“The guns.”
“What?”
But Leo was already up—and running after the others.
20
Kate hurried into the house. She looked around but couldn’t see Jason anywhere.
“Jason?” she whispered. “Jason—”
Suddenly, he appeared—emerging from the gun room. He stared at her, with a strange, confused look on his face. “They’ve gone.”
Kate didn’t know what he meant. “What?”
“The guns. They’re not there.”
“What do you mean? Where are they?”
“I don’t fucking know. Someone’s taken them.”
They heard footsteps at the end of the corridor. They looked up.
Leo was standing there, staring at them. He was a frightening sight—covered in blood, wild, wretched. He looked out of his mind.
“The guns,” Leo said. “I—”
Jason tensed up. “What?”
“I moved them. I hid them. It was meant to be a joke, I—”
But Jason was already on him—grabbing hold of him. “Where are they? Tell me!”
“Jason, let him go!” Kate said.
“Where are the guns?”
“Let him go!”
Jason released him, and Leo sank to the floor, against the wall, weeping, hugging his knees.
“She’s dead!” Leo screamed. “Don’t you even care?”
He covered his face with his hands. Kate went over to him and pulled him into her arms. “Darling, shh, shh. Please—tell us. Where are the guns?”
Leo raised one hand and pointed at the wooden chest. “In there.”
Jason charged up to the chest. He threw open the lid.
He scowled. “Is this a joke?”
“What?” Leo got up and made his way over. He looked inside.
The chest was empty.
Leo was astonished. “But—I put them there—”
“When?”
“Before dinner. Someone’s moved them.”
“Who? Why would anyone do that?”
Kate frowned as something occurred to her. “Where’s Nikos?”
“I am here,” said a voice behind them.
They spun around. Nikos was standing in the doorway. He was holding a gun.
There was a slight pause, then Jason said guardedly, “Lana’s been shot.”
Nikos nodded. “Yes, I know.”
Jason glanced at the gun in Nikos’s hand. “Where did you get that?”
“This is my gun.”
“Are you sure? All mine are missing.”
Nikos shrugged. “It is mine.”
Jason held out his hand. “Well, you better give it to me.”
Nikos shook his head—a definite no. Jason decided not to press him for it. Instead, he said slowly and emphatically, “We need to search the island. Do you understand? There’s an intruder. He is armed and dangerous. We need to find him.”
Then I entered—the bearer of bad tidings. I didn’t know how to say it; so I just came out with it.
“Agathi spoke to the police in Mykonos.”
Jason looked up. “And? When are they getting here?”
“They’re not.”
“What?”
“They’re not coming. It’s the wind. They can’t get a boat across.”
Kate stared at me. Her face tightened. “But they have to—they must—”
“They said it’ll calm down by dawn.… They’ll try then.”
“But—that’s in five hours.”
“I know.” I nodded. “Until then, we’re on our own.”
21
It was decided that Jason, Nikos, and I should search the island for an intruder. I told them it was a waste of time.
“That’s madness. You seriously think someone landed here—in this weather? That’s impossible!”
“What other option is there?” Jason glared at me. “Someone’s here, and we’re going to find him. Now move.”
And so, armed with battery-powered flashlights, we ventured into the night.
We began patrolling the path through the olive grove, shining our beams into the dark. The olive trees were thickset, revealing only spiderwebs and birds’ nests.
As we walked, Jason kept glancing at the gun in Nikos’s hand. Jason clearly didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust either of them with a gun, to be honest—I kept as close an eye on them as they kept on each other.
We made our way to the coast and began to search the beaches. This was an arduous task, with the wind attacking us as we walked. The fury was relentless, slashing our faces, hurling sand at us; screaming in our ears, shoving us off-balance every chance it got. But we persevered, and it took us a little over an hour, following the dirt path that snaked around the perimeter of the island, rising and falling along the shoreline.