(5 of 5)
Stephan is expected to wind up his investigation this fall, but a trial, if it occurs, is not likely to take place until at least mid-1999. The civil phase, which will almost certainly spill over into the next century, is apt to wind up in an unseemly brawl involving the Ritz, al Fayed, the bodyguards, the paparazzi, Etoile Limousine and, of course, the insurance companies. Meanwhile, al Fayed continues to pursue his own investigation and to defend his son's reputation, keeping his London and Paris apartments eerily intact. "It is like the Egyptian pyramids," he says. "When you die, everything that belongs to you is put around--everything that you love, your things, food. From time to time I go to Dodi's apartment. I sit there. I listen to prayers. I feel he is there."
Sancton and MacLeod are authors of Death of a Princess: The Investigation (St. Martin's Press).