Too Slow to Die

by Tony Jenkins

  At the Pusztai house, he could have shot Demeter and since no one knew he was in the area, he could then have ‘arrived’ and made his claim on the lands. Because he had missed his chance and got carried away by his emotions and blundered into the kitchen, the police would now suspect him if Demeter was killed. He must somehow arrange for Demeter to have an accident instead so that he would not be blamed.

  He remembered Renko telling him that his mother Bella had married a local Tigani and had more children when she moved back to the Dunakeszi village. Looking through the small bundle of papers which fortunately had been in his saddlebag, he found the name Pista Botos, who was Bella’s husband. They would certainly have a claim on Pusztai lands, since after the divorce, Demeter’s grandfather had never remarried. He wondered if he could somehow turn this knowledge to his advantage.

  Renko had told him that Bella had died, but Pista could still be alive, or if he had died, perhaps the children would still be alive. If he visited the village when it was dark, he was sure someone would tell him where the Botos family lived. If the Botos helped him to get the Pusztai lands, he could give them money, or they could share the land.

  After leaving the vardo, he had suddenly felt the chill in the air with the approach of winter and was sure that snow would soon come. He remembered seeing an old stone building as he rode to the Pusztai house. It was unwise to ride there in daylight, but if he failed to persuade the Botos family to help him, it could be a useful shelter for overnight stays in his tent. Riding through the forest he soon found a stream and good grass to keep his horse fed and watered. Wrapping the tent around himself as a windbreak and propping up some fir branches as cover, he settled down near the tethered horse to wait out the daylight hours. Most of the older Tigani still spoke their own language, but the younger ones spoke mainly Hungarian. At the village he would wait until he could speak with an older Tigani who should be able to understand him.

  Time passed slowly and the ground beneath was hard and uncomfortable. Shivering with the cold, he could not stop remembering his comfortable days as leader of his people at Budestin. After his brother Renko came to escape from the Hungarian and French police, everything seemed to fall apart. Everyone wanted to kill Renko and the local women hated him and were eager to strip and torture him in revenge. As leader he should have refused him refuge, but he was family and he offered good money to be allowed to return to his mother’s birthplace. Now his only chance of a comfortable new life depended on killing the last Pusztai. In spite of the cold, he fell asleep and when he woke up it was late afternoon and growing dark and time to move.

  Saddling his horse, he rode towards the stone barn to find out if it could be a night shelter. After watching the old building carefully first, he crept closer and with his rifle held ahead of him, looked around the inside. Seeing the ashes and hay in the feeding trough he knew it had been used by others for shelter, but was now empty. Leading the horse to the trough, he collected a pile of hay to spread on the ground and settled down near the doorway to watch for visitors as he waited for darkness before riding on.

  After waiting until it grew dark, he rode away from the barn towards the Tigani village. As he reached the scattered homes, he led his horse and walked casually along between the semi-derelict wooden houses. After thinking that the people would be suspicious of a stranger, he would say that he was delivering a horse that the Botos family had bought. A villager walked towards him and looked closely at him for a moment. Tigo lifted the reins of the horse and muttered, “Botos.” The man pointed to a house at the far end of the road and continued on his way. Excited that he had traced the Botos family without creating suspicion, or having to say a word, Tigo led the horse to the front of the house. He tied the reins to a rickety wooden fence, walked up to the door and knocked. An old man came to the door and stared at the stranger facing him. Tigo accepted that once again luck was with him since Pista Botos was still alive. He would certainly remember Renko and his determination to claim the Pusztai lands.

  “I have come a long way to see you Pista. I am Renko’s brother Tigo and I want to make you rich.”

  Pista’s face showed apprehension as soon as he heard the name of the secret police chief who had terrorised his people. With Pista standing unmoving, or speaking in the open doorway, Tigo took advantage by pushing past and closing the door. Taking the old man’s arm and drawing him into the house he motioned him towards a chair. Tigo sat down opposite and began to explain that Demeter was the last of the Pusztai family and if he died, the land and properties should be passed to Bella’s family. Pista and his children would be amongst the richest Tigani’s in the country. Pista listened in silence, but finally responded to the big man who spoke his native language with a strange accent.

  “I have known the Pusztai children since they were born and Demeter and Arianne have always been good friends to us Tigani. How can we now take their lands from them?”

  “My brother Renko killed Arianne and I am willing to kill Demeter so that we can all share in the lands. Why should one man have so much, when we have so little?”

  The two argued for some time before Pista agreed to give Tigo and his horse shelter for the night, but insisted that they must wait until his son Panna returned before any further discussion on what Tigo planned. His son would decide whether to help, or turn him away, since Panna’s life was still before him, whilst Pista knew his days were already limited. Panna worked at the Hun-Al refinery and spent most evenings with his friends at a local bar. A large part of his working day was taken up clearing out ore, which worked its way under the conveyor belt rollers taking it to the crushers. If it was not regularly cleared out it could build up and jam the rollers moving the belts. It was hard, dusty work, which gave Panna a fierce thirst and led to his frequent visits to local bars. He also enjoyed drinking beer.

  Sitting in a chair facing Pista, the warmth inside the house after his busy day outdoors combined to send Tigo off to sleep. He was awakened by the sound of voices as Pista explained the stranger’s presence to his son and that he hoped to take possession of the Pusztai lands. Opening his eyes, Tigo looked at the stocky young man standing near his father and was encouraged to see an excited expression showing on Panna’s face. Tigo rose to his feet and as the young man began speaking his father translated from Hungarian to the Tigani dialect.

  “My son does not understand how you hope to kill Demeter and then claim his lands. He thinks the police will shoot you, or put you in prison before you can claim the lands. The government will then take them over.”

  “Tell him that with his help, Demeter will die in an accident when we are away and the police will have nothing against us. We can then return and make a family claim on the Pusztai lands.”

  With the father making the translation, Tigo then explained in detail what he had in mind and the part he wanted Panna to play. When the son heard the full translation, he beamed at Tigo and then threw his arms around the shoulders of the bigger man. He was willing to help Tigo, who was welcome to take shelter in their home. After years of persecution and deaths, the Pusztai lands were now only days away from yet another attack from the Tigani relatives of Renko’s mother Bella. Tigo could tell that snow would soon come and then he and Panna would begin their work to bring about the accident to kill Demeter. Meantime the two would keep a close watch on Demeter’s movements and in particular his route from the refinery to his house. Snow was the forecast and when it came, they would act.

  Gunari soon learned about the stranger leading a horse who wanted to find the Botos house. He had a close relationship with all the villagers and encouraged them to tell him about any unusual happenings, or visitors. He guessed that Tigo had disregarded his warnings and now hoped to involve the Botos family in his plan to kill Demeter. At first, he was consumed with anger that by his stupidity the fool was putting his hard-won position in the Tigani community at risk. Quickly getting his emotions under control, he directed his energy instead to considering
the best way to rid himself of the man who now posed such a dangerous threat. He would wait and watch, but make sure that he was aware of all Tigo’s plans by having Pista Botos keep him fully informed. He would then choose the moment to remove the threat and secure his future.

  After spending a seemingly endless night watching for Tigo near the vardo, Jack and Petru were stiff and very cold as they made their way back to the Kawasaki for the return drive to the Pusztai house. As a hunting man, Petru was accustomed to spending hours waiting for prey, which often eluded him. Jack was not as patient and was frustrated that Tigo was able to shelter and move around the area at will. He was sure that the Romanian must be receiving help, or perhaps had an accomplice. When he was speaking to Gunari inside the vardo, he sensed that the man was not telling them everything he knew about Tigo. Surely, the man would not want to jeopardise his comfortable lifestyle by sheltering a wanted fugitive.

  When Demeter arrived back from his work at the refinery, the three men agreed that it was pointless to spend more time watching the vardo. Either Tigo had decided to return to Romania, or he had found local help and shelter. They would just have to remain on their guard and wait until Tigo made his next move. Petru was on special detachment from his usual work, but because of the nature of Tigo’s crimes in Romania he assured Demeter that he could arrange a limited extension to trap Tigo. Jack was turning over the possible reasons for Tigo trying to kill Demeter.

  “We know that Tigo is a half-brother to Renko, but unlike Renko, he is not a blood relative through the woman Bella, who married your grandfather. He thinks that by killing you, there will be no other relatives to claim the Pusztai estate. He cannot know about Arianne’s son Paul, but there may also be family from Bella’s second partner. Perhaps, you should tell your colleagues at the mine about Paul and the news will quickly be passed around that he owns half the estate and until you marry Theresa, is also your heir.”

  Nodding his head, Bumbesco said that this might persuade Tigo to give up and return to Romania. He asked if Bella had any relatives in Dunakeszi and Demeter told him about the Botos family.

  “Tigo got hold of his brother Renko’s papers and must know about the Botos family. Although they are not blood relatives, they might have a claim if there were no surviving blood relatives. I agree that the Hun-Al Board should be told about Paul, who took his mother’s maiden name after his parents were killed in France. The news will soon spread and if we are lucky, it could be enough to send Tigo back to Romania.”

  Chapter 31

  Treachery

  Pista Botos gave Gunari full details of Tigo’s plan to kill Demeter and then submit a family claim on the Pusztai estates. Renko had explained to his brother how close he had come to killing Demeter by having a heavy lorry force Demeter’s car off the road and plunge into the Danube. When snow had built up on the hillside above the road, Tigo and Panna would set explosive charges on the hilltop and detonate them as Demeter was driving below on his way home from the refinery. Avalanches were common during the winter and the accident would appear natural. As Gunari stood at his door and watched old Pista slowly return to his home, snowflakes began to fall.

  At the Hun-Al Board meeting Demeter told his colleagues about his nephew and heir Paul Pusztai. The news was well received, especially when it was explained that Paul would be making regular visits to Hungary from his teens to learn the language and become familiar with the business and the country. The secretary taking the notes was a well-known gossip and Demeter was sure the news would spread quickly. After the meeting, Jack borrowed Demeter’s car so that he and Petru could drive to the forest area and take a second look at the vardo belonging to Gunari. The temperature had dropped and it was too cold to use the quad bike. Demeter told them he would be able to have a lift home with an employee.

  Jack parked at the roadside and the two trudged through the snow to reach the vardo in the woods. The ground and branches were laden with snow, which cascaded down on them as they forced their way through the trees. During their previous visit Petru had opened the secret panel and found the food, but had failed to make a close examination of the interior, which he had regretted afterwards. The snow was now four inches deep and both men were glad to have changed to heavy boots for the visit. Petru wanted to learn something about English weather.

  “Do you have snow in your country Jack?”

  “Only very little and at times it can even be deeper than this, but it rarely lasts. The problem is that because it so rarely happens, when we do have a heavy fall we get caught out and our farmers have to help in clearing our side roads.”

  After stamping the snow from their boots, the pair stepped inside the vardo and Petru knelt to take a good look inside the hidden cavity. There was now no food in the box, which was quite empty. They assumed that Gunari had returned and taken it, but there was also a possibility that it had been collected by Tigo. He was about to slide the panel cover back, when a slip of paper fell from the bottom. There was a message on the paper in a language Petru could not read and they decided they would ask someone who spoke the Roma language to translate for them. They agreed that although it had been found in Gunari’s vardo, it would not be mentioned, or shown to Gunari. When they got back to the Pusztai mansion they were surprised to find that Demeter had not yet returned from the refinery and there was no message to explain his absence.

  Within hours of the board meeting at the refinery, Gunari was told about the young heir Paul Pusztai. He could hardly control his joy when he thought about the effect it would have on Tigo’s plans. It was snowing again and adding to the layer from the previous night’s fall. Knowing the best spot to plant explosives on the hillside above the river road, he guessed that conditions would be ideal for sending a wave of snow down the steep slope.

  Demeter was relieved to hear that a mechanic had finally managed to repair the fault in the car and he would now be able to get his lift home. The car had a heater, but even with his heavy overcoat, he still felt cold as the car pushed its way along the snow-clad road.

  Tigo and Panna waited on the hillside after placing two explosive charges near a deep bank of snow and kept watching for Demeter’s car to approach along the narrow bend on the road below. Gunari had suggested two charges to create a wide avalanche, which would sweep the car off the road and down to the Danube below. The cold and bitter winds on the exposed hillside soon had both men shivering despite their thick outer clothing. Time passed and with snow blowing in their faces it made it difficult to see anything but the headlights of cars passing below. An hour after the time when Demeter usually passed the spot, with Panna complaining constantly that he was getting frostbite, Tigo had to call off the attempt and they retrieved the explosives to go home. As they were collecting the second package, a car passed below. Tigo clenched his fist and swore after spending almost two hours on the windswept hillside, only to see their target pass safely below as they were leaving.

  Jack was first to hear the distinctive note of the diesel car engine and was at the door as a snow-covered figure rushed inside the house thrashing its arms and stamping feet to restore circulation. After sharing large brandies with his friends, Demeter looked at the note found in Gunari’s vardo. He was unable to translate the full contents, but did find one word, which he understood to refer to an outsider, or intruder. Unfortunately, the housekeeper and her husband could not read. The only solution was to show the note to a Tigani worker at the refinery the next day, but without explaining where it was found.

  Gunari watched from his window as Tigo and Panna returned home and judged from their gloomy faces that their attempt on the hillside had not been a success. He guessed that having failed in their first attempt, they would try again tomorrow and with a heavier fall of snow conditions would be ideal. He could walk in and tell Tigo about the second Pusztai heir, but he now had his own plan, which would be far more satisfying than simply shattering the hopes of the two men. He would have to be sure that he was at the correct
spot on the hillside whilst the two Tigani men were waiting for Demeter’s car to pass below them on the riverside road.

  A new ore-crushing machine was to be switched on at the refinery and rather than remain indoors at the Pusztai mansion, Jack and Petru joined Demeter at the plant to view the monster machine and enjoy the celebratory meal which followed. The roads already had a thick covering of snow, which had fallen during the previous night, but the Mitsubishi with four-wheel drive coped very well. Output from the mine had increased and with the rail link, the volume of ore arriving at the refinery required an expansion in its processing capacity. Demeter was awarded the honour of pressing the starting switch and the watching crowd applauded as there was a throaty roar and the giant machine began crunching up the raw bauxite ore fed into it. Speeches followed and Jack managed to make a small contribution with his limited Hungarian vocabulary.

  A wide selection of local food and wine was on display and as Demeter was to be their driver, Petru and Jack were free to enjoy the sweet red Tokaji wine being served. When snowflakes began to fall, the three men decided it was time to make the drive back to the mansion before the river road became impassable. After thanking the staff, they trudged through the yard and hurried into the big Mitsubishi and switched on its heater. The snow level was growing and they needed the dipped headlights full on to have a good view of the road surface ahead. As they approached the stretch running alongside the river, Jack suddenly had a strong premonition of danger and warned Demeter to drive slowly and keep to the hillside of the road, well away from the river edge. When they began driving down the hill where the road was closest to the river, they heard an explosion, quickly followed by a second. Demeter carefully applied the car brakes and managed to steer the skidding car to safety. Looking up they watched as a torrent of snow swept down the hillside and began spilling across the road around them.