Eye of the Desert

CHAPTER
1

A single dark form glides through the darkness. The glow of the lamp moves along as if suspended in air, until it slowly comes to rest in the middle of the room. The light gradually spreads throughout the room, illuminating the great expanse, revealing all its beauty. The altar appears to glow from the brilliance of all of the gold. A lion appears out of the darkness, crouching, ready to spring to attack, only to turn into a throne-like chair.
  The walls are covered with scenes painted in brilliant colors, depicting legends and stories from the past. The writings and drawings seem to almost leap out, wanting to be seen and celebrated. The room is revealed to be a great expanse. The pillars along the far wall are barely visible because of the dimness of the light that far away. The statues lining the far walls between the pillars are shrouded in shadows, ominous yet regal, as if they are alive. The entire room is breathtaking.
  The room has not been entered for millennia. Throughout its extensive history few have been allowed inside, and fewer still remain who are aware of its existence and its location. The air is cool and dry, yet stale and musty. A thick layer of sand covers every surface. As the form turns towards the light, it is revealed to be that of a strikingly beautiful dark haired woman.
  Although she has seen it many times before, it has been a very very long time since she has entered the temple. The woman finds herself still rendered speechless by the reverence she feels as she stands in front of the altar. As always, she finds herself being cloaked in the aura of surrealism that seems ever present in the inner recesses of the temple. 
  Stormy winds and rain beat down on the outdoors. Thunder rumbles continuously for what seems like an eternity, finally ending in a final loud crack that seems to shake the very foundation of the temple. With the thunder abating the rain can be heard distinctly as it batters everything in its path. She can visualize the sand outside covered by deep grooves being cut into it by the massive driving downpour. Low areas would be flooded by now, making passage outdoors virtually impossible.
  “I suppose I will have to spend the night here,” she murmurs to herself.
  “Yes, my dear.  You must stay here where you will be safe.” A voice from the shadows suddenly speaks out, the sound not quite echoing in the cavernous room.

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  Elizabeth awakes with a start, trembling from her dream, as has happened so often recently. She has been having the most bizarre dreams for the past month. She isn’t really frightened at all by her dreams. In fact, she feels quite energized through it all. In this dream, she is in a beautiful ancient temple in Egypt. She knows the history of the temple. She knows who the woman is, where the woman is going, and what the woman is doing. She knows the danger that lurks all around. And all of a sudden Elizabeth realizes she hardly remembers anything at all. 
  “All I remember is a temple in Egypt and it is pouring rain. Pouring rain in Egypt, in the desert; now that is ridiculous. I must have heard it raining in my sleep and inserted it into my dream. Must be it…” Elizabeth yawns and drifts back to sleep.

CHAPTER
2

  Elizabeth Stanford sits in her kitchen, drinking her morning coffee, thinking about her dreams of last evening and of the past few weeks. She begins to wonder what might be causing her to have such strange and active dreams. Her grandmother had always warned her that eating right before bedtime causes nightmares. All she had eaten last night was some soup and a cup of tea. This was hours before she had retired for the night.
  Although, she had been looking through some old pictures of her grandmother that she had found in some old boxes. The pictures were from her grandmother’s trips abroad to North Africa and the Mediterranean. That must be it. Everything she dreamed she must have seen in the pictures. She would have to check on that later, but in the meantime, she has plenty of moving in left to do. She had finished painting yesterday so the furniture and the moving boxes are still in the center of every room. 
  Elizabeth had finally decided to move into her grandmother’s house. Before she had left on her last trip five years ago, Elizabeth’s grandmother, Victoria Stanford, had given her house to her only grandchild. Victoria Stanford traveled extensively and had come to realize that the house sat empty almost all the time.
  Now the stately eighteenth century three story gray Victorian house belonged to Elizabeth. She had always loved visiting and playing in the old house and the garden outside. Elizabeth had lived with her grandmother in this house for many years when she was growing up. Her mother had always kept herself busy with her causes and her friends. She had never seemed to have any time to devote to her daughter. 
  While Elizabeth is taking the trash outside, a car pulls into her driveway and drives up to the edge of the garage. The driver is her best friend Madeleine Howard, or Maddie as Elizabeth calls her. Maddie has been her best friend for as long as either of them can remember. It is Maddie who has been helping Elizabeth cope with her Nana Victoria’s disappearance. 
  Maddie has always called Elizabeth Lizzie, even though she knows she prefers to be called Elizabeth. They are such close friends that Elizabeth just ignores it.  Maddie herself insists on being called Maddie instead of Madeleine, to which Elizabeth readily agrees.
  “Hey Maddie. Great to see you. Perfect timing. I was hoping for a good excuse to take a break.” Elizabeth calls out.
  “That’s great, because I was going to interrupt you if you weren’t. I have not heard from you for a few days. I was beginning to worry. Anyway, you should let me help. We can have you all moved in no time.” Maddie says as she gets out of her car and walks towards her friend. “I can help by scaring off the neighbors.”
  “My neighbors are very friendly and nice and they mean well. I really do enjoy their conversation.”
  “What you mean is they are very nice and nosy. You are providing them with someone new to gossip about. Anyway, I can’t wait to see how your house looks. I came over to see how much redecorating you have done. Maybe there is some furniture I can help you move.”
  “I have not been ignoring you, Maddie. I have just wanted to be alone and lost in my thoughts. Consider it therapy for me. A catharsis, if you will. I need to work things out for myself. The neighbors provide a welcome diversion. They are completely unaware of my circumstances, unlike you who knows all about me. I have not changed my views at all. I am still hoping and believing Nana will come home and move back into her house.  Anyhow, feel free to move any furniture you wish. By yourself of course.”
  “In that case, I am moving something in every room.” Maddie laughed as the two women walked into the house.
  Elizabeth finishes showing Maddie the house and watches as Maddie moves something in every room, mostly small items like lamps, flower vases or a Kleenex box. They sit together in the family room with their iced tea. On the coffee table in front of them are the pictures of Elizabeth’s grandmother Victoria, taken on her many trips to Egypt.
  “I found these last night when I was going through boxes. I was thinking how Nana loved to travel in Egypt. I think she took more trips to Egypt than anywhere else. In fact, if I remember correctly, she was thinking about going back to Egypt on her way home from her last trip. Odd, that she never told me where she was going first. I remember I asked her many times, but she would just smile and say it was just some old business she had to take care of. Elizabeth, she told me, it is really just a short layover, no more than three or four hours. When I return home, dear, I promise to tell you all about it.” Elizabeth says as she picks up a few of the photographs to show to Maddie. “It has been five years since she just disappeared. I really miss her. And I am still puzzled over the circumstances.”
  “I know, Lizzie. I miss her too. She was so much fun to be with. I should have some pictures that Nana Victoria sent to me from Egypt and everywhere else she went. It may take me a while to find them. You know how organized I can be. I always stick things into any drawer handy and then forget which one.”
  Elizabeth sits staring intently at the photographs. “There is something strange about these pictures that I noticed just now. These pictures must have been taken a long time ago. I never realized Nana had been in Egypt a really long long time ago.” 
  Elizabeth looks even more closely at the photos. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I have ever seen these before. Nana looks so young in these pictures. You know…these pictures look like they were taken even before my mother was born. That is sixty or more years ago.  Nana could not have been more than twenty years old, if she was even that old. Strange that I never noticed this before. It seems so obvious now. I wonder where they came from.” Elizabeth pauses for a brief moment before she continues.
  “Maddie, maybe this is an omen. Nana wanted me to find these pictures. Remember, Maddie, she did just disappear without a trace. She fell completely off the grid, you might say. And no one knows where. She never did tell anybody where she was flying off to. And no one has any record of her going anywhere. Maybe she is trying to send me a message, you know, communicate from another dimension or wherever she is. Maybe Nana is trying to tell me she is okay, just lost somewhere. Maybe even somewhere in Egypt.” Elizabeth says as she stares intently at Maddie.
  Maddie smiles at Elizabeth. “Now this is what I have been telling you all along. Spirits do communicate with the living.”
  “Oh, Maddie, you know, you may just be influencing me in spite of myself with your belief in the occult.” Elizabeth says with reticence. “You know that I do not believe in ghosts at all. Although, lately, things have been happening that make me not so sure anymore. Sometimes I feel as if there is someone in the room with me, watching me or perhaps keeping watch over me. I don’t feel afraid at all. I feel very comforted by its or her presence. I tell myself it is Nana, watching me, and protecting me.
  I know you think it’s silly, but I have never believed that she is dead. Her body was never found. No one knows where she went. One day she just up and disappeared. I do truly believe in my heart that Nana is still alive somewhere. She just cannot tell me where she is. Maybe her spirit or aura or whatever it is is trying to talk to me. I just can’t hear her. Yet.”
  Elizabeth lets out a deep sigh. The two women sit in silence staring out the window.         
  “Maddie, something else that you may find weird. You would not believe the strange dreams I have been having the past few weeks. I find myself in Egypt. I am almost positive I am in ancient Egypt. In my dream, I am following a strange woman. Or maybe I am just watching her and events unfold. I am not really sure which, but I am sure that she is a very important person. And very powerful too.
  “And there is more, much more. I can read and understand a strange papyrus that she’s holding in her hands. The papyrus is part of a ritual, for what I don’t know. And I am not afraid. No, I am excited, exhilarated and proud of what must be done. And these shadows, they are everywhere. They seem to follow me everywhere.”
  Elizabeth speaks again after a short while. “And I can speak their ancient language. Can you believe it? Now, how in the world can that be possible? I don’t know any languages. The German I took years ago in school is distant and hardly a memory.”     
  Maddie sits for a long while, not speaking. She has an eerie look of fear that slowly turns to anger on her face. Then just a moment later her facial expression turns benign and she speaks. 
  “Lizzie, you need to go to Egypt. Let’s go look for her, for Nana Victoria. I can take my vacation and I’ll go with you. You have the photographs. We can go to all the places she is at in the photographs. Especially the photos of her as a young woman.
  “Wow, Lizzie. This is so exciting. I never thought you would ever accept my beliefs. You see, there is something else out there. This has to be an omen. We have to go to Egypt now. We must. You must. Someone is calling to you. It must be your grandmother who is calling to you.”
  There is a long pause as the two women sit and just stare at each other. Elizabeth knows that Maddie is right. She has been thinking the same thing in the back of her mind for a long time. She knew she would be going to Egypt the moment she saw the photographs. Elizabeth decides to let Maddie believe that it is all her idea. Not quite sure why but she believes it is the prudent thing to do for now. She is the first to speak.
  “Maddie, the whole idea sounds ridiculous, but maybe it isn’t after all. There is only one problem. Don’t laugh, but in my dreams it is raining. Pouring rain outside the temple. It does not rain in the desert. Egypt is desert.”
  “Maybe it rained in ancient Egypt.”
  “Maddie, the pictures aren’t ten thousand years old. And neither is Nana.”
  “Lizzie let’s plan on leaving in a few weeks. It will give us enough time to get things together, and for me to set up time off from work. Let’s combine all our photos, and let’s also get some travel guides. We can find the names of the temples and pyramids Nana Victoria is standing next to.”
  “It is a shame I don’t have her journal. Nana took it with her everywhere. She said it was invaluable to her in her travels. I’ll bet it would have told me where she had gone. It could have even told me where she was when she disappeared. It would tell me exactly where she is now.” Elizabeth walks over to her grandmother’s roll top desk and opens the first drawer on the left. This is where Victoria always kept her journal when she was at home. Elizabeth just stands there staring for a very long time.
  “Lizzie, are you all right? I know it must be upsetting to not see the journal in the desk drawer. Close the drawer and come back and sit over here.”
  “Maddie, look.” Elizabeth says as she holds up the journal. “I know Nana took it with her on her last trip. How did it get here?”
  “Lizzie, are you sure it is the same journal? She must have had two of them. This one must be a spare.”
  “Maddie, this is Nana’s journal. This is her only journal. I saw her put it in her bag as she walked out the door five years ago.” Elizabeth stands there staring blankly into space.
  “Lizzie, now you have to go. This is just not a coincidence. It must be an omen. It is something you cannot ignore. Nana or someone or something is calling you, telling you to go. And I must go with you to help in any way that I can. After all, this is what friends are for.”
  “Ok. Ok. I’ll go. This is really exciting. I am going to Egypt. I will find out what happened to my Nana. I will go now. Maddie, I’ll call the airlines. You call a hotel.”
  “Lizzie, don’t forget to pack your umbrella. You don’t want to get caught in a downpour while visiting The Great Sphinx.” Maddie says chuckling to herself.

CHAPTER
3

Time slips by quickly as Elizabeth and Maddie prepare for their trip. Using the photos of Nana Victoria in Egypt as a guide, Elizabeth and Maddie start planning their search of ancient Egypt’s pyramids and temples. Victoria Stanford had been photographed at several well-known sites including the Pyramids and the Great Sphinx on the Giza plateau. Several other photographs were labeled as taken in the Valley of the Kings and at Luxor, Philae, and Saqqara. Several others they were not able to identify. These were photographs of temples and statues that are obviously non-Egyptian.
  After consulting a map of Egypt, they realize they have taken on a monumental task. They decide it will be easiest if they start as far north on the Nile as possible, and then continue southward visiting all the sites they have identified, and maybe others they will run into on the way. They also hope they might encounter some kind of tour in progress which they could join up with.

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  At long last, Elizabeth and Maddie are on their way. The drive to the airport has been uneventful, as has the check-in. As she settles into her seat and buckles her seatbelt, Maddie is suddenly exhausted and drifts lazily off to sleep. Elizabeth sits and stares out the window. She isn’t looking at anything in particular, nor is she thinking of anything at all. Her mind is a swirl of unspecific hopes and fears.
  The next thing Elizabeth hears is the announcement by the flight attendant that they will be landing at Barcelona airport in fifteen minutes. The two women have to land in Barcelona to pick up their connecting flight to Cairo. It had been very difficult to arrange flights, as nearly every one had been solidly booked. They had been lucky to find this one, as Barcelona is close to Cairo, Egypt. The other available alternatives had been to fly to Berlin or Paris.
  Elizabeth spends the remaining flight time trying to shake the cobwebs from her mind. She feels somewhat foggy, yet is relieved that she has apparently not had any of her bizarre dreams. Her dreams always leave her disoriented for quite a while after she wakes up. Not to mention her embarrassment if she talks in her sleep. She has no idea if she does cry out in her sleep during her dreams. A mild wave of panic sweeps over her as she tries to drive this thought from her mind.
  Elizabeth dismisses this as carryover from her unease about talking in her sleep. It also could be the trip in general. Elizabeth is completely exhausted and terribly stiff and dehydrated. She can hardly wait to finally get to Cairo and get off an airplane for good.
  She does still have a deep sense of unease that something terrible is soon to happen. Finding out anything about Nana is not going to be easy. Elizabeth also worries how she will react if she does learn the truth about what really has happened to Nana. What if something bad really has happened? Does she really want to know? Elizabeth then decides that of course she has to know and that she will continue to believe that nothing has happened to Nana. Nana is alive and well, lost somewhere, and she is more determined than ever to find her.
  Elizabeth and Maddie gather their things and trudge over to the gate where their connecting flight to Cairo is now boarding. Unlike the earlier legs of their trip where the two women have been fortunate to always be seated together, this time their seats are on opposite ends of the aircraft. Elizabeth’s seat is in the front, while Maddie’s seat is all the way in the back. Elizabeth tells Maddie she will see her later, and she settles into her seat, wondering who her seat companion will be. She no longer feels tired, and hopes for a friendly but not too chatty seatmate.
  The plane continues boarding, and as yet no one has taken the seat next to her. As the doors are starting to close, she is beginning to believe that the other seat will remain empty and maybe she can ask to have Maddie move up and take the seat. As always happens when flying, Elizabeth will have no such luck. She hears the frantic call of a woman saying, “Wait, wait, I’m here. Please, just give me a moment!”
  As Elizabeth watches the door intently, a short, elderly woman appears. The woman thanks the flight attendants profusely for waiting for her, all the while the attendants are hustling the woman to her seat. The flight attendant is telling the old woman that her bag will not fit under her seat as the old woman adjusts and buckles her seatbelt.
  Oh my, she thinks to herself. I have a feeling this is going to be a very long flight. She sneaks a quick sideways glance at the old woman, and almost starts to laugh.
  The old woman is petite, just over five feet tall, and is well proportioned for her height, not too heavy and not too thin. She appears elderly, maybe in her seventies, or maybe older, but who can say for sure nowadays. Yet she acts very spry. Simply put, the woman does not carry herself as an elderly woman does. In some ways, Elizabeth feels she acts as young as she herself does. The way the woman is dressed is what strikes Elizabeth as very eccentric. 
  The woman is wearing a teal colored silk blouse that buttons all the way up to her chin. Covering the last button at the top is a very striking gold pin, with a very unusual design. Her a-line skirt is royal blue colored summer wool. She wears dark brown leather tie shoes that sport a two-inch heel and suntan colored regular stockings, not orthopedic ones as one might expect for an elderly lady.
  Around her shoulders rests a very brightly colored green and pink crocheted shawl, and on her head sits a chartreuse colored bucket hat. Hanging around her neck are two heavy gold chains. One of which holds her tortoise shell framed reading glasses. At the end of the other hangs a full size antique gold pocket watch.
  The woman carries a single piece of luggage, a large tartan plaid carpetbag. Somehow, the bag must fit completely under the seat in front of her. Elizabeth has listened with mild amusement as this petite elderly woman insists that her bag will indeed fit under the seat in front of her. Her late husband always told her to keep her belongings near her at all times.
  As the flight attendant tries to take the bag from the woman in order to store it in an overhead compartment farther back in the plane, the old woman suddenly snatches the bag from the flight attendant’s grasp and slips it easily under the seat in front of her. The flight attendant watches in amazement as a petite size four and a half brown shoe gives the bag a final shove, and is now completely under the seat.
  The attendant is at first shocked, and then she becomes somewhat angry. She is convinced that the bag must be jutting out the other end. But no, the man in the seat in front of her assures her that there is nothing poking out from beneath his seat. The flight attendant even looks herself, and then walks away shaking her head. 
  “My dear I am terribly sorry about all the commotion that I seem to have caused. Please allow me introduce myself. My name is Violet Teasdale. Please call me Violet. You know Mrs. Teasdale is my mother-in-law. It is a very old joke, much older than you, and apparently no longer very amusing at all. Again, I am so very sorry.
  “And I do hope you will forgive my tardiness. I have always believed that tardiness is always inexcusable. I do not know how it could have happened. I am never late. Perhaps my watch is losing time again. Sometimes I am convinced my watch counts time backwards, instead of forwards.”
  “Elizabeth Stanford. Please call me Elizabeth. I am very pleased to meet you.” She says as soon as she can get a word in.
  “Charlie and I would come to Egypt every year for our anniversary. Yes, Charles Edwin Teasdale, my beloved late husband, rest his soul. Our anniversary is next Tuesday, fifty- three years it would have been. My Charlie was always a stickler for traditions, and this was our tradition. This is my first anniversary without him. Don’t know why, but I decided to come anyway. It was a last minute decision on my part. I felt Charlie would have liked me to.” 
  Elizabeth stares wistfully out the window, not really seeing anything, or hearing anything either. She is barely aware that the old woman is still chatting away about anything and everything. All she can hear is the drone of Violet Teasdale’s voice in the background. Her voice has somehow merged itself with the drone of the jet engines.               
  She finds Violet’s voice to be as soothing as the gentle rocking of a train. Elizabeth has lost all track of time and of herself at the same time. Maybe she has fallen asleep. She remembers seeing a photograph of Violet Teasdale with her grandmother when both of them were very young. The photograph was taken in an exotic place that Elizabeth does not recognize. The images disappear into a fog and soon Elizabeth is wide-awake. She listens for a while and discovers that Violet is chatting on about Charlie’s favorite desserts.
  “Nana’s been gone for over five years. I cannot believe it has been so long. I also cannot believe nobody has found her yet. Doesn’t anyone but me care?” Elizabeth shocks herself at her sudden vocal outburst, and to a complete stranger no less. I cannot believe I just said that out loud and to her, she thinks to herself. I am so embarrassed. This woman must now think I’m crazy. Not to mention, I never tell anyone personal details of my life and what I am feeling. I don’t understand what just came over me. I just could not help myself. Oh dear, now I want to run away, and to hide somewhere, and just disappear.
  Violet gently interrupts Elizabeth’s self-recrimination. “Elizabeth my dear, I am so sorry you lost your grandmother. I know she means as much to you as you did to her.”
  “Violet, she has gone missing, disappeared. No one knows where she went or what happened to her. I know in my heart that she did not die. I will never believe she is dead. Which is why I am going to Egypt. To find Nana. She went missing from somewhere. I intend to try and retrace her steps. I have her photographs. Maddie is with me to help. I am staying here as long as it takes.” Elizabeth’s face and voice are filled with determination.
Just then the flight attendant broke in with the landing announcement. Ten minutes to landing at Cairo International Airport.
  “Elizabeth, I am so sorry. Maybe I can help you and your friend. We will be landing soon. We will discuss this at my villa.  Please come, I insist. I rented the same villa Charlie and I have always rented. I have plenty of room, and I will welcome the company. By sharing my villa, you can help me more than you will ever know. Please, trust me. I promise that you will be more comfortable with me. Now, please buckle your seatbelt for landing.”
  Elizabeth just nods. While she still feels very disoriented in the aftermath of her outburst, Elizabeth feels oddly very comforted by Violet. She is also very surprised that she also feels safe. She is not sure why, but for now, she likes the feeling. For some reason, she also trusts her. Elizabeth even believes that Violet can help her. 
  Now, she will need to convince Maddie. That will take some doing. Maddie is very suspicious of strangers. She has also been acting out of sorts, especially ever since they started the journey. Sometimes Elizabeth does not even recognize her friend through all the anger. Intense, riveting anger, with no rationale to support it. Perhaps, just perhaps, Violet really can help. One thing for sure, Elizabeth will be thankful to have Violet as a buffer between Maddie and herself.

CHAPTER
4

  Elizabeth meets up with Maddie in the waiting area near their gate. Violet has stayed behind in the plane, as she declared that Charlie always insisted that they have to be the last persons to disembark. Elizabeth is relieved that she has this opportunity to speak with Maddie alone, as she fears what her reaction will be, particularly in light of her recent very volatile mood swings.
  After exchanging chitchat about each other’s flight, Elizabeth swallows hard, takes a deep breath, and tells Maddie about Violet’s generous offer of staying with her at her rented villa. She explains that Violet is all alone, recently widowed, and Elizabeth likes her.
  Maddie just stares at Elizabeth for what seems like an eternity. She is shocked and she becomes really angry. She cannot believe her friend is serious. No way, Maddie says to herself. Some old biddy is not going to ruin my plans. I won’t allow it. Lizzie will do as I tell her. It took Maddie a few minutes to even find her voice. She swallows her anger and tries to be friendly. 
  “Lizzie, have you lost your mind? I know how gullible and trusting you can be. And I also know how upset you have been about your grandmother’s disappearance. You just met this woman. You don’t know anything about her. We can’t just go and stay with her. It is foolish sentimentality you are feeling. You are not thinking clearly. I will not allow it.”
  “I trust her Maddie. I know in my heart that I can trust her. I had a dream, a vision of Violet with Nana. It felt real, very very real. I feel safe with her. I can see it in her eyes.  She has kind eyes. Please Maddie, try to keep an open mind. Please try to like her.  Please, Maddie, for me. I am going to stay with her. I need to. For Nana. You can stay at the hotel if you prefer. I am going with Violet.”
  Maddie senses she will get nowhere with Elizabeth right now. She hates and resents her friend’s newly found independence. Elizabeth always would do whatever Maddie wanted, no matter what. So Maddie just shrugs and nods. She will go along with it for now.
  When Elizabeth and Maddie return to baggage claim, Violet Teasdale is waiting for them. Elizabeth introduces them. Maddie is polite, yet almost rudely aloof in her reaction to Ms. Teasdale. She simply stares at the woman for a few moments, while Violet Teasdale smiles warmly in return. 
  “Ms. Teasdale, I don’t mean to be rude, but will you please excuse Lizzie and me for a few moments. I need to speak with Lizzie.”
  “Of course, Madeleine. I completely understand. Travel these days can be so perilous. And women traveling alone together, staying in unknown hotels. Well, it can be frightening. And also very expensive. Women are so often taken advantage of. I will be back shortly. And Madeleine, please call me Violet.”  Violet smiles and away.
  “Lizzie, I don’t know what to think about her. I suppose that she seems nice enough, and she does have a friendly smile. You know I don’t trust any strangers. But I do not like her and I do not trust her. I will admit that I don’t get a real bad feeling from her. I just don’t know. Since you feel so strongly, I suppose you can tell her we will come to visit with her after we get settled into our hotel. Let’s get our bags and find a taxi and go to our hotel.”
  “Maddie, you can go to the hotel. I know I need to stay with her. I have a very good feeling about my trip now. I know Violet can help me. Just try and understand. This time I have to do something for me, not just for you.” Elizabeth puts her arm around Maddie and the two women walk together towards Violet Teasdale.
  Violet is standing with a very concerned look on her face. “I called the hotel to confirm your reservations. I have bad news, I am so sorry. The hotel has no record of any reservations in either of your names. And they have no rooms left.
  “They did give me the name of another hotel, The Golden Ibis. I told them no thank you. No, no, no, you cannot possibly stay there. It is a very squalid establishment in an even more squalid part of the city. It is definitely not safe for you young ladies to stay there.
  “Please, as I have told Elizabeth, I have more room than I need. I would love to have the company. It is very lonely for me without my Charlie. Please, it would make an elderly lady very happy to be able to help you young ladies.
  “Plus, from all the years Charlie and I came here; I have many acquaintances in Egypt. We have been everywhere, have seen all the sights. Who knows, perhaps I can help in your quest. At the very least, I will be very happy to be your guide and to drive you everywhere you wish to go. Well, my driver will drive us everywhere we need to go.
  “It has been a long day for everyone. Let us all sleep on it and we can discuss things over breakfast in the morning.”
  Elizabeth and Maddie look at each other. Elizabeth is thrilled by this turn of events. Maddie finds herself unable at first to say anything at all. Finally Maddie finds her voice.
  “How could you have called our hotel? I never told you where we were staying. Why should I trust you? Maybe it is you who is trying to take advantage of me.” Maddie is nearly trembling with rage.
  Elizabeth just stands there mute trying to remember if she may have told Violet the name of their hotel when she was talking with her. She remembers talking with Violet about lots of things other than her grandmother. She cannot remember one way or the other about the hotel. She finally decides that she must have mentioned it sometime during their conversation.
  Elizabeth feels Violet is so easy to talk to. She really listens and seems to genuinely care. They have recently both lost someone very dear to them, which has provided an emotional link between them. Elizabeth realizes she does not want to lose that link. She needs to stay close to Violet. She is not sure why and she does not care why. She needs Violet. So she has to be firm with Maddie and tell her that staying with Violet is the right thing for her, Elizabeth, to do. Before Elizabeth has a chance to speak up, Violet speaks first. 
  “Madeleine, my dear, Elizabeth told me all your plans when we were chatting on the plane. Dears, it has been a very long day for everyone. You two must be exhausted and hungry. Airline meals are so unsatisfactory. Please come home with me. We can have a light meal, and then let us all sleep on it. We will discuss things more fully over breakfast in the morning.”
  Maddie is too tired to argue and knowing she has lost this fight agrees to spend at least one night with Violet. She will consider their options in the morning. The three ladies walk outside to find Violet’s rental car waiting at the curb, a white Range Rover with the air conditioning already turned on. They silently get in the car for the drive to the villa.

Eye of the Desert is available in both print and digital formats. Check your local bookstores. You can buy a copy now from Amazon.com and other online book sellers.

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