They_Came_to_Baghdad-Agatha_Christie

His lips opened - the sound was so quiet that Victoria had to move very close.
'What?'
With great difficulty, the young man said two words. 'Lucifer - Basrah...'
His eyes closed. He said one word more. Then he lay still.
Victoria's heart was beating violently. She was filled with pity and anger.
A sound made her turn - the key had fallen out of her door. She heard the lock turning. The door
opened and Mr Dakin came in, closing the door behind him.
He walked across to her, saying quietly, 'Nice work, my dear. You think quickly. How is he?'
With a break in her voice Victoria said, 'He's - he's dead.'
She saw the other's face change, saw a flash of violent anger, then it was gone - only now it seemed
to her that the tiredness she had seen in his face yesterday had gone too, and that something quite different
was in its place.
He gently opened the dead man's jacket.
'He was stabbed through the heart,' said Dakin as he stood up. 'Carmichael was a brave man - and a
clever one.'
Victoria managed to say, 'The police came. They said he was a criminal.'
'No. He wasn't a criminal.'
'Were they really the police?'
'They may have been,' said Dakin. 'Did he say anything - before he died?'
'Yes. Lucifer - and then Basrah. And then he said - I think it was a French name - it sounded like
Lefarge. What does it all mean? And what must I do?'
'I don't want you connected with this, if that's possible,' said Dakin. 'I'll come back later and tell you
what it's all about. The first thing to do is to get hold of Marcus. Just do something about your appearance
before I bring him in. Marcus will always help a beautiful woman in distress.'
He left the room. As though in a dream, Victoria combed back her hair, made up her face so it
seemed white with shock, and fell on to a chair as Dakin came in. Behind him came Marcus Tio. This
time there was not the usual smile on his face.
'Now, Marcus,' said Mr Dakin, 'you must do what you can about this. It's been a terrible shock to
this poor girl. The man ran in - she's got a very kind heart and she hid him from the police. And now he's
dead.'
'Of course she did,' said Marcus. 'Nobody likes the police. I do not like the police. But I have to
keep good relations with them because of my hotel. You want me to give them money?'
'We want you to take the body away quietly.'
'That is very nice, I agree. I, too, I do not want a body in my hotel. But it is not so easy to do.'
'I think it could be,' said Dakin. 'You've got a doctor in your family, haven't you?'
'Yes, Paul, my sister's husband. But I do not want him in trouble.'
'He won't be,' said Dakin. 'Listen, Marcus. We move the body into my room. That way, Miss Jones