The Mykonos Mob

by Jeffrey Siger

  She knocked. No answer. She knocked again. The door could have used a paint job. So could the building. She doubted the owner cared, and certainly not the renters. They likely were happy to have an affordable place to live, and an improved property would increase the chance of them being booted out in favor of tourists.

  She rapped her fist hard against the door twice more, and before she’d finished with her third knock, the door swung inward.

  “Sorry,” said her client, wearing a wife-beater tee-shirt and boxer shorts. “I fell asleep. I don’t sleep much at night.”

  “Get dressed, and then I’ll come inside.” She stood without budging. “You don’t want to be seen with me in the harbor, and I don’t want to be seen with you with your pants off.”

  He hurried back inside and returned a moment later wearing pants and a shirt but no shoes. Toni stepped inside without being asked. A tiny kitchen sat beyond and to the left and a tiny bedroom off to the right. The toilet was likely outside behind that second door. She stood in the main room of the home.

  A neatly made cot ran along the left wall, a small square dining table and three chairs sat below the room’s single window, and a well-worn couch lay along the right wall with a wide-screen TV hanging above the cot. Two floor lamps stood unlit, one by the couch, one between the table and cot. Religious relics and pictures dominated the walls, along with a single photograph in the middle of the dining table of a young schoolgirl marching in a parade.

  “Nice place.” Toni pointed at the photograph. “Is that your daughter?”

  “Yes, Adina.”

  It wasn’t hard to imagine how a child living amid these stark surroundings could be tempted by a fast-talker into doing anything to escape.

  “Please sit.” He pointed to the couch, and pulled up a chair from the table to sit across from her. “Have you found a way to save my daughter?”

  “Where is she?”

  “She’s not here.”

  Toni waved a hand around the room. “I guessed that. So, where is she?”

  “She should be home within an hour. But she’ll change clothes and go right out again.” He squirmed in his chair. “She avoids being home when her mother is here. She says her mother lectures her too much.”

  “Where’s her mother?”

  “She works in the laundry of one of the big hotels.”

  “Hard work.”

  He shut his eyes. “I know. We all know.” Tears appeared in his eyes and began to run down his cheek. He clumsily wiped them away. “We wanted to protect her, to give her a better life than we had. It’s why we work like this. For our daughter. And now…” he waved his hands in a gesture of hopelessness.

  Toni leaned in. “What I need from you is a schedule of when and where you think your daughter is going to be over the next forty-eight hours, and with whom. Be as precise as you can, but if necessary, a good guess will have to do.”

  “How can I get that?”

  “I don’t know, be creative. She’s your daughter. Who would she tell? Where would she write it down? Can you access her phone? Does she have a job? Where do her friends work or hang out? Like I said, do your best.”

  His eyes darted around the room as if searching for answers.

  “And I’ll need a current photograph of her.”

  He paused, then stood and walked into the bedroom. Toni heard a drawer open. A moment passed, and she heard a drawer close. The father returned, holding a poster in one hand.

  “I’m not proud of this, but I have no reason to hide it. Everyone has seen it posted around town.” He handed her an advertisement for Karavakis’ club featuring the image of a scantily clad Las Vegas-type showgirl in a deliberately enticing position.

  “This is your daughter?”

  His head drooped. “Yes.”

  Toni stared at the poster. Your kid’s in serious trouble. All she could think of to say was, “Get me that list right away.”

  What she’d be able to do with it, however, she had not a clue.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Toni’s hotel-room line rang four times before Yianni heard a fumbling, “Hello?”

  “I’ve been trying to reach you on your mobile for a half hour.”

  “There’s a simple and obvious explanation for that,” said Toni. “I turn off my mobile when I want to sleep, and turn it back on when I don’t. Why do people have such trouble remembering that basic principle?”

  “The receptionist at your hotel wouldn’t put me through to you on the house phone.”

  “Thank you for reminding me to tip her.”

  “I had to find the owner to get him to ring you.”

  “So much for his tip,” she yawned. “Okay, my love, now that you have me, why don’t you get to your earth-shattering news.”

  “We have to meet.”

  “Is it passion or professional?”

  “Professional.”

  “Oh.”

  “Not that I’m averse to the former.”

  “I guess that’s some consolation. What’s it about?”

  “I’ll tell you when we see you.”

  “We?”

  “Yes, Andreas and I.”

  “Hey, if this is about last night with his wife—”

  Yianni cut her off. “Let’s not talk about this over the phone. We’ll see you at your place in the harbor in thirty minutes. Okay?”

  “No, everyone on the island will see me meeting with you. My crook contacts might get the crazy idea I’m actually chummy with the police.”

  “Well, we have to meet.”

  “Okay, I get that. Let’s do it at the cafenion next to the police station. There’s an upstairs no one ever uses. We should have it to ourselves.”

  “Fine, see you there in thirty minutes. Bye.”

  Yianni waited for her to say something. All he heard was a click.

  Toni was waiting upstairs when Andreas arrived at the cafenion.

  “You’re prompt for a Greek,” smiled Andreas.

  “That’s because I’m Greek in spirit, not genetically.”

  He chuckled. “We do seem to lack that punctuality bit of DNA.”

  “Where’s Yianni?”

  “Downstairs getting us coffee. Would you like one?”

  She held up a cup. “Already set, thanks.” She bit at her lip. “I hope I didn’t somehow create a problem for you and your wife last night. She’s really a great lady and we had a good but wholly innocent time.”

  Andreas smiled. “I know. She feels the same way about you. I practically had to handcuff her to keep her from following us here, but I told her it was official police business and she couldn’t be involved.”

  “That sounds ominous.”

  Yianni stepped into the room from the stairs. “Are you talking about me?”

  “No,” said Toni, “then I’d have said obvious.”

  Yianni feigned a smile as he handed Andreas a coffee. “I see you and I are back to our normal routine.”

  “Yes, you try being cute, and me burying you.”

  “Okay, kids, playtime’s over.” Andreas sat across from Toni at a four-top hardwood table, and Yianni sat between them.

  Andreas leaned in toward Toni. “You guessed right. This is about last night, but not about anything you or Lila did. It’s about the man with the knife.”

  “You’re not going to arrest him, are you? He’s just distraught.”

  “I seriously doubt that either you or I are competent to make that determination, but this isn’t about arresting him. It’s about your helping us with an investigation, one that potentially may help resolve your client’s problem with his daughter.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Toni.

  “I don’t know if there’s anything more to what the girl’s father told you than what he said, but
since the kid he threatened to take out is Karavakis’ son, and we all know how involved Karavakis is in the dark side of things on this island, I want to know if there’s anything more going on here than a personal grudge with the son.” Andreas took a sip of coffee. “What I’m about to tell you is confidential, so keep it to yourself. Karavakis is putting together a huge hotel-casino project on the island, and if there’s a gang war brewing over it, I want to know. If organized-crime types ever start thinking it’s worth the risk to eliminate their competition and bodies begin turning up, it’ll be lights out for the island.”

  Toni shook her head. “I get the bit about the risk to the island’s tourist-paradise image, Chief, but I don’t get the we part of your point.”

  He smiled. “You have access to the other side of the street. You asking questions in your normal gossipy manner could pick up things that we’ll never hear as cops.”

  “I think you just called me a gossip.”

  “Okay, let’s call it folksy or chatty. Whatever the word, we both know that you’re good at getting people to tell you things.”

  “Come on, now. Be real. No one’s going to tell me that sort of stuff.”

  “Maybe not in so many words, but people like to talk as if they know the inside story on what’s happening on the island. So, while you’re out looking for a way to help the daughter get away from Karavakis Junior, we’d appreciate your keeping your ears open for anything that might help us with Karavakis Senior and his crowd. All we’re asking is that you keep your ears open and let us know if you hear anything.”

  She looked at Yianni. “Are you on board with this?”

  “Absolutely.” He paused. “But I don’t want you taking any risks. Just let us know if you hear something.”

  She stared at him. “I hope you stop by the bar tonight.”

  Yianni smiled. “I’d hoped you say that.”

  She stood. “Is that it?”

  Andreas nodded. “Lila wanted me to say hi and ask if you’re free for lunch tomorrow at the house.”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On what sort of leads I might come up with on that little project you just gave me.”

  “For the record, and because some of the people tied into this can be very dangerous, I agree with what Yianni said. Don’t take chances.”

  She smiled at Yianni. “Then maybe you shouldn’t stop by the bar tonight, handsome.” With that, she scooted to the stairs and down.

  Andreas smiled. “The lady certainly knows how to make an exit.”

  “Yes, she does,” said Yianni, glancing toward the empty stairs.

  “I think she likes you.”

  “That’s why I feel bad not telling her about a possible Karavakis tie-in to the Colonel’s murder.”

  “We warned her to be careful, and that dangerous people are involved. If we get her thinking there’s a possible link to a murder, she might panic, and that would endanger her more. Ignorance is bliss in this instance.”

  “I wonder if you’d feel the same way if Toni were a man?”

  “Are you suggesting I’m sexist?”

  “No, just possibly overprotective because a woman is involved. I do have a question, though.”

  “What is it?”

  “Would you have asked Lila to do what you just asked of Toni, without at least warning her what she might be getting into?”

  “Hey, we both told Toni not to take risks.”

  “You haven’t answered my question.”

  “I know.” Andreas stood. “And don’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind that the two of them might go out there playing Nancy Drew together.” He gulped down what remained of his coffee. “But I still think an ignorance-is-bliss approach is best for them both. At least for now.”

  Yianni said nothing.

  Andreas drummed his fingers on the table. “Any change in the condition of our hospitalized motorcycle hit man?”

  “He’s still in a coma, but his vital signs are improving, and he’s expected to come around soon.”

  “Let’s hope so. He’s our best chance at nailing Karavakis.”

  Yianni looked down at the tabletop. “I don’t get it, Chief. If you think Karavakis was willing to risk ordering a hit on you and me simply for asking him questions, why don’t you see Toni facing the same sort of danger if she’s out there snooping around?”

  “We’re cops, and when we ask questions we get noticed. Toni isn’t one of us, and people on the island expect her to be nosing around about bad guys as part of her business. They won’t regard her snooping in the same light as they would ours.”

  Yianni looked up at Andreas. “It sounds to me as if you’re taking a hell of a risk with Toni’s safety.”

  “It’s a judgment call.”

  “Influenced by the fact she’s a woman?”

  “Yes, sexist thinking is involved.” He pointed at his chest. “But I’m not the sexist. I’m relying on sexist thinking to give Toni the cover she needs. The bad guys tied into this are classic misogynists, and because of that, the last person they’ll suspect of informing on them is someone like Toni.”

  Yianni kept up his stare. “I still think you should tell her of the potential link to the Colonel’s murder.”

  “And I still disagree.”

  Yianni drew in and blew out a breath. “I hope you’re right.”

  Andreas looked at the ceiling. “I pray that I am.”

  Toni made it back to her hotel with the intention of taking a nap before preparing to head off to the piano bar. But when she saw the hotel owner, Niko, sitting alone on the terrace with bottles of ouzo and water, glasses, a bucket of ice, and a plate of spanakopita, she dropped into the chair next to him.

  “How are you doing, my friend?” Niko asked.

  “I could be better.”

  “I figured when you didn’t head straight inside for your nap there must be something important on your mind.”

  “Am I that obvious?”

  “Yep.”

  Toni frowned but reached for a spanakopita and took a bite. She spoke while chewing. “I need to know who you think is best informed about gritty, nasty, secret things happening on the dark side of the island.”

  “Are you talking about politics or something else?”

  “Something else.” She kept chewing.

  “Why would you want to get mixed up with that crowd? They don’t like the curious.”

  “I don’t want to get involved. I just have some questions I need answered, and my connections into the island’s criminal side are confined to thievery and burglary. I’m a babe in the woods when it comes to knowing the truly nasty folks. Present company excluded, of course.”

  “Of course,” Niko yawned. “I doubt you need them answered, you just want them answered. Which brings me back to emphasizing what happens to the curious.”

  “I’ll be careful.”

  Niko scowled. Then his face lit up. “I know who you can talk to. And he’s someone you already know. He’s close enough to the island’s underbelly to know what you want to know, but not so close as to feel the need to eliminate you for asking questions. Or at least I don’t think he will.”

  “That’s comforting. So, who do you have in mind?”

  “Like I said, someone you already know.”

  “So, tell me already.”

  “Christos.”

  Christos Kleftis, Lucifer’s main man on the island. In any organized thievery, you could bet Christos had a hand in it. Toni and Christos did a lot of business together, and that encouraged her to stay on his good side, despite her natural aversion to men sporting multiple thick gold chains, jewel-studded rings, and bracelets.

  “I didn’t think Christos was into the violent end of things. I thought his gig was burglarizing houses and hotel rooms.”


  “It is,” said Niko, “but he has eyes and ears all over the island, looking for ripe places and rich visitors to hit. His network picks up a lot of information on a lot of things beyond what he needs for his business, making him perhaps the best-informed bad guy on the island.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Nearly sunset,” said Niko looking at the sky rather than his watch or phone.

  “That means Christos is likely down in the harbor.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “He’ll be checking out potential scores parading back and forth in their finery.” She jumped up. “Gotta run if I want to catch him.”

  She hurried off into town and reached the port in what felt like record time. She found Christos sitting alone, bedecked in gold, at the front table of the most expensive taverna on the waterfront. She commandeered the seat next to him.

  “Don’t you ever worry that someday one of the folk passing by will recognize something you’re wearing as one of their long-lost heirlooms?”

  He kept studying the crowd. “Why do I sense you didn’t stop by to warn me of the errors of my ways?”

  “Because you’re so smart, clever, handsome, and a judge of good liquor.”

  “In other words, my dear Toni, you want something from me.”

  “Like I said, you’re brilliant.”

  “So, what sort of things did your clients misplace that you think I might be lucky enough to find for you sitting alongside the road?”

  “That’s…ah…not the sort of assistance I need.”

  “Okay, you’ve got my attention. What’s up?” He kept his eyes on the passersby.

  “This is highly confidential.”

  “You know you can trust me.”

  “Since I know you wouldn’t dare go after the guy I’m about to ask you about, I do.”

  He looked at her. “Where’s this headed?”

  “To be honest, I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “An old family friend from the United States has been approached regarding a potential investment here and asked me if I knew anything about the players involved in the deal.”