Aphrodite's Smile

by Stuart Harrison

  ‘I see.’ Williams wore a slightly perplexed smile. With the light shining off his glasses he gave the impression of being mild-mannered, even vaguely ineffectual. It was, however, an illusion. His eyes were sharp, missing nothing. ‘Am I right in assuming that this particular vehicle holds some significance?’

  ‘A car like that followed Alex and me from Kioni on Sunday. We’d been spending the weekend at the house of a friend of my father.’

  ‘It followed you? To what end?’

  ‘I have no idea. I kept slowing to let it by, but it hung back every time. We took the mountain road to see if it came after us and it did. I tried to get a look at the driver when we reached Anoghi, but when he realised we’d stopped, he sped off.’

  ‘Did you happen to report this incident?’

  I shook my head. ‘There didn’t seem to be anything to report really.’

  ‘But now you think that this car was the same one which passed you on the way to Exoghi?’

  ‘I couldn’t swear to it, but I think it might have been. I saw it another time too.’

  Williams raised his eyebrows enquiringly.

  ‘It was two nights ago. A man approached me. He wanted to talk to me about my father, but I brushed him off. I was a bit drunk. But there was a blue Fiat parked across the road.’

  ‘And you think this might be the man who was seen with Alex in Exoghi?’

  ‘Maybe. If she was in the car that I passed on the way up the hill it would explain why her body hasn’t been found.’

  I got the feeling Williams suspected it was wishful thinking on my part, though for a few moments he was thoughtful.

  ‘When this car followed you from Kioni on Sunday, did Alex appear to recognise it?’ he asked.

  I recalled my initial suspicion that it might have been Dimitri. ‘I can’t say,’ I said in the end. ‘She didn’t say so.’

  Williams frowned. He stood up and took off his jacket. ‘Let’s take a break shall we? I’ll ask for some drinks.’ He went to the door and spoke in Greek to somebody outside. A few minutes later a large bottle of cold water and some glasses appeared. Williams produced a pack of cigarettes from his briefcase and, shaking one out, offered the pack to me.

  ‘I gave it up a few years ago.’

  ‘Very wise,’ he said, lighting up a Silk Cut. ‘Tried to do the same a few times myself actually, but it’s never worked I’m afraid. I’m a weak man when you get to the bottom of it.’ He patted his stomach. ‘Always been too fond of the better things in life. Good food, fine malt whisky, and cigarettes, English of course, none of that bloody awful Greek stuff. I limit myself to six a day if I can. Not that I’m always successful,’ he added wistfully.

  ‘I suppose there could be worse vices.’

  ‘Oh absolutely. Always had an eye for the ladies I’m afraid. Got me into all sorts of trouble.’

  ‘You’re not married?’

  ‘Never have been. Can’t say I’m much of a catch, I have to admit. Still, I’ve had my share of success with the fairer sex, if I do say so myself. To be honest marriage has never really appealed to me. I suppose I’m unconventional, at least compared to some of the people I was at Oxford with. I expect they’re all doing rather nicely. House and family in a respectable part of town, weekends at the golf club, meetings with fellow Masons and all that. Can’t say it ever appealed much to me, which is why I ended up here.’ He smiled in a vaguely rueful way and stubbed out his cigarette.

  ‘So, what happens now?’ I asked.

  ‘We get you out of here, my dear chap.’ He gestured towards his notes. ‘At the moment the police really have no reason to hold you. There’s no actual proof that anything untoward has happened to Alex. If anything, the evidence rather leans towards the possibility that she may have done herself harm.’

  ‘Except for this mystery man.’

  ‘Yes, actually I was about to get to that. There is just one small matter to take care of. A formality really.’

  ‘What kind of formality?’ I questioned, suspicious of some evasive note I detected.

  Just then there was a knock at the door, and a police officer put his head around the door and said something in Greek before ducking out again.

  ‘Right then,’ Williams said as he struggled to his feet. ‘It appears they’re ready for us.’

  ‘Ready for what? And who are “they”?’

  ‘It’s really nothing to worry about,’ he assured me as I was ushered towards the door. ‘You remember the shepherd boy who saw Alex arguing with a man on the cliff? Captain Theonas has had him brought here to see if he recognises you.’

  ‘An identity parade?’

  ‘Yes, I suppose you could call it that. Naturally, once the boy confirms that you weren’t the man he saw, Theonas will have to let you go. As I said, it’s really just a formality.’

  ‘You knew about this when you arrived didn’t you?’ I guessed.

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me earlier?’

  ‘Ah. Didn’t I mention it? I probably didn’t want to worry you. Doesn’t pay to dwell on these things for too long beforehand I find.’

  Meaning, I presumed, that the less time there was for the guilty to sweat it, the less obvious their guilt would be. I wasn’t exactly confident as I followed him along a short corridor. I wondered what would happen if the boy made a mistake, or if Theonas tipped him off either deliberately or inadvertently? I didn’t know if such things happened in Greece, but suddenly I felt a long way from home.

  ‘I suppose I don’t have a choice in this, do I?’ I asked when we reached a closed door.

  ‘I’m afraid not,’ Williams said, cheerfully unperturbed. He knocked on the door and stood aside as it opened. ‘But there’s nothing at all to worry about. Believe me.’

  A few minutes later I was standing in a line with a mix of locals and other men who were probably tourists picked off the street, since they were obviously not Greek. I was heartened that at least I didn’t stand out like the proverbial sore thumb. Theonas entered with his hand resting paternalistically on the shoulder of a boy of around twelve years of age. He bent down and spoke quietly to him, and the boy nodded his understanding. He seemed very young, with wide, impressionable eyes.

  As he made his way along the line with Theonas following a step or two behind, the boy paused briefly in front of each man in turn, gazing at them intently before moving on. As he drew closer to me, my heart thumped harder and my palms became slippery with sweat. Though I tried not to draw attention to myself, I recalled Williams’ advice not to worry, but rather than find it reassuring I felt as if guilt was stamped onto my face like a brand.

  When the boy finally reached me I stared at the wall behind him and tried to recite a nursery rhyme in my mind, though I couldn’t remember anything past the first line. ‘Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall …’ I kept repeating it over and over in my head, but my brain had turned to mush and the second line wouldn’t come. I willed the boy to move on, aware that he had paused for longer than he had with the others. Every moment seemed to be drawn out excruciatingly. I was aware of Theonas’s silent, watchful scrutiny. In the end I simply couldn’t stand it any longer and I looked down at the boy and smiled, though unfortunately I felt as if I’d managed to twist my features into something resembling a savage grimace instead.

  The boy turned and said something to Theonas and a quick exchange in Greek followed. Theonas stared at me, his expression unreadable, and then with a gesture indicated the boy should move on.

  I was taken back to the interview room and for ten minutes was left alone while I contemplated my imminent incarceration. I was certain the boy had identified me. Though it had to be some kind of mistake, I knew convincing Theonas and even Williams would be almost impossible. I was so sure I was in deep trouble that when Williams finally appeared I couldn’t understand why he was smiling.

  ‘Good news,’ he announced. ‘You’re free to leave.’

  ‘Free?’

&nbs
p; ‘Yes. I told you there was nothing to worry about. Have you got everything?’

  ‘Yes. I think so.’ With dizzying, uncomprehending relief I followed him out to the reception area where Theonas waited for us.

  ‘I took the liberty of asking Irene to fetch your passport earlier,’ Williams said, and passed it to Theonas.

  ‘Wait a minute,’ I protested. ‘I thought you said I was in the clear.’

  ‘Oh you are,’ Williams assured me. ‘Captain Theonas has assured me that as soon as he has completed the necessary formalities he will return your passport to you. Am I correct, Captain?’

  Theonas acknowledged that he was with a barely discernible nod. ‘Of course.’

  ‘Excellent.’ Williams shook Theonas’s hand and led me to the door. ‘Best if you don’t say anything until we’re outside I think,’ he murmured quietly. I complied until we were in the street.

  ‘What happened back there?’ I demanded. ‘What did the boy say?’

  ‘Actually, he confirmed your story. He said that he did see you yesterday, but you were not the man on the cliff with Alex. He was adamant that the man had fair hair and he was taller.’ Williams looked at me quizzically. ‘Ring any bells?’

  ‘Half the tourists on the island,’ I said. ‘Although the man I saw the other night fits that description. And as I said before, there was a blue Fiat parked in the street.’

  ‘Can you remember anything else about him?’

  ‘I thought he sounded German or Dutch maybe. And he asked if I knew somebody called Eric Schmidt.’

  ‘Which is a German name, I believe. Do you know who he is?’

  ‘I’ve never heard of him.’ I asked Williams if he’d told Theonas about the Fiat. ‘If they could find that car, maybe they’ll find Alex.’

  ‘I’m afraid the good captain was somewhat sceptical about that. He doesn’t seem to like you very much, you know. Is there any particular reason for that?’

  ‘It’s complicated. He and Irene were seeing each other before my father died. I suggested that might have coloured his judgement concerning my father’s death.’

  ‘Oh? But I understood that your father died of a heart attack.’

  ‘He drowned actually. Possibly as the result of a heart attack.’

  We had reached the square. Williams looked at his watch and searched for a taxi. ‘There’s a ferry from Piso Aetos in half an hour. If I hurry, I can catch it. If there is any further development, Captain Theonas will inform me.’

  A taxi pulled over and we shook hands before he got in. As I closed the door he wound down the window. ‘This man that you met, you say he wanted to talk about your father. Was there any connection between your father and Alex?’

  I was about to say no, but I remembered that there was, albeit a tenuous one. ‘Have you ever heard of a ship called the Antounnetta?’ I asked.

  ‘Can’t say that I have. Is it important?’

  ‘It might be,’ I answered.

  NINETEEN

  The bars and cafés in the square were preparing for the evening trade. A few tourists sat drinking cold beers in the late-afternoon sun as boats sailed into the harbour in search of a mooring for the night. A sleek fifty-footer slid past the headland, the sun reflecting off her white hull. As I watched her, something tripped like a tumbler in my mind, but it was as if the parts of a lock were annoyingly not quite in synch. A half-formed association refused to yield its source. The yacht turned into what breeze there was a hundred yards from shore, and I heard the anchor chain rattle from her bow. She reminded me of something, I was sure of that, and then I turned away, thinking it would come to me.

  Outside the office of Classic Tours, I glanced through the window at the girl behind the counter inside. Beyond her, an office door was partly ajar and I saw a movement from within. At the kefenio across the street I ordered a coffee and sat down to wait. Dimitri emerged about fifteen minutes later. When he reached the corner, I left some money on the table and got up to follow.

  We headed away from the town, climbing the hillside along twisting streets connected by flights of steps. I hung back far enough to make sure he didn’t realise I was there, but close enough that I could keep him in sight. Though the sun was slipping towards the top of the hills it was still warm, the accumulated heat of the day lying trapped in narrow lanes. The pungent smell of rosemary and sage permeated the air.

  At the top of some steps I emerged onto the quiet, deserted street high above the harbour where Dimitri lived. The sun was sinking over the strait between Ithaca and Kephalonia and the sky was beginning to darken. In the soft dusk half-light I paused outside his house and knocked at the door. I heard the sound of footsteps and then Dimitri appeared. He looked ravaged by both lack of sleep and grief, but when he saw me his bewilderment turned quickly to anger.

  ‘What the hell are you doing here?’

  ‘I need to talk to you.’

  ‘I have nothing to say to you! Get away from here!’ He began to close the door in my face until I put a hand out to stop him.

  ‘Have you spoken to Theonas?’ I hadn’t been sure what to expect when I arrived. When I had seen him that morning at Polis Bay, he had clearly blamed me for Alex’s disappearance, a belief which Theonas had probably done little to discourage. If he could have got his hands on me then, he would have killed me. I’d been half-prepared to encounter the same reaction now, but though he was only holding himself together by an effort of will, I didn’t see any murderous intent in his eyes. ‘What did he tell you?’

  ‘I told you to get away from here! Go before I do something I will regret.’

  I kept my hand on the door. ‘I can’t leave. I need your help to find Alex.’

  His eyes widened in surprise and for a moment I thought I saw a flare of hope, but it died as quickly as it had appeared. ‘She is dead,’ he said heavily. His anger turned to resignation. He released the door and began to turn away as if he couldn’t summon the will to fight me any longer. ‘Leave me in peace.’

  ‘Is that what Theonas told you?’ I said to his retreating back. When he didn’t respond, I followed him along a narrow passage that led to a flight of stairs. ‘If she’s dead, where’s her body?’

  He paused and turned back to me and, though I could see that the question bothered him, he made a vague gesture. ‘There are strong currents in the bay and there are ruins on the sea bed. Perhaps she was trapped. Captain Theonas is sending divers to search tomorrow.’

  ‘They won’t find anything,’ I said.

  Dimitri’s eyes were dull and he hadn’t shaved that morning. His clothes were creased and there was a stain on his shirt that made me think he hadn’t changed since the previous evening, when Theonas would have first told him that Alex was missing. A flicker of uncertainty crossed his face. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean she isn’t there.’

  He shook his head. ‘Captain Theonas told me what happened the night that you met her. I did not know she would do something like that. It was my fault.’ He started to say something else, but broke off, his voice choked with emotion.

  ‘If Theonas told you she killed herself, he’s wrong. And if it’s any consolation I don’t think she really meant to harm herself the night I pulled her out of the harbour.’

  Dimitri stared at me, suspicion and hope competing in his eyes. ‘You’d better come up.’

  I followed him the rest of the way up the stairs. At the top, a door led to a small living room. At one end was a kitchen and at the other, doors opened onto the terrace. The room was neatly if simply furnished. It had probably been built as a workman’s cottage originally, though if Ithaca were more fashionable the view across Vathy and the harbour would have made it worth a small fortune. There was a glass and an open bottle of whisky on a wooden table. Dimitri picked up the glass and emptied it with a single swallow, wincing slightly.

  ‘How do you know Theonas is wrong?’ he said.

  ‘The night I met her she’d taken some pills to help her
sleep. And she was drinking. I don’t think she really knew what she was doing.’

  As Dimitri refilled his glass, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror on the wall behind him and, to my slight surprise, I saw that I didn’t look much better than he did. He saw me watching him and gestured to a cupboard.

  ‘Help yourself.’ As I fetched a glass, he thought about what I’d said. ‘You think she is alive?’

  ‘Yes, I do.’

  ‘Then where is she?’

  ‘Did Theonas tell you there was someone else up there yesterday? A village boy said he saw Alex with a man.’

  ‘He said the boy must have been mistaken.’

  I was incredulous. ‘He didn’t make a mistake, he just said it wasn’t me. The man he saw was tall and had fair hair. When I was driving up to Exoghi yesterday, a car passed me going down the other way. I’m sure I’ve seen it before. I think it was a blue Fiat. The other night I spoke to a man who fits the description of the man the boy saw. There was a blue Fiat parked across the road then too. And the day Alex and I drove back from Kioni, we were followed by a car like that.’

  The mention of Kioni was an uncomfortable reminder of the night I had spent with Alex. A muscle trembled beneath the skin of Dimitri’s jaw.

  ‘The man I spoke to claimed to know my father. It’s possible they were involved in some kind of illegal smuggling. It’s also possible that my dad’s death wasn’t an accident, and if I’m right about that it doesn’t reflect well on Theonas. Did you know he and Irene were seeing each other?’

  Dimitri nodded. ‘Vathy is a very small place.’

  ‘My father told Irene somebody tried to kill him. She told Theonas, but he didn’t take it seriously.’ I explained about the collector who had approached my father the previous year, and about his behaviour when he came out of hospital. ‘Irene suspected that he’d been approached again. On the night he collapsed he’d been talking about the Panaghia. You know what that is?’