The Fig Tree Murder. Michael Pearce

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СКАЧАТЬ muttered a polite greeting in Arabic. The daughter advanced on Owen with outstretched hand.

      ‘Enchanté, monsieur! C’est un très grand plaisir—’

      ‘A charming dress, don’t you think? It’s important to hit the right note—’

      ‘You could try it a bit shorter,’ said Malik.

      Salah laughed, unoffended.

      ‘You would think that!’ he said.

      The mother gave her head a decided shake.

      ‘How about a drink?’ Malik said to Owen.

      ‘I’m afraid not,’ said Owen, seeing Zeinab, tall, slim and elegant, sweep down the stairs at the back. ‘I’ve a previous engagement.’

      ‘Don’t blame you,’ said Malik, following the direction of his eyes.

      Zeinab came towards them. Owen was jealously pleased that she wore a veil, a French-style one that covered all her face except for the sharp, rather beaky chin. Zeinab’s father always claimed that there was some Bedouin blood in the family, although he was not entirely sure how it got there.

      ‘Greek?’ said Malik. ‘Not Circassian, anyway. You ought to try Circassian.’

      Zeinab walked on past them. Owen caught up with her just as she went through the doors.

      ‘I don’t like your friends,’ she said.

      ‘They’re not exactly my friends. One of them’s the new mamur out at Heliopolis.’

      ‘Who’s the girl?’

      ‘His daughter. I can’t figure her out,’ admitted Owen.

      ‘I can!’

      Zeinab was silent for a moment. Then she said:

      ‘How can a mamur afford to shop at Anton’s?’

      ‘That’s what I’m wondering,’ said Owen.

      ‘I shall tell Anton that he needs to be more selective in his clientele. He can start by throwing out that other man.’

      ‘Malik? He’s a Pasha’s son!’

      ‘Good!’ said Zeinab gleefully. ‘In that case I shall certainly ask Anton to throw him out!’

      Owen was a little taken aback when he returned to his office to find that the venue for his meeting had been changed. It was now to be held at the Savoy Hotel, which was roughly where he had just come from. His meetings were not normally held at the Savoy Hotel, but he had hopes that this might create a precedent.

      At the meeting were a representative of the Ministry of Justice, McPhee, the Deputy Commandment of Police, two lawyers and Malik appearing for the appellants, and himself, and the subject of the meeting was an application to open new premises under the licensing laws.

      Or, rather, not quite an application.

      ‘A formal application will be made later,’ said one of the lawyers, smiling. ‘At this stage all we are doing is testing the ground. We are seeking to establish whether there would be any objection in principle to an application such as ours.’

      ‘The government’s policy is to restrict the number of gambling houses,’ said McPhee severely.

      ‘And quite rightly, too. There are far too many low dens where the practices are, frankly, far from commendable. Our application is not of that sort. It relates to the opening of a casino in the Palace Hotel at Heliopolis.’

      ‘Palace Hotel?’ said McPhee, puzzled. ‘There isn’t one!’

      ‘It’s being built.’

      The man from the Ministry of Justice, an Egyptian, looked at his papers.

      ‘A casino wasn’t mentioned in the original planning application,’ he said.

      ‘Well, no. It has only recently come home to us how attractive an additional amenity it would be.’

      ‘It’s the government’s policy not to allow new premises to be opened,’ said McPhee.

      ‘But surely that only applies to Cairo proper, where there is already too great an abundance of such places? We are talking about the New Heliopolis, where there isn’t even one at the moment!’

      ‘It is a general restriction,’ said the man from the Ministry of Justice.

      ‘But how can it apply to a place like the New Heliopolis, which wasn’t even projected when the legislation was framed?’

      ‘The legislation covers future development.’

      ‘I put the question because of the special character of the Heliopolis development. It is to be a City of Pleasure. That was stated explicitly at the stage of the initial planning application. I would suggest that approval of the initial concept implies approach of consequent developments.’

      ‘I would challenge the view that a casino is a consequent development,’ said Owen. ‘Amenities in general, yes, a casino in particular, no.’

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