The Ransom

by Irena Nieslony

  Chapter 4

  The following day, Eve slept in late. She’d had a wonderful evening with David the night before. They had gone to the Italian restaurant, Bella Sophia, in a nearby seaside resort. It was a bit more up market than most of the tavernas, though not quite as expensive as the Italian restaurant in Chania which was Eve’s favorite place to dine. Still, she had become very fond of Bella Sophia and as she was known to tip considerably better than most people, she was always treated well, with little goodies arriving as freebies throughout the meal. It was quite a tradition in most places on Crete to be given edible free gifts, usually raki, the local firewater, and fruit or cake at the end of the meal. As the Italian restaurant was owned by a Greek and his Italian wife, it wasn’t surprising that they continued the tradition of freebies. Usually, if you frequented a taverna or restaurant regularly, you were treated to more of these little goodies than just the standard ones and Eve certainly received plenty of treats in Bella Sophia.

  Eve and David had spent the evening mainly talking about their wedding. He was delighted that she seemed so excited about it, even though they had over nine months to wait.

  She avoided mentioning Joanna and her suspicions about her and felt quite proud about her ability to be restrained. She was, in fact, desperate to talk about her thoughts and of her distrust of the woman, but she knew how irritated David would be if she did.

  After having a nightcap in a local bar, David had spent the night with Eve, but he had got up early to go home to work on his novel.

  “Eve darling, I’ve brought you a coffee,” he said before he left. “I’m going home to work.”

  Eve woke up, but still felt very tired. She pulled herself up and yawned.

  “Do you have to go so early, David? I presume it is early, isn’t it?”

  “It’s seven thirty and yes, you know I work best earlier in the day.”

  “I suppose so.”

  Eve put her arms around David and kissed him. For a moment, he was tempted to stay, but he knew he would regret it later. He did his finest work in the morning and as he’d see Eve later, he disentangled himself from her and moved away.

  “I’ll see you in the afternoon, darling. I’d better go now before you tempt me back into bed.”

  “That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?” Eve grinned.

  David smiled as well, but still left.

  Eve took a sip of her coffee and then lay back down to have another five minutes sleep. However, when she woke up again, it was ten fifteen.

  * * * *

  Eve sunbathed in her back garden for a couple of hours that morning, deciding to take her dog, Portia, out for a walk in the evening when it got cooler.

  At around twelve thirty she went indoors to get a drink and noticed that there was a letter on her front door mat. She was surprised as her post went to a P.O. Box in the post office, but thought it was probably an invitation or something along those lines from one of the locals. However, when she opened it, she couldn’t believe what she was reading. Was it a joke? She screwed the letter up as soon as she had read it and went to sit down on her couch, but a couple of minutes later she had to read it again. It had been typed and wasn’t signed.

  We have David. If you want to see him again, it will cost you 100,000 Euros. You have Until friday to get the money. We will let you know where the meeting place will be. Don’t tell the police. You will be sorry if you do.

  Eve, who had started trembling, got up and started pacing with the letter in her hand. Who on earth had written it? Eve had absolutely no idea, but whoever had done it was definitely serious. Nobody would do this for a laugh. They had kidnapped David and wanted money for his return. They didn’t want her to call the police and although they didn’t say what they would do if she did contact them, she presumed they would hurt him, or, God forbid, kill him.

  “This isn’t happening,” Eve said out loud. “What am I to do?”

  She started to sob. She was usually so tough and knew exactly what to do in most situations, but nobody had ever presented her with a ransom demand before. It couldn’t have been any of their friends who had kidnapped David, could it?

  “Joanna,” Eve suddenly announced. “She’s the most likely suspect, but she’s so thin. Would she have the strength to physically take on David? She must have had a male accomplice. However, I don’t know if I believe that she would have got Kevin involved. Kevin seems straight to me and he’s David’s friend. Perhaps she’s got another partner in crime. I have to talk to someone,” Eve said, wiping away the tears and rushing to the phone.

  She quickly dialed the number, hoping her friend was at home, and sighed with relief when the phone was picked up at the other end.

  “Annie, are you able to come over, please. It’s urgent. I’ll tell you all about it when you get here.”

  Annie Davies agreed to come, but suspected that Eve was blowing whatever she wanted to tell her way out of proportion. She had got to know Eve well over the past year and knew she was prone to exaggeration and embellishment, but she still liked her even though she was aware that Eve could be her own worst enemy.

  Annie and her husband, Pete, had lived on Crete for a few years, having retired early, he from the police force and she from teaching. Annie and Eve had become friends almost as soon as Eve had arrived on Crete, even though they had very different personalities. Annie hadn’t led such a glamorous and exciting life as Eve had and was a little envious of her, while Eve was slightly jealous of Annie and Pete’s long and happy marriage.

  Eve was unable to sit still while she was waiting for Annie, yet it took less than ten minutes for her to arrive. When the doorbell rang, Eve rushed to answer it and started sobbing again as soon as Annie came in.

  “Eve, what’s wrong,” Annie asked. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

  She became a little nervous. Annie was used to Eve always being so sure of herself and basically not being afraid of anything, sometimes going feet first into dangerous situations.

  “Oh Annie, this was pushed through my door a little while ago. What am I to do? I’ll hold the letter out for you to read it in case it has fingerprints on it, but I expect that whoever wrote it was too clever and put gloves on.”

  Annie read the note and then spoke more calmly than she felt.

  “The first thing you’re going to do, Eve, is have a hot cup of sweet tea and calm down. Then we’ll go from there.”

  Eve nodded, relieved that Annie was taking charge. For once in her life, she didn’t want to be in control.

  * * * *

  Feeling a little calmer after her cup of tea, Eve went and got her mobile phone. In it she had stored the number of Detective Chief Inspector Dimitris Kastrinakis. She decided she would rather speak to him personally rather than dial 112, the emergency number in Greece; even though she knew that he wouldn’t be too happy to hear from her yet again. However, at least she wouldn’t be reporting a murder this time.

  Eve hesitated before dialing.

  “Am I doing the right thing Annie? They told me not to ring the police. What if they’ve bugged my phone?”

  “How would they have done that?” Annie asked impatiently.

  “I don’t know; it was just a thought.”

  “I doubt if your phone’s been bugged,” Annie stated. “You carry your mobile with you at all times. However, if it makes you feel better, use mine.”

  “Thanks. You’re right. I’m not thinking straight at all, am I?”

  Despite Eve knowing she was being over-zealous, she still took Annie’s mobile and put in the inspector’s number. However, she still hesitated in pressing the call button.

  What will he be able to do? If he starts questioning everybody, then the kidnappers will know I told the police and they could hurt or even kill David.

  “What’s the alternative to calling the police?” Annie asked, seeing Eve hesitate again. In fact she already suspected what the answer would be.

  “That I do a bit of investigati
ng myself first,” Eve replied. “You must admit I am good at it.”

  “No,” Annie said firmly. “It’s much too dangerous. If the kidnappers discover what you’re doing, they will probably get very angry and might hurt David.... and you.”

  “Well, I think it’s a better idea than telling the police. I’m sorry, Annie, I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to look for David myself first.”

  “If you’re that determined, I’m going to help you. At least I’ll be able to stop you from doing anything too reckless. I know what you’re like, Eve, so don’t look at me like that.”

  Eve was giving Annie quite a hurt look, but she knew her friend was right. She did tend to rush into things without thinking, but this time she had to mull over every move. After all David’s life and their future together was at stake.

  * * * *

  An hour later, after Eve had checked both David’s mobile and land line and she and Annie had gone to his house to make sure he wasn’t there; Eve had to accept that the letter was genuine. There had been a small part of her that had hoped it was a hoax, but unfortunately that didn’t seem to be the case. She thought that if anybody had done it just to frighten her, the main culprit would be Betty Jones.

  That woman hates me and I feel the same about her. Of course, I think Joanna’s the culprit, but I don’t think she would play a joke on me. She would more likely kidnap David to get her hands on my money. .

  “So,” Annie asked. “What are we going to do now?”

  They were back sitting in Eve’s lounge and Annie was worried what Eve’s next move would be.

  “I think the prime suspect is Joanna Neonakis so we need to search her house, presuming she’s not there of course.”

  “Do you think she would keep David in her own home.... that is if she has him of course?”

  “I don’t know...wait. He could be in the other house, the one that’s up for sale. I wonder if it’s locked.”

  Eve was starting to get excited which didn’t please Annie one bit.

  “I would imagine it is locked, Eve. Don’t you think it would be better if I made an appointment to look around with the estate agent? If they refuse, then it’s possible that Joanna told them not to show anyone around and the chances are that David is there. Breaking in sounds awfully dangerous to me.”

  “You don’t have to break in. You can stay in the car and keep a lookout while I go in. However, if you’re that worried, we can go to the house and see which estate agents have it on their books. We could try and get an appointment to go round. Then as you said, if they refuse, we’ll know there’s something fishy going on.”

  Annie agreed, but she was still anxious. Eve was starting to put forward dangerous ideas and she would have to watch her or everything might go completely wrong and both their lives could be put at risk.

  * * * *

  Ten minutes later, Eve and Annie arrived at the house. Annie had insisted that she drove, despite Eve’s protestations. However, Annie was, for once, firm with her. Eve was in no condition to drive. She was both anxious and stressed and with her in control of the car, who knew where they might end up.

  There were two estate agents boards up outside the house. Annie took down both numbers and then drove a little way down the road to phone them. One didn’t answer, but the other did and Annie made an appointment with them for two days’ time. They said they were fully booked for the next day, while today their sales staff were taking clients elsewhere.

  “That’s suspicious, Annie, don’t you think? Perhaps Joanna’s said that nobody can view today so she can get David out of the house. What do you think?”

  “I think the estate agent is just fully booked today with clients looking at other houses, just like they said. Eve, if Joanna has David and I’m not saying she has, she’s put him somewhere where there’s no chance of him being found. In my opinion, she’s a very clever woman.”

  “Hmm, you’re probably right, though perhaps she has him in the other house so she can keep an eye on him.”

  “You’ll never get in there.”

  “Yes I will. I don’t know how, but I will and it will be tonight. And I think it’s worth breaking into this house tonight as well. They want the money in two days’ time so I can’t hang around doing nothing.”

  “We’ll probably end up being arrested,” Annie sighed.

  “You don’t have to come with me. I’m capable of doing this on my own.”

  “I can’t leave you to do this alone, Eve. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you. All that I insist on is that we come back when it’s dark. You could easily be seen in daylight. I’ve noticed a few people walking about.”

  “Whatever,” Eve replied, but inside she was relieved. She was a little nervous of breaking in to two houses and was glad Annie was coming with her.

  Chapter 5

  That evening at eight thirty, Annie picked up Eve. Eve had had an awful afternoon and hadn’t been able to settle down to doing anything productive at all. She tried to go through all her finances, but so much of her money was tied up in different investments and she knew she wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near 100,000 Euros in cash within two days.

  Eve was desperate to rescue David and tried to think who else could have kidnapped him, but she couldn’t believe it was anyone else she knew. They were all friends of hers and of David’s, apart from Betty, but she couldn’t see her kidnapping anyone at her age. It had to be Joanna and an accomplice; but whether that person was Kevin or someone else, she was unsure.

  Eventually Eve drifted off to sleep and when she woke up, it was already almost eight. She realized that she hadn’t eaten all day and now there wasn’t time. Grabbing a packet of crisps, she hoped it would be enough to sustain her, and she then went and redid her make-up. She also changed into a black top and black leggings. Eve remembered doing the same when she and David had broken into Phyllis Baldwin’s house the previous summer and discovered evidence that she was the killer of Jane’s father. Eve’s eyes welled up with tears as she remembered David. Would she ever be able to do anything like this with him again? And more importantly, would they be able to get married? Eve tried desperately to pull herself together.

  I’ll be no good to David if I’m bawling my head off, nor will I find him if I don’t concentrate on the job in hand. Our future is at stake and I won’t let that awful woman, Joanna, take it away from us.

  By the time the doorbell rang, Eve had composed herself and was ready to do whatever was needed to get David back. Annie however, was uncertain that this was the best plan of action. .

  “Are you sure you want to do this, Eve? It’s very risky.”

  “Of course I do. You can stay in the car and keep a lookout. Phone me if Joanna comes.”

  Annie nodded, still not happy about what they were going to do. She was also feeling guilty about lying to her husband. She had said she was having a girl’s night in with Eve and he had believed her. She felt terrible, especially as he had been a police officer. What would he say if he knew what they were doing?

  * * * *

  Eve and Annie drove to the house that was up for sale first. It was an older house inside a village and had belonged to the parents of Yiannis. There was nobody about in the village and Eve was relieved. Still, she got out of the car quickly and closed the door as quietly as she could before walking swiftly towards the front door. She tried the handle first, but wasn’t surprised when she found that it was locked. She had a quick look under the mat, but the key wasn’t there. The shutters were locked on all the windows as well and Eve felt very disappointed. Was she going to have to return home without getting in?

  David could be in there and I can’t get in and save him. It’s not fair.

  She eventually decided to go round to the back of the house in the hope that a window or door had been left open there. However, the shutters were all down and the door was locked. Eve was desperate enough to even think of breaking a window to get in, but without the shu
tters being open, she wasn’t able to.

  As Eve turned round from trying the door, she tripped over a flower pot and fell. She and the pot and its’ contents went flying.

  “Damn,” she cried out, before realizing how loud she’d shouted.

  God, I hope nobody heard me, she thought, feeling extremely annoyed with herself.

  “What’s this?” Eve whispered a moment later as she bent down to clear the mess. “It’s a key! It must have been under the flowerpot. Please let it be the one to open the back door.”

  Eve got up and brushed herself down. She looked around, but nobody seemed to be coming to see what the noise was. She walked to the door and slowly put the key in the lock. Imagine her delight when it fitted! Eve then turned it and the door opened. She breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the house, quietly closing the door behind her.

  Eve got her torch out and flashed it around the room. She saw that she was in the kitchen. Staying there for a moment, she then moved from room to room downstairs before heading upstairs. After a few minutes, she felt less nervous and anyway, she knew Annie would ring if there was any danger. When she came downstairs again, she noticed another door and thought it must lead to the basement. Eve started to tremble, knowing that if David was in the house, he would probably be down there. The door had a key in it so Eve turned it. It opened easily so she switched on the light and went down very slowly, hoping not to fall as the stairs were steep. She didn’t want to have to call emergency services from a house she had broken into. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she called for David, but there was no answer. She then walked around the basement, but there was nothing suspicious at all. David wasn’t there and Eve couldn’t contain her disappointment. She had been optimistic that she might find him there.

  He must be at the other house then, or has she put him somewhere completely different?

  Eve went back up the stairs, making sure to switch off the light and lock the door. The only problem was the flowerpot. Luckily, there was a similar one that had been next to it, so she put the key under that one. As for the broken one, a stray cat or a beach marten could easily have knocked it over.