I Can Explain

What was the best part of that night?

If you guessed the spiced ibex, you would be wrong. Not that it wasn’t delicious. But the best part came later, after we reached the tomb.

Pharaoh followed me in, his guards close behind, trailed by the Scribe and the Vizier. They were startled to discover Bek and Sabu in the pit with the Anubis mask, and they gasped when they saw the stolen loot. But Pharaoh looked most shaken when he saw Kenamon.

“The boy trapped me! ” Bek shouted from the pit. “He’s the real thief. ” “And Pharaoh’s Cat helped him, ” Sabu yowled.

Ignoring this, Pharaoh ordered the guards to untie Kenamon. His breathing eased once he was freed from the tight wrappings, and after he drank medicine the guards gave him, he was strong enough to talk. At first, he was so overawed by Pharaoh that he could hardly find the words to say what had happened. But then Miu and I climbed onto his lap and purred, and soon the story poured out of him.

He had indeed seen the meat in Setnakht’s tomb, and the loose block, but he had been afraid to tell anyone.

“Why were you afraid? ” Pharaoh’s voice was as gentle as it was with his own children.

“I was afraid they would call me a troublemaker, and that Father and I would lose our jobs, ” Kenamon explained. “The Scribe calls Father a troublemaker because he’s complained about the cuts in our wages. He even threatened to dismiss him. When the Vizier came, Father hoped he would set matters right, but he didn’t. He got angry with Father, too. ”

Pharaoh’s impressive eyebrows lowered in a frown. “There have been cuts in wages? ”

The Scribe had been over in a corner having a quiet word with the Vizier, but now he bustled forward. “O Ruler of Rulers, the dear boy has misunderstood the situation—”

Pharaoh silenced the Scribe with a look.

Kenamon glanced nervously at the Scribe.

“You are under my protection, ” Pharaoh told Kenamon. “Answer freely. Your wages were cut? ”

Kenamon nodded. “Last year they were cut for almost everyone in the village, and again during flood season. ” “Not by me, ” Pharaoh said grimly.

“I can explain, ” the Scribe babbled.

The Vizier looked panicked. “So can I. ”

“Hold them both for questioning, ” Pharaoh commanded his guards.

“Well, that explains why Pentu told Kenamon that things were going to get better, and why his little sister hoped they’d be rich enough to get a cat, ” Khepri murmured in my ear. “Pentu thought speaking to the Vizier would help. He didn’t know it would only make things worse. ”

Pharaoh spoke gently to Kenamon again. “So how did you come to be here? ”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about what I saw in Setnakht’s tomb, ” Kenamon said. “I told Father about it, but he was afraid that if we went to the Scribe, it would mean trouble for our family. He told me I should stay quiet. If I had seen the clues, surely others would, too. And if they didn’t, perhaps I had just imagined them.

“I knew I hadn’t imagined them, ” the boy went on, “but I didn’t want to cause trouble for our family. So I thought I would try to track down the robber myself. If I could find the missing treasure, then no one could blame me, and my family might even get a reward. ”

I couldn’t help feeling a certain amount of pride. The boy had all the traits of a Great Detective in the making. Well, except for being human, of course. But that was hardly his fault.

Kenamon’s voice grew stronger, almost as if he could sense my approval. “I thought it might be Neferhotep who was the thief because he was acting like a rich man, buying lots of art for his tomb. But then I overheard the Captain of the Guard scolding his brother Huya for gambling. ‘You’re acting all big and bold, ’ he said, ‘and you’re saying you’ll win it back. But Neferhotep’s got half your savings now. ’ So that explained why Neferhotep had so much to spend. ”

“Aha! ” Khepri whispered into my ear. “It wasn’t gold or cold that Boo overheard, but bold. ”

“No wonder Neferhotep was singing about how lucky he was, and Huya kept scowling at him, ’ ” I whispered back.

“Then I started thinking about the village tombs, ” Kenamon continued, “and what a good hiding place they would be. I had a look around, and in Bek’s tomb I found a secret entrance into another, older tomb. I was there when Bek came up and hit me. ” He shivered. “When I woke up in that sarcophagus, I thought I’d been buried alive. ”

I nudged my head against his hands and purred—my own way of urging him to go on with his story. Curving his arms around me and Miu, Kenamon went on to tell Pharaoh everything that had happened after that, including the way that Miu and Khepri and I had saved the day.

When he finished, Pharaoh said, “And then Ra the Mighty led me to you. ”

He and the boy both beamed down at me.

It was a wonderful moment. Even better than spiced ibex. But better still was the moment, an hour later, when we got back to Set Ma’at, and Pentu the painter was freed.

“Father! ” Kenamon broke into a limping run. “It’s me! ”

“Kenamon. ” Pentu’s wrists were chafed from the ropes, but he wrapped his arms tight around the boy.

“Now, that’s what I call a happy ending, ” Miu said with satisfaction.

“And another mystery solved, ” Khepri said.

I didn’t say anything, but I was pretty pleased. Yet again, Pharaoh’s Cat was a hero.

Only one thing bothered me. I scratched at my scruffy coat.

“What does a cat have to do to get groomed around here? ” I asked.

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