The Other Side of Midnight

"It's a ticket."

"To what?"

"The Caves of Perama."

"And the date on it?"

"Monday. Three weeks ago."

"Yes. That ticket was purchased and used by me, Mr. Cocyannis. There were five others in my party. You were our guide. No further questions."

"What is your occupation?"

"I'm a bellboy at the Palace Hotel in Ioannina."

"Would you please look at the defendant seated in the defendant's box. Have you ever seen her before?"

"Yes, sir. In movies."

"Did you ever see her in person before today?"

"Yes, sir. She came into the hotel and asked me what room Mr. Douglas was staying in. I told her she'd have to inquire at the desk and she said she preferred not to bother them, so I gave her the number of his bungalow."

"And this was when?"

"The first day of August. The day of the meltemi."

"And are you sure that this is the same woman?"

"How could I forget her? She tipped me two hundred drachmas."

The trial was going into its fourth week. Everyone agreed that Napoleon Chotas was conducting the best defense they had ever witnessed. But in spite of this the web of guilt was being woven tighter and tighter.

Peter Demonides was building up a picture of two lovers, desperate to be together, to be married, with only Catherine Douglas standing in their way. Slowly day by day, Demonides elaborated on the plot to murder her.

Larry Douglas' attorney, Frederick Stavros, had gladly abdicated his position and relied on Napoleon Chotas. But now even Stavros began to feel that it would take a miracle to get an acquittal. Stavros stared at the empty chair in the packed courtroom and wondered if Constantin Demiris was really going to make an appearance. If Noelle Page was convicted, the Greek tycoon would probably not come, for it would mean that he had been defeated. On the other hand, if the tycoon knew there would be an acquittal, he would probablv show up. The empty chair was becoming a symbol of which way the trial would go.

The seat remained empty.

It was on a Friday afternoon that the case finally exploded.

"Would vou state your name, please?"

"Doctor Kazomides. John Kazomides."

"Did you ever meet Mr. or Mrs. Douglas, Doctor?"

"Yes, sir. Both of them."

"What was the occasion?"

"I got a call to come to the Caves of Perama. A woman had been lost in there, and when the search party finally found her, she was in a state of shock."

"Had she been hurt physically?"

"Yes. There were multiple contusions. Her hands and arms and cheeks had been badly scraped on the rocks. She had fallen down and hit her head, and I diagnosed a probable concussion. I immediately gave her a shot of morphine for the pain and ordered them to take her to the local hospital."

"And is that where she went?"