by Alex Ryder
‘Well, did you enjoy having sex with him?’ he persisted.
She bridled. Perhaps he was one of those peculiar people who got their kicks from talking about intimate things like that. The retort that sprang to her lips died as she remembered her promise and his threat.
‘Not particularly,’ she said in quiet embarrassment.
‘Then he must have been a bad lover.’ He smiled at her with condescension. ‘It couldn’t have been your fault. Beneath your cold exterior there are raging fires of passion awaiting liberation. I felt the heat for myself this afternoon.’
Once again she flushed as she recalled the way her body had responded to his deliberate provocation. Even in bed Victor had never made her heart race out of control like that. Nikos went on with his relentless questioning, ‘Is that why you left him? Because he was…unsatisfactory?’
‘No,’ she replied bitterly. ‘It turned out that I was only his Saturday-night girl.’
He gave a puzzled frown. ‘Saturday-night girl?’
‘Yes. I found out that he had one for Monday night and another for Thursday.’
He nodded in understanding. ‘He was being unfaithful?’
‘You could put it like that,’ she said, chancing a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Reaching for the bottle, he refilled her glass. ‘And there have been no other men since then?’
She looked at the glass. ‘Are you trying to get me drunk?’
‘Answer my question,’ he snapped.
Simmering quietly, she replied with dignity. ‘No. There haven’t been any other men.’ She paused then added, ‘You know the old saying: once bitten, twice shy.’
The fingers of his right hand drummed a slow tattoo on the table while he thought her answer over. They were strong, very competent-looking fingers, she noted. Perfectly manicured, the halfmoons translucent in light contrast to his darker skin. Finally he gave a decisive nod. ‘I have the feeling that you’re telling the truth, Carrie. You strike me as being open and honest.’
He’d be giving her a gold star and telling her to go to the top of the class in a minute, she thought. ‘Look,’ she began with a forced politeness, ‘would you mind telling me why you’re asking all these questions? I don’t see that my previous life has anything to do with you. I mean.. .why should it make any difference to you what kind of sex-life I’ve had?’
‘It matters considerably, Carrie.’ His eyes measured her dispassionately. ‘I wish to hurt your brother, make him suffer the same disgrace he has brought down on the heads of my family. If you were a person of loose moral behaviour, as he seems to be, he might simply shrug off your pregnancy as being of little consequence. Certainly nothing to feel disgraced about.’
The sheer cold-bloodedness of his reasoning was almost unbelievable. Recovering her breath, she looked at him with barely disguised contempt. ‘I suppose it’s your only regret that I’m not a virgin? That would really have made your day, wouldn’t it?’
He gave a dry, philosophic shrug. ‘A man can’t have everything. However, I want you to know that I have nothing against you personally, Carrie. In fact, I think I’m beginning to like you. You’re extremely attractive and, as I pointed out before, my mission here will be a pleasure instead of mere duty.’ He spread his hands in a gesture of mock-appeal. ‘Believe me when I say that I sympathise with your position but it isn’t my fault that you’re unfortunate enough to have a brother who doesn’t share your high moral scruples.’
The rumours she’d heard about him were true, then. If this was the way he treated people whom he liked then God help his enemies.
A sudden, suspicious thought crossed her mind. At first she dismissed it as highly improbable then she decided that any chance was better than none at all. There could be no harm in calling his bluff, if that was all it was.
‘I want to talk to my brother,’ she said calmly.
He gave a dark frown of displeasure. ‘That isn’t possible.’
‘Why?’ she demanded. ‘You said that he is being held by your cousins at some estate. I presume they have telephones there?’
He nodded. ‘Of course. But talking to him will do neither of you any good. Besides, at the moment he’s in an agony of suspense wondering what my plans are for you. For the moment I’d rather keep it that way.’
Once more she wondered how anyone could be so studiedly callous and in a cold voice she said, ‘Well, it’s like this, Mr Spirakis. You may be convinced of my honesty but I’m not entirely convinced about yours.’
His mouth tightened into a savage line of anger then he growled at her, ‘You doubt the word of a Spirakis? You’re treading on dangerous ground, Miss Stevens. I’d advise you to watch your step.’
‘You doubted my word,’ she retorted, ‘then you subjected me to a humiliating cross-examination. All I’m asking you to do is allow me to speak to my brother. If you refuse then how do I know that you’re telling me the truth about him—or anything else, for that matter? For all I know this whole thing could be a hoax—an elaborate scheme to put me out of business.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ He sounded bored. ‘What makes you think I’d be remotely interested in an insignificant operation like yours?’
She ignored the disparaging comment and stood her ground. ‘Then let me talk to Jimmy. If you really do have him then I at least have to know that he…that he’s still in good health. Perhaps you’ve already taken your revenge on him and I’m just the sweet after the main course. All I’ve heard from you so far are accusations and threats. I want to hear the truth from his own lips.’
Again he regarded her in thoughtful silence then he shrugged. ‘Very well. I’ll let you talk to him briefly. If that’s the only way to make you come to terms with the reality of your situation then so be it.’ He signalled to the waiter.
They both sat in tense silence until the waiter returned with a phone and a long extension cord which he plugged into a socket on the nearest wall.
Lifting the handset from the cradle, Nikos pushed the numbers, waited a moment then said quietly, ‘Andros? Fetch the Stevens boy. His sister wants to talk to him.’
He passed the handset across the table and she snatched at it eagerly. The instrument crackled in her ear for a few moments then she heard the breathless voice of her brother. ‘Sis? Is that you?’
‘Yes, Jimmy.’ She paused, afraid to trust her voice, then she took a deep breath. ‘Jimmy…are you all right?’
He sounded angry. ‘Sure. I’m fine. But what about you? Is Helen’s brother with you?’
She closed her eyes in relief that up to now he was unharmed.
‘Sis? You still there?’
‘Yes, Jimmy. And yes—her brother is here.’
‘Listen, you tell him from me that if he lays one finger on you I’ll…I’ll—’
She cut him short. ‘Don’t worry about me. I can look after myself.’ She hoped her voice sounded convincing enough.
There was an awkward pause then he said quietly, ‘Look…I was going to tell you about Helen. You’ve got to believe that, Sis. As soon as I found out about her condition I was coming back to the Miranda to tell you but these goons just bundled me into the back of a car.’
Her heart felt heavy as lead. ‘Then it’s true about you and her? She’s really going to have your child?’
‘Yes, it’s true. I’m going to be a father.’ There was another embarrassed silence then he tried to make light of it. ‘I guess it isn’t the time to be passing around the cigars, though. Now let me talk to that brother of hers.’
A steel band seemed to be tightening around her chest and she handed the phone back to Nikos. ‘He…he wants to talk to you.’
Nikos held the phone for a moment between finger and thumb then he dropped it carelessly back into the cradle, cutting the connection.
‘You might at least have listened to what he was going to say,’ she flared.
‘Listen to excuses…pleas for mercy? It’s too late for that now.’ He sign
alled to the waiter, who came over and removed the phone.
She held her tongue as Stavros, the hotel owner, came over and grinned at Nikos. ‘The accommodation you asked for is ready and the clothes you ordered have arrived.’
Nikos gave a satisfied nod. ‘Good. And the other matter?’
‘It is being attended to. The men say it will take a few hours. It will be ready in time and you will have no cause for complaint. They are the best on the island.’
Most of the conversation had been above her head but one item had caught her attention by the throat. He’d ordered ‘accommodation’!
As soon as Stavros was out of earshot she hissed across the table, ‘I’m not staying here. I’m going back to the boat.’
‘I’m afraid that won’t be possible,’ he drawled. ‘But you needn’t worry. The rooms are separate.’
‘With a connecting door, I’ve no doubt,’ she ventured bitterly.
‘No.’ His teeth flashed again in that predatory smile. ‘I dare say that you’re now impatient to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible but tonight wouldn’t be a good time to start. You’ve had a very trying day and you’re tired. I’d rather wait until you’re fully recovered from the shock. After all, I want you to enjoy the experience as much as I know I shall.’
CHAPTER THREE
BY MID-MORNING they were halfway to their next port of call and Nikos studied the chart then glanced at his watch. ‘We should be there in a couple of hours. What’s the cargo this time?’
‘Won’t know till I get there,’ she answered coolly. ‘Perhaps vegetables to take to the nearest market.’ She swept her blonde hair off her face. ‘Anyway we’re calling somewhere else first.’ She kept the wheel steady and stared fixedly over the blue silk sea. Well ahead of them a ‘flying dolphin’, one of the large hydrofoil ferry boats which served the larger islands, crossed their bows on its way to Samos.
‘Where?’ he demanded in mild irritation.
Glad of the chance to show that she was at least in charge of the boat if nothing else, she snapped, ‘That’s my business. You’ll find out when you get there.’
Like her he was wearing jeans and ropesoled sandals but again he was stripped to the waist and in the confined space of the wheelhouse occasional contact was inevitable. He did it again—his bare chest brushing against her equally bare upper arm— and the electric tingle made her nerves jump. He was probably doing it deliberately, she decided. She was quite capable of steering in the right direction and there was no need for him to lean over and consult the compass every two minutes.
With a betraying tremor in her voice she said, ‘Look, Nikos…there isn’t room in here for both of us. Why don’t you go out on deck and…and find something else to do?’
His eyes held a green flicker of amusement at her apparent discomfort. ‘We’re going to be a lot closer than this, Carrie. I thought you’d have been used to the idea by now. However, if my nearness is disturbing you then you can leave the wheel to me. You can go below and make some coffee.’
Averting her eyes, she squeezed past him with difficulty and made her way down to the tiny galley.
The headache she’d woken up with this morning was still fighting a rearguard action against the aspirin and orange juice which was all she’d felt fit to face at breakfast.
Nikos, wolfing into an enormous helping of yoghurt and honey, had eyed her across the restaurant table with a touch of concern, though whether it had been genuine or not she still wasn’t quite sure. ‘No appetite? Didn’t you sleep well?’
She’d just looked at him in brief, bitter silence, not bothering to answer.
He’d shrugged. ‘Never mind. The sea air will clear your head.’
They’d left the hotel shortly afterwards. Carrying the new holdall containing the clothes he’d bought, he had led the way along the already busy seafront towards the harbour and on board the Miranda,
As soon as he had stepped on deck he had tossed the holdall aside and peered into the engine compartment, then gestured her over. ‘That’s why I didn’t want you to return aboard last night. The noise of the mechanics working would have definitely kept you awake.’
She gazed into the engine compartment and her blue eyes widened in astonishment. ‘Th-that’s a brand-new engine! Wh-where did that come from?’
‘Maybe the tooth fairy brought it?’ His sardonic comment turned to a low growl. ‘I ordered it to be installed last night.’
‘You had no right,’ she spluttered. ‘I can’t afford to pay for a new engine! The old one could have been reconditioned.’
‘No one is asking you to pay for it,’ he said sharply. ‘If I’m going to spend a month on this thing I don’t want to be caught in a storm with an engine that’s ready to expire of old age.’
There was a thick book in a clear plastic cover lying on top of the engine and he tossed it carelessly at her. ‘That’s the maintenance manual. It’s painfully obvious that you know nothing about engines so I advise you to study it carefully in your spare time.’
‘Spare time?’ She looked at him resentfully. ‘I’m going to be too busy trying to preserve my dignity to have any time to spare.’
‘I wouldn’t put too high a price on my dignity if I were you,’ he said grimly. ‘I don’t think your brother would appreciate it.’
There it was again, she thought with despair. The threat. The dark reminder.
She had looked at the engine again, grey, squat and very powerful-looking. And expensive. A year’s pay would hardly have covered the cost and yet he was virtually giving it to her as a gift! Could it be that his conscience was troubling him and this was his way of…of…? No. She had dismissed the thought. Proud and arrogant men like him never suffered from pangs of guilt. More than likely he was simply worried about his own skin if there really was a storm.
Five minutes later the Miranda, her new heart beating with a strong regular rhythm, had left the harbour and headed eagerly for the open sea.
When she took the coffee to the wheelhouse he accepted it with a grunt of thanks then gestured ahead to the smudge on the horizon. ‘There’s Skiati.’
‘Steer five points to port,’ she told him. ‘There’s a tiny island just north of Skiati. We’re calling there first.’
He eased the wheel over and brought the Miranda’s bows round to the new course she’d given him. Standing behind him, she smiled in grim anticipation. When he’d taken it upon himself to sail with her and take Jimmy’s place he hadn’t really known what he was letting himself in for. Well, he was about to find out the hard way.
The sun was almost overhead when they anchored in the tiny bay and the heat from the Miranda’s deck rose in shimmering waves. It was not much cooler as they rowed the dinghy towards the beach.
When Nikos dragged the dinghy up on the sand he surveyed the scene before him and looked at her quizzically. ‘Now what?’
Inland from the beach there was nothing but bare scrub stretching for two hundred yards before it began to rise steeply and she pointed up the hill. ‘We’re going up there to meet an old friend of mine.’
Without any further explanation she marched up the beach and began picking her way cautiously along a narrow path leading through the scrub. There was no guarantee that he’d follow. He might decide to laze on the beach or go swimming until she returned, but she doubted it. Curiosity, if nothing else, would compel him to find out what she was up to. After a moment she heard the rustle of the scrub behind her and she smiled in satisfaction.
In the heat it was exhausting work climbing up the steep hill and she was glad when it finally and suddenly levelled out. This place had been invisible from the beach but now they were walking through about four acres of patchy fieldwork towards a crumbling white-painted house.
When she was near enough the house to be heard she called out, ‘Kati?’
At her second call a figure in a black shawl appeared at the doorway and raised an arm in greeting.
‘Who is s
he?’ asked Nikos.
‘She lives here on her own,’ she explained quietly. ‘She’s nearly seventy. A widow.’
‘No family?’
‘They left here long ago for a better way of life. Kati refuses to leave. Her husband is buried here.’
‘It can’t be an easy life for her here on her own,’ he observed. ‘She’s a foolish old woman not to join her family.’
‘I just told you that her husband is buried here, didn’t I?’ she retorted. ‘To some people in this world a thing like that is important. I’d probably do exactly the same.’ She eyed him bitterly then went on, ‘Anyway, I’ve never heard her complaining. She grows all her own food and she has a few sheep and goats. Now and then her family send her a little money. Her real problem is fresh water. The well up here ran dry years ago. Now the only well on the island is at the foot of that hill we just climbed.’
They were drawing closer to the house now and she lowered her voice. ‘She’s a very determined and independent old lady and she can manage most things on her own. What she can’t manage is carrying ten gallons of water at a time up that hill.’ She shot him a meaningful look. ‘Jimmy and I always make a point of calling on her at least every six weeks. In exchange for some of her goat’s-milk cheese Jimmy always offers to top up her storage tank with fresh water from the well. Sometimes it takes him a couple of hours. It depends on how dry it has been and how much she has used.’
Nikos, still looking cool and not the least out of breath after the climb, grunted. ‘You brother must be extremely fond of goat’s-milk cheese.’
‘He isn’t. He hates the stuff.’
The green eyes narrowed and he smiled thinly. ‘I see. So that’s why I’m here. To be a water carrier. How large is this water tank?’
‘Two hundred gallons,’ she said calmly. ‘At ten gallons a time that means twenty trips to the well.’ She gave him a taunting look from her blue eyes. ‘Of course, you may feel it’s beneath the dignity of a man like yourself. Or perhaps you aren’t as fit as you look. I suppose you spend most of the time in an air-conditioned office lifting nothing heavier than a telephone. A man with nicely manicured nails like yours won’t be used to really hard work. I suppose I’ll end up having to do it myself. It’ll take a lot longer but I can’t leave old Kati to do it herself. I’ll just tell her that—’