‘Well, only if you say it’s okay. That’s what I told Yianni and Tassos.’
Lila shook her head. ‘As if I have a choice. If I don’t agree, you’d never forgive me.’
Andreas pulled up a chair and sat next to her. ‘That’s not true at all. What they have in mind is crazy anyway. And it’s not worth jeopardizing us.’
Lila smiled. ‘That’s nice to hear.’ She looked at her watch and sighed. ‘We’re late anyway. So, what’s going on?’ She pointed at her belly. ‘Don’t worry, I’m in no condition to do any more stupid things like I did before.’
‘Promise?’
‘Promise.’
Andreas told her everything: from the very first phone call ordering him to Patmos up through his conversation with Tassos and Kouros thirty minutes ago.
When he finished Lila stared at him, not saying a word for a full minute. ‘We’re bringing a baby into this world.’
He looked down. ‘I know. Don’t worry, I’ll stay.’
‘No. You don’t understand. We’re bringing a baby into this world. We must do whatever we can to make it a better place.’
‘I’m not sure that trying to get the Russians to take care of a Greek problem will make the world a better place.’
‘But I’m sure doing nothing will make it worse.’
Andreas smiled. ‘You’re tough.’
Lila let out a breath. ‘But if you’re going to try to pull this off, there’s only one way to get and keep that Russian’s attention beyond a perfunctory “Hello, how are you, nice to meet you.” I know him, and if you want him to include you in his partying …’ She waved her hand in the air. ‘No doubt what you’ll need.’
‘And what would that be?’
She smiled. ‘To put it in the common vernacular, “the hottest piece of ass on the planet.”’
Deadpan, Andreas said, ‘But you have to be at your parents.’
Lila pointed at him. ‘Very good answer.’ Then laughed. ‘So we’ll have to find you the second hottest. And only one, because if you show up with more than one he’ll get insecure, think you’re trying to compete with him. If it’s just you and a woman he’ll bring you into his crowd, like the spider offering its web to the fly. It’s a game these guys play to prove they’re men. They’ll keep you occupied by making you feel important, while hustling the woman away with promises of whatever she wants to hear.’
‘How do you know so much about this?’
‘Remember, I’m the hottest.’ She smiled. ‘Dickless types like that have tried it all on me. But you’re the only smooth-talking stud who … uhh … scored.’
‘Ms Vardi, what language.’
Lila smiled. ‘I wish I could offer you more, but at the moment I’m afraid I can’t.’
‘But I can’t risk using a hooker, and even the hottest female on the force is out of the question. It would look like a setup if the Russian ever found out. And once he hears what I have to say, he’ll try to verify everything. How am I going to find someone by tonight?’
‘I know the perfect person. She’s already on Mykonos, and utterly believable.’
‘What do mean “utterly believable”?’
‘Barbara.’
‘She’s your best friend!’ She also was one of the most unpredictable people on the planet, although Lila and her friends preferred characterizing Barbara’s behavior as ‘spontaneous.’ Andreas attributed their charitable attitude to the fact that Barbara was rich, young, and gorgeous. It was much the same way that people called an old, rich nut-job ‘eccentric,’ rather than the more fitting ‘raving lunatic.’
‘That’s what makes it so believable,’ Lila said. ‘It’s the ultimate male fantasy, right?’ She smiled.
Andreas didn’t know if he should laugh or protest. He decided doing neither was the best choice.
‘Don’t worry, she can handle any man. Only one promise.’
‘Which is?’ As if he hadn’t guessed.
‘I want her returned “unused.”’
‘I promise.’
‘Let me see your fingers, they’re not crossed, are they? After all, we want to make sure “doing the best friend” stays just a fantasy.’
Andreas smiled and waved his fingers in her face. ‘You need not worry, my mind is on other things.’
‘Yeah, right. Now you’re starting to worry me. Just promise you’ll sleep on the couch. I’ll settle for that.’
‘What couch?’
‘Where do think you’ll be staying? It has to be at Barbara’s house. How do you think the Russians are going to believe you if you’re not …’ Lila stopped, as if there were another word she’d decided not to add.
He wondered if she was having second thoughts.
‘Just promise.’
‘I promise.’ He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
‘I love you.’
He smiled. ‘Me, you too.’
‘Okay, time to get you laid.’ Lila laughed.
Andreas tried to.
Evening services on Good Friday on Mykonos started at seven in the old town’s central churches of Kiriake, Metropolis, and Panachra. At precisely nine, each church’s clergy and worshipers left their church in separate processions carrying their church’s epitaphios along a prerranged route, winding past the other two churches before ending up back at their own. It represented the funeral of Christ, and Mykonians and visitors lined the route, some standing on freshly painted balcones sprinkling the participants below with a mixture of rose water and perfumes, the rodhonoro used on Christ’s body when taken down from the cross.
Tassos and Kouros went to services at Kiriake, the church closest to the old harbor, and were walking through town somewhere in the middle of its procession.
‘Haven’t been to one of these in a long time,’ said Tassos.
‘I like it.’
‘I guess that’s what keeps it a tradition – people like it.’
They were about to turn onto Matogianni Street, Mykonos’ compact version of New York City’s Fifth Avenue. It started just ahead and ran down to Kiriake. For now, though, they were standing in a rare, much broader bit of lane amid the coffee shops and bars comprising the heart of Mykonos’ late-night café society scene. It was barely thirty yards long. Everyone who wanted to see or be seen made an appearance here at some point in the evening, generally between midnight and four a.m.
‘What time is Andreas supposed to get here?’ Tassos looked at his watch.
‘He said his plane gets in around midnight. He’s lost his helicopter privileges.’
‘The first of many such experiences, I’m sure, if any of this wacky plan of yours ever gets back to the minister.’ Tassos nodded to someone waving to him from a tiny table in front of one of the bars. ‘And what did you do this afternoon, Mister Big Idea Man?’
‘Slept. I was exhausted.’
‘I bet.’ Tassos grinned.
Kouros leaned over and whispered in Tassos’ ear, ‘Asshole.’
Tassos laughed.
‘What’s the story with Katerina?’
‘She said she’d call me once she knows when and where her client will be in town. Not before one, at the earliest.’
‘Can you trust her?’
‘Absolutely. Not.’ Tassos smiled. ‘That’s the beauty of it. I know everything I tell her in confidence will get back to the Russian. She runs with the one who pays her bills.’
‘Sounds like a lawyer.’
‘God bless them. At least they’re predictable.’
‘What exactly did you tell her?’
‘That the chief of GADA’s special crimes unit wanted to talk to her oligarch of a client about an investigation that has absolutely nothing to do with him, and that we would be eternally grateful if she could arrange an “accidental” meeting. I impressed on her how important it was that her client not know the purpose of the inquiry, because this was to be a strictly backchannel, off-the-record conversation about a very serious issue.’
‘Yo
u’ve got to be kidding me.’
‘Andreas agreed that was the way to go. They’d find out everything anyway. It’s called priming the pump.’ He smiled.
‘And how did Mykonos’ number-one lawyer react?’
‘She wasn’t too hot about the idea until I reminded her that the chief was Andreas. She said “yes” and hung up so fast when I said his name that I had the image of a sprinter exploding off the blocks at the sound of a starter’s pistol, except this one was racing for a beauty parlor.’
Kouros laughed. ‘Should be an interesting night for the chief. I just don’t like the idea of him flying solo. He’s right, though, everyone here knows we’re cops. They’d get suspicious if they saw us hanging around.’
‘Don’t worry, cops like to play, too. I’ve got a few youngsters on the force from Syros, regulars on the Mykonos party scene to keep an eye on him. He’ll be covered. Besides, we get to share a night together in disguise in one of Mykonos’ lovely mini-hauler garbage trucks, trailing them about town recording their every word.’
‘With all the noise in those places, we’d be lucky to hear a bomb go off.’
Tassos shrugged. ‘At least we get to spend some quality time together.’
‘Yeah, like blind mice sitting together in a garbage truck.’
‘It could be worse. If this goes bad we could end up in the back.’
‘There better be room for three.’
Tassos nodded. ‘Yeah, three blind mice. See how they run …’
Andreas was in a window seat on the plane, staring at the moonlight reflecting off the sea. He smiled as he remembered once thinking that being transferred from Mykonos probably was the only thing that kept him out of Katerina’s clutches. She was one of a kind. With her wild red hair and impressively augmented five-foot-five figure, she could not be missed. And if by some chance an object of her attention did overlook her, she’d grab him with a roaring voice and thrust of mesmerizing cleavage. Hard to imagine she was over fifty, even harder imagining anyone with balls enough to suggest anything close to that aloud.
That’s when it hit him. ‘Jesus Christ.’
Andreas said it loud enough for the grandmotherly woman next to him to ask, ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, sure, sorry, just remembered something I forgot in Athens.’ Damn sure did. How could I forget what she’s like? The second Katerina sees Barbara it’ll be all claws and teeth. He put his elbow on the armrest next to the window, dropped his head into his hand, and sighed. That’s all we need to make tonight the biggest clusterfuck of all time, a mega-catfight.
The old woman patted his arm. ‘Don’t worry my son, it is God’s will.’
The SMS message on Tassos’ phone was simple: See you atVengera at two. Vengera was the name Mykonian locals used to describe the café society area at the top of Matogianni Street. Vengera was a legendary bar that gave the location its original panache. But it was long gone, replaced by a jewelry store, as were many places from Mykonos’ more innocent times. All that remained was the memory and a name.
‘We have to go. Start your engine, Mr Kaldis, and good luck.’ Tassos raised his cup of coffee.
‘How much time do we have?’
‘About thirty minutes. No need to rush, I’m sure they’ll be late. It’s only five minutes from here.’ They were in an out-of-the-way coffee shop off behind Kiriake church.
‘I wish I’d had the chance to speak to Barbara, warn her about Katerina.’
‘Didn’t you drop your bag off at her house?’ said Kouros.
‘Yes, but only the maid was there to let me in, and she took off the minute I got there. It seemed everybody had some place to be after midnight tonight. Barbara left me a note.’ He handed it to Tassos.
Tassos read it aloud. ‘“Hi, Andreas. Looking forward to a fun night. I’m having dinner with friends out of town. My phone will be off, but I’ll call you when I’m done so you can tell me where to meet up. Kisses. B.”’
‘She doesn’t seem to be taking this very seriously,’ said Kouros.
‘The affectionate word to describe her state is “relaxed.” She’s not the type that gets anxious easily. All she knows is that she’s my wife’s best friend hanging out with me for the night with instructions to look and act as hot as she can so that I can get close to some super-rich Russian. That’s a drill she has down pat. I just wish she’d call me. I can’t get the damn show started until she’s with me.’
Kouros said, ‘Did you say—’
Tassos kicked him under the table. ‘Then it’s probably better you didn’t say anything to her. It might pump her up for a fight. These society types are pretty good at handling aggressive bitches trying to bring them down. And frankly, if she’s as hot as you say, she probably runs into that sort every day.’
Andreas stared at him. ‘You’re just trying to make me feel better.’
‘Yep, Katerina will tear her a new asshole.’ Tassos laughed.
Andreas shot him a one-finger salute. ‘And yes, Yianni, I said “wife.” No reason for the world to think otherwise. What with the baby on the way.’
Kouros nodded. ‘No problem here, Chief, just checking to see if I had to buy more than a baby gift.’
Andreas smiled. ‘I wouldn’t worry about it.’
Tassos shook his head. ‘This is not the time to say it, but sometimes you’re a real asshole, my friend.’
‘Funny, Lila said sort of the same thing.’
‘I bet. Let’s go, Yianni. We’ve got to find someplace to put our limo so we don’t miss a word of tonight’s performance by Mister Sensitive here.’ Tassos flicked the back of his hand in Andreas’ direction.
‘We can park on the street behind Vengera, by Panachra church. With the monster of a mess from tonight’s processions, everyone expects to see a garbage truck there.’
Andreas said, ‘Gentlemen, let’s just hope we don’t make a bigger one.’
The three cops stood up, raised their right hands, and slapped high fives. Tassos and Kouros left, and Andreas sat back down. He looked at his watch. It was almost two and still no word from Barbara.
Time for a change of plans.
18
If the amount of bullshit men threw at women visiting Mykonos that actually was believed could be spread across that arid island, within a week it would be as green as picture-postcard English countryside. Why they believed what they heard no one knew. Perhaps they came looking for a fantasized Mister Right on an idyllic Greek island, or maybe just wanted to hear something, anything, to justify behavior unthinkable back home. No matter, whatever the reason, men sensed it and took advantage. For them it was a fantasy of a different sort, power over another being, something missing in virtually every other aspect of their lives that counted.
Unless, of course, you were Vladimir Brusko: for him, no rules applied, nothing was unattainable. His vast Russian-made fortune bought it all, anywhere and anytime he wanted. He came to Mykonos not so much to play, although he surely did, as to validate his choice of lifestyle. Surrounded by so many from so much of the world, struggling so hard to get just a taste of what came to him so easily, was what made his Mykonos holidays a joy. He was a voyeur here, admiring himself endlessly in everyone else’s mirror.
At the moment, he was sitting at a tiny café table by Vengera, staring at cleavage, listening to a pitch from its possessor. Why do all these peasants I employ to do local tasks for me think they can draw upon my time at will?
‘Like I said, Vladimir, he is very important with the police in Athens, and he said it’s urgent he speak with you. Urgent. But you aren’t supposed to know any of this.’
She really thinks I need to know these low-level police? I know their bosses. I can get whatever I need with a phone call. ‘I do not wish to get involved.’
‘It doesn’t involve you. If you don’t like what he has to say, ignore him. It’s all up to you.’
No reason to offend this woman. I’ll just say hello, let him make his little pitch and
be done with it. He smiled and leaned over to her. ‘How could I ever refuse my Katerina?’ Then kissed her on the cheek.
Katerina glowed. ‘Thank you, Vladimir.’
‘No need to,’ because I shall give him nothing.
Andreas began his stroll along Matogianni at precisely two a.m. With all the necessary hellos it would take fifteen minutes to make it to Vengera. Ex-police chiefs must listen to old and new gripes. Generally he didn’t mind, though tonight he had little patience for other than ‘Yiasou Manos, kisses Irini, hello Theo.’ He must focus. This was far too important for more serious distractions. There was Katerina, dead ahead. It’s show time.
‘Andreas, Andreas.’ The voice came from a woman in a Greek fisherman’s hat sitting to his left in front of a jewelry store. She was surrounded by colorful paintings of traditional Mykonian life. ‘I’ve missed you, kukla, how are you? Please, come and sit with me.’
‘I can’t, Cee, I have to hurry.’ Everyone called her Cee. She was the dean of Mykonos artists, thought by many to be more symbolic of Mykonos than its pet pelicans. Her paintings brought Mykonos to the world, one tourist at a time.
‘I see, now you’re too important even for old friends. Just like everyone else who goes off to Athens.’
He let out a breath, turned away from his path to Katerina, and walked over to her. ‘For you there’s always time.’ He leaned down and kissed her on both cheeks. ‘But not now, Cee.’
‘Okay, but don’t forget me.’
‘Never.’
‘Andreas, over here.’
It was from a voice Andreas knew, and with an intensity that made you think he was the mayor handing out tax breaks. ‘Katerina mou, what a pleasant surprise.’
She was the only woman sitting amid a group of men gathered around a small table. Some were on chairs, some sat on cushions on a low, smooth, white concrete wall, others stood. Three of the men wore black combat fatigues. Andreas wasn’t sure if dressing bodyguards like that helped achieve their intended purpose, unless of course attracting attention was what you wanted.
An Aegean Prophecy: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery: Book 3 Page 18
