A STABBING DEATH IN LUXOR

I interjected myself at this point to say, “As you know, I have met these gentlemen and I think I can safely conclude that both of them have rather large egos. They wanted the bank to understand that they were responsible for the embezzlement. I would guess that they had felt under-appreciated in their work, and by means of this embezzlement they were making as bold and self-assertive a statement as possible. With his linguistic capabilities, Mr. Wenner can go anywhere — Italy, Spain, South America — and Mr. El Qasim can return to Egypt and simply disappear into the Khan el Khalili bazaar in Cairo. I doubt if either will ever be seen again. As I said yesterday, this was one of the most brilliant thefts ever conceived.” Chief Inspector Robinson looked somewhat annoyed by my analysis and said to me, “Perhaps you could tell me, Professor, if your field of study is criminology.” “No, as a matter of fact, I am the tutor in Legal History at St. George’s College Oxford and am now engaged in writing a dissertation on Causa in the Early Common Law. But I think, in all modesty, I can lay claim to having helped solve a few mysteries over the years.” I did not have an opportunity to explain my various successes in the criminal field before the Chief Inspector said, “Thank you very much for your personal opinion, Professor, but I think it is best if this matter is left to those who are professionals in solving crimes.” I was not in the least bit pleased at his comment. There was a pause in the discussion that lasted a minute or two, but actually seemed much longer, before Mr. Welles turned to Julia and asked, “Could you tell the Chief Inspector and me how long you had known Mr. Wenner and what type of KYC policies you have?” Julia appeared baffled by the question and again reached for her pack of Gauloises, this time taking one and lighting it. She inhaled the cigarette with obvious relief but seemed to be ignoring the question. While it was apparent to me what the initials stood for, I was not about to interject myself into the conversation again and open myself to another slighting comment. Selena finally said, “Perhaps, Mr. Welles, you could explain to Julia what you meant by ‘KYC policies’.” Mr. Welles was visibly shocked at the question, and with a touch of disdain replied, “Why the ‘Know Your Customer’ policies, of course. It is particularly imperative for those of us that deal with international money transfers to have in place policies that insure that we are only dealing with clients whose money comes from 100% legitimate sources. I assume, Miss Larwood, that before beginning to work for Mr. Wenner you undertook to check on him.” Julia continued to avoid looking at Mr. Welles, and made no attempt to answer his question. Again, Selena spoke up on Julia’s behalf, saying, “Of course, Julia checked. She called her instructing solicitor, Mr. Tancred, who had referred Mr. Wenner to her, and asked him about the source of Mr. Wenner’s wealth.” Chief Inspector Robinson, whose only contribution of any significance up to that point had been to reject my attempt to clarify the situation, now spoke up to say, “Oh, I hadn’t realized that you had talked to Mr. Tancred about Mr. Wenner. I would appreciate it, Miss Larwood, if you could tell us what Mr. Tancred said to you.” Julia took another puff on her Gauloise and dropped more ashes down the front of her blouse. Since lighting this cigarette, none of the ashes seem to have gone anywhere else. Turning to the inspector, Julia said, “Well, naturally, I asked him, and he told me that Mr. Wenner was an American.” The Chief Inspector waited for a minute and when Julia remained silent, he said, “But he must have said something more. All Americans do not have millions of dollars.” Upon hearing this, Julia became quite animated. “That’s exactly what I told him, Chief Inspector, exactly. Why I just met some Americans in Cannes, and I doubt if they had millions. They were nice people, of course, really quite nice, but certainly not millionaires.” Ragwort and Selena both shook their heads slightly at Julia’s reference to Cannes. “So Mr. Tancred must have given some other reason for Mr. Wenner’s wealth.” “Yes, as I recall he said that Mr. Wenner was really a very nice chap and he bought his guns at Purdy’s.” The Chief Inspector looked confused and asked, “What is that supposed to mean?” When Julia didn’t answer, Selena said, “I think Mr. Tancred feels that if someone trades at a very exclusive shop such as Purdy’s, they more or less establish their social credentials, at least in his mind.” Mr. Welles rather officiously proclaimed at this point, “I can’t believe that your KYC policy can simply rely on the fact that the client has bought something at a particular retail establishment.” This comment seemed to irritate Ragwort, who had been silent throughout the entire discussion. “Mr. Welles, I am sure you will recall that I called you on behalf of Miss Larwood and Mr. Cantrip to check on Mr. Wenner. I believe that you gave me a very favorable recommendation on him, telling me, as I recall, that Mr. Wenner was a very valuable member of your private banking staff. You even went so far as to say that he was probably wealthy enough in his own right to qualify as a customer of the international private banking department. I don’t see how you or the Chief Inspector can possibly criticize Miss Larwood or Mr. Cantrip when you yourself provided us with such a high recommendation on Mr. Wenner.” The Chief Inspector looked surprised at Ragwort’s statement, since Mr. Welles had clearly not told him about Ragwort’s phone call.