by Amy Cross
***
“There you are,” Doctor Young said as he entered the study and found Didi lounging on one of the sofas with a martini in her hand. “I've been looking all over the place for you. You can really be a hard woman to find.”
“Did you try the usual spots?” she asked. “The pool, or the pool, or maybe the pool?”
“I did,” he replied, setting his briefcase down and heading over to pour himself a brandy. “You weren't there.”
“I wasn't far from it,” she muttered bitterly.
“What was that?”
“Nothing! I was just catching some sun in a different spot, that's all! After all, the last thing a girl wants is to become predictable.”
“A lady of leisure,” he replied, taking a sip of brandy before heading over to the sofa. “It must be nice lounging around the place, not having any jobs or tasks to complete during the day.”
“You think looking good is easy?” she asked. “This all-over even tan won't just appear by itself, you know. I have to carefully rotate myself at different times of the day.”
“Like a rotisserie chicken?”
“Like a hard-working girl who actually studies the science of beauty. Seriously, I have to juggle so many different beauty routines, sometimes I think I'm, like, the Albert Einstein of the cosmetics world.”
Making his way around the back of the sofa, Doctor Young looked down for a moment at the top of her head.
“Absolutely,” he said after a moment. “I'm sure it takes up a lot of your time. Perhaps the trick of a true genius is to make hard work seem easy from the outside, in which case you're doing an exceptional job.”
“I hope you're not looking down my top,” she replied, “because that's definitely not something that Edgar would approve of. These puppies are his and his alone. If he thought you were coming onto me, he wouldn't be best pleased.”
“I'm sure he wouldn't,” he said with a faint smile, before kneeling behind her. “But don't you think you should be getting a little work done on the side?”
“Such as?”
He paused.
“Such as the reason you're really here in the first place.”
“And what -”
Before she could finish, Doctor Young put his arm around her neck and yanked her back hard. He leaned close to her face, enjoying the look of fear in her eyes. Giving her neck another pull, he smiled as she gasped desperately for breath.
“Trouble?” he asked.
She tried to reply, but her throat was being squeezed shut.
“You didn't recognize my voice, huh?” he sneered. “I guess the distortion effect worked its magic when we talked over the phone, but I'm running out of patience, Didi. Or should I use your real name, Charlotte? Would that make you more comfortable?” Reaching over her shoulder, he placed a hand firmly on her right breast. “Who paid for these, Charlotte? Who got the drug charges against you dropped, and who gave you enough money for you to end up back on your feet, huh? And what did we ask for in return?”
He waited for an answer.
“What did we ask for?” he hissed, yanking her neck back even further.
“Please -”
“What did we ask for?” he asked for a third time, this time with his mouth so close to her ear that he sprayed her with a fine haze of saliva.
“Nixon,” she gasped.
“That's right,” he continued. “We asked you to find out what Edgar did with James Nixon. As I reminded you on the phone a while ago, this is a job of the utmost importance. We understand that it's difficult, but we were still hoping for a little movement by now. It's been more than a year, Didi, but you still haven't come up with any answers. I hope you haven't become too comfortable with this little arrangement. I'm sure life on Thaxos is fun, but you're here for one reason and one reason only, and if we decide that you're not going to deliver, we can pull you out. Or rather, we can blow your cover and let Edgar Le Compte decide what to do with you. I'm sure he's just itching to have another spin on those torture machines in the basement.”
“Please,” Didi gasped, “you're hurting me -”
“Good!” he replied, tilting her head back. “I was hoping I wouldn't have to let you know that I'm the one who sent you here, but it's clear you're not going to get the job done alone. So from now on we're going to be working together, is that clear? I'm going to want daily reports on your latest progress, and I'm going to want to see obvious signs of movement.” He paused for a moment. “How much longer did you think I'd let you fuck around on my dime, huh? You have no idea what you're involved with here. There are powerful people who have invested a lot of time and money in this search, but the thing about powerful people is that they didn't get to where they are today by being patient. You either deliver for them, or you're out!”
“I'll find Nixon,” she replied, barely able to breathe. “I swear!”
“You'd better,” he continued. “I have to get hold of James Nixon, Didi. It's not a matter of wanting to find him, it's a matter of needing him. Once I know what Edgar did to him, I can make my next move, but until then I'm stuck here being all nice to his face and pretending that nothing's wrong. You're seriously cramping my style, bitch!”
“I promise I'll get to the truth!” she told him. “You're hurting me, please, just -”
“This is your last warning,” he replied, interrupting her. “Enjoy the pain, Didi. Appreciate it. Pain means that you're still alive, whereas that won't necessarily be the case if I have to step in and punish you again. You're nothing but a cheap little whore who got lucky, and do you want to know the best part? No-one here gives a crap about you. If Edgar finds out why you're here, he'll kill you. If you don't get the information I need, I'll kill you. And is there anyone, anywhere in the world, who'll give a damn that you've disappeared?”
“No,” she whimpered.
“No,” he sneered, before finally letting go of her neck and getting to his feet. “I resent the fact that you've made me get my hands dirty,” he said after a moment. “Let's hope it doesn't happen again. I already have a back-up plan in place, so it wouldn't take much for me to cut you loose and try something else. I wouldn't even bat an eyelid.”
With that, he turned and made his way to the door, stopping only to grab his briefcase.
“Who is he?” Didi asked breathlessly, turning to him.
“Who's who?”
“Edgar. To you, I mean. Who is he to you, and why do you care so much?”
“That's absolutely none of your concern,” he replied. “You're a cog in a machine. Do you job and you can be on your way with the agreed fee. Fail and you'll be replaced. It's very simple.”
He turned and walked away, heading up the stairs to check on Alice Marco.
Rubbing her sore neck, Didi tried to stay calm. She got up from the sofa and hurried to the window, and as she stared out at the setting sun she was momentarily moved to consider a possible escape plan. After all, she figured she might have a chance if only she could get onto the ferry. Then again, she desperately needed money, and she knew that the organization would eventually track her down, even if she ran to the other side of the world. With a heavy heart, she realized that her only option was to go through with the plan that had originally been discussed.
She had to find James Nixon, and she had to find him fast.
IX
“We don't get many boats like that calling at Parios these days,” explained Tomlin, the port-master, as he set a couple of beers on the table in the corner of the taverna's yard. “Tends to call attention to itself, does that thing, and there's a different mood around the place when it's here.”
“And it always stays this long?” Fernando asked.
“Depends,” Tomlin replied, taking a sip of beer. “It's been twenty-four hours now, which is a little longer than usual. We always make 'em file strict reports, to comply with national and international shipping regulations. From what I can tell, it seems this time there's some problem with the bo
at returning to Thaxos. Otherwise I'm sure it would have set sail again by now.”
“The local police officer has barred it from the port,” Fernando explained. “It seems Edgar Le Compte hasn't been filling in the proper paperwork.”
“Now that does surprise me,” Tomlin continued. “They do everything by the book when they're dealing with us. Then again, I suppose they've got no reason to mess about. All they do is show up, take on some supplies, and then sail away again, whereas Thaxos... Well, Le Compte more or less owns the entire island, doesn't he?”
“He might think so, but that's not true.”
“Everyone knows, though,” Tomlin pointed out. “There are hundreds of islands out there, but Thaxos is different to all the rest. It's Le Compte's home. I'm glad he never spends much time here at Parios. He just uses us as a port.”
“And you have no idea when the boat is heading back to Thaxos this time?”
“Like I said, they haven't filed any paperwork yet, which makes me think they don't know.” He paused for a moment. “The thing about the crew of that boat, though, is that they're not exactly...” He checked over his shoulder, as if he was worried about someone eavesdropping. “They never stay ashore a moment longer than necessary, and they never make any small-talk. I don't mind admitting, they really put the fear of God into me, like they're...”
His voice trailed off.
“Not human?” Fernando asked.
“Have you seen their eyes?”
“Their skin too,” Fernando replied. “They seem so pale.”
“So how did you end up on-board?”
“Long story,” he continued, figuring that it wouldn't be wise to admit that he'd stowed away, even if it had been something of an accident. “The voyage was strange, though. I don't know where all Le Compte's men went, but they must have been down in the engine room the whole time. There was no-one on the deck at all. At first I thought I needed to hide, but eventually I started looking around.”
“What about the captain?”
“The bridge was empty.”
“So it was automated?”
“I don't see how automation can be so complete,” Fernando replied. “If I didn't know better, I'd say that the entire crew blinked out of existence until they were needed again. No captain, no deck-hands, nothing. It was the single creepiest experience of my life, being out there in the middle of the Mediterranean with no sign of anyone else on-board. The whole boat was just so calm and still, I started to wonder if I'd ever see dry land again or if we were just sailing off to the edge of the world.”
“The Le Comptes have been bringing items through Parios for generations,” Tomlin told him. “My father dealt with their boats, and so did his father before him. If there's one thing we can all tell you, it's that the Le Comptes have always employed these strange-looking people. They all have that same look in their eyes, as if they're not really part of this world. My grandfather used to refer to them as ghosts, because he felt as if they barely even existed. And Le Compte himself...”
“Did he come here?” Fernando asked.
“Oh yes, especially in the old days. He was a crazed man, throwing his weight around all over the place and making demands. He seduced a fair number of the local girls as well, or so I'm told. Of course, this was a century ago, so we're talking about the grandfather or even great-grandfather of the current man. They're all the same, though. The men of that family look and act like one another, almost to the extent that you'd think it's just one man who never ages.”
He raised his beer for a toast.
“Here's to the Le Comptes and their strange ways!”
As they clinked glasses, Fernando couldn't help but wonder whether he should wait and observe the boat, or try to find another way back to Thaxos.
“Of course,” Tomlin continued, “the current Baron Le Compte passed through Parios not so long ago as well. He had a right little retinue with him. This screechy young woman who clearly has no idea of decency, and some old butler, and his son.”
“His son?” Fernando replied, shocked by the idea.
“The son stayed on for a while longer,” Tomlin explained. “He waited a few more months before taking a ferry over to Thaxos. I don't know why, really. He just sat around here, not really doing much more than talking on his phone all day and all night. Not a very friendly individual, either. I tried to make conversation with him a couple of times, but he wasn't interested, not in the slightest. Acted like I was some kind of madman.”
“I had no idea that Le Compte had a son,” Fernando told him. “What was his name?”
“Young,” I think. “Dale Young. I'm not sure why he doesn't share his father's surname, but I overheard them talking enough times to be sure that they're related. There were some arguments, too. Not a happy group of people, that's for sure. If you want to know more, you could ask at the hotel. I'm sure they can tell you a few things.”
“No need,” Fernando replied, his mind racing as he tried to work out why Edgar would lie about such a thing. “He's a doctor. He arrived on the island not longer before I left to come here, but he never said anything about being Edgar's son. He just said he was an old friend who'd come to visit.”
“He's his son, alright. An arrogant man, too. I never understood why he was just sitting around here, but sometimes he was arguing like crazy with whoever was on the other end of that phone. Always the same person, I reckon. And money never seemed to be a problem for him, although I suppose that's not much of a surprise given that he's one of the Le Comptes. If there's one thing they're known for, it's the fact that they're rich buggers.”
“They must be planning something,” Fernando replied. “Why else would they keep his identity a secret?”
“Let me give you one more word of advice,” Tomlin continued. “Don't try to figure out the Le Comptes. I've heard of men who literally lost their minds trying to understand what that family was up to. Just let them get on with things and try not to attract their attention.”
“That's easy for you to say,” Fernando muttered, turning to look toward the harbor, where the large black boat was still moored. “Thaxos is my home, and Edgar Le Compte is destroying it piece by piece.”
