Death in Berlin: A Mystery
Page 26
Miranda said stormily: ‘And you knew what she might do—and you let me go through all that—that horror! You’re nothing but a cold-blooded, scheming…’ She searched for a word and failed to find one sufficiently opprobrious for her purpose.
‘You weren’t in any danger,’ said Simon mildly. ‘I’d run Wally to earth by then, and had a pretty clear idea of the form. The place was crawling with cops and you were more or less under observation from the second you walked out of the front door. You see we couldn’t be sure where she was heading for—though we had a shrewd idea. So we had to tail you. Once you got to the Ridders’ house, we knew we were right; and after that we were practically on your heels. Fortunately for us, and thanks to all that loose rubble, you descent to the cellar was so noisy that we were able to sneak down behind you without any trouble, and, after listening to what she had to say, step into the picture in a nice melodramatic manner at the last moment.’
‘And I suppose,’ said Miranda furiously, ‘that it didn’t occur to any of you that she might have pressed the trigger a second before you got it away from her?’
‘It wouldn’t really have mattered very much if she had,’ said Simon, placidly.
Miranda stared at him unbelievingly: rigid with a sudden sense of outrage that had, illogically, nothing whatsoever to do with her terrors of that past night.
Simon observed her reaction with a half smile. There was a gleam of complete comprehension and a warm, dancing malice in his eyes.
‘One of the things I like about you, Miranda,’ he remarked gently, ‘is that you are so beautifully uncomplicated. Don’t worry, my darling. I wasn’t being callous about your personal safety. I only meant that I had taken the precaution of unloading that weapon and removing all live ammunition from the house, just in case of accidents.’
‘Oh!’ said Miranda explosively. ‘Well if you’re quite sure that you’ve said all you want to say, I think you had better go! I’ve got a lot of packing to do. And I don’t know what you mean by walking calmly into my bedroom in the first place, and I’m not your darling!’
‘Aren’t you?’ said Simon softly. ‘Well I won’t argue the point, but you are wasting your time over that packing. You’ll only have to unpack it all again. As for my walking into your bedroom, I’m afraid you will have to get used to it. I understand it is one of a husband’s privileges.’
‘Oh!’ said Miranda again, on a long breath: ‘You—you’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you?’
‘Very,’ agreed Simon placidly. ‘I generally get what I want.’
* * *
‘Miranda,’ said Mrs Lawrence, walking briskly into the room a few moments later, ‘do you know if Captain Lang has left yet, or … Oh, I’m so sorry!’
She retreated hurriedly and closed the door.
‘Well, really!’ said Mrs Lawrence, addressing the empty landing, a bundle of laundry, three regimental prints of unusual hideousness and her immortal soul: ‘You wouldn’t think that after three murders and … Oh well, perhaps they are right. Life is more important than death.’
She shrugged her shoulders tolerantly and went downstairs to explain to her cook in what she confidently imagined to be German, that der Herr Polizisten Capitan Lang would be remaining to luncheon.
By the same author
The Far Pavilions
Shadow of the Moon
Trade Wind
Death in Zanzibar
Death in Kenya
Death in Cyprus
Death in Kashmir
Death in Berlin
“Well-paced … Appealing … A sustained atmosphere of menace.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Genuinely suspenseful … Kaye neatly evokes postwar Berlin in the early 1950s, using that ruined city as an imaginative backdrop.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Absorbing … There are a lot of mysteries surrounding World War II. Stories of vast treasures, betrayal, and murder abound. Post-World War II Berliners have had their share of such stories. M.M. Kaye picked Berlin in 1953 for such a story.”
—Arizona Daily Star
“Refreshing … Intricate.”
—Knoxville News-Sentinel
“Another consummate mystery from one of the finest story tellers of our time.”
—Mystery News
“Every bit as good as Agatha Christie.”
—San Ramon (CA) Valley Herald
DEATH IN BERLIN. © 1955, 1983 by M. M. Kaye. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
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ISBN 0-312-90103-8
Mass market edition/March 1986
eISBN 9781250089175
First eBook edition: May 2015