"I will attempt to reconstruct the Sultan's final hours, using the information I have gathered from you all this evening. I must ask you not to interrupt me until I am finished, then I will be happy to answer questions, if you have any."
He began to pace up and down again, become more animated as he spoke.
"Yesterday evening the Sultan was playing backgammon with Colonel Huntington. Both of them were drinking and the Colonel lost a substantial sum of money."
The Colonel stood up, looking indignant. He was swaying slightly. "That doesn't mean I killed him!"
"Sit down!" The Doctor barked at him in a commanding tone, causing the Colonel to drop back into his seat. "I haven't accused you of anything, I am simply relating the facts as I understand them. Now please, let me finish."
The Colonel looked a little embarrassed, but covered it up by taking another gulp of whisky.
"Professor Litefoot and Mr. Jago were dining in here at the same time. The Contessa was in her compartment, as were Mr. Prewett and Mr. Crowley. Litefoot and Jago left sometime after eleven o'clock. When the backgammon ended the Colonel went back to his compartment, but the Sultan went to see Crowley."
The travellers all turned to look at Crowley, who waved a hand at them, a sneer on his face.
"Crowley sold the Sultan one of his magic potions, his so-called elixir. The Sultan went back to his room and went to sleep. After he woke up this morning, just before midday, he took this potion and presumably disposed of the bottle, probably out of the window. At noon Anton knocked at the Sultan's door, he was bringing him a tray of food, but the only reply he received was a grunt. Anton thought the Sultan was still asleep; he was, after all, a notorious late-riser."
The Doctor paused for a moment, as if to gather his thoughts. He moved next to the table where Prewett was sitting, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"At four o'clock Mr. Prewett here entered the Sultan's compartment via the connecting door between their two rooms. He took the Sultan's letter opener and stabbed him through the heart. He told the Sultan to 'Go to Hell', and this was heard by Anton who was outside the door with another tray."
There were a few sharp intakes of breath as the news of Prewett's crime was revealed.
"So it was Prewett who murdered the Sultan?" Said the Colonel. "Would've of thought he had it in him! But why did you do it, old chap? Was it for the money?"
Prewett was as white as a sheet. Ace thought he might be sick, and checked to see if Jago was within chucking-up distance. Before Prewett could say anything the Doctor started talking again.
"Ah, well now, although Prewett stabbed the Sultan, he didn't murder him. You see the Sultan was already dead when he came through the door, isn't that right, James?"
Prewett turned to the Doctor, a desperate look on his face. "Yes, Doctor. I came through to ask him to sign some papers, and he was just lying there, staring at the ceiling, cold and stiff. At first I was shocked, and I just stood there, stunned. Then I became angry. I realised I'd lost my chance for revenge. I'd waited and waited to drum up the courage to kill him, but I couldn't do it. He'd taken everything from me, now he'd robbed me of this as well. Before I knew what was happening I picked up his letter opener and stuck it into his black, empty heart. But I was too late, too late!"
"But what had he done to you, why did you want revenge on him?" The Colonel asked, more gently this time.
Prewett stood up in a rage, knocking over his chair. "He killed my father!" He stood there for a few moments, quivering with anger, then all the energy seemed to drain from him and he went to sit down again, but the chair wasn't there and he fell back as he fumbled for it, ending up sitting on the floor in a daze. "My mother…" He whispered faintly, so that only the Doctor could hear him as he lifted Prewett up and helped him onto another chair.
Ace felt a surge of emotion run through her as she looked at Prewett. Seeing another human being in such a pitiful state somehow made her feel worse than all the physical blows she had suffered today. An image of Heng-wei, lying dead against the wall, came unbidden into her mind. She suddenly felt tears prickling up in her eyes, hot and stinging. She clenched her fists and beat back the tears with angry thoughts. "What's the matter with you?" She admonished herself. "You're stronger than this." But she wasn't really that strong, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to be.
"But why did the Sultan die then, Doctor?" Litefoot was asking, bringing Ace out of her reverie.
"It was the potion, the one he got from Crowley. It was supposed to prolong his life, but instead it killed him."
"Crowley poisoned him?"
"No intentionally. When I questioned Mr. Crowley he was kind enough to tell me the recipe for his elixir. Amongst other things, it contained peanut oil. I deduce that the Sultan was allergic to peanuts. He died from anaphylactic shock. The sound that Anton heard through the door as he waited with the tray was the Sultan's death rattle."
"Good Lord!" Said the Colonel.
"C'est fantastique!" Said Anton
"He died from a Peanut?" Asked Ace.
The Doctor waited for his audience to quieten down before he continued. "And now we come to the difficult part."
"I don't understand, Doctor. Surely this is all some unfortunate accident?" The Contessa was giving the Doctor a hard stare as she said this.
"The Sultan's death was an accident. However, after he died, but before Anton discovered the body, someone cut off one of the Sultan's fingers. How do we explain that?"
"Why would someone cut one of his fingers off?" Asked Ace.
"That's a very good question." Replied the Doctor. "Perhaps the Contessa can answer it for you?"
All eyes turned to look at the Contessa, who arched an eyebrow and blew out a cloud of smoke.
"Why would I know anything about the Sultan's missing finger?"
"Let me explain my reasoning. It was you who chartered this special service, and invited everyone here to join you."
The was a buzz of whispered conversation when the others heard this, but the Doctor held up a hand for silence.
"You brought them here because they all have, or claim to have, something which you desire greatly – the secret to eternal youth!"
"All of us?" Asked the Colonel, incredulously.
"I say, Doctor!" Cried Litefoot, looking alarmed.
"Not exactly youth, what? More like eternal middle-age!" Jago said, smiling and patting his stomach.
The Doctor held up both hands this time.
"Please! Gentlemen, let me finish." He gestured towards Crowley. "We all know about Mr. Crowley's elixir, for what it's worth."
The Doctor turned towards the Colonel. "The Colonel here has been blessed with an unaging body, he is immune to disease, and has apparently endless good health."
The Colonel smiled darkly. "Some blessing."
"Professor Litefoot and Mr Jago have had their aging process slowed to an almost imperceptible rate. Not quite as effective as a new body, but if the process were to happen when the recipient was still relatively young it would be a good second prize."
He went over to where Prewett was sitting with his head in his hands. "But why did the Sultan get an invitation? Perhaps it's something to do with Mr. Prewett? The Contessa would know that the Sultan always travels with his personal assistant."
Prewett looked up, slowly. "What have I got that anyone could possibly want?"
The Doctor smiled sadly at him, then turned to the others. "Well, if it wasn't Mr. Prewett, then it must have been the Sultan who had something of value to the Contessa." He whirled round, quick as lightning, and stepped towards the Contessa's table. "Something that he wore on his finger, perhaps? Something that couldn't be removed because the Sultan's fingers had clenched up as he died, and then rigor mortis set in."
The Contessa carefully placed her cigarette holder on the table, the burning cigarette resting on the ashtray. Then she clapped her hands together delicately, without smiling, her eyes cold and hard.
"Bravo, Doctor! You really are too clever."
She reached towards her small purse, which was also lying on the table. She opened it and pulled out a large gold ring in the shape of a scarab beetle, a green gem set into its back. She placed it on the ring finger of her left hand, holding her hand out with the back towards her so that she could admire it. The gem lit up from within for a moment, as if some strange power had been activated, and a green glow illuminated the Contessa's face then faded slowly away.
"This is what I wanted from the Sultan. But pretty though it is, it will lead me to an even greater treasure. Isn't that right, Tommy?"
She turned to look at the other end of the dining car, and the others turned too. At the end of the carriage Heng-wei was standing, looking gloriously sinister in his black suit. His hatchet hung from a loop in his belt. There was a mad, dangerous light in his eyes. There was also a gun in his hand, aimed straight at the Doctor.
"That is correct, my love. Just as I have stolen the powers of a god, so shall you. You will become a goddess and you will live forever as my queen!"
The he smiled - a ghastly rictus. His pale skin and dark, sunken eyes made a terrible death mask.
"But first it is time for these mortals to die!" And so saying he brought his gun up to fire at the Doctor.
Several things happened at once: Ace leapt forwards to push the Doctor out of the way; Colonel Huntington jumped to his feet, drawing his gun from his pocket; Crowley disappeared under his table, and began crawling towards the door; and the window next to Prewett exploded in a shower of glass shards as the mummy swung itself through from outside, landing on the table then springing off towards the Doctor, hands reaching for this throat.
Heng-wei fired, just as Ace rugby-tackled the Doctor to the floor. The bullet thudded into the mummy, knocking it out of the air and sending it flying back into the bar. The Colonel fired too, hitting Heng-wei in his gun hand. Heng-wei dropped the gun with a cry, his face twisted in pain and rage.
The mummy jumped to its feet almost immediately, seemingly unaffected by the bullet. It began moving towards the Doctor again, arms outstretched, when Prewett hit it from behind with a chair. The chair smashed to pieces across the mummy's broad shoulders, but it didn't fall down. Instead it turned towards Prewett and grabbed his neck with both its hands. Suddenly Prewett started convulsing, bright sparks of electrical energy coruscating down the mummy's arms and over his body. Smoke began rising from the skin around his neck as it blistered and charred under the mummy's grasp. The mummy held on, pouring out the power it had stored within it, despite the Colonel desperately firing at it, emptying his gun into the creature's body.
"Stop!"
The Contessa was holding her fist out, the ring pointing towards the mummy. The green gem was pulsing with light now and emitting a high-pitched beeping tone. The mummy dropped Prewett to the floor, where he lay, unmoving, and turned to face the Contessa. It stood silently staring at her for a moment, then bowed its head, accepting her command.
The Contessa had a small silver gun in her right hand. She gestured towards Ace, who was still lying on the floor, looking at Prewett's smoking body with horror.
"Get up." The Contessa told Ace. "You're coming with me."
"Where are you taking her?" Demanded the Doctor, standing up and helping Ace to her feet.
"I need her for the next part of my plan. Don't worry, she won't be hurt. She can spare a few years."
The Doctor was glaring at the Contessa, jaws clenched with anger. But there was nothing he could do for the moment. The Contessa had her gun, and more importantly, she had control of the mummy.
"Tommy, grab your gun and keep an eye on these gentlemen. If they give you any trouble, you know what to do."
Heng-wei picked up his gun from the floor, holding it in his good hand. The bleeding from the bullet wound had already stopped, he noticed with satisfaction.
"Why can't I just kill them now?" He asked the Contessa, like a child asking for sweets.
"No! I don't want any more killing." She turned to the Doctor as she led Ace away. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I just wanted it to keep you out of the way, I didn't know it would kill anyone."
"You're playing with things you don't understand. Whatever it is you plan to do with Ace, please stop it now, before it's too late."
"Oh, I understand exactly what I'm doing. It's all there, in Scarman's papers."
"Scarman?" The Doctor's blood went cold. "So that's were the Sultan's relics game from. The Scarman expedition. I thought it must have some connection. Please, Contessa, end this now. It can only lead to the most terrible consequences."
"Terrible?" Hend-wei took a step towards him, still brandishing the gun. "No, Doctor, you are wrong! We already had Scarman's journal. Now we have the command words - I stole the tablet from the luggage car yesterday evening, and we translated the hieroglyphs using Scarman's notes. We have the control ring from the Sultan, and we were able to activate it. Everything is going precisely as we planned it."
"But it's not, is it? Can't you see? You activated this creature without properly understanding what you were doing. You got the commands wrong! You wanted to stop me from investigating, but instead you told it to kill me." He turned to the Contessa. "It's already killed two people. Don't let anyone else get hurt. Whatever you think you're going to find, please leave it alone. It will end just as badly as this."
The Contessa looked uncertain for a moment, as if she might be wavering. She started to speak, but Heng-wei interrupted her.
"No! It will end with my beautiful queen becoming young again, like an eternally fresh blossom. We will cast off the passage of the years, and be together forever, outshining heaven itself with our glory. You see, Doctor, we have discovered the artefact that allowed the ancient Egyptian gods to hold off the cruel ravages of time. A device with which they could suck the life force from another person and use it to restore their own. All we have to do is reach out and take it, and eternity will be ours!"
"What is this device?" The Doctor spoke quietly, but Ace could hear the iron behind his words.
"The Mouth of Setesh, Doctor! We will take it and bend its power to our will. It will feed on the soul of your pretty young friend, and that energy will restore my love to her rightful throne. Go now! Take her away!"
The Contessa's face was transformed by something very like lust, it was clear that she was deeply affected by Heng-wei's words. She poked the gun at Ace and forced her to walk past the mummy and towards the door that led to the luggage car. Ace said nothing, but as she reached the door she turned around to look at the Doctor, and he could see the fear in her eyes, but there was nothing he could do to stop the Contessa from taking her away.