Dark Side Of the Island (2010)

by Jack - Pc 04 Higgins

  They stood on the rim of the main plateau at the top of the mountain and the temple and tomb of Achilles were three hundred yards to the rear. Below them the whole of the south side of the island swept down through moonlight into the sea.

  It was an incredible sight, but Lomax was still conscious of that unnatural stillness and a blanket of dark moved in fast from the horizon, blotting out the stars as it came.

  Thunder sounded overhead and Katina said, "The storm should break soon. It will give us good cover on the way down."

  They started forward and there was a faint cry, carried on the wind from somewhere on their right. Lomax turned as three men emerged over the far rim of the plateau accompanied by two hounds. They were no more than two hundred yards away and clearly visible in the bright moonlight.

  He raised the Winchester and fired once and one of the hounds jumped into the air and disappeared over the edge.

  "That should hold them for a while." He pushed Katina forward. "Let's get out of here."

  They ran towards the temple, Katina leading the way. When Lomax turned and glanced towards the right, he saw that the three men and the other dog were moving very fast on a parallel course with the obvious intention of intercepting them. One of them was a good fifty yards in front of his companions and gaining steadily. A moment later they all disappeared behind a slight rise.

  Lomax followed Katina between great boulders, slipping and sliding over the rough ground, and mounted the steps to the terrace. As they started across the mosaic floor between the pillars, Nikoli Aleko emerged from the shadows on their right and ran towards them.

  The black eye-patch stood out prominently against his face and his teeth were bared in a savage grin. He carried a gutting knife in his right hand and the blade gleamed dully.

  Lomax pushed Katina violently to one side and met him on the run. As the knife came up, he parried it with the barrel of the Winchester and swung the butt against the unprotected jaw. Aleko staggered back into a pillar without a sound and rolled on to his face.

  As Lomax went down the slope to the hollow, there was a tremendous clap of thunder. Rain began to fall as he moved past the shepherd's but and started to follow Katina across the treacherous apron of shale and loose earth that spilled down three or four hundred feet through the great, sloping ravine.

  When she reached the half-way mark, she paused and glanced back and her foot slipped. She dug in her heels desperately and a ripple seemed to pass over the surface of the shale. Lomax kept on going and a moment later they were together.

  By now the rain had increased into a torrential downpour that drowned all sound. He leaned close and nodded encouragingly and then a tremendous sheet of lightning momentarily turned night into day and her mouth opened in a soundless scream.

  He swung round. On the rim of the hollow no more than twenty yards away stood Aleko's two companions and the remaining dog. In the same instant, the animal sprang out into space.

  As it landed, Lomax struck oat wildly with the Winchester and the whole earth seemed to move beneath him. He was conscious of Katina's cry of alarm and the snarling of the dog and then they were all sliding down through the ravine on a great wave of earth and shale.

  He dropped the Winchester and clawed at the slope with both hands, but it was too late. For a terrible moment he seemed to ride the wind through the darkness and the rain and then the movement slowed as the ravine levelled out.

  He heard Katina calling to him through the darkness and went sliding down the slope to join her. She was standing beside a large boulder in two feet of water and he reached out for her anxiously. "Are you all right?"

  She fell against him, her arms sliding around his neck. "I thought I was never going to stop."

  "At least we've come a long way down in a hell of a short time," he said. "We'd better take advantage of it."

  As he finished speaking, shale and loose earth showered down on them and the dog snarled somewhere above. It erupted from the darkness and landed with a splash about six feet away.

  Lomax pushed Katina to one side and picked up a large stone in his two hands and brought it down with all his force as the animal surged forward. There was a terrible cracking sound and the hound gave a strange, whimpering cry and fell to one side, thrashing the water.

  Lomax turned away, sobbing for breath. He took Katina by one arm and together they scrambled over the slippery boulders and up out of the pool. A moment later they were moving down the side of the mountain through the heavy rain.

  17

  Confessional

  When they reached the villa Katina was limping heavily and Lomax supported her as they climbed out of the ditch and crossed the road.

  The gates stood open and the lamp suspended from the archway above swayed in the wind, a pool of light constantly reaching into the darkness and retreating again.

  They moved along the narrow flagged path between the olive trees and the rain seemed to drown all sound. Lomax was soaked to the skin, dark hair plastered across his forehead. Every muscle in his body ached and he found it an effort to place one foot in front of the other.

  Katina was almost at breaking point, nerve and sinew stretched to the limit. She stumbled as they came to the edge of the trees and he caught her in his arms.

  He held her very close and said softly, "Not long now. It's almost over."

  And then he heard the sound of the piano as he had heard it once before in this place, nostalgic and wistful. He was trapped again at the crossing point between the present and the past and he stood there in the rain holding the girl, the music filling him with a strange, aching sadness.

  The french window was ajar, one end of a red velvet curtain billowing into the rain as a gust of wind lifted it. Katina pulled it back and they moved inside.

  A log fire burned on the wide stone hearth and the room was illuminated by the lamp that stood on the piano. In its light, Van Horn's hair gleamed like silver.

  He was wearing a smoking jacket in corded green silk and he jumped up and came forward, a frown on his face.

  "I thought you were never coming. What happened?"

  At that moment Katina sighed and started to slide to the floor. Lomax caught her in his arms and carried her across to the divan.

  Van Horn sat beside her, rolled back an eyelid with his thumb and took her pulse. After a moment he looked up. "She's completely exhausted. Get the brandy. It's in the cupboard under the bookshelves."

  Lomax found the bottle and two glasses and returned. He filled one and gave it to Van Horn and used the other himself.

  The liquid burned its way down into his stomach and he filled his glass again and watched Van Horn raise Katina's head and force open her mouth. She choked and started to cough and then her eyes opened.

  She tried to sit up and Van Horn said, "It's all right, my dear. You're at the villa."

  She stared blankly at him and then something clicked in her eyes. "Is the boat ready?"

  He nodded and she swung her legs to the floor. "Then what are we sitting here for?"

  She tried to stand up and Lomax pushed her down. "There's no hurry, Katina," he said. "Not any more. I'm not going anywhere."

  She stared up at him, a slight, puzzled frown on her face, and Van Horn said, "Don't be a fool, Lomax. I heard you'd accused Alexias of murdering Dimitri Paros, but you haven't a hope in hell of proving it."

  Lomax helped himself to a cigarette from the silver box on top of the piano. He lit it slowly and blew out a long column of smoke. He felt very tired and there was a slight, persistent ache just behind his right eye.

  "But I don't think it was Alexias who murdered Dimitri," he said softly. "I think it was you."

  Thunder rumbled again and the rain increased in a sudden rush, hammering against the window. There was no change of expression on Van Horn's face. He said calmly, "Are you quite sure you know what you're saying?"

  Katina stood up and moved forward, her eyes very large in the white face. "What are you trying t
o suggest, Hugh?"

  He placed his hands gently on her shoulders. "Someone tried to kill me in the alley at the back of the prison tonight. Someone who knew I was coming out. And the automatic you gave me. For some strange reason it wouldn't fire."

  She looked up at him, horror in her eyes, and he went on, "Did Van Horn know that your uncle played chess with Father John Mikali every Thursday night?"

  She nodded. "Everybody knows."

  "Then why didn't he tell me I was wasting my time when I said I intended visiting your uncle?"

  She turned slowly and looked at Van Horn and Lomax went on, "When I got to the farm, Dimitri and the Samos brothers were waiting for me in the dark. There was only one possible explanation. Dimitri was expecting me because someone had warned him I was coming. But only one person knew."

  Van Horn smiled lightly. "It doesn't even hang together. How on earth could I have got in touch with him in time? Katina took the jeep."

  It was Katina who answered him. "You were on the telephone to someone when I came up from the kitchen and Dimitri worked most nights at The Little Ship. Everyone knew that."

  Van Horn lit a cigarette, his hand as steady as a rock. "You still haven't placed me at the farm at the time of the murder. No jury in the world would accept for one moment that a man of my age and condition could cross the mountain twice on the same night within a matter of hours."

  "That worried me for a while," Lomax said. "Until I remembered Katina once telling me there was a jetty at the bottom of the cliffs near the farm." He glanced down at her. "How long would you say it would take from here to there by sea?"

  "Twenty minutes," she said. "I've done it often. So has Oliver."

  Lomax looked enquiringly at Van Horn. "Would you care to guarantee the launch hasn't been to sea tonight? We could always check."

  "You're not making sense," Van Horn said. "What possible motive could I have had for killing Dimitri Paros?"

  "It's only a guess, but I'd say he'd discovered you were the man responsible for the death of his father," Lomax said.

  Katina's breath hissed sharply between her teeth. For a moment Van Horn's composure almost broke, but he rallied strongly. "It won't do, Lomax. Everyone knows what I went through at Fonchi."

  "When we were discussing things earlier today, I told you I thought Alexias Pavlo was the traitor," Lomax said. "You pointed out that I still had to explain how the Germans got on to him in the first place. I can do better than that. I can show how they got on to you."

  "I'm afraid you're not making sense," Van Horn said, but all colour had left his face and deep lines were scoured across his forehead.

  "When I first visited this house seventeen years ago. Joe Boyd borrowed a volume of your war poems called The Survivor," Lomax told him. "It was bound in green leather and autographed in gold, one of a complete edition of your works."

  He went to the bookshelves and returned with a slim green volume which he dropped on the coffee table. "The book in question. I noticed it earlier when Katina brought me up from the hotel to meet you again. It wasn't until tonight that I realised it had no business being there."

  "I don't understand," Katina said.

  "I think Van Horn does. You see Joe Boyd forgot to return the book. He was carrying it in one of his tunic pockets when he went into action. I only remembered that tonight after all these years. The Germans must have found it when they searched his body. No wonder I thought Steiner was laughing at me when I told him we hadn't been in contact with anyone on the island."

  Van Horn picked up the book and examined it. After a while, he sighed. "It would have been a pity to spoil the set. It was presented to me by my American publishers just before the war."

  He crossed to the bookshelves, replaced the volume then took a decanter from the cupboard and poured himself a drink. When he spoke, his voice sounded curiously remote. It was almost as if he were discussing something that had happened to someone else.

  "You're right, of course. They found the book and Steiner came straight to me. I tried to beat about the bush, but it didn't do any good."

  Katina moved forward, dragging her right foot slightly. "Why did you tell them?"

  He tried to turn away, but she caught his arm and pulled him round to face her. "Why, Oliver?"

  He shrugged. "Because I was afraid. He threatened to send me to Gestapo headquarters in Athens."

  "Was that all?"

  Van Horn shook his head. "No, he swore he'd destroy every piece in my collection. He smashed the amphora just to show me he meant business."

  She turned away, loathing on her face, and Lomax said, "Why did Steiner keep you in the town gaol instead of sending you to Fonchi with the others?"

  "Your apparent death on the way to Crete made a convenient scapegoat," Van Horn told him. "Steiner was going to release me after six months on the grounds of my health."

  "So that you could inform on more of your friends?" Katina asked.

  He ignored her and went on, "Unfortunately, Steiner was killed and his replacement knew nothing of the arrangement. He had me transferred to Fonchi soon after taking over command."

  "So you condemned your friends to a hell on earth because you were afraid," Katina said. "Because of your stupid collection."

  "I suffered as much as anyone," he said. "You've seen what they did to me, Lomax. When you told me you suspected Alexias, that you intended to have a showdown with him, I panicked. I knew you were bound to turn something up if you dug around for long enough."

  "So you got in touch with Dimitri?"

  Van Horn nodded. "He said he'd take care of things, but insisted on seeing me. I went in the launch as you guessed. When I arrived, he was drunk. Apparently he'd put two-and-two together."

  "And you realised he intended to blackmail you?"

  "There was a gutting knife on the table. I thought that if I used that, it would make Kytros think the murderer was a fisherman."

  "Rather an unusual way to stab a man."

  Van Horn shrugged. "A trick I learned in the trenches. One never really forgets how to do that sort of thing. You should know that better than most people."

  Lomax ignored the thrust. "And the business in the alley at the back of the prison? I was right about that?"

  Van Horn nodded. "When Katina came out to the villa and asked me to help you get out, I couldn't very well refuse. The automatic I gave her had a damaged firing pin, by the way. After she'd left in the jeep, I followed her into town on an old bicycle we've had in the stables for years."

  Lomax was beginning to feel tired and the pain in his head was worse. "So you killed?" he said. "And made me kill? And for what, Van Horn? To what end?"

  "I don't know," Van Horn said. "I really don't. Is there ever an end to anything?"

  He put his right hand into his pocket and produced a revolver. Katina took a quick step backwards and Lomax said, "More killing, Van Horn? But you won't be able to stop with me. What about Katina? Will you shoot her also?"

  "I don't think so," a familiar voice said, and Kytros stepped in through the french window, Alexias Pavlo at his shoulder.

  Van Horn's eyes flickered towards them and Lomax shoved Katina to one side and jumped. He was too late by a mile. Van Horn fired at point-blank range and the heavy bullet caught Lomax in the right shoulder, smashing him back against the piano.

  As Katina screamed, his arm swung against the lamp, knocking it sideways, plunging the room into darkness as he slid to the floor.

  18

  Dust and Ashes

  For a few moments there was only the darkness and its confusion and Lomax was conscious of Katina beside him. When the main lights were turned on, there was no sign of Van Horn or Alexias. Kytros moved from the switch to the door which led to the hall, but it refused to open.

  He turned and said calmly, "He won't get far. I took the precaution of locking the main gates when we arrived and Stavrou is guarding the cliff path."

  Lomax reached for the edge of the piano to pul
l himself up and Katina moved to help him. The wound in his shoulder was bleeding steadily and she quickly made a thick pad of an embroidered table-runner and pushed it inside his sweater. Kytros came forward. "Is it bad?"

  Lomax shook his head. "I'll survive. How long were you on the terrace?"

  "Long enough--not that it made any difference." Kytros smiled slightly. "I knew before I got here. I told you I was waiting for Doctor Spanos to finish his autopsy. He came up with two most interesting points."

  "I don't understand," Lomax said.

  "In the first place, Dimitri Paros had been dead for longer than we supposed. The fact that his body was so close to the fire had delayed rigor mortis."

  "And the second point?"

  "The dead man had smashed his wrist-watch when falling. It had stopped at exactly nine o'clock." Kytros sighed. "You must forgive a simple island policeman for failing to notice the fact sooner."

  "And at nine o'clock I was at sea with the Samos brothers."

  "And Alexias was playing chess with Father John."

  "But what put you on to Van Horn?"

  "In the first place, simple logic," Kytros said. "Riki Samos admitted that Dimitri had been tipped off that you were going to the farm, but he didn't know by whom. From what you had told me earlier, it seemed that only one person could be responsible. I then discovered that Dimitri had left The Little Ship after receiving a telephone call and there are very few on the island."

  "And the operator remembered who'd called him?"

  Kytros nodded. "I stopped to pick up Alexias and heard you were on the loose. Then Yanni turned up at the police station considerably distressed because he thought you were going to be torn to pieces on the mountain."

  "And you didn't?" Lomax said.

  Kytros permitted himself a slight smile. "I considered it unlikely in view of your past history in these islands."

  "Something else to thank Yanni for," Katina said.

  Kytros nodded. "A good boy. A pity there is no one to educate him."