***
“What's it like to starve to death?” Didi asked as they made their way along yet another stone corridor.
“No idea,” Kate replied. “Never done it. Anyway, dehydration would get you first, but it's not going to be a problem since we're -”
Before she could finish, the torch blinked off. In pitch darkness, Kate gave it a gentle thump and the light resumed.
“Time to change the battery?” Didi suggested.
“Actually, I was wrong,” Kate told her. “I don't have a spare after all.”
“Wrong my ass,” she replied. “You just said that so we'd come down here with you. Face it, Ms. Langley, you're the reason we're in this mess, and you've got no chance of getting us out.”
“I don't need you to remind me of that fact,” Kate replied. “It's not as if I deliberately got us lost. You saw how the corridors seemed to change. I know it sounds crazy, but it's almost as if...”
“The walls were moving?” Didi replied skeptically.
“Explain it some other way,” Kate continued. “Explain how three intelligent women could get things so spectacularly wrong. I mean, we'd have to all be complete dumb-asses, and none of us are that.” She cast a glance back to Didi. “Even if some of us like to pretend that we are.”
“Water,” Alice said suddenly.
Stopping and turning to her, Kate realized that Alice was staring up at the low stone ceiling. Sure enough, several drops of water were gathering in the cracks, dropping from time to time to the ground.
“That's it, then,” Didi said with obvious panic in her voice. “It's settled. We've walked so far, we're literally under the sea! We'll never find our way back!”
“Hang on,” Kate replied.
“How else do you explain it, brain-box?” Didi continued. “Did you see any dark clouds earlier? It sure as hell isn't raining up there! We've walked for hours now, and we're out under the goddamn sea! These tunnels run for miles!”
Reaching up, Kate wiped a drip onto her finger and then tasted it.
“Are you insane?” Didi shouted. “What do you wanna do, sit here with our mouths open and hope we get enough to drink?”
Turning, Kate glanced back along the corridor.
“There's another leak over there,” she said after a moment, before hurrying along to take a look, and then heading to the end of the corridor, where she found a third collection of drips. “How far am I from you two?” she asked, turning back to them.
“Does it matter?” Didi asked.
“About thirty, thirty-five yards,” Alice replied.
“Huh,” Kate muttered, reaching up and tasting another drop. She looked back the way they'd already come, and then she looked ahead. “We need to keep going,” she said finally, hurrying toward Didi and Alice and then past them.
“She's insane,” Didi said with a sigh. “You're leading us the wrong way!”
“No, I'm not.”
“Yes, you are! You're leading us further out to sea! We need to turn around!”
“Just trust me,” Kate continued, picking up the pace as she led them along the corridor and then down a left turn. “I know you think we're way out at sea, but we might actually -”
She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw it up ahead.
A door.
“Holy shit!” Didi exclaimed, pushing past her and trying the handle, only to find that it was locked. Dropping to her knees, she pulled a nail-file from her pocket and immediately set to work on the lock.
“How did you know this was here?” Alice asked, turning to Kate.
“I didn't,” Kate replied, staring at the door. “Not exactly, but I had a suspicion.”
“Based on what?”
“Let's just see what's on the other side first. If I'm right...”
“This is way easier than the last one,” Didi said, interrupting her. “Ladies, I'm proud to say that I'm about to save our asses all over again. As I said before, I'll take payment in vodka, but you can also thank me by never leading me into another -” Before she could finish, the lock clicked and she turned the handle, and this time the door swung open. “Hallelujah!” said with a sigh, as the three of them saw a room up ahead with daylight shining through a window at the top of the wall.
“We're not under the sea!” Alice exclaimed.
“Of course we're not,” Kate replied, pushing past them both and making her way into the room. There was enough light now for her to switch the torch off. “We never went down far enough to be under the seabed. The whole idea was ridiculous.”
“Then where are we?” Didi asked, hurrying forward before stopping suddenly. “Hang on, this...”
“Do you recognize it?” Kate replied.
Ignoring her, Didi hurried to the archway at the far end of the room, and when she peered through into the next area she realized with a heavy heart that she knew exactly where they were.
“What are all those?” Alice asked as she and Kate made their way over to the archway.
“Torture devices,” Didi replied. “Specifically, they're the torture devices that used to belong to Edgar's grandfather. We're in the basement of Edgar's house.”
“I figured,” Kate said with a faint smile.
“You figured?” Didi asked, turning to her. “How the hell did you figure this was where we'd end up.”
“The water in the tunnel wasn't from the sea. It was from the swimming pool. That's why I tasted it, to make sure it wasn't salt water. It had a hint of chlorine. You told me once that the swimming pool had a leak, and I guess now we know where the water goes. Also, when I realized that the drips were no more than about thirty or forty feet apart, I was able to work out that the corridor ran lengthways under the pool rather than across the middle. I figured that if we hadn't hit the foundations of the house a little earlier, we must be coming up to them soon. And that's what made me think we'd find a door if we kept going in this direction.”
“You figured all that out from a drip?”
“What other explanation could there have been?” Kate asked with a smile. “That we were under the sea? Seriously?”
“Alright, Spock,” Didi replied with obvious disdain. “So you lucked out this time. I'm still not forgiving you for getting us into that mess in the first place.” She sighed. “God, I need a drink like you wouldn't believe.”
“Why does he keep these things?” Alice asked, running a finger across the spike on top of one of the torture devices. “They're so horrible. Why would anyone want to have them around?”
“They're part of his family history, I guess,” Kate replied. “At heart, Edgar really seems to care about that kind of thing.”
“No offense, ladies,” Didi continued, hurrying along the room until she reached the door at the far end, “but I don't think we should let Edgar find us down here.” She tried the handle, but found that this door was also locked. “Jesus,” she muttered as she got her nail-file out again, “I've been down on my knees more times today than any time since...” She paused. “Well, since yesterday actually, but that's not the point.” With that, she got down and started working on the lock.
“I don't understand,” Alice said, turning to Kate. “Why would there be a passage linking Baron Le Compte's house to that chamber under the stones?”
“That's something only Baron Le Compte can tell us,” Kate replied. “If he even knows about it.”
“But you said earlier that some secret group built the stones and the chamber,” Alice continued. “If that's true, then it has to be someone who was linked to this house.”
“I guess it does. Still, that doesn't mean that Edgar knows anything about it. It might have been something to do with his grandfather or -”
“There!” Didi announced triumphantly as she got the final door open. “I had to steal a key last time, but the direct approach also works.” She turned to Kate and Didi. “Ladies, it's been emotional, but I think we should never speak of this unholy disaster again. Edgar would definitely no
t want to know that we've been poking around down here. The door should lock automatically after we leave, so just make sure not to let it hit you on the butt on the way out.”
“Agreed,” Kate said quickly. “It'll just be between the three of us. Everything, including the tunnel.”
“Ha!” Didi replied. “You're cute. You're so desperate to keep this to yourself so you can get all the credit for studying it, aren't you?”
“No -”
“Don't bother lying,” Didi added. “I guess you and I both have things we'd rather keep up our sleeves, so I'll keep outta your business if you keep outta mine.” She turned to Alice. “As for you... I dunno, you seem pretty oblivious, but keep your mouth shut, okay? No-one likes a jabber-jaw.”
As Didi made her way up the stairs into the main part of the house, Kate looked back at the torture equipment.
“How well do you know Baron Le Compte?” Alice asked.
“Quite well,” Kate replied, unable to shake the feeling that there was something strange and unusual about the basement. “Not well enough, maybe.”
“And are you going to go back to that chamber?”
“Sure, but not today. And next time, I'm going to make damn certain that I can't get lost.”
As they left the room, they pushed the door shut. The torture devices stood silently as dust drifted through the air. Some of them were stained red with the blood of people who had been put to death many years ago, and some of them showed signs of more recent use. After a few seconds of silence, there was a faint sound from the far end of the room, and Edgar Le Compte stepped out from the shadows. Placing one hand on the leather straps that ran across the back of a machine, he stared at the door through which the three women had just departed.
Slowly, a faint smile crossed his lips.
VIII
“You have a heart murmur,” Doctor Young explained as he placed the stethoscope's drum against Kate's chest. “What that means is that blood is flowing across one of your heart valves in such a way as to be audible when I examine you.”
“Is that serious?” Kate asked. “It sounds kind of serious.”
“A lot depends on the type of murmur. A functional murmur is usually caused by something outside of the heart, but the fact that you experienced breathing difficulties the other day...” He adjusted the position of the drum. “It seems to be systolic, so I think it might be due to something within the heart itself. If you truly haven't experienced anything like this before, I'm going to have to assume that you have some kind of condition that has been dormant throughout your life but which, for whatever reason, is now becoming noticeable.”
“I was attacked a while ago,” she pointed out. “Could that have caused it?”
“I wish I knew,” he replied, putting the stethoscope away. “While I run some more tests and send the results to a specialist on the mainland, I must insist that you take things easy. Today, for example...” He paused. “I noticed that you, Ms. Marco and Didi were out of the house for a long time. I hope you weren't doing anything that might raise your blood pressure.”
“Of course not,” Kate replied awkwardly.
“Really? Even a moment spent in Didi's company tends to raise my blood pressure considerably. The woman's voice, for one thing, is like fingernails being scratched against a chalkboard.”
“I didn't exactly invite her today. She just sort of followed us.”
“And where did you end up?”
“Nowhere, really,” she replied, forcing a smile. “We just went for a walk.”
“You need to relax,” he continued. “That doesn't mean being an invalid, though. Don't worry, Kate, I'm not suggesting that you need to get some regular, sustained exercise. For one thing, it'd be good for you, and for another I'd like to monitor your response over the short-term. Brisk walks are probably helpful, perhaps even swimming. Do you like swimming, Kate?”
“Not particularly. I've got to admit, I'm not exactly a beach bunny.”
“No-one said anything about being a beach bunny, but there's a really nice beach up on the western point. It's very relaxed and calming, and there's almost never anyone else there. Perhaps you'd consider taking a gentle swim every day, just to keep your fitness up.”
“But -”
“Doctor's orders,” he added, more firmly this time. “Please, Kate, listen to me. I'm only suggesting these things because I want you to be okay. I keep trying to sound reassuring, but the truth is, I'm worried about your heart. If you follow my advice, you'll be fine, but if you keep pushing back against everything I tell you...”
“Fine,” she replied as she put her shirt back on, “I'll go swimming. But I won't like it!”
“You're the first person I've ever met who complains about having to go swimming off the coast of a Mediterranean island. You're not really a holiday kind of person, are you?”
“I'll go swimming in the mornings,” she told him as she headed to the door. “Get it out of the way nice and early, so I can focus on my work. Is there anything else you need me for right now?”
“Aren't you going to ask your usual question?”
“And what's that?”
He smiled. “You always ask how much longer you have to stay. What's wrong, are you starting to like it here on Thaxos?”
“No, I just...” She paused. “I'm keeping busy,” she told him, preferring not to mention the stones or the chamber at all. “While I'm here, I might as well knuckle down and see what I can discover about Edgar's family, and about the island as a whole.”
“And about those stones on the north side.”
She smiled politely.
“I just want to get to the truth about this place,” she explained. “You can't separate the various elements. Edgar's family and the stones are obviously wrapped up in the history of Thaxos, and it's a history that no-one else seems to have really looked into. I can only imagine the kind of things I'm going to discover. Like I said, I'm not the kind of person who likes sitting around at the beach. I'm only really happy when I'm working. If that makes me sound kinda sad, then I don't care. I am who I am.”
“I wish you the best of luck,” he replied. “I hope you succeed where so many other people have failed in the past.”