***
“What do you want me to do, Ephram?” Inspector Cavaleri asked as she leaned back in her chair. “Arrest a man for the illegal importation of vermin?”
“That would be a start,” Ephram replied standing on the other side of the desk.
Cavaleri rolled her eyes.
“Why not?” Ephram continued. “A man needs papers to bring a dog or a cat or a horse to Thaxos, so why not rats?”
“And how would I prove that these rats came on Baron Le Compte's boat?” she continued. “Did you personally spot one of the furry little devils scurrying down the gangplank? Was Le Compte playing a little pipe as he led them ashore? Face it, Ephram, there are other boats that come to Thaxos and the rats could have come with any of them.” She paused for a moment. “That's what his defense would be, anyway. You and I know the truth, but without evidence, my hands are tied. I can't invent laws specifically to trip up one man.”
“So people are going to continue to get bitten by these damn things,” Ephram replied. “Is that it?”
“Two people.”
“Three. Alice Marco was bitten last night in my store.”
“In your store?” She sighed. “There are health and safety codes to follow, Ephram. It sounds like, if anyone should be in trouble around here, it's you for allowing vermin to run loose in your shop. Let's just pretend that I didn't hear what you just told me, okay?”
“If you -” Ephram started to say, before realizing that he should perhaps hold his tongue in the presence of the island's one and only police officer, whose cooperation was usually required in any local dispute. “There are rats everywhere,” he continued after a moment. “Yes, in my store, but also in the cantina and in the doctor's surgery and in the hotel and probably even here in the police station. This is exactly what I am trying to make you understand, Isobel. There is no escape from these damn things, no matter what you do or where you go. Only Le Compte himself is safe, sitting up there in his mansion in unbridled luxury!”
Sighing, Cavaleri reached into her desk and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
“Something has to be done!” Ephram added, raising his voice.
“You don't think I know?” Cavaleri snapped back at him. “In the past week alone, I've had complaints about the rats, I've had complaints about that damn motor vehicle, I've had complaints that Le Compte's boat is damaging the harbor wall and scaring away the fish... Everyone on the island is up in arms, Ephram, but there's nothing happening that I can actually act on. I need to see clear evidence of a criminal act, and so far all Le Compte has done is annoy people. That's not enough! Being an ass is not a crime!”
“Rubbish!” Ephram hissed. “He's more than that, and you know it!”
“Listen,” she replied, “if you want me to take action against him, you need to help me. I don't like this any more than you do, but my hands are tied and I don't see a solution right now. Show me something I can use against him! Show me -”
Before she could finish, there was a shout from outside, followed by a low, rumbling sound. Cavaleri jumped to her feet and ran to the door, followed by Ephram. A van shot past at high speed, its tires screeching as it reached the end of the cobbled street and took a sharp left, and in the distance there were more angry voices.
“That madman almost hit me!” shouted a woman at the other end of the street, dusting herself off as she got to her feet. “Did you see him? He didn't give a damn! He wasn't even looking where he was going!”
“Was it him?” asked a man as he hurried over to help her.
“One of his thugs,” the woman replied. “Dead-eyed freaks.”
“A motor vehicle on Thaxos,” Ephram said, seeing the look of frustration on Cavaleri's face. “Speeding through the streets in the late evening, with no care for the lives of people in this town. You won't do anything about the rats, but what about the fact that Le Compte has brought a motor vehicle here, and his men are roaring about in it with no consideration for other people? If you don't talk to him soon, someone's going to get hurt or worse! There'll be a death, and then another, and Le Compte won't give a damn!”
Cavaleri turned to him, and it was clear from the look in her eyes that she had finally been won around to his point of view.
“He's making you look foolish,” Ephram added. “You're the official representative of law and order on Thaxos, but everyone can see where the real power lies. Every time that man flaunts his lack of concern, another feather is plucked from your plumage. You need to assert your authority over this man before it's too late! Right now, he seems to have picked up where his grandfather left off. He acts as if Thaxos is his island.”
“It's still not enough” Cavaleri replied. “There's no specific law against motor vehicles, it's just a tradition that everyone here has respected. As long as the vehicle is properly taxed and roadworthy, he's technically allowed to have it here.”
“And he's allowed to have it driven through the streets at such speed?”
“I'll find out who was driving and talk to them,” she continued. “Le Compte wasn't behind the wheel, was he? It was one of his men, so if an offense has been committed, it's the driver who has to be dealt with.”
“Fine,” Ephram muttered, “then I suppose we'll have to wait until someone is killed. Then, maybe, you'll finally take action! Tell me, though, how many deaths will it require? Will one be enough, or do we need several? Five? Ten? How many?”
“Ephram -”
“No, seriously, I would like to know! I can keep a record, and that way I'll know when to come back and see if you're finally doing your job!”
“You're being a little dramatic,” she sighed. “There have been no deaths so far.”
“Someone will die,” Ephram said firmly. “I can feel it in my bones. The madness of the Le Compte family will not let go of this island. I have heard the tales from my grandmother and her friends, and I know how things will develop, and I promise you that this is just the start. Sometimes I think I am the only one who sees that the current Baron Le Compte is no better than his grandfather, the great Impaler of Thaxos. In fact, if I did not know better...”
Cavaleri waited for him to continue.
“If you didn't know better what?” she asked eventually.
“If I don't know better,” Ephram replied, with a chill in his voice, “I would say that he is the exact same man.”
VII
“It's gonna take a couple of days to fix,” Fernando explained as he and Kate strolled along the dark, under-lit cobbled street that led away from the cantina. “Apparently the engine needs a complete overhaul, and for some reason the boss keeps all his equipment here on Thaxos, so here we are. It's sure as hell not my choice.”
“I was shocked to see you tonight,” Kate told him. “After everything you said yesterday, it seemed like you hated the idea of coming back.”
“I do, but it's not like I've got much choice. Anyway, my family's from Thaxos, so it's not like I can stay away for long.” They walked in silence for a moment, and it was clear that Fernando was troubled by something. “I hate what's happened to the place over the past few months,” he continued eventually, “but it's my home, you know? No matter how much I want to stay away, sooner or later I feel the urge to come back. It's in my blood. That's why it hurts so much to see how much damage has been caused.”
“You should talk to Ephram,” Kate replied. “It seems a lot of people are against Edgar's presence.”
They walked on in silence for a moment more, as Kate tried to work out what to say. So far, the evening had been mostly filled with small-talk, but for once she actually appreciated the opportunity to talk about things that weren't weighted down with importance. After just two days at the mansion on the hill, she felt as if she'd been living inside a pressure cooker, and she was very much aware that in order to survive her time on Thaxos she was going to need to make a few friends in the town. Unfortunately, everyone seemed to have only one thing on their minds: Edgar Le Com
pte.
“So what's it like up there?” Fernando continued eventually. “How's life at the mansion? Everyone's gossiping about the place and wondering what's going on.”
“Has no-one been up?”
“Are you kidding? There might as well be a wall around the place. No-one from down here has any desire to go and knock on the door, and even if they did, do you really think they'd be allowed inside? At the same time, they're all whispering to each other and trying to imagine what life is like for Baron Le Compte. Sometimes his men are seen in town, and a girl too, but that's about all that anyone knows.”
“And his men,” Kate pointed out.
“Don't they live up at the mansion?”
“I assumed they had rooms in town.”
Fernando shook his head.
“Well, I guess...” Kate paused. “They must be staying somewhere.” She couldn't help but wonder where, though. If they weren't staying in the town and they weren't at the mansion, there seemed no-one else for them to go when they weren't working.
“So come on,” Fernando continued, “what's it like living up there with that monster?”
“He's not a monster,” Kate pointed out. “And it's... interesting. Strange. Surprising.”
“I bet he's living like a hog, huh?”
“Not exactly.”
“Come on, a guy like that can have anything he wants. The girl who was seen a few times, she's like his bimbo, isn't she? They never come into town, though. I guess they both know how much the Le Comptes are hated around here. Meanwhile that hulking great black boat comes and goes, bringing whatever he fancies to the island.”
“He's really not that bad,” Kate replied.
“Says the woman who's known him for a few days.”
“I know him pretty well,” Kate continued, trying not to sound too keen to prove her point. “I mean, not that well, but he sure as hell is no monster. He's...” She paused for a moment, trying to come up with the right word to sum up a man as complex and difficult as Edgar Le Compte. “He's unusual,” she said eventually. “Trust me, if you'd spent time with him, if you'd really talked to him, you'd understand. He's not just this rich asshole who doesn't care about Thaxos. In fact, that's why I'm here. He wants me to document the history of his family and of the island. Does that sound like someone who's only interested in himself?”
“You can't expect to just march in here and understand how things work,” Fernando replied, as they reached the town square and made their way toward the water's edge. “Local feelings about the Le Compte family go back centuries. It's ingrained in the DNA around here. Anyway, haven't you seen how the place has gone downhill over the past few months? The hand of Edgar Le Compte has passed over Thaxos and now everything's turning to crap. The worst part is, it's only just begun. Everyone's worried that things are just going to get worse and worse.”
They stopped on the quayside and Fernando turned to look up at the mansion on the hill.
“He's up there now,” he added, “counting his money and living the high life. It won't last, though. I don't know how and I don't know when, but the tide's going to turn and he'll end up paying for everything he's done.”
“He hasn't done anything,” Kate pointed out, feeling a little defensive. Everyone seemed to be out to demonize Edgar Le Compte, and she felt that the situation was unfair. He wasn't being given a chance.
“He's -” Fernando paused for a moment, before a faint smile crossed his lips. “He's monopolized this conversation,” he said eventually, “when we should have been talking about other things. That alone is pretty rude of him.”
Kate smiled, even though she was wondering where the evening was headed. She knew she should be careful to make sure that she didn't mislead Fernando, but she liked talking to him and it was useful to get another view of the situation on Thaxos. As a cool sea breeze blew in, she smiled, and the silence between them seemed to grow, becoming something more significant. She knew she should say something to break the tension, but at the same time there was a part of her that wanted some kind of a distraction from her other problems.
“You know,” Fernando continued after a moment, “I've always believed that if you try something and it doesn't work, you should give up, but...” He paused, and then slowly he leaned toward Kate.
Although she knew she should pull back, she stayed right where she was until their lips met, and for a few seconds she allowed herself to experience a slow, tentative kiss. It was the first kiss she'd had for almost a decade, and she was enjoying it purely because of the novelty value. Hell, there had been times recently when she'd begun to wonder if she even remembered how to do it. Finally, however, she felt a shiver pass through her body and she took a step back, shocked by how easily she'd acquiesced.
“So is this going to be like last time?” Fernando asked.
“I'm sorry,” she replied, “but I can't do this. This isn't me.”
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing, I just... It's not your fault, okay? It's mine.”
“I know that.” He paused for a moment, clearly at a loss. “I can see it in your eyes. Something else is bothering you, something deep down. If you talk about it, maybe -”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I'm fine. I shouldn't have let that happen, though, so I hope you can just put it out of your head. Mark it up as a moment of weakness, okay? Please, I want to be friends, but nothing more.”
“But -”
“I'm just not a relationship kind of person.”
“What the hell does that even -”
“I should go,” she added, turning and hurrying across the town square. She was worried that Fernando would run after her, but he seemed willing to let her go, and she quickly made her way through the dark streets until she reached the edge of town. Checking her watch, she saw that it was a little after midnight, but although she knew she should head back to the mansion, she felt wide awake and she figured there was no way she could sleep.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw with relief that she wasn't being followed. She felt bad, not only because she'd led him on, but also because she'd gone against one of her own life rules. Relationships, love, kisses... Those were all things that she'd written off long ago. They worked for other people, but she'd experienced enough disasters in her life – and one particularly huge disaster a decade ago – to know for certain that she was better off out of it.
“Stupid,” she muttered, castigating herself for that moment of weakness. “Stupid, stupid, stupid...”
Deciding to talk the long route home, she made her way past the orange groves and took to a dusty, meandering path that wound its way slowly around and up the hill. In the moonlight it was difficult for her to see the way, but she didn't mind getting lost a little. After all, it wouldn't be possible to stray too far, not with the mansion visible from all over the island as it sat perched at the top of the hill, with just one solitary light burning in a window near the front.
It wasn't hard to imagine Edgar standing at that window, surveying the island from above. There was a lot she didn't understand about Edgar, but his apparent desire for isolation made a lot of sense.
As she walked through the darkness, she couldn't help thinking about the different course that the night might have taken. In her mind's eye, she saw herself naked in bed with Fernando, locked together with him in the throes of passion. She couldn't help but smile as the impossibility of such a union, and she knew deep down that there was no way she would ever have let things go that far. After everything that had happened in her life, she had come to the realization that she just wasn't made for love or romance. The kiss with Fernando had stirred old feelings that had taken a long time to settle, but she was determined to avoid any more pain.
No more mistakes. Life was easier without mistakes.
Eventually she reached the barbed wire fence that encircled Edgar's property. She carefully climbed through, taking care not to get caught, before continuing her journey up t
he hill. Although she had been keen to get away from the mansion earlier, now she felt the opposite; she wanted to get back, go to sleep and then start working early in the morning. It was only when she was working that she was truly able to forget all about her other worries, and the prospect at that moment of throwing herself into the archive and losing herself in piles of paper was enough to -
Suddenly she stopped and turned, her senses burning.
She'd heard something nearby. It had sounded like a heavy thud caused by something landing on the ground, but there was nothing to see. She waited, alert for any sign of a presence, but nothing moved in the darkness.
Still she waited, holding her breath.
She hadn't imagined it.
All around her, the only sound was the occasional rustle of grass as a late night Mediterranean breeze drifted in from the sea. Clouds briefly edged against the moon, bringing darkness for a few seconds before slipping away again, and once more the scene was bathed in the night's cool, calm haze of moonlight.
And nothing moved.
Finally, cautiously, Kate turned and continued her journey, even though she kept glancing over her shoulder just in case anything appeared. After a few minutes, she began to accept that maybe she'd been wrong after all.
Up ahead, the light of the mansion was like a beacon, guiding her home through the darkness.
And then she heard it again, except this time it seemed more like something rumbling along the ground. She turned, and this time she saw that a patch of high grass about fifty feet away was moving in the moonlight, as if something was hiding.
A moment later, the movement suddenly stopped.
Having never worried before about her safety while she was on Thaxos, she was now very aware that she was out alone, surrounded by darkness in a land that was still somewhat unfamiliar. She listened to the sound of a gentle breeze passing across the grass, but now there seemed to be nothing untoward in the area, and finally she felt confident enough to double-check that there was no-one nearby.
“Hello?” she called out, trying not to sound scared.
She waited.
Nothing.
“Fernando?” she added, figuring that it was just possible that he might have followed her. After all, she didn't know him very well, and she was aware that even the kindest face could hide something darker. Reaching into her pockets, she found that the only weapon she had was a bunch of keys, which wouldn't exactly be much use. Still, if it was Fernando, she figured he was probably just playing a trick on her.
Silence.
“This isn't funny!” she called out.
Silence.
Figuring that it was all just a trick of her sleep-deprived mind, she turned and continued her journey. As she passed one of the maintenance huts, she began to feel a little less worried about the idea of being out alone. In fact, she was starting to feel annoyed with herself for being so nervous. It would only take another ten minutes or so to get to the main building, and in that time -
Suddenly there was another thud nearby, and as she spun around she realized that it had come much closer.
Taking a step back, she stared into the darkness, telling herself that there was nothing to worry about, but seconds later she heard it again, as if something was out there and gaining ground on her. Trying not to panic, she took another step back, but moments later she heard a creaking sound over her shoulder, and she turned just in time to hear a faint, rumbling sound, almost like a growl.
She took yet another step back.
She listened.
The sound was persistent this time, like a kind of slow, boney creaking, and there was no way she could write it off as something she'd imagined. Now that it was between her and the mansion, she began to back away a little further. Looking over her shoulder, she could just about make out the maintenance hut nearby, and she figured that she could always take shelter if necessary. Then again, she also felt that the hut might be a bad choice. She was suddenly starting to think about all the men who worked for Edgar, and who seemed to appear when needed and then disappear completely, almost as if they only existed when they were required. She'd seen at least half a dozen of these men around, but she had no idea where they lived or slept.
“Hello?” she called out.
The low growl continued, but this time it didn't seem to be getting any closer. It was more like a constant warning, like a dog telling someone to keep off its territory. Still, whatever it was, it sounded larger than a dog.
Reaching into her pocket, Kate searched for her mobile phone, but after a moment she realized that she must have left it in her room before she left the mansion earlier in the evening.
Dumb, she realized. Really dumb.
Suddenly there was another thud, closer than ever this time, and she instinctively backed away. Her heart was racing now, and she was convinced that there was something nearby. It didn't sound human, either, and she was starting to worry that rats might not have been the only thing that Edgar had introduced to the island. The rational side of her mind told her to stop panicking, but there was a deeper, more basic part of her that was already imagining something horrific staring at her through the darkness.
Finally, she could stay calm no longer.
Turning, she hurried over to the hut and found to her relief that the door had been left unlocked. Slipping inside, she pulled the it shut and with trembling fingers she checked for any sign of a latch. Realizing that there was no way to lock the door from the inside, she nevertheless took a step back, figuring that if there was a wolf or some other kind of creature outside, it wouldn't be able to get to her.
She waited.
Silence.
The only noise was her own heart, pounding in her chest.
This is crazy, she told herself. There's nothing out there. You're just a city girl getting freaked out by nature. You're just a cliché.
Making her way over to the window, she peered out. There was nothing to see but darkness, but she still couldn't quite persuade herself that the whole thing had been a figment of her imagination. A few little noises could have been explained away, but that growl had seemed very real. She waited, but as the minutes passed she began to cut herself a little slack. Her mind raced as she tried to come up with explanations for what had happened, although she kept coming back to the realization that she'd definitely heard something moving through the darkness. Perhaps, she figured, she'd simply overreacted to the sound of an owl, or some other totally benign form of wildlife.
Some kind of creature.
Checking her watch, she saw that it was almost two in the morning. The idea of staying out all night in a maintenance shed wasn't exactly very appealing, but at the same time she didn't like the idea of venturing back outside either. Her mind racing, she tried to think of a way out, and it was only after a few more seconds that she realized there was a noise nearby. Turning to look back at the door, she realized that the handle was rattling slightly, and that there was a scratching sound, as if something was trying to claw at the wood.
Something that wanted to get inside, even if it didn't understand how to open a door.
She froze, and now she was aware of a kind of sniffing sound, as if something was trying to root her out of the hut. Whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn't human, and it sounded increasingly desperate. After a moment, she realized she could hear it clawing against the wood.
And then suddenly it stopped.
She waited.
The door was still, and there was no sound from outside.
Waiting by the window, Kate held her breath, terrified that if she made even the slightest noise she might attract attention to herself. Reaching into her pockets, she desperately searched again for her mobile phone, hoping against hope that maybe she had it with her after all. Eventually she took a quiet, shallow breath, and she began to think that whatever had been out there, it had maybe lost interest in her.
And then she heard a noise at the window.
Turning, sh
e stared out at the darkness and saw that there was something else out there, another kind of darkness twisting and turning.
And coming closer.
Fast.
Racing straight toward her.
Before she could react, the entire window shattered and the wooden frame came crashing down. She turned away as pieces of glass came slashing into her like a shower of stars, but as she fell she felt something sharp slice into her arm, sending a searing jolt of pain through her body. She half-landed against a bench with such force that she felt another piece of glass dig deep into her side, but she ignore the pain and immediately turned before crawling to the other side of the hut, not even daring to look back.
Seconds later, she heard something on the other side of the wall, and suddenly there was a loud thump as the creature, whatever it was, smashed itself against the wood, causing the entire hut to shake.
Backing into the far corner, Kate reached up and felt warm blood run down her arm as she heard the creature making its way back around to the gaping hole where the window used to be. As she turned stared in horror, Kate she tried to scream, but her body was frozen with fear as she finally saw the creature's face.