YANNIS (Cretan Saga Book 1) (74 page)

She was dragged unceremoniously along the street until they reached the police station. Eyebrows were raised as Anna was pushed inside the door and the irate woman began to insist they did something with the girl.

‘Now, let’s just quieten down a minute.’ The policeman held up his hand to stem the tirade that was spilling from the woman’s lips. ‘Have a seat and we’ll get to the bottom of it. What’s your name, girl?’

‘Anna Pavlakis.’

‘And where are you from, Anna?’

‘Heraklion.’

‘What are you doing here?’

‘My Mamma brought me.’

The policeman leaned forward. ‘So, tell me, Anna, where’s your Mamma now?’

‘She went back to Heraklion.’

Slowly the story was dragged out of her. The policeman sat back and looked at the baker’s wife. ‘Don’t you think a little charity could be in order – under the circumstances?’

‘If she were an ordinary child I’d take her in,’ the woman assured him. ‘As it is there’s no way I could give her shelter.’

The policeman raised his eyebrows in surprise. Why should an ordinarily kind-hearted woman suddenly be so adamant about the girl? It was not a great deal of money that she had tried to steal. The woman lifted Anna’s hair and exposed her neck. The policeman recoiled, then looked again.

‘Are you sure?’ The policeman pursed his lips. Should he fetch the doctor? He would like to be rid of the girl as soon as possible if she was a leper. ‘I want you to wait in here,’ he said gently. ‘I’ll make some arrangements for you to be looked after until your Mamma returns.’

He pushed her into a bare little room and shut and locked the door. Anna hammered on the door in panic whilst he tried in vain to calm her, finally asking the baker’s wife to stay and talk to her whilst he was gone.

First he went to the house occupied by Doctor Stavros and of whom there was no sign, then to Doctor Kandakis. After lengthy explanations the doctor grudgingly agreed to return to the police station to make an official diagnosis. He looked through the grill at the young girl, shivering in the corner of the cell.

‘Come here, girl, and show me your neck,’ he ordered.

Anna did not move.

‘Confirmed.’ He turned to go. The policeman and baker’s wife looked at him in surprise.

‘You didn’t examine her.’

‘There’s no need. I’ll send in my bill.’

‘But surely you should look at her.’

‘My advice to you is to get rid of her as soon as possible – and don’t forget to disinfect the cell afterwards.’ He marched from the police station, thoroughly annoyed that his afternoon siesta should have been disturbed.

‘I’ll be off, then.’ The baker’s wife adjusted her shawl and made for the door.

The policeman scratched his head. This was completely outside his experience. He dragged a chair over to the cell door. Anna was huddled in a miserable heap.

‘Don’t be frightened,’ he said gently. ‘No one will hurt you. It’s just somewhere for you to stay until I can make some arrangements for you to be properly looked after. Are you hungry? Look, my wife put me up some brawn. Would you like to share it with me?’ He held up a meat-filled roll temptingly. ‘There’s far too much for me, and I’ll only get a scolding if I take some back home.’

Anna eyed the roll greedily. She was indeed very hungry.

‘Come on,’ he urged her. ‘We’ll have a bite to eat, then I’ll make some coffee.’

Anna turned her head away. He tried again. ‘I have a little sister about your age. I wouldn’t want to think she was feeling hungry. Have a roll.’

‘Let me out.’ Anna spoke in a dull, flat voice.

‘I can’t do that,’ he shook his head. ‘If I unlocked that door you’d take off like lightning and that would be the last we’d see of you until you were found somewhere out in the wilds dead from starvation. What I’m going to do,’ he waved the roll temptingly in the air, ‘is wait until a friend of mine arrives back. He’s a boatman. I’m going to ask him to take you over to the island. You’ll like it there and they’ll look after you properly. There’s the doctor and the hospital. I don’t know how long he’ll be,’ he scratched at his head again. ‘That’s what worries me, not knowing how long he’ll be away and thinking of you being hungry and refusing to share my lunch.’

‘I’m not ill. I don’t need to go to a hospital.’

The policeman winked. ‘Between you and me I don’t think you’re ill either. That doctor,’ he lowered his voice, ‘he’s a pompous old fool. He didn’t want to come and see you in the first place. What is that mark on your neck?’

‘A birthmark.’

‘Well, then, you take my advice. Have something to eat now; then when my friend takes you over to the island you’ll see the doctor there and as sure as anything he’ll say ‘take her back’ and Manolis will bring you back again. I’ll be waiting for you and you can come and stay with my wife and I until your Mamma comes back for you. How does that sound? There’s just one condition, have a bite to eat, because it’s going to take a while and you might not get another chance for a few hours.’ He held the roll through the grilled window to her and this time she took it, cramming it into her mouth greedily. He sighed with relief. At least he appeared to have gained her confidence. That would make everything a good deal easier. ‘There’s a good girl.’ He looked at her in mock horror. ‘Would you believe it! My wife has put three more rolls in here. You’ll have to eat another.’

This time Anna needed no further urging and stretched her hand through the grill to take the roll. ‘You’ve got a nice wife,’ she remarked.

‘I’m a lucky man. She’s only got one fault, thinks I need feeding up.’ He rubbed his paunch and grinned. ‘I’ll make some coffee.’

The afternoon passed slowly for both of them and after eating another roll and managing to swallow her third cup of bitter coffee, her gaoler announced that he would go in search of his friend. He scanned the water anxiously, a number of boats could be seen returning to the port and he hoped one of them would contain the doctor and Manolis so he could discharge his burden. Half an hour later he was about to give up when Manolis arrived alone.

‘Where’s the doctor?’

‘Had to stop off at Elounda. Some emergency.’ Manolis jumped ashore.

‘I’ve got a problem for you. The baker’s wife caught a child stealing. Hauled her along to me. I was going to give her a lecture and let her go, then the woman pulls back the child’s hair and says she’s a leper.’

Manolis whistled through his teeth. ‘Poor little devil! What have you done with her?’

‘She’s in one of the cells.’

‘I can’t do anything without the doctor’s diagnosis.’

‘Doctor Kandakis has confirmed it.’

‘Is she bad?’

‘Not that you’d notice, it’s mostly hidden by her hair.’

‘Does she know?’

‘Says it’s a birthmark. She’s a stranger round here. Says her Mamma brought her down here to get away from the Germans; then went back to Heraklion to get some more money. It’s my guess that the mother knew and abandoned her.’

‘You want me to take her over?’

The policeman nodded. ‘I’ve told her you’ll take her over tonight and the doctor will examine her when he visits. If he’s happy that it’s a birthmark you bring her back and the wife and I will look after her.’

‘Better get on with it, then.’

Most of the journey across the water was conducted in silence until the island was no more than a few yards away. Manolis cut the engine and looked at the pathetic little girl who sat in the stern of the boat.

‘Cheer up. I’m going to ask a very nice lady to look after you. We’ll ask the doctor to have a look at you the next time he’s over and within a few days I expect I’ll be taking you back.’

‘Take me back now, please.’

Manolis shook his head. ‘I can’t do that.’

‘My Mamma won’t know where to find me,’ she turned large, frightened eyes on Manolis who smiled cheerfully at her.

‘That’s no problem. As soon as your Mamma can’t find you she’ll go to the police. He’ll tell her where you are. Look, there’s Flora. Give her a wave.’ He cupped his hands to his mouth and called. ‘Find Yannis. I want to talk to him.’

Flora scampered away and Manolis took his time tying up until both Flora and Yannis appeared. He jumped from the boat and helped Anna out.

‘I’ve brought a visitor for you. She probably won’t be staying long, just a day or two; then I’ll take her back to Aghios Nikolaos. I thought you’d look after her, Flora.’

Dumbly Flora nodded. She had no experience of looking after young girls. This was an entirely new situation to her – a girl come to stay for a few days! She opened her mouth to ask Manolis more, but he forestalled her. ‘Take her up to your house, Flora, and make her feel at home.’

‘What’s all this about, Manolis?’ Yannis was curious. ‘Where did you find her?’

‘Just a minute.’ Manolis waited until Flora and Anna were out of hearing. ‘I don’t know much about it myself. I had to drop the doctor off at Elounda, and when I arrived back I found Nikos, the policeman in Aghios Nikolaos, waiting for me. He said he had a girl in one of his cells. Apparently she’s been abandoned by her mother and was caught stealing from the baker. She thinks it’s a birthmark, but Doctor Kandakis has diagnosed her as a leper.’

‘That’s all very well, but where’s she going to stay?’

‘I thought Flora could look after her.’

‘Flora spends all her time with you, besides, her house is hardly suitable. There’s three of them sleeping in one room at the moment.’

‘It may only be for a few days.’

‘I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’ll talk to Phaedra.’

Manolis’s face lit up with a grin. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let me down.’

Yannis looked at him in amazement. ‘You had it all worked out, you crafty devil. Suppose I hadn’t taken the bait?’

‘Then I would have suggested it.’ Manolis assured him.

Yiorgo was uneasy. For the last three days the town of Heraklion had been too quiet and appeared too normal, considering it had been invaded and wherever you turned there was a German with a rifle pointed in your direction. Louisa had reopened the taverna and each evening it was packed with off-duty soldiers, but shunned by the locals who preferred to drink in their own homes rather than fraternise. He had called for a council meeting and there had been no message from their new masters to say it was banned. For two days he had laboured over his speech, wondering if he should urge his members to stand firm and resist all German ideas, or whether they should acquiesce and allow themselves to be ruled. He had finally decided the line of least resistance would be safest. Now he knotted his tie, picked up his briefcase and with a final look in the mirror strode confidently down the street.

Yiorgo looked around the assembly room; the number of council members who had turned up was disappointingly small. He pushed his hair back and cleared his throat.

‘Shall we give our friends another five minutes?’ he suggested. They sat in silence until Yiorgo could hold the meeting up no longer. He shuffled his papers.

‘My friends, I have called a meeting here today, not to discuss the unhappy events of the past week, but to plan our future. The Germans will not stay on Crete forever, but whilst they are here we have to live with them and obey them unless we want further bloodshed. We have to think of our families, wives and children, not how we would like to act if we had no responsibilities.’

A stony silence greeted his proposal. The older members agreeing with his policy, yet fearing they would be branded cowards by the others.

‘What I am proposing is a policy of non-resistance. If we are told to do something we obey, unquestioningly, but we do not offer any help at all.’

‘You’re a fine one to talk,’ Orestis was on his feet, shouting angrily. ‘You say we shouldn’t offer help, yet every night your taverna is open for their pleasure.’

‘I have to live,’ Yiorgo defended himself. ‘I do not choose to have them in my taverna, but if they weren’t there they would be somewhere else spending their money.’

‘I say you should refuse to serve them.’

‘Agreed! Agreed!’

Yiorgo looked at the angry faces before him. He had not expected this. He held up his hand for silence. ‘Very well, if allowing Germans to spend their drachmas in my taverna offends you I shall see they no longer frequent it. Are we going to insist that no greengrocer supplies them with vegetables, no baker with bread, and no grocer with flour? How are you…’

He was interrupted by the opening of the door behind him and turned, expecting to find a late council member entering. It was with amazement that he greeted Mr Dubois.

‘Excuse me, Mr Dubois. We are in the middle of a council meeting.’

‘You were in the middle of a council meeting, Mr Pavlakis. You are now at the end of a council meeting.’ Mr Dubois beckoned and a dozen soldiers moved into the room, their rifles at the ready.

‘What do you want? What does this mean?’

‘You and the council are under arrest.’

Mr Pavlakis looked at his council members. ‘May I know why we have been arrested?’

Mr Dubois ignored the question. ‘Are all your members present?’

‘Some are missing.’

From his pocket Mr Dubois drew a list. ‘When I call your name, please stand.’ He reeled off the names, ticking each one as they stood. He looked at the list again. ‘You have more than some members missing, Mr Pavlakis, most of your members seem to be missing. I think a little visiting is in order.’

Mr Dubois spoke rapidly to the soldiers in a language Yiorgo could not understand, but recognised as German.

‘You may sit, gentlemen, whilst we wait for your companions to join us.’

Uneasily the men resumed their seats, glancing at one another. Yiorgo Pavlakis cleared his throat. ‘Mr Dubois…’

‘You will not talk.’

‘I only…’

A stinging blow across the mouth stopped Yiorgo from uttering anything further. He took his handkerchief from his pocket and mopped at the trickle of blood that came from the side of his mouth. The men looked at each other. This was alarming.

At intervals a soldier would return and push a council member roughly through the door, shouting the name to Mr Dubois who would tick him off the list. They slid into their seats, their eyes fearful and their hands twitching nervously. By mid-afternoon the entire council except one were assembled and Mr Dubois looked at them with satisfaction. He turned to Yiorgo and gave a little bow.