"Connie Willis - Death on the Nile" - читать интересную книгу автора (Willis Connie)

тАЬWeтАЩre all alone on the ship,тАЭ I say, тАЬjust like they were.тАЭ

тАЬHow far is it to the Valley of the Kings?тАЭ Lissa asks.

тАЬ тАШThree-and-a-half miles (5 km.) west of Luxor,тАЩ тАЭ Zoe says, read-

тАЬ тАШLuxor is four hundred miles south of Cairo.тАЩ тАЭ

тАЬIf itтАЩs that far, I might as well read my book,тАЭ Lissa says, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head.
тАЬNeil, hand me my bag.тАЭ

He fishes Death on the Nile out of her bag and hands it to her, and she flips through it for a moment, like
Zoe looking for exchange rates, and then begins to read.

тАЬThe wife did it,тАЭ I say. тАЬShe found out her husband was being unfaithful.тАЭ

Lissa glares at me. тАЬI already knew that,тАЭ she says carelessly. тАЬI saw the movie,тАЭ but after another half
page she lays the open book facedown on the empty deck chair next to her.

тАЬI canтАЩt read,тАЭ she says to Neil. тАЬThe sunтАЩs too bright.тАЭ She squints up at the sky, which is still hidden by
its gauze-like haze.

тАЬ тАШThe Valley of the Kings is the site of the tombs of sixty-four pharoahs,тАЩтАЭ Zoe says. тАЬ тАШOf these, the
most famous is TutankhamunтАЩs.тАЩтАЭ

I go over to the railing and watch the Pyramids recede, slipping slowly out of sight behind the rushes
that line the shore. They look flat, like yellow triangles stuck up in the sand, and I remember how in
Paris ZoeтАЩs husband wouldnтАЩt believe the Mona Lisa was the real thing. тАЬItтАЩs a fake,тАЭ he insisted before
Zoe interrupted. тАЬThe real oneтАЩs much larger.тАЭ

And the guidebook said, Prepare to be disappointed, and the Valley of the Kings is four hundred miles
from the Pyramids like itтАЩs supposed to be, and Middle Eastern airports are notorious for their lack of
security. ThatтАЩs how all those bombs get on planes in the first place, because they donтАЩt make people go
through customs. I shouldnтАЩt watch so many movies.

тАЬ тАШAmong its treasures, TutankhamunтАЩs tomb contained a golden boat, by which the soul would travel to
the world of the dead,тАЩтАЭ Zoe says.

I lean over the railing and look into the water. It is not muddy, like I thought it would be, but a clear
waveless blue, and in its depths the sun is shining brightly.



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 Death on the Nile

тАЬ тАШThe boat was carved with passages from The Book of the Dead,тАЩ тАЭ Zoe reads, тАЬ тАШto protect the
deceased from monsters and demigods who might try to destroy him before he reached the Hall of