by J. A. Kalis
DEATH IN THE CAUCASUS
An International Suspense Thriller
J. A. Kalis
Death In The Caucasus
Text copyright © 2016 J.A. Owczarczyk
Cover design by The Cover Collection
Edited by Emma Clements
ISBN-13: 978-1537740065
ISBN-10: 1537740067
ASIN: B01LK1XZ2C
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Other books by J.A. Kalis:
WHEN THE JAGUAR SLEEPS
https://www.amazon.com/When-The-Jaguar-Sleeps-adventure-ebook/dp/B0187T2R6U
For my husband
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 1
The narrow, unkempt trail meandered through thickets of trees and brush. As it wound its way up the steep mountain slope, it grew faint in places and at times even disappeared altogether, beneath mossy stones and patches of wet grass, making it difficult to follow. The only way they could walk was in single file. Sandy watched where she put her feet, careful not to slip and fall.
As if it matters … She laughed inwardly at the thought. That’s hardly my biggest worry right now.
In the last half an hour, the air had become so thick with tension that it was almost palpable. The sound of gravel crunching underfoot seemed too loud in the surrounding silence. With every step Sandy took, a few small stones detached and tumbled down the slope. When they passed by a clump of trees, twigs caught at her clothing and scratched her face. Her senses numbed, her mind wandering, she didn’t even bother to push them aside.
There was barely a cloud in the sky. Down in the valley, visible through gaps in the foliage, a light haze hung over a cluster of stone houses huddled at the foot of a rock: the village in which they had spent the night. The slate roofs glistened like jewels where the sunrays hit them.
Suddenly, Sandy felt something crawling down her neck. A fly, a spider? Instinctively, she raised her hand to swat it away, shuddering slightly. When she turned around, her foot slipped on a smooth stone causing her almost lose her balance. Before she had time to steady herself, the young man walking a few steps ahead, rushed towards her and grabbed her arm, hauling her up. As she tried to pull away from him, his fingers tightened their grip, digging deep into the soft flesh covered only by a thin blouse, making her flinch with pain.
‘Hey! No need to be so rough … Let me go! You know pretty well I won’t try to escape. You’re really hurting me. Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends … that you liked me … enjoyed our time together. Didn’t you? She scrutinized his face, desperate to see a shred of sympathy or compassion. But she failed to detect any. His face, which she had found so handsome and charming just a few days ago, looked stone cold. Studying his features more closely, she noticed how sharp and pinched they were – there was nothing remotely attractive about them.
‘Shut up. Just keep walking. And if you try to escape, I swear I’ll kill you on the spot.’ The fierceness in his voice left no doubt that he meant it. For an uncomfortable moment his cold brown eyes stared at her, unwinking, penetrating her soul like icicles. With effort, she broke her gaze away, looking down. Only then did she see something in his hand – the glint of a knife.
‘Don’t pay attention to her. She’s just stalling, playing for time. Let’s hurry up and get it over with,’ Sandy heard the girl walking behind her say.
‘Don’t push me. I can handle her myself. We need to find the right spot.’ There was an edge in the man’s voice now. He turned to Sandy. ‘Move your ass. Now! Don’t try my patience.’
His hand on Sandy’s arm didn’t loosen its steely grip. Without warning, he gave a hard pull, dragging Sandy behind him for a couple of metres. She did nothing to resist, as if all the will to struggle had suddenly abandoned her. A few moments later he released her so abruptly she almost fell again. After regaining her balance, she followed him obediently, being careful where she placed her feet on the slippery, stony path.
The steep climb drained much of her energy. Although the small daypack she carried wasn’t heavy, it weighed her down. Each step was more difficult than the previous one. Her breathing grew laboured and her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Unable to keep up the pace, she had no other option but to slow it down. The moment she did, the girl walking behind her gave her a hard push in the back.
‘Hurry up! We haven’t got all day.’
Afraid to make her companions angry again, Sandy gathered every last ounce of strength and quickened her step. She was thirsty but didn’t dare to ask for water. To bring relief to her parched lips, she just wetted them with the tip of her tongue. Not that it helped much. Although it got cooler the higher they went, she felt hotter and hotter. Before long, beads of sweat broke out on her forehead. Small rivulets of moisture began trickling down her back.
She had no idea where they were heading but she hoped they would take a break from walking soon.
After another hundred metres of steep slope, the path began to flatten out. A light breeze sprung up, mercifully caressing her exposed skin, soothing it. It carried a delicate scent of mountain herbs mingled with a stronger aroma of wet earth and pine.
Out of nowhere, a loud shriek invaded the silence. Sandy looked up, squinting her eyes against the intense afternoon sun just in time to see, through a gap in the branches, a majestic eagle circling above the tree tops. Its dark silhouette, with wings extended to their full-span, was easy to spot. The deep blue of the sky dotted with a handful of fluffy white clouds made a perfect background for the glorious spectacle.
The trees thinned. Up ahead in the distance, great rugged rocks and clusters of moss-covered boulders appeared, looming eerily like ruins of an abandoned village. Some of them were square and cracked, others round and smooth. The path, barely distinguishable from the rubble surrounding it, wound around them. A few bushes and trees grew out of the rubble, their tangled roots sticking high above its surface. The area looked desolate, rarely visited by people.
The girl stopped walking. ‘Oh, this is perfect. Isn’t it what we were looking for? Isn’t it the right spot? We came far enough; nobody’s going to find her out here. What do you think?’
‘It’s not quite what I had in mind. We must push on a bit more. Just to be on the safe side. I’m sure we’ll come across something better in a little while. Be patient, it shouldn’t take long. Don’t worry, we’ll still have enough time to go back before evening falls. But we need to hurry up.’
‘Do we really need to go further? I’m tired of walking. I wish we would get over with it.’
‘The right spot? What for? What are you going to do?�
� Sandy was unable to hide the alarm in her voice.
‘Don’t worry, you’ll see for yourself soon enough. And do as I tell you. Walk and keep your mouth shut, or you may regret it. Do I make myself clear? How many times do I have to repeat it to you? Be careful not to try my patience.’ The young man’s tone was as stony cold as the expression on his face. His brown eyes bore right through Sandy, sending a chill of fear down her spine. There was something cruel in them and unrelenting, something that plainly answered her question. As if to add strength to his words, his hand fumbled for the knife in his pocket.
The chilling truth dawned on her, and she couldn’t deny it any longer. It wasn’t his way of making it up to her after their last quarrel, as she had initially thought. They hadn’t taken her for a friendly walk along the mountain trail in search of nice views. They wanted to harm her. She felt danger looming. Big danger. It would be so easy to kill her and abandon her body in this wilderness without the slightest risk of anyone finding it.
Nervous, her eyes moved from the man’s face to that of the girl’s, searching it for a spark of sympathy. To her dismay, she detected nothing but indifference and cruelty. No, the girl wouldn’t take her side. The two of them were in it together. She couldn’t count on her help. And nobody else would come to her rescue. She was alone.
Not wanting to give up all hope yet, she tried to find a way to deal with the menacing situation, something that would help her get out of it alive.
It was too late to flee now, she decided. She didn’t have enough strength left to run and there was nowhere to hide. They would catch her. Instead, she had to persuade them she wasn’t their enemy, make them change their plans. But how?
Thousands of thoughts raced through her mind but all seemed to be of little use. She was scared. Scared as hell. Scared as never before.
‘Let’s go. Hurry up.’ The young man began walking briskly even before the last word left his mouth.
Complying with his orders, Sandy followed him, and so did the girl.
To help her calm the wild hammering of her heart and clear her head, Sandy drew several deep breathes. It took a few minutes for her heart rate to slow down to normal. The tense muscles in her jaw and neck relaxed a bit and she managed to gather her wandering thoughts. Frantic, feeling the minutes ticking mercilessly away, she tried to come up with a plan.
Calm down and try to concentrate. Don’t panic, she told herself.
Of all people, she – who less than a month ago completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology – should know how to handle this kind of situation, make them change their mind.
Don’t show them you’re scared. Don’t beg for mercy, because they may enjoy seeing you vulnerable and will inflict more pain on you. Let him vent his anger. But say or do nothing that would incite it. You must find a way to deal with both of them, bring them to reason. Yes, you can do it. Just think of something. Not everything is lost, not yet. Don’t despair, she encouraged herself. Be careful not to make him angry. Better do everything he says. At least for the time being until some opportunity for escape presents itself.
Sandy had always considered herself to be an excellent judge of character, capable of sizing people up quickly and recognizing their true intentions. Up until now she had never let herself been fooled by outward appearances.
How could she have got it so wrong this time?
Corinne and Lucien. They’d both been so friendly and charming when she met them. They seemed straightforward and sincere. Such a nice couple. It was easy to trust them. There was nothing about either of them to trigger even the slightest suspicion. Without thinking twice, she had agreed to travel with them. The fact that Lucien was a few years older made her feel safe, protected. And the first few days they had spent together proved them both to be agreeable enough travel companions. They’d had a lot of fun and she felt lucky to have met them.
Everything was great. Until yesterday. Until Lucien had started flirting with her and she rejected his advances.
Later, that day, Sandy discovered her credit card was missing and made the mistake – as she realized now – of telling them about it. They both denied knowing anything. When she tried to go to the police and report it stolen, Lucien became aggressive. He lost his temper and screamed at her. Corinne’s mood changed, too. In no time, she became impatient and disagreeable. Sandy had heard them arguing a couple of times.
Despite this, she agreed to go hiking in the mountains with them. During the walk they became hostile. Lucien especially became increasingly aggressive. She had resolved to go her separate way after that walk, even if it meant taking huge risks travelling further alone. Her mind was made.
Now she wondered if she would ever get the chance. It was obvious they had their own sinister plans with her. Plans to kill her. She felt her life was in danger.
Ahead of them, in the distance, stark, jagged granite mountains rose majestically. Their snow-capped peaks, partially shrouded in mist, were glowing warmly in the early afternoon sunlight. They entered an open, treeless expanse of land, crossing a mountain meadow. On both sides stretched endless verdant hills which looked as if someone had spread a deep green velvet blanket over them. The view was breath-taking, but she had no time to admire it.
Then, from nowhere, some clouds appeared, briefly obscuring the sun.
With each step they took, the wind grew stronger, chasing the clouds across the sky. The fragrance of damp grass and earth became overwhelming, teasing their nostrils.
Sandy shuddered, feeling a sudden wave of cold air sweep over her body, raising goose bumps on her skin.
The further they climbed the more apparent it became that here was no one up there but the three of them. No one to come to her rescue.
Almost at the top of the hill appeared to be some grey boulders. But as they got closer, Sandy saw the structures weren’t boulders but houses. A handful of old stone houses dotted a gentle slope of the hill. Wisps of milky fog descended upon them and crept slowly down the walls.
A village? Do people live here? Maybe I can find refuge or ask for help. A timid hope fluttered in her heart, and she felt a burst of energy.
Should she try to make a dash? Could she outrun him? No, it wouldn’t work. One quick glance at his nimble body was enough to convince her she wasn’t a match for him. He would catch her in no time.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught some commotion behind.
Corinne had tripped and lost her footing on the wet grass and, unable to stifle a moan, set let out a torrent of swearwords.
Alarmed, her companion ran towards her.
‘What is it? What happened?’ Lucien’s voice was full of concern.
‘Oh, damn it, I slipped. It hurts so much. I hope I didn’t sprain my ankle.’
‘Let me see.’ He bent down to check her ankle, his back turned to Sandy.
It was the moment she had been waiting for, her chance at escape. At last. Maybe the only one. There was no time to lose. She had to act. She had to seize the opportunity and try to reach the village.
Acting on impulse, she dashed forward and ran as fast as she could towards the cluster of houses. Up close, she saw most of the buildings were roofless, windowless and had no doors. Most of them were nothing more than a few crumbling stone walls and rotten wood boards. Empty shells. Any past inhabitants were long gone.
The disappointment had hardly time to sink in when she heard footsteps pounding the ground, quickly closing the short distance between her and her enemies.
Hurry up, hurry up if you don’t want them to catch you, Sandy mumbled to herself.
Not letting panic overwhelm her, she glanced around, pondering where to hide. In an instant, she made a decision, gathered her last bit of strength and darted among the ruins, panting, gasping for breath.
Boom, boom, boom … Her heart hammered so fast she was worried it might explode in her chest.
She looked back and saw no one. But she wasn’t fooling herself, it didn’t mean
she’d managed to lose them. Just then, she heard the clacking of footsteps around the corner. With each second, the sound grew stronger. One of her pursuers would appear any moment now, and she’d be caught.
She had no intention of letting that happen.
In one swift move, she dashed away from her hiding place and ran as fast as she could, finding shelter behind another wall, pressing her body against the rough stone surface, oblivious to the cold seeping into her flesh. Only then did she let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding. She remained for there a couple of minutes, trembling and taking in short drafts of thin air. But the dilapidated wall wasn’t a good hiding place. Too exposed. She had to find something else.
Before she moved, she listened for a long moment. All was quiet. Careful not to make too much noise, she began to crawl on her hands and knees. Within seconds, she reached the doorway of an old house, entered it and found herself in a dark, small, dank-smelling room, full of debris.
Trembling like a leaf, Sandy huddled in one of the corners behind some stacks of rubble, trying to keep still. Tense silence reigned all around, broken only by her laboured breathing and the wild pounding of her heart. Afraid that the noises would betray her position, she forced herself to calm down. It took a few minutes before her body started to relax. She listened. Only occasional gusts of wind whipped against the walls. There were no voices. No footsteps. Nothing suspicious.
Where were they? Were they still looking for her?
Maybe luck was finally on her side. Even so, she knew she must stay on her guard. The odds were low her pursuers would give up their chase. After they’d checked all the houses, they would come back and find her hidden here. She shouldn’t stay in this place for too long. It was too dangerous. But was there anywhere else safer?
