Chapter 33
On the Medusa, Oxana dresses for dinner, exchanging her swimsuit for a midnight-blue satin Zara slip.
Tonight, the Yilmaz family and their guests are dining on board, under the stars.
Since the nightclub incident on Kytheria, they’ve only gone ashore twice.
For lunch on Antiparos, and the following evening for dinner on the same island.
When she reaches the deck Oxana stands still for a moment, taking it all in. The Medusa is lying at anchor in a secluded bay. The sun has set and the sky is a deep indigo. A table has been set with white linen, silver cutlery, crystal glasses and flickering candles.
Inci and Tahir are standing at the rail, composed as if for a thirties photograph.
She’s in ivory chiffon with starburst diamond earrings; he’s wearing a cream dinner jacket.
They’re joined by Emir, and appear to be talking about Defne, frequently glancing at her as she stands, tall and sleek-haired, whispering to Buse.
Nearby, Captain ?zdemir and Atlas are standing in silence.
Seeing Oxana, Tahir steps away from the rail, drink in hand, and beckons her to join him.
‘I need to talk to you,’ he says, his voice lowered.
‘I’m listening.’
‘The other evening, on Kytheria, what exactly happened?’
Oxana considers. ‘It was exactly as I told you.’
‘Tell me again.’
‘Sure. We arrived at the club, and Defne and Buse split up. Defne went with Emir to dance, and I stayed in the cocktail bar, where Buse was sitting with a group of Russians.’
‘What sort of Russians?’
‘Drunk, steroid bodies, too much cologne.’
‘And then?’
‘Emir came back from the dance floor by himself, so I left him to keep an eye on Buse and went to find Defne. She was dancing with some guy and looked a bit confused and uncoordinated. She could have had too much to drink, but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the reason.’
‘What did you think was the reason?’
‘I thought her drink might have been spiked.’
‘By the man she was with?’
Oxana shrugs. ‘He bought her a Coke. Perfect for disguising the taste of a date-rape drug.’
‘Go on.’
‘Defne and I spoke, and she wasn’t making much sense, slurring her words, so I took her off the dance floor.’
‘Did she want to go?’
‘No. She protested.’
‘But you persuaded her.’
Oxana nods.
‘What about the man she was with? Did he mind?’
‘To begin with, yes. But when he saw I was serious, he just…’ She shrugs. ‘He just called me a poutana and walked away.’
‘He called you a whore. In Greek.’
‘Yes.’
‘What did he look like?’
‘Tall, dark-haired, late twenties maybe… It was dark, with laser-lights and strobes, so it was hard to tell.’
‘And what was your reaction?’
‘To be honest, my main concern was Defne.’
‘So you led her off the dance floor, then the two of you left the club with Emir and Buse?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did they object to leaving?’
‘No. They were worried about Defne. They could see she was confused. We walked her down to the port, where one of the crew was waiting with the motor-launch, and that was it, really. I took her to her cabin and put her to bed.’
‘In her evening clothes?’
‘No. I changed her into her nightdress.’
‘And how was she, at that point?’
‘Just… very tired.’
‘You didn’t think to tell me about any of this at the time it happened?’
‘You and Miss Demir had gone to bed. I checked on Defne during the night, and she was sleeping normally.’
‘Nevertheless.’
‘I didn’t want to wake the whole boat up. I made the decision to let her sleep, and to tell you what happened the next morning.’
‘OK.’ Tahir nods thoughtfully. ‘The man that Defne was dancing with. The one who called you a poutana. Did you accuse him of drugging her? Of spiking her drink?’
‘No. I barely spoke to him. I thought the most important thing was to get Defne out of there. I didn’t have any proof that this particular man had drugged her.’
He frowns. ‘So you didn’t… harm him in any way?’
Oxana’s eyes widen. ‘No. Goodness me. Not at all.’
Tahir stares out to sea.
‘May I ask why you’re…’
‘Because I’ve just received a news agency report that a thirty-year-old Greek man, Nicky Katsaros, was found dead in the Nymphaeon nightclub in Kytheria in the early hours of yesterday morning. He had been stabbed in the throat with a restaurant fork, or something very like it.’
‘But that’s horrible. Who would do something like that?’
‘I wonder. Turns out that Mr Katsaros had something of a reputation, locally. He’d been accused of spiking a tourist’s drink a couple of years ago, but the case was never proven.’
‘Oh my gosh.’
‘But the thing that really caught my eye in the report was a comment by a police doctor. Katsaros bled to death following multiple perforations of the carotid artery, and this, apparently, is not an easy way to kill someone. Even under what you might call ideal conditions, it takes considerable strength, accuracy and anatomical knowledge. Yet the attack was almost certainly carried out on the club dance floor, with the only available light being the laser-lights and strobes that you talked about. So you’ll understand why it makes me wonder. ’
‘Yes indeed.’
‘Specifically, Oxana, it makes me wonder about you.’
‘In what way, Mr Yilmaz?’
‘It makes me wonder if you’re quite who you say you are.’
‘Are you dissatisfied with my care and concern for your daughter?’
He smiles faintly. ‘On the contrary. I’m gratified by your conscientiousness and attention to detail. Is loyalty important to you, Oxana?’
‘Nothing is more important to me.’
‘Excellent. Perhaps we should just say that as far as your visit to Kytheria is concerned, all’s well that ends well. With my daughter’s honour intact, and nothing worse than a headache for her to remember the evening by.’
‘Just a midsummer night’s dream, Mr Yilmaz.’
He gives her a cold smile. ‘Don’t overstep the mark, Oxana.’