"Dirk, it really is you," she sobbed. "Back there in the darkness, your voice…I couldn't be sure. I thought you were…I thought I'd never see you again."

"It seems," he said, grinning, "our meetings are a never-ending, constant source of surprise."

"Uncle Bruno said you wouldn't call me, ever."

"Don't believe all you hear from an uncle."

Teri discovered the bandage on his nose and gently touched it. "You've been hurt." Her voice held a blend of concern and distress. "Did Uncle Bruno do that? Did he threaten you?"

"No, I was climbing some stairs and tripped and fell," he said, slightly distorting the truth. "That's all there was to it."

"What is this all about?" the guide asked in exasperation. His gun hand was beginning to droop. "Will the young lady please be so kind as to tell her name?"

"I am the niece of Bruno von Till," she said testily. "And I don't see how that concerns you."

There was a sharp exclamation from the Greek and he took a couple of steps forward, studying Teri's face closely. For almost half a minute he stared at her, then slowly, with deliberate ease, raised the gun level again, still pointing at Pitt. Once, twice he tugged at his moustache, nodding in thoughtful perplexity.

"You may speak the truth," he said quietly. "Then again you may be lying to protect these two unpleasant looking scum."

"Your ridiculous insinuations are of no importance to me." Teri thrust out her chin, matching its protruding uplift with her breasts. "I demand you put down that hideous gun and leave us alone. My uncle has great influence with the island authorities. One word from him and you'll find yourself rotting your miserable life away in a mainland prison."

"I am well aware of Bruno von Till's influence," the guide said indifferently. "Unfortunately it makes little impression on me. The final decision concerning your arrest or release rests entirely with my superior in Panaghia, Inspector Zacynthus. He will wish to see you. Any lies to him and your immediate futures shall be very lamentable indeed. If you will all please step behind the wall, you will find a pathway leading approximately two hundred yards to a waiting car." He swung the gun from Pitt to Teri. "A warning, gentlemen. Do not entertain any thoughts of a foolish move. If I detect even a slight facial tic on either of you, I shall place a bullet in the brain of this delicate and lovely creature. Now, shall we proceed?"

Five minutes later they all reached the car, a black Mercedes parked inconspicuously under a copse of fir trees. The driver's door was open and a man dressed in a spotless ice cream suit sat casually behind the wheel with one foot solidly planted on the ground outside. At their approach he rose and opened the rear door.