The Right Hand of Amon Read Online Free PDF

mortuary priest to- do nothing for now," Bak said, cutting off any incautious reply Nebwa might make. "With luck, I'll learn the slain man's name before his condition is such that he must be buried."
    "With luck," Nebwa said, "a courier will arrive in the night, bringing news from another fortress of a missing man."
    Thuty strode to his chair and adjusted the thick pillow on the seat. As he sat down, a child's laughter turned to shrieks. The commandant's voice took on a sharp edge. "If I don't soon receive a message, his garrison commander will have much to account for."
    "He was probably slain no more than a day ago." Bak had to raise his voice to be heard over the wailing child. "No competent officer would report him gone before making a thorough search."
    "He may've been sent on a mission outside his garrison," Nebwa pointed out. "If so, he might not be missed for several days."
    Bak shook his head. "Neither a desert tribesman nor a villager would leave a bronze chisel in his throat. Even if damaged beyond repair, they find ways to reuse the metal."
    "Are you implying his life was taken by a man of Kemet inside the secure walls of a fortress?" Thuty leaned back in his chair, wove his fingers together atop his head, and eyed Bak with a slight smile. "You've not yet learned his name, Lieutenant. Don't you think it too soon to reach so unpleasant a conclusion?"
    Bak gritted his teeth to keep himself silent. The guess was premature, he had to admit, but he could think of no other theory that made more sense. "I'll go to the scribal office building at first light tomorrow. If he came south from Kemet on board a ship, he'll have registered his purpose there on his way upstream. The scribes will surely remember him. His face and body were as well formed as those of a god."
    "And if he failed to make his presence known?" Nebwa asked.
    The wailing increased in pitch, betraying a temper tantrum. Thuty's mouth tightened. "We must assume he slipped around Buhen on one of the desert tracks."
    Nebwa grimaced. The failure of the garrison patrols to prevent nomadic tribesmen from bypassing Buhen without paying the necessary tolls was a sore point with the commandant, one he brought up at every opportunity.
    Bak, irritated as much by the child as by the verbal arrows, rose from his stool, crossed the room, and firmly closed the door, stifling the yowling to a whimper. "If so, he's the scoundrel I took him for when first I saw the belt clasp, and we must worry more about what he's been doing upstream than whether or not he's a man of importance."
    Thuty eyed the door, or maybe Bak, with what might have been a smile of approval. "Report to me, Lieutenant, as soon as you learn his name. If he was the soldier he appears to be, I must send a courier south to his commanding officer." He added, with obvious regret, "If he was of noble birth, and his slayer remains unknown, I fear you must travel upriver to look into the matter."
    "Me, sir?" Bak was surprised. Other than one journey to a distant gold mine, his duties had never taken him more than a couple hours' walk from Buhen.
    Nebwa frowned. "That man's death isn't Bak's responsibility! It falls on the shoulders of his garrison commander."
    Thuty laced his fingers across his stomach. "Late yesterday I received a message from the capital giving me additional authority over the garrisons along the Belly of Stones." His eyes shifted to Bak. "As this includes maintaining order, I've decided to entrust you with the resolution of all major offenses against the lady Maat that occur within my chain of command. Not four hours ago I sent word to that effect to the garrison commanders and the viceroy."
    Bak smiled, delighted with the news and flattered. The commandant had never before shown any special regard for him as a policeman or an officer. "I appreciate your confidence, sir."
    Thuty acknowledged his thanks with a nod.
    Happiness gave way to caution and Bak's smile faded. "If I must go upriver, it