The 90’s police car was parked badly outside. Valentina had returned from dropping Jacob ‘The coroner’ Petsa and the unlucky young woman for whom Ioli was responsible to serve justice. ‘Thank God, she’s back,’ Ioli said and exhaled deeply, trying to catch the breath that seemed to allure her often. The last thing she needed was to sit outside a locked door under the midday sun.
The shabby door mat welcomed Ioli’s flat shoes –she surely missed her low heeled shoes that her gynaecologist no longer allowed-as she dusted them off before entering the cool room. Icy conditioned air settled on her hot skin, cooling every pore, offering much needed sanctuary from the high temperatures outside.
Valentina leapt out of her chair upon seeing her enter. A kind-faced, elderly lady sat opposite her wearing a pitch-black dress that fell to her tired ankles, a pearl necklace and a worried look. A nylon bag was placed on the floor by her right ankle.
‘Ioli, this is Mrs. Sophia, Adoni’s grandmother and legal guardian. She wishes to see him, but I said she had to wait for you.’
Ioli felt that Valentina spoke mostly to apologize to the woman who had been begging her since her return from the port. Mrs. Sophia had sat outside the station ever since the crowd dispersed after Adoni’s arrest.
‘Nice to meet you,’ Ioli said and extended her hand. ‘If you don’t mind, I’d rather talk with you for a while and then see Adoni alone. After that, you can have all the time you wish with him.’ Ioli’s fake wide smile spread across her high cheekboned face.
Mrs. Sophia’s facial muscles remained still; unsure of how to respond. Her heartbeat elevated to heights even her pink prescription pills could not control. She lived only for her grandson. He was all she had. She lowered her watery eyes and exhaled.
‘I understand, my girl. You have to follow, what do you call it? Protocol. Do things right?’ she said, lifting her head up gradually and Ioli caught a glimpse of a trembling smile. ‘I’ll do my best to be patient. But, I tell you now. My boy is innocent. I swear this by the Saints and the Mother of our savior, Jesus Christ. Blessed be his name and all that call for him.’
Ioli sat down opposite the lady, studying her. She was your typical Greek grandmother. Olive oil skin, white hair, dressed in black –mourning the loss of a husband or a child, deep sun-produced wrinkles, worried eyes, a genuine smile and an aura of ‘proudness’. Ioli thought of her own grandmother and how she should call her more often.
‘You raised Adoni on your own?’
Mrs. Sophia smiled. ‘Best thing I have ever done in my life. My daughter had him out of wedlock. She was studying in Sweden at the time. She never told the father.’
‘And where is your daughter, now?’
Mrs. Sophia slightly licked her top lip and gently bit down on her bottom lip. ‘You have kind eyes, my child. But, I see sorrow lurking behind them. You know how cruel and unjust this world can be.’ Mrs. Sophia lowered her head, once again. ‘Overdose. Adoni was only four at the time. My Helen never could cope with our reality. She needed her escapes,’ she continued, then lowered her voice ‘I blame the drugs for Adoni’s difficulties. But, God works in mysterious ways and maybe it was for Adoni’s best that my unfit-for-a-mother daughter passed away. Adonis has special needs and her home was not the place for it. Here, with me, he has a good life, a happy life.’
‘What exactly are Adoni’s difficulties, as you said?’
‘Body wise, he has a crooked knee joint that forces him to limp. Mentally, doctors said he would never grow older than a nine-year-old. He is an eternal child locked in an adult’s body. He has such a gentle and innocent nature. He is not capable of such a gruesome crime. Even, if it was possible for him to kill, he hasn’t got the brains to do what the killer did to that poor girl. Please, Lieutenant, you have to help us. You have to prove my boy is innocent.’
‘So much for an open-and-shut case. Collecting evidence, my ass,’ Ioli thought as she scribbled down Mrs. Sophia’s statement. ‘Where were Adoni’s whereabouts last night?’
‘He left home around nine o’clock. He finished his chores, watched his favorite movie, what’s it called now, Wall-E. Yes, the one with the robot. Then, he went for a walk. It is a safe town and everyone knows him. He hangs around the coffee shops, playing tavli and drinking lime and lemon. His favorite.’
Mrs. Sophia glowed as she talked about her grandson. ‘Her love for him is intense. He is her everything’ Ioli wrote down, next to notes to have Alexandro check the boy’s time line. Her mind quickly thought of her new partner and how he was going to find a locked house.
‘And, what time did he get home?’
‘Oh, dear. I am seventy-two years old. I was asleep by then. However, he was in his bed when I woke up at six and his clothes were beside his bed. Clean as a fiddle. I brought them with me. I know, now-a-days, you have all these modern gadgets and stuff. Analyze them, prove my boy innocent,’ she said, her voice trembling more than usual. She picked up the nylon bag and extended her hand to Ioli. Ioli carefully took the bag without touching any of the items of clothing overflowing from it and placed it on the desk to her right.
‘I will. Mrs. Sophia, I promise you that whomever is responsible for this crime will pay.’
‘Thank you, my dear. May the Lord bless you and your child.’
‘One last question. How do you explain the knife? I mean, the murder weapon is your grandson’s, right?’
‘Yes, it is,’ she said, exhaling loudly. ‘But, anyone could have taken it. Adoni is always leaving his things here or there.’
‘Thank you Mrs. Sophia,’ Ioli said standing up. ‘You have been very helpful,’ she said and offered a sincere smile. ‘Now, I think it’s time I met Adonis. Though, he is technically an adult. I’d rather see him on his own first. You two are close and I imagine seeing you right now will make both of you emotional. I need to get some answers out of him. If that’s alright with you.’ Ioli paused, waiting for a reply. The old lady’s sky-blue eyes were fixed on her lips.
‘I guess I could be a little more patient. I’ll leave. That small room is no place to talk. Let him out. Talk with him here.’
‘Thank you,’ Ioli replied and shook the woman’s hand. Ioli watched as she trudged to the door.
‘I’m going to make Greek coffee,’ Valentina said from behind Ioli. She had been hovering around her since Ioli had sat down. ‘Lieutenant Ioli? Coffee? Frappe?’
‘Doctor advised me to cut down on my coffees. Anything cold,’ Ioli answered as the old lady closed the door behind her.
‘Got my mama’s homemade lemonade. Lemons from my grandpa’s…’
‘Excellent,’ Ioli interrupted her and made her way to the lone cell in the building. ‘Make one for the boy, too.’
As Ioli placed her hand on the cool, metallic, door handle a loud beep echoed through the high-ceiling room with the heavy, thick, wooden beams. Valentina had noticed the tiny red light flickering on the station’s phone. She pressed the button to listen to the message received.
‘Message received at ten A.M. and twelve minutes,’ the robotic voice came through the round speaker.
‘We were at the crime scene,’ Valentina commented before silencing to listen to the incoming message.
‘Err… Hi, Valentina this is Sakis from the shoe repair shop. Err… I was hoping to speak to you in person, called a few times before. This is not something I feel comfortable discussing over the phone. Please come around to my shop. Adonis is innocent. I know who killed Natalie…’
The prolonged, high-pitched beep signalled the end of the words that left the two officers with their eyes wide-open.
‘Call him back, get him to come in and give a statement. If he fears being seen as it seems; he did mention you going around to his shop, make an appointment, to be there in half an hour. I’ll get Adoni’s statement and we can go meet him,’ Ioli said and Valentina nodded in reply.
Ioli opened the holding-room door and stood to the side. No one appeared. She waited a few seconds and c
autiously ducked her head into the scanty-for-a-cell, magnolia-painted room.
Adonis sat curled up at the edge of the bottom bunk bed. His head rested in his crossed arms that lay upon his trembling knees. Yet, his eyes peeped through and he studied the tall woman opposite him. She seemed beautiful. She seemed nice. She had a great figure. The type of woman his nana always said was trouble. The type of woman his mother used to be. Before the drugs. Before the endless array of criminal boyfriends.
‘Adonis?’
‘That’s my name,’ he thought and raised his head.
Ioli smiled kindly and focused on his blue eyes. ‘Adoni, I am Lieutenant Ioli Cara. Come out, let’s have a nice, cold lemonade.’
Adoni giggled uncontrollably; his frantic breathing getting in the way. Pretty girls never asked him to join them for a drink.
‘Relax,’ Ioli said and winked at him. With a tilt of her head, she invited him to follow her. Valentina had already placed two ice-cold lemonades on the small, round table that had three legs.
She, also smiled at Adonis before turning to Ioli. ‘Mr Sakis is not answering. Probably closed the shop for siesta.’
‘Do you know where he lives?’
Valentina nodded that she did. Ioli could not make up her mind if the young girl was too lazy to reply verbally or if this is how people communicated nowadays.
‘OK, give me ten minutes and we will be off.’ She turned her attention to the shy boy whose eyes eagled in on the lemonade. ‘Sit, have a drink.’
With a smile as wide as the canyon of Vikos, the young man-boy picked up the refreshing beverage with the orange straw and sank back into the tall-backed office chair. As Adonis slurped down his cold drink, Ioli pulled her chair closer and sat down.
‘You have a baby in your belly. A blessing. Be a good mama.’
‘Yes, I have. And I will do my best to be a good mama.’
‘Do more than your best.’ Adoni’s tone deepened and his lemonade-caused smile flatlined a second. ‘Did my nana sit here?’ he continued with his usual joyful tone. ‘I can… smell her perfume.’
‘Yes, she passed by and…’
‘Can… Can I see her?’ he asked, his puppy-like eyes opening wide. ‘Sorry, for inter… inter… interrupting you.’
‘It’s OK. As for your grandmother, she will come by later and visit you.’
His eyes lowered and the glass of lemonade trembled in his shaking hands. ‘Can’t I go home with her?’
‘Not right now, no. Adonis, do you know what happened to Natalie last night?’
The boy nodded; the longest of his blond hairs falling in strikes to his eyebrows.
‘Did you see her, last night?’ Ioli asked, her voice steady and friendly.
Another nod. ‘Where? What did you talk about?’ Ioli aimed for an open-type question to avoid another nod.
‘The alley behind the square… She was in a rush…’
Ioli leaned forward and placed her hand on the boy’s swinging knee. Her eyes inviting him to continue.
‘I… I said hello… We talked… I wanted to talk more… Natalie is such a pretty girl, but she had to go home to her mama.’
‘Adonis, do you know what time it was?’
Adonis shook his head.
‘Was she alone? Did you see anyone else in the alley?’
He shook his head again.
Ioli sat back into her chair. ‘A pretty girl, huh? Did you like her?’
‘Very much,’ he replied with his cheeks rosying up and a shy smile growing across his round face.
‘Didn’t she have a boyfriend?’
Adonis giggled. ‘Natalie always had a boyfriend. But, sometimes she had more than one… I thought maybe I could be one of her many boyfriends.’
Ioli started to realize why none of the locals from the square had anything nice to say. Small island communities frowned upon such behaviors. Especially from girls.
‘Who was her boyfriend at the moment?’
Adoni rocked back and forth before leaning forward; nearly falling off the edge of the chair. ‘That’s a secret,’ he whispered.
‘A secret? And do you know the answer?’
‘Maybe.’ Adonis began to laugh, and fell back into the chair.
‘What’s so funny?’ Ioli asked with a wide smile, seemingly going along with his joke.
‘All the boys… wanted her more now. Jake was upset she broke up with him… Sent her flowers every day… Andreas, too… He chased her everywhere, but… she always said no to him. Too ugly for Natalie.’
Ioli noted every word he said. ‘Are these classmates of yours?’
‘Yes. Only one senior class here. We all… grad… duated last month. Together.’
Ioli’s hand fell softly upon Adoni’s. ‘And the name of the mystery man? The secret? I am good at keeping secrets. Part of the job.’
Adonis shook his head abruptly. ‘Uh-uh. I swore by Saint George. I would never say his name. Nana says it’s blasphemy.’
‘Does Nana know who the man is?’
‘No. No way!’ The shock coloring his voice became strong and obvious. ‘I would never talk… about things like this… with Nana!’
‘What if I bring an icon of Saint George and you ask him if it is okay by him to tell me the name?’ Ioli asked, hoping to get the name from the God-fearing boy.
‘You’re funny. No, no and no… No way. It is not right to break promises…promises to saints are sacred.’
Ioli sat up straight, disappointed. ‘And how do you know who he is?’
‘I saw them together.’
‘When did you see them together? Natalie and…?’
‘A couple of weeks ago.’
‘Did they see you?’
Adonis nodded. ‘Natalie ran after me and made me swear. She gave me a kiss in return.’ His face lit up and he giggled while staring at the floor.
‘I see,’ Ioli remarked, then nodded to Valentina, who sat silently on the edge of her desk observing and recording the conversation. Valentina came forth, placing the ‘sealed off in a plastic bag’ murder weapon on the wooden, three-legged table by their side.
Adonis shivered at the sight of blood and turned away in disgust.
‘Is this your knife?’
‘Yes,’ he admitted.
‘When did you last see it?’
The boy lifted his shoulders. ‘I… I don’t know. Maybe last week. I don’t remember when I lost it.’
‘But, you did lose it?’
He replied with a nod.
Ioli studied the boy. ‘So, you did not kill Natalie?’
Adonis sat up straight. ‘Me? No, no ma’am. Never. I could not even hurt a fly. Ask around… and you will see!’
‘Not even a fly, huh? You know that’s a line from a movie.’
Again, he nodded. ‘Scariest movie I have ever seen. Nana doesn’t know. Saw it at a friend’s house.’
‘He said he would never hurt a fly, but he was the killer.’
‘Yes, but with me… it’s true,’ he replied with a grin.
Ioli sat up straight. ‘Thank you, Adoni. That’ll be all, for now. Miss Valentina will escort you back to your room…’
Adoni started rocking back and forth in the chair, sending leathery creaks throughout the low-ceilinged room.
‘… just for a while. We have to go somewhere at the moment, but on our way back we will bring your nana with us, too,’ Ioli said, thinking of how she promised to let his grandmother see him.
The word nana brought peace to the room and Adoni’s heart. Reluctantly, like a stubborn teen forced to do one chore or another, he dragged his legs into the small holding room and fell face down on the hanging-from-the-moldy-wall bed. Valentina locked the door behind him.
‘Off to the shoemaker?’
‘At once,’ Ioli replied. ‘I want to get to the bottom of this. Hopefully, our witness will put an end to this sticky situation.’
‘Sticky?’
‘No way a court of law would jail that kid
. We need to find the real suspect here.’
Valentina nodded in agreement and followed Ioli out of the building. Adoni’s grandmother was nowhere to be seen. ‘Well, at least we don’t have to listen to her begging to see him,’ Valentina said, locking the main entrance door with her noisy key ring. It was overflowing with keys and key rings of flags and monuments Valentina dreamt to visit one day. They all rattled together as she locked the front door and continued their cacophony as she beeped open her car and started the engine. Not noticing Ioli’s judgmental raising of her eyebrows, Valentina turned on the car radio and glad she found her latest favorite hit playing, she set off for Mr Sakis’ shoe repair shop.
Ioli buckled her seat belt, placing it across her chest and behind her back. She wanted no pressure on her tummy. The pressure on her brain cells was enough. ‘Who listens to this crap?’ she thought.
Once again, Ioli found herself lost in the view and the smell of the ocean blended with the flowery scent that travelled around upon the summer zephyr. As the car turned right and travelled downhill, the postcard background disappeared and the pleasant scents faded, being replaced by an earthly one. The tires of the vehicle said goodbye to asphalt and headed down a well-flattened dirt track, raising clouds of dust into the air. Ioli studied Valentina, who drove staring straight ahead, never gazing into the ocean, never enjoying the surroundings. Ioli was not one for small talk and she felt no urge to get to know the young blonde that wore too much make-up. However, she found herself asking Valentina, her favorite question for colleagues.
Murder On Display: A riveting, stand-alone murder / mystery that keeps you guessing until the shocking end (Greek Island Mysteries Book 4) Page 4
