The Dark Side of the Island

Papas managed to open the door with one hand and crossed himself mechanically with the other. ‘Holy Mother of God,’ he breathed and stumbled into the corridor.

Lomax stood there for a moment, a frown on his face, and then picked up the register and followed him.

When he went into the bar, Anna was polishing glasses. She looked up and smiled. ‘Can I get you anything?’

He shook his head and placed the register on the bar. ‘Your father left that in my room by mistake. I’d like to have a word with him if I may.’

‘I’m afraid he’s just gone out,’ she said. ‘I saw him crossing the square a moment ago.’

‘It can wait till later. Tell me, is there still a tavern on the waterfront called The Little Ship? It used to be owned by a man called Alexias Pavlo.’

‘It still is,’ she said. ‘Everyone knows Alexias. This year he is mayor of Kyros.’ She frowned in bewilderment. ‘But how could you know of Alexias and The Little Ship?’

‘Remind me to tell you some time,’ he said, and went out into the bright sunshine.

As he crossed the square towards the street that led down to the harbour, Yanni emerged from it and ran towards him, the dog yapping at his heels He was wearing a scarlet shirt, khaki shorts and a pair of white rubber shoes.

He halted a few paces away, held out his arms and pirouetted. ‘Don’t I look beautiful?’

‘What’s the idea?’ Lomax said

Yanni spread his hands ‘If I’m working for such a rich and important man I must look the part. These are my best clothes.’

‘That makes sense,’ Lomax said. ‘Where did you steal them from?’

‘I didn’t steal them,’ Yanni cried indignantly. ‘They were a present from a very good friend of mine. The best friend I’ve got.’

‘All right,’ Lomax said. ‘Have it your way.’

He moved down the cobbled streets towards the harbour and Yanni trotted beside him. ‘Where do you want to go first?’

‘A place called The Little Ship’

The boy’s eyes widened. ‘You don’t want to go there. That’s a bad place. Not for tourists. For fishermen.’

‘Where would you suggest?’ Lomax said.

‘Lots of places. There’s a Roman temple on the other side of the island, but we’d have to hire a boat. It’s a long walk.’

‘Anything else?’

‘Sure – the Tomb of Achilles, for instance.’

‘They buried him here, did they?’

Yanni nodded. ‘Everyone knows that.’

‘It must have been a long haul from Troy.’

The boy ignored the remark. ‘We could always visit the monastery of St Anthony or what’s left of it. They blew it up during the war.’

‘So I’d heard,’ Lomax said, and his face darkened.

‘Of course that would mean climbing the mountain. You’d probably find it too hot.’

‘That being so, I think we’ll make it The Little Ship for the time being.’

‘Suit yourself.’ Yanni shrugged despondently and led the way along the waterfront.

The Little Ship was on the corner of a narrow alley and when they reached it, he hesitated at the entrance and turned appealingly. ‘Let me take you somewhere else, mister.’

Lomax ruffled the boy’s hair with one hand. ‘Don’t look so worried.’ He grinned. ‘Shall I let you into a little secret? I’ve been here before. A long time ago. Before you were even thought of.’

He turned from the boy’s astonished gaze and went down the stone steps into the cool darkness of The Little Ship.

Just inside the entrance a young man sprawled in a chair against the wall and sang in a low voice, his fingers gently stroking the strings of a bouzouki.

He wore a red and green checked shirt, the sleeves rolled back carefully to display his bulging biceps to better advantage, and his hair curled thickly over the back of his collar.

He made no effort to move out of the way. Lomax stared down at him for a moment, anonymous in his dark glasses, and then stepped carefully over the outstretched legs and moved inside.

The first person he saw was Captain Papademos sitting by himself in a corner drinking red wine. Lomax raised a hand in greeting and Papademos deliberately looked away.

It was then that he became aware of a curious fact. There were six people in the room including Papademos, four of them sitting together and yet no one was talking.

The man behind the bar was small and wiry, his skin tanned the colour of Spanish leather. The right side of his face was disfigured by an ugly scar and the eye was covered by a black patch.

He leaned on the bar holding a newspaper and completely ignored Lomax. The strange thing was that his hands trembled slightly as if he laboured under some terrible strain.

Lomax removed his sunglasses. ‘Is Alexias Pavlo about?’

‘Who wants to know?’ the man demanded in a hoarse voice.

‘An old friend,’ Lomax said. ‘Someone from his past.’

Behind him, the bouzouki player struck a final, dramatic chord. Lomax turned slowly and saw that everyone was watching him, even Papademos, and Yanni’s white, frightened face peered round the edge of the door.

In the heavy silence, the whole world seemed to stop breathing and then a man stepped through the bead curtain that masked the door at the side of the bar.

In his time, he must have been a giant, but now the white suit hung loosely on his great frame. He moved forward slowly with a pronounced limp, leaning heavily on a walking stick, and the heavy moustache was iron grey.

‘Alexias,’ Lomax said. ‘Alexias Pavlo.’

Pavlo shook his head slowly from side to side as if he couldn’t believe the evidence of his own eyes. ‘It is you,’ he whispered. ‘After all these years you’ve come back. When Papas told me, I thought he was insane. The Germans said you were dead.’

The bead curtains parted again and George Papas moved out. There was sweat on his face and he looked frightened to death.

‘It’s me, Alexias,’ Lomax said, holding out his hand. ‘Hugh Lomax – don’t you remember?’