Read Online Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters - Free Book Online Page A

Not at the moment, at any rate.
    Emerson
had left a night light burning. It had become a habit of ours, since we were so
frequently disturbed by burglars and assassins. He was in bed. The artificial
evenness of his breathing indicated that he was awake, though pretending not to
be. He did not move or speak even when I joined him in the connubial bed, so I
concluded I was in disfavor. Just as well, I thought. Ramses would be on the
alert for the slightest sound from our room.
    If
Miss Debenham did return to the hotel and read my letter, she would undoubtedly
attempt to speak to me in the morning. I had informed her of the hour of our
departure. The opportunity of reasoning with her was not lost, only postponed,
and as sleep brushed me with her shadowy wings I promised myself the
satisfaction of a useful interview the following morning.
    Alas,
it was not to be. We were awakened at dawn by the shrieks of the hotel
servants. The safragi had discovered the body of Kalenischeff lying
on Miss Debenham's bed in a welter of bloody sheets. He had been stabbed to the
heart; Miss Debenham had vanished from the room, and from the hotel.
    Three
    T he sun
was approaching the zenith before we boarded the train that was to take us to
Dahshoor. Emerson was muttering like a volcano in danger of eruption, but, as I
had been careful to point out, he could hardly blame me for the tardiness of
our departure. All the guests had been delayed by the uproar, and we were among
many whom the police had interviewed.
    "You
need not have volunteered to be interviewed," Emerson insisted. "To
question the guests was a waste of time, since the murderer undoubtedly left the
hotel long before the body was discovered."
    "If
you mean Miss Debenham, Emerson, she did not commit the crime. I felt it my
duty to explain that to the police officer in charge."
    "She
has disappeared, Peabody. If she is innocent, why did she flee?"
    "Emerson,
how can you be so dense? She did not flee, she was abducted by the same person
or persons who murdered Kalenischeff."
    Emerson
settled himself more comfortably on the cracked leather seat of the carriage.
The pyramids were visible on the right, but for once Emerson was not distracted
by archaeological objects. He pretends to resent the interruptions of a
criminal nature that have so often marked our excavations, but wifely intuition
assures me that he is as keen on the scent as any sleuth. This was the first
opportunity we had had to discuss the murder; I could tell by the gleam in his
bright blue eyes that he was as interested as I.
    "If
your theory is correct, Peabody, it means that Kalenischeff was slain in an
attempt to defend his inamorata. The heroic role is not one I would have
expected from him."
    "It
is a difficulty," I admitted. "Whatever else he may have been,
Kalenischeff was no hero."
    "But
he may have been a member of a conspiracy directed against the lady," said
Ramses, from his window seat next to Emerson. "Assuming for the sake of
argument that the object of that conspiracy was the extraction of money by one
means or another, Kalenischeff may have decided to betray his confederates by
marrying the lady instead of assisting in the original scheme. He would gain
sole control of her fortune by that means instead of—"
    "I
was about to propose that theory, Ramses," I said severely. "Look out
the window. There is the Step Pyramid of Sakkara."
    "I
am doing so," said Ramses. "The cat Bastet also appears to appreciate
the aesthetic qualities of the view, but I assure you it does not interfere in
the slightest with my ability to join you in—"
    "Miss
Debenham must have been taken by force," I insisted. "No
properly brought-up Englishwoman would run away—"
    "Her
conduct makes it fairly evident that she was not properly brought
up," said Emerson.
    I
ignored this remark. "She would have remained, chin up and shoulders
squared, to face the music. And I feel I am safe in