‘No,’ Aristoteli replied. ‘I want to see how awful their acting is going to be. Great sound system by the way. Picking up whispers from that distance.’
‘See, Dad? My studies did not go to waste.’
His father smiled and stepped forward to place his hand upon his son’s shoulder. He was indeed proud of him. Yet, his hand remained in flight and did not land. His smiled flatlined, and his eyes turned towards the screen showing the south side of the building.
‘Well, what’s going on there? That cop doesn’t look happy. Do we have sound from outside?
‘No, Pop. But, we have sound from the bug under his collar. Give me a sec.’
Soon, the three men were listening to Alexandro saying that it was nothing.
‘Is the recording saved somewhere?’
‘It’s on a half an hour loop,’ Platonas replied, looking up at his father.
‘Take it back to the moment where they entered the passage,’ he ordered and sat down in the chair next to him. ‘Let’s see what we missed.’
Minutes later, all three men stared at each other in shock.
‘How the hell is his phone working?’ Aristoteli said, squinting his eyes, looking at Platonas sideways. ‘You said you killed all cell phone signal on the island.’
‘I did...’
‘Maybe you set the timer wrong for it to go off,’ his father said, calmer than Aristoteli.
‘It’s timed to go off after the triplets’ execution,’ Platonas said, raising his voice. ‘I know my job.’
‘Maybe your gadget doesn’t work outside.’
‘I tested it twice. Someone has killed our block...’
‘Shh,’ his father said and waved his hands. ‘That cop is saying something.’
All three heard that the police were on the way.
Platonas and Aristoteli both turned towards their leader. Both waiting for his thoughts.
Their leader walked towards the wall and gently placed his head upon it. He closed his eyes and said, ‘Forget the triplets. We will get them during phase two. The execution of the rich. Get me the men. I will take care of the cops. And Apollo. Now.’
‘What?’ Aristoteli asked.
‘You heard me. You two were seen by the triplets. Go back to your cage. The police will find you just like all the other personnel. I will get off the island with our ship on the other side. I will see you both soon. The meeting is on the 12th of next month.’
Platonas wanted to get up and hug his father farewell. But, he knew his father wasn’t the sentimental type. He saw him cry at his mother’s funeral and that was the last tear he’d ever shed. For all Platonas knew, it might have well been his first. His father meant the world to him. The only family he had ever known. A lonely boy, home-schooled and with a passion for justice, all Platonas ever wished for, was to make his father proud.
Platonas ducked above his controls and pulled his mic closer. ‘All army men, please report to base. I repeat, please report to base. Firearms, a must,’ he announced and switched off his mic. By the time he swung his desk chair around, his father had walked out the door.
‘Come on, junior. Let’s get back to our cage. We’ll have to make it seem like we were locked up just like everybody else working here,’ Aristoteli said, patting him on the shoulder.
Chapter 30
‘Pheew, we made it,’ Apollo said with a wide smile as he gazed back; Hotel Murder, small and less menacing, was perched on the beach, far in the distance. ‘No one seems to have followed us,’ he added as he turned around, checking out the minor cave they stood in. Valentina sat upon an oddly shaped rock, mostly balancing on her feet. She placed her hands upon her knees and lowered her head, trying to catch her elusive breath.
Alexandro also looked back along their long route from the beach to the hills. Just hunting lizards and sand in the wind moved around. He grabbed Apollo by the neck and pushed him against the cave’s wall. Dirt crumbled and fell upon Apollo’s shoulders. Apollo coughed, lost in the sandy cloud. ‘What the...?’
‘Alexandro!’ Valentina said, standing up.
‘Spread out your arms or I will break them,’ Alexandro ordered. ‘Shut it,’ he yelled as Apollo opened his mouth. ‘The only words I want to hear from your mouth is the truth, or help me God, I will break you.’
Alexandro’s muscles stretched, and his veins appeared along his arm. His fingers squeezed against the trembling throat he held tightly, and color began to leave Apollo. Valentina took a step sideways to look at Alexandro’s face. She trusted him with her life. He saved her in more ways than could be described. She never doubted him and remained silent.
‘What’s your role in all of this?’
‘My... My role? I don’t...’
Apollo did not manage to finish his reply as fingers closing in choked any words coming out.
‘The truth.’
Apollo shook his head. ‘What is it you think I can tell you?’
Alexandro let go of him and punched him hard in the stomach. Apollo fell to his knees. Alexandro kicked him in the face; blood and saliva sprayed the muddy wall behind them.
‘I am not known for my patience. One more body will mean nothing after the two days we have had. Don’t play with me.’
Apollo crawled and sat with his back against the wall. ‘Okay, okay,’ he said with his hands begging Alexandro to back off. ‘I’m guessing the police told you who I am, then.’
Alexandro nodded and took a step forward.
‘So, the police know,’ he said louder, fixing his shirt’s collar, checking that his transmitter was still in place. All I have to do is stall them, until my men arrive, he thought.
‘Unbelievable. You piece of shit. You knew?’ Valentina said, resisting acting out like her hot-tempered boyfriend.
Apollo wore his sorrowful expression on his face and opened his watery puppy eyes, looking at her. ‘No excuses, Valentina. Yes, I am a part of all this. This is my revenge.’
‘Revenge for what? What twisted mind does something like this? And, why the hell are we here with you? Planning on murdering us out here? We weren’t on your broadcasting schedule, so we get slaughtered like animals in a cave?’ Turning to Alexandro, she added, ‘Babe, check this bastard for weapons.’
Apollo stretched out his arms. ‘No, no, it’s not like that. I was never going to kill you. You are innocent. Hardworking folk. My plan was to get you out and hide with you until we were rescued.’
‘Make you a believable survivor, right? You arranged it so you were left with the cops?’ Alexandro asked, frisking him for any hidden guns.
‘Something like that,’ he replied.
‘That’s why Maximos and Theodore were taken while we slept?’ Valentina asked.
Apollo nodded in return.
‘You spoke of revenge. What the hell happens to someone to justify so many murders? Gruesome killings...’
Apollo blew out air from behind closed teeth. ‘My name is Simos Lemoni. Husband of Despoina Lemoni.’ He paused, looking for a reaction in their eyes. Both were taken back and exchanged a sorrowful look between them. They knew the story. At least how the media presented and sold the urban tragedy. ‘Debts were crashing down on us. We were both unlawfully fired without any sign of compensation. We struggled to feed our kids. My two beautiful baby girls...’ he said, the last words fighting to escape his lips. Real tears fell from his eyes and died in his short beard. He looked away and continued. ‘When we lost our house to the bank, food was so scarce, we feared for our children. Foolish of me, I guess, but as jobs were hard to find, especially during the first years of the crisis, I decided to rob a supermarket. I did not take cash, just food, and supplies for the baby. Two years! Two years, I got. A family man with two kids to feed. And, you know what the judge told me? The system will take care of your family. Yeah, the system bloody well did.’
He was panting. His fingers clenched into tight fists. His nails digging into his skin.
Valentina sat down back upon her r
ock. ‘What did you tell her that day? The police said you called her that evening from prison. Was it one of your sick games? Did you...?’
‘How dare you? My Lina was three, and my Antonia was an infant. You fucking better...’ Apollo yelled and stood up. Alexandro pushed him back. ‘Watch it,’ he warned him.
‘You truly believe I would want my own wife to murder my angels? Not a day goes by without me dreaming of them. Seeing them in a park or on a beach, playing carelessly and laughing with their stomachs full. And now, they rot in their tiny coffins. I will never see them smile again, go to school, marry...’
Apollo let out a scream and turned and hit the wall. ‘You really want to know what I said that day? I called her for support. I was raped that day. I was sent to Korydallo Prison with all the murderers and rapists. All I did wrong was step on a guy’s foot by mistake in the prison cafeteria. I still remember his sinister smile when he said he would see me later. I was alone in the shower when this gang leader had his men beat me up. Four men lifted me up and threw me upon the locker room table. They bent me over and watched as their leader viciously raped me. And, you think that was punishment enough? They all had their way with me. I was fucked to near death for stepping on a guy’s shoe,’ Apollo said, wiping his eyes. ‘Want to feel disgust? He came on his boot and forced me to lick it off. Lick my boots clean he said, and they all laughed.’
Apollo closed his eyes, unable to talk anymore. Alexandro turned to check the horizon. All clear as far as his eyes could see. He approached Valentina and put his arm around her waist. He knew well she was distraught.
‘And you told her this?’
Apollo turned around, removing his fingers from the dirt wall. ‘Not in such detail. She was my everything, you see,’ he said, looking at them with a warm gaze. ‘We were like you. Madly in love. She was my best friend. I was fucking bleeding out my ass, and I needed to hear her voice. To give me strength. And all I did was take hers away. It was the final blow. She felt life was over. That things would never improve. The world became a hostile, dangerous, scary place and she did not want her girls to live in it anymore. She was a firm believer that heaven was a real place. All she was doing was sending our girls there, saving them from all this.’
‘I feel for you. I truly do,’ Valentina said. ‘But for me, there is no excuse for murder. You slaughtered all those people. Or at least you had a role in their deaths.’
‘Not anyone innocent. They...’
‘We heard your bullshit accusations in the broadcast. Save your breath, man. You are going back to prison. And this time, it will be for life. And, you know what?’ Alexandro asked and walked up to Apollo. ‘I hope your gang leader is there waiting for you.’
With that said, he grabbed Apollo again by the neck. ‘Now, I will be calling the police and informing them of everything. How many armed men are in the hotel? Speak!’ he shouted.
Apollo did not reply. He just smiled and chuckled. The next sound that echoed in the cave was the cocking of a gun. Alexandro turned and saw three armed men standing by the cave’s entrance. He let Apollo go, took a step sideways and stood in front of Valentina.
Chapter 31
Hours ago...
Sometimes the words we leave unspoken are the ones that should have been said.
I saw this saying every moment on Tracy’s coffee mug. I have never been a fan of motivational quotes, but after everything said and done, those fourteen words floated around my mind.
After leaving SERENITY nursing home, Ioli and I finally spoke. I informed her about my visit to Simos Lemoni’s mother. I told her why the house was familiar to her.
‘It was the house where Despoina Lemoni murdered her children. Her husband Simos was in prison at the time. He was released just three weeks before our billionaire received the message from the house.’
‘Yes, but was it him? Did he return to his home? There’s no way to prove...’
‘His mother seems to think he is dangerous. She kept on going on about how her Apollo wanted revenge against the system. Something about killing the rich. She hasn’t seen him since then. I’m telling you this is our guy.’
Ioli stopped in the middle of the street; loud honks bringing her out of shock. She rushed across the street and sat down on a green wooden bench. ‘Apollo? I thought his name was Simos?’
‘Yeah, Apollo was his nickname. His mother called him that ever since a child. Handsome and muscular and all that. Why do you ask?’
‘Remember at the meeting when you left the conference room, and I was talking about the surveillance video? The guy named Apollo by the voice, never appears on camera. Just once do we see his feet. We see people talking to him, but never his face. Boss, it’s not a popular name, and now you say this Apollo talked about revenge on the rich? This could be our other guy, too.’
It was a leap, yet not a big one.
Logic would say that a poor, released inmate would need money to set up a scheme like Hotel Murder. Maybe that is how our billionaire came into the picture.
We met back at headquarters, both rushing into Captain Savva’s office to explain our theory.
Soon, all tech personnel were searching through our billionaire’s property listings. Three privately owned islands appeared.
‘Can we trace which one is not covered by a national phone signal?’ Ioli asked.
‘All three are covered. However, they could be using some kind of blocking device. Something like that can be traced. It will show up on certain wave transmissions. Give us time to check,’ a woman with thick red glasses replied, her eyes never leaving her computer’s screen.
‘Kato Antikeri,’ she said finally.
Just the sound of the island brought relief to the team. Days hoping, searching, wishing for where Hotel Murder was and now it was uttered, released to us.
Orders for multiple task forces were given and a rescue mission was planned.
‘Can we get the signal back up?’ Ioli asked.
‘We could get the Hellenic Telecommunication Organization to boost their signal, depending on where their transmitters are.’
‘Great. You do that. Then I can call and warn Alexandro.’
Chapter 32
‘How cute,’ the tall guy in the middle said. ‘Everybody out, now,’ he ordered with a croaky voice.
Alexandro took Valentina by the hand and cautiously exited into the brightening sunlight. Apollo followed, complaining to the men that they took too long.
‘Shut up, Simos,’ the tall, fifty year old said. ‘The police are on their way.’
‘I know. So kill these idiots and let’s be going.’
‘Yes, all loose ends must be disposed of,’ the big guy said and turned his firearm, pointing it in Apollo’s face.
‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Guys, remove his weapon,’ Apollo ordered the two men. Both men did not move. Both remained still with their guns pointed at Valentina and Alexandro. Valentina watched as the sunrays danced upon the shiny, new pistols. She placed her head upon Alexandro’s broad back and gazed out to the endless sea. She wanted her last feeling, her last smell, her last view to be a pleasant one.
‘I am your boss, I am the motherfucker that is paying you!’ Apollo yelled, waving his arms. ‘What the hell is wrong with you guys? This is my plan, our plan!’
‘The plan is so much bigger than you, them or me, Simos. Larger than all of us. Society has been shocked. Nothing can go wrong. Even if a single camera caught a glimpse of you, we are screwed. With your past and connections to Despoina’s story, you are worth more as a martyr. We need no hero. We need no leader. Let it go, Simos. Go join your girls,’ the olive-skinned man with the big mole below his right ear said.
A loud bang scattered through the valley of sand and bushes. Apollo’s head cracked open before their eyes, and parts of his brain and skin fell to the ground; a meal for nature’s creatures later that day. His body remained upright for a second, and then gravity pulled Apollo’s lifeless body to th
e ground. A pool of blood came and colored the sandy ground.
‘Who are you?’ Alexandro asked, hoping to buy time.
The tall man chuckled. ‘It doesn’t really matter, you see, my young boy. Who I am, who they are. We are Greece United. We are what every Greek’s dream should be. We are an idea. A utopia to come,’ he said proudly. ‘And, I am sorry, my sweetheart, but you cannot be a part of it,’ he continued, tilting his head and looking at Valentina. ‘Bring them here,’ he said to his men. ‘The police know about Apollo being Simos Lemoni, so let’s make this look like a showdown between him and the cops.’
His men waved their guns and ordered them to move.
‘Stand exactly there,’ the tall man said, his calm voice annoying Alexandro.
‘Face Simos, Apollo, whatever. Perfect,’ he said and turned to his men. ‘You will stand here, where Simos was. Now, shoot them. Heart or brain, please.’
Chapter 33
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, I stood behind the young officers burning through the front door of Hotel Murder.
‘Come on, quickly,’ I said, my hands tightly around my pistol. Four officers stood behind me, also ready to fire.
The Special Forces team had spread out around the mansion.
With a soft clang, a piece of the protective metal shutter fell to the fake-grass carpet outside the main entrance.
‘Enter with caution,’ I said and ducked into the newly-opened doorway; a reddish, melted-steel arch leading into the murderous surrounding.
‘Clear,’ Pauline said, switching on the lights, her rifle extended down the corridor.
One by one, we broke down locked doors and searched the rooms.
Most were empty.
Most.
The ones that were not still haunt my hardened soul.
A stench of death enveloped us as we were faced with mutilated bodies. Human beings tortured and executed without hesitation. Like bringing down your thumb on an ant running along your kitchen counter.
Hotel Murder: The most gripping, page-turning mystery of the year (Greek Island Mysteries Book 5) Page 15
