The Curse of the Pharaohs - Elizabeth Peters [96]
“You always say that when I am winning an argument,” grumbled Emerson.
I saw no reason to dignify this childish comment with a reply.
CHAPTER
Thirteen
AS soon as the first streaks of light blossomed in the eastern sky we were up and stirring. I had slept well, though of course I insisted on taking my turn to stand watch. Emerson was fairly twitching, he was so anxious to attack the tomb; but the presence of the journalist restrained him, and he reluctantly agreed that we had better return to the house and deal with the latest crisis before starting work. We left O’Connell on guard, promising to send a relief, and the last thing I saw as we climbed the path was his red head glowing with the rays of the rising sun. Emerson had locked the iron grille so that he would not be tempted to sneak into the tomb while we were gone.
Despite the grim tasks that awaited us I felt an upsurge of pleasure as we strode along hand in hand through the crisp morning air and watched the sky brighten to greet the rising majesty of the sun. The great god Amon Ra had survived another nightly journey through the perils of darkness, as he had done millions of times before and would continue to do long after we who watched this day’s sunrise were dust and ashes. A humbling thought.
Such were my poetic and philosophical musings when Emerson, as is his habit, spoiled my mood with a rude remark.
“You know, Amelia, what you were saying last night was bloody nonsense.”
“Don’t swear.”
“You drive me to it. Furthermore, it was irresponsible of you to discuss your suspicions in front of one of the major suspects.”
“I only said that to shake him up a bit. I don’t suspect Mr. O’Connell.”
“Who is it this morning? Lady Baskerville?”
Ignoring the raillery in his voice, I replied seriously, “I cannot eliminate her from suspicion, Emerson. You seem to have forgotten that Lord Baskerville was the first to die.”
“I seem to have forgotten? I?” Emerson sputtered for a few moments. “You were the one who insisted last night that jealousy on Miss Mary’s account was the motive.”
“I presented it as one possibility. What we have here, Emerson, is a series of murders, designed to cover up the real motive. We must first determine the principal murderee, if you will permit me to use that expression.”
“I do not see how I can prevent you from doing so. Offensive as the expression is, it offends me less than the theory you propose. Are you seriously suggesting that two of the murderous attacks—three, if you include Hassan— were no more than camouflage, and that a killer is slaughtering people at random in order to cover his tracks?”
“What is so ridiculous about that? Murders are solved by determining the motive. The principal suspects are those who have most to gain by the victim’s death. Here we have four victims—for I certainly do include Hassan—and, consequently, a confusing plethora of motives.”
“Humph,” said Emerson in a milder tone. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “But Lord Baskerville was the first.”
“And if he had died under ordinary circumstances, without all this nonsense about a curse, who would have been the major suspects? His heirs, of course—young Arthur (when he arrived to claim his inheritance) and Lady Baskerville. However, if my ideas are right, Lord Baskerville’s was not the primary murder. That would be too obvious. It is more likely that the killer committed the first murder to confuse us, and that the principal murderee was Armadale or Arthur.”
“Heaven help the world if you ever take to crime,” Emerson said feelingly. “Amelia, the idea is so mad that it has a sort of insane seductiveness. It charms me, but it fails to convince me. No”—as I started to speak—“while I agree that in most cases motive is of great importance in solving a crime, I do not believe it will help us here. There are too many motives. The ones you have suggested pertaining to Lord Baskerville are only two of many possibilities. The fact that these events began after the discovery of a new royal tomb is surely significant. The local thieves, led by Ali