A Dead Man in Malta

by Michael Pearce

  Umberto shook his head.

  ‘No one knew.’ he said. ‘I took good care.’

  ‘People knew about you and her.’ said Seymour. ‘They told me. But that was in general. What I want to know about was that particular night. Did you mention it to anyone?’

  ‘No - ’

  ‘Berto? He must have known about it.’

  ‘No, he didn’t. He knew in general, of course. But I never told him when - There are things it’s best not to know.’

  ‘Anyone else? A hint, maybe, that someone could have guessed from?’

  Umberto shook his head.

  ‘No.’ he said. ‘I was careful.’

  ‘Your girlfriend? Did she know you were coming that night?’

  ‘Well, she might have been expecting it. But, look, she wouldn’t have said anything. We’d talked it over and agreed. That we’d never let anything get out.’

  He hesitated. ‘We were thinking of Bella.’ he said.

  ‘Bella is your wife?’

  Umberto nodded.

  ‘Someone knew.’ said Seymour.

  Umberto’s face tightened.

  ‘I’ll need to talk to your girlfriend.’ said Seymour.

  ‘No - ’ said Umberto.

  ‘I’ve got to,’ said Seymour.

  He decided to enlist Lucca’s aid; not just because he thought he would never find the place in the twisting, narrow, unnamed streets around Birgu, but because he felt that Lucca would be better at eliciting information from the sort of people who lived round there than he would be.

  Lucca, of course, knew exactly where to find her.

  ‘Now, Teresa, I need some help from you.’

  ‘Sure, Benito. If I can.’

  ‘Umberto is in trouble.’

  She stared at him. ‘Umberto?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Is it about us?’ she said.

  ‘In a way, yes.’

  ‘Benito, I wouldn’t want any trouble to come to him because of me.’

  ‘I know you wouldn’t, Teresa. And that’s why you’re going to help me.’

  ‘I’ll try, Benito. I’ll really try!’

  ‘You’re going to have to think.’

  ‘I’ll do my best, Benito. I promise.’

  ‘I don’t know if you know about this, Teresa, but one night when he was with you, a man died in the hospital.’

  ‘Yes, I know,’ she said. ‘He told me about it afterwards. He felt bad about it. He’d left young Mario on his own - ’

  ‘That’s right, and that’s the day I want you to do your best to remember. You knew that Umberto would be coming that night?’

  ‘He hadn’t said anything,’ said Teresa. ‘But I knew.’

  ‘The question is: did anyone else know?’

  ‘We were careful that they shouldn’t, Benito.’

  ‘But might you have let something slip out? Without intending to?’

  ‘No, no, because I didn’t talk to anybody.’

  ‘Nobody at all, Teresa? Did you go out that day? Shopping? The baker, for instance.’

  ‘No, no, I wouldn’t give Umberto a meal. Not at that hour. A drink, perhaps - ’

  ‘Beer?’

  ‘Yes. Yes, I certainly gave him that: he likes a glass after - ’

  ‘Yes, well, we don’t need to go into that. But did you have beer in the house? Or did you have to go out for it?’

  ‘I went out for it. But - ’

  ‘Where did you go?’

  ‘The corner shop. Vasco’s. Of course, he’s not there at the moment, he’s in hospital. Martin is looking after it for him. But I didn’t say anything to him about Umberto, I swear - ’

  ‘Hello, Martin! How’s it going?’

  ‘Fine, Benito. Fine, really. I’ve just about got on top of it now. Although I’ll be glad when Vasco gets back.’

  ‘If he gets back.’ said Lucca.

  It’s like that, is it?’

  ‘I’m afraid so.’

  ‘The family will have to think about it,’ said Martin.

  ‘Sure. Sure, they will. But that may be some time yet, so you’ll have to hang on. Now, look, Martin, there’s a thing I wanted to ask you ...’

  ‘... Yes, I do remember that evening and her coming in,’ said Martin, ‘and I’ll tell you why I remember. She came in when I was putting an order together. It was a big order and there were bottles all over the floor. Someone had come in, you see, and said they wanted some beer for the band. It was a sort of celebration, he said, and they’d get through a lot of bottles. He told me what he wanted and I was just putting them together when she came in. He was waiting for the bottles and I was in such a state trying to put them together - I had just started, you see and it was new to me. And then Teresa came in. “Serve her first,” he said. “You don’t want much, do you, love?” “No,” she said. “Just half a dozen bottles.” “Enough to see him through the night, is that it?” he said, and laughed. And I laughed, and Teresa laughed. Did she mention Umberto? No, no. Everyone knows about her and Umberto, of course. But she didn’t mention him. Just asked for the bottles.’

  Laura hauled Mario before him, not exactly grasping him by the ear but certainly with a very determined grip.

  ‘Mario has got something to say to you.’ she said.

  ‘It’s about that night,’ he said.

  ‘Go on,’ said Laura.

  ‘I know what they’re saying.’ he said, on the verge of tears. ‘They’re saying I let him in. That I wasn’t looking out when I should have been. But it’s not true! The only time I wasn’t there was when they called for me to go to the ward. But until then I was in my place. I’d brought a chair out and stood it in the doorway where I could keep an eye on the entrance hall. I was afraid that if I stayed in the porters’ room I might miss something. So I moved the chair into the doorway and sat there. The whole time.

  ‘And I didn’t go to sleep. I had my books with me. I had some homework to do. Maths. And then I was supposed to be getting on with my project. Well, I was getting on with my project.’ he said hastily, with his mother’s eye upon him. ‘I was making notes. But not all the time. Part of the time I was thinking. Mr Seixas says that that’s what you should do. Not just get your head down and write away, Because if you don’t think first, it’s just a waste of time. And I was thinking. So if it looked as if I wasn’t doing anything, that’s wrong. I was awake the whole time. And working.’

  ‘And keeping your eye on the entrance vestibule.’ said Seymour.

  ‘That’s right, sir,’ said Mario, fixing his eyes on him pleadingly. ‘I know what they’re saying, but it’s not true. I was there the whole time, and I was on duty all the time. Keeping an eye open. My mum says if you’re on duty, you’re on duty and mustn’t even blink.’

  ‘That’s right.’ said Laura.

  ‘Well, I didn’t blink. Not at all!’

  ‘It’s okay,’ said Seymour. ‘I think I’m prepared to take your word for it.’

  ‘No one came in. I swear it.’

  ‘They could have come in before you took over.’ said Seymour. ‘And then just hung around.’

  ‘Why, yes, they could.’ said Mario, relieved.

  ‘Now, tell me,’ said Seymour, ‘you didn’t see anyone before - before they called you to the ward. But did you see anyone after?’

  ‘No, no. It was all empty. And still. The way it usually is.’

  ‘And when they released you, you went straight back to the porters’ room? To your chair.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Mario. ‘That’s right. But I couldn’t - I found it hard to settle down. I tried to read but it wasn’t easy. I kept thinking - ’

  ‘I am going to kill Umberto.’ said Laura.

  It’s not really his fault.’ said Mario. ‘He didn’t know. And he’s very sorry. He apologizes every time he sees me.’

  ‘And so he should.’ said Laura grimly.

  ‘So you didn’t see anyone on your way back to the porters’ room, and you didn’t see
anyone for the rest of the night?’

  ‘No. No one. Except - ’ he thought - ’except for Dr Malia. And he doesn’t really count because you often see him around.’

  ‘At night?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ said Mario. ‘I’ve often seen him.’

  ‘And you saw him on this occasion?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Nothing. Just walking.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Along the corridor that leads off from the entrance. It goes out to the services. I’d seen him along there before. And so had Umberto. Not doing anything much but just sort of thinking. I think.’ confided Mario, ‘he might have been measuring.’

  ‘Measuring?’

  ‘He’s always doing it. Calculating space. He’s got a theory about it. He thinks there is going to be a war and they’d want much more hospital space. He’s always at it. I think he’s a bit cracked - ’

  ‘And you just watch your words, young man!’ said Laura indignantly. ‘He may have some funny ways these days, but that’s because he’s old. He’s still a very good doctor. Everyone knows that. And let me tell you, my lad, you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him! That time you had pneumonia - he didn’t leave your bedside all night! Nor the next morning. Not until he thought you were out of danger. You don’t get them like that these days. And I won’t hear a word said against him!’

  ‘I’m not saying a word against him, Mum,’ Mario protested mildly. ‘I’m just saying I saw him.’

  ‘That night?’ said Seymour.

  ‘Yes. Just walking along the corridor like he often does. And thinking. You can tell he’s thinking because from time to time he stops and makes a note in his notebook. And sometimes he sort of drifts away. Mentally, I mean. He goes into a sort of dream and stands there for ages.’

  ‘He’s thinking,’ said Laura, ‘and if you did a bit of that occasionally, I’d feel a lot happier, with the examinations coming up, than I do!’

  He tracked him down eventually. He was in one of the lower corridors, notebook in hand, standing there dreamily just as Mario had said. But he turned to Seymour politely as he came up.

  ‘Oh, good afternoon!’ he said. ‘Are you visiting the hospital? Can I help you? It’s a vast place,’ he smiled, ‘and it’s easy to get lost. But I think I know my way around still. Where were you making for?’

  ‘The boiler room,’ said Seymour.

  ‘Ah, yes. The new boiler rooms. At least, I call them new although I suppose they have been in for quite a while now. They are a big improvement over the old ones, I can tell you. Although they are not quite in the right place. At least, I don’t think they are. When you are locating services, you need to think ahead. Will it still be the right location if the hospital changes? If new wards are built, for example? Because they might well be. In fact - ’ he passed his hand over his forehead - ’perhaps they have been? I don’t quite remember. I don’t remember things as well as I used to,’ he confided.

  ‘There is always change in a hospital,’ said Seymour. ‘But, you know, some needs stay the same. A boiler room needs to have access from the outside.’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ agreed Dr Malia. ‘For the deliveries.’

  ‘And there is another consideration these days: security.’

  ‘Or will be,’ said Dr Malia, ‘with the war coming.’

  ‘Quite so. And you can’t have people coming into the hospital, just as they please.’

  ‘I suppose not.’ said Dr Malia. ‘Although I don’t agree with keeping people out. It’s good for patients if they’re visited.’

  ‘I’m with you there.’ said Seymour. ‘I just worry that sometimes at night - ‘

  ‘Well, yes.’ said Dr Malia. ‘There has to be some sort of restriction. Otherwise thieves would strip the hospital!’

  He laughed, and Seymour laughed with him.

  ‘Have you seen much of that in your time?’ he asked.

  ‘Not much,’ said Dr Malia, ‘but enough. It’s more the vandalism of the equipment that worries me. Some of it is very delicate, you know. You don’t want just anybody handling it!’

  ‘You’re right.’ said Seymour, ‘and what worries me is that it is a little too easy to get into the hospital.’

  ‘Laura keeps a pretty good eye on things.’ said Dr Malia.

  ‘I’m sure; but when she’s not on duty?’

  ‘The others are not quite as good.’ Dr Malia conceded.

  ‘And the hospital is a big place,’ said Seymour. ‘You can’t expect someone sitting at the front desk to keep an eye on everything. People could get in through the boiler room, for example.’

  ‘Well, yes, they could.’

  ‘Down the coal chute, for instance.’

  ‘Not easy.’ said Dr Malia. ‘And very dirty.’

  ‘But I know for a fact that some people have done it.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Dr Malia, ‘it’s not uncommon.’

  ‘You’re around the hospital a lot.’ said Seymour, ‘even at night. I expect you’ve seen it.’

  ‘Well, I have.’

  ‘I have, too. Only the other night a sailor was creeping out through the boiler room.’

  ‘And you know what he had been doing!’ said Dr Malia.

  ‘I think you were there. You probably saw him yourself?’

  ‘I did. I had been down there thinking about the boilers. And I must have dropped off. I do, you know, from time to time. Take a little nap. Well, I think he saw me, and hung back. But - perhaps I did take a little nap, because the next thing I remember was him creeping past. I didn’t say anything, of course. I didn’t want to embarrass him. And there was no real harm done, was there?’

  ‘Not by him, no. But perhaps by others. Because there may have been another that night. In fact, I think there probably was.’

  ‘Oh, yes.’ said Dr Malia. ‘I saw them.’

  ‘Them?’

  ‘Yes. There were two of them. I was very surprised when they came out of the boiler room. Because they weren’t the boiler men, you know.’ Dr Malia laughed. ‘Of course, they were surprised too. One of them ran back into the boiler room. But the other one - I thought he was going to hit me, but, of course, he wasn’t. He looked at me for a moment and then laughed. “Back to sleep, Dr Malia. Back to sleep!” he said, and then went back into the boiler room.’

  ‘And then?’

  Dr Malia passed his hand over his forehead again.

  ‘I don’t remember,’ he said. ‘I get these lapses - perhaps I did go back to sleep.’

  ‘Did you know the men?’

  ‘Oh, yes.’

  ‘I wonder if I know them, too?’

  ‘I expect so.’ Dr Malia beamed.

  ‘You know, I’ve forgotten their names!’

  ‘I’m like that, too, sometimes.’ said Dr Malia cordially.

  ‘Can you help me with them?’

  Dr Malia thought, and then his face clouded over.

  ‘It’s gone from me.’ he said. After a moment: ‘Perhaps it will come later.’

  ‘If it does, I’d be glad if you would mention it to me. I would like to know.’

  ‘Perhaps it will come to you,’ said Dr Malia sympathetically.

  Chapter Twelve

  Carmen, the nurse on the ward where Turner had died, and where the seamen claimed they had seen someone bending over him, was new to the ward. She had only recently qualified and this was her first appointment. So she had not been absolutely certain at first.

  She had bent over him and tried to see if he was breathing. What had attracted her attention in the first place was that the breathing seemed so slight. But even when she had looked and listened carefully she had not been sure. Then she had taken his pulse and she had not been sure about that, either. She had thought she could feel something but it had been so weak that perhaps it had not been there at all. Then she had tried his heart.

  And then she had run to Melinda in the next ward, and Melinda had come at once and done more
or less the same tests. But she had known at once what to do. They had tried resuscitation and Melinda had sent for one of the doctors, who had come immediately. Carmen thought now that Melinda had realized at once that Mr Turner was dead, but they had continued their attempts at resuscitation for - oh, Carmen could not be sure, it had seemed like ages -

  But she, herself, had been stupefied, dazed. This was her first death.

  Melinda had taken her into the nurses’ room and given her some coffee and made her sit down. She had suddenly begun to shake and Melinda had put her arms around her.

  And then, when she had stopped shaking, Melinda had made her stand up and walk back round the ward. She had gone with her and they had looked at every patient.

  And then, another nurse had come and taken her place, and Melinda had taken her back to her own ward and made her walk round that, too, talking about all the patients as they came to them.

  Then Sister Chisholm had come in and given her things to do and she had been quite busy. And then Melinda had taken her out to lunch.

  Carmen was plainly in awe of Melinda. It wasn’t just that she was the senior nurse. It was that she was always so calm and confident. She always seemed to know what to do. And although sometimes she seemed a bit brusque, really she was very nice. Just not soft. Carmen thought that perhaps you got like that when you had had more experience. She knew that she herself had not reached that stage yet.

  No, she told Seymour, she had not left the ward during her spell of duty. She had not taken a break in the nurses’ room. She would have gone there later but there were some things she had wanted to do. There were measurements she had wanted to check. She was still not able to trust herself so she had taken some again.

  ‘Did that entail going round the ward?’ asked Seymour.

  In some cases, yes. She had been up and about in the ward almost the whole time. So she was sure nobody could have got in. She knew what people were saying.

  Did she know what the sailors had been saying? About having seen someone bending over Turner with a pillow?

  Yes. She knew that, too. And she just couldn’t see how they could have done that. Unless ...

  Unless?

  ‘Unless they saw me,’ said Carmen. ‘I had been going round the ward, and I probably did straighten a few pillows and move things. I don’t remember going to that bed but I could have done.’