4.Little Victim by R. T. Raichev

been a witness – that I saw him kill his girlfriend – he’d kill me too! He wouldn’t hesitate a moment. They were having an argument – shouting at each other. She – she’d done something she shouldn’t. I think he saw her with another man, or it was reported to him. I didn’t get the exact details. He is extremely jealous. Suddenly he flipped – went mad. It was dreadful. I keep seeing it – what he did.’
     
    ‘What did he do?’
     
    As though on cue, a blood-red balloon floated into the folly and lodged itself near the ceiling. Antonia and the man looked up at it at the same time. She saw him shudder.
     
    ‘Was there . . .?’
     
    ‘No, not much,’ he whispered. ‘Just a trickle from her mouth. But that was later – when it was all over. It looked like a scarlet ribbon . . . She shouldn’t have made him angry. He went for her – like a raging bull. He gripped her by the throat. He banged her head against the wooden bed-post – it was a four-poster bed. There was a crack.’ The man pressed his knuckles against his mouth. ‘I wanted to intervene, but I was scared – paralysed – scared out of my wits. I’ll never forgive myself. I keep hearing that crack. She didn’t utter a sound. Her body went limp. When he let go of her, she fell across the bed.’
     
    ‘Are you sure she was dead?’ Antonia asked after a moment’s pause.
     
    ‘I am sure. I’ve seen dead people. I know . I think he broke her neck. Must have. I saw her eyes. She lay very still – her eyes open – staring. He then reached out – closed them – that’s when blood came out of her mouth. He started crying – howling – it suddenly hit him, I think. Then – then his mobile phone rang. He got up – ran out – didn’t look back.’
     
    Antonia frowned. ‘Where did all this happen?’
     
    ‘At Ria’s bungalow. In the bedroom. I was – outside. Looking through the bedroom window.’
     
    ‘What were you doing there?’
     
    ‘I’ve been following her. I told you. Her father’s been paying me. I’ve been writing reports for him. He – Lord Justice Leighton – wanted to know everything. What she did, where she went, the people she met. Old Leighton wanted to know everything about her relationship with Roman Songhera. He loved her very much. He was extremely worried. She did things she shouldn’t.’ The next moment the man groaned. ‘Oh God. Is that “Love for Sale”?’ He meant the tune that was being played.
     
    ‘I think so. Yes.’ She looked at him curiously. ‘That’s not what she did, is it?’
     
    He gave a little nod. His lips trembled. He dabbed at his forehead with a tissue. Something like a sob escaped his lips and he covered his mouth. He leant forward. Antonia thought he looked on the verge of collapse.
     
    A voice came from the direction of the terrace. ‘Mr Knight? Julian Knight? Is there anyone called Julian Knight here? Mr Julian Knight is wanted on the telephone.’
     
    It was one of the young waiters who was calling. The man dropped the tissue and sat very still.
     
    ‘They are calling you,’ Antonia said.
     
    ‘Yes.’
     
    ‘Mr Knight? A phone call for Mr Knight.’
     
    ‘There couldn’t be a phone call for me,’ he whispered. ‘No one knows that I am here.’
     
    ‘Are you sure?’
     
    ‘Of course I’m sure. I told no one I was coming to Coconut Grove. There’s no one to tell.’
     
    ‘You have no family – friends?’
     
    ‘No. No one here.’
     
    The waiter had walked down the few stone steps that led from the terrace to the lawn and was approaching them. The man leant towards Antonia once more. ‘I gate-crashed. I bribed one of the guards, that’s how I got my pass. If Roman Songhera knew, he’d –’ He broke off. ‘Perhaps he does know!’
     
    ‘Mr Julian Knight?’ They heard the waiter’s voice again.
     
    ‘I don’t even know your name,’ the man said.
     
    ‘Antonia. Antonia Darcy.’
     
    He seemed to come to a decision.