 Egyptologist Sally Otterburn phones Cairo museum director Sherif Faris the Nefertari bust is original, 4000 years old; he expects her to smuggle it to Cairo, promising an affidavit it s only a copy, and suggesting to use Jessica s favorite museum as cover; however Rudy Grimes had his phone wired and calls his boss Bradford Thorpe: the one in Cairo must be a fake; Thorpe s wife Vanessa agrees to finance $350,000. Jessica and Sally Otterburn arrive in Cairo where even Nasar, the driver awaiting them, who has two years New York cab driver experience, can t prevent a thief getting away with Jessica s bag, mainly containing notes; Sally phones Faris but assures him it s not "you know what", just when the Minister of Antiquities pays his museum a surprise visit. Inspector Omar Halim almost immediately investigates the theft. Nasar asks Jessica to help him get a visa to go legally to his fiancée in the US, now courted by a relative. Thorpe s loan shark Trevor Han demands the statue, threatening Vanessa; Bradford shows his lover Maura tickets for Rome. The thief snatches the statue from Sally s room; she comes clean to Jessica, Faris and her former lover, hotel owner Boyd Venton, but they agree to keep the police out of it for now, as the Nefertari was stolen from Faris  museum two years ago in an Italian exposition, later ended up in the New York museum. Vanessa pays Grimes to tell her husband the deal is off although he has the statue, next he tells his old intelligence friend Boyd to take a hike. Jessica fails to fool Halim she recognized Grimes s mug shot. Maura tells Rudy he will regret not paying more then her usual $20,000; he falls dead out of the elevator at Jessica s feet. Halim now demands the full story, also convokes Faris and tells them to stay out of his murder investigation, but Jessica is unstoppable...