Hot on the Trail

by Irena Nieslony

  “No, only Vera and Marion and why would either of them do anything, unless they didn’t want an English neighbor, but I’ve told them I’d hardly ever be there.”

  “As I said, it’s just a coincidence, you’ll see. The house will be in one piece, the kitchen will be coming on well and you’ll soon forget about those silly incidents.”

  Eve hugged David. Sometimes he could be so consoling. She decided that she was a very lucky woman.

  Chapter 12

  The following day, after a hearty breakfast at the Duxton hotel, both Eve and David took a cab to the house. David didn’t make a fuss at all about going there rather than sightseeing. He knew that Eve needed to see that everything was alright with her new property, particularly after the fire and the burglary, and he understood that she would be worrying about it if they went and did something else.

  Arriving at the house, Eve noticed that the van belonging to the kitchen fitters was outside. She was surprised.

  “David, look the kitchen people are here. They must be getting on pretty well with my new kitchen.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up too high, darling.”

  “I’m not. I’m just amazed that they’re here. I think I’ve got so used to the Greeks and their ‘We’ll do it tomorrow’, attitude that it’s hard to get used to proper workmen again.”

  David grinned. Eve was probably right. As much as he might have complained about workmen in England, they weren’t half as bad as on Crete. He was pretty sure that the Australians were more like the English than the Greeks, forgetting that a lot of Greeks actually did live in Australia!

  Entering the kitchen, Eve gasped. It was almost finished.

  “This is wonderful, Andy,” she said to the head workman. “I didn’t think it would get done so quickly.”

  “We don’t like to waste time, Miss Masters.”

  “Isn’t it looking good, David?”

  “I must say I am impressed.”

  “Should get it done by tonight,” Andy continued.”

  “Great,” Eve said. “We won’t keep you then. Oh, by the way, have there been any more problems? Burglaries or fires or anything else?”

  “No, it’s all been very quiet.”

  “Thank goodness for that.”

  As Eve and David left the kitchen, the doorbell rang.

  “I bet that’s Vera,” Eve whispered. “She must have X-ray vision and ears the size of an elephant.”

  David giggled as Eve went to open the front door. As expected, it was Vera.

  “Nice to see you back. Hope you’re recovered. We saw you on the telly. You must tell us all about it. We’re dying to hear everything. The whole street wants to know about this Joanna and as luck would have it, I’m having a barbie tonight for everyone. Do say you’ll come.”

  Eve hesitated. The last thing she wanted to do was go to Vera’s barbecue and she knew that David didn’t much like spending time with a group of strangers. However, he was being absolutely no help at all. He was standing there as quiet as a mouse and she knew why. If he made the wrong decision, he’d have hell to pay.

  “You’d really be doing me a favor,” Vera continued. “Everybody along here tries to outdo each other with the food and it’s getting tedious. If you come, they’ll forget about that because you’ll be here. You’re a real celebrity you know. They’ve all been talking about you. I mean look at you now, all cool and calm. Nobody would ever think you had a gun at your head a couple of days ago.”

  Well, that did it for Eve. She loved being the centre of attention and tonight she’d be the star of the show. There was no way she was going to miss this.

  “If you put it that way, Vera, we’d love to come. I can’t disappoint all your friends. What time do you want us?”

  “That’s great. Come round at about seven.”

  “Shall we bring anything?”

  “Oh, just some tinnies if you like.”

  With that Vera left.

  “You do know she might have been exaggerating, Eve? Not everyone might have seen you on television and they might not be that excited to see you.”

  Eve glared at David.’

  “I would imagine that most of them would be interested in talking to me,” she said haughtily. “After all, I was nearly killed by a mad woman on the run from the police.”

  “I only don’t want you to be disappointed if people aren’t as excited as Vera has made them out to be.”

  “I’m not expecting them to rush over to me like fans asking for autographs. I am just expecting them to be interested in my story. I am a bit worried about these ‘tinnies’ though. Do you think that beer is the only thing being served tonight?”

  “I have no idea, but we’d better take some wine for you. We don’t want the evening to be a total disaster.”

  Eve glared at David once again.

  * * *

  “I do feel underdressed,” Eve said in the taxi going to Vera’s.

  David had spent ages persuading Eve to wear something casual for the evening. Eve always dressed to go out, whether it was day or night, but David was convinced that everyone at the barbecue would be dressed informally and she would look out of place. In the end she had agreed to wear a sleeveless denim dress with a little short sleeved cardigan on top. However, as she had put on heels, David still thought she looked sophisticated, but Eve felt as if she were just popping to the shops. David had put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and with his bronzed skin, he looked quite striking.

  Arriving at Vera’s, they heard lots of noise and music coming from round the back, so they went there straightaway. Trevor saw them immediately and shouted out.

  “Here she is, our heroine.”

  There were around twenty people there and they all started clapping. For a brief moment, Eve seemed to be in shock and she said nothing. However, it didn’t take her long to become herself.

  “Thank you, thank you, I don’t deserve this. It was nothing. Anyone would have done the same.”

  David was stunned. He hadn’t anticipated this sort of reaction at all. He had been completely wrong and he fully expected Eve to rub his nose in it later; or would she? She had become a better person of late and wasn’t quite as self-centered as she used to be.

  “Come on everybody,” Vera spoke. “Let the poor woman settle down first and get a drink before you quiz her. Come over here, Eve.”

  Eve, with David following her, made her way through the crowd.

  “We brought some beer,” David said, handing six cans over, “and a couple of bottles of wine. Eve doesn’t drink beer.”

  “Trev,” Vera shouted. “Get a corkscrew and a wineglass for Eve.”

  “Yes, mum.”

  Eve wondered if everyone else was drinking beer. It looked like it.

  “You’ll get asked lots of questions tonight, so don’t be shy,” Vera said.

  “Oh, Eve’s never shy,” David put in and Eve glared at him.

  She wondered why he was being so strange about all the attention she was getting. Perhaps he was annoyed that he wasn’t getting much himself. After all, he had been on television as well. The person she used to be wouldn’t have cared, but she had changed and she did love David very much.

  “You know that David was part of all this as well?” Eve asked Vera, surprising David.

  “Of course,” Vera said, patting David’s arm. “But Eve was the one who overpowered Joanna and people have been impressed by that, plus she came over very well on camera.”

  “And I didn’t? I was an actor, you know.”

  “Was?”

  “Mum, I can’t find a wineglass,” Trevor shouted, interrupting an awkward moment.

  Vera went off to try and find a glass for Eve.

  “Take no notice of her, David. She’s not a nice woman. I knew that the first time I met her. What would she know about acting anyway?”

  David nodded, but he looked hurt and Eve felt terrible. This was going to be an uncomfortable evening.

  An
d it was. As much as Eve tried to include David in her storytelling, most people seemed to be more interested in her than in him, even when she spoke about his kidnapping.

  Good grief, Eve thought. You’d think these butch Australian men would be more interested in how David survived his kidnapping rather than in how I tried to rescue him. Things are never how you expect them to be, are they?

  It was then that Eve saw Marion sitting in a corner with a drink in her hand. She went over to speak to her.

  “At last; somebody else is drinking wine. I thought I was the only one.”

  Marion smiled. “Oh, beer is drunk a lot at barbies. I’m afraid I can’t stand the stuff.”

  “Me neither,” Eve replied and sat down next to Marion, hoping to get more than a few words out of her. “Have you lived here long?”

  “I was born in my house.”

  “Really? How interesting.”

  “Yes, I was the only child and the house was left to me after both my parents died.”

  “You never felt like moving?”

  “No, I love my home. I could never leave, never.”

  Marion took on a glassy look and Eve thought her to be slightly crazy.

  Fancy staying in the same house all your life? It is a little weird, but then I thought she was weird the moment I met her; well even before I met her, all that twitching behind her curtains.

  “There you are, Eve,” Vera said, coming to Eve’s rescue.

  Although Eve had wanted to engage Marion in conversation, she had by now decided that she had had enough.

  “There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Vera continued. “A woman your own age from across the street. Her name’s Sarah Marshall. She’s an actress.”

  Oh no, thought Eve, not another strange friend of Vera’s. I’m certainly paying for my vanity tonight.

  Vera took Eve away from Marion.

  ‘Here she is. Sarah, this is Eve, though I’m sure you know that having seen her on telly. I’ll leave you two to get to know each other.”

  Sarah blushed before speaking. “I’m sorry about that. Vera can be very pushy. I didn’t ask her to introduce me to you.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it. I was having a bit of a strange conversation with someone anyway and was glad to be taken away.”

  “Say no more.”

  “Is that an English accent I detect?”

  “It is. I married an Australian and moved over.”

  “Is he here?”

  “God, I hope not. We went through rather a nasty divorce about a year ago. He was unfaithful.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It was tough, but I’m alright now. A lot of our friends seem to have sided with him however, even though he was the one in the wrong. That’s why Vera is always trying to get me new friends.”

  “I’m afraid I won’t be here for that long.”

  “Yes I know, but Vera will be Vera.”

  “My fiancé was an actor you know. He was quite famous in his day. What sort of work do you do?”

  “Oh, mainly theatre, but I have done a little television. I’d love to do some more.”

  “I wish you luck.”

  “There you are, darling, I was wondering where you’d got to,” David said, coming over and putting his arm around Eve.

  “Hello there” Eve smiled, giving David a kiss on the cheek. "Sarah, this is David, my fiancé. David, Sarah is an actress so I’m sure you’ll have lots to talk about.”

  Sarah and David greeted each other and started talking about the work they had done, but then Vera came round with more beers and the bottle of wine. She topped up Eve’s glass. Once she had gone, David spoke.

  “I was going to suggest we went back to the hotel, but it seems we have more drinks.”

  “I know you’re having a bit of a rotten time, darling, but...”

  “No, I’m fine, Eve, I know how you’ve always wanted to be recognized for catching one of the killers and at last you have been.”

  Eve kissed David on the cheek again, thinking how wonderful he was to her.

  I really don’t deserve him at all. I will have to make it up to him somehow....and soon.

  “One of the killers?” Sarah asked. “Do tell me more.”

  “Well, I’ll leave you two to talk about the Cretan murders and I’ll go and have a chat with Trev. He doesn’t seem so bad.”

  Eve was in her element for the next fifteen minutes, simply talking to Sarah about her connections with Joanna and the other murders on Crete.

  “Well, Crete seems rather an exciting, no, scary place to live,” Sarah said.

  .”It’s not been like that all the time. There have been long periods of normality in- between the murders.

  “Eve and Sarah both laughed, but Eve suddenly felt sick and her head hurt.

  “Shall I get David for you?”

  “If you could," replied Eve.

  As soon as David knew Eve was ill, he came rushing over to her. By this time she had sat down and was looking very pale despite her tan.

  “Oh David, I feel terrible, just as I did the other day. Do you remember?”

  “Yes, of course I do. It’s a bit of a coincidence that you are suffering in the same way. I think perhaps we ought to get you to hospital so they can run some tests.

  Just as David was saying this, there was a commotion on the other side of the garden where Marion was having a seizure.

  “Go and see what’s happening, David,” Eve asked. “I’ll be Ok. Sarah’s here.”

  David went over and asked one of the other guests what was wrong with Marion.

  “She had a headache and then was sick. A few minutes later, she had a seizure.”

  “My Eve isn’t well either. She has a headache and is nauseous,”

  “’They’d both better go to hospital then,” Vera said coming up between them. “I don’t want people saying it’s my food. It must be something else doing this.”

  She marched off to call the ambulance and David went back to see how Eve was.

  “I’m still feeling rotten. What’s up with Marion?”

  “Similar to you, except she’s had a seizure as well. Vera’s called for an ambulance.”

  “An ambulance. That’s really not necessary David, is it? I got over whatever it was last time. I’m sure I will this time.”

  “That’s not the point, Eve. It all seems suspicious.”

  “You mean you think somebody is trying to kill me?”

  ‘Yes, possibly. You said yourself it was a bit strange to have the fire and the burglary so close in time together. Perhaps you’re right and someone is trying to frighten you off.”

  “But what about Marion? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “I have no idea. You, after all, are the private investigator!”

  Eve tried to smile, but found it downright impossible, Perhaps it was a good idea to go to the hospital after all They’d be able to do lots of tests and she’d know the truth.

  * * *

  It didn’t take long for the ambulance to arrive and Eve and Marion were soon installed in hospital. Marion didn’t say anything on the journey there; she had stared into space looking very pale and frightened. At one point Eve did reach over to touch Marion’s hand reassuringly. Marion tried to smile, but couldn’t.

  The doctors believed that both women had been poisoned so rushed the tests through in order for an antidote to be given.

  Eventually, a Doctor Shriver came to talk to Eve and Marion. He looked serious and Eve felt certain even before he spoke that they had been poisoned. Why was it happening to her again?

  “It seems you have both been poisoned with belladonna,” Dr Shriver said. "We will be administering the antidote immediately. You will be kept in overnight so we can keep an eye on your progress.”

  Both women looked shocked and Marion felt a few tears starting to fall. However, once the antidote had been administered, both women started to relax a little and later Eve decided to try talking to Marion. />
  “Who on earth would want to poison us? And why both of us? We hardly know each other and have no connection at all, so it seems very odd.”

  “I know,” Marion agreed, “It is very strange. And how did they do it?”

  “When I was poisoned in Crete, someone slipped arsenic into my drink when I wasn’t looking. We were the only two drinking wine at the barbecue. Perhaps that’s it. Perhaps whoever did this; put it in the wine bottle. They probably only wanted to kill one of us and didn’t care if the other got hurt as well. Oh, I’m so sorry, Marion.”

  “Why?”

  “Think about it. Somebody’s burnt my shed down, burgled my house and now this. They obviously want to kill me or frighten me off. You must be the innocent party...... Oh my God Marion, it’s happened before;” Eve said, suddenly remembering something. “It happened when David and I had tea with you and Vera. I know who poisoned us. It was Vera. I was ill like this after eating one of her lamingtons, except the symptoms weren’t quite as bad so I didn’t seek medical help. Why does Vera want me out of the way?”

  “The only thing I can think of is that she hoped the house would be put on sale and she could buy it for Trevor and his family,” Marion paused for a moment. “I just can’t believe she would let me suffer like this. We’re supposed to be friends. How can someone almost kill their best friend? And how can anyone try and kill someone just for a house?”

  Eve stared at Marion in horror as the police came in to take their statements.

  Chapter 13

  Charles Sheffield had managed to record Joanna on television as she had been shown numerous times on the various news channels. He kept playing the recording time and time again. It was all he had left of her. He still didn’t care what she had done; he had fallen in love with her the moment he had met her and that would never change.

  Charles had also managed to catch Eve Masters doing her interview and had recorded that as well. He played it back, his hatred for her growing.

  “Damn that Eve Masters,” he said out loud, his thoughts becoming a little jumbled. “If it wasn’t for her, Victoria and I would be together at this very moment. Look at Eve showing off to the world. She thinks she’s so clever capturing my beautiful Victoria, but she isn’t, not at all. If she hadn’t come to this country, nobody would have been any the wiser and Victoria and I would have been able to build a life together. Yes, Victoria suits you so much better than Joanna, doesn’t it darling?”