Death in Luxor

by Graham Warren

  The Egyptian Adventures of

  Kathryn Black

  ~

  Death

  in

  Luxor

  Graham Warren

  Copyright © 2014 Graham Warren

  This edition published 2016

  The author asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  www.KathrynBlack.co.uk

  Dedication

  My thanks to Ramses for his inspiration

  as well as his red wine,

  and to Renée for her love.

  Contents

  Chapter 1 - Trouble at the Temple

  Chapter 2 - Ramses and Red Wine

  Chapter 3 - Where Do We Go From Here?

  Chapter 4 - We All Need Friends

  Chapter 5 - Ancients, Antiques and Assassins

  Chapter 6 - Actions Speak Louder Than Words

  Chapter 7 - Hi-Tech Tomb

  Chapter 8 - A Cat, a Snake and a Warlock

  Chapter 9 - The Tomb of Ay

  Chapter 10 - We Need a Meeting

  Chapter 11 - Ramses Returns

  Chapter 12 - A Time for Reflection

  Chapter 13 - Aggie and Ash

  Chapter 14 - Economic with the Truth

  Chapter 15 - We Did Not See That Coming

  Chapter 16 - A Birthday to Remember

  Chapter 17 - The Party Resumes

  Chapter 18 - Ancients and Abductions

  Chapter 19 - Ay See Anger

  Chapter 20 - Dust and Disillusionment

  Chapter 21 - My Kingdom for a Horse

  Chapter 22 - Alexander’s Gold

  Chapter 23 - Fame and Failure

  Chapter 24 - Time to Panic

  Chapter 25 - All is Not Revealed

  Also from this Author

  Chapter 1

  -

  Trouble at the Temple

  Kate and Alex remained seated in the breakfast room of the Winter Palace, as they had for the last hour or so, whilst waiting for Aggie to arrive. The serving of breakfast was coming to a close at this most historic hotel, an imposing white edifice built on the banks of the mighty River Nile, in the heart of Luxor, ancient Thebes.

  Aggie had become Kate’s unwilling guardian less than a year ago, after her daughter, Kate’s mother, had died suddenly and shockingly. However, she was not a person anyone could live with, let alone a self-willed teenager. Aggie had made it crystal clear as Kate had left their suite, that she and Babs, Alex’s mother, were going to Luxor Temple with them this morning. It was arranged; it was going to happen; they would enjoy themselves!

  “What a drag,” thought Kate, who was as argumentative as any teenager, often far more so. However, she was wise enough to know that there were times when you did not argue with Aggie, and this was one of those times. She not only controlled the purse strings, but, far more importantly, Kate’s freedom.

  After the excitement of her first week ever in Luxor, she had no intention of missing a moment of this second week. Having found her ancient family, she was determined not to go back to England, though saying it and achieving it were two completely different things, especially for a thirteen-year-old. Back there all she had were school bullies and Aggie. Here she had discovered life, made friends, had adventures and found a reason to live. She did, quite intentionally, suppress ancient Egyptian soldiers from her thoughts. She had been attacked not once, but twice. One attack had left her life hanging by a thread.

  Here she even had Alex, her best friend, her only true friend, whom she had lost when his parents had left Yorkshire for London. A move which had been forced upon him, much to his disgust. His father, world renowned archaeologist Quentin Cumberpatch, had spent most of Alex’s young life away on digs in Egypt, so living in Yorkshire was fine for the few times he came home. Changes to funding at his university, brought about by a new Head of Finance, had resulted in a never ending interdepartmental power struggle. Quentin, who was not a political animal, had neither the idea or the temperament to build the alliances needed, if he was to secure any licence to a dig within the timescale set by the Egyptian government. Because of this, he now spent most of his time teaching and lecturing, and where does a world-renowned archaeologist based in the England teach and lecture? … London!

  Alex was in Luxor for two weeks whilst his dad checked out a prospective dig, though most unusually for Quentin, he refused to even hint at its location. His university had also been kept in the dark. Comments made as he had booked his leave, had lead them to believe that he was taking the family to the Dodecanese island of Rhodes.

  Private backers had approached him directly. They had played to his ego as they had wined and dined him. He had agreed to everything before the third bottle of wine, and definitely before the port. In his desperation to dig in Egypt he had signed the confidentially agreement before they started to talk, without making any attempt to read it. After two attempts, he had also signed the unread contract placed before him at the end of the evening. His first signature having all the correct letters, though not necessarily in the correct order! This was, by far, his best chance of being able to excavate, once again, in his beloved Egypt. His need to discover ancient artefacts, in order to increase his world standing, was never far from his thoughts, so he would do nothing to jeopardise this opportunity.

  Whenever Alex’s parents had a row – an all too frequent event now that his father was home every evening – Quentin would bring up his quest for knowledge of ancient civilisations whilst calling Luxor Thebes: its Greek name. Babs would insist on Luxor being called Luxor before pouring fuel on the fire by saying that all he wanted to be was ‘more famous than Howard Carter’. Something he would never be able to achieve by only ever having found an ‘insignificant Greek General’s coat button with the head of Cleopatra on it’. It then became not just a row, but a full-blown war, as finding that button, a unique button, was the high point in Quentin’s long career. It was war in the Cumberpatch household, a war which could take days if not weeks to resolve, during which time Alex would make himself scarce. Had he not, he would be pressured into taking sides. A no-win situation whatever he said. That is why he chose silence, yet even that was wrong.

  His wish to go back to England was no stronger than Kate’s, though, unlike her, he knew that regardless of any argument he could muster up, he would be on the plane home Wednesday week. As Alex tended to do, he chose the less confrontational route.

  “Where on earth is she?” asked Kate with plenty of attitude.

  In the certain knowledge that getting rid of the oldies was the very best he could hope for, Alex was finalising a plan. He needed to spend his time with Kate sorting out ancients, not oldies! There was the matter of the ancient woman to resolve, who, after taking a print of how Luxor Temple used to look out of Kate’s hands, had disappeared into the temple – literally disappeared! It was only a short walk along the Corniche from their rather grand hotel, but this was Luxor in the summer, so by now it was already far too hot for any sensible person to go sightseeing. Tourists on booked tours were already returning, hot and dripping, to the hotel.

  “We could have been there, done what we had to do, and been back here by now,” said Kate with attitude which was turning into anger. “Bet you she doesn’t make it!”

  “Normally, I’m not a betting person, but how much do you want to lose?”

/>   Kate spun around to see Aggie arriving at the breakfast room dressed in her ‘whites’. Her outfit included a silly little umbrella, which thankfully remained unopened. She was using it as an extension to her arm as she pointed, in a stabbing motion, towards where Kate and Alex were sitting. The maître d’ had already ducked out of the way several times, in a so far successful attempt to retain both eyes. It was immediately obvious that Babs was embarrassed by what Aggie was wearing, let alone doing. She looked exactly like one of those Georgian ladies in the old black and white photographs of Harry Burton. The ones he had taken of visitors in the Valley of the Kings after Howard Carter had discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun. The only difference being, thought Kate, was that those ladies had had the good grace to die, whilst Aggie had not! She was very much here, very much alive and very much ruining Kate’s holiday, and from the look of it, ruining Babs’ holiday as well.

  Kate had to smile, not because she wanted to, but because of the certainty that if she did not welcome Aggie with a smile, her day which was already spoilt would be doomed. “Morning, Nana,” she shouted, “you’re too late for breakfast, so shall we go straight to the temple?”

  “Nonsense, my girl, they would not dare. They will serve us breakfast. After all, we used to rule this country!” Turning to the maître d’ she poked him with her umbrella, speaking sternly, “Won’t you!” He appeared to suddenly become much smaller, quaked slightly in his shoes, then called for the staff to reset the breakfast buffet, as well as bring back the breakfast menus. Aggie and Babs sat, though Babs looked really sad.

  “Are you okay, Mum?”

  “Oh yes, Alex,” she said with a sigh whilst patting him on the back of his hand. Her eyes dropped to the white Egyptian cotton table cloth. “I didn’t kid myself. I knew there was a very distinct possibility I wouldn’t see much of your father on this holiday, but so far I’ve seen nothing of him. We actually stayed here for our honeymoon. He never was romantic. I should have realised then what my life would be like. Now we are back here I thought that we could …” Babs gave the biggest sigh. “Listen to me; I’m just a silly old woman kidding myself. Your father’s out again today. I thought it would be good for us if I went with him. At least then I could try and look enthusiastic. He refused, point blank!

  “That’s why I went to join Aggie in The Gardens last night. We had an awful row. The whole hotel must have heard. I’m glad that you didn’t come back until late. How’s the cat?”

  “Fine.” Kate elbowed Alex in the ribs. “I mean, it will be fine in a few days. We would like to pop back to the animal hospital to see how it’s doing.”

  Seeing the ‘not today’ look in Aggie’s eyes, Kate added, “Perhaps tomorrow.”

  “Good, that’s good,” Babs said without conviction, her eyes still glued to the tablecloth. She spoke softly, slowly, almost inaudibly. “I don’t get it. Why can nobody know where his precious dig is? It’s as if I’m living with a spy. Do you know what he tells me? He changes taxi three times on the way to the dig, just to ensure that he’s not being followed. Why couldn’t he care for me just as much as he cares about …” The sound of two waiters colliding caused Babs to look up. Seeing Kate and Alex with sadness in their eyes, she immediately apologised for being so maudlin.

  “Now, what shall we have?” said Aggie placing both hands on the closed menu in front of her. She chose the full English breakfast which, according to the menu, came with beef bacon! Babs only wanted tea, toast and marmalade. Even though Kate and Alex had enjoyed an extensive continental breakfast buffet, they ordered pancakes. It having been so long since they had eaten, they were now both slightly peckish. They actually agreed that they were a little more than peckish, so they added hot chocolate sauce to their order.

  The midday sun was beating down as they walked along the tree lined corniche towards Luxor Temple. Aggie was sheltered from its intense rays by her little white umbrella. The ambient air temperature, at this time of day, was not for the fainthearted. They had not walked far, yet already she and Babs were falling well behind. Kate and Alex darted from tree to tree, in a fairly successful attempt to stay in the shade as much as possible.

  “Alex?”

  “What?”

  “Why are we going this way? The entrance is on the other side of the temple.”

  “I know, but we want to get rid of the oldies. This is the only way I could think of doing it.”

  “But the entrance is over there,” said Kate, waving a finger towards the far side of the temple to emphasise her point. It was quite some distance from where they were.

  “Put your hand down and stop pointing,” said Alex abruptly. “Yes, I know it is, but they don’t. The last time we were here, it was on this side, right by the Nile.”

  “So!”

  “So, nothing! Trust me, this will work. We will then be rid of them for the day.” Aggie and Babs would soon be close enough to hear what they were talking about, so they dashed for the shade of a particularly large tree, where Alex continued. “The old entrance was almost opposite the ferry. Look at them, they are wilting now. What do you think will happen when they find out we have to double back?”

  Kate looked back to the road they should have taken. Following the route through the remains of the temple, she could see that the entrance was at least twice as far as they had just walked. Half way there they would pass The Gardens.

  Noticing where Kate was looking, Alex said, “Do you really think that after being this hot, for this long, Aggie will walk right past? Never, no way! She will be in there like a shot and she will drag mum with her.”

  Kate could not disagree. They ran to another tree.

  “You can act all disappointed as you ask for today’s spending money.”

  “Can I?”

  “Yes, you can. Then we can look around the temple in peace.”

  The Gardens were where Aggie liked to drink, as it was full of the worst type of expats and therefore full of vindictive gossip. Alcohol and gossip were Aggie’s lifeblood, she needed both just as much as normal people needed air.

  Kate, having never been to Luxor before, had no knowledge of the change of entrance to Luxor Temple. She smacked Alex on the shoulder for being so smug, just before she gave him the biggest hug.

  “Now, now, you two, that’s no way to behave in public,” said Aggie as she and Babs caught up to them.

  “No, you are quite correct, Nana, I’m sorry.” Kate turned and ran to the next tree, though as she did she said, “I should take your example, and drink myself silly every day.” Alex followed Kate, as he so frequently did.

  Aggie bellowed from behind, “What was that you said, my girl?” Alex cringed, and Babs did not know where to look.

  Kate turned to look back with a face of total innocence as she spoke quite clearly, “I said that I should take your example, before I act silly every day.”

  A slightly flustered Aggie replied, “Yes, um, you should do that, my girl.” The moment of tension was abated.

  “Well done, Kate,” said Alex beaming, “we are still on plan.”

  The plan worked out better than either of them could have hoped for, as after being denied entry by the police, Aggie duly announced that they would not be getting her money to enter Luxor Temple today, or for that matter, on any other day. She huffed and she puffed, before she most forcefully announced that “This is no way to treat a tourist, and most definitely not how you treat a British tourist, a tourist of the Empire.”

  The Tourist and Antiquity Police rapidly increased in number. They lined up to block her way, just in case she attempted to vault the fence. Realising that she had lost this battle, Aggie announced that she was off to The Gardens and would never be back.

  Babs agreed that they should go, as it was no longer beads of sweat which were running down her face, it was a constant stream. Having forgotten to bring anything to cover her head, she had already had more than enough of the heat. So much so, that she would have happily agreed to go anywh
ere that offered a seat, shade and a cold bottle of water.

  Kate put on her best grovelling voice, as she asked Aggie for her daily allowance. She explained that this was because they would like to walk to the entrance of the temple, by carrying on the way they were already going.

  Alex added that they would meet up with them both in The Gardens afterwards.

  Aggie rummaged around in her bag before thrusting some notes, both Egyptian and English, into Kate’s hand. She let the police know in no uncertain terms that she was going to report them all to the British Embassy in Cairo. She waved her little brolly so hard at the officers that the parasol end shot off into the temple grounds. Undaunted, though far from unfazed, she turned and walked away, still holding the bottom half of the umbrella up in the air. Now walking without any shade, she attempted to walk quickly, though her long narrow dress did not allow her to take normal steps.

  Viewed from behind, she appeared to Kate and Alex as a geisha who was desperate to get to a toilet before she had a rather unfortunate accident. They laughed, and whether or not the Tourist and Antiquity Police had the same mental picture, they were also all laughing.