This Rough Magic - Mary Stewart

CHAPTER ONE

The magic island

'And if it's a boy,' Phyllida said cheerfully, 'we'll call him Prospero.'

I laughed. 'Poor child! But why Prospero? Oh, of course, because of Prospero in The Tempest. Corfu was Shakespeare's magic island in The Tempest, wasn't it?'

'Yes. We've already got one character from the play here — Miranda. And her brother's called Spiro, which sounds a bit like Prospero, doesn't it? Miranda and Spiro are twins.' My sister smiled at me, and reached for the coffee pot. 'More coffee, Lucy?' she asked.

We were having breakfast outside in the sun, on the terrace of my sister's house on the beautiful island of Corfu, which lies off the west coast of Greece. Below the terrace, wooded cliffs fell steeply to a small, sheltered bay, where the sea lay calm and still. From where we sat, we could not see the bay, as it was hidden by the trees. But we had a wonderful view out across the sea, and to the north we could just see the snow-topped mountains of Albania in the distance.

My sister Phyllida is three years older than I am, and when she was twenty, she married a Roman banker, Leonardo Forli. The Forli family had owned land on Corfu for many years and Leo's great-grandfather had built an enormous house, the Castello dei Fiori, in the woods above the bay. Later, Leo's father had built two smaller, more modern houses on the cliffs on the north and south sides of the bay. The house on the northern side was called the Villa Forli, and it was used by Phyllida and Leo. The house on the southern side was called the Villa Rotha, and it stood above the big boathouse, which Leo's great-grandfather had built. This villa was rented by an Englishman, Godfrey Manning, who had been there since the previous autumn. He was writing a book, Phyllida had told me, and was taking a lot of photographs for it. The three houses were connected with the main road by the private road up to the Castello, and connected to each other by various paths through the woods and down to the bay.

That spring Phyllida was expecting her third child and the heat in Rome was too much for her. Therefore, Leo had persuaded her to go to Corfu, and to leave the other two children, who were at school, in the care of their grandmother in Rome. Leo, of course, was working, but he was going to visit Corfu at weekends whenever he could.

Phyllida had asked me to go and stay with her, and her invitation had come just at the right time. I'm an actress and the play I was in, my first in London, had closed after only two months. I was feeling very miserable. It had been a bad winter, and I was tired, depressed, and seriously wondering — at the age of twenty-five — if I should look for a different job. So it was wonderful to find myself on this magic island, with the sun shining brightly. It was far away from the cold of an English April.

I sat back in my chair, drank my coffee, and enjoyed the peace and beauty as I looked out towards the distant snows of Albania.

'Well, Corfu is certainly a magic island for me,' I said dreamily. 'Who are these Shakespearean twins of yours, anyway?'

'Oh, they're Maria's children. Maria's the woman who works for us here. Miranda helps her mother here, and Spiro works for Godfrey Manning at the Villa Rotha. Maria and the twins live in the village.'

But I could see that Phyllida had something else that she wanted to tell me.

'Someone very famous is renting the Castello,' she informed me.

'What? That huge old house?' I said. 'Who wants to rent that?'

'Julian Gale.'

'Julian Gale!' I sat up suddenly and stared at Phyllida in surprise. 'Do you mean Julian Gale, the actor?'

'Yes,' my sister replied, pleased by my excitement.

Julian Gale had been one of Britain's finest actors for many years, and then two years ago, he had suddenly left the theatre and disappeared.

'So he came here,' I said. 'I knew he was ill after that terrible accident, but then he just disappeared.'

'Yes, well,' Phyllida said, 'he doesn't go out and nobody is allowed to go to the house, so I don't imagine that you'll even meet him.'

'The Tempest was the last play he did,' I said. 'He was wonderful in it. I remember crying my eyes out over the famous «this rough magic» speech. Is that why he came to Corfu?'

Phyllida laughed. 'I don't think so,' she replied. 'He was here during the war, and then he stayed on afterwards. Before his wife and daughter were killed in the accident, they all used to come here for holidays. He probably just remembered the Castello when he needed to disappear.'

Just then, a young girl of about seventeen came in. She was wearing a red dress, which went well with her dark skin and hair. She had come to take away the breakfast things. She looked at me curiously, and then she smiled.

'This is Miranda,' explained Phyllida. 'If you want to go swimming this morning, I'll ask her to show you the way.'

'I'd love to,' I replied.

Phyllida turned to Miranda. 'Will you show my sister the way to the beach when you've finished that, Miranda?'

'Of course,' Miranda said, smiling.

The way to the beach was through the trees, and in a while, we came to a fork in the path. The downhill path led to the beach and the uphill one, Miranda told me, was the private path to the Castello.

'Where's the other villa? Mr Manning's?' I asked.

'On the other side of the bay, at the top of the cliff,' she replied. 'You can't see it from the beach because of the trees, but there's a path from the boat-house up the cliff. My brother Spiro works there.'

'What about your father?' I asked her. 'Where does he work?'

'My father left us many years ago. He went over there.' She pointed towards Albania. 'He was a communist. Nobody can travel to Albania, so we don't know if my father is alive or dead.' Her eyes grew bright. 'But we have Spiro,' she said.

'Well, thanks very much, Miranda,' I said. 'Please tell my sister that I'll be back for lunch.'

I turned down the steep path under the trees. At the first bend, I looked back. Miranda had gone, but I thought I saw something red on the forbidden path to the Castello.

CHAPTER TWO

A meeting

The bay was very quiet and there was no one else there.

I changed into my swimsuit very quickly, under the trees. Then I crossed the hot, white sand. The blue-green water felt cool and silky and I swam gently along near the shore. Then I turned and floated lazily on my back, with my eyes closed against the bright sun.

Suddenly, I felt something cold swim past my leg. Afraid, I looked around wildly to see what it was. I saw something coming back towards me. 'Sharks!' I screamed silently. I didn't wait, but swam madly towards the rocks. When I reached them, I managed to pull myself up and climb out of the water. Then I turned to look again. It wasn't a shark. It was a dolphin. He lay quietly in the water and looked at me with his bright eyes. I watched him in delight. I knew what he wanted. The dolphin was inviting me, Lucy Waring, to go into the water and play with him.

But as I was about to go back into the water to join him, I heard a strange sound. Something flew past my ear and hit the water in front of the dolphin. It happened again. And suddenly I realized what was happening. These were bullets — someone was shooting at the dolphin. The shots were coming from the woods above the bay, and I shouted as loudly as I could, 'Stop that shooting! Stop it at once!'

I swam forward quickly into the sunlight. I hoped that my rough movement would frighten the dolphin and that he would swim away from the danger.

It did frighten him. He went under the water and disappeared.

I turned to look up at the cliffs. I could see the top of the Castello dei Fiori and its terrace. There was a man standing there, watching me. It was not Sir Julian because this man was too young and too dark. Perhaps it was his gardener.

I was very angry. Quickly, I picked up my things and ran towards the steps, which led up to the terrace. The man waved to me and pointed southwards. 'That way, please,' he shouted in English.

I didn't listen. I was going to tell him what I thought and I went up those steps fast. Suddenly I came face to face with the man. He had come down to meet me and was waiting for me.

'This is private ground,' he said coldly. 'Perhaps you'll be good enough to leave the way you came. This only takes you to the terrace, and then through the house.'

I wasted no words. 'Why were you shooting at that dolphin?' I asked.

He looked surprised and puzzled. 'What are you talking about?' he said.

'Don't pretend that you don't know. I saw you.'

'I certainly saw a dolphin,' he admitted, 'but I didn't see you until you shouted and jumped out from the trees. But you must have made a mistake. I heard nothing. Anyway, why would anybody want to shoot a dolphin?'

'I'm asking you,' I said.

For a moment, I thought I had said too much. He frowned angrily, and as we stared at each other in silence, I noticed him properly for the first time.

I saw a strongly built man of about thirty, carelessly dressed, with dark hair and eyes. His appearance suggested an aggressive character, I thought, but there was also something sensitive about the mouth. However, at the moment the aggressiveness was much more noticeable.

'Well,' he said sharply, 'I'm afraid you'll have to take my word for it. I did not shoot at the dolphin. And now, please excuse me. Would you please -'

'Go back the way I came? All right. I'm sorry. Perhaps I was wrong about you, but I wasn't wrong about the shooting. If it wasn't you, do you know who it was?'

'No.'

'Not the gardener?'

'No.'

'Or Mr Manning?'

'No. He's been taking photographs of the dolphin for weeks. He and the Greek boy, Spiro, tamed it.'

'Oh. It wouldn't be him, then. Well, we'll just have to try and stop the person who's doing it, won't we?'

He said quickly, 'We?'

'Yes. I'm Lucy Waring, Phyllida Forli's sister. Are you staying with Sir Julian?'

'I'm his son. So you're Miss Waring. I hadn't realized you were here already.' He hesitated. 'Is Leo Forli at home now?'

'No,' I said shortly, and turned to go.

'I'm sorry if I was a little rude,' he apologized. 'We've had so many people here lately, and my father… he's been ill and he came here to get better. He needs peace. And I'm a musician. I need quiet to work.'

'Well,' I said, 'I'm sorry if I've stopped you from working. I'll go now and let you get on with it. Goodbye, Mr Gale.' He left, and soon I heard voices, and then music.

I could be sure that I was already forgotten.

CHAPTER THREE

A death

When I had taken a shower and dressed, I felt calmer and I was ready to tell Phyllida all about the dolphin and the disagreeable Mr Gale. I went out onto the terrace, but she wasn't there. Miranda and her mother weren't there either.

Then I heard the door from the kitchen open, and my sister came into the living room.

'Lucy? Is that you?' she called.

'I'm out here,' I replied, and I went towards the french windows, which led into the living room. One look at her face made me forget everything.

'Phyl! What's the matter? You look terrible!'

'Something awful has happened. Poor Maria's boy has been drowned, Spiro, the boy I told you about at breakfast.'

'Phyl! How terrible! But — how? When?'

'Last night. He was out with Godfrey on the boat — you know, Godfrey Manning — and there was an accident. Spiro fell over the side of the boat and was drowned. Godfrey's come over to tell us, and I've just told Maria and Miranda. I've sent them home now.' She put a hand to her head. 'Lucy, it was so awful! Godfrey's still here. Come and meet him.'

We went through into the living room. At the far end, there was a man with his back to us. He was pouring himself a drink. When we came in, he turned. He was tall and toughly built, with brown hair made lighter by the sun, a narrow, clever face and tired grey eyes. He was probably about thirty-five years of age.

Phyllida introduced us, but he was really more interested in her than in me. 'You've told them?' he said. 'Was it very bad?'

'Worse than bad.'

'Of course. Look, Phyl, do you think I should go and talk to them now?'

'No. Wait. Just at the moment I don't think Maria can believe that Spiro's dead.' Phyllida looked up at him. 'Godfrey,' she said, 'I suppose there's no doubt, is there? He really is dead?'

'Well, that's it, you see. That's why I didn't come here immediately. I've been phoning. I was trying to discover if his body had been found. But I'm sure he can't be alive. I saw him go over the side.'

'What happened?' I asked.

'Do you know,' said Godfrey, 'I'm still not really sure. I'm beginning to wonder just how much I really do remember. I'm sorry.'

'Perhaps you don't want to talk about it. I shouldn't have asked,' I said.

'It's all right. I've already talked to the police and I've told Phyl about it. The worst thing is that I'll have to talk to the boy's mother.' He looked at me directly for the first time. 'You hadn't met Spiro?' he asked.

'I only arrived last night, but Phyl told me about him.'

Godfrey continued, 'I came here last year, and he's worked for me since then. He was a clever mechanic. He knew everything about boats. You know I'm writing a book and I need a lot of photographs for it? Well, Spiro helped me with those, too. In fact, I used him in some of them.' He paused for a moment and then the tired grey eyes came back to me.

'I'd been taking some photographs at night, and I wanted to get some of the sun when it rose over the mountains with the snow still on them. Spiro and I took my boat out last night. There was some wind, but nothing to worry about. The sea wasn't really rough. I was below in the cabin, working on my camera, and suddenly the engine stopped. I went up on deck to see what had happened. Spiro was hanging over the side at the back of the boat. He was trying to find out what was wrong. I think I called to him to be careful, but just then the wind caught the boat and it swung over violently. Spiro was holding the rail, but it was wet and slippery and he lost his hold on it. He tried to catch it again, but missed and went over the side. By the time I reached the back of the boat, I couldn't even see him. He had disappeared.'

'He couldn't swim?' I asked.

'Oh, yes. But it was very dark and the boat was drifting fast. The wind was stronger by then, you see. I shouted again and again, but there was no reply… In the end, I managed to start the engine, and I searched for Spiro for two hours, but it was no good. I couldn't find him.'

'You did all you could,' said Phyllida sadly.

'Yes, but because I didn't find his body, perhaps his mother will hope that he'll come back. If he got as far as

Albania, she could wait for years to discover what happened.'

'Just as she did with his father,' I added.

He stared at me. 'His father! I forgot that! Poor woman! And it's worse because Spiro wasn't expecting to go out with me last night. I only asked him at the last minute.'

Phyllida looked thoughtful. 'Look, Godfrey,' she said, 'when you go home, you'd better take these photographs with you. It wouldn't be very good for Maria to see them now.'

'Oh, yes. Of course.' He picked them up and, for a moment, he looked unsure of himself. Something made me say, 'Are those the photographs for your book?'

'Yes. Would you like to see them?' he asked.

There were several photographs of Spiro and the dolphin, and a wonderful one of them together. It was so good that I said, 'If I hadn't seen the dolphin myself, I wouldn't believe that this was real.'

Godfrey was interested. 'You say you've seen the dolphin?' he asked.

So I told them both about my morning adventure and about my meeting with Mr Gale's son.

'Max Gale!' Phyllida cried. 'Lucy, you're not trying to tell me that Max Gale was running about in the woods with a gun, are you? Don't be silly!'

'Well, he did say it wasn't him,' I said. 'Anyway, he hadn't got the gun any longer, so I couldn't prove it. But I didn't believe him, and he was very rude.'

'Yes, but it couldn't have been him,' Phyllida said.

'Probably not,' agreed Godfrey.

Phyllida looked at him sharply. 'What is it?' she asked.

'Nothing.'

But Phyllida had understood. Her eyes opened wide and her face changed colour. 'Oh, no! But I suppose it could be… But Godfrey, that's awful! If he got a gun...'

'Look,' I said strongly, 'if you two are talking about Sir Julian Gale, I've never heard anything so silly! He wouldn't shoot a dolphin. Everybody who worked with him loved him. It's not in his character. He couldn't do it — not unless he was drunk, or had gone mad...'

I stopped. There was a silence that could be felt. Then Phyllida turned to me.

'Look, you know that Julian Gale disappeared after he left the theatre? You know about the car accident three or four years ago, when his wife and daughter were killed?'

'Yes, of course. What happened? Was he ill?'

'Yes, he was, I suppose. He had a nervous breakdown. He was in hospital for over a year. They say that he's better now, and he does go out sometimes to visit a few friends, but there's always someone with him.'

I said dully, 'You mean they have to watch him? You're trying to tell me that Julian Gale is...' I paused. Why was it so difficult to put it into words?

'Oh, look,' said Phyllida, 'when I met him, he seemed perfectly normal. There's probably nothing wrong. He just wants peace and quiet. And Max Gale wants to be left alone to work — he's writing the music for a film of The Tempest. That's probably why young Adoni guards the place.'

'Young who?' I said.

'Adoni, the gardener.'

She turned to Godfrey then and said something about Adoni. He had been a close friend of Spiro. Phyllida added something about Adoni, Miranda and a dowry.

Suddenly Godfrey Manning said, 'I must get back home in case anyone phones with some news. By the way, Phyl, when is Leo coming over?'

'I'm not sure, but certainly for Easter, with the children.' Godfrey said goodbye and left. Phyllida and I sat in silence until the sound of his car was lost in the distance. 'Come on, then, where's lunch?' I said. 'I'm hungry.'

As I followed Phyllida out of the room, I thought that the Gales probably knew about Spiro by now. I had seen Maria and Miranda when they left the house. They had taken the path that led only to the empty bay — or to the Castello dei Fiori.

CHAPTER FOUR

Another meeting

Days went by, peaceful, lovely days. Every day I went down to the bay to swim. Sometimes the dolphin came and I never left until he did. I wanted to be sure that nobody shot at him again. I also watched the terrace of the Castello, but there was no more shooting.

There had been no news of Spiro, and Maria and Miranda came back to work the day after his death. They moved about the house sadly and silently. Miranda's eyes were often red from crying, and Maria stayed in the kitchen most of the time.

On the Sunday before Easter, I went into Corfu town to watch the procession. This is one of the four times in the year when the body of the island's saint, Saint Spiridion, is brought out of the church and carried through the streets. The people believe that he takes care of the island and those who live there, and they love him very much. Therefore, the town was very crowded. Spiro's name was really Spiridion, too, and I wondered if Miranda was there.

As the procession passed near me, there was a moment's silence, which was broken suddenly by the sound of a woman crying. I turned round. It was Miranda.

When the procession moved on, the crowd began to leave, and I saw Miranda walk quickly away. I went back towards the place where I had left the car. Just then, I saw Miranda again. She was standing with her back to me, but her hands were up to her face, and I thought she was crying.

I hesitated, but a man who had been standing near went and spoke to her. He seemed to be trying to persuade her to go with him, but she shook her head.

I decided to go and speak to her. 'Miranda, it's Miss Lucy. I have the car here. Would you like to come home with me?'

The young man turned round. 'Oh, thank you. That's very kind. You must be Miss Waring?'

He was very handsome, and he looked about nineteen.

'Why, yes,' I said in surprise. And then I realized who this was. 'And you're — Adoni?'

'Yes,' he replied, and he smiled. He had very white teeth and beautiful eyes. In fact, he looked just like a young Greek god.

When we reached the car, he took the keys from me and helped Miranda into the back. Then he came and sat beside me in the front. As we were driving, I asked him quietly, 'Will Miranda and her mother have enough money now that Spiro's gone?'

'They'll be cared for,' he replied confidently. 'I'll marry Miranda. There's no dowry, but that doesn't matter. Spiro was my friend. Of course, Sir Gale may give her a dowry. I don't know. It won't make any difference. I'll take her with or without a dowry. Sir Gale will arrange the marriage.'

'Sir Julian?'

'Yes. He's the twins' godfather. Have you met him yet, Miss Waring?'

'No.'

'You've met Max, though, haven't you?'

'Yes.' I decided to talk about something else. 'Do you ever go out shooting, Adoni?' I asked.

He laughed. 'No, Miss Waring. I didn't shoot at your dolphin. No Greek would do so. Ah, here we are. Thank you very much. I'll take Miranda to her mother. Then I've promised to go to the Castello. Max wants to go out this afternoon. Perhaps I'll see you at the Castello soon?'

'I don't think so,' I replied.

I watched Adoni take the silent Miranda through her mother's door, and I thought that it would be nice to have someone to take care of me like that.

As I drove away, I realized that if Max Gale was going to be out, at least I could have my afternoon swim in peace.

I went down to the bay after tea, when it was not so hot, and afterwards I began to climb slowly up the path to the villa. Suddenly I heard a bird cry out in terror. As I ran up the path, the two parent birds met me, screaming loudly. I rushed forward and I saw a beautiful white cat, which was about to attack a baby bird. I did the only thing possible, and dived onto the cat, took him gently by the body and held him. He tried hard to get free, but he didn't scratch or bite. I picked him up and began to carry him away from the birds. He seemed to like this and he started to purr. But he was very heavy, and finally I had to put him down. He looked up at me and then moved away and disappeared.

I followed him out of the shadow of the trees and found myself in bright sunlight, in the middle of a lovely, wild garden. All around me were roses — sweet-smelling roses of every colour, all in full flower. I stood still in delight. It was a beautiful, magical place. Then I remembered that Leo's grandfather had planted these roses when he lived in the Castello. Without thinking, I stretched out my hand and began to pick some of them. The white cat reappeared and sat on the top of a bank, watching me.

Suddenly I heard a beautiful voice coming from just above me. I'd heard this voice many times before, in dark London theatres. It was Sir Julian Gale.

The rose garden, I now realized in alarm, was at the foot of the terrace of the Castello and Sir Julian was standing there, looking down at me through some bushes. I tried to explain about the cat, but he saw the roses in my arms. 'Ah,' he said, smiling pleasantly, 'you've been stealing my roses, I see.'

'Oh, I never thought… I'm terribly sorry,' I said uncomfortably.

'Well, now you must pay a forfeit. You must come up and talk to me,' ordered Sir Julian cheerfully.

I hesitated, but it would have been rude to refuse. Slowly I went up the half-hidden steps and came out onto the terrace.

'Come in, Miss Lucy Waring. You see, I know who you are. And here's my son. But, of course, you've already met.'

Max Gale was sitting in the shade, at a large table, which was covered with papers. He didn't seem very pleased when we disturbed him, but Sir Julian insisted that I must stay for a drink. I asked for an orange juice, and received an unexpected, warm smile from Max Gale.

Sir Julian was not handsome, but he was a fine, big man with thick, grey hair. His eyes were tired, but he behaved quite naturally, except when he took his orange juice from Max. His hand shook quite badly.

Sir Julian and I talked for a long time — about the world of the theatre, the latest stories, and finally about myself. I talked, and he was a sympathetic listener. He seemed to enjoy our conversation, and I didn't notice the shadows of the Castello moving towards us. Suddenly I realized that Max Gale was sitting behind us, listening. I felt that I had to say something to him before I left and I asked him if he had seen the procession that morning. We went on to discuss the possibility that Corfu was Shakespeare's magic island in The Tempest. Sir Julian repeated what Phyllida had told me — that Max was writing the music for a film of The Tempest.

When at last I rose to leave, Sir Julian begged me to visit him again. He came with me to the edge of the rose garden and pointed to the path through the woods. A few minutes later, I heard the sound of a piano. Max Gale was working again.

The woods were dark and quiet, and as I went down the path I was thinking about Sir Julian. Suddenly I saw someone coming up the path from the bay. He was coming straight towards me, breathing heavily. He seemed to be trying not to make a noise. I stepped back behind the trees, and waited.

He was Greek, someone I hadn't seen before, a young man. He stopped, took out a cigarette, but then decided not to light it. When he turned to go, I saw his face quite clearly. There was a look of excitement on it which made me afraid. Carefully, he continued on his way, up the path to the Castello.

The wind suddenly blew through the trees, and the air was cool. I stood quite still until I could no longer hear the sound of the Greek's footsteps.

CHAPTER FIVE

The body on the beach

I didn't tell my sister about my visit to the Gales, even when we passed the path to the Castello on our way to the bay the next morning.

Before we went into the water, Phyllida took off her ring, with its huge diamond, and put it into a little plastic beach bag. Then we went out into the blue-green water to swim. I looked for the dolphin, but he didn't come into the bay that day. After a time we went back to the beach, and we lay there in the sun, talking lazily. Soon Phyllida fell asleep and I went back into the water. Up on the terrace of the Castello I could see Sir Julian, and he waved to me. I waved back, but I was annoyed when I saw someone else watching me from one of the first-floor windows. Because I was angry I swam over to the rocks where Max Gale couldn't see me and came out of the water near the path which led to Godfrey Manning's villa. Carefully, I made my way along between the pools until I came to one which was bigger than the others. The dark green water was deep, and the blue- black shadows were alive with the movements of tiny fish. I stared down into the water.

The body was lying half in, half out of the shadow. I hadn't seen it at first because the bright sun was shining straight into my eyes. I felt sick with shock, but, of course, I had to look again. I knelt down, shading my eyes with my hand, and stared into the water.

'Spiro!' I thought, but then the water was disturbed by the wind and the dead man's face moved. I knew him! It wasn't Spiro. It was the man I had seen the night before, the man who was going up to the Castello!

The sunlight was hot on my closed eyes. 'Phyllida!' I thought. 'Phyllida mustn't see this.'

I opened my eyes and hoped that I had been wrong, that there was no dead man. But he was still there.

With difficulty, I got up and made my way over to the rocks near the path to Godfrey Manning's villa. Suddenly I heard a noise. It was the sound of the boat-house door closing. I looked up. Godfrey Manning was coming down the path towards me. 'Lucy! Is something wrong? Are you ill?' he cried.

I couldn't speak. I pointed to the pool. 'Come and sit down,' he said.

I sat down on a rock, with my head in my hands, and then I heard Godfrey go over to the pool.

There was silence for a few moments. I looked up. Godfrey was standing still, looking down. I could see that he was shocked. He, too, must have thought that it would be Spiro.

'Do you know who it is?' I asked.

I thought that he hesitated, but then he replied, 'Yes. His name's Yanni Zoulas. He's from the village.' After a moment he added, 'He was a fisherman, but also a smuggler, I think. He made a lot of trips to Albania. I only hope the police don't find out about that, because I'm afraid that Spiro might have been involved with him in some way.'

'Smuggling!' I stared at him. 'Are you saying this wasn't an accident… that you think Yanni Zoulas was murdered?' My voice was rather shaky.

'Good heavens, no!' he replied quickly. 'Nothing like that. It must have been an accident.'

'Has he got a family?' I asked.

'Yes. A wife — they live with his parents. They're going to miss him — and the smuggling. That's how they lived so well… Anyway, we'd better go back to my villa and phone the police. Are you all right? Can you move now?'

'Yes, but my clothes are in the bay. Phyl is there, too. She was asleep when I left her.'

I had just finished speaking when Phyllida herself appeared. We tried to pretend that there was nothing wrong because we didn't want to upset her, but Phyllida is not a fool. 'Something's wrong! What is it?' she cried.

'We'd better tell her,' I said to Godfrey. 'She'll find out in the end.'

Godfrey began to explain what had happened. Suddenly he stopped speaking. A shadow fell across me, and then, from behind me, Max Gale's voice said, 'Is anything the matter?'

I jumped. None of us had heard him arrive. He moved like a cat. For a moment, nobody replied. Then Godfrey spoke. 'The matter?' he repeated, and all at once I knew that he didn't want to tell Max Gale. I felt cold with fear.

'It's obvious that something's wrong. What is it?' Max Gale insisted.

In the end it was Phyllida who explained.

'Who is it? Do you know?' Gale asked.

'Yanni Zoulas,' I said. 'Did you know him?'

'Why, yes. A little.' All of a sudden his expression changed. 'I wonder what time he went out last night. I thought I heard a boat just after midnight.' He looked thoughtful. 'It must have happened in the last forty-eight hours. I saw his boat myself on Saturday.'

'And', I thought, 'you saw Yanni himself last night, when he came up to the Castello. Why are you saying nothing about that?' But I kept this thought to myself.

'Well, I think we should let the police get on with their job now,' Godfrey Manning said. 'Shall we go?.. Where are you going?'

Max Gale didn't answer. He was already going down towards the pool where the body lay. Godfrey followed him. They stood looking down at the body. Then Max Gale lay down at the edge of the pool and put his hand into the water.

When they returned, Max Gale said, 'I wonder what the police will think of that. He's obviously been hit on the head quite badly.'

'Well, let's go and call the police, shall we?' said Godfrey.

I still had to get my clothes from the beach. Godfrey offered to go and fetch them, but Max Gale said quickly, 'I'll go and get them and bring them up to the villa.' Clearly, he intended to come and hear what was said to the police, though no one had invited him to go with us.

Godfrey watched him as he went, and his grey eyes seemed strangely cold. Then he saw that I was looking at him. 'Well, this way,' he said.

Phyllida found the climb a little difficult, and Godfrey stopped to help her. I was in front of them and at a corner I turned round to look down at the bay. Through the trees I saw Max Gale down by the rock pool again, lying beside it as before, with his arm in the water. Then he stood up quickly and ran back into the trees. 'So that's why he went back,' I thought.

CHAPTER SIX

Adventure at midnight

Although Phyllida and I spent the rest of the day quietly, she was tired and went to bed early. Maria and Miranda had left after dinner, and the house was very quiet. But I couldn't rest. I kept thinking about everything that had happened.

The police had been. When they arrived at Godfrey's villa, they went straight down to see the body. The last time Yanni's family had seen him was on Sunday, and Max Gale told the police that he had not seen Yanni since Saturday. Yanni's boat had been found. He had had some kind of accident and was dead when he entered the water. The police said nothing about smuggling.

But I was sure that Max Gale was involved in all this.

Perhaps he was the head of the smuggling ring? Nothing was found on Yanni's boat, but perhaps Yanni was on his way back? And Max Gale had probably gone back to the pool to search for anything which could connect him with Yanni. Max Gale had probably shot at the dolphin, too, to keep the tourists away because he needed to be private. But why had I said nothing to the police about seeing Yanni on the path up to the Castello on Sunday night? It was not important, I told myself — but I knew it was.

Just after midnight I heard Phyllida moving about in her room. I went to find out what was wrong. She was very upset and said that she had lost her diamond ring. It belonged to Leo's family and she was very worried about it. We remembered that she had put it in her little bag when we went swimming. She must have left the bag on the beach. She was so upset that I said I would go and fetch it for her.

As I went down the path to the bay, the woods were still and silent. I knew I had no reason to be afraid, but when I came to the place where I had seen Yanni the night before, I suddenly felt cold. From the Castello above I could just hear the sound of Max's piano and the voices of Sir Julian and Max talking.

I continued down the path and left the woods: Quickly I crossed the sand to the place where Phyllida and I had been. Something was lying there! Something long and dark, like a body! For a moment I stood there, frozen with terror. But I had to get the ring for Phyllida. I went nearer. There was no sound, except for the distant piano. Suddenly the shape moved and I saw a living eye watching me. I drew in my breath to scream, but then I saw what it was.

It was the dolphin. Carefully, I went closer. 'What's the matter? Are you hurt?' I said softly. I shone my torch over him and in the light I saw Phyllida's little bag. I picked it up, put it in my pocket and forgot about it. Just at that moment the dolphin was more important to me. I had to save him. Somehow, he had landed himself on the beach, four metres from the sea. He didn't seem to be hurt, but I had to get him back into the water. I knew that if his skin became too dry, he would die. If somebody didn't shoot him first.

I tried to pull him, but I couldn't. I needed help. Desperately, I emptied Phyllida's little plastic bag and pushed the Forli diamond on my finger. Then I rushed backwards and forwards to the sea, filling the little bag with water and pouring it over the dolphin. At last he seemed wet enough. He would be safe while I went for help. I dropped the wet bag and whispered, 'I'll be back. Don't worry.'

I ran back across the beach. The piano had stopped, but I could see the light from the terrace window. Then I was in the shadow of the woods where the path to the Villa Forli rose steeply. I began to climb up it, but stopped to rest for a moment under a tree. Then I set off again. Ahead of me on the path something moved! I switched on my torch quickly and I saw a man step off the path. The next minute there was a sound beside me and he jumped out at me.

My torch fell from my hand and I was about to scream, but he pulled me to him violently, and his hand came down hard on my mouth.

CHAPTER SEVEN

A suspect

He was very strong. I fought hard, but I couldn't do anything, although I must have hurt his hand because he took it away. 'Keep quiet, will you!' he ordered in English, and then he pushed my face hard against the front of his jacket. I stopped fighting, and he loosened his fierce hold on me. I pulled my head free. If I screamed, they would hear me in the Castello. They could be down here in a few seconds… surely… even Max Gale-

'Where have you been?' demanded the man.

I stared at him. 'YOY?' I said.

'Have you been up at the Castello?'

'I have not, and if I had -'

'Then you've been to the beach. Why?'

'I went down to get Phyl's ring, if you must know. She left it on the beach this morning. There! You see?' I held out my hand with the diamond ring on my finger. 'And now, Mr Gale, what exactly do you think you're doing? You hurt me!'

'I'm sorry. I thought you were going to scream.'

'Of course I was. And why shouldn't I? What have you been doing — that's so secret?'

'Fishing.'

'Oh… but you were up there at the Castello half an hour ago.'

'What do you mean? You said you hadn't been to the Castello.'

'I could hear you from the beach. You were playing the piano and then talking to your father.'

He was silent for a moment, and then he said slowly, 'I think you heard a working tape. You see, my father isn't there. He's spending the night with a friend. And I've been out fishing with Adoni.'

'Then why did you attack me?'

'You rushed out onto the path in front of me.'

'Oh, yes. And yet you still held on to me when you knew who I was. Or didn't you want me to see the others?'

'The others?'

'The men who went past when you were holding me.'

'That was Adoni.'

'Well, you needn't worry,' I said. 'I'm not going to tell anyone about you. But I know all about it. I don't care what you do, but I do care about Miranda and her mother, and your father, and Adoni.'

He had listened in silence but now he said very quietly, 'What are you talking about?'

'I suppose poor Yanni didn't do the job last night, so you've been to Albania to do it yourself, haven't you?'

'Where did you get these strange ideas from?'

'Godfrey Manning told me this morning.'

'What?' His voice was hard and sharp. I backed away from him, but he quickly took hold of my arm. 'Manning! He told you?'

'Let me go, please,' I cried.

He dropped my arm, but said, 'What did Manning tell you?'

'About Yanni? That he was a smuggler, that he probably had a contact, that he hoped the police wouldn't find out because Spiro was in it, too.'

'When did he tell you this?'

'This morning, in the bay, before you came down.'

'Then you weren't up at Manning's house just now?'

'No, of course I wasn't! At this time of night?'

'Of course. I'm sorry. And did Manning tell you that I was Yanni's smuggling contact?'

'No. I decided that myself. I saw Yanni going up to the Castello last night. Anyway, you knew that Yanni was going to go out last night because you weren't surprised when you heard he'd been drowned.'

'You noticed that, did you?'

'Yes, but you were shocked.'

There was a pause, and then he said slowly, 'But you didn't tell the police any of this.' He turned to me. 'My dear, I can't explain, but I must beg you to keep quiet. It's very important. No one must know that I've been out tonight.'

'Don't worry. I won't tell anyone,' I promised. He looked at me. 'Because of Maria and Miranda,' I added quickly, 'and your father.'

There was another short pause. Then he said, 'I'll take you home now. These woods are dark and you were frightened, weren't you?'

'Frightened? No. Of course not.'

'Then why were you running back like that?'

'Because I -' I stopped. The dolphin! I had forgotten the dolphin! 'It was late,' I said. 'I'm all right, really. Good night.'

But he came after me. 'I want to be sure that you get home safely. Anyway, my boat's on your side of the bay. I'd like to move it nearer.'

I was afraid, and he knew it. 'What's the matter?' he asked. 'Did you meet someone in the bay?'

'No.'

'Then why don't you want me to go down there?'

I said nothing. If I spoke, I would start to cry.

'Look,' he said, 'I have to know. Someday I'll tell you why. Something did happen down there, didn't it?'

'It's the dolphin,' I said weakly.

He stared at me. 'And you still think I want to shoot it? Look, tell me what happened.'

When I had finished explaining, he took hold of my arm again. 'Listen,' he said urgently, 'there's a rope in my boat. I'll go and get it. I'll be quick. Go back to your dolphin and wait for me. Don't worry. We'll save him — but please be very quiet.'

Before I could reply, he had gone.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The rescue

There was no time to think. I obeyed him, and ran back down to the bay. The dolphin wasn't moving, but he was alive and the dark eye watched me. I continued to fetch water to pour over him.

Max Gale came quickly. His little motor-boat slid quietly into the bay, with its engine switched off. He brought the boat in and stepped out, carrying a rope. We tied this round the dolphin and tried to pull him down to the sea. We tried several times — and each time we failed.

'Could we use the boat — tie the rope to it and let the boat pull him out… with the engine?' I asked Max desperately.

Max didn't answer immediately and I said, 'It's all right. I understand. You don't want any noise. I'm sorry. I'll stay here all night and keep him wet, and -'

'We'll use the boat,' said Max.

He tied one end of the rope to the boat. The other end was round the dolphin's tail. The engine started with a noise that seemed to fill the night, but the dolphin was not afraid. I stayed with him to make sure he remained the right way up. When he began to slide backwards into the water, I followed him until I was up to my neck in water.

'Oh, Max!' I cried. 'He's so quiet. I think… Max, I think he's dead. Oh, Max...'

'It's all right, my dear. I'll come. Hold him. We'll float him first.'

'Now!' I called when we reached the deep water, and Max switched off the engine quickly. He came round to me. 'Is he dead?' he asked.

'I don't know, I don't know,' I replied. 'I'll hold him up while you cut the rope.'

'Turn his head towards the sea first,' said Max. He took his knife and bent down to cut the rope. It was difficult and at that moment the dolphin came to life.

'He's all right!' I cried, and suddenly the dolphin pulled out of my arms and swam straight out towards the open sea. Max disappeared under the water and for a moment I thought the dolphin had taken Max with him. For a few seconds the water covered me, too, but when I surfaced again, Max was there by me, holding the cut rope.

I caught his arm. 'Oh, Max, look! There he goes! He's gone! Oh, wasn't it wonderful?'

For the second time that night he took hold of me and silenced me roughly, but this time with his mouth. It was cold, and tasted of salt, and the kiss seemed to last forever. In the cold water I could feel his body warm against mine.

He let me go, and we stood there, staring at each other.

'Was that my forfeit for the roses?' I managed to whisper.

'Didn't you know how I felt? My father did.' He smiled cheerfully, and moved towards me again.

'Oh, Max,' I cried. 'Not here — in this freezing cold water! It's crazy! Come on out… please!'

He laughed, and let me go, but a second later he suddenly took hold of my arm, and I saw a light coming along the path from the Villa Rotha. We had just reached the shore when the light caught us.

'Good heavens! Gale! Lucy! What's happened?' said Godfrey Manning's voice. 'Did you get the diamond, Lucy? Phyl rang me. She was worried. I'd only just got in. What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' said Max, annoyed. He explained about the dolphin.

'You got your boat out at this time of night just to rescue a dolphin?' asked Godfrey. 'But… I was sure you went out some time ago.'

'I thought you were out yourself,' replied Max. 'And had only just come in? But, yes, I was out. Adoni went up to the house and I was still in the boat when Miss Waring came.' Then he added, 'We've got to get out of these wet clothes. We'll have to go.'

'Yes,' I said. 'I'll tell you about it when I see you, Godfrey. Thanks for coming down.'

When we were at the foot of the Castello steps, I was going to go past them, but Max put out his hand to stop me.

'You can't go all that way in those wet clothes,' he said. 'Come on up to the house.'

The terrace was empty when we reached the Castello, but one of the long windows was open and Max took me in through this. The room was lit by only one lamp on a low table. Near this Sir Julian was sitting in an armchair. The cat was on his knees. On the table there was a bottle of gin, almost empty, some water and two glasses. Sir Julian was talking to himself — words from The Tempest. He was very drunk.

Max stopped just inside the window, and said something quietly. Then I realized that Sir Julian was not alone. Adoni was there.

'Max,' he began, and stopped when he saw me. 'What's happened?' he asked.

'Nothing important,' replied Max. Then he turned to Sir Julian. 'Who's been here, Father?' he said.

'Who's been here?' his father repeated.

'Do you know, Adoni?' Max asked.

'No. I thought the house was empty when I came back. Then I heard voices and found Sir Julian like this, with the tape-recorder on. He did say that his friend, Michael Andriakis, was ill.'

'Someone certainly has been here,' said Max. 'Did he say how he got back from town?' Then he tried again, 'Father, who's been here?'

'I had to ask him to come in,' said Sir Julian. 'He drove me back from town.'

Little by little Max managed to learn from his father that Michael had had a heart attack. There was no telephone in the house, so Sir Julian went for the doctor, and they put

Michael to bed. Then Sir Julian went to fetch Michael's married daughter and her three children, so there was no room for him to stay there. Sir Julian went to the garage to see if someone could drive him home, but just then someone he knew stopped to buy petrol. He offered to drive Sir Julian back. On the way they stopped to buy the gin.

Suddenly Adoni noticed something on the floor and he bent down to pick it up. It was a cigarette end. Adoni showed it to Max and they looked at each other.

'It is, isn't it?' Adoni said.

'Obviously,' replied Max. 'And he let my father get drunk. But he can't have done that deliberately because no one — knew about my father's problem, except Michael and us.'

'Perhaps Sir Julian didn't tell him anything,' said Adoni.

'Didn't tell him anything,' repeated Sir Julian happily.

'I'd better get him to bed,' said Max. 'Look after Miss Lucy, will you, Adoni? Show her the bathroom and the spare bedroom. I'm sorry about all this, Lucy.'

I followed Adoni up the wide stairs and we talked about the dolphin. I knew now what Sir Julian's problem was, but my head was full of questions. What were Max and Adoni involved in? They obviously knew who the mysterious visitor was.

I had my bath, put on Sir Julian's dark red silk dressing- gown and went back downstairs. Adoni had promised me a hot drink.

CHAPTER NINE

Some answers

The door of the music room was open. The lamp was lit, but there was no one there. Just then Max came in. He was wearing clean, dry clothes, and, although he looked tired, he also looked as tough and as purposeful as ever.

'Come on into the kitchen,' he said. 'Adoni and I are having something to eat. And don't worry about your sister. I've rung her to explain. Godfrey Manning had already rung to tell her you'd found her ring, so she's quite happy.'

Max made me sit by the warm fire, and I realized that I was hungry. They gave me hot coffee and a plate of excellent food, cooked by Adoni.

Adoni asked Max if I spoke Greek and, when Max replied that I didn't, Adoni began to talk excitedly in Greek. Then he took three cigarettes from Max, said good night and left the room.

Max and I stayed by the warm fire, and I asked, 'Is your father all right?'

Max looked worried. 'Yes. We've put him to bed, but...' He stopped.

'Max,' I said, hesitating, 'I don't think your father told his visitor anything. I think that was why he kept repeating those words from The Tempest — to stop him from saying anything else.'

Max smiled at me gratefully. 'Perhaps you're right,' he said. Then he began to talk to me about his father. 'He isn't an alcoholic, you know,' he explained. 'He just drank from time to time to forget. Four years ago my mother and sister were killed in a car accident. My sister was driving and she lived just long enough to know what had happened. Unfortunately, I was in America at the time. I was ill in hospital, and I couldn't get back to be with him and help him through it. It nearly killed him. And that was when he started drinking. It was two months before I got home. He didn't drink all the time — only when everything became too much for him. In the end he had a nervous breakdown. He's better now — or we thought he was. He wants to go back to the theatre, you know, but he won't do it until he's sure that he's all right. And now… don't blame him, Lucy.'

'How could I blame him? I love him!'

He smiled. 'Lucy Waring's generous heart. Love given away freely to actors, dolphins...' He was suddenly serious. 'Any chance for a musician?'

I was silent, and he looked away, into the fire. 'Sorry. That was rather a sudden question. Forget it.'

But he had asked the question because he wanted the answer. I found my voice again. 'If you'd asked me that three hours ago, I'd have said that I didn't even like you. And now, when… when you look at me, my legs go weak. It's never happened to me before… and… and I'd do anything for you -'

It was an even better kiss this time — the same feeling, but now we were warm and dry.

'And now,' said Max, a little later, 'I'll try to explain to you what this is all about. I'll make it as short as I can. It all starts with Yanni Zoulas -'

'It's true, then? He was a smuggler?'

'Yes. Yanni carried all kinds of things to Albania. He had a contact there, a man called Milo. And there were people over here who gave him things to take — but not me. You know that Albania is a communist country and Russia was ready to help Albania at first. But things didn't go well. There were problems between Albania and Russia, so Albania turned to China for help. Now Albania is closed, except to China, and no one can get in or out.'

'Like Spiro's father?'

'Yes. During the last world war my father and Spiro's father were good friends. My father is the twins' godfather and a godfather is very important here. When Spiro's father disappeared, my father looked after the family. That's why, when Spiro fell off the boat, Maria came to my father. She couldn't believe that Spiro was dead and she wanted my father to find out what had really happened to him, and to bring him back. Obviously, my father couldn't do this himself, so I decided to do it for him. The police knew all about it. They were very helpful and gave me all the information they could. We expected that someone would find Spiro's body in Albania. And then, on Saturday night, when he went on his usual smuggling trip, Yanni had news of Spiro. On Sunday he came to tell us about it.'

I sat up in my chair. 'News of Spiro? Good news?'

'Yes. Spiro is alive. He was found on the beach in Albania by some ordinary people who didn't bother to tell the Albanian police. His leg was broken, but he was alive. Obviously, we had to get him out of the country, and Yanni arranged to get him tonight. He came here to ask me to go with him.'

I stood up. 'You went with Adoni, didn't you? That's what you were doing. You've brought Spiro home?'

Max smiled. 'Yes, we did. He's here now, and he's alive and well.'

'Oh, this is wonderful!' I cried. 'Everyone will be so happy when they know -'

But Max said seriously, 'I'm afraid they mustn't know. When the time comes, we'll say that he was found on an island, but don't you see? Spiro's still in danger. Not from Albania, but from someone here. Don't forget that Yanni is dead.'

I was afraid. 'But we know what happened to Spiro,' I said. 'He fell off Godfrey Manning's boat...'

'Lucy,' Max said slowly, 'Godfrey Manning pushed Spiro off the boat, and left him in the sea to drown.'

'Max!' I stared at him. 'I can't believe that. It isn't possible!'

'Spiro has no reason to lie. Remember, I've talked to Spiro, and that's what he says. And Yanni had told us not to tell Godfrey Manning about Spiro.'

'You mean that Godfrey Manning tried to kill Spiro and… and that he did kill Yanni? He's a murderer?'

'Well, we're certain about Spiro, but guessing about Yanni. We must talk to Spiro again now. We have to find out why Godfrey Manning was ready to kill two people. And I need your help. I've got to take the boy to Athens tomorrow morning, to the hospital and then to the police. When he's talked to the police, he'll be able to come home. Well, shall we go and see him?'

'Where is he?'

He laughed. 'Below us. He's downstairs in the cellar. Adoni is guarding him.'

CHAPTER TEN

Spiro

I followed Max down to the cellar. The air was fresh and clean and Max explained that there was a natural cave further along. Suddenly Max stopped, put up his hand to the wall and pulled something. A hole appeared in the wall and Max led me through it. There was a passage which was cut through the rocks. We went down a few more steps. Then, in the light of Max's torch, I saw a face and a gun.

'Adoni? It's Max. I've brought Miss Lucy. Is he all right?'

'He's fine now. He's awake.'

We went into a large cave. Spiro was lying on a very comfortable bed, a warm orange light shone from a lamp, and there was a homely smell of coffee and cigarettes.

Spiro looked surprised when he saw me, but Max said, 'This is Mrs Forli's sister. She's my friend and yours. She's going to help us, and she wants to hear your story.'

Max pulled forward a box so that I could sit down. 'Now,' he said to Spiro, 'if you feel better, try to tell us exactly what happened.'

The boy began to speak slowly. He said that there had been nothing unusual about the trip that night, only that the radio had said that the weather might be bad. He had told Godfrey this, but Godfrey had replied sharply that it would be all right. They had left just before midnight. The night was black, and Godfrey had stayed in the cabin. He had said that he was working on his camera.

'He seemed normal?' Max asked.

Spiro frowned. 'Well, he seemed quiet, and perhaps a bit sharp with me, but I thought he was still angry with me. Earlier that day I'd gone into the boat-house to service the engine, without asking him first.'

'Go on,' said Max. 'You were out at sea and the night was black...'

'I thought we were about half-way across towards Albania,' Spiro continued. 'The weather was getting worse, but Mr Manning didn't want to stop and shelter by the islands. We went on until we were about four kilometres out. He came out of the cabin then, and he sent me in to make some coffee. The camera was there on the table, but the light in the cabin was very bad, and he couldn't have seen well enough to work on the camera. Afterwards, I thought this was strange. It was also strange that we went out to take photographs on such a dark night. And what happened next was even more strange. The engine stopped, but I knew there was nothing wrong with it. I had serviced it myself that morning! But it stopped, and Mr Manning called to me. He was in the back of the boat, and he had hold of the tiller. «I think there's something caught in one of the propellers,» he said, and he asked me to look at it. He told me to be careful because the sea was getting rough and the boat was moving about quite a lot. Suddenly the boat swung violently — I thought Mr Manning had turned her across the wind too quickly. But I was holding on to the rail, and I was all right. Then something hit me on the head, from behind. I knew I was going to fall and I put up my arm to save myself. Just then the boat swung round again, and something hit me across the hand. I let go, and fell into the water. When I surfaced, the boat was still quite near. I shouted, not very loudly, but I'm sure he heard me. Then he shone his torch on me. He saw me! I still didn't know that he'd hit me. I thought it was an accident.'

The injured boy paused, and moved his broken leg in the bed. Then he went on.

'The boat was moving slowly nearer. I called out to Mr Manning, and I began to swim towards him. I saw the starting-handle in his hand, but I thought nothing of it. When I reached the boat, he bent over the side and hit me again. However, because the boat was moving about so much, he only got my arm. He had to hold on to the rail himself, so he couldn't point the torch very well. Then the torch went out and he couldn't see me. At the same time a big wave came, and it carried me away from the boat. This time, of course, I kept quiet. I saw the light go on again, and then the engine started. For a short time he searched for me, but then he turned the boat away and left me there, in the sea.'

There was silence in the cellar. Max's face was cold and hard.

But Spiro had been lucky. He was carried along by the sea to the coast of Albania. There, the sea threw him violently against the rocks, and he broke his leg. Fortunately, an old fisherman found Spiro on the beach, took him home and looked after him.

By the time he had finished his story, Spiro was very tired. Max explained that the next day he would get him to Athens, to hospital. After that they would go and tell the police what had happened. He also promised Spiro that Mr Manning wouldn't know about it.

'The police won't believe me,' Spiro protested.

'But we have to find out why Manning tried to kill you.

Have you any idea why? Do you think it was because you went to service the engine without asking him first?' Max said.

'No.'

'Do you usually ask him first?'

'Of course.'

'But this time you didn't… Why did you work on the boat without telling him that morning?' Max wanted to know.

'Mr Manning had asked me if I'd service the engine after breakfast because he was going out in the boat that day. But that morning I went for a swim very early, before breakfast, and I decided to start work then. I knew where he hid the spare key, so I took it and when Mr Manning came down after breakfast I'd nearly finished. I thought he'd be pleased, but he wasn't. He asked me how I got in. I didn't tell him that I knew about the spare key. I just said the door wasn't locked. He'd left his wallet on the boat, and I thought he was angry because he believed I had stolen some of his money. I'm not a thief, and I told him I'd never go to his house again. But then he said he was sorry, and everything was all right again.'

'Did he ask you then to go out with him on the boat that night?' Max said.

'Yes. Earlier he'd said he didn't need me.'

'That was when he decided to kill you, then,' said Max thoughtfully. 'Did you see anything unusual on the boat?' he continued. 'What about the wallet? Were there any papers in it?'

'No, only some foreign money, I think. But I didn't really look.'

'Did Manning leave you alone on the boat after this?' Max asked.

'No,' replied Spiro. 'He asked me to go to the house and help him with some photographs. I worked there all day, and he telephoned my mother and told her that I was going out with him that night.'

'He wanted to be sure that you saw nobody,' Max said. 'All right, Spiro, I'm going to lock you and Adoni in here while I take Miss Lucy home. I'll be back in half an hour. You have the gun, Adoni?'

'Yes,' replied Adoni.

'And this,' added Spiro, and he held up a shining knife.

Adoni followed Max to the door. 'What about Sir Gale?' he asked.

'Oh, he'll sleep now,' said Max. 'And I'll sleep in the kitchen when I come back. Call me if you need me.'

Max and I walked back along the passage. 'Now you understand why Manning mustn't know about Spiro. We've got to find out what he's doing. Yanni suspected that Manning was involved in something and that he wasn't really here just to take photographs and write a book. Perhaps Yanni went to look round the boat-house, and Manning caught him and killed him. He could have put the body in Yanni's boat, taken it out to sea, and left it. Yanni was hit over the head, so it looked like an accident. It was probably also Manning who shot at the dolphin, to keep people away.'

I was shocked and silent. Then I turned to Max. 'What do you want me to do to help?'

'Keep Manning away from Corfu harbour when I bring Spiro back from Athens. I can't fly from the airport on the island. Everybody would know. I'll have to hide Spiro in my car, take the car-ferry across to the mainland, and fly to Athens from there. Tomorrow I'll phone you to tell you what time I'll be back the following day. I'd like to take the ferry that gets back at a quarter past five. Could you have tea with Manning and keep him away from the harbour until after six o'clock?'

'I'll hate it, but I'll do my best,' I said.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

A difficult afternoon

I slept very late that day. Phyllida woke me when she let the bright sunlight into the room. It was midday.

'It's about time, too,' she said. 'I've brought you some coffee. Oh, yes. Godfrey phoned.'

I sat up quickly, and Phyllida looked surprised. 'What did he want?' I asked.

'He wanted to know if you were safe and had the ring, of course.' Phyllida held up her hand. The diamond ring was back on her finger. 'And what time did you get in? What happened?' she continued.

Quickly I told Phyllida something about the night's events, but not about Spiro, of course, nor about Sir Julian.

Phyllida listened with interest, but then she looked at her watch and cried, 'Good heavens! I'll have to hurry. I'm going into town to have my hair done and to do some shopping. I thought I'd have lunch there, too. Do you want to come with me?'

'When are you leaving?' I asked.

'In about twenty minutes,' she replied.

Just then the phone rang. 'Oh, that'll be Godfrey again. He was going to ask you to have lunch with him, I think. What shall I tell him?'

I said, 'Say I'm in the bathroom and I can't come to the phone, and tell him that I'm going out with you. Ask him to call me tonight.'

'Then you are coming with me?' asked Phyllida.

'No. I'll just rest today, and go to the beach later,' I said.

'OK,' replied my sister, and she went to answer the telephone.

After an early lunch, I told Miranda that I was going down to the bay, and I went to get my swimming things. I wasn't going there, of course, in case Godfrey saw me, but I was hoping to see Adoni in the garden of the Castello to find out if Max and Spiro had got away safely.

But when I came out of my room, Miranda was waiting for me. Adoni had sent a message to say that all was well.

'Did he tell you about the dolphin?' I asked Miranda.

'Yes,' she replied.

'That's all right, then. Thanks, Miranda,' I said, and left the house.

I went towards the woods, and when I got there, I left the path and climbed higher. I sat down in the shade and tried to read my book, but I couldn't. From where I sat I couldn't see the Castello, but I could see the roof of the Villa Rotha. I could also see the Villa Forli in the distance below me. And then I saw what I had expected to see. Godfrey was coming along the path. He di