by M. M. Kaye
Amanda stared at him, speechless, and Anita Barton said wearily: ‘And I thought she was in it with him. That she’d fallen for him too, like Monica and all the other fools. I hit her over the head with that gun, and I thought I’d killed her. I’m sorry, Amanda. I knew he was trying to kill me, and I thought you were helping him.’
Amanda was not listening to her. She was clinging to the door handle of the car and looking at Steve:
‘You mean you knew that he’d do something like this?’ demanded Amanda breathlessly. ‘You told me to write that letter just to make him—to make him…’ Words appeared to fail her.
‘I had to darling,’ said Steve. ‘We had to panic him into showing his hand. But if it’s any consolation to you, it was quite the most unpleasant thing I’ve ever had to do. We’d have got him on the gun-running without it. But we might well have failed to pin him with murder. And we did at least go to a great deal of trouble to remove the bullets from any guns he possessed and replace them with blanks. Which wasn’t as easy as it may sound. However, I will admit that I had left out of my calculations the possibility that Mrs Barton might crack you over the head with a blunt instrument—although I can sympathize with her point of view.’
Amanda stared at him for a long moment, her face white in the moonlight.
She said in a small, frozen voice: ‘If you are thinking of driving us back, I think we’d all like to get home. Persis, are you ready?’
‘And how!’ said Persis. ‘Anita honey, will you sit in front by the driver? And I guess it might be a good idea, when we get back, if you and I doubled up for the night just to keep each other company. We’ll get a spare bed put up in my room and order up a bath of hot coffee and a quart of chloroform. This has been quite a party, and the sooner we sleep it off the better.’
Amanda got haughtily into the back of the car and said: ‘Come on Persis!’
Persis closed the door on Anita Barton and looked at Steve Howard.
‘Steve honey,’ she inquired softly, ‘how much am I offered to drive this car?’
Steve laughed.
‘Persis honey,’ he said, ‘you will drive this car or else____!’
‘Okay,’ said Persis. ‘It’s a stick-up!’
Amanda attempted to descend but Steve was too quick for her. He slammed the door behind him and pulled her very roughly into his arms.
Amanda made a small, sobbing and unintelligible sound that was abruptly silenced, and presently said breathlessly: ‘Steve, please____!’
‘My heart,’ said Mr Howard, ‘shut up! You can keep the conversation for later. We are not alone.’
‘Don’t mind us,’ said Persis cordially, starting up the car and backing it expertly on the sandy verge. ‘Go right ahead and kiss her.’
‘What do you think I’m doing?’ inquired Steve with pardonable irritation.
Persis laughed, and having tactfully twisted the driving mirror until it faced the roof, headed the car down the long white moonlit road towards Kyrenia.
About the Author
M. M. Kaye (1908-2004) was born in India and spent much of her childhood and adult life there. She became world famous with the publication of her monumental bestseller, The Far Pavilions. She is also the author of the bestselling Trade Wind and Shadow of the Moon. She lived in England. You can sign up for email updates here.
ALSO BY M. M. KAYE
FICTION
The Far Pavilions
Shadow of the Moon
Trade Wind
Death in Kenya
Death in Zanzibar
Death in Berlin
Death in the Andamans
Death in Kashmir
The Ordinary Princess (for children)
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Sun in the Morning
Golden Afternoon
Enchanted Evening
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
About the Author
Also by M. M. Kaye
Copyright
DEATH IN CYPRUS. Copyright © 1984 by M. M. Kaye. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
ISBN 978-0-312-26309-6
Death in Cyprus is a new version, revised by the author, of Death Walked in Cyprus. Death Walked in Cyprus was first published in 1956.
First St. Martin’s Minotaur Edition: February 2001
eISBN 9781250089236
First eBook edition: December 2015
