1 The Assassins' Village Read Online Free PDF Page B

him.’
    ‘I hope you’re right,’ Tilly still looked scared and depressed. Her hands restlessly pleated the tablecloth in front of her.
    ‘I think another glass of something my dear. Would it help if you spent the night with us? We’ve plenty of room,’ Jen asked, laying her arm around Tilly’s shoulders.
    Tilly made an effort to smile before answering her. Her mind was clearly elsewhere. ‘No thank you. I’ll be fine at home. As Bernard said, Leslie’s probably no danger really. Just a big bore.’
    She looked away from the others; out into the darkness beyond the warm glow from the taverna. What if the police wouldn’t help her? If they didn’t believe her, then she would have to think again. One way or another Leslie had to be stopped. Tilly had had enough. She was terrified at the thought, but she was now desperate enough to put an end to this herself.

 
     
    Chapter 4. Thursday 26 th
     
    And nothing is but what is not.
    Macbeth. Act 1 Scene 3
     
    July was always stonking hot and this summer the temperatures had risen higher than normal. It was even thirty-six degrees up in the cooler mountains of the Troodos. Down below on the coast it was horribly sticky, and on the plain where the capital Nicosia lay, it was reaching an unbelievable forty-five degrees. To make life more uncomfortable, there was not a trace of wind. The slightest movement caused trickles of sweat to roll down between ones’ eyes and shoulder blades, bringing yet more discomfort.
    Diana lay stretched out on the sitting room floor under the ceiling fan. She had exposed her bare midriff to the turgid air that swished around her, giving a temporary sluggish respite from the heat. Sparky, the family cat, flopped down next to her; a pathetic bundle of hot fur.
    Steve wandered in from the courtyard, glad to be in the shade and beyond the slash of the sun’s cruel rays. Surveying the scene on the floor in front of him he gave a slight grin as Di opened one eye and groaned.
    ‘I shan’t state the obvious.’
    ‘Yeah, hot and horrible! How about going down to Curium beach for a swim?’
    ‘I don’t know I can be bothered. It’s unbearable just walking from here to the car.’
    ‘Don’t be idle. Besides you haven’t been in the car since I had the air conditioning re-gassed. Now, as soon as you switch it on it cools down immediately. You can turn it down low and still be cool. It’s much better for the environment, as you keep reminding me.’
    ‘Bugger the environment. Global warming’s causing this.’
    Steve was amused. Di was, and had long been an advocate of the theory of Global Warming even before she had taken her Science degree and studied the full facts for herself. Early on, way back in the 1980s, she had been convinced man was ruining the planet at a breakneck speed.
    ‘Okay. But I still think a swim would be nice, apart from a change of scene if nothing else. Come on, we can be cooling off in the sea in twenty minutes.’
    ‘You’re right. I am being idle. It’s just that today is hotter than ever and I’m sure it’s making me feel nauseous.’ She sat up, brushed her long dark hair back from her flushed face and twisted it up into a knot on the top of her head. Despite her dishevelment, Steve could not help thinking she looked beautiful and desirable. If only it had been a little bit cooler he might have been able to entice her into their bedroom.
    ‘Do you think we should give Jen and Bernard a ring? Jen loves a swim and their car’s not too reliable at the moment? In these temperatures it keeps overheating.’
    ‘That’s because it’s old and knackered and they need a replacement. Okay. You get your cossie on and I’ll ring and ask them. Do you want to suggest it to anyone else? What about Pete and Ann or Elaine?’ he paused before dialling the number.
    Diana looked thoughtful for a moment, ‘No, just Bernard and Jen. Elaine said she has too much to do and needed to ring the UK gallery later. Let’s just