She got to her feet to indicate to me that our conversation was over. I wanted to say something to her, but nothing came to mind. Evidently, she saw it in my face because when we reached the front door, she said:
‘Tomorrow, you’ll go to your office and I’ll go to mine. I’ll continue to do all I can to make the companies I manage make a profit; I’ll go on working with Mr Zamanis, Mrs Stathatos, and Mrs Favieros and no one will ever know that I sent the friend of the one and the husbands of the other two to their deaths. But I wanted someone else to know, apart from me. I’m glad it’s you, believe me. Whatever you may think of me, I’m glad it’s you.’
She opened the door for me to leave. I stood in the doorway, hoping that I would think of something to say, but I couldn’t. I could neither revile nor reproach her, but nor could I shake her hand. I simply turned and left.
I got into the Mirafiori, but I didn’t have the energy to start up the engine. I tried to put my thoughts into some order, but it wasn’t easy. I would have to tell Ghikas everything, just as it happened, without concealing anything. The same applied to the Minister. Neither of them would be overly distraught because we couldn’t touch Yannelis. On the contrary, they’d be overjoyed because the suicides had stopped and the case would be forgotten without anything coming out into the open. And Ghikas had an additional reason to be happy: because the next day he would have Koula back working for him.
Did Favieros, Stefanakos and Vakirtzis deserve to die? I couldn’t say. Did Coralia Yannelis deserve to stand in the dock? I couldn’t say that either. So what was left? The three winners: Andreadis, Kalafatis and Yannelis. Along with Ghikas and the Minister. And from what Zissis and Andreadis had said, I was one of the winners, too. Perhaps they were right. After all, I’d managed to get my old job back and my standing with Ghikas and the Minister had gone up a few notches…
I’m not an ungrateful person, but how is it that in the end I always feel like a twerp?
About the Author
PETROS MARKARIS was born in Istanbul in 1937 and now lives in Athens. His number one bestsellers are published in fourteen languages. He is the author of The Late-night News and Zone Defence, featuring Inspector Costas Haritos.
DAVID CONNOLLY has lived and worked in Greece for over thirty years. He is currently Professor of Translation Studies at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has written extensively on the theory and practice of literary translation and has translated over thirty books by leading Greek authors, for which he has received awards in the UK, the US and Greece.
