'It seems that you are now one of the family.' said
Spiridakis quietly.
Haldane nodded. 'Perhaps. By adoption anyway.'
'And you are content with that'?'
Haldane looked at him. 'I've made my decision. Babis ,' he said. ‘I paid my respects to the past.'
The lawyer regarded him sadly. 'Nothing has changed,' he reminded him.
'No.' agreed Haldane. ‘I still owe it a debt. But I have a debt to the future as well!. To happiness. And not just mine.
'The shadows are still there.'
'Yes. And I know the risks,' his friend assured him.
'But they are worth taking.' He paused. 'All of them.'
Spiridakis studied him, then nodded and gripped his arm affectionately. Together they moved forward to rejoin the others and as they came up them Elena was kissing her aunt goodbye.
'Do you really have to go?' Haldane asked Nikos.'
Nikos pulled a face. 'Unfortunately.' Then he grinned. 'But really only to impress you. So that you shall know that you do not have idle partners.'
Haldane laughed. 'Now you make me feel guilty.'
'Oh, do not worry, Leandros,' Elena teased him with a smile. 'You will be kept busy enough I think. But from tomorrow, uh? Tonight, enjoy yourself.' She turned to Sia and kissed her. 'Andio,' she said.
'Andio, 'said Nikos. He kissed Annika and shook hands with Spiridakis and Sia.
'I'll walk to your car with you,' said Haldane. He looked at Annika. 'I won't be a minute.'
Slowly Haldane, Elena and Nikos, with Alexis running ahead of them, walked towards the head of the steps which led down to the parked cars.
Annika, Spiridakis and Sia watched them go and then they settled down again; Spiridakis and Sia on the hammock seat; Annika in one of the wicker armchairs. Spiridakis took out a cigarette and lit it. Annika looked up at the sky. She smiled. 'Elena was right,' she said quietly. 'It has been a beautiful day.'
Standing alongside the Vassilakis' car, Nikos shook hands with Haldane. 'Andio, Leandros,' he said. 'Until tomorrow, eh? Or later tonight perhaps.'
'Tomorrow, I think,' replied Haldane. 'Andie.' He smiled at the boy. 'Andie, Alexi.'
Alexis smiled back at him. 'Andio, Leandros. And you won't forget what we are going to do tomorrow, will you?'
Haldane shook his head. 'I won't forget,' he assured him.
Nikos and Alexis got into the car. Haldane turned to Elena. 'Andio, Elena.'
Elena nodded and then studied his face, her expression suddenly serious and thoughtful. 'What has happened today has pleased me so much, Leandros', she said. 'And I thank you for it. We have gained a partner, Niko and I. But you are much more than that to us. To all of us. You must know that.' She paused and then went on, her eyes on his. 'And in my heart you have a very special place. I spoke earlier of my father. A man I did not know. And I regret that.' She smiled gently. 'Well, now I feel that, at last, I have one. A father.'
She kissed him on the cheek and then smiled at him again. 'God bless you and keep you safe, Leandros', she said. She turned away from him and went to get into the car.
Haldane frowned. Sooner or later she would have to know the truth. Sooner or later it had to come out. There was no way of avoiding it and he knew it. Perhaps this was the moment. 'Elena,' he called.
Elena paused by the side of the car and looked back at him. 'Yes.'
Haldane gazed at her. Should he? Dare he? He decided against it. For now anyway. The time would come when it would be right to tell her. But this was not it. He smiled and shook his head. 'It's not important,' he said. She looked at him questioningly. 'Well, anyway, some other time perhaps,' he added.
Elena smiled and got into the car.
Spiridakis and Sia heard the car pull away but Annika was lost in thought. Happy and contented, she began to sing quietly to herself, oblivious of everyone and everything around her. Spiridakis looked across at her and smiled.
Haldane, filling his pipe, came up the steps and onto the terrace. As he crossed to them, Annika came out of her reverie and drawing one of the armchairs closer to hers, patted the cushion. Haldane sank down into it.
'Niko is going to send someone up for his car in the morning,' he said.
Annika gave him a look of surprise. 'Oh! Is there something wrong with it?'
Haldane nodded. 'Starter motor's gone I think.' He struck a match. 'Finally.'
'How are they getting home then?' asked Spiridakis.
'I've lent them mine,' replied Haldane, drawing on his pipe.
Nikos, with Elena sitting beside him and Alexis perched on the hood, swung the Fiat off the track and on to the road. The little Fiat had a good feel to it and Nikos was enjoying the sensation of driving it. And Alexis was delighted to be riding in the sports car once again.
Annika stood by the table and poured wine into four glasses. She handed one glass to Sia and another to Spiridakis. Picking up the third glass, she crossed to Haldane with it.
Sia looked thoughtful. 'If you do not have a car how will you get back to Elounda, Leandros?' she asked.
Haldane reached out to take the glass of wine from Annika. Their eyes met and she gave him a quiet, secret smile. 'Yes,' she said softly. 'That is a problem.'
Spiridakis had seen this exchange of looks. He sipped his wine.
'We will take him, eh, Babis?' suggested Sia.
Spiridakis sighed. 'Drink your wine, my darling,' he said with a faint smile. This is not a time to be helpful, I think.'
Sia looked at him blankly and then across at Haldane and Annika who were still gazing at one another. She got the message and shook her head ruefully at her foolishness.
Annika crossed back to the table, picked up her own glass of wine and then sat down again beside Haldane. The atmosphere was one of sleepy contentment, four people at peace with one another and with the world.
Spiridakis regarded Annika and Haldane over the rim of his glass. Then he said quietly. 'Every day, as a lawyer, I am asked for my opinion. On matters of great importance.' The couple looked at him with interest. 'And believe me,' the lawyer went on, 'often my opinion is costly. So listen well, Leandros and Annika, when I offer you one for nothing.'
Annika laughed. 'Oh! And what is this opinion which you give so freely, Babis?'
Spiridakis hesitated but only for a second. 'I believe,’ he said, 'that you should get married.'
Sia smiled. 'Bravo,' she approved quietly.
Haldane regarded Spiridakis thoughtfully. He nodded. 'That's an opinion worth any price,’ he said. And then he looked at Annika. 'Don't you think?'
Annika put out a hand to him and he took it and kissed it. 'More than beautiful,' she murmured happily. 'A perfect day.'
Each time he had braked to take a corner the Fiat had left a trail of brake fluid on the road behind it. And there had been many bends to negotiate. But Nikos had not noticed the leak and, exhilarated by the surprising turn of speed of which the small car was capable, had, to Elena's consternation and Alexis' encouragement, taken full advantage of it on the homeward run down the mountain road.
Now the Fiat was approaching a very tight bend with a steep drop on the left hand side of the road. The car was travelling fast, too fast for Elena. She shot an anxious look at her husband. Nikos grinned and braked. There was no response. Alarmed, Nikos pumped the brake pedal. Nothing. With a look of horror on his face, he swung the wheel, grabbing for the handbrake. The car skidded across the road, slammed into the wall of rock on the right, ricocheted off it, spun round and catherine-wheeled back across the road. Alexis, dumb with terror, gripped the hood hard with both hands.
Elena screamed as the Fiat shot out into space, seemed to hang for a second and then fell. And as it fell Nikos heard his son cry out as the boy was catapulted over his head.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
As Annika and Sia cleared the table under the carob tree of the last of the debris of lunch, Haldane uncorked another bottle of wine. Annika had put on a rec
ord of Dvorak's Romance for Violin and the music lilted out from the house.
Spiridakis was standing by the wall of the terrace looking out across the olive grove, the trees darkening and softening in the evening sunlight. He took out a cigarette and lit it and, as he did so, he saw the police Land-Rover approaching.
It pulled up two or three yards from the house and Major Krasakis got out and stood staring up at the terrace for a few seconds. His expression was grim and it was plain to Spiridakis that he was steeling himself against something. Then, wearily and reluctantly, the Major moved towards the steps.
Spiridakis frowned. 'We have a visitor,' he said quietly and without turning.
Haldane, struggling with the cork of the wine bottle, glanced across at him.
The first thing Haldane was really conscious of, as they jolted over the rough ground more than 300 feet below the point where the Fiat had come off the road, was Alexis' kite. It was caught up in the branches of a thorn bush; its frame shattered, its torn fabric fluttering in the gentle breeze.
An ambulance was parked on the narrow goat path together with a police motorcycle, a second white Land Rover, its blue light still flashing, and a pick-up truck.
Alexis' body, covered by a blanket, lay beside the track, a policeman and one of the ambulance men standing alongside it. They looked up as Krasakis' vehicle, followed by Spiridakis' car, bumped and rolled towards them and then stopped within a few feet of where they were standing.
The Major got out of his Land-Rover with Haldane and Annika while, just behind them, Babis and Sia got out of their car.
The wrecked Fiat, after leaving the road, had hit the ground about twenty yards above the path and had then rolled down across it to fall a further thirty feet or more into a gully where it now lay, overturned and firmly wedged between some large boulders, with the bodies of Nikos and Elena trapped beneath it.
More policemen, the motorcycle patrolman among them, another ambulance attendant and a handful of men from a nearby village, using ropes and the trunks of freshly felled young trees, were trying to dislodge the car and roll it over to enable them to pull the two bodies clear.
Spiridakis and Sia moved up alongside the Major, while Haldane and Annika, distraught and anguished, ran to the blanketed mound lying beside the track. The ambulance man stooped and lifted a corner to expose the dead boy's face.
Haldane winced and, with a cry of despair, Annika fell to her knees beside the body and cradled Alexis' head and shoulders in her arms.
'Who reported the accident?' Spiridakis asked the Major quietly.
'Two men who were working in the fields over there,' replied Krasakis. 'They saw it happen. They say that the car seemed to be out of control.'
Haldane stared disbelievingly at Alexis' bloodstained face for some time and then he looked down at the wrecked car. 'Elena! Niko! Elena!' he cried out wildly. And, distracted with shock and grief, he began to scramble recklessly down the steep slope of the gully and towards the Fiat.
He reached the car and saw Elena's arm with her new bracelet on it protruding from under it. Pushing his way in among the men around the Fiat, he tried desperately to help raise it; first with a thin tree trunk lying discarded nearby and then, when that snapped, even more desperately with his bare hands. And all the while he continued to cry out and it was the piteous cry of a wounded animal. 'Elena! Elena! Elena!'
Despite her own grief, Annika, still cradling Alexis in her arms, looked down from the path at Haldane scrabbling at the wreckage, faintly surprised at the extent of his agony.
Both Spiridakis and Sia were deeply moved by Haldane's emotion. Babis even more than his wife, for he alone knew the reason and was very concerned for his friend.
While Sia moved to comfort Annika, Krasakis, slipping on the loose stones and soil. half clambered, half slid down into the gully and crossed to the Englishman who, straining every muscle, was still trying fruitlessly to lift the wreckage.
The Major took him gently by the shoulders and turned him to face him. Krasakis shook his head.
"It is no use, Leandros," he said quietly but firmly.
Haldane stared at him blankly and then struggled to free himself but Krasakis held on to him.
"It is no use,' he repeated. 'Do you not see that? They
are dead. They are all dead.' .
Haldane stared at him again, then, overwhelmed by the realisation that what Krasakis had said had to be true and with all hope gone, he sank on to his knees beside Elena's outstretched arm and, his head lowered, took her hand in his. And he began to cry.
Katerina opened the front door of her house to Matheos Noukakis and scowled at him.
Noukakis smiled, unconcerned. He was in a jaunty mood and clearly very pleased with himself. He had had a few drinks to celebrate but he was a long way off being drunk. The raki had, however, induced in him an air of cockiness and self-assurance.
Katerina led him into the sitting room. 'Since this morning I have been expecting you,' she said sullenly as she closed the door. 'Where have you been?'
'With my brother,' smirked Noukakis. 'And if he is asked he will say that I was with him all day.'
Katerina looked at him sharply. 'That might be necessary?'
Noukakis shrugged. 'A precaution. So that if I am questioned I will again have an alibi.'
A gleam came into the old woman's eyes. 'It is done then?' she whispered.
Noukakis nodded. 'The Englishman will not return to Elounda alive,' he said casually. 'That you can be sure of, Kryia Matakis.'
Katerina studied him approvingly. 'Good.'
'So now will you offer me a little raki, eh?' prompted Noukakis with a boldness he had not dared to display in her presence before.
Katerina did not hear him. Her thoughts were elsewhere. Turning from him, she crossed the room and stood gazing at the plaque of the three Fates hanging on the wall. Noukakis frowned and then shrugged insolently. Moving to the wooden cabinet, he opened the top cupboard and reached for the decanter of raki.
'Oh, you daughters of Themis!' invoked Katerina quietly but vehemently. 'Children of the goddess of justice! You, The Fates, hear me! It is done. And in this, as were the Keres, the dogs of Hades in ancient times, I, Katerina Matakis, was the instrument of your will'.
Noukakis, pouring himself a raki, glanced across at her and frowned. Then he shrugged and grinned. 'What!' he exclaimed, mocking her. 'You do not mention my part in this to your friends, the gods. Now is that fair?'
Katerina, her eyes still on the bas relief figures, ignored him.
Noukakis downed the raki in one swallow and then poured himself another. Glass in hand, he crossed to her. 'But then,' he said slyly. 'It is not the gods I must look to for recognition, is it?' Katerina turned to him and regarded him coldly. 'Your son's inheritance,' he went on . . And the Matakis brickworks have a new manager. Is that not so'!'
'You have my word,' Katerina said stiffly.
Noukakis nodded. 'And a letter,' he reminded her. 'We must not forget the letter, must we? So when do I take up . my new job?'
'As soon as what you say you have done is confirmed,' she snapped.
A car stopped outside the house. The old woman looked questioningly at Noukakis who shrugged and then moved to the window and peered out through the slates of the shutters into the twilight, fast fading into night.
'It is Annika,' he said. 'And Babis Spiridakis and his wife are with her.' Katerina frowned. Noukakis turned to her and smiled. 'Your confirmation, perhaps,' he said.
He emptied his glass and put it down on the table. The front doorbell rang.
'I will let them in.' He moved over to the door and opened it. And then he paused and looked at Katerina. 'I am here to discuss my duties with you. As your new manager,' he hissed. 'Remember that.' Then he went out into the hallway, leaving the door ajar.
Katerina positioned herself to greet her unexpected visitors. Annika, Spiridakis and Sia came into the room with Noukakis just behind them. Annika regarde
d her mother sadly, dreading having to break the news to her. Spiridakis and Sia looked very solemn.
Katerina studied all three of them dispassionately. Then she nodded to Spiridakis. Herete, Babis,' she said formally.
'Herete; replied Spiridakis quietly.
Katerina looked at Sia. 'Kyna Spiridakis.'
'Herete, acknowledged Sia, her eyes lowered.
And then, lastly, Katerina looked at Annika stonily.
'I am pleased to see you, my daughter,' she said but without any obvious enthusiasm. 'It is a long time since you have visited me.'
'Yes,' acknowledged Annika. She hesitated and her eyes filled with tears. 'And now I come to you bringing terrible news.'
Katerina appeared unmoved and unconcerned. 'Oh.' she said calmly. 'And what is this news?'
Spiridakis crossed quickly to her side. 'Katerina,' he suggested solicitously. 'I think it would be better if you were to sit down.'
The old woman gave him a gracious nod. 'I thank you for your concern, Babis. But I am sure that will not be necessary.' She looked at her daughter again. 'Well, Annika. Tell me.'
Annika took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 'There has been an accident.'
'An accident? Where?' Katerina asked but without urgency.
'In the mountains. Not far from my house. Leandros' car came off the road and fell more than a hundred metres. '
Her face expressionless, Katerina studied her daughter and then nodded. 'And the Englishman is dead,' she said. 'Is that what you have to tell me?'
'No, Katerina,' replied Spiridakis gently. 'Leandros was not driving. Nikos was.'
The old woman reacted with a start. Her eyes widened and she shot a look at Noukakis whose expression reflected surprise and then, suddenly, fear.
'Nikos!' gasped Katerina in a whisper.
Annika opened her eyes again, looked at her and nodded. 'He had borrowed the car because his would not start,' she explained. 'And Elena and Alexis were with him. It is they who are dead. mother. They were killed instantly. All three of them'
Who Pays the Ferryman Page 23