The chief glanced at Sam, then Remi. “Hopefully not that much longer. I promise to let you know the moment I hear.”
Sam thanked the chief, and they left, finding Zoe and Dimitris waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.
“Are you okay?” Remi asked Zoe.
She nodded, then motioned them to follow her. Once outside on the street, she held up the small book. “It occurred to me that my grandfather did tell me where the cave was.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Dimitris asked.
“I had a feeling that if I did, the chief wouldn’t let me keep this. It’s in here. It’s always been in here.”
Sam and Remi exchanged glances as Zoe opened the book. She turned to the last page, showing them a pencil sketch of a rather strange face drawn on it. The eyes were angled and angry, the mouth wide open and filled with sharp teeth. Something like a lion’s mane framed the entire head, and a long tail-like thing seemed to be growing out of the top.
Sam eyed the face. “What makes you think this picture is anything significant?”
“That’s the problem,” Zoe said. “I don’t know. I only remember him telling me that if I ever wanted to find Poseidon’s Trident, this is where it was.” She closed the book, then hugged it close to her chest. “Before you insist that I turn it over to the police, I was only a little girl when he drew that. I can’t imagine it has any significance.”
“Actually,” Sam said, “I was going to suggest that we all sit down over coffee, then find what, if anything, is so important about this book.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
The four of them, Sam, Remi, Zoe, and Dimitris, walked around the corner to Skavos’s café, finding an empty table on the patio. While Dimitris went inside to place their order, Sam brought over extra chairs, then took a seat next to Remi.
“About this sketch . . . ?” Sam said to Zoe as Dimitris returned.
“I only have a vague remembrance of when he drew it. All I recall was that he insisted that it would lead me to Poseidon’s Trident.” She looked down at the slim volume, running her fingers over the blue cloth cover. “I was wondering what happened to this. That’s just so odd he’d have it with him.”
“Obviously,” Dimitris said, “there’s more to the story than we all thought.”
“I don’t know how.” Zoe looked around the café. “There’s probably not a person here who wasn’t read this story as a child. Most could probably recite it by heart.”
Sam glanced at the book. “What’s it about?”
“Two boys who were searching for Poseidon’s Ear run into pirates burying treasure.”
“Poseidon’s Ear?” Sam said.
“The Ear was the name of the cave where they could speak directly to Poseidon. My grandfather used to tell me that’s where Poseidon’s Trident is buried.”
Remi eyed the book, then Zoe. “How sure are you that Poseidon’s Trident is the name of the treasure?”
“I don’t know.” After a moment, she gave a slight shrug. “I had always assumed that was the name because of the way my grandfather described it. Why?”
“I was talking to a woman from Samos at the memorial. According to her, Poseidon’s Trident was a place, not a treasure. I don’t know if that makes a difference, but she seemed fairly adamant about the matter.”
“I have to agree with the chief,” Sam said. “If the story, or the sketch, is supposedly a map or a hint of where the real cave is, why take Kyril and his men to the one here on Fourni? What do the bones have to do with anything?”
Zoe exchanged glances with Dimitris. “There’s a darker version of the tale,” she said. “About the two boys having died inside the cave, and their ghosts remaining to protect the treasure.”
Dimitris gave a sheepish smile. “I may have used that version to scare Zoe when we were younger.”
“You and every other boy on the island,” she said. “When I told my grandfather what everyone was saying, he assured me it couldn’t be true.” She gave a faraway smile. “According to him, that story was proof. It had to have been the two brothers who lived to tell the tale, because the pirates would never have given up the location of their secret hoard.”
Sam asked to see the book. Zoe handed it over, and he looked through pages, seeing several pen and ink illustrations. The first was of two boys in a small boat. Another was of an ancient sailing ship with oars lining either side, an angry eye at the prow. The writing, of course, was in Greek. “It’s about pirates?” Sam asked.
She nodded.
He handed it back to her. “Would you mind translating it?”
Zoe turned to the first page, narrating the story of two boys, Agathos and Xanthos, who set sail in a small boat, their goal to beg the god Poseidon for the return of their father. Unfortunately, before they could whisper into his ear, they were captured by Samian pirates. They escaped when the angry god shook the earth, destroying the island, and killing the pirates. The final illustration was of the two boys in their small boat, the rays of the setting sun shooting up behind them. Zoe closed the book, setting it on the table. “Of course, the moral of the story is that the boys didn’t get what they wanted, but got what they needed.”
“Don’t forget,” Dimitris said, “that there’s the unwritten version. The cave contained the bones of the boys, and that’s how anyone would know it was the right location.”
“Regardless, everyone—my grandfather included—knows the cave up on Vardia is not where Poseidon’s Trident is. Besides, you heard the chief. Those were goat bones. So, no, no treasure there.”
“And yet,” Sam said. “We have a picture your grandfather drew. Which has to mean something.”
Everyone turned to the sketch in the back of Zoe’s book as Skavos walked out with their drinks. He eyed the sketch with its round, angry face framed in wavy lines, and said, “That looks like Helios.”
“Helios?” Sam said.
“Ancient Greek god of the sun,” he said, placing their drinks on the table. “Those could be sun rays.”
“Why’s he so angry?” Sam asked.
Skavos placed a napkin on the table, setting Sam’s beer on top of it. “If you had that thing growing out of the top of your head, you’d be angry, too.”
Something about the sketch caught Dimitris’s attention. He looked over at Remi. “Do you know what that reminds me of? The Vardia carving. We were looking at it the morning that . . .” He let the words hang as though worried how Zoe might take it. That was, after all, the same morning her grandfather had been killed.
“But that didn’t have a face,” Remi said. “The carving you showed me looks more like a wreath.”
“Think about how many centuries it’s been up there,” Dimitris said. “Maybe the face wore off.”
Zoe reached out, putting her hand on Dimitris’s arm. “You know where I have seen a face that looks like this? On Thimena. It’s carved on a rock overlooking Agios Nikolaos. I know for a fact that there’s a cave very near it. I remember finding it one summer when we stayed at one of the fishing cottages.”
“Maybe Manos will lend us his boat,” Dimitris said. “We could go look for it tomorrow.”
Zoe clasped her hands together. “Think how exciting that will be. To finally find Poseidon’s Trident.” She glanced at Sam and Remi. “You’ll come with us, of course?”
Remi nodded, then turned toward Sam. “I’d definitely like to go.”
Seeing the way Remi’s eyes lit up at the prospect, he smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
The next morning, Sam and Remi met Zoe, Dimitris, and Nikos at the port. Manos had lent them the Lazy Krab, a RIB boat similar in size to the Star Catcher, since it would be far easier to navigate close to shore and in some of the smaller inlets than the much larger Asteri.
Dimitris lowered a
bag with climbing gear to his father. “Has anyone given any thought to the cave in Thief’s Bay just past Skull Rock?” he said. “If you’re going to hide treasure, that’d be the place to do it. We’re going right past there.”
“It’s not near big enough,” Zoe said. “The cave I’m thinking of is on the north side of the island. Whether or not it’s the cave . . .” She shrugged. “I think I was ten the last time my grandfather took me there. But I definitely remember the carving of the sun face on the rock near Agios Nikolaos.”
The wind gusted and Nikos looked up, seeing a few clouds, but otherwise blue sky above. Unfortunately, with another storm expected that evening, the last place they wanted to be when it hit was on the north side of Thimena. “The less time we spend here talking about it, the more time we’ll have to look.”
Sam eyed the restless water as he helped Remi into the boat. “You’re sure we’ll be able to get there and back before the weather turns?”
“We should,” Nikos said, handing out ziplock bags to everyone on board for their phones. “It won’t take us long to get there. Assuming Zoe can find the cave, we should be back well before the rain starts.”
“Let’s get going.”
The boat cut through the water with ease, up until the point they entered the channel that separated Thimena from Fourni. Nikos slowed, telling them, “Hold on. It can get bumpy here.”
Dimitris grinned at Remi, who braced herself with each bounce. “This is nothing,” he said. “You should see it when it really storms.”
“I’ll pass,” she said.
Sam was glad to see her laughing. It seemed her time with Denéa had done a world of good. Thankfully, the water calmed once they were through the narrow channel and rounded the south of the island, past Skull Rock and Thief’s Bay. The rest of the trip was unremarkable, and fifteen minutes later, they were navigating around the north of the island toward the small cement dock in Agios Nikolaos. Other than the blue-domed church overlooking the water, and a few cottages used by the fishermen in the summer, that side of the island was mostly a barren, uninhabited stretch of rocks, low shrubs, and dry grass.
The five of them disembarked, then followed Zoe past the church, picking their way up the hill along a path of limestone rocks jutting out between tufts of dried grass. Goat bells jangled in the distance. Sam looked up, seeing a small herd at the top of the hill. The animals watched warily, then ran off as they neared. At the crest, Zoe stopped to take stock of her surroundings.
“Anything look familiar?” Dimitris asked her.
“Give me a moment to get my bearings.”
Sam moved next to Nikos, noticing his attention on the Lazy Krab moored far below them. The small boat swept back and forth in the restless waters. Beyond it, the whitecaps rippled across the Aegean, and, to the north, a dark band of clouds hovered low on the horizon.
“This way,” Zoe said. “I think we’re getting close.”
“You’re sure?” Dimitris asked.
“Positive. It was just on the other side of this ridge.” She turned her back to the wind, her dark hair blowing about her face. “Definitely to the south.”
Fifteen minutes later, that dark stretch of clouds was almost overhead. Scattered raindrops fell as they followed Zoe farther along the ridge. Nikos looked up at the sky, his eyes narrowing at the roiling clouds. “It might be best if we left now. The wind seems to be picking up.”
“It’s not far,” Zoe called.
The wind whipped around them. Remi moved in next to Sam, reaching down, putting her hand in his. “I think we should go back.”
Sam, agreeing, was just about to suggest it when Zoe suddenly pointed. “There it is. The carving.”
She ran down the hill, then crouched before a massive boulder, brushing her hands across the surface. “I knew it was here.”
“Where’s the cave?” Dimitris asked, picking his way down the hill toward her.
“Just on the other side. I’m sure of it.” Zoe looked back at them, her face filled with excitement. “I knew this was the right place.”
They followed her, eventually reaching the rock she’d pointed out. There was definitely a face carved on the surface. Admittedly, it wasn’t angry like the one Tassos had sketched, but there was no doubt what it was supposed to be.
Zoe continued past the boulder, then down the steep hill, excited. Suddenly she stopped. “Over here! I found it!”
As she turned to look at them, a gust of wind hit her. She stepped back, lost her balance on the steep hill. The limestone disintegrated beneath her feet, and down she went, desperately grasping at the dry brush. One second she was there, the next she was gone.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Sam and Dimitris raced down the hill.
“Zoe!” There was no answer. Dimitris dropped his gear bag, then started for the edge of the bluff. The ground started crumbling beneath his feet.
Sam grabbed his arm, pulling him back onto solid ground.
“I need to get down there,” Dimitris said, his voice filled with panic.
“We’ll get to her,” Sam said as Remi and Nikos ran up behind them. Sam held out his arm, stopping Remi from getting closer. One more step and she’d hit the same patch of limestone and dried weeds that had sent Zoe tumbling. “We’ll need rope.” He turned around, examining the area, nodding at the rock with the sun carving. “We can anchor off there.”
Dimitris reached for his bag. “I’ll go down first.”
“Let Sam,” Nikos said. “You’re too upset.”
Dimitris didn’t answer. Nikos placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Think of Zoe. You want someone with a clear head going down to look for her.”
The young man nodded, then pulled out the gear. Sam and Nikos checked over each piece, then anchored off the line. When Sam was ready to start his descent, he moved to the edge, kicking at the crumbling limestone where Zoe fell. It slid down toward the cave, gathering speed and gravel like a mini avalanche, some of it disappearing beneath a large boulder that jutted out to the right of the cavern mouth.
Remi watched as he lowered himself over the edge, her green eyes filled with worry.
Sam switched on his headlamp, then started his descent. Because of the approaching storm, the gusting wind swirled down into the mouth, threatening to send him into a spin. The forty-foot cavern dropped straight down. A little more than halfway into his descent, he stopped to take stock. The cavern floor wasn’t more than twenty feet wide and completely empty. There was no sense in going any farther. No Zoe, no treasure, just a few jagged rocks that would kill anyone falling from the top.
So, what happened to Zoe?
He began his ascent, this time unable to control the spin as the wind rushed by. The beam from his headlamp bounced off the cavern walls, a dance of light and shadows. When he looked back, he caught a glimpse of a crevice about five feet below the cavern mouth—and Zoe’s booted foot just visible between the rocks. Odd, because he hadn’t seen her on the way down, and from here, he couldn’t see any way into the crevice from the cave mouth. “Zoe!” he shouted.
He wasn’t sure if it was the wind or her moaning.
“Don’t move. We’re coming to get you.”
Sam returned to the cliff’s edge. He climbed out, then took a slow look around the cavern mouth, again seeing the large boulder jutting out to the right, the same place he’d seen the gravel falling.
“Where is she?” Dimitris asked.
“I think she fell beneath that boulder.”
The space beneath the massive rock was dark and narrow. Had he not seen her foot on his ascent, they never would’ve found her.
Nikos looked down, trying to see. “How are you going to get to her?”
“I think I can slide down under the rock and pull her up. It’ll be tight, but doable.”
The two men lowered Sam tow
ard the cave and the rock. Once in front of it, he rearranged his harness. “Ready.”
While Nikos and Dimitris controlled the tension, he crawled on his stomach, headfirst into the crevice.
“Zoe?” he said as he worked himself beneath the boulder.
“I’m here,” came a weak voice.
He still couldn’t see her. He maneuvered farther, finally seeing her looking up at him, then closing her eyes as gravel rained down on top of her. She’d slid into the steep crevice, too far to climb out on her own. “Anything broken?” he asked. “You can wiggle all your fingers and toes?”
“No. My right arm hurts and I can’t move my hand.”
“You’ve got quite the lump on your forehead.”
She touched it with her left hand, then pulled her fingers back. “No blood. That’s a good sign, yes?”
“A good sign,” Sam said, not sure if she’d been knocked out or just stunned from the fall. “We’ll do this slowly. Okay?”
She nodded.
Sam reached down, but when he touched Zoe’s right arm she cried out. He called up to Nikos. “Give me about another foot of length.” Nikos let out the rope. This time, Sam grasped her around her torso, staying well away from the injured arm. “I’m going to pull you up. If anything doesn’t feel right, let me know.”
“Okay.”
“Ready,” Sam called out.
Nikos and Dimitris started pulling on the rope as Sam held Zoe. When they cleared the space beneath the boulder, he helped her onto the small ledge.
She tried to lift her right arm, the pain so sharp she stopped. “I think it’s broken.”
Sam eyed the lump a few inches above her wrist. “It looks like it.” He twisted around and said, “Nikos, drop the second harness.” Then, looking back at Zoe, said, “We’ll get you up with that.”
She nodded, then looked down past the crevice, giving a pained smile. “I found the cave.”
“You did at that.” He caught the harness that Dimitris tossed down, then helped Zoe into it. Nikos and Dimitris lifted her to the top.
Wrath of Poseidon Page 21