A Taste of Greek (Out of Olympus #3)

by Folsom, Tina

  “Shrinkage. You know, supplies disappearing. Stuff like that. But that’s normal in any large institution.”

  Hermes nodded. “I see. So tell me what happened. You did the carbon-dating. And then? What happened after that?”

  Irene frowned. “Well, first of all, I’m not done with the test yet. I took a small sample and set it all up, but I didn’t have time to finish it. I mean, it was Sunday and I had to go to a family function. So I left.”

  “And the sandal?” Hermes pressed.

  “I put it back into the room where we normally keep all specimen that are here for testing.” She pointed to one of the glass-enclosed rooms at her back.

  “When was that?”

  Irene shrugged. “Not exactly sure.”

  Hermes leaned over the counter, and Penny instinctively took a step toward him in case he wanted to attack Irene. “Try to remember.”

  “Well, I got to the party at around 4 o’clock, so I must have left here shortly before two.”

  “And when did you realize the sandal was gone?”

  “This morning. I came in at around seven thirty and wanted to continue with the testing, but the sandal wasn’t in the specimen area anymore.”

  Penny watched Hermes’ reaction and was surprised to see that he didn’t appear to be angry. He seemed rather calm and collected. Or was this the quiet before the storm?

  “So that would have given the thief from two o’clock on Sunday afternoon until seven thirty this morning to break in and steal the sandal,” Hermes concluded.

  “Sure, but how?” Irene asked. “There was no sign of a break-in.”

  Knowing that no sign of a break-in meant that Irene was the most likely culprit, Penny felt compelled to ask, “Who else has access to this lab other than you?”

  “My assistant, the janitor, and the university security office of course. But my assistant is on vacation in South America, and the janitor has been with us for over twenty years.”

  Hermes nodded, then put his hand on the small of Penny’s back. “Thanks, Irene. Let’s go, Penny.”

  “I’m really sorry,” Irene professed once more.

  “I know you are,” Hermes said and turned, ushering Penny out of the lab and into the hallway.

  Did his actions mean that he believed Irene and had eliminated her as a suspect? “And now?”

  Hermes turned to her. “Now, my sweet Penny, you’re going to tell me who else knows about the sandals.”

  “But I’ve told you already!”

  He gripped her arms and pulled her closer. “There has to be somebody else. Somebody must have seen you with the sandals.” He motioned his head to the door of the lab. “Irene didn’t steal it.”

  “Well, I told you so before. She’d never do anything like that,” Penny ground out.

  “You do understand that I have to verify these claims myself, don’t you? After all, you’ve lied to me before.”

  That jab hurt. She dropped her lids, evading his penetrating gaze.

  “Now, think: did anybody else see the sandals?”

  Her head felt like exploding. “I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

  “What did you do with them before you brought that sandal to the lab?” he asked, his tone even more insistent than before. Would he snap now?

  “Damn it, I can’t think!” she stammered, fear making her memories of the event fuzzy. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  23

  Hermes closed the door to Penny’s office behind him and watched her as she walked to her desk. He’d noticed the flash of fear in her eyes when he’d pressed her for more information. And he hadn’t liked seeing her like that. Maybe it was time to at least assure her that he wasn’t going to hurt her. He needed her to think clearly so she would be of help in retrieving his sandal, and as long as she feared him, she wouldn’t be of much help.

  Hermes crossed the distance between them, and put his hands on her shoulders. She shrieked, her body stiffening.

  “Shhh, baby, I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered into her ear. “Relax. You’re all tense.” He slowly started massaging her neck and shoulders.

  “Oh,” she said without pulling away.

  “There,” he cooed, continuing to knead her tight shoulders, trying to loosen the knots that had formed there. Her head dropped forward, and he felt her relax into his touch. “See, that’s better. Now just relax and try to think back to when you had the sandals here. Think back step-by–step, and remember what happened yesterday morning.”

  All the while, he massaged her tense shoulders with slow strokes and rubbed his thumbs in slow circles along her vertebrae. Penny’s breathing slowed, as did her heartbeat. If he wanted to, he could simply turn her into his arms now and kiss her until they were both breathless, and she wouldn’t give him any resistance. But as much as he wanted to do just that, they were here to do something more important.

  A soft sigh rolled over Penny’s lips, reminding him of the sounds of pleasure she’d made in his arms on Saturday night. It seemed eons ago. At the thought of their lovemaking, his massaging strokes turned into caresses, his fingers sliding into her hair, gently touching her skull. Without thinking, he made a step closer, bringing his body flush to hers, feeling her lean against him.

  “Oh, baby,” he murmured.

  “Kenton,” she whispered.

  Shock at hearing another man’s name come over her lips catapulted him back. Penny whirled around in the same instant, her eyes wide.

  “I was taking photographs of the sandals.” She pointed to a camera on her desk. “Kenton came in while I was doing that. He looked at them. And he was curious. I told him they were replicas.”

  “Kenton?”

  “Yes, he’s an assistant professor in my department.” She paused. “And he’s competing for the same tenure spot I am.”

  If that wasn’t a coincidence then he didn’t know what was. Blind ambition could drive people to do lots of things. “Well, looks like a motive to me. Where can I find him?”

  Penny charged toward the door. “I’m going to give that asshole a piece of my mind!”

  Grinning, Hermes followed her. Penny had her spirit back, and he rather liked her like that: feisty, combative, and full of fire. Ah, yeah, a woman after his own heart!

  He followed her, putting his hand on her upper arm to slow her down. She glared at him. “As if it wasn’t enough for him to sleep with Michelle! That little creep!”

  “Who’s Michelle?”

  “The dean of the history department. She sits on the tenure committee. Sleeping with her is his way of assuring he gets tenure instead of me! Wait until Michelle hears that he’s a thief!”

  Hermes stopped her, grabbing both her shoulders and turning her to face him. “I think I have to point out something to you: you stole them from me first, and besides, nobody can find out about the sandals. You can’t tell the dean about it. I can’t risk exposure like that.”

  She looked at him with confusion in her eyes. “Exposure? But don’t you want him punished?”

  “Of course I want him punished. But not by the dean or the police. Now let’s go and find out what he’s done with it.” He released her shoulders. “And let me do the talking.”

  “But—”

  “Please,” he said softly.

  With a brief nod, she relented and continued walking. After the next turn, she stopped in front of a door. Kenton Lowry, Assistant Professor, Greek Studies, it said on a plaque next to the door. Penny lifted her hand to knock, but Hermes stopped her and reached for the door handle instead, opening the door swiftly.

  He entered the room amidst a surprised gasp coming from the only occupant.

  Kenton wasn’t an overly large man; in fact, he was what Hermes would call a pretty boy, his dark hair perfectly coiffed, his clothes pressed, his nails manicured.

  Kenton tossed Hermes an irritated look. “Can I help you?” His voice was clipped. Then his eyes strayed past Hermes. “Oh, Penny,” he said a tiny fractio
n friendlier. “What’s going on? Doesn’t anybody knock anymore?”

  But before Penny could answer, Hermes leaned over Kenton’s desk. “About the sandals,” he started and noticed Kenton’s eyes widen almost unnoticeably.

  “What sandals?”

  Hermes motioned toward Penny. “The sandals you saw in Penny’s office yesterday morning. What did you do with them?”

  Kenton jumped up, his chest puffed out like a peacock. “What are you insinuating?” He glared past him at Penny. “Who is this maniac?”

  “He’s the owner of the sandals,” Penny replied.

  “Maniac, huh?” Hermes grunted. “How about injured party?” He glanced around the room, noticing only now that the walls were adorned with replicas of ancient Greek weapons. A thought penetrated his mind. “Or would you rather be the injured party?”

  Kenton clamped his jaw together, glaring at him, his hands balled into fists. Stupid mortal! Hermes knew a guilty conscience when it slapped him in the face. And Kenton definitely had a guilty conscience. Kenton knew exactly what had happened to Hermes’ sandal. And it was only a matter of time until Hermes got the truth out of him.

  “Where the fuck are my sandals?” Hermes deliberately used the plural, knowing that it might trip Kenton up. If he had stolen the sandal from Irene’s lab, then he had only gotten one, and sooner or later he would slip and insist that he hadn’t stolen both sandals, but only one.

  “I don’t know! And I resent the implication that I have anything to do with the theft of your stupid sandals!” Kenton barked back. Then he glared at Penny again. “And if this friend of yours doesn’t get out of my office right now, I’m going to call security and have him removed from the premises. And don’t think you can outrun them! There are cameras all over the building. They’ll find you!”

  Kenton reached for the telephone, lifting the receiver. “I’m warning you one more time.”

  Hermes blinked, an idea suddenly forming in his head. “Fine, I’m leaving. But I’ll be back!” He turned on his heels and swept out of the room, Penny in tow.

  At the end of the corridor he stopped and turned to her. “Where’s the security office in this building?”

  “Are you crazy?” Penny asked. “You can’t go there. Didn’t you hear Kenton just now? He’s going to call security.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with my hearing.”

  Penny gave him a confused look. “But—”

  “Where’s the office?”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re going to call security and alert them to a disturbance.”

  24

  Hermes hunched over the water fountain in the corridor and pretended to drink the water that tasted of chlorine, while he watched the door to the security office from the corner of his eye.

  “Come on, Penny,” he whispered to himself.

  Finally, the door flew open and two guys dressed in uniforms bearing the emblem of the university rushed into the hallway, turning in the direction away from where Hermes was standing. As soon as their heads were turned, Hermes charged to the door, sliding across the linoleum floor and jamming his foot in between door and frame like a baseball player sliding into home base—not a second too soon. The edge of the heavy door hit his ankle.

  “Yes!” Hermes pumped his fist.

  Behind him, footsteps approached. Quickly, he jumped up, careful to keep his foot between door and frame to prevent the door from closing, and nonchalantly leaned against the door, hiding most of it so whoever was passing wouldn’t notice that it was open.

  “You don’t look conspicuous at all,” Penny commented as she approached, a smirk forming around her lips.

  Hermes rolled his eyes at her sarcastic remark. “Hey, I didn’t see you almost break an ankle, trying to stop the door from closing.” Though he could be injured, any physical injury would heal rapidly due to his godly powers. All physical injuries were merely temporary.

  He opened the door wider and ushered Penny inside, closing the door quietly behind her.

  “That’s because I was busy making an anonymous phone call, lying to the security guys. If anybody ever finds out that I made that call, I’ll be fired.”

  “What did you tell them?”

  “That the dean of the history department seems to have gone crazy and is doing a striptease in front of a class of students.”

  Hermes chuckled at Penny’s inventiveness. “Your boss Michelle? No wonder they were running out of here so fast. They probably didn’t want to miss the show!”

  Then he glanced around the windowless room. There was a large video console with several monitors and a couple of chairs in front of it, and a wall of cabinets behind it. “Let’s get to work. They won’t be gone forever.”

  Penny pointed to the console. “Do you even know how this works?”

  Hermes smiled confidently. “Don’t worry.” While Zeus’s “surveillance” equipment looked vastly different, it functioned similarly to its earthly equivalent. “I can figure it out.”

  He sat down at the console and reached for the mouse, clicking on an icon on the computer screen in front of him. “They must keep the recordings in chronological order on the server somewhere, and I bet they’re arranged by location. We’ll just have to find the right location and then speed through the tapes until we find something.” He tossed Penny an encouraging look.

  “I hope you’re right,” she said with a frown on her face. “Because if they catch us in here, I’m definitely going to get fired.”

  He grinned and patted her hand. “I thought you were getting fired because you made that prank call.”

  “Can you be serious, please?”

  He chuckled, enjoying riling her up. “But I am serious.”

  When Penny only rolled her eyes and shook her head, Hermes went to work on the console, sifting through the folders until he found the correct one for the building in which the history department was located.

  “Okay, there seem to be several cameras, one at the front entrance, one in the main corridor, and another one at the side exit, but there’s none in the corridor the lab is on.”

  “Damn!” Penny exclaimed. “What are we gonna do now?”

  “Don’t worry, we might still find something from those three camera angles. Let’s see.” He sped through the first tape.

  “That’s too fast, I can’t see anything,” Penny complained.

  He put his hand on hers. “I’ve got it. I’ll slow it down when I see something suspicious.” He continued speeding through the digital tapes, his eyes easily adjusting to the speed of the recordings. To a mortal, they would be a blur, but his godly powers made it possible for him to see what he needed to see.

  Given that the tapes he was perusing were from a Sunday afternoon and evening, there was little activity in the building, a fact that helped him get through the tapes faster than if he’d had to review a recording from a Monday when classes were in session.

  Hermes sighed and glanced at the clock over the console. If he didn’t find something soon, they’d have to leave and come back later.

  “Anything?” Penny’s voice sounded anxious.

  He was about to shake his head when something on the monitor caught his eyes. He slowed the tape and rewound it a few seconds. Then he pointed to the monitor.

  “Isn’t that your father?” he asked, turning to Penny.

  Penny stared at the monitor in front of them, her mouth gaping wide open. On the screen, Penny’s father stood talking with Kenton.

  “Does he know Kenton?” Hermes asked.

  She looked away from the screen and stared straight at him. “Please, don’t let my father be involved in this,” she begged, but from her expression, Hermes recognized that she suspected that he was.

  “One way to find out.”

  Hermes closed the window on the monitor and rose from his chair, taking Penny by her upper arm and pulling her up. “We’ve gotta go. They’ll be back any moment.”

  She nodded, s
eemingly shell-shocked, and allowed him to guide her out of the office and along the hallway just as the two security guards returned, annoyance showing clearly on their faces.

  “If I catch that kid!” one of them grumbled.

  The other added, “Way too good to be true.”

  Hermes pulled Penny around a corner, then stopped. “I’ll go and confront Kenton. Why don’t you wait in your office for me?”

  She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. “No. I want to be there. I want to know.”

  “You don’t have to do this to yourself. I’ll tell you everything later.”

  “No. I need to hear him say it.”

  For a long moment, he held her gaze, then he nodded. “Fine.”

  They marched back to Kenton’s office, and just like the first time, Hermes didn’t bother knocking. Instead, he simply swung the door open and charged inside.

  Kenton stopped pacing immediately, shock registering on his face.

  Hermes was on him like a bee on honey and slammed him against the bookcase before he could utter a single word.

  “Let’s talk again, and this time I’d like the truth!”

  Hermes reached for the Greek dagger which hung on the wall and held it up. Kenton’s eyes shifted to the weapon and widened in fear.

  “You can’t do that,” he squealed.

  “Oh, I can do a lot more than that.” Hermes narrowed his eyes. “What were you discussing with Penny’s father on Sunday evening?”

  “I never—” Kenton tried to protest.

  “It’s on tape!” Hermes hissed. “So there’s no use in denying it. I’d suggest you try the truth for once, or I might just have to use this.” He motioned to the dagger in his hand.

  Kenton tossed a look toward Penny. “You can’t let him do that!”

  Penny moved to stand next to Hermes. “Not only am I going to let him do it, I’m going to spur him on and make sure it hurts really bad.”

  Realizing that he had no ally in the room, Kenton dropped his head.

  “I really wasn’t going to steal them. I just wanted to have a closer look.”

  Hermes rolled his eyes. Where had he heard that line before? “I’m afraid I’ve just cancelled your borrowing privileges. So give me back my sandals now.”