The man who had brought Susan here to rape her and kill her was choking. His hands which might have been used to otherwise beat her body into submission flew up to his throat in panic and thinking that he was dying. And he was not wrong to think so. His fingers were desperately trying to insert themselves under the metal links of the chain but they had been buried too tightly. Coldly, Susan watched him fighting for his breath which could not enter the windpipe. She felt his feet and legs hammering on the bed. He opened his mouth but no words emerged. She pulled the chain a fraction tighter and his face was changing colour. The hammering of the legs and the feet ceased. His hands which had been clawing at the chain, fell to his sides. He was very still.
Susan still held on. To be sure. His body had slumped, lifeless on hers.
She eased herself from beneath him after lifting the chain. She rubbed her hand
Nathan’s POVI will always remember the barn. How could I ever forget it? It was a big, corrugated iron one, dull with age and with no windows on the lower level and just one at each end, up in the gable. Tall narrow windows that let light into the loft, while below the barn was dark and silent, cluttered and filled with dust. But I didn't know that when I first saw it. I came upon it slowly as I emerged onto the top of the mountain, after a steep climb from the bay below, which had taken me through the untouched forest of the National Park. And I came at it from the rear, seeing the high window lit with the full afternoon sun, and I saw him there caught in the sun, naked and golden, like some lost angel. Perched up there on the windowsill with his arms spread wide hanging on to the frame. He is the reason I remember the barn so well. I stopped there, breathing hard, recovering from the climb, and
This is getting to be familiar territory, Susan thought as they entered the corridor and turned to go towards the library. They knocked politely, turned the handle and then gradually descended down the steps. In his smoking jacket Lord Billington sat there crouched over a table occupied by the game of chess in progress. He frowned.“My dear chap. Welcome…. And also to you, Susan. The frown was about me being puzzled by the state of the game. Join me for a few moves, eh, Frost?” asked the earl.He waited for Nathan patiently as he toured the board from all angles. Sitting opposite to Billington, he moved one of his pawns. Billington looked perplexed.While waiting Nathan picked up the imposing Queen. He used a clean handkerchief to wipe off the wwaist a tiny mark. Then he placed her back on the board.“She is a heavy lady,”
After more valuable conversation with Acheson, Nathan left the table and headed with Susan for the garage. Once inside the car he stared straight ahead and then just sat there without even saying a thing without moving.“Billions and billions, MacArthur said that the moor is worth and Neville Guise offers Lord Billington only one million for this entire property like this. He must have been furious when Acheson sent him that phoney report through that courier--- and returned the huge fee that Guise had sent him, rather paid him…”“Which is why he tried to kill Acheson that day in the moor. That night I mean,” said Susan as her eyes widened with the realization,” He spotted the fake. We will now drive over to Bradburt Manor and I would like to have a conversation with Lord Billington on an immediate basis.”“But he will be asleep
The dining room was very quiet. Few tables were occupied. Acheson was at a table inside a secluded alcove. He waved. As Nathan and Susan sat on either side of him he took out a package nicely wrapped with a bow and all out of the pocket of his tropical drill jacket, and handed it to Susan.“I have never been able to properly thank you for saving my life up on the moor.. Otherwise I would not be here tonight. Just a small gift,” said Acheson with a smile and gratitude shining in his eyes.Susan took it gingerly. It had been quite long that she had been presented with gifts from men. And now that she had it she was not sure any longer. She opened the gold wrapping paper which was gauzy and then the green soft coloured paper underneath and took out an expensive leather case.Taking a deep breath she unfastened the case and gasped.Inside was a
“This map,” Marley started speaking,” I have obtained from a mariner friend high up in his service. They know of the island’s existence but do not know that the island belongs to that bastard, Neville Guise. Here goes….”From the cardboard roll he extracted a large map, spreading it to flatten it. Susan immediately recognized it as showing the west coast of Brittany, the Channel Islands with vast stretch of the Atlantic with another island well west to the Channel Islands group. The island was circled in red.Near the bottom of the large sheet was another map, a detailed outline of the map of Roab. A drawing on this map showed steep cliffs and a section of dotted lines shaped like a triangle with the narrowed apex ending at the gulch. Marley pointed the dotted lines projecting into the Atlantic.“That’s a trap,” he explaine
The pleasant maid had cleared away the breakfast clutter that the three of them had made altogether, but Susan was still puzzled by Nathan’s reply. Another factor entered her mind, she looked across the bed where Nathan’s note pad was still open and Nathan was studying it.“Island of Roab. Could that be somewhere important? I mean, somewhere remote out in the Atlantic?”“All great minds think alike,” he smiled,” I was just wondering about that myself.”“And there is a strange item in the paper. Something about the Asiatic pirates who grabbed an oil tanker about a few months back, fully laden. Do you think that this could be connected with that?” asked Jane who was also trying to contribute in the best way that she could, given that she had missed out on a lot of the investigation in the past few days.