City of the Dead

nearing completion. The burial would take place as soon as the body was ready, Ay’s messenger Ineny had told him. All the arrangements had been taken over by Ay, but no agreement had yet been reached over who should perform the rite of Opening the Mouth.
    The smell of linseed oil, bak, and spices reached his nostrils as he approached the untidy line of buildings open at the front, with small tables sprawling out onto the quayside as far as the lantern light would reach.
    A number of diners sat at each establishment. They were mainly rivermen, and the noise of the conversation and the mingled smells of cooking, the scurrying of the serving men and girls, and the steam and smoke from the fires and the clay ovens at the rear, created a chaotic and amiable inferno in which it was easy to hide. Threading his way through tables Huy found Nehesy seated near the back of the third eating house, an untouched bowl of duck and lentils in front of him, his hands clasping and unclasping impatiently. He half rose as Huy quickly sat next to him, placing a hand on his arm.
    ‘No one saw you arrive?’ asked Huy.
    ‘They don’t know my face down here, or I’d have been mobbed. Everyone’s talking about the king’s death. I overheard more than one bargemaster say he wasn’t continuing on to the Northern Capital until he was sure who the next pharaoh was going to be.’
    ‘It won’t make any difference to them.’ it won’t make any difference to most of us; but we like to think it’s important that we know.’
    Huy smiled. ‘Maybe we’re being optimistic to think that it won’t make any difference. Did you see the chariot?’
    Nehesy glanced around quickly. ‘Yes. The guards weren't too happy about it at first, but as soon as I told them who I was, they let me in. Especially as I happened to take along a couple of antelope hides, which they were very happy to accept.’
    ‘What did you tell them?’
    ‘That I needed to check the equipment — the sand shovel, what weapons were left — for my own report.’
    ‘And?’
    Nehesy leant forward. He thrust his great head forward, placed his elbows on the table, and spread his hands wide. ‘In the confusion when we found the king and brought him back, I didn’t take in much detail, but I can tell you this now: the chariot is completely undamaged. There isn’t a dent on its shell. I don’t know if they’ve cleaned it — it doesn’t look like it because there’s still plenty of sand caught in the axle and around the wheel spokes — but there isn’t a trace of any blood, or hair, or skin. I saw the wound on the king’s skull. If he had struck it on the chariot there would be signs of where he got the blow.’
    ‘You’re sure it would have dented the shell?’
    Nehesy spread his hands wider in impatience. ‘Look, those electrum chariots are feather light. The metal would bend if you blew on it. There is something else too.’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘The harness has disappeared. All of it. Bridle, bit, reins, girth - all gone. The guards knew nothing of it, and it wasn’t returned to the stables.’
    Huy paused for a moment, thinking. Then he said, ‘What will happen to the chariot?’
    ‘The story is that it will be buried with the king. The new officer in charge of the official inquiry has inspected it.’
    Then there is nothing we can do,’ said Huy.
    You can tell Ay what we’ve found out. What did the doctors say?’
    Huy told him.
    Then there is enough to go on. With that information, if Ay cannot block Horemheb…‘ Nehesy broke off in exasperation, as Huy continued to hesitate.
    ‘We can’t assume Horemheb is responsible for the king’s death,’ Huy said, finally. ‘He’s not the only one who stands likely to profit by it, and if he has no other virtue, he has shown himself to have patience.’
    ‘Consider this then,’ said Nehesy. ‘The man in charge of the inquiry is Kenamun. He is the new chief of police.’
    Huy drew in his breath. He thought of the unsettled score he had with the former priest-administrator. In those days Kenamun had been Horemheb’s man; there was no reason to think that things had changed.
    He did not notice a boatman at the next table rise and leave, his plate of food untouched.

SIX

    As soon as she awoke she knew something was wrong. At first she lay still, trying to guess by the quality of the light what time it was. From the cold and the stillness, she knew that morning was still far away. Then she wondered what it was