Van Horn picked up the book and examined it. After a while, he sighed. “It would have been a pity to spoil the set. It was presented to me by my American publishers just before the war.”
He crossed to the bookshelves, replaced the volume then took a decanter from the cupboard and poured himself a drink. When he spoke, his voice sounded curiously remote. It was almost as if he were discussing something that had happened to someone else.
“You’re right, of course. They found the book and Steiner came straight to me. I tried to beat about the bush, but it didn’t do any good.”
Katina moved forward, dragging her right foot slightly. “Why did you teU them?”
He tried to turn away, but she caught his arm and pulled him round to face her. “Why, Oliver?”
He shrugged. “Because I was afraid. He threatened to send me to Gestapo headquarters in Athens.”
“Was that all?”
Van Horn shook his head. “No, he swore he’d destroy every piece hi my collection. He smashed the amphora just to show me he meant business.”
She turned away, loathing on her face, and Lomax said, “Why did Steiner keep you in the town gaol Instead of sending you to Fonchi with the others?”
“Your apparent death on the way to Crete made a convenient scapegoat,” Van Horn told him. “Steiner was going to release me after six months on the grounds of my health.”
“So that you could inform on more of your friends?” Katina asked.
He ignored her and went on, “Unfortunately, Steiner was killed and his replacement knew nothing of the arrangement. He had me transferred to Fonchi soon after taking over command.”
“So you condemned your friends to a hell on earth because you were afraid,” Katina said. “Because of your stupid collection.”
“I suffered as much as anyone,” he said. “You’ve seen what they did to me, Lomax. When you told me you suspected Alexias, that you intended to have a showdown with him, I panicked. I knew you were bound to turn something up if you dug around for long enough.”
“So you got in touch with Dimitri?”
Van Horn nodded. “He said he’d take care of things, but insisted on seeing me. I went in the launch as you guessed. When I arrived, he was drunk. Apparently he’d put two-and-two together.”
“And you realised he intended to blackmail you?”
“There was a gutting knife on the table. I thought that if I used that, it would make Kytros think the murderer was a fisherman.”
“Rather an unusual way to stab a man.”
Van Horn shrugged. “A trick I learned in the trenches. One never really forgets how to do that sort of thing. You should know that better than most people.”
Lomax ignored the thrust. “And the business hi the alley at the back of the prison? I was right about that?”
Van Horn nodded. “When Katina came out to the villa and asked me to help you get out, I couldn’t very well refuse. The automatic I gave her had a damaged firing pin, by the way. After she’d left hi the jeep, I followed her into town on an old bicycle we’ve had in the stables for years.”
Lomax was beginning to feel tired and the pain in his head was worse. “So you killed?” he said. “And made me kill? And for what, Van Horn? To what end?”
“I don’t know,” Van Horn said. “I really don’t. Is there ever an end to anything?”
He put his right hand into his pocket and produced a revolver. Katina took a quick step backwards and Lomax said, “More killing, Van Horn? But you won’t be able to stop with me. What about Katina? Will you shoot her also?”
“I don’t think so,” a familiar voice said, and Kytros stepped in through the french window, Alexias Pavlo at his shoulder.
Van Horn’s eyes flickered towards them and Lomax shoved Katina to one side and jumped. He was too late by a mile. Van Horn fired at point-blank range and the heavy bullet caught Lomax in the right shoulder, smashing him back against the piano.
As Katina screamed, his arm swung against the lamp, knocking it sideways, plunging the room into darkness as he slid to the floor.