“Absolutely not.”
Catherine lay on the bed, wide awake, thinking about Kirk Reynolds. Will I ever be able to make love with another man? Or has Larry burned that out of me? Maybe, in a way, Larry did manage to kill me, after all. Finally, Catherine slept.
Kirk Reynolds was awakened in the middle of the night by the screams. He sat straight up on the couch, and as the screams continued, he hurried into the bedroom.
Catherine was flailing about on the bed, her eyes tightly closed. “No,” she was yelling. “Don’t! Don’t! Leave me alone!”
Reynolds knelt down and put his arms around her and held her close. “Shhh,” he said. “It’s all right. It’s all right.”
Catherine’s body was wracked with sobs, and he held her close until they subsided.
“They—tried to drown me.”
“It was only a dream,” he said soothingly. “You had a bad dream.”
Catherine opened her eyes and sat up. Her body was trembling. “No, it wasn’t a dream. It was real. They tried to kill me.”
Kirk was looking at her, puzzled. “Who tried to kill you?”
“My…my husband and his mistress.”
He shook his head. “Catherine, you had a nightmare, and…”
“I’m telling you the truth. They tried to murder me, and they were executed for it.”
Kirk’s face was filled with disbelief. “Catherine…”
“I didn’t tell you before, because it’s…it’s painful for me to talk about it.”
He suddenly realized that she was serious. “What happened?”
“I wouldn’t give Larry a divorce, and he…he was in love with another woman, and they decided to murder me.”
Kirk was listening intently now. “When was this?”
“A year ago.”
“What happened to them?”
“They were—they were executed by the state.”
He raised a hand. “Wait a minute. They were executed for attempting to kill you?”
“Yes.”
Reynolds said, “I’m not an expert on Greek law, but I’m willing to bet that there’s no death sentence for attempted murder. There has to be some mistake. I know a lawyer in Athens. Actually, he works for the state. I’ll give him a call in the morning, and clear this up. His name is Peter Demonides.”
Catherine was still asleep when Kirk Reynolds awakened. He dressed quietly and went into the bedroom. He stood there a moment, looking down at Catherine. I love her so much. I have to find out what really happened, and clear the shadows away for her.
Kirk Reynolds went down to the hotel lobby and placed a phone call to Athens. “I’d like to make it person-to-person, operator. I want to speak with Peter Demonides.”
The call came through half an hour later.
“Mr. Demonides? This is Kirk Reynolds. I don’t know whether you remember me, but…”
“Of course I do. You work for Constantin Demiris.”
“Yes.”
“What can I do for you, Mr. Reynolds?”
“Forgive me for bothering you. I’m a bit puzzled about some information I just came across. It involves a point of Greek law.”
“I know a little bit about Greek law,” Demonides said jovially. “I’ll be happy to help you.”
“Is there anything in your law that allows someone to be executed for attempted murder?”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. “May I ask why you are inquiring?”
“I’m with a woman named Catherine Alexander. She seems to think that her husband and his mistress were executed by the state for trying to kill her. It doesn’t sound logical. Do you see what I mean?”
“Yes.” Demonides’s voice was thoughtful. “I see what you mean. Where are you, Mr. Reynolds?”
“I’m staying at the Palace Hotel in St. Moritz.”
“Let me check this out, and I’ll get back to you.”
“I would appreciate it. The truth is, I think Miss Alexander may be imagining things, and I’d like to straighten this out and relieve her mind.”
“I understand. You will hear from me. I promise.”
The air was bright and crisp, and the beauty of Catherine’s surroundings dispelled her terrors of the night before.
The two of them breakfasted in the village, and when they had finished, Reynolds said, “Let’s go over to the ski slope and turn you into a snow bunny.”