Chapter 11

"'And once again, sir,' said the manager of the Imperial Hotel.

"'Let me apologise for the dramatics of last night.'

The Cairo police had been through the upper floors of the hotel for hours,

searching for the room from which a mysterious man in black had fallen,

without a great deal of success.

It had been a long night for the manager,

but he seemed most anxious to soothe his wealthy young guest,

who had taken the entire top floor.

The young man, for his part, seemed remarkably undisturbed by the entire affair,

and certainly bore no indignation towards the hotel.

He dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand.

The police have come to no conclusions, then, he asked casually.

None, sir, the manager said sadly. They have been through every room and found that only one

was suspicious. August Fenwick raised an eyebrow, and it seemed clear that he wished to hear more.

The manager silently wished that he had said nothing, but he obliged,

"'A room on the floor below yours, sir, he said, occupied by a young Italian woman,

"'the room was quite empty, and no one has seen the signora since she checked in.

"'The police found only an empty suitcase.'

"'Oh, dear,' Fenwick said with a shake of his head.

That is most unusual. The manager shifted uncomfortably and said nothing. I do hope nothing has

happened to the poor lady, Fenwick said, but I don't suppose it has much to do with our

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