Nico stared at her, momentarily unable to comprehend what she’d just told him. A knot of anger formed in his chest. “Why did you wait so long to tell me this?”
“I’ve already said that I thought he was hallucinating. The deathbed ramblings of dying patients aren’t taken seriously—at least not by physicians. Besides, don’t all sailors dream of finding some sort of sunken treasure? Before dying, many people say things that make no sense.” She rested her elbow on his desk. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now. You may discover there’s no connection between the unreliable harvests and the injuries on the Anastasi. However, if telling you saves another man from injury, then Theo’s words weren’t in vain.”
Nico nodded. “I apologize for lashing out at you, but I have been discouraged in my attempts to figure out the problems on the Anastasi. Now perhaps I can find answers to my questions. Thank you, Doctor.”
Lucy stood. “You’re most welcome.” She started to leave, then stopped and turned back to Nico. “I almost forgot. I was at Zanna’s office earlier today and she asked me to give you this note.” She reached into her bag and withdrew the envelope containing the note. “Please let me know what you discover about the Anastasi. Just because I don’t come down to the docks doesn’t mean I have no interest in my business.”
He gave her a mock salute. As Lucy departed, he slid his finger beneath the sealed flap of the envelope.
“Nico! Come quick—I need help.” Ned Francis’s panic-stricken voice echoed from the dock only seconds before he appeared in the warehouse doorway.
Nico tossed the note onto his desk and rushed outside, where Ned was pointing toward the water. “A young boy fell off the dock. I think he’s lodged under there. I tried to get a pole to him, but he couldn’t reach it.” Ned’s features tightened. “I can’t swim or I’d go in myself.”
Without a word, Nico yanked off his shoes and jumped into the water. Shaking the water from his head after he surfaced beneath the dock, Nico spied the boy clinging to one of the thick pilings. Each time his grip failed, the boy’s head went underwater.
Nico swam close and lifted the boy to keep his head above the water. “You need to quit fighting me so you don’t go under. You’re going to be fine. Just do what I tell you.”
Once the boy ceased struggling, Nico easily managed to rescue him from beneath the dock. Several men had gathered on the pier and hoisted the child into the arms of his frightened mother, who thanked Nico until he finally gestured to his wet clothes.
“I’m glad I was here and could help your boy, but now I need dry clothes.” A small pool of water had formed beneath his socked feet. He leaned down and picked up his shoes in one hand and motioned to Ned with the other. “I’m going to the camp to change my clothes.”
Water dripped from Nico as he strode to the end of the dock, his thoughts returning to Lucy’s earlier revelation. For sure, he wanted to discover if Theo’s deathbed remark held any truth, and some of the men should still be at the camp. One by one he planned to question them, and he wouldn’t stop until he got to the truth.
CHAPTER
29
Zanna’s nerves tingled as she made her way to the docks to see Nico. An involuntary warmth spread through her chest, spiraled up her neck, and spread across her cheeks. She shouldn’t have signed the letter “Love, Zanna.” If she’d signed using something more formal, she wouldn’t be embarrassed to see him now. On the other hand, she wanted him to know she cared for him and didn’t want to marry anyone else.
The sound of loud voices as she neared the docks pulled her from her private thoughts. She slowed her pace and attempted to gain a better view. Lifting one hand to shade her eyes, she caught sight of Mr. Pappas and the divers from the Anastasi, yet Nico was nowhere in sight. From what she could tell, they were in the midst of a heated argument. But why would the divers be arguing with Mr. Pappas?
Hoping she wouldn’t be seen, she circled around the back of the warehouse, then slowly moved along the side of the building until the men were within sight. At this angle she was hidden from their sight yet could see and hear the men.
Though she couldn’t be certain, it sounded as though Mr. Pappas was telling the divers they needed to remain underwater longer. When someone shouted that he wasn’t going to die in the Gulf, the others shouted their agreement.
“You better do as I’m telling you. It won’t be long before Nico figures out what’s going on, and you can believe he’s going to want a share of whatever comes from that sunken ship.”
Zanna clapped her hand over her mouth. Now she was certain Mr. Pappas was the one doing the talking. So what Theo had said was true. The men were trying to retrieve treasure from a sunken ship, and Mr. Pappas was in on the deal. In truth, it sounded as though he’d somehow taken charge, with the divers following his lead. How could that have happened? Mr. Pappas had never set foot on a boat, yet he was ordering the divers to risk their lives? It didn’t make sense.
“You know we’ve found nothing but a few worthless trinkets. Do you think we’re going to continue risking our lives for more of the same? My brother is dead. Do you hear me, Pappas? Dead! And Felix will never be the same. How many men do you want to sacrifice with your greed? You can have your share of the lousy trinkets. In fact, you can have all of them—they’re worth nothing. But you can’t have any more lives.”
Zanna’s breathing came in short bursts as she listened to Markos. So what they’d been doing had been intentional, and Mr. Pappas was trying to force them to continue by threatening to tell Nico.
“Don’t you tell me what you will or won’t do! I’ll make sure none of you ever dives again if you don’t do as I say. You know Nico won’t keep divers who don’t follow his rules. What will you do? Go back to Greece? Do you have the money to pay for your voyage? Maybe you’d like to work on one of the hook boats and make only enough money to feed yourself and never bring your families to this country. You have no choice in the matter.”
The voices ceased and were replaced by heavy footfalls on the dock. She straightened, and when she was certain the men were gone, she peeked around the corner. There was no one in sight, but the scent of cigar smoke drifted into her nostrils. She wheeled around and came face-to-face with Adelfo.
She gasped as he roughly gripped her arm. His eyes were wide, and his nostrils flared like a frightened horse. He pulled her into a nearby boathouse and pushed her onto a rickety wooden chair.
His eyes darted around the room before he kneeled in front of her. “Listen to me. All that talk back there with the divers was only a joke. We were having a good time, making up stories about sunken treasure and the like. We do that all the time down at the camp. It’s nothing at all.”
Zanna shook her head. “I heard what was being said, and that was no joke—it was a terrible argument.”
Eyes narrowing, Adelfo yanked a gun from his jacket pocket and pointed it at her. “Put your arms behind your back!” When she hesitated, he pushed the barrel of the gun into her back. “I’m not playing games with you, lady. Do what I said.”
She slowly moved her arms behind her. “Why are you doing this if it was all a joke?”
He grabbed a coil of rope from the wall of the boathouse. “I want to talk to Nico before you have a chance to poison his mind. The only way I can be sure you won’t do that is if I keep you in here.”
“I don’t believe you. You don’t care about anyone but yourself. You need to ask for God’s forgiveness.”
His jaw tightened. “Don’t you tell me I need forgiveness. You don’t know anything.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and used it as a gag. “Looks like this is the only way to shut you up!”
Nico’s visit with the few crew members he’d located at the campsite yielded no more information than he’d received in the past. One of the men commented that the person who could give Nico the most answers was Markos, and the last time they saw him, he said he was going to meet with Mr. Pappas.
Determi
ned to gain some answers, Nico headed back toward the warehouse. If he couldn’t find Markos, he would corner Mr. Pappas and see what information he could provide. Approaching the dock, he shaded his eyes, hoping to see either Markos or Mr. Pappas. Neither was in sight, but perhaps Markos had gone into the warehouse to clean sponges.
Once inside, Nico glanced at his desk and caught sight of the cream-colored envelope bearing his name. The note from Zanna. He pulled the piece of paper from the envelope and unfolded it, then dropped into his chair. The words jumped off the page and seared his mind: My father is sending me to Greece to find a husband. How could that be? He wanted to marry Zanna. She couldn’t go to Greece and wed a stranger, not when he was in love with her.
He shoved the note into his pocket and ran out the door and down the dock. His breathing labored, he pushed on. When had she written the note? Lucy hadn’t said when Zanna gave it to her. What if she was already on her way here? His heart pounded with such fury that he thought it might explode.
When he finally arrived at the Krykos home, Nico doubled over, breathless. He startled and spun around when the front door creaked open. A rush of fear, excitement, and regret wound together and cinched his chest in a grip that rendered him momentarily speechless. He had hoped to see Zanna appear.
Instead, her father stood at the threshold. “Nico. What brings you here this afternoon?”
“I was hoping to see Zanna. I didn’t know you would be here at this time of day, but I want to speak with you, as well.”
“Come in and sit down,” Mr. Krykos said. “I have some time before I must return to work. We can talk in the kitchen.”
Nico removed the note from his pocket and pressed the wrinkles from the paper. He tapped the neatly scripted words. “Zanna says in this note that you are sending her to Greece to find a husband, but I must tell you that I love your daughter, Mr. Krykos. I have loved her for a very long time, and I can tell you why I haven’t yet spoken to you about courting her if you will permit me.”
Mr. Krykos nodded slowly. “I’m listening.”
“Since I arrived here, your daughter has enchanted me, and I soon fell in love with her. She is bright, caring, and—”
Mr. Krykos stayed Nico with his outstretched palm. “I know Zanna’s qualities and also her faults, Nico. Now tell me why you haven’t come and spoken to me before today.”
“Yes, of course. You might remember that when I came to dinner at your home shortly after my arrival, your family made it clear you did not want Zanna to marry a diver. Because of that, I wanted to wait until I was certain I would become capable of operating the sponging business without the necessity of going out on the boats each time they sailed.”
“That’s encouraging, but my plan for Zanna has always been that she would meet and marry someone—a Greek man, for sure—who didn’t make his living from the sea.”
Nico inhaled a deep breath. “In all honesty, Mr. Krykos, I will tell you that I might have to dive on a few occasions in the years to come. I can’t predict what the future will bring. Even so, it is not in my plans to be a diver. Rather, I want to operate the business for Dr. Lucy.”
The older man’s brow furrowed. “I’m thinking you must have arrived at this conclusion before now. From what Zanna has told me, you haven’t been diving except to train another diver, is that right?”
“Yes, but I also wanted to be certain that my livelihood in Tarpon Springs was assured. I didn’t want to ask for Zanna’s hand before I knew I could provide for a wife. That, too, was known to me before now, and while you may find it difficult to believe, I have recently come to your business on several occasions to speak to you about my feelings for Zanna. Yet each time I came, you were not there. So when I read Zanna’s note a little while ago, I came running here to beg her to remain until I could speak with you. I love your daughter very much, and if you would give me permission to marry her, I will do everything possible to make her happy.” He looked into the older man’s eyes. “You have my word as a man of faith.”
Zanna’s father studied him. Instead of attempting to further convince Mr. Krykos of his love for Zanna, Nico remained silent and prayed that God would soften the older man’s heart. The two of them sat facing each other, neither of them speaking or moving. Then, without warning, Mr. Krykos reached for Nico’s hand and pulled him into an embrace. “I have liked you since the first time I set eyes on you, Nico. I would be proud to have you as a member of my family. But I think you must first ask Zanna what she wants.”
When the tightness in his chest finally subsided, Nico grinned at Mr. Krykos. “I would very much like to do that. Do you know where she is?”
“I haven’t seen her since she left this morning. I am guessing she’s either at her office or down at the warehouse. If you don’t find her at either of those places, you might check with Dr. Lucy.” Mr. Krykos reached out to shake Nico’s hand. “You will have to deal with the wrath of Yayá when she hears the trip to Greece is canceled. She was looking forward to her visit to the homeland.”
Nico took the older man’s hand, pumped it, and grinned. “Maybe Yayá could still go. I’m sure she could find a beautiful wife for Atticus, if you could do without him at your business for a while.”
Mr. Krykos tipped his head back and laughed. “I don’t know if I’ll do that, but at least the threat might frighten him enough to make him listen when I say he must work harder.”
After thanking Mr. Krykos profusely for granting permission to court Zanna, Nico bid him good-bye. He strode back toward town but slowed when he neared Dr. Lucy’s office. He didn’t stop, however. A sign on the door said she was out of the office on a call. He continued on toward Zanna’s office—but there was a sign on her door, too, saying she would return at three o’clock. It was already near four. She’d probably gotten busy at the warehouse and lost all sense of time.
The candid conversation with Mr. Krykos had granted Nico a feeling of joy and freedom. There was a bounce to Nico’s step when he entered the warehouse, but his gait slowed and his smile faded when he realized Zanna wasn’t there to greet him. He quickly surveyed the main room for any sign of her, then strode to the cleaning and trimming area. The men shook their heads in unison when he asked if they knew her whereabouts.
He exited the warehouse and stared down the dock. The Anastasi remained tied nearby. Surely she hadn’t boarded the boat, for she knew the crews believed a woman on their boat would bring bad luck. While Nico didn’t hold to such superstitions, he’d long ago given up on changing the minds of his sailors. Besides, why would she board the boat? All the sponges were in the warehouse, and the damaged equipment that had brought them back early was in the shop. He walked toward the boat, his gaze fixed on the bow, still uncertain if he should check there. He shrugged and jumped onto the boat, but a quick look revealed she wasn’t on board.
Where could she be? Had she stopped in town to purchase something? Had he turned at Lime Street and she at Orange Street? Even if that had occurred, she would be at the dock by now—unless she’d departed just as he was arriving. His mind whirred as he stepped across the dock toward a row of boathouses.
As he approached the last boathouse, a banging sound and muffled cry captured his attention. He stepped closer to the boathouse, listened, then carefully pulled open the door. In the dim light he saw the outline of a woman as she lifted up and bounced the legs of a chair against the wooden floor.
He squinted and hurried forward. “Zanna! What’s happened to you?” He yanked loose the ties that held her wrists to the chair and untied the handkerchief that had acted as a gag. He knelt in front of her and grasped her hands. “Who did this to you?”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and he brushed it away with his thumb. “Adelfo Pappas!” She detailed the conversation she’d overheard between the divers and Adelfo. “He said he was going to find you and tell you not to believe anything I said to him. He says what I heard is a lie and that he didn’t know anything about the divers looking f
or a sunken ship—but he did, Nico. He was forcing the men to stay underwater for too long.”
They both startled when the boathouse door creaked. A shaft of light zigzagged across the wood floor, and Nico jumped to his feet.
Adelfo stopped short, his mouth gaping as he sucked in air. “Don’t heed what she says, Nico! She has believed lies and half-truths about me and the crew. Just listen to what I tell you. Don’t let her poison your mind against me.”
Nico moved to stand in front of Zanna. “An innocent man wouldn’t tie and gag a woman. To put the lives of other men at risk for your own financial gain is beyond belief. What kind of man does such a thing?”
“I should have known you would side with her.” Adelfo’s lips twisted in a snarl, and he reached inside his jacket. Zanna screamed. Adelfo flashed his revolver back and forth between Nico and Zanna. “If the two of you are smart, you’ll stay where you are. I’m leaving town, and unless you want to die, you won’t follow me.”
He backed toward the door, but before he could escape, Markos, Peter, and the sheriff burst into the boathouse. Before Mr. Pappas could take aim at them, the sheriff grabbed him by the arm and wrestled to gain control of the weapon. The weapon discharged, and the bullet struck a beam in the ceiling. While the sheriff held Mr. Pappas’s arm against the floor, Markos seized the gun.
The sheriff jerked Pappas to his feet. “Come on, you! You’re going to spend some time inside a jail cell, and then we’ll see what the court has to say about all of your recent activity. I don’t think you’ll be doing much business in Tarpon Springs—or anywhere else for that matter.”
Nico wrapped Zanna in a soft embrace. “Are you all right?” He tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and gazed into her dark eyes. “You were so brave. If you hadn’t made that noise, I never would have found you.”
The Lady of Tarpon Springs Page 28