The Ransom

by Irena Nieslony

  “How are you, Don? Holding up?”

  “I’m fine. I’ve moved back into the house for a while.”

  “Oh,” was all Eve could think of saying. Poor Don, he was being pulled back into that awful woman’s grasp.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not getting back together again with Betty,” Don said, as if reading Eve’s mind. “It just seemed to make sense while she wasn’t there... and there’s the cat as well of course, William.”

  Eve smiled and although she didn’t say anything, she was relieved. Don deserved some happiness and he certainly wasn’t going to get it if he went back to Betty.

  Having said their goodbyes, Eve continued on to see David. When she arrived, she saw Kevin was there and her heart sank, imagining that Joanna was probably around. However, she put on a smile and greeted Kevin.

  “Don’t worry, Joanna’s not here,” Kevin said quickly. “We’re not joined at the hip, you know, much as I wish we were.”

  Both Kevin and David laughed, but Eve frowned. She was becoming more and more certain that Joanna was using Kevin for some other purpose. After all, as much as Eve didn’t want to admit it, Joanna was beautiful and only in her early thirties. She could have someone richer, younger and better-looking than Kevin.

  “I’ve remembered a few more things, Eve,” David announced.

  “You have? That’s great.”

  However, she wished he wouldn’t tell her what they were in front of Kevin, but there was nothing she could do about it.

  “I remember coming out of the loo and tackling the kidnapper. That’s when he fell and hit his head. Then I escaped.

  “So, do you remember who it was?” Kevin asked.

  Eve looked at Kevin to see if he looked guilty, but his face was expressionless.

  “No, that’s still a blank.”

  “I’m sure it will all come back later.” Kevin stated

  “Well, I wish your memory would hurry up and return, David” Eve added. “You’re not safe until then.”

  She glanced at Kevin whose face still wasn’t giving anything away.

  * * * *

  The day proved to be very hectic for David. News of what had happened spread like wildfire throughout the villages and David had a stream of visitors. After Kevin left, Ken from The Black Cat arrived with food from the bar. David had very little appetite, but when he saw the succulent pork accompanied by roast potatoes, an enormous Yorkshire pudding and an array of vegetables, he had to try some. The food was so dire in the hospital that he had barely eaten anything since he had arrived. However, Jan Stewart’s food was always so delicious that it did persuade him to make the effort to eat.

  “I’m glad to see you eating a bit, darling,” Eve said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

  “I didn’t think I was hungry, but this is still warm and very tasty. I reckon I can manage a little.”

  While he was eating, Pete came hobbling in on crutches, with Annie who was fussing over him.

  “I don’t think you should be trying to walk so soon, Pete,” Annie said, concerned that her husband might fall over and end up with more injuries.

  “I have to speak to David,” he replied. “I have to clear the air.”

  David saw Pete hovering close to another bed and called him over.

  “David I had to see you,” Pete said, sighing with relief as he sat down. It had been more difficult to walk than he had expected.

  “I told him he should stay in bed,” Annie spoke. “And what a palaver getting in here. We were searched and had to give all our contact details.”

  “The police are very worried about David; that’s why they’re grilling everyone who comes in,” Eve said, sounding a little anxious. “They think the kidnappers might try to get to David in here.’

  Pete started talking directly to David. “I swear to you that it wasn’t me. I didn’t kidnap you. Everything has just been a coincidence.”

  “You don’t have to explain yourself, Pete; I haven’t thought for one minute that it was you. The police are grasping at straws because they can’t find the real kidnappers and I can’t remember much of what happened. They want to look as if they’re getting somewhere with the case.”

  “But if you don’t remember who it was, the police will arrest Pete,” Annie said, tears filling her eyes.

  “Hey, darling,” Pete said, trying to comfort her. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”

  “I’m remembering things slowly, though I’m a bit worried that the kidnapper who brought me food wore a mask and I wasn’t able to recognize him”

  “Or her,” Eve added.

  “You’re not still thinking it’s Joanna, are you?” David asked.

  “You should be satisfied after the other night,” Annie put in. “I wish it was her so Pete would be in the clear, but you couldn’t find David at either house.”

  David and Pete looked at each, while Eve looked away.

  Damn, now David’s going to know about me breaking into Joanna’s houses. He’ll go mad.

  “What happened the other night, Eve,” David asked sternly.

  Eve hurriedly told him of her breaking into both of Joanna’s houses and waited for her telling off.

  “Oh Eve,” David said. “You are going to get into serious trouble one of these days if you carry on involving yourself in every crime. However,” he continued, taking Eve’s hand. “I think I would probably feel a bit hurt if you hadn’t done something to help find me.”

  Eve bent over and kissed David, Annie and Pete realizing it was time they left. David would probably want to give Eve a little talking to and Annie also wanted to tell Pete about her involvement. She knew he wouldn’t be happy, but she hated keeping secrets from her husband.

  After Annie and Pete left David’s ward, it wasn’t long before Jane visited and later Robert and Alison popped in as well. David felt quite tired by the time mid-afternoon came and was quite glad to have a rest while Eve read.

  * * * *

  In the early evening, David watched Eve almost dropping off, still with a book in her hands.

  “Darling, it’s time for you to go home,” he said, giving her a gentle shake. “You can barely keep your eyes open.”

  “I have to stay with you. You’re sick and you never know, you may remember who kidnapped you.”

  “If I remember anything more, I’ll phone Dimitris Kastrinakis straight away; I promise. You need rest and so do I. I love having you here, but I feel I have to stay awake.”

  Eve frowned.

  “And don’t get upset by what I’m saying. You know I’m right.”

  “Ok.” Eve said. “But I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

  David squeezed Eve’s hand and she tried to smile. She was worried sick. Pneumonia killed a lot of people and just because he was feeling a bit better didn’t mean he was out of the woods yet.

  Chapter 16

  A little later that evening in the hospital, the nurses came round with medication for the patients and David was put on his regular dose of oxygen. He didn’t much like having a mask on his face although he wasn’t quite sure why. He normally wouldn’t be bothered. Perhaps it was because he had been locked up and the mask made him feel a touch claustrophobic.

  This is going to change me, isn’t it? David asked himself. “I’ve always been so normal, no phobias or anything like that. I don’t want to start having panic attacks if I feel closed in. I can’t do that to Eve. She feels guilty enough as it is.”

  A couple of hours later, a nurse came round to give David an injection. It wasn’t one of his usual nurses, but she seemed pleasant enough. He didn’t even bother asking what the injection was for. They had been giving him so many different treatments and he trusted the nursing staff. After all, they knew what was best for him.

  Not long after the nurse had left David’s bedside, he started to feel sick and dizzy. As it started getting worse, he tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, but as his feet touched the ground, h
e fell into a heap on the floor. There was blood coming out of his nose and then he was sick. He managed to get his head up to look around, but he had become delirious and didn’t realize he was in hospital. Luckily a couple of his ward companions saw him and started to ring their emergency bells frantically. A nurse came in a moment later. Thinking they were playing around with the bell, she was ready to tell them off, but instead she found David on the floor. She felt his pulse and although he was still breathing, he looked as white as a sheet. She rushed out of the ward calling for help, at which time the police officer ran in. Seeing David on the floor he rang Dimitris Kastrinakis. Maybe this was part of his illness, but if not, someone had tried to murder David Baker.

  * * * *

  Eve sat by David’s bedside. He was fast asleep, having had his stomach pumped. He had woken up when Eve came into the ward, but it hadn’t taken him long to fall asleep again. His body had been through so much in the past few days and Eve wondered if he could take anymore.

  When the hospital had rung her earlier, Eve had panicked, but she had managed to calm down enough to cope with the half an hour drive to get there. She had very sensibly not had any alcohol once she had got home from the hospital, just in case she had to go back again. In her rush to get out of the house, she forgot to let Robert and Alison know about this turn of events.

  Eve couldn’t stop looking at David. He was so pale, even his tan seemed to have faded. She couldn’t help but blame herself.

  If David hadn’t of met me, none of this would have happened. I’m no good for him. Perhaps I should pack my bags and go back home to England. Then he might find himself a nice quiet girl who wouldn’t cause him any more problems. Someone like Jane would be perfect for him.

  Eve really meant this as she thought it, but a few minutes later her tune had changed.

  “David, darling, please wake up. I can’t live without you. My life would be meaningless.”

  Eve heard someone cough behind her and she turned to see Dimitris Kastrinakis standing right behind her.

  “He’s not too good, officer,” Eve said straight away. “You won’t be able to talk to him at the moment.”

  “It’s you I’d like to speak to, Miss Masters. Perhaps we can talk in the corridor.”

  “Oh, alright,” she replied. “Not that I can tell you much. When I left the hospital earlier on, David was much better. He was still having his oxygen at regular intervals of course, but he was sitting up.”

  “The doctors should know soon what sort of poison he was given.”

  “Poison!” Eve exclaimed. “David’s been poisoned. Oh my God; someone wanted him dead!”

  Eve felt a few tears in her eyes, but blinked a couple of times to get rid of them. One thing she refused to do was cry in front of Dimitris.

  “Yes, the symptoms he had were synonymous with poisoning.” Dimitris continued, feeling a little sorry for Eve. Yes, she was an interfering busybody, but she hadn’t caused any of this.

  “It’s all my fault, officer. If David hadn’t got involved with me, he wouldn’t have been kidnapped.”

  “Now, now, Miss Masters; it doesn’t do any good blaming yourself. It’s not your fault. Somebody desperate for money thought they could get it from you.”

  “Yes I know,” Eve replied. “But they chose David because he’s my fiancé and I have the money to pay them off.... But why on earth do they want to kill him now?”

  “My guess is that they’re worried that he might remember who one of them is. Even if he wore a mask, David might have still recognized the voice and shape of the person.”

  “But what do we do now?” Eve asked. “Whoever it is managed to get in the ward, even with a police officer standing guard.”

  “We will have to carry on the way we are. There’s not much else we can do. Hopefully when David wakes up, he will remember who kidnapped him and we can arrest that person.”

  The doctor came up to Eve and Dimitris.

  “Have you any news, doctor,” Eve asked. “Do you know what poisoned David?”

  Dimitris indicated that it was alright for Eve to hear the news.

  “Well, we found arsenic trioxide in his system.”

  “Arsenic trioxide!” Eve exclaimed. “That was what James Anderson gave Paul, Jane and me earlier in the year. I didn’t think it could kill you; just make you very ill.”

  “A large dosage could have killed him and perhaps he would have died if we hadn’t pumped his stomach so quickly after it had been administered,” the doctor replied. “It’s a good job there were other patients in the ward who called for help.”

  “Oh my God,” Eve cried out. “This just gets worse. How on earth could anyone get in to give it to him?”

  “I don’t know, Miss Masters,” Dimitris said. “The officer checked everyone going into the ward.... What would have been the best way to administer the drug, doctor?”

  “It’s normally injected into the vein, but over one to two hours. I would imagine that whoever gave this to him, injected a larger dosage quickly. Alternatively, it could be ingested with food. The food would smell garlicky so you may not be aware you are taking it into your system. I’m sure none of our nurses tried to kill Mr. Baker, so I have no idea how he or she got past the security you have set up.”

  What security? Eve said to herself. One policeman wouldn’t stop the killers if they were determined to get rid of my David..

  “Will he be alright?” was all Eve said in the end.

  “He’s a strong and fit man and in normal circumstances he would probably be well very soon, but the pneumonia unfortunately makes it all a bit more difficult for him to recover at the speed we would expect.”

  The doctor soon left and Dimitris noticed how drained Eve looked.

  “He doesn’t sound that hopeful, does he?” Eve asked the police officer.

  “Now, now, Miss Masters, be positive. Mr. Baker will need you to be strong for him.”

  “Well, I’m staying the night here. It’s already half three in the morning anyway.”

  “As you wish. If he wakes up and gives any indication of who kidnapped him, ring me, whatever time it is. Oh, one thing, what has Mr. Baker eaten and drunk today?”

  “He had very little appetite and didn’t eat any of the hospital meals. I brought him a sandwich and he ate a few bites of that. Oh, I almost forgot, Ken the owner of The Black Cat brought him a meal and he ate quite a bit of it. It was pork, roast potatoes and some vegetables. I didn’t notice a smell of garlic, but I don’t suppose I would have thought anything of it.”

  “Are the remains of this food here?”

  “No, we threw them away as it was cold.... My goodness; do you think Ken poisoned him?”

  “It’s a possibility, but if the food is gone, there’s no way to find out. How well do you know this Ken?”

  “We do go into the bar quite a bit so I’ve talked to him lots of times. He and his wife, Jan, are very nice, but I think I told you that they’re short of money.”

  “Yes, I believe you did.”

  A nurse was just about to go into the ward when she was stopped by the police officer on guard. Dimitris asked her of the possibility of the rubbish still being on the premises, but unfortunately it was collected late in the evening as was quite common on the island.

  “Well, we shall question Ken and Jan Stewart tomorrow first thing. Remember Miss Masters, phone if you find out anything from Mr. Baker.”

  Eve nodded as Dimitris left and was just about to go back in the ward, when the truth suddenly hit her, or at least what she thought was the truth.

  Joanna Neonakis is definitely involved. I know that now. What’s more, she’s the woman who collaborated with James Anderson and killed him. Arsenic trioxide was what James used on Jane, Paul and me. She used it to try and kill David. It’s so obvious; I was right all along about Joanna.”

  * * * *

  Eve had been sitting beside David’s bed for a few hours. She had hardly slept, hoping he’d wake up. Sh
e was also busy trying to work out how Joanna had got the arsenic trioxide into David’s system. Perhaps she was involved with Ken and poor Jan knew nothing about it. That was one explanation.

  “No,” she exclaimed at about six the next morning.

  Joanna must have come here, dressed up as a nurse or doctor and given it to David. There aren’t that many people here later in the evening and that woman’s as bold as brass. She could fool any police officer if she wanted.

  She wondered what she should do with this information. Dimitris Kastrinakis would probably think it was only conjecture and he’d be right. There was no point telling him anything. He already knew she thought Joanna was involved. No, she’d have to wait until David woke up and perhaps he’d be able to tell them what had happened.

  About half an hour later, David stirred and his eyes opened.

  “David, you’re awake. Thank goodness. I was so scared I was going to lose you.”

  He didn’t have the energy to say much at first, but he took Eve’s hand. She burst into tears and tried desperately to stop them. David needed her to be positive, not a mess.

  “What happened?” he finally whispered, unable to talk any louder.

  Eve didn’t know whether to tell him that he had been poisoned. It might upset him and put back his recovery.

  “Come on, Eve,” he continued, his voice recovering a little. “Tell me the truth.”

  He could see she was wavering, but he needed to know everything.

  “Ok David. Somebody tried to poison you.”

  “What?”

  “Yes, I think your kidnappers are afraid you’ll remember who they are. Can you?”

  “No, I’m sorry darling. I can’t remember anything else. As for last night, everything is a blur. I can vaguely remember trying to get out of bed, falling on the floor and being sick, but that’s it.”

  Eve decided to take a risk and tell him her theory about Joanna and the arsenic trioxide.

  “Oh Eve,” he said. “Don’t do anything silly, please.”

  He was afraid that she would act recklessly again trying to prove that Joanna was the kidnapper.