"It's because the cat is very important," Rick stated. "And the cat is important because of something inside of it. You know what that something is."
"An excellent deduction," Ben agreed with a grin. "All but the last statement. I do not know what it is. I merely suspect. My evidence is circumstantial. I'll tell you this much, though. I know a great deal about certain interests of the Moustafa brothers, and I was informed by Interpol that there is an interesting gentleman of great wealth in San Francisco who talks too much."
Rick thought over the statement. It didn't help at all. He couldn't see what a talkative man in California had to do with the Egyptian cat. "That's not very informative," he objected.
Ben laughed. "I'm sure it isn't. But I'll make you a promise. Before you leave Egypt, we will perform a small operation on the cat and remove its appendix—or whatever else it may have inside."
"We'll hold you to that," Scotty told him.
Rick's breakfast arrived, and over café au lait and Egyptian rolls Ismail ben Adhem questioned Rick until he was sure he had extracted all the information the two boys had.
It suddenly occurred to Rick that he had asked no questions himself. "Where's the cat?" he demanded.
"At the project," Scotty replied. "I was going to turn it over to Ben, but he said to leave it there."
"It might be uncomfortable at the station," Ben added with a twinkle. "After all, it's a well-cared-for pet."
Rick grinned. "We've grown fond of it," he admitted. "Second question: can't you just pick up Youssef on a kidnapping charge?"