Three days later I was on a boat to Stromboli

I had left the car on the mainland and only took the quote from Eliot with me for luck

It was in my jacket pocket

Next to the gun

Folded neatly

I had decided to go to Stromboli as I was puzzled by Lipari

I had received no further communications

A Welsh girl called Ingrid was sitting next to me with her husband Robert

They were going to call me Janet and then they saw the fucking movie and now I am Ingrid Janet Rees

Thats a nice name

I have always wanted to visit the island

You?

I am a poet I came here for inspiration

Have you had anything published?

No not for a long time

I have been away

Have you ever seen the movie?

What movie

Stromboli

No

Ingrid Bergman plays a displaced girl from Lithuania who marries an Italian prisoner of war

He is also a fisherman and promises her a new life on Stromboli

But she soon finds that life on the island is harsh and very traditional and the islanders are hostile to her because she is foreign

It sounds like a good movie

It was

In the distance I could see the island

The ship was captained by a woman called Karin

She spoke in Italian and English

After the announcements she came up to me and handed me a note

Why are you going to Stromboli there is nothing there for you?

Mummy and I are waiting for you under the pumice slope

The sea is so clear today

I am wearing a blue bikini and mummy is wearing a red one

All the other females on the beach are wearing white bikinis

If you see any others do make yourself scarce

Your life is in serious danger

Batgirl x

Ingrid Janet Rees tapped me on the shoulder

Do you know what my next favourite movie is?

No

Le Parfum d’ Yvonne

Robert and I are going to travel to Evian where the movie was shot

I am going to recreate the scene where Yvonne’s dress is caught in the breeze

Just for Robert

We cannot have children you see

I became nervous

Can I ask you a personal question?

Yes if you like

Do you own a bikini?

Yes

What colour is it?

White

What silly questions you ask

Do hit men always ask silly questions?

I am not a hit man but an assassin

Are they not the same?

No very different

You may have killed Corbett but the current Prime Minister is not much better

I know

Are you going to kill him?

No

Why?

Because I am tired

This ship will return via Lipari Stephen

I was aware of that

If you survive and are in Evian do join us on our trip

I am sure you will enjoy the theatre of the day

Robert says I have such a nice bottom

The last I saw of Ingrid Janet Rees was on the upper deck of the ship

A cross wind was blowing and was gently lifting her light summer dress

I had to agree Robert Rees was a lucky man

As I sat down I noticed that Ingrid Janet Rees had left the small parcel that she was carrying

It had a note attached

Stephen

I thought you would find this

Inside is a small ladies pistol which is easily concealed

Do have it

Wait for the next gust of wind and then hide the pistol

People are watching me not you

If you survive do catch up with both movies

And yes I do think that Jack/George Clooney was right to kill the girl at the beginning of the movie

She was in panic and a liability

The character was called Ingrid like me but Robert says I have a nicer bottom

I secreted the small pistol after waiting for the next gust of wind

Nobody noticed

Nobody cared

For a moment Ingrid Bergman sat next to me

Do not visit the island Stephen you are needed elsewhere

I share the same birthday as a writer I once knew and he shared the same birthday as Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid Bergman died on her sixty-seventh birthday

What poetry

Survive Stephen survive that is all I ask

Were the last words that Ingrid Bergman said to me before she faded into the sharp light of the day  

 

To be Continued