Vengeance [antikvár]

there was a ceramic look to the sky as if it had been baked in an oven, unbroken solid blue save for the huge orange globe of the afternoon sun. Beneath the villa, the sea shone like polished glass, flat and still, without a discernible ripple. The air was listless, undisturbed by a breeze. In a world which slumbered in heat, even the cicadas .were momentarily silent. On the terrace the pink marble pav-ing was hot enough to blister bare feet.In contrast, the room was refreshingly cool. Outside, sear-ing white sunlight threw every line into stark relief, whereas there was shade in the room, even shadow.Alone in the room, Tom threaded the ten millimetre film into the projector. Depressing the switch, he watched the lurid images flicker to life. Two figures appeared on the screen, a girl with tawny Polynesian skin and a man who sat watching her, shielding his eyes from the sun. Both were almost naked; the man had a bath towel over his lap and the girl wore only the bóttom half of a bikini. Yet it was not their near nudity which drew the eye, but the masks which covered their faces. The girl's was frivolous; papier-maché glittering with diamanté, the sort of thing worn at a fancy dress ball. Shaped like a butterfly it covered only the top half of her face, leaving exposed her dimpled chin and full, pout-ing red lips. Apertures revealed dark Mediterranean eyes. Like the wisp of cotton over her pelvis, it decorated as much as concealed. Not so the mask worn by the man. His was ugly. Covering his entire head, the black silk clung to his scalp and feil loose to his throat, leaving eyelets and a gash for the mouth. Concealment was total, and with concealment came the whiff of corruption.Tom braced himself for what was to come. He knew the film by heart. In eight months he had watched every frame a