Free The Dead Have No Shadows by Chris Mawbey

amusing and had to concentrate on keeping a straight face.  It also gave him time to think how to frame his answer.  Elena and Olga were watching him expectantly and with interest.  He didn’t want his reply to sound flashy or contrived.  In the end he decided that a simple response was the best answer.
    “I was shot,” he said.
    Mickey was grateful that Elena didn’t press for more details but she did look as if she was impressed by the violent manner of his death.  She explained to her mother the nature of Mickey’s death.
    “ Mislite li da  je gangster?” Olga asked her daughter.
    Mickey couldn’t understand any of what the old woman said but one of the words sounded like ‘gangster’.
    Elena laughed. “No, on izgleda previ š e lijepo .”  She didn’t translate fro Mickey’s benefit.  She wasn’t going to tell him that she thought he looked too nice to be a gangster.
    “Are - were you a fighter?” Elena asked, changing the subject slightly.  She had put down her knife and fork and her attention was entirely fixed on Mickey.
    “Well, I can take care of myself,” Mickey replied with uncomfortable modesty.  He wasn’t sure where this line of questioning was going.  He didn’t want Elena to think he was a thug.  Neither did he want her to think he was soft.  He decided not to offer any more information and chose to wait for another question.
    Elena seemed happy enough with Mickey’s answer, as did Olga. 
    “On bi mogao biti jedan ?” said Olga.
    “ Mo ž da ,” Elena replied.
    Olga wondered if Mickey could really be the one that she and Elena had been waiting for.   Elena thought that he might be.
    The head of the Kovaks family however, was far from happy.  Janic scowled at his daughter and spent the rest of the meal looking as though someone had put salt on his ice cream.
    Mickey finished his food as quickly as he could without making it look too obvious.
    “Thank you for the meal,” he said to Olga.  “You’ve been very generous.”
    He didn’t know if the woman understood what he’d said but Olga looked very pleased with the praise.  It was short lived though as Janic stepped in to claim the plaudits.
    “You are welcome, my honoured guest.  It was only a humble offering.  Now you and I, we will drink.” Janic rose from the table and reached for a bottle that contained what looked like a couple of fingers of brandy.  Mickey remembered the taste of the wine and decided not to risk it.  He made a show of stifling a yawn.
    “I’m very tired,” he said.  “I’ve been walking all day.  If you don’t mind I’ll go to bed now.”
    Janic looked crestfallen but made a fuss of helping Mickey out of his seat.  “Of course, of course.  You are my honoured guest.  My house is your house.”
    Though the words didn’t sound at all sincere, Mickey thanked his host and shook his hand.  Then he made a point of turning to Olga and Elena, bidding them both a goodnight.  As he left the room, Mickey glanced at Janic .  As he suspected, his host was offended that Mickey’s final words had been to the two women.  Mickey turned away and allowed himself a small self satisfied smile.  He knew Janic’s sort – and despised them.
    Pester was already in the room when Mickey got there.
    “Good meal?” the guide asked.
    “No it was shit,” Mickey replied.  “Everything was tough and tasted old.  Did you find anything out while you were wandering round the village?”
    Pester nodded, almost eagerly.  “Aye a wee bit.  Elena’s groom will be decided by some kind of trial by combat.”
    “Sounds medieval,” Mickey remarked.  “Mind you, the whole place seems years out of date.  Janic kept referring to me as his honoured guest, not our honoured guest.  He’s one of those men who treat women as second class.  And I bet his neighbours are no different.”
    “It’s the culture of the village and the region it’s from.  Have you got a problem with that?” said