Marlep said and then gestured for them to accompany him. He led them to one of the chambers and even before he pushed aside the heavy drape covering the entranceway Neti could tell that the body had been dead for several days already. Se said nothing to forewarn Mipi as Marlep moved the cover out of the way to allow them entry.

  Within moments of their entry she could hear Mipi already gagging, While she calmly proceeded towards the platform. Their entry had halted all proceedings with everyone turning their attention to Neti and Marlep.

  Leht made to object, however Marlep held up his hand to still the man before stating. “You are in for a treat today.”

  Neti lowered her head in greeting to Leht, who did the same, even though he appeared hesitant.

  Marlep continued. “Prefect Neti-Kerty, who is also a certified embalmer, is today going to show us how she reads bodies and determines what caused their death.”

  Leht looked at Marlep with obvious disgust on his face, however he remained silent.

  One of the trainees immediately asked, “Can you really do that, know how they have died?”

  Neti nodded and said, “Yes, it is actually very easy to do.”

  Leht scoffed but said nothing else.

  Another trainee then asked, “If it is so easy, why can others not do it?”

  Neti looked at the young man, and said, “It is knowing what to look for. But if no one shows them, or even you, what to look for then you will not know.”

  The young man for a moment looked confused, but then said, ‘So you are going to teach us how?”

  “I will show you how, but it is up to you whether you remember it.”

  Neti looked at Leht and pointed towards the platform where all his equipment was neatly packed out and asked, “May I?”

  Leht nodded.

  Neti moved towards the platform and decanted a measure of water before washing her hands and drying them. She then returned to the other platform and looked at the body. Is was already distended, with the trainees in obvious hesitation as to whether they should touch it.

  Neti spoke the first blessing, causing many of the trainees to look at her in confusion.

  “One should always respect the dead. Just because I have come to show you something does not give me reason to act differently.”

  Neti then moved to the man’s arm and lifted it without much effort. She moved it up and then lowered it back to the platform asking, “What would that tell an embalmer.”

  The trainees looked at her in confusion, thus Marlep answered for them, “That the man has been dead for some time.”

  Neti smiled in acknowledgement and nodded before continuing, “That is one of the first things I look for when we are called to a body.”

  “Why?” one of the trainees asked.

  “As your training continues you will learn that there are three stages the body undergoes soon after death. The first is it will still be warm and soft. Which means he has very recently died – or may even still be alive – thus it is very important that you check. If the body is still warm and you can lift the hand and let it go with ease, you should check for a heartbeat. The second stage is the stiffness stage, this is when the body has gone cold and stiff, this is usually the following mealtime after death. And then the third is what we have here; the body has once again softened.”

  “Have you ever seen a bodies Ba leave it?” The youngest of the trainees asked.

  “No it is not like that at all,” Neti said, “I do not see their Ba and their Ka does not talk to me. Their bodies can however speak.”

  “How so?” the one trainee asked who had appeared the most reserved.

  “Look at this body, what does it tell you?” Neti asked.

  “He’s dead,” the one stated outright.

  “Yes we know that but what else?” Neti asked.

  “He’s stinking dead,” Another offered instead.

  “Right we’ll start there he is stinking dead. Being stinking dead tell me, and will soon enough tell you, that the body has been dead for some time, or at least longer than a day. His body is also swollen which means he has been dead at least two days. Once there are fly maggots you know he has been dead longer that seven days.”

  The trainees looked at her in surprise.

  “When we start an investigation, it is important to establish how long the body has been dead, because it tells us that type of questions we should ask the family and friends.” Neti turned to Mipi and instructed, “Remember that and write it down later.”

  Neti the turned back to the others and asked, “What else does his body tell us?’

  “That he is fat.”

  Neti shook her head, “He is not fat, in fact he is no fatter that Marlep or Leht, he has simply swollen after death. But even that tells you something.

  “What?” the older trainee demanded.

  “That his body has remained undisturbed, indicating that he either died indoors or secluded enough that none of the prey animals could get to him. As a prefect, I have to determine three things when I arrive at a body, The first is, how long has the person been dead. The second is where did the man die. The third is how did he die, and could it have been murder.”

  “How do you do that?” the youngest asked.

  “Well the first, hoe long the body has been dead I have already explained. The second is a little harder, especially here at a per-nefer. But when we arrive at a body, there are several things I look for, often before I even determine how long the body has been dead.”

  “And those are?” Leht asked.

  “The first thing I look for is the bloodline.” Neti started only to be cut short by the more reserved trainee.

  “That is silly… The man’s family would be there or you would have an idea as to who he was, a body cannot tell you anything about their bloodline.”

  “Not that type of bloodline.” Neti said and moved to check the body before pointing, “If you look there you will see that the lower part of the body is darker and there is a visible line.”

  All the trainees looked.

  “That is a blood line.” She looked at the one trainee as she continued, “When the body dies, the blood lowers to the bottom forming a line. It tells people like me exactly in which position the person was when they died.”

  “That is amazing,” the one trainee said.

  “Now if we see more than one such line, it means the body was moved after death, when the blood was still lowering.” All the trainees looked at her in awe as she continued, “It also indicates the likelihood that the man was murdered and moved soon thereafter. It also tells us that where we find the body is not where the crime was committed.”

  “How do you know that?” the older one again challenged.

  “You will, with time, come to learn these things just as you will learn to distinguish an accidental death from someone who was killed. It is however up to us to determine whether an accident was just an accident or if the person was actually killed.”

  “How would you do that?” Leht asked.

  Neti thought for a moment before answering, “If stones roll down a hill and hit someone below killing them, would it be an accident or murder?”

  “An accident.” The youngest quickly answered.

  Neti shook her head and said, “It is not that simple. For even though the injuries and cause of death would be similar, the difference between the reason for his death lies in the intent.”

  The trainees looked at her obviously confused.

  “If t
he stones simply rolled down the hill, it would be an accident. But if somebody had purposely packed them there and released them, it would be murder… This is often the difference between being a mummifier and being a prefect. What would you say caused this man’s death?’ Neti asked the trainees.

  The youngsters looked at the body but shook their heads.

  Neti spoke as she looked over the body, “The area where the person is found will often help you, along with the manner in which the person is found. Someone who has trouble with their heart or with breathing will grab at their chest. Their lips will turn blue. It is a natural cause of death for many elderly people. But in one such as him, if they were to appear we would look for marks around the neck or something placed in the mouth and throat. From the bloodline,” Neti pointed to the darkening on the body, “The manner in which he lies on the platform, confirms that he was not moved. So he in all likelihood died in his sleep. He has no marks that indicates that he may have been attacked.” Neti looked at the trainees and said, “Marlep should be able to confirm, but according to his body this man died in his sleep and was found in his home on his bed mat.”

  The trainees looked towards Marlep in expectation.

  Marlep nodded and said, “We collected him in his home in his sleeping chamber.”

  The oldest however challenged, “he could have told you before you came in here.”

  Neti turned to her Mipi and asked. “Did Marlep disclose to me where this body was found?”

  Still in shock Mipi shook his head.

  Neti turned to the others and said, “This means that even if we were called to the scene, there would have been nothing to investigate, unless his house was in disarray.”

  “But you only investigate prominent people”

  “We currently investigate all matters. although we were originally charged with investigating the death of all officials and prominent members of society.”