***
“Everything seems normal,” Doctor Burns said as he finished examining Ephram's grandmother in her bedroom. “Are you still spending all your time in bed, Anna? I can't help thinking that it would be good for you to get up and about, maybe -”
“Did you see him?” she asked suddenly.
“Who?”
“You saw him,” she continued, her voice frail and old, as if it took great effort for her to get the words out. “What did he say? How did he seem?”
“Are you talking about Baron Le Compte?” the doctor asked, somewhat taken aback by the directness of the old woman's inquiry. He was used to Anna merely sighing during her weekly examinations, but something seemed to have stirred a little more life into her, and she was staring at him with uncharacteristic interest.
“Did he ask after me?”
“He... Yes, actually, he did. He asked if I had attended to you lately, and then he wanted to know how you're holding up. I was quite surprised, really. He took great interest in your condition.”
She stared at him with tears in her eyes.
“You remember his grandfather, don't you?” the doctor continued. “There can't be many left on Thaxos whose memories stretch that far back. Tell me something, was he really the monster that everyone claims, or have the stories been exaggerated?”
He waited for an answer, but she seemed lost in thought.
“I know how it works,” he continued. “A sliver of truth gets blown out of all proportion, and before long a man with a few bad habits is being demonized. I can already see it happening again, with the younger Le Compte. Everyone, including Ephram I'm afraid, seems to have him marked down as a monster, but I spoke to Le Compte at length last night and I feel that he's quite a reasonable man. A little stiff and socially awkward, perhaps, but if those qualities were criminal then most of us would have ended up in trouble at one point or another.”
“But what...” Seemingly distressed, Anna shifted her weight a little, almost as if she was trying to get out of bed. “The window is closed,” she muttered. “Why is the window closed?”
“Should I open it for you?” the doctor asked, getting to his feet and crossing the room. As he unlatched the window and pushed it open, he turned back to see that Anna was climbing off the bed and had begun to stagger toward the door.
Hurrying over to her, he grabbed her arm.
“Steady,” he warned her, worried that she might fall at any moment. “Where exactly do you think you're off to, anyway? When I said you should get up, I meant gentle exercise only.”
“I want to go and see him,” she replied, pulling free from his grip with surprising force.
“Who? Le Compte?”
“Take me to him,” she continued. “My grandson refuses, but you must take me up there at once!”
“Wait,” he said, grabbing her arm more firmly this time. “There's a big difference between gentle exercise and wandering up a steep hill. Why don't you get back into bed and we'll talk about this, okay?”
Unwilling to pull her back too roughly, the doctor ended up supporting her as she made her way out of the room and onto the landing. It was clear that there was no way she could get down the stairs, let alone all the way through town and then up the hill to the mansion, but there was no doubting her determination. After a moment, however, she seemed to run out of breath and Doctor Burns was forced to ease her down onto a small wooden chair that stood nearby.
“There you go,” he said, hoping to calm her fears. “One step at a time, Anna. It's good that you're up and about, though.”
“Why doesn't he come to see me?” she asked, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Who? Do you mean Mr. Le Compte?” He paused for a moment, before kneeling in front of her. “Anna, why does it matter to you so much? I know he looks like his grandfather, but is that really any reason to behave this way?”
“What did he say about me?” she asked.
“Nothing much. He just wanted to know that you're okay.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“That you're getting better.”
“You must send him a message,” she continued. “Tell him that I'm waiting for him, and that I would like very much if he could come and see me. Promise you'll tell him!”
“I will, but -”
“Promise!”
Staring into Anna's eyes for a moment, he realized that never in his life had he seen someone with such absolute desperation and frustration in their soul. It was as if this was the most important thing in the world to the old woman.
“I promise,” he replied. “You can absolutely count on me.”
“And do not tell my grandson,” she added. “He could never understand!”
“Ephram only cares about -”
“Promise me!”
“I promise,” he said again. “I won't tell Ephram. But now will you please go back to bed, Anna? You're not doing yourself any good by being up like this.”
The old woman continued to mutter to herself as he helped her up and led her back into her room. Even as she settled back down on the bed, it was clear that she couldn't stop worrying about whether or not the doctor would keep his promise, and finally she reached up and grabbed the lapels of his jacket.
“Tell him the window is always open,” she hissed. “Tell him there isn't much time!”
“Anna...” Doctor Burns paused for a moment, feeling genuinely unsettled by the forcefulness of her passion. “If you don't mind the question... Why are you so worked up about this man? I know you had a brief friendship with his grandfather, but I don't understand why you're so keen to see the current Le Compte. Is it just that they look alike?”
“You don't understand,” she replied. “None of you do, and you never will. You can't!”
As she rolled onto her side, Doctor Burns took a step back and tried to work out what, exactly, had just happened. He had known Anna Kazakos long enough to be certain that she wasn't given to flights of fancy, and he also knew that despite her advanced years her mind remained strong and alert. Her determination to speak directly to Edgar Le Compte seemed, therefore, to be very much out of character, but he figured that there would be no harm in at least delivering the message.
Heading out of the room and making his way downstairs, he found Ephram fast asleep on his stool behind the counter. Turning the sign on the door to 'Closed' on his way out, Doctor Burns headed home.
IV
When the music started playing, she somehow knew at once that it was him. A light, airy piano piece – complex, clearly something that couldn't be performed by an untrained player – was drifting through the house, and Kate followed the sound through the maze-like corridors until finally she reached one of the large drawing rooms in the west wing.
As soon as she entered the room, the music stopped.
“There you are,” Edgar said, looking over at her from the grand piano by the window. “I was wondering when you might come and find me. I hope you'll forgive me for disturbing the peace, but sometimes I come in here when I need a moment to think.”
“I've been looking for you all morning,” she replied, making her way across the room. She had been in there once before, on the night of the grand ball, which felt as if it had taken place a lifetime ago. She still wasn't quite sure how so many people had arrived on Thaxos and spent just one night before leaving, all without being seen in town, but she figured that Edgar seemed to have enough money to make anything happen. “You're a hard man to track down.”
“Blame the house,” he said with a smile. “Even I find myself getting lost from time to time. I quite believe that two people could wander separately for days and never bump into one another. The place can be freeing, but also rather lonely if one is that way inclined.” He paused for a moment, eying her with interest. “How are you feeling today? I trust that the worst of your ordeal is now behind you?”
“I...” Reaching the piano, she stopped. “I have no idea. Is that
weird?”
“It's natural to still be a little shaken,” he continued, getting up and walking around to join her. “I want to assure you that at first light this morning, several of my men set out to scour every inch of the land around this house, looking for any sign of the creature that did this to you.” He looked down at her arms. “I want you to feel safe here, Kate. I want every living person on Thaxos to feel safe. If there is anything out there, it will be hunted down and slaughtered.”
“I don't remember anything,” she replied. “Not from later on, at least. I remember being in town, and walking back up here, but then... Nothing.”
“Short-term memory loss is quite common after a traumatic incident.”
“So help me out here,” she continued. “It was you who found me, right?”
“It was pure chance,” he replied. “I went to the maintenance hut because I was tired of all the electrical problems around the house. One of my men was supposed to be on the case, but I'm afraid that sometimes one simply has to... Well, the important thing is that I went to the hut, and as soon as I walked through the door I saw the most unbelievably horrific scene. In fact, it has been a long time since I witnessed anything like it. I shall spare you the details -”
“I want to know everything,” she said firmly.
He paused.
“Everything,” she said again.
“You were in the middle of the room,” he continued, “on the floor. Your body was bent and twisted in a quite unnatural position, and there was blood everywhere. Smeared across the floor, on the walls, on the window's broken glass. The place was a mess, and I must be honest... My initial fear was that I had arrived too late to help you. As I knelt to examine your injuries, I was convinced that nothing could be done, yet once I had placed my hands on the side of your neck and begun to search for a pulse... You were alive, though barely. Not knowing what to do, I scooped you up into my arms and hurried back to the house.”
“And then you called a doctor?”
“Of course.”
“But my injuries,” she continued, “they just seem a little... I mean, if everything you say is true, how am I up and around already? I feel...” She paused as she felt a wave of doubt cross her mind, as if something was in her head, disturbing her thoughts.
“I think,” Edgar said after a moment, “that we must simply be very glad that you escaped without any permanent damage. You were very lucky.”
“Sure, but there's luck and then there's this, and right now...” She paused again. “This is like a miracle. I should be dead.”
“Miracles do happen from time to time,” he pointed out. “One doesn't even have to believe in any particular deity in order to accept such things.” He waited for her to say something. “I want you to take as much time off as necessary. The papers in my archive can wait. For now, the priority is your health, and I want you to know that all my resources are at your disposal. If there's anything you want that isn't immediately available, let me know and I'll have it shipped in from the mainland within just a few days. Anything at all.”
“I want to know what really happened to me,” she replied. “I want to remember.”
“That's one thing that I'm afraid I can't help with,” he told her. “Still, perhaps this is your mind's way of protecting you. I'm quite certain that you were attacked by a wolf, and that the experience was traumatic. Do you really want to dig through it all again?”
“I want...” She paused, and suddenly she realized that there was only one idea that made her feel better. “I think I want to go back to London.”
“So soon?”
“I need to get my head together,” she told him. “I'll come back. I mean, I think I will. I mean, this is...” Another pause. Part of her wanted to stay, to face her fears, but the thought of spending even one more night on Thaxos was suddenly terrifying. “I'm so sorry,” she continued, “I know I'm letting you down, but after everything that's happened... You understand, don't you?”
“I do,” he replied, “and I hope very much that you'll decide to come back to Thaxos once you're feeling better, but I suppose I must accept your decision. I do have one small request, however. I'm arranging a garden party here at my home later in the week, as a way of reaching out to the people of the island. Do you think you might see your way to staying just a little longer, so that you can assist me? I'm afraid that I'm very bad at this type of thing, and when I originally came up with the idea I assumed that you would be here.”
“I don't know...”
“Please, Kate. As a personal favor, from one friend to another.” He paused. “I'm sorry, perhaps I overstepped the mark. Perhaps we're not friends -”
“We are,” she replied quickly, before realizing that she'd effectively just talked herself into agreeing to his request. “Sure,” she added, even though the thought sickened her to her stomach. “I'll stay. I don't know if I can really do much, but I'll stay for your party. But then I really need to go back to London, at least for a while. I know this is going to sound crazy, but right now I don't quite feel like myself. It's as if my mind is damaged somehow.”
“Then you must do whatever you feel is necessary,” he told her. “Please, don't feel bad at all. I completely understand.”
V
“So the funeral will be on Saturday,” Cavaleri continued as she stood by the bench. “Given the nature of her death, the authorities on the mainland have requested that we take a few more precautions, such as -”
“I know,” Doctor Burns replied tersely, interrupting her. He set a tray of slide dishes down and paused for a moment, trying to contain his irritation at the way the local police officer had just barged uninvited into his surgery and started acting as if she was in charge. “They've already been in touch with me,” he explained, “since I'm the town's doctor.”
“You'll need to take six blood samples,” Cavaleri replied, “each with -”
“I know,” he said again, more firmly this time.
“I'm sure you do,” she continued, eying him suspiciously. “I just wanted to go over the basics with you, I hope you don't think I'm treading on any toes.” She paused for a moment. “So I heard an interesting rumor this morning. According to one of your neighbors, you were woken in the night and spirited off in a motor vehicle. Is that true?”
“You know I can't discuss private medical matters,” he replied.
“Of course. But you can confirm certain basic facts, can't you? I mean, there's only one person on the whole of Thaxos who could have had you driven off in such a manner. You went up to Le Compte's home, didn't you?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that I -”
“You don't need to.”
Turning and heading back over to the counter, Doctor Burns opened his medical bag and began to restock it with a few of the items that he'd used on Kate Langley the night before. He was very much aware that Cavaleri was watching him work, and he was tempted to ask her – no, tell her – to get the hell out of his surgery so that he could continue his work uninterrupted. Still, he felt that for some reason she was suspicious of him, and the last thing he wanted was to draw more attention to himself. Silently, he cursed whichever neighbor had ratted him out.
“So what's it like up there?” she asked eventually. “I don't mean medical details, I just mean the whole place in general.”
“If you're so fascinated,” he replied tersely, “why don't you go up there and see for yourself? You're the local representative of the law, after all. I'm sure you could think of a reason.”
“Actually, I was going to go up and talk to him about the rats,” she explained, “but as of this morning, I haven't seen a single one of the damn things. It's almost as if they vanished overnight.”
“I'm not sure that's entirely possible,” Doctor Burns replied, “although I believe Mr. Le Compte said something about dealing with the problem.”
“Huh,” Cavaleri continued. “That's very generous of him. And very accomplished, too. He's
a real asset to the community.”
“Is this leading somewhere?” the doctor asked, turning to her. “I understand that you wanted to come and see me today in order to run over some details concerning Alice Marco's death, but with all due respect, you have now done that, and I'm extremely busy, so there has to be -”
“Did you tell him?” she asked suddenly, interrupting him.
“Tell him what?”
“About the conversation that you were part of the other night.”
“I was not part of that conversation,” he replied tersely. “I was merely there at the beginning, and if you'll think back, you'll note that I left before the three of you got into detail. Please, don't act as if I'm taking any part of your little plot.” He paused, feeling a little unsettled by the way she was staring at him. “I do hope,” he continued after a moment, “that cooler heads prevailed. I can't even begin to imagine that you could even entertain the possibility of taking direct action against Mr. Le Compte.”
“Of course not,” she said with a smile. “It was just drunken chatter, really. A few people, sitting around with beers and venting their frustrations. There's no plot to kill Edgar Le Compte. The very idea would be ludicrous.”
“That's what I assumed,” he replied.
“Well,” she continued, “I suppose I really should get back to the office now. Even with the rats gone, I'm sure there'll be a queue of people lining up to complain about something.” She grabbed her cap from the counter and made her way to the door, before stopping and turning to him. “By the way, I hope that the late night medical emergency, whatever it was, had a happy ending? Is Mr. Le Compte okay?”
“Everything is fine,” Doctor Burns told her, taking care not to provide any other details. “Thank you for your concern.”
“Just doing my job,” she replied. “Watching out for the town. Just answer one question for me, doctor. I can rely on you, can't I?”
“Why do you even ask?”
“We have to stick together in difficult times,” she continued. “The town is under attack, and it wouldn't surprise me if Le Compte tried to sow the seeds of division. I want to make sure that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet. We can put Le Compte in his place if we maintain a united front, but it would take just one weak link to make the task so much harder.” She paused for a moment. “Still, I doubt I have to worry too much. A respected member of the community, such as yourself, can be trusted to play his part. Even if you don't want to get directly involved, I'm sure you'll do nothing to make my work harder, will you?”
Once she had left the building, Doctor Burns tried to get on with his work. Soon, however, he found that his frustrations were starting to boil over. He didn't entirely trust Cavaleri, and her promise that the plot to kill Edgar was 'drunken chatter' just didn't hold weight; he worried that she had something else in mind, and although he understood the frustrations of everyone in the town, he also believed that people needed to actually meet Edgar and see that he was no monster. In fact, he was starting to think that -
“Was that the local police officer?” asked a voice suddenly.
Turning, Doctor Burns saw a familiar figure standing in the doorway. Dressed in an immaculately-tailored suit as usual, and with black gloves covering his hands, Edgar Le Compte wore a subtle smile, as if he was fully aware that he had managed to arrive without making a sound.
“She...” The doctor paused, genuinely taken aback to have yet another visitor.
“It's okay,” Edgar continued. “I was thinking that perhaps I should pay her a visit at some point, just to introduce myself and assure her that I am at her disposal in case she ever requires my assistance.”
“Sure,” Doctor Burns replied. “That'd probably be...”
He paused.
“I'm sorry, did you come here for any particular reason?”
“Two, actually,” Edgar continued. “First, I wanted to reassure you that Kate Langley is making a full recovery. She's up and about, in fact, although unfortunately she has decided to return to England for a while. I fear that perhaps recent events have taken a toll on her nerves, and somehow I doubt that she will be coming back to Thaxos. It's a terrible shame, albeit one that I understand on a human level. Then again, she might yet change her mind.”
“I'd still like to see her,” the doctor replied. “I need to make sure that her wounds are healing.”
“You are welcome to come up any time,” Edgar told him, “or I can ask Ms. Langley to come down and visit you here. Or perhaps you can wait and see her at the garden party. And then...” His voice trailed off for a moment, and he seemed almost nervous. “There's another matter, actually. It's concerning the young woman who was so tragically killed by the rats. As you might have noticed by now, my men have been able to eradicate the root of the problem, so I believe there will be no more rats on Thaxos after today, but obviously sentiment might still be running against me given recent events.”
“There's going to be a funeral at the weekend,” Doctor Burns told him.
“Do you think I should attend?”
“I'm not sure that would be a good idea.”
“I see. But perhaps I could send a wreath?”
“I'm not sure that would be a good idea either.”
“I see.” Edgar paused. “Well, there we have it. Already, I'm benefiting from your advice. Whatever would I do without your wise counsel, doctor?”
Smiling uneasily, Doctor Burns looked over at the computer terminal that stood on a nearby bench. For some reason that he didn't quite understand, he felt compelled to go over and log in to the system. Making his way across the room, he grabbed the keyboard and began typing in his credentials.
“What are you doing?” Edgar asked.
“I'm...” He paused, staring at the blinking cursor in the password field. “I'm not quite sure...”
“Whatever,” Edgar continued. “Please, don't let me interrupt you any further.”
Once he'd finished entering his password and had logged into the medical files archive, Doctor Burns stared at the screen. He was certain that he'd had a good reason to bring up the files, but now his mind felt strangely blank, as if the reason was suddenly hidden from his mind. After a moment, aware that Edgar was watching him, he turned and smiled awkwardly.
“You know,” he said with a nervous smile, “I just had one of those real senior moments. I can't for the life of me remember why I logged on.”
“I'm sure it'll come to you,” Edgar replied. “Returning to the matter of the dead girl, would you possibly be able to give me some details about her death, and about her family?”
“Absolutely not,” the doctor replied, as he brought up Alice Marco's medical records. “I'm sure you'll understand that it would be a criminal offense for me to give out such information without a court order.” He took a quick look at the screen, making sure that everything was in order, before hitting the button to print a copy. As the printer whirred into life, he paused again, trying to work out why he was doing any of this. “The only person I can talk to about such things,” he continued, “apart from the family, is Inspector Cavaleri.”
“I see,” Edgar replied, watching as the printer spat out three pages.
“It's not my choice,” Doctor Burns continued, taking the pages and stapling them together, before turning and handing them to Edgar. “The information on the computer system has to remain absolutely confidential at all times. If it ever emerged that I gave out such details, I would be justifiably struck off the medical register. I could never show my face in town again.”
“Of course,” Edgar replied, taking a look at the printouts for a moment before folding them and slipping them into his pocket. “I'm sorry that I even asked. I hope I didn't put you in an awkward position.”
“I understand your concern,” the doctor replied, feeling strangely uneasy even though he couldn't quite work out what was wrong. It was as if his thoughts weren't quite his own.
“Perhaps I should
delay the garden party,” Edgar continued. “I was planning to hold it tomorrow, but I wouldn't want it to seem inappropriate. A party hardly seems like the right response in the middle of such tragedy.”
“On the contrary, I think it'd be a great idea.”
“You do?”
“Now's the perfect time,” the doctor told him. “You need to lift the whole community, and I really believe that if you...” He paused again, feeling that the words coming from his mouth were somehow alien. “It might be good for the people here to have someone who can lead them out of the darkness. When a death occurs, especially with someone so young, it's all too easy for the mood to stay down for months at a time. You might be just the right person to shake things up.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Edgar replied. “And now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I should let you get on with your work. I still have a few more stops to make while I'm in town, and I'm quite certain that the good people of Thaxos will be waiting for your expert medical attention. I just want to thank you once again for your wise words, Doctor Burns, and to tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done for me. And everything that you will do for me in the future, I'm sure.”
The doctor smiled politely, but as his visitor left, he couldn't shake the feeling that somehow his thought processes were running abnormally. Standing in silence for a moment, he suddenly turned to the computer, and for a fraction of a second he had a strong memory of printing out Alice Marco's medical records and handing them to Edgar Le Compte. Just as he was about to turn and run after Le Compte, however, he realized that he must simply be misremembering things. He knew there was absolutely no way that he would do such a thing.
After double-checking that the computer terminal was logged off, he made his way through to his office and prepared for the arrival of his next patient. By the time he was sitting at his desk, he had completely forgotten his concerns about the medical records, although he still felt as if his mind was a little fuzzy, and he was starting to develop a nasty headache.
VI
“Stop it!” Kate screamed. “Get it off me! Someone help!”
As the claws tore at her flesh, she tried to push the creature away, but with every second she was being drawn deeper and deeper into the darkness, until finally she felt her own blood burst from her throat, filling her mouth and then flowing down her chin.
She tried to scream again, but all that emerged was a guttural rage as the last of her life was torn from her body. And that was when she realized that there was no way to escape. She was dying.