by Amy Cross
Before he could finish, he heard someone running across the yard, and a moment later Benjamin appeared in the doorway behind Quill.
“Is it true?”
“Evangeline's dead,” Joshua replied, taking a bronze plate and setting it on the workbench. “They found her this morning. In two parts, as it happens. Someone really had a go at her.”
“No,” Benjamin replied, as the color began to drain from his face. “That's not possible, not Evangeline.”
“What's up?” Madeleine asked cheerily as she hurried up behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders and kissing his neck. “Come on, let's go and play on the beach!”
“Evangeline Mediaci is dead,” he told her, as if he could barely believe the words. “Was she murdered?”
“It would appear so,” Quill replied, reaching out a hand. “And you would be?”
“Benjamin Wood. Joshua's brother.”
“Evangeline had a little thing for Benjamin,” Joshua explained as he began to gather some tools together, ready to start working.
“Is that right?” Quill asked, eying Benjamin with a hint of suspicion.
“It was totally one-way,” Madeleine added firmly. “Benjamin only saw her as a friend.”
“I'm sorry,” Quill continued, reaching his hand out to her. “I'm afraid I didn't catch your name.”
“Madeleine,” she replied, shaking his hand cautiously.
“Le Compte,” Joshua added. “She's one of them.”
“I see,” Quill said, his eyes lighting up a little at the mention of that name. “You must be the sister of the great Baron Edgar Le Compte.”
“I must be,” she admitted. “And who are you, exactly?”
“Just a humble judge, a man of the law. I came to Thaxos to investigate the death of Inspector Tarud, and now I find myself in the midst of a veritable rash of killings. It would seem that Thaxos is livelier than I anticipated.”
“Have you introduced yourself to my brother yet?” she asked.
“Not yet. I was rather hoping not to trouble him during my stay.”
“He's already troubled,” she replied. “He also doesn't like people turning up unannounced and edging into his territory, so your best bet might be to get the next ferry away from Thaxos. For your own good, obviously.”
“As soon as I have apprehended the individual who killed Inspector Tarud and Ms. Mediaci,” Quill explained, “I will be more than happy to leave. I have many engagements on the mainland, and I'm rather keen to return to my regular activities. Fortunately, I feel I'm close to a breakthrough. By tonight, I should have someone in custody.”
“Who would kill Evangeline?” Benjamin asked, clearly still struggling to process the news. “She never hurt anyone, she never made an enemy in her life! She was the sweetest girl on the whole island!”
“Sounds like a real saint,” Madeleine muttered.
“I have further visits to make,” Quill continued, heading to the door, “but I expect to provide an update on my work at the cantina tonight. You are all, of course, most welcome to come and join me.”
“Sounds like fun,” Madeleine told him, “but I think we'll probably be busy.” Once Quill had left, she turned and saw that Benjamin was lost in thought. For a moment, she had no idea what to say, but finally she stepped over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I'm sorry about your little friend. I guess it sucks when something like this happens.”
“Sucks?” he asked, turning to her.
“A phrase Kate taught me. It means...” She paused. “Why don't we go to the beach? We can talk about all of this. Evangeline was obviously a friend, someone you cared about. Maybe she and I would even have got to know one another and become friends. Either way...” She waited for him to reply. “Benjamin? I want to hear all about it.”
“It's not easy to talk,” he replied.
“Let's try. Come on, don't go down the brooding path, that's what Edgar does when he's pissed off and looks how he's ended up. Talk to me. Tell me about her. If she's part of your life, I want to know.”
Getting to his feet, Benjamin followed her to the door.
“I'll just get to work, then,” Joshua muttered as they left. “Don't mind me, I'm fine. She was my friend too.” He grabbed another plate, before looking over at the door and realizing that he was already alone. “Great,” he said with a sigh. “First a hangover, now this.”
***
“When I go and explore the world,” Anna explained as she sat at the kitchen table, “I'm going to go and visit every city and every town and I'm going to meet all the kings and queens.”
“Is that right?” Kate replied with a faint smile as she continued to make lunch. “Sounds like -” Feeling a faint twinge in her belly, she stopped for a moment, but the sensation quickly passed. “Sounds like you're going to have a pretty amazing adventure.”
“I'm going out,” Jennifer said, stopping in the doorway.
Kate turned to her. “About earlier -”
“Forget it, it doesn't matter.”
“But I just -” Before she could finish, Jennifer hurried away, and a moment later Kate heard the front door swing shut.
“She's mad at you,” Anna said.
“I'm sure she isn't.”
“Yes she is,” Anna continued. “I know when she's mad at someone, and she's definitely mad at you. Did you do something bad?”
“I...” Kate paused. “To be honest, I've pretty much lost track of that kind of thing. I guess I just wasn't as tactful as I could have been.”
“Maybe you should cut her some slack.”
Kate frowned. “Where did you hear words like that?”
“From you. Asshole.”
“Hey! Don't say that!”
“Why not?”
“Because it's not very polite,” Kate explained. “I guess I should have thought about that sooner. People on this island are going to start picking up on certain phrase I -” Stopping suddenly, she realized she could feel a sharp pain starting to build in her belly. She waited for it to pass, but the pain persisted, as if a hot poker was being drive up into her chest. By the time the sensation faded, she'd been forced to lean against the counter for support.
“Are you okay?” Anna asked.
She nodded.
“Does your tummy hurt?”
“No,” Kate replied, feeling a little tender. “I just... I guess maybe it's something I ate, that's all.”
“When I'm poorly, I have to go to bed.”
“I'm absolutely fine,” Kate said, feeling as if the pain had completely passed. “I'll fix lunch and -” She let out a gasp as the pain returned, this time in her shoulder. Leaning against the counter, she held her breath as the agony began to radiate throughout her body, pulsing through her veins until she let out another gasp. Seconds later, as quickly as it had arrived, the pain passed again.
“Are you sure you're okay?” Anna asked, sounding a little scared.
“Yeah,” Kate replied, tensing herself in case the pain returned. She had no idea what was happening, but she was certain that something was seriously wrong. “Maybe you should go and play in the yard. I'll bring lunch out to you.”
“I'm not supposed to play with the chickens anymore,” Anna said. “Apparently they're getting stressed. Gertrude's started to lose some of her feathers.”
“That's -” Kate turned to her. “Gertrude?”
“It's tradition,” Anna continued. “In the Kazakos family, one of the chickens is always named Gertrude. When one Gertrude goes to heaven, the next new one that's born gets to be another Gertrude.”
“Is that right?” Kate asked, thinking back to Ephram and his favorite chicken. “I like that tradition. You should make sure you keep it going when you take over.”
“Oh, I won't be taking over,” Anna announced, getting up from her chair and heading to the door. “I told you, silly, I'm going to go exploring as soon as I'm old enough. Someone else will have to stay here and take over the store.”
Suddenly the pain came back, pulsing through Kate's chest with enough force to send her staggering back. Grabbing hold of the edge of the kitchen table, she managed to keep from falling, but the pain was enough to make her let out a faint cry, as she felt a sharp churning sensation running through her gut. She told herself that it was nothing, that the pain would soon end, but as the agony built and built she began to wonder if this time she needed help. Turning, she took a few stumbled steps toward the door before stopping again.
“Please,” she whispered, “stop the -”
Before she could finish, she felt a slicing sensation in her gut. Dropping to the ground, she rolled onto her side and clutched her belly, as tears ran down her face.
“Please...”
Feeling as if she was about to pass out, she tried to focus on staying strong, but her whole body was shaking and the pain seemed to be climbing up her spine now, getting closer to her head, until -
Suddenly it stopped.
She waited several minutes, convinced that it was going to come rushing back, before finally she sat up. Still a little breathless, she wiped tears from her cheek and hair from her brow. She was still waiting for the pain to return, but as the minutes ticked past, she began to hope that maybe a respite had arrived. Still, as she put a hand on her belly, she knew that something must be seriously wrong inside.
***
Standing in the library, with the crude nightsorrow doll in one trembling hand and a needle in the other, Estella waited, daring herself to strike again.
“I'm sure it's...” she whispered, before falling silent again. She'd fashioned the doll from a couple of nightsorrow plants she'd found growing in the grounds of the mansion, and she'd spent the past few minutes using the needle to dig at the doll. She told herself that the whole thing was a silly game, that there was no way she'd actually been hurting Kate, but in the back of her mind she knew that it had worked, almost as if she'd been able to sense the other woman's pain from several miles away.
Finally, setting the pin down, she untied the doll and tossed the pieces of torn nightsorrow onto the desk.
“No,” she whispered, “I can't... I'm not that kind of person. I'm not!”
VI
“So there were no deliveries today?” Jennifer asked as she stood on the pier, watching while the ferry-master began to untie his mooring ropes. “Are you sure? I was expecting -”
“Nothing today,” he replied. “Maybe Thursday. I won't know for a few more days, though.”
“Can you double-check at the Parios office?” she continued. “They should have a record of the order I placed last week. It's important, I can't run a store if I don't have things to sell.”
“I'll ask,” he replied, pushing the boat away from the jetty, “but I'm just the delivery man. If there's a problem at Parios, maybe with your line of credit, you're going to have to sort it out yourself. Of course, that'd probably mean going to Parios yourself.”
“God, I hope it doesn't come to that,” she muttered, watching as the ferry began to head out to sea. “Please,” she whispered, “just make it so this isn't complicated. The last thing I need is to have to go all the way to Parios so I can -” Stopping suddenly, she saw that a figure was standing at the other end of the pier, at the point where the wooden platform met the stones of the harbor wall. After a moment, she realized that the figure was Quill, the man who'd been at the store earlier.
“Ms. Kazakos,” he said with a faint smile. “For a moment there, I thought perhaps you were planning to leave the island.”
“No,” she replied, heading over to him. “Nothing like that.”
“Then I realized, you wouldn't leave without your daughter.”
“I wouldn't leave anyway,” she told him. “Where the hell would I go?”
“I'm sure you'd find somewhere,” he continued, “if you were sufficiently desperate.”
“Enjoy your stay on the island,” she replied, stepping past him and heading toward the town square.
“Why did you kill Inspector Tarud?” he asked suddenly.
Stopping, she turned to him.
“Why did you do it?” he continued. “Please don't waste your breath with a denial. There's no doubt whatsoever that you're the one who killed and buried him.”
“I don't know what you're talking about,” she stammered, “I -”
“You killed him,” Quill replied, leaning heavily on his cane as he limped toward her. “He died in his office, and you took his body to the olive grove so you could dispose of him. Or that's what you tried to do, anyway. Unfortunately for you, the attempt was not very successful. You also -”
“No, I -”
“You also killed Evangeline Mediaci.”
“What? No -”
“Your denials only confirm your guilt,” he said calmly. “You're a very bad liar.”
Spotting movement on the other side of the town square, Jennifer saw to her horror that several locals had gathered to watch, as if they'd been tipped off about the confrontation.
“I've already made an informal announcement,” Quill continued. “There's nowhere for you to run, Ms. Kazakos, and nowhere for you to hide. You're going to come with me to the police station.”
“No -”
“Where you will be formally questioned. At that point, if I decide that your guilt is evident, I will have no choice but to charge you. I'm willing to give you a chance to come of your own free will, but I assure you that if you struggle in any way, force will be used. Several of the local men have already consented to assist.”
“You've got this all wrong,” she told him, struggling to hold back tears. “I never touched Evangeline Mediaci, I swear -”
“And Inspector Oliver Tarud?”
“I...” She paused, feeling a cold shiver pass through her body as she remembered the moment when she'd struck him with the pot. “Please, you have to understand...” She looked up at the Le Compte mansion, high on the hill. “He said it was okay,” she continued. “He said it was all taken care of.”
“Baron Le Compte?”
“You need to speak to him.”
“Is he sheltering you?” Quill asked, with a faint smile. “Did you cut a deal to guarantee that you wouldn't have to pay for your crime?”
“He forced himself on me!” she said firmly, trembling with rage. “Baron Le Compte understood that, he knew that I was defending myself!”
“That sounds like an admission to me.”
She opened her mouth to reply, before realizing that there was no point protesting her innocence any longer. The crowd on the other side of the square was steadily growing larger, and she could tell from the looks in their eyes that every one of those people was already certain of her guilt.
“I didn't kill Evangeline,” she whispered, as Quill began to lead her across the square. “I swear...”
“A moment ago, you swore you didn't kill Inspector Tarud.”
“That's different,” she replied, “he was attacking me!”
“He was a fine, upstanding member of this community. Do you really expect anyone to believe that he'd try to hurt you?”
“He was using me,” she continued. “It was mutual, really. He paid me for services.”
“So you're a whore. Why should anyone believe a whore?”
She turned to him.
“Keep walking,” he said firmly. “It will look much worse if you struggle and have to be restrained.”
Turning, she walked past the crowd. Although she could feel their eyes burning into her, she forced herself to no
t meet their gazes. All she could think about was Anna, and the fact that there was no way she'd be able to hide the truth from her daughter. She wanted to believe that the whole mess could be straightened out in an hour or two, that Quill would have to realize that she wasn't the one who'd killed Evangeline, but at the same time she knew that he was right about Inspector Tarud: she had killed him, and now justice was going to be served.
“Disgusting,” said a woman in the crowd, spitting on Jennifer's back.
“Why did you do it?” shouted another voice. “What did she ever do to you?”
“I didn't touch her,” she whispered, as tears began to stream down her face, “I didn't kill Evangeline.”
“Why did you kill Tarud?” someone called out.
“I...” Stopping, she turned and finally saw the hate-filled faces of the locals. She wanted to explain everything, but she knew they'd never understand.
“You should hang for this,” said Leonard Mediaci, with tears in his eyes. “As God is my witness, I will not rest until you pay the ultimate price for killing my daughter.”
“I didn't touch her,” Jennifer told him, stepping forward, “you have to believe me, I would never -”
“Come on,” Quill said, taking her arm and leading her around the side of the cantina. “I'm the one who will determine your fate,” he explained, “not a bunch of people on the street. They're right, though. The usual penalty for murder, especially a double murder, is death. I know it might seem barbaric, but there's room for such things even in the most civilized of societies. An eye for an eye, and all that. I really think you need to consider making your peace with whichever god takes your fancy.”
“No,” she replied, turning to him, “please, you have to -”
“Mummy!”
Turning, she saw that Anna was standing on the other side of the road, with her friend Susannah.
“Go home,” Jennifer replied, barely able to speak as she struggled to hold back more tears. “I'll be back soon.”
