“You’re absolutely certain about this?” said Tassos.
“I personally witnessed some of the permitting deliberations. It was an open joke. One year, I even heard an official say, ‘It’s time to screw Karavakis’ buddy again.’”
Tassos shook his head. “This guy Pepe must be a real malaka, but is he enough of one to have set up the hit on the Colonel for Karavakis?”
“That’s up to you to figure out. But I must say, even if he was conned into playing a part in the hit, I don’t have much sympathy for him, considering his bad choices in friends.”
“Unlike us,” smiled Tassos.
“Yes, unlike us.” Vassili downed the rest of his coffee. “Anything else I can help you with?”
“Nope, you’ve been great. Thanks.”
Vassili stood. “Only one favor I ask.”
“Sure, anything.”
“Please, don’t ever tie me into this conversation. I enjoy being around to collect my pension.”
Tassos smiled. “Deal.”
Toni wasn’t sure what possessed her to decide to drop in unannounced on Yianni.
No way she’d catch him at Lila and Andreas’ with another woman. Nor could she figure out why even the thought of such a possibility had passed through her mind. But it had. Was it some innate insecurity or something else?
Whatever the reason, first thing that morning she’d stopped by the motorbike rental shop next to her hotel and, in keeping with her longstanding arrangement with the owner, taken the worst bike on the lot for half its normal day rate. At this time of the year, it saved her a lot of money. On the other hand, what she had left to choose from made the expression “runt of the litter” a compliment by comparison.
By the time she’d reached Lila’s place, Toni wished she’d rented a Jeep, but it wasn’t the bumps, potholes, and crazy drivers that had her feeling a bit insecure riding alone on a bike. It was the motorcycle that had followed her all the way from town to within a few hundred meters of Lila’s gate before turning off by the entrance to a modern windmill facility.
She sat on Lila’s terrace telling herself it was Yianni and Christos’ warnings playing with her imagination that had made her anxious. Then her thoughts drifted to what it would be like riding again on Yianni’s bike, hugging him tightly.
She would have loved to do some more of that, but Yianni wasn’t there to hug.
She shook her head. Why am I thinking this way?
“Is something wrong?” asked Lila.
“Huh, no. Why?”
“Since you arrived, your mind’s been elsewhere. Now you’re sitting quietly, staring out to sea, and shaking your head.”
Toni blew breath out between her lips. “I’m worried about Adina,” she lied. “The fifteen-year-old girl Karavakis’ son is trying to, or already has, turned into a prostitute.”
“Yes, I’ve thought about her, too. It’s a shame there’s nothing we can do for her.”
“By sheer coincidence, I ran into the son last night. He’s disgusting.” Toni told Lila about the overheard conversation.
“Great. He’s going to bring the family business into the digital age.”
“If only I could convince Adina’s father to send her off the island.”
“I don’t know the girl or her situation, but I doubt that alone would help.”
“Why do you say that?”
Lila shrugged. “My guess is, assuming she’s not hooked on drugs, she has horridly low self-esteem, and your ‘boy-pimp’s’ exploiting it. Some men are very good at finding a woman’s greatest insecurity and homing in on it.”
“Lucky for us, we’re both perfectly well-adjusted.”
Lila laughed. “Yeah, sure. More like we’re lucky to have well-adjusted men in our lives who don’t take that route.”
We, thought Toni.
“Though I guess it’s presumptuous of me to have already coupled you up in my mind with Yianni.”
Toni shrugged. “No problem, but Adina is doomed if I can’t come up with something. I’ve seen where she lives. She must be desperate to escape her life.”
“Fifteen’s an impressionable age. Especially on this island. Every day she’s exposed to pretentious grandeur and extravagant living. It’s no surprise that a girl of her age and humble family background wants to be part of that other sort of life. She doesn’t realize yet that appearances aren’t what matter most.”
“Right. She can only imagine bettering her life by attracting the attention of men.”
“What she needs is a mentor who inspires her to think independently.” Lila paused and smiled. “Sounds to me as if she and I are looking for the same thing.”
An instant passed in which neither Toni nor Lila said a word. Then Toni caught Lila’s eye. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Nah, it’s too crazy,” said Lila. “Too crazy.”
“She needs you,” said Toni pointing at Lila. “You’re the perfect role model to mentor her.”
“Not a chance. Let’s be realistic. What do I have in common with her? I was born to all of this.” She waved her hand at the pool and house.
“And Boy-pimp was born to his life. It’s your personality, your experience, your offer of friendship that can make all the difference.”
Lila stared at Toni. “You really are serious.”
“Absolutely. It will be great for both of you.”
Lila shut her eyes for a moment and opened them. “If this foolishness is going any further, you better start speaking in terms of ‘We.’”
“Fine, it will be great for both of us.”
“But how do we go about it? We can’t just show up and say, ‘Hi, we’re your new best friends who’ve come to change your life and save you from hell and damnation.’”
Toni grinned. “That sort of approach has worked rather well for generations of missionaries, but I agree it won’t work in this case.” Toni bit at her lip. “Larry and Janet have a lot of connections around the world, and they’re generous souls. Maybe they’d be interested in helping her find a career?”
“Come to think of it, I know some people who might be willing to sponsor a girl like her in need of a fresh start.” Lila began rocking back and forth in her chair. “Mm. I have to admit, I’m getting a bit excited at the idea.”
“That’s good to hear, because I can’t think of anything more natural and meaningful for you to do than this.” Toni smiled, then quickly added, “I mean for us to do.”
“Let’s not forget what Andreas said. ‘Rescue can be enticing.’”
“Yes, I know. I also realize there are life-threatening risks for those foolish enough to try separating prostitutes from their pimps, but the upside offers such extraordinary life-changing potential on so many levels that it boggles my mind.”
“Okay, no reason to get overly psyched.” Lila smiled. “At least not until after we figure out how to deal with the risks.”
“We also have to figure out how best to go about getting Adina to listen to us.”
Lila looked toward the house. “I hear a car. The men must be back.” She turned to Toni. “Until we’ve thought this through, let’s keep this just between us.”
“Yep, just between us girls.”
“What a pleasant surprise,” said Andreas walking out onto the terrace and crossing over to Toni to kiss her on both cheeks.
Yianni stood back, as if unsure what to do.
“See what happens once you’re married with two kids?” said Lila. “Your husband always kisses the prettier younger women first.”
“That’s just to warm me up for the main event,” grinned Andreas, stooping down to kiss Lila on her lips, forehead, and cheeks.
She shooed him away with her hands. “Not sure that was the right answer, but I get your drift. Yianni, would you please not allow him to
drink so early in the day?”
“Wrong, my love, only coffee.”
“Then stick to milk.”
Toni walked to Yianni and whispered, “Do I always have to make the first move?”
He smiled. “No,” and lightly kissed her on the lips.
She paused for a moment before putting her arms around him and kissing him hard.
“Bravo, Toni,” said Lila. “Greek men are so shy about showing romantic affection around other men.”
“Not just Greek men.” Toni quickly added with a smile, “At least so far as I can tell from my observer status at the piano bar.”
“How did your meeting go?” asked Lila.
“Pepe’s quite a character,” said Andreas taking a chair across from the women. “He couldn’t keep his story straight long enough to keep his lies in order.”
“Is that your way of saying you learned nothing?”
He smiled. “As a matter of fact, we learned a lot. Whether it proves true or helpful, we’ll see.”
Yianni sat next to Andreas. “Pepe identified the Colonel’s killer as a now-also-dead guy who worked for Karavakis.”
“So you’ve solved the case?” said Toni.
“Not by a long shot.”
“Too many potential villains,” said Yianni.
“Too many actual villains. We just need to separate out the ones responsible for the mess we’re trying to figure out.”
Lila stood and looked at Toni. “Let’s leave them to their crime-solving. We can go inside and knit, or bake a cake, or something.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Andreas with a smirk.
“I think that just might count as strike two,” said Toni, earning three blank stares.
“Strike two?” she repeated. More stares. “Whoops, sorry. American baseball. Three strikes and you’re out.”
“I like that phrase,” said Lila.
“But what does ‘you’re out’ mean?” said Yianni.
Lila motioned for Toni to follow her inside. “In this case, sleeping on the couch.”
“Thanks for obtaining that clarification, Yianni.”
“Any time, Chief.”
They watched the women walk inside.
“I like Toni,” said Andreas.
“I do, too.”
“It’s good they like each other.”
“Makes it easier for them to team up on us.”
“So…” Andreas reached for two empty glasses on the table next to him and filled them with water. He handed one glass to Yianni. “Where are we?”
Yianni took a sip. “Damned if I know. We’ve got practically everyone who knew the Colonel wanting him dead. That is, except our suspects.”
“I’ve got an idea. Instead of focusing on who wanted him dead, let’s think about who knew where he’d be the night he was murdered. No matter how much you wanted him dead, if you didn’t know where he’d be, you couldn’t kill him.”
“I count four probables, not including the Colonel. That’s Despotiko, his wife, Karavakis, and Pepe. Plus those they might have told. For sure someone told the killer, but given where the meeting was held, I think the participants wanted to keep it secret. Otherwise, the most logical place to meet was on Mykonos.”
Andreas took a gulp of water. “As far as others knowing goes, if Karavakis and Despotiko knew, I see no reason for them to be talking about it unless they were arranging or encouraging an assassination. The other two, Pepe and Mrs. Despotiko, are unguided missiles. No telling whom they might have told, or why.”
“Or if they had their own agendas.” Yianni shook his head. “I don’t see much progress here.”
“Well, we’ve reduced it to five likely sources for the info that got the Colonel whacked. We’ll just have to press the survivors about who they passed the info to.”
“Please don’t tell me I have to talk to Despotiko’s wife again.”
Andreas smiled. “If it comes to that, we’ll do it together.”
A phone rang inside the house. “Could you get that, please?” Andreas shouted toward the house.
After two more rings, Tess stood in the doorway. “It’s Mr. Tassos.”
“Thank you.” Andreas motioned for her to bring him the phone.
He took the phone and hit speaker. “Hi, Tassos, I’m here with your clone, Yianni.”
“Always liked the kid; he made you a better cop.”
Yianni smiled. “I like you too.”
“So, to what do we owe the honor of this call?”
“Actually, it’s Maggie who wanted to talk to you, but I had a conversation earlier today with an old friend who gave me some information that might be helpful to you on that Colonel’s assassination business.”
“Great,” said Andreas.
“According to my friend, Pepe and Karavakis go way back together.”
“We knew that.”
“Yes, but did you know that Karavakis always did everything he could to hurt Pepe’s chances of opening a place on Mykonos?”
“Did you say hurt or help?” asked Yianni.
“Hurt. As in kicked him in the balls at every opportunity.”
“That sounds mighty painful.”
“And a source for one hell of a lot of resentment.”
“You got that right.”
“But why would he take it from Karavakis for so long?” said Yianni.
“I asked the same question.”
“What was the answer?”
“Abused-victim syndrome. Like a pet or spouse so desperate for acceptance by their abuser that they take the abuse in exchange for an occasional crumb of recognition or kindness.”
“Jesus,” said Yianni.
“He sounds like a mesmerized puppet of Karavakis.”
“But wait, there’s more.”
Andreas shook his head at the phone. “Tassos, your theatrics are going to be the death of me yet.”
“Hey, we old guys have to get our thrills some way. Besides, it’s not my part of the story to tell. It’s Maggie’s. Here, darling, the show’s all yours.”
Andreas and Yianni heard a shuffling of the phone from one person to another.
“Hi,” said Maggie.
“How do you put up with him?” said Andreas.
“You’ve trained me to accept virtually anything.”
Yianni laughed. “When are you going to give up trading quips with her?”
“When I’m dead.”
“From the people you’re chasing, you might not have to wait much longer.”
Yianni laughed again.
“So, what do you have to tell us?”
“It’s about those hospital videos. I’ve gone through enough of them to find what I think you’re looking for.”
“How could you have gone through them so quickly?”
“Do you think I’m lying?”
“No, just curious.”
“There’s such a thing as fast-forward, and if you concentrate on the screen you can cover a lot of ground quickly. I also started with the videos of the most likely place for action, the hallway outside his room.”
“Okay, my curiosity is satisfied. What did you find?”
“The day after your prisoner was admitted, a guy walked back and forth in front of his room about twenty times.”
“Pacing the halls of a hospital is not unusual. People do it all the time,” said Yianni.
“Yes, but not just twenty times and never again. Anyway, I ran through videos from other parts of the hospital recorded at about the same time, and lo and behold, caught one of him entering the lobby stairway leading up to the very door used by the motorcyclist’s assassin.”
Andreas leaned in. “I love you.”
“I know.”
“Who is he?”
/> “Are you going to take back the love?”
“Maggie.”
“I don’t know who he is. But check your email. As we speak, I’m sending you a full facial shot from the video.”
“Just a minute.” Andreas ran inside, grabbed his laptop, and ran back onto the terrace. He and Yianni stared at the screen waiting for the email to come through.”
“Damn Internet,” said Andreas. “You’d think an island so popular with the world’s movers and shakers would have better service.”
“Patience,” said Maggie. “By the way, aren’t you one of those folk always complaining about missing the island’s good old days?”
The email came up, and Andreas clicked to open the photo. Another delay. “No one ever said I wasn’t a hypocrite.”
“Not that I’ve heard.”
The photo came up on the screen.
“Son of a bitch,” said Yianni.
“Holy hell.”
“I take it you guys recognize him.”
“It’s Pepe.”
“My Tassos’ Pepe?”
“One and the same.”
“He must be the dumbest idiot on the face of the earth,” said Maggie. “Doing recon for a hit in full view of cameras.”
Andreas leaned back in his chair. “Yes, the dumbest idiot on earth.” He looked at Yianni. “Or perhaps the sacrificial lamb of one of its cagiest plotters.”
Chapter Eighteen
Lila and Toni sat in the den, far away from the men on the terrace but close by the children’s rooms.
“We’re in luck, the kids are still napping.”
“They’re adorable.”
“Especially when they’re napping,” joked Lila, adjusting her position on the couch to face Toni sitting at the other end.
Toni lowered her voice. “I think I have a way of getting to Adina that doesn’t violate my agreement with Yianni and Andreas not to aggravate Karavakis, and actually gives us official cover for counseling her.”
Lila’s eyes widened. “That sounds like quite a plan.”
“It’s tricky and will require some help from the Mykonos police chief, but I think it might work. And if the police won’t go along, we’ll just drop it.”
The Mykonos Mob Page 24