Murder's Art by Christopher Nicole

Author:Christopher Nicole [Nicole, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 2019-05-16T04:00:00+00:00

Tony and Sasha got their people moving at dawn. They sat up together, and looked at each other, Sasha’s cheeks pink as she smoothed her hair. They had not had intercourse, but she had unbuttoned her pants and put his hand inside, closing her thighs on him and moving sufficiently to satisfy herself while she had kissed him almost savagely. He had not attempted to withdraw. He did not consider that he was being unfaithful to Sandrine in restoring Sasha’s morale; he reckoned she was his most able subordinate – after Sandrine, of course. But now the secrets of the night had to remain secrets.

She brought him breakfast and coffee. ‘What do you want us to do?’ she asked.

‘Rejoin our people,’ he said.

‘And Sandrine.’

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘And Sandrine.’

Although Sasha’s nerves – and more – had been restored by the night’s rest, their problems had increased. Now seven of the wounded were no longer capable of walking, and they had no analgesic drugs. ‘Make more stretchers,’ Tony said. ‘We cannot leave them behind.’ This slowed their progress even more. He had hoped to regain Uzice by mid-morning – it had taken them less than twenty-four hours to get from the town to their position outside Kragujevac – but it was noon before they saw the rooftops and were challenged.

‘Colonel Davis,’ said the lieutenant commanding the picquet. ‘We have been worried about you.’ He looked over the exhausted women.

‘We had some problems,’ Tony said. ‘The rest of my people?’

‘They came in this morning.’

‘And the Germans? We have seen no planes.’

‘There have been no planes. We do not understand.’

Tony nodded. ‘Sasha, take your women into camp and dismiss them. I will send you medics for the wounded. You must rest for a while, or until the Germans attack.’

Sasha hesitated, looking as if she would have said something, then rejoined her company.

Tony reported to Tito, who was waiting with apparently total confidence and patience in his office. ‘That is good work,’ the general said. ‘How long do you estimate they will take to get moving?’

‘A minimum of six hours. Then their advance will be slow, in anticipation of another ambush.’

‘Excellent. That means they will hardly have the time to establish their position before our withdrawal commences. How did your women behave?’

‘Very well, in battle. A considerable reaction set in after we withdrew. We took some casualties, and we had to leave our more seriously wounded behind.’

‘You would have done better to shoot them.’

‘I did order that to be done. But my women would not obey.’

‘So they are not quite as battle-ready as you supposed. They will learn. What are they doing now?’

‘I have dismissed them for a few hours. They are all exhausted.’

Tito nodded. ‘I have had a report from our scouts that the main German force has left Belgrade, and is advancing towards us along the road. I estimate they will be here by dusk, so we may anticipate an aerial bombardment at that time or even during the night. I would say the main assault will begin at dawn.

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