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thought.
    He
unchained the door and after listening for footsteps, opened it slowly and stepped
outside.  Quietly shutting the door, he walked toward the stairs. 
After he passed a few rooms, he stopped and turned back to make sure no one was
following him.  He bent over as if to tie his shoe, realized that he was
wearing sandals, and laughed to himself.
    Some
detective, he thought.
    No one
was behind him in the hallway.  He went back down the stairs and returned
the key to the silent clerk, who gave Tim an absent smile.
    In the
hotel courtyard he found a bench that gave him a view of the pyramids framed by
a nearby cluster of date palms.  He shrugged out of his backpack, removed
his sketchbook and sat on the bench.
    As he
sketched, he watched the driveway, hoping for a car to arrive with Brian and
Diane.  When the shadows on the angled sides of the pyramid began to
shift, Tim decided to check the room again.  It was almost seven o’clock.
    He
went into the main lobby and asked the desk clerk to ring Brian Aldwin in Room
324.  After letting the phone ring for a full minute, the clerk shrugged
and told Tim that no one was answering.  Perhaps he would like to leave a
message?
    “I’m
supposed to take them to the airport,” Tim said.  “They haven’t checked
out and gone with someone else, have they?”
    The
clerk checked the register.
    “No,
they are still with us.  Perhaps you have the wrong time, or perhaps they
are running late.”
    Tim
nodded.  “Well, I’ll sit outside for a couple minutes, but if they’re much
later, they’ll miss their plane.  Thanks for checking.”
    He
walked to the guesthouse and got the room key from the silent clerk. 
There was no answer to his knock, so he entered the room again, calling their
names.  Still no answer.
    If
they hadn’t checked out, then the hotel safe would still have their passports,
and they weren’t going anywhere without those, he thought. 
    Suddenly
he was sure something had happened to them.
    There
was no telephone directory in the room so Tim called the reservation desk and
asked for the number of the American embassy.
    “Is
there a problem, sir?”
    “No,”
Tim said.  “My sister was going to leave a message for me there, since I
wasn’t sure about my travel plans.”
    “Embassy
of the United States,” a woman’s voice said a minute later.
    Tim
didn’t know whom to ask for.
    “Hello,”
she said.
    “Hi. 
I’m an American citizen.” That sounded pretty lame, he thought. 
“I’m not sure who to ask for.”
    “What
is the nature of your business?  Have you lost your passport?  Have
you violated an Egyptian law?  Are you experiencing a health
problem?  Do you have information or know of someone who may have information
about security matters?
    She
walked through the list mechanically.
    “No,
none of those.  I think two people are missing.”
    “Just
a moment, sir.  I’ll transfer you to security.”
    The
line went dead and Tim thought the connection had been broken.  Then there
were a series of clicks and a man’s tired voice said, “Jim Kamin, security.”
    “Mr.
Kamin?”
    “Yes.”
    “I
think two Americans are missing.”
    “Missing? 
And you are?”
    “I’m
Tim Hope.”
    “United
States citizen?”
    “Well,
yes.”
    “Is
that Tim for Timothy?”
    “What? 
Yes, Timothy.  Look, I’m not sure . . .   ”
    “Mr.
Hope, now you say some people are missing.  Did you see them taken? 
Have they been harmed?  Why do you think they’re missing?”
    “They’re
not here.”
    “Here?”
    “In
their room.”
    “And
where might that be?”
    “Wait. 
Here’s what happened.  I saw them go into a tomb yesterday and then their
guide came out but they didn’t.  I mean, I don’t think they did, at least
I didn’t see them and I don’t think there’s another exit from the tomb. 
At least I didn’t see one, although there was this other doorway and I didn’t
check where it went.  But that doesn’t