He sighed. 'I could not bear the thought of Balfray falling into the hands of strangers. There was not a day from when I first came here as a child that I would not have made any sacrifice to possess it.
'As I expect you know, I came from a cadet branch of the family, but every man has his dream and when Sir Joseph befriended me, treated me as his son and put me through medical college, I knew that some day Balfray and Norma would be mine.
'And now I was faced with the terrible truth. I had come home to claim a bride and with her my heart's desire only to learn that we were in penury, and we would have to leave the island, seek another home.
'The thought was unbearable. I swore that I would do anything - anything - to keep Balfray. I think I was a little mad but I soon realised that the only way to save Balfray was through Thora. Thora had expectations. She came from a wealthy family on the distaff side and her mother had left her a considerable heiress in her own right.
'She also had the Balfray emeralds, which were of such value that possession of them alone would see the end of all our troubles. Besides, they were rightly Norma's and should have come to her if her besotted father hadn't willed them to his second wife, Thora's mother.
'Norma told me quite calmly there was only one way to save Balfray and that was for me to marry Thora. I wouldn't hear of it at first - marry for money? - but we both knew it was the only way, especially as Thora had already shown a considerable fondness for me.
' "You'll be able to persuade her to do anything for you," Norma told me. "And, after all, once she is your wife, the Balfray emeralds will also be yours. As for me, I will always be yours. Married to Thora or not, between us nothing is changed. You are still mine.'''
Francis gave a shiver of distaste and looked at them pleadingly. 'I prefer not to dwell on those next few weeks, gentlemen, while I persuaded Thora that it was she I loved and wanted to marry, while she cried and told me how much she loved me, but how could she marry me and take me from her dear half-sister?
'Norma, however, was equal to the occasion, and, indeed, showed herself a greater actress than I had imagined. She told Thora that she had changed her mind, she no longer loved me or wished to be my wife.
'And so Thora and I were married. But I was bitterly unhappy with this charade I had embarked on.
I loved Norma and my sole consolation was having her live under the same roof. I am ashamed to say that... that she became my mistress very soon after I was a bridegroom.
'I was utterly captivated by her and I regret to say, gentlemen, that I was naive enough to believe this curious menage a trois might continue indefinitely. However, Norma became impatient. She made it clear that I had married Thora for one purpose only: to get possession of the emeralds and pay off Balfray's debts.
'She became a little less loving, a little less accessible and when, tortured by her neglect, I accused her of no longer caring about me, she indicated that the solution of the problem lay with me. That Thora was all that stood between us and a lifetime's happiness.
'The present position of deception and betrayal was odious to me. I wanted to make a clean break but when I suggested that I should divorce my wife, I realised with considerable horror that Norma had... had... a more permanent arrangement in mind.
'I refused even to discuss it. She did not argue and I believed that I had convinced her that I would never be party to what she had in mind. She seemed contrite and ready to abide by my decision that no harm should come to Thora.'
He paused for a moment, took a sip of water and then continued. 'It was soon after this that Thora took ill. She had a miscarriage in the early stages of pregnancy and I believed that it was through disappointment and depression that she failed to regain her strength.
'Now, gentlemen, mark the ways of fate. It was through losing our child that a bond was formed between us. And during that long illness, so bravely borne, compassion and tenderness for my little invalid turned into something else.'
He looked at them sadly. 'I fell in love with my own wife. But this seemed in no way to dismay Norma. I expected, dear God I know not what, in the way of recriminations, but then I learned that her friendship with the new minister had developed by leaps and bounds. He had asked her to marry him and she had accepted.
'My delight was short-lived when she said that she still loved me. "This step is merely face-saving, for our reputations. It will also make our future plans easier for us to accomplish."
'Even then I failed to realise her monstrous intentions. When I discovered her with Erlandson in somewhat compromising circumstances, I was shocked but not totally displeased.'
He smiled wryly. 'A little disappointed, my manly pride injured, but I accepted the situation, with relief. When she came to my room that night, I confronted her with her deception and she said, "The game's up, is that it, Francis?" It was then I learned what I can hardly bear to know even now, for she had long helped me in the dispensary. Now she told me that the laudanum-based tonic I was making up for my poor wife had been treated with arsenic. I knew then that it was too late to save her. But, if Balfray and I were to survive, I had to find a doctor to sign the death certificate. Preferably one who would never doubt my integrity.'
Pausing, he held out an imploring hand to Vince. 'It was then, I'm ashamed to say, I thought of you. I beg your forgiveness, old friend, for involving you in my sordid crime.'
Vince, tight-lipped, merely nodded and gave him another sip of water. Exhausted, he lay back against the pillows. But confessions were not quite at an end.
'The night before you arrived, Vince, it was Thora's turn. The Balfray emeralds were worthless imitations, she told me. The real ones had been sold long ago to pay off her grandfather's debts. Was that not a superb piece of irony, gentlemen? Surely you can understand that I cannot face the prospect of living any longer in this cursed cruel world.'
'A world of his own making, right enough,' murmured Faro, watching as Vince gave him a sleeping draught.
'I must go to Kirkwall with the tide, Stepfather,' he whispered. 'If he is to survive I cannot await fresh medical supplies arriving from Aberdeen. I must beg or borrow from the local doctor. You needn't stay, he'll sleep for several hours with the dose I've just given him.'
' "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive," ' said Faro looking down at Francis Balfray. 'Aye, Sir Walter Scott's Marmion never said truer words than those.'
And, flexing his shoulders wearily, 'Norma Balfray's the guilty one, right enough, but no one can ever prove that she murdered her stepsister.'
'Unless she confesses, Stepfather.'
'I don't think we should set any store by that miracle, do you, lad?'
Vince shook his head. 'Whatever happens, she only set the wheels in motion, and poor Francis would have a hard time proving his innocence in a court of law since it was he, and he alone, who administered the fatal doses. He will always believe he was her murderer.'
'We can remove Francis from our list of suspects for Mrs Bliss and Troller Jack,' said Faro. 'But we must be vigilant. We still have to solve their murders. And let us not forget that a killer is still at large on Balfray. Perhaps waiting, at this moment, for the opportunity to claim another victim,' he added grimly.
Chapter Eighteen
'Miss Balfray?' said his mother. 'She went out ages ago.
No, she didn't say where she was going and it wasn't my place to ask.' She looked at him curiously. 'She had a bag packed, like she was going off somewhere...'
Faro needed no further explanation. At the quayside, the Kirkwall boat was about to leave with Vince on board.
'No, Stepfather, she isn't here.'
So she must still be on the island. Wherever she was, if his suspicions were true, she was also in mortal danger. But where to begin his search?
As Faro stood on the cliff path, some instinct led him towards the Balfray vault. He was in luck. There was a flickering light inside, and voices raised in accusation. He moved soundlessly
down the shallow steps, a perfect vantage point for observing, overhearing yet remaining concealed, for the gleam of the lantern on the floor effectively blocked any light from penetrating to the outside of the vault.
'Very well, you have been very ready with splendid excuses and explanations in the past, so perhaps you'll tell me what you intend doing now.' The speaker was Norma Balfray.
'Isn't it obvious, my dear?' Faro hardly recognised the man's real voice. 'What does a packed case suggest to you?'
'You're leaving Balfray, is that it? To start a new life - is that why you've shaved off your beard?'
'It is, indeed.'
'But the boat has gone. You can't go tonight'
He heard the man's laugh, coarse now without any restraint. 'Think again, my dear.'
'The boat moored by Troll's Cave ...'
'Of course. You imagined it was for pleasure but there was a much stronger reason. Emergency, my dear, an emergency just like this.'
Take me with you ... please. I can't live here without you!' He heard her despair as she cajoled, 'You promised. You did. Always.'
'Promises, what are promises when the game is up? Or it will be for me, as soon as the Fiscal gets here. Alas, I cannot afford meeting that gentleman face to face. We have older scores than Balfray to settle. And I'm afraid you will have to face whatever music is drummed up ... for both of us. A sign of your love for me.'
'But what about the gold... the treasure we were to share?' she wailed.
'You were wrong about the Bee stone.' The lantern was raised, illuminating the niche where Thora Balfray now rested once more in her coffin. 'There is nothing but an empty hollow there now. The Bothwell treasure, if it ever existed, must have been spent long since. And I should have guessed, long before Thora confided in you, that those emeralds were paste.'
He laughed harshly. 'All this time wasted waiting for the right opportunity, for Thora to die so that the crypt would be reopened...'
'I helped you. Pretending to be in love with Francis, so that he would never suspect.'
'Waiting for Thora to die so slowly, a little each day, was an intolerable waste of my time. And to what end? I don't need to remind you of the disasters. You promised to help me then, but I had to do it alone. And when Troller came upon me, the game was up and I had to kill him. I thought he would be dead with the fall into the sea but I had to finish him off with the grave digger's spade. Very crude, my dear, not my style at all. Where were you when I needed you most?'
'I couldn't get away...'
'You couldn't get away! What a feeble excuse. You were afraid, weren't you? Terrified of your stepsister's ghost haunting her murderer...'
'Don't say that. Don't say it. Let us get away from here and I'll do anything, anything you say.'
'Too late for that, my dear. I have other plans.'
'Take me with you. I can do anything Mrs Bliss did.'
'But not so efficiently. We had been together for a long time, she was the perfect partner in crime.' He sighed regretfully. 'She was always a jealous woman, though. That was her only true weakness and, if she hadn't found out about us and in a fit of spite, turned informer, she would still be alive. I was a fool, I should have been more discreet.'
'You never really wanted me, did you?' Norma wailed. 'Oh, I see that now. I was just part of the plan to help you find the gold hoard.'
'What else, my dear? What else could you have ever hoped to be?'
'There's nothing at Balfray now. Just take me with you, that's all I ask.'
'Oh, I have no intention of leaving you ...' And as he drew the revolver out of his pocket Faro guessed his intention. Instinctively, hoping to save Norma, he dived forward.
His action dislodged a loose stone, which fell, crashing down the steps. Even as Faro lost his balance, Norma's lover leaped out and dragged him into the crypt.
'So we meet again, Inspector Faro. And for the last time.' He smiled, holding Faro at bay with the revolver pointed at his heart. 'This is one final parting I shall rather enjoy. I have looked forward to it for a long time now. I had not hoped to see you again so soon.'
'And in your true colours this time.' But, even as Faro said the words, he saw in the lantern light how the face before him, beardless now, could be the face he had been searching for in its many disguises.
'Noblesse Oblige, is it not?'
The man bowed. 'The same.'
'What is all this?' demanded Norma who had rushed to the man's assistance, clinging to his arm.
Faro recognised that in a straight fight, he could expect no help from her. But he could try. 'This man, Miss Balfray, to whom you have allied yourself, is a desperate criminal, one whom I have been pursuing over half of Scotland for months now. He is a robber and was a murderer, too, long before you set eyes upon him - I was trying to save your life,' he added in exasperation, for she refused to recognise her deadly danger.
'I don't believe it. You're lying.'
'Hear me out. This may be your only chance to hear the truth. He sent his accomplice Mrs Bliss to the island when he heard about the Balfray emeralds and the wealthy heiress. He also had a hoard of his own to keep hidden until the hunt was called off.'
Faro pointed with his foot to the case. 'If you lift that, Miss Balfray, you'll find it extremely heavy, weighed down with the proceeds of many burglaries - and murders, if you like. The law had almost caught up with him, we were close on his heels at Aberdeen and he needed a place to hide.
'His partner, Mrs Bliss, was already on Balfray, lured by rumours of an ancient treasure. By a stroke of fortune, she heard that a newcomer was expected. Under the name of Mr and Mrs Leon they met him on the ferry at Aberdeen, and disposed of him, by pushing him overboard. This cruel man you have allied yourself to then took his place...'
'I don't believe this. You're lying ...'
'It was in the newspaper how a lady passenger saw her husband fall overboard, all the details are there. You must have read it on Balfray, surely?'
He saw by her look of amazement that he was right. 'Tell me it isn't true. Tell me the Inspector is lying.'
The man ignored her plea and snarled at Faro. 'You've been very clever, haven't you? Unfortunately I have now decided to tear myself away from Balfray and, alas, neither of you will ever live to give evidence. You were wrong about the boat too, Norma, as you have been about almost everything so far. There is a boat for me, but it's coming from France and it should be here before midnight...'
'I won't let you leave without me... I won't... You can't treat me like this ...' Angrily she pummelled him with her fists. Smiling, he pressed her briefly to his heart, like a forgiving lover.
She screamed. Just once.
Without moving, he fired a second time at Faro but the bullet went wide and the explosion reverberated through the vault.
Even as Norma Balfray slumped lifeless to the ground, the walls around them trembled and stones released themselves from their ancient moorings as the vault began slowly to disintegrate.
The man who was known as Noblesse Oblige dashed up the steps, turned and fired again at Faro. He missed, fighting for balance as the ground beneath their feet shuddered and began to slide fast, ever faster, towards the cliff top with a noise like the end of the world.
Faro reached his adversary, clung to his ankles, as past them both hurtled tombstones and coffins burst open to reveal the long and ancient dead. Shrouds
twisted through the air, like faded grey ribbons, but still part of the nightmare, Faro kept his vice-like grip on his adversary.
Another explosion, close by this time. And in that moment before the world went dark, Faro realised he had been hit and that this was his death wound. He was dying. His last coherent thought was that it was both ironic and singularly appropriate that he should die in a straight fight with an old adversary. And in Orkney, too, the land of his birth.
As he hurtled through space, he saw his past rolling away down the centuries and becoming one with the dragon-headed Vikin
g ships that had brought his first ancestors to set foot on this land. A bird's white wing curved, gleaming far above his head with exquisite beauty and, to the seals' cry as requiem, he was one with the dark and utter stillness of eternity.
It was Vince who clawed through the rubble by the shore, Vince who found him caught, held fast by a dislodged tree only a few yards from the top of the cliff. It was Vince who refused to believe that this cold bloody body was his stepfather's and that he could be dead, that there wasn't a flicker of life in him. It was Vince who listened, told himself that he detected a faint pulse and had him raised to the cliff top on an improvised stretcher.
It was to the sight ofVince that Faro's eyelids fluttered open. The black of endless night had given place to the endless white expanse of a large bed in Balfray Castle. 'Am I really alive? I thought I was dead.'
'You're a bit battered, Stepfather, but knowing you, you'll live to fight another day. But not tomorrow or the next day, that's for sure.'
There were other figures moving in the background of his new awakening. His mother, torn between tears
and prayers, sobbing loudly. There was Inga, looking grave, in deep conversation with Sergeant Frith and a stranger in a top hat and frock coat.
The Procurator Fiscal. He arrived ten minutes ago and I've given him the full report.' Leaning over, Vince took his stepfather's hand. 'Quite a day for him. And for the Sergeant. Francis is dead. Your mother stayed with him but then he said he was much better, hungry too, could she get him a bite to eat? Only too eager to oblige, when she came back, he'd taken an overdose of laudanum. It was the way he wanted it, Stepfather.'
'Poor Francis.'
'Poor island. It'll be put on the market, although I can't imagine anyone wanting to buy it. All things considered, don't you think we should let them all go in peace, Stepfather?'
'Are you asking me to compound a felony, lad, because in my weakened state I might agree, seeing that the three main participants are dead.'
Killing Cousins (An Inspector Faro Mystery No.4) Page 16
