by Amy Cross
Part Nine
I
As mist hung in the air, a solitary figure was struggling on the beach.
“Damn it,” Kate muttered as she hopped across the sand on one leg, while trying to get the other into the bottom part of her bikini without dropping the towel she'd already tied precariously around her waist. “How the hell do people -”
Before she could finish, she lost her balance and tumbled down against the sand, letting out a loud gasp in the process.
“Great,” she continued, finally getting her leg through the required hole. “Dignity wins again.”
It was a little after seven in the morning, and the sun was still in the process of rising above the horizon. Having promised Doctor Young that she'd follow his advice and start swimming each day, Kate had forced herself out of bed at an ungodly hour and made her way to the beach on the island's western side, with the intention of getting the swimming session out of the way as early as possible. She wasn't the kind of person who usually went swimming, as evidenced by the fact that she hadn't even thought to change into her bikini before leaving the mansion.
“There,” she muttered, throwing the towel aside before grabbing her bikini top. For a moment, she considered dispensing with it entirely and swimming topless; after all, she figured there was no-one about, so the chances of being observed were virtually nil. At the same time, she was far too self-conscious to do such a thing, so she took a moment to slip out of her bra and into the top, before finally getting to her feet and brushing the sand off her legs.
She stared at the shoreline a few meters away. The Mediterranean sea glistened light blue in the morning sun, although the fine morning mist meant that visibility was low.
“Let's get this over with,” Kate told herself, making her way across the sand and finally paddling into the water. It wasn't as warm as she'd hoped, but the last thing she wanted was to spend too long getting used to the temperature. Once she was far enough out, she began to slowly swim away from the land until eventually she stopped and started treading water as she looked back over her shoulder.
The beach was deserted, apart from her clothes and beach bag on the sand. It was an unexpectedly peaceful scene, and for a moment she felt she was starting to understand why someone might voluntarily go swimming. Thaxos wasn't a very busy island at the best of times, but right now she felt almost as if she was the only person in the entire world. She trod water for a moment longer, allowing the peace and calm to wash against her body. As she -
Suddenly she felt something brush against one of her feet. She instinctively looked down into the water, but whatever had touched her, she had no chance of seeing it. She waited, telling herself that it must have just been a fish, although she couldn't shake a slightly uneasy feeling. What it had been, it had felt pretty large and substantial, almost as if it had fingers.
“Relax,” she told herself. “For once in your life, just stop worrying about things.”
Figuring that Doctor Young probably meant for her to get a little more exercise than just a few gentle meters, she resumed her swim, maintaining a leisurely pace as she made her way further and further from the shore. After a couple of minutes, she looked back again and realized that the mist was making it harder for her to see the shore at all, although she could still just about make out the line of sand. The atmosphere was almost ghostly, and the only sound she could hear was the water's gentle rhythm as it lapped against her skin.
Treading water once again, she turned to look at the misty scene all around her.
“That must have been five minutes,” she whispered to herself, before turning back to the beach. “Surely I can -”
Suddenly she noticed movement in the distance. Squinting a little, she saw that there were two small dark figures standing on the shore, a little way from her clothes. Still treading water, she waited for the figures to move, but after a moment she realized that they seemed to be simply standing in the mist, staring out at her. From their size, she felt certain that they must be children, but finally the mist seemed to thicken for a moment before fading again, and this time the figures were no longer visible. It was as if they had simply disappeared.
Swimming cautiously back to the shore, Kate made her way onto dry land. When she got to her clothes and bag, she realized that the mist was already starting to lift, but there was no sign of the two children in any direction. She looked toward the path that led up to the top of the cliff, but she saw no-one. Glancing along the beach, she tried to work out where else the children could have gone, but it seemed as if the stretch of sand was mostly enclosed. Still, she figured that a couple of local children would probably know some short-cuts.
Grabbing her towel, she began to dry herself, while checking over her shoulder regularly, just in case anyone tried to sneak up on her. As soon as she was done, she grabbed her bag and hurried toward the path, only to stop at the last moment when she realized she could hear a splashing sound coming from the water.
“Help!” a voice called out.
Turning, Kate stared out into the mist for a moment before realizing she could see a figure in the sea, desperately waving for attention.
“Help!” the voice called again, sounding a little further away this time. “Please!”
Dropping her bag, Kate ran to the shoreline and stopped again as she tried to get her bearings. Her heart was racing as she looked for some sign of the figure she'd spotted a few seconds ago; at first it seemed to have vanished, but finally she saw something struggling against the tide. Racing into the water, Kate began to swim toward the figure, but when she stopped to get her bearings she realized that there was no-one around. She trod water for a moment longer, looking for any hint of the other figure, before finally hearing a splashing sound behind her.
Turning, she saw the figure again, still some way off in the mist.
“Help!” the voice called, and this time her features were just about visible. It was a little girl, no more than eight or nine years old, her face filled with panic as she dipped briefly under the surface a couple of times. “Please, help me! I'm drowning!”
Swimming toward the figure, Kate reached the spot only to find that the figure had vanished again. She turned back to look the way she'd come, convinced that the drowning girl would call out again. Treading water, she waited, but as each second passed she began to realize that she might be too late.
“Hey!” she called out helplessly, as the last of the mist drifted all around her. “Hello? Where are you?”
She waited.
Silence.
“Hey!” Kate shouted again.”Where are you?”
Ducking her head under the water, she looked around for any hint of the girl, but there was nothing. She swam down a little, convinced that she'd be able to spot the girl in the crystal blue water, but there was no-one around. All she could see was the seabed a few meters below the surface, stretching into the darker haze of the deeper water. Finally, running out of air, Kate returned to the surface, where the mist still hadn't quite cleared.
“Hello?” she called out. “Where are you? Hello?”
She waited, desperately hoping that she wasn't too late. She kept telling herself that she was wrong, that the girl hadn't been in trouble, but with every second that passed she could feel her heart beating faster and harder, as a sense of panic threatened to overwhelm her.
“Hey!” she shouted at the top of her voice. “Where are you?”
II
“What about dinner?” Didi asked, hurrying along the corridor as she tried to keep pace with Edgar. “A big romantic dinner, just you and me. We'll get Jacob to go into town and find something fancy, and you then you can send him and Kate Langley out for the night so we've got the place all to ourselves. Like the old days? Remember, babe? Remember how much fun it used to be?”
“I shall be busy tonight,” Edgar replied, not even bothering to look at her.
“You sure will,” she continued, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I'll
keep you busy all night and into tomorrow morning, if you know what I mean.”
“I have paperwork.”
“Can't you get it done during the day?”
“There's too much.”
“But if -”
“I'm afraid there's no way around it,” he continued. “I must work all day, and all evening, and then all day again tomorrow. You'll simply have to find some other way to amuse yourself.” Reaching the door to his office, he finally turned to her. “If you want money, there's money in all the usual places. Take whatever you need.”
“And do what?” Didi asked plaintively.
“And use your imagination.”
“There's nothing to do on this stinking little island,” she hissed, before realizing that she needed to try a different tactic. “It's been a long time since we had a night together, babe. Just you and me. Hell, it's been months. We need to make sure that fire of ours is still burning, don't we? All relationships need a little effort now and again, and we don't wanna let things go stale before we've even tied the knot, do we?”
“I'm unavailable this evening,” he said calmly.
“Yeah, but -”
“My business partners won't hold off just because I'm required to spend the evening with my fiance,” he added, with no obvious affection or warmth. “The lifestyle we lead comes at a cost, and part of that cost involves long hours. For me, at least.”
“But...” Sighing, she realized that there was no way he was going to back down. “Fine,” she added. “Well, I'm sure as hell not gonna sit around up here, twiddling my thumbs while you sit in that office and shuffle papers around. For a goddamn billionaire, Edgar, you sure know how to be boring sometimes.” Turning, she marched away, before stopping and looking back at him. “I'm going into town tonight. Oh yeah, hat's exactly what I'm gonna do. I'll be leaving at six. No, five! No... Yeah, five! On the dot! And do you know what? I'm gonna have a good time, with or without you.”
“I'm sure you will,” he said with a faint smile.
“And if you don't join me...” She paused. “Just don't wait up, that's all. I might be late home!”
Without replying, Edgar entered his office and pushed the door shut.
“Hell,” Didi shouted after him, “I might even stay out all night! How's that for you, huh?”
She waited.
Nothing.
Letting out a gasp of frustration, she turned and stalked away.