Mykonos After Midnight

by Jeffrey Siger

  Andreas put his hands on Lila’s waist and kissed her on the lips.

  “The kid gets a whole spin in the air and the mother just a peck?”

  Andreas smiled. “He came at me naked.”

  Lila laughed. “Any news on finding Christos’ killers?”

  Andreas gestured no. “Just that the Russian guy I’m convinced must be behind it all turned up bold as brass on Mykonos looking to buy the Asteria hotel.”

  “Did Christos have anything to do with that hotel?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Is the Russian trying to take over Christos’ club?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Then why do you think he had anything to do with Christos murder?”

  “He shared the same girlfriend with Christos and we know the girlfriend was involved in his murder. She went to visit someone in Poland a couple of times right after this guy, Sergey, got out of a Polish prison. On her last visit, and a few days after Christos murder, she turned up dead in Sergey’s city. Too many coincidences.”

  “Are you sure she went to visit him?”

  He gestured no. “But Christos’ maid once overheard her talking to someone named Sergey as if he were a boyfriend about arrangements to visit him in the same town in Poland where our Sergey lived.”

  “That’s it?”

  “What are you, a prosecutor? I’m talking police instincts here. Yes, I know we don’t have a case yet. But we will. When things start to break they’ll break quickly. You’ll see.”

  Lila, shrugged. “You know best about those sorts of things.” She kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear. “Marietta is watching Tassaki. Follow me and I’ll show you where your baby boy learned how to greet his daddy.”

  Andreas ran his hand along Lila’s bottom. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Some said that between Greece’s financial crisis and a nearly ten dollars per gallon price of gas, Athens traffic was much lighter than it once was. But to Andreas this morning’s commute was as bad as ever. Perhaps he was only anxious to get back to his office. His unit was terrific, but he was the engine that drove the investigations, and things piled up whenever he was away, even for a few days.

  His phone rang. It was Maggie.

  “Yes, my love, what can I do for you?”

  “Where are you?”

  “Almost at headquarters. Traffic’s a bitch. Can this wait until I get there?”

  “No, turn around and head to the ministry. The minister wants to see you right away.”

  What the hell does Spiros want now? Always with the drama. “Did he say what it’s about?”

  “No, he just sounded nervous.”

  “In other words it has to do with the press. His whole world is driven by what the media says about him.”

  “Well, whatever it is, there’s nothing in the papers or on television about it yet.”

  Maggie had a 24/7 ear for the news. If she didn’t know about it, it wasn’t out there.

  “Well, then, so far so good.”

  ***

  It took Andreas another twenty minutes of weaving through traffic to reach the ministry. His lights and siren were practically useless.

  When he finally reached the ministry he went straight to the minister’s office and the secretary showed him right in.

  “Chief Kaldis is here.”

  “Thank you. Please, leave us and hold all my calls. No matter who it may be.”

  When she left Andreas said, “Sounds serious.”

  Spiros pointed to the chair in front of his desk. “You have no idea. Or at least I hope you don’t.”

  Andreas sat in the chair. “What the hell was that supposed to mean?”

  Spiros bit at his lip. A sure sign he was frightened.

  “Come on, Spiros, it can’t be that bad. We’ve been through a lot worse.”

  Spiros ran his hands through his color-enhanced, thinning, jet-black hair. “It’s about your friend, Tassos.”

  “Tassos?”

  “He’s gone rogue.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Andreas, I know how close you are to him. But we all know his history. A little business on the side to enhance his lifestyle is wellknown.”

  “Not to me it isn’t.” At least not since we’ve been friends.

  “I’m afraid he’s been caught red-handed. And, frankly…” Spiros reached into his desk, took a pill from a bottle, and swallowed it without water. “Frankly, circumstantial evidence has you and Kouros involved in it with him.”

  Andreas drew a deep breath. He did not want to respond in anger. “Why don’t you just tell me what you’re talking about?”

  “Early this morning I received a call from the chief of police on Mykonos. Tassos had paid him a visit yesterday about the Christos Vasilakis murder.”

  Andreas shrugged. “Why wouldn’t he? It’s his case.”

  Spiros nodded. “Later that same day the police chief received a call from someone representing…” Spiros looked at some notes on his desk, “Sergey Tishchenko, who said you and Kouros had spoken with him about the same case.”

  “He’s a potential suspect.”

  “But why would you, the Athens-based head of Special Crimes, be involved with an investigation into a murder on Mykonos where everyone knows who did it and one of the killers is already dead?”

  “If you know so much about the case, then you should also know that Sergey Tishchenko was the dead girl’s ex-boyfriend.”

  “Yes, I know all about that, and his prison record, and that she went to visit someone in Bialystok. The same town Tishchenko gave as his address when he got out of prison and where she turned up murdered.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Spiros raised his voice. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the minister of this department.” He swallowed. “The police chief tracked down the maid who’d found the body. She told him about the girlfriend’s phone call. He also interviewed Sergey, who disclosed his record saying he had nothing to hide from the police.”

  “Did he also say the girlfriend came to see him in Poland?”

  “He said the last time he saw her was before he went to prison, and that she had a lot of boyfriends in Bialystok. She was a prostitute there and her arrest record confirms that. She could have gone to see any of them. Or all of them.”

  “And just by coincidence he happens to end up on Mykonos with enough money to buy a hotel?”

  “He said everybody in Poland knows Mykonos is the place to come to make a fortune, and that he’d mentioned the possibility of his moving to Mykonos to her before he was arrested. She went to Mykonos because of him, not the other way around. As far as the money goes, these days who are we to ask where money comes from if people are willing to invest in Greece? As long, of course, as it isn’t tied into Christos’ murder. Do you have any reason to think that it is?”

  “What does all this have to do with Tassos?”

  “And you.”

  Andreas leaned forward in the chair. “You’re beginning to piss me off.”

  Spiros held up his hands. “Andreas, I think of us like brothers. I am having this conversation with you because of that. If you’re going to be your normal belligerent self it will only make things worse.”

  Andreas squeezed the arms of the chair. “Make what worse?”

  “The maid told the police chief there was a second safe in Christos’ house. Tassos’ report made no mention of that second safe. And the maid said he told her to ‘keep that second safe just between us.’”

  Andreas’ hands froze to the chair.

  “Does that come as a surprise to you?”

  “I repeat my question, Spiros, ‘What does this have to do with Tassos?’” He paused. “
And me?”

  “Come on Andreas, if Tassos emptied that safe and didn’t report it…” Spiros waved his hand in the air. “Everybody knows the rumor that Christos was blackmailing a lot of important people, and if Tassos found what Christos had on them, why wouldn’t he use it to do the same?”

  Andreas wanted to defend Tassos, tell Spiros the truth about what he’d found and why they hadn’t disclosed it. But Spiros could be a tricky bastard. No telling how he might play that. He could keep the files for his own use, make himself look good by telling the press that he’d uncovered corruption in his own department and purged it, or just hold Andreas’ admission of complicity over his head for the rest of his life.

  “Andreas, did you hear me? Do you have anything to say?”

  Perhaps I should just say the obvious, he thought. That it was Tassos’ word against the maid’s as to whether she ever told him about a second safe.

  “I think there are some nuances here that you’re missing, Spiros. For example––”

  Spiros yelled, “You and your buddy are in deep shit, Andreas! Don’t lecture me about ‘nuances.’ Yes or no, did the maid tell Tassos about that second safe?”

  An alarm went off in Andreas’ head. It was time to play defense. “I think you should ask Tassos.”

  “Why can’t you answer that question?”

  “Because I don’t know.”

  Spiros shook his head. “I’m so sorry you said that. I’d hoped to help you. But I see you’re just as guilty as Tassos.”

  Andreas said nothing.

  “The police chief had the safe opened. It was empty.” He paused as if waiting for Andreas to say something.

  Andreas sat quietly.

  “You have nothing to say?”

  “Just listening.”

  “Well maybe you’d like to read something instead.”

  Spiros handed him a forensic report. It described what was found inside the safe. No contents and no prints, except for a thumb at the inside top of the door and a partial on fingers along the door’s top edge.

  “As you’ll see, the safe was wiped clean except for where it appears whoever wiped it down held onto the top of the door, perhaps to help himself up.”

  Spiros handed Andreas a second report. “This ID on the prints came in this morning just before I called your office. Guess whose they are?”

  Andreas didn’t have to ask.

  “We have your buddy tied up in a neat little bundle all ready for the prosecutor. And you, too, if you don’t cooperate and tell me all about this scam you’re running.”

  Andreas stood. “With all due respect, Minister, I think I’ll leave now.”

  “Don’t you dare leave. I have you on tape saying you knew nothing about the second safe.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Minister. You asked if ‘the maid told Tassos about the second safe.’ How would I possibly know that? I wasn’t there. I think you owe me an apology.”

  Spiros’ face turned bright red.

  “You better take another pill. You don’t look well.”

  “Kaldis, you are suspended as of this minute!”

  Andreas stared Spiros directly in the eyes and spoke without emotion. “You’re the minister, you can do that. Just be careful what you say to the press. There may not be enough pills in your drawer to cover what could happen if you said the wrong things.”

  ***

  Andreas walked out of Spiros’ office and through the ministry’s halls as if alone in a soundless tunnel. He heard none of the hellos or saw any of the waves of those he passed. His focus was on reaching the car, getting inside, and driving. Anywhere. Just driving.

  He tried not to think about his father. He thought about his mother, about his wife, about his son, and about his sister. But not about his father.

  A half hour passed until he pulled over and parked. It was a quiet street and Andreas sat staring straight ahead for a few minutes before opening the door. He got out and walked to a tree-shaded knoll. The sun was brilliant yellow and the sky ablaze in blue. Andreas dropped his head and stared down at a grave.

  “I never forgave you for taking your life, for leaving us alone. I blamed myself for not being able to stop you. But what could I have done as an eight-year-old? But now I’m a man. And I’ve failed you again.”

  He drew in and let out a deep breath.

  “Is this how you felt, Dad? Set up and called corrupt for bribes to someone else when all you’d ever tried to do was the right thing for your country and family?

  “Is this how you felt when betrayed and destroyed by your own? Does it matter that your assassin was a crooked, scheming minister, while mine is just an arrogant, disloyal coward? I’ll end up in the same place as you, destroyed by the press in a rush of ‘LIKE FATHER LIKE SON’ headlines.”

  He drew in another deep breath. “How will mother be able to stand it again? How will Lila…Tassaki.” Tears welled up in his eyes.

  “I tried so hard to make you proud, Dad. To redeem your name.” He struggled to contain the tears, but they came just the same. “I’ve failed you. I’ve failed everyone.”

  ***

  Andreas stood by the grave staring off toward the horizon when his phone rang. He didn’t want to answer it. There was no one he wanted to talk to. He let it ring until it went into voice mail. It rang again. He ignored it again. Once more it rang and once more he ignored it, but this time he pulled it out of his pocket to shut it off. It rang in his hand. It was Maggie. He paused, and pressed ANSWER.

  “Yes.”

  “Andreas, I don’t know what’s going on, and there’s no time to ask you. Three goons just showed up to take possession of all our files on the Christos Vasilakis murder investigation.”

  Andreas felt his heart sink. Spiros was doing what he had to do to crucify him. I’d do the same thing.

  “Andreas, are you there?”

  “Yes.”

  “I told them no one gets access to anything in Special Crimes’ files without your permission. They said they had the permission of the minister and that you were suspended. I said,‘I didn’t give a shit, I wasn’t suspended and without permission from Chief Kaldis, no one gets to see those files.’”

  Andreas almost felt a smile. “What happened?”

  “They tried to get into your office but I blocked the door and yelled at them to leave.”

  “They left?”

  “No, they tried to push me out of the way.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Me yes, them no.”

  “What happened?”

  “Yianni heard me yelling and came out of his office like a bull. I almost felt sorry for the three assholes. Two of them had to carry the third one away. They said they’d be back with warrants.”

  “How’s Yianni?”

  “Fine. He told them real cops don’t push women around. And if they come back they better know how to fly out a window.”

  Andreas did smile. “Maggie––”

  “Don’t bother saying a thing. We figured it out. It’s all taken care of. Take care of yourself. We know you’ll straighten things out. You’re our chief and we’re all behind you one hundred percent, no matter what you decide.”

  Tears welled again in Andreas’ eyes.

  “Thank you.”

  “We love you. Now call your wife.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Lila was waiting for Andreas when the elevator door opened in their apartment’s entry foyer. “I told the doorman to let me know the moment you were home. Maggie called. Are you okay?”

  Andreas gestured no. “Sorry I didn’t call. I decided it was better to come home and tell you the news in person. I’ve been outthought, outflanked, set up, and, to put it succinctly, royally fucked by that bastard Sergey.”

  “Maggie said you�
��re suspended?”

  He nodded yes. “Spiros, jumped to a conclusion that is reasonable but idiotic if he actually trusted me. He’s trying to make a case against Tassos, and now me, of stealing information that could blackmail virtually every powerful person in Greece.”

  “Maybe you should use some of it to blackmail him?”

  “The thought did pass through my mind, but even if I could, things are too far along for that. I’m just waiting for the story to break in the press. Which reminds me. I need to tell my mother, prepare her for all of this.” He shook his head.

  Lila took his arm and led him into the living room. They sat on a couch facing the Acropolis. She put her head against his chest.

  “Darling, your mother loves you. She’s very proud of you. Tassaki and I are, too, this will change nothing.”

  “Of course it will. I’ll be vilified worse than my father. It will destroy her. It will destroy all of us. I don’t even want to think about what it will do to your reputation.”

  “Think about it all you want. I couldn’t care less what those small-minded, jealous bastards think. They live for bad news about other people’s lives. Jealousy is the Greek national curse. None of that matters to me.”

  “Yeah, but what if he makes a case and I go to prison?”

  “I’ll bake cookies.”

  “Cute, but I’m being serious.”

  “So am I. If Greece doesn’t want you we’ll go somewhere that does.”

  He paused. “There is something else you should know, because my decision affects your life at least as much as it does mine. At one point Spiros offered me a way out, and it’s probably still available.”

  “What do you have to do?”

  “Turn on Tassos.”

  Lila lifted her head off of Andreas’ chest and leaned away from him.

  “You’re not thinking of doing that, are you?”

  “No, but I wanted you to know that the offer was made.”

  “Good, because if you did I could never live with you.”

  “That makes both of us who couldn’t live with me.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know yet. First thing is to speak to Tassos and Yianni.”