Memories of Midnight

"Get me Peter Demonides. Tell him I want to see him right now."

"Mr. Demonides has been relieved of his duties. He’s under investigation."

So there was no one to turn to. I’ll get out of this, he thought. I’m Constantin Demiris.

He sent for the special prosecutor.

Delma arrived at the prison one hour later. "You asked to see me?"

"Yes," Demiris said. "I understand you’ve established the time of my wife’s death at three o’clock."

"That is correct."

"Then before you embarrass yourself and the police department any further, I can prove that I was nowhere near the beach house at that hour yesterday."

"You can prove that?"

"Of course. I have a witness."

They were seated in the police commissioner’s office when Spyros Lambrou arrived. Demiris’s face lit up when he saw him.

"Spyros, thank God you’re here! These idiots think I murdered Melina. You know I couldn’t have. Tell them."

Spyros Lambrou frowned. "Tell them what?"

"Melina was killed at three o’clock yesterday afternoon. You and I were together at Acrocorinth at three o’clock. I couldn’t have driven back to the beach house before seven. Tell them about our meeting."

Spyros Lambrou was staring at him. "What meeting?"

The blood began to drain from Demiris’s face. "The…the meeting you and I had yesterday. At the lodge at Acrocorinth."

"You must be confused, Costa. I was out driving alone yesterday afternoon. I’m not going to lie for you."

Constantin Demiris’s face filled with rage. "You can’t do this!" He grabbed the lapels of Lambrou’s jacket. "Tell them the truth."

Spyros Lambrou pushed him away. "The truth is that my sister is dead and you murdered her."

"Liar!" Demiris screamed. "Liar!" He started toward Lambrou again and it took two policemen to restrain him.

"You son of a bitch. You know I’m innocent!"

"The judges will decide that. I think you need a good lawyer."

And Constantin Demiris realized that there was only one man who could have saved him.

Napoleon Chotas.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Confidential File

Transcript of Session with Catherine Douglas

C: Do you believe in premonitions, Alan?

A: They’re not scientifically accepted, but as a matter of fact, I do. Have you been having premonitions?

C: Yes. I – I have the feeling that something terrible is going to happen to me.

A: Is this part of your old dream?

C: No. I told you that Mr. Demiris sent some men in from Athens…

A: Yes.

C: He asked me to look after them, so I’ve been seeing quite a bit of them.

A: Do you feel threatened by them?

C: No. Not exactly. It’s difficult to explain. They haven’t done anything, and yet I – I keep expecting something to happen. Something awful. Does that make any sense to you?

A: Tell me about the men.

C: There’s a Frenchman, Yves Renard. He insists that we go to museums, but when we get there, I can see that he’s not interested. He asked me to take him to Stonehenge this Saturday. There’s Jerry Haley. He’s an American. He seems pleasant enough, but there’s something disturbing about him. Then there’s Dino Mattusi. He’s supposed to be an executive with Mr. Demiris’s company, but he asks a lot of questions that he should have the answers to. He invited me to go for a drive. I thought I would take Wim along…And that’s something else.

A: Yes?

C: Wim has been acting strangely.

A: In what way?

C: When I come into the office in the morning, Wim is always waiting for me. He never used to. And when he sees me, it’s almost as though he’s angry that I’m there. None of this makes much sense, does it?

A: Everything makes sense once you have the key, Catherine. Have you had any more dreams?

C: I had a dream about Constantin Demiris. It’s very vague.

A: Tell me what you remember of it.

C: I asked him why he was being so kind to me, why he gave me the job here and a place to live. And why he gave me the gold pin.

A: And, what did he say?

C: I don’t remember. I woke up screaming.

Dr. Alan Hamilton studied the transcript carefully, looking for the unmarked trails of the subconscious, seeking a clue that would explain what was disturbing Catherine. He was reasonably certain that her apprehension was connected with the fact that strangers had arrived from Athens, and Athens was the scene of her traumatic past. The part about Wim puzzled Alan. Was Catherine imagining it? Or was Wim behaving in an atypical way? I’m due to see Wim in a few weeks, Alan thought. Perhaps I will move up his appointment.

Alan sat there thinking about Catherine. Although he made it a rule never to get involved emotionally with his patients, Catherine was someone special. She was beautiful and vulnerable and…What am I doing? I can’t let myself think this way. I’ll concentrate on something else. But his thoughts kept returning to her.

Catherine was unable to get Alan Hamilton out of her mind. Don’t be a fool, Catherine told herself. He’s a married man. All patients feel this way about their analysts. But nothing Catherine told herself helped. Maybe I should see an analyst about my analyst.

She was seeing Alan again in two days. Perhaps I should cancel the appointment, Catherine thought, before I get in any deeper. Too late.

On the morning she had the appointment with Alan, Catherine dressed very carefully and went to the beauty parlor. As long as I’m not going to see him again after today, Catherine reasoned, there’s no harm in my looking nice.

The moment she walked into his office, her resolve melted. Why does he have to be so damned attractive? Why couldn’t we have met before he got married? Why couldn’t he have known me when I was a normal and sane human being? But, on the other hand, if I were a sane, normal human being, I wouldn’t have gone to him in the first place, would I?