‘You escaped with Dr. Sansevino,’ I said.
He swung round on Hacket. ‘Would you mind telling me what this man’s talking about? That was Shirer, wasn’t it?’ His voice trailed away again as he met the set expression of Hacket’s face.
‘I don’t know who the guy is and I don’t care,’ Hacket said. ‘All I know is if I get my hands on the bastard’s throat I’ll kill him.’
There was a movement in the bottom of the cart. Maxwell had half-levered himself up. ‘Alec. Is that you?’ His voice was a dry croak. ‘Dick’s right. That man was Sansevino. Get hold of him. There’s a—’ He slumped back, his head falling with a hollow thud on the boards of the cart.
‘What was he going to say?’ Hacket asked.
‘I don’t know,‘Hilda answered. ‘He’s fainted. If we could get to the villa—’
‘Yes.’ Hacket called to us to get on to the cart. ‘The sooner he’s made comfortable the better. And there’s some drink there. I could do with a drink myself.’
We clambered on. Zina swore at the mule and we started back along the road. Reece sat quite still, a dazed, almost horrified look on his face. I sensed what was happening behind the blankness of his eyes. He was remembering the night he’d escaped, how Shirer had gone first and then he’d followed half an hour later, remembering how they’d met at the ambulance and how they’d driven away together. He was remembering all the little details, seeing them in a new light, realising for the first time that the man he’d escaped with was the man who’d killed his friend.
‘Forget about it,’ I said. ‘We’ve enough to worry about without that.’
He stared at me. I think he was hating me like hell at that moment for having revealed the truth to him. He didn’t say anything. He just sat and stared at me for a moment and then looked away towards the black shimmering horizon of the lava.