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.Don t go off alone.Promise? He had risen to his feet and was leaning toward her,one hand on the table, his dark eyes intent on her face.The coat, swinging away from his shoulder, gave Di-nah a view of the sling that supported his left arm.Itwas a graphic illustration of the danger he spoke of. All right, she muttered. And& well& if I shouldremember anything Do you? The question shot out like a bullet. No.No, I don t.If you could only give me someidea of what they might have been discussing& Cartwright straightened up.He looked thoughtful.Then he shook his head. Can t, without permission.For God s sake, becareful, won t you? The change in his voice struck Dinah like a dash ofcold water.She nodded mutely.Cartwright walkedaround the table and stood beside her. Better be off, he said, looking down at her up-turned face. Yes. But she made no move. If you should remember& How can I reach you? They spoke softly, almost in whispers.Cartwright shand moved lightly down her THE DEAD SEA CIPHER / 85arm from shoulder to elbow, his fingers barely brushingthe skin.Then it dropped to his side. You can t reach me, he said, in the same mutedvoice. But perhaps I can reach you. Self-consciously, as if regretting his lapse fromformality, he moved past her to open the door. I don t suppose I had time to say anything beforeI fell on my face, he said carelessly.Dinah s answerbrought him around on his heels, tense and expectant. Yes, you did. What was it? Nothing to get excited about.It didn t make sense. What did I say? It sounded like, Why did he come on? Dinahlooked at his crestfallen face. I m sorry.I told you itdidn t make sense. The guide was reproachful, the French couple stifflydisapproving, and the little Danish boys were disap-pointed.They explained that they had thought she hadbeen kidnapped by dope fiends.The only person whoaccepted the delay good-humoredly was Mrs.Marks. I had a good half hour extra time, she said compla-cently. I m not the one to complain of something ex-tra.Not but what this whole trip was an extra. 86 / ELIZABETH PETERSDinah was tired and preoccupied.Cartwright s lean,handsome face, a little pale under its tan, floated at-tractively in her imagination, and she only wanted tolean back against the seat and remember it.But shecouldn t be rude to the older woman, who was nowsitting beside her. Why extra? she asked carelessly. I was supposed to leave today on a tour throughBaalbek and Damascus, down to Jerusalem.For somepeculiar reason it was postponed for twenty-four hours,and& No! Are you on that tour as well? How amazing.Quite a coincidence, isn t it? Yes, Dinah said slowly. Quite a coincidence. She refused Mrs.Marks suggestion that they havetea together.She would have quite enough of Mrs.Marks in the next few days, even if the elderly lady wasonly what she pretended to be.And if she was not& Inany case, Dinah was in the mood for somethingstronger than tea.She had hardly settled herself at atable in the lobby when she saw a well-known pear-shaped form coming toward her.Dinah s sigh was oneof resignation rather than alarm.She might have expec-ted Inspector Akhub.Naturally, after a day like thisone.He was in an uncharacteristically jovial mood, andaccepted her offer of hospitality THE DEAD SEA CIPHER / 87with an alacrity that seemed a good omen to Dinah.Or was she thinking of the old superstition about breadand salt? No doubt Inspector Akhub would not hesitateto arrest someone who had bought him a brandy andsoda. A pity your memory of Beirut should be so un-happy, he said sententiously. Perhaps you will comeback again, under better circumstances. I hope so.I rather like Beirut, and I love the coun-try. Their drinks arrived, and the Inspector lifted his glassin a courtly gesture. To your good journey.You leave tomorrow? That s right.I had expected to leave today. Inspector Akhub s mouth twitched. The tone of suspicion does not become you, ma-demoiselle.It was not I who delayed your departure. Who, then? Fate.Only an accident, no more. Hmmph.No, thank you, she said as he extendeda crumpled pack of cigarettes. I don t smoke. Ah, yes, I had forgotten.You are a singer. Forgotten, my foot. Dinah turned her head slowlyaway from the cloud of smoke from his cigarette.Itwas strong and sweet 88 / ELIZABETH PETERSsmelling. I m sure you checked up on everything Itold you.You still don t believe me, do you? Inspector Akhub looked demure.It was the last ex-pression she had expected to see on his stolid mascu-line features, but there was no other word to describethe half-sly, self-righteous amusement in his face. Mademoiselle, he said, you yourself compel belief.There are times when I am sure you are precisely whatyou claim to be, no more.And yet& the circum-stances It isn t the circumstances, it s guilt by association, Dinah interrupted. That isn t even good logic, Inspect-or.Just because I happened to be given a room nextdoor to a couple of spies doesn t mean I m a spy my-self.That s tantamount to saying She broke off, her glass of vermouth half raised toher lips, as she saw the Inspector s eyes congeal.Notuntil then did she remember that he had never men-tioned espionage. So, you see, he said dreamily, making an odd littlegesture with his hands. Just when I believe you, someinappropriate thing occurs
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