The Fig Tree Murder

‘But surely that only applies to Cairo proper, where there is already too great an abundance of such places? We are talking about the New Heliopolis, where there isn’t even one at the moment!’

‘It is a general restriction,’ said the man from the Ministry of Justice.

‘But how can it apply to a place like the New Heliopolis, which wasn’t even projected when the legislation was framed?’

‘The legislation covers future development.’

‘I put the question because of the special character of the Heliopolis development. It is to be a City of Pleasure. That was stated explicitly at the stage of the initial planning application. I would suggest that approval of the initial concept implies approach of consequent developments.’

‘I would challenge the view that a casino is a consequent development,’ said Owen. ‘Amenities in general, yes, a casino in particular, no.’