‘Come and sit down, now it's my turn to look after you.’ She pats the seat next to her. ‘I’ll make us some breakfast.’
After pouring me a coffee and making some toast, we sit sipping coffee. She bites into a thick slice of buttered toast, butter oozes down her mouth, she wipes it off with a serviette.
‘We've got to stay together, Beth, see this through, I’m going back to Athens soon, want to come with me?’
I look at her and frown. ‘What about Jamie, he’s staying with Mum for a few days, but if I come back to Athens with you, I’ll have to ask Mum if she can stay with Jamie, he has to go back to school, and…’
‘Beth don’t worry, I’ll come with you to Oxford, you go and see your Mum and Jamie, I’ll check on the house in Evesly. I'm still not sure if I want to sell it or keep it. Anyway, I have to be back in Athens in two days for the divorce hearing.’
Helen pushes the plate of toast towards me. ‘Eat something, then we’ll get ready.’
‘Okay, what time’s the next train from Paddington?’
She scans the timetable on her phone. ‘It’s 11.10 we can make it if we hurry.’
She’s already dressed and starts making a list of things to check in her house. She hasn’t visited the house since…
It was last September, I’d just left Alex, I came to stay with Mum in Oxford.
‘I wonder if any work needs doing,’ she murmurs, staring into space. ‘I’ll call the agent she can meet me outside the house.’ She stops suddenly…
‘Sorry Beth, I wasn’t thinking…’
‘Don’t worry Helen, I’ve forgotten all about it.’ I haven’t really, I still have nightmares thinking about those men and what happened later. Helen’s house is in Evesly, a small village just a twenty-minute train ride from the centre of Oxford, it’s a place I never want to return to. I look over at Helen, she looks so worried.
‘I’ll give Mum a call, let her know we’re coming.’
‘Great, I’ll get a taxi to take us to the station.’
Five minutes later the hotel phone rings.
‘Taxi’s downstairs, come on.’
With just ten minutes to spare, we arrive at the station, grab our tickets from the machine, get on the train and settle down for the one-hour journey to Oxford.
The familiar stops along the way bring back memories of James, I still can’t believe he’s gone.
‘We have to find out who killed him,’ Helen says quietly, brushing a tear from her face.
I nod. ‘Don’t worry, we will.’
Mum’s house is a fifteen-minute walk from the station,
Helen decides to get out with me. ‘I’m not hanging around here for the next train to Evesly,’ she remarks, walking to the exit with me.
I can’t help but laugh. ‘I didn’t think you would.’ Helen hates changing trains.
‘I’ll take a taxi to Evesly,’ she says, giving me a wink. ‘Much easier and quicker.’
‘Are you sure you’ll be alright?’
‘Of course, say hello to your Mum and Jamie for me. I’ll let you know when I’m leaving.’
‘Okay.’ As I walk to Mum’s I start thinking about Jamie. He’s slight for his age, with dark air like his father and green eyes like me. Memories of last night and what Dev said about Alex won’t go away.
‘Beth!’
I look up and see Mum taking some shopping bags from her car.
‘Hey Mum,’ I call, running over and giving her a hug.
‘Here let me help you.’
‘It’s good to see you Beth, how was Athens?’
‘I’ll tell you all about it in a minute.’
Mum doesn’t know about James, but I don’t want to talk about it in front of Jamie.
She looks anxiously at me. ‘Are you sure you’re alright?’
I laugh. ‘Of course.’ She never changes she can read me like a book. It seems ages since I left Athens and came to Oxford. My divorce was just going through, Jamie was only eleven, well going on twelve. The last few months seem to have gone very quickly.
She grabs a bag from me and pulls me along the path. ‘Come on let’s have coffee.’
It’s quiet inside. ‘Where’s Jamie?’
‘Oh, he’s gone to the corner shop to buy some bread, we forgot to get some at the supermarket.’
While Jamie’s out I quickly update Mum with the recent events in Athens. Some of the things I leave out, but not many. Mum says she hasn’t heard from Alex and she’s sure he hasn’t called Jamie.
Just then the front door opens and in comes Jamie with the bread.
‘Mum!’
He comes over and hugs me. ‘I’ve missed you, how’s Athens?’
‘The same as usual, the weather’s much better than here, it’s more like spring than winter.’
I know Jamie often thinks about Athens, he’s made a few friends at the school he goes too in London, but he still misses his friends in Greece.
‘Shall we go to the café for some coffee and cakes?’ I ask. ‘I don’t have long, I’m going back to Athens with Helen soon.’
Jamie’s face falls. ‘Is everything alright Mum?’
I laugh. ‘Everything’s alright, I’m just going to help Helen with her divorce. And don’t worry, Nan’s coming back to London with you, she’s staying with us for a while.’ I’m wondering if he’s heard from his dad, but he’s said nothing. Dev said they were going to pick Alex up from his hotel, so where have they taken him?
My phone rings, it’s Helen, she says she’ll be at Oxford station in about an hour.
‘Helen’s meeting me outside the station in an hour so shall we go Café Loco?’
We bundle into Mum’s car and drive to the café. Jamie chooses a large chocolate eclair, Mum and I have a toasted teacake and a large pot of tea - Jamie has a bottle or sparkling orange. We sit chatting about the view of Christchurch Cathedral from one of the windows.
‘Do you remember that Harry Potter tour I wanted to go on Mum? Some of the filming was done here.’
‘Yes, of course I remember.’
It was the day after Mum’s house was firebombed, how could I forget, we spent most of the day shopping.
My phone rings, it’s Helen, she’ll be at the station in ten minutes.
‘Sorry but I have to go, Helen’s nearly at the station.’
As Mum drives us to the station she gives me a sideways look. ‘Don’t worry Beth, I’ll get our stuff packed tonight, we’ll be back in London tomorrow.’
After lots of hugs and kisses I run into the station to meet Helen.
When we arrive back at the hotel David’s in the kitchen cooking one of his favourite Spanish dishes.
‘It’s ready!’ he beams, piling our plates with saffron spiced vegetable paella. ‘Can you get the wine, red’s on the top of the fridge, white’s inside.’
‘Who taught you to cook like this?’ I ask, swallowing the last mouthful of paella.
‘Nobody really, I spent a lot of time helping out in the restaurant when I was young. I just sort of picked it up, I enjoy cooking.’
I look over at Helen, she hates cooking.
She gives me one of her exasperated looks and clears away the plates, I make coffee.
David’s on his phone to his sister in Spain, then mine rings, it’s Dev.
‘Did you notice if you were followed today?’ he asks, quickly.
‘I don’t think so,’ I reply, surprised by the urgency in his voice.
‘We have to be sure. I want you to stay with Helen and David, until this is over.’
‘I can’t, I have a meeting with my editor tomorrow.’
‘See your editor tomorrow but then nothing more. Take Helen or David with you and get them to wait outside, this is serious, Beth, these people are dangerous.’
He hangs up leaving me speechless. I wanted to ask him if Alex has been arrested, he knew I wanted to ask him, that’s why he put the phone down.
Just then Helen comes over and whispers in my e
ar. ‘Don’t worry! I’ll come with you tomorrow. I’ll wait for you in that lovely café near your editor’s building.’
I swing round. ‘Did Dev call you?’
She nods. ‘As I said this morning Beth, it’s my turn to look after you now.’
35
DEV
HQ - Athens - Midnight
Dev notices the lights are on in Katia’s office.
‘What are you doing here,’ he asks, opening the door. ‘It’s late?’
‘We have so much work to do,’ she mumbles, clicking on her screen. ‘I’ve been very busy, Dev.’
He walks over to her chair and peers at the screen. ‘Any updates on Alex Papadakis?’
‘Yes, the political party he belongs to has been under surveillance for months.’
She turns and looks at him. ‘But you know that already, don’t you?’
He nods. ‘Well let me know if you find anything else, it’s very urgent.’
Dev yawns, looks at his phone, it’s just gone midnight. ‘I’ve had a long day I think I’ll call it a day.’
Katia walks over and drapes an arm around his shoulder. ‘I've some information you might find interesting.’
She leans closer to him. He can feel her warm body against his and gently pushes her away. She shrugs, playfully squeezes his thigh then moves her hand higher to his crotch.
‘Katia!’
‘But I know you like it,’ she murmurs, fondling him, I can tell. Then she grabs his hand and pushes it between her legs, she has no panties on.
‘Not here,’ he snaps. He walks over to the water dispenser, takes a plastic cup and fills it with water.
‘Okay, okay,’ she laughs. ‘I can wait.’
With a deep sigh, Dev drinks the water. He enjoys having sex with Katia, but not now that she’s back with her husband.
Crushing the polystyrene cup in half, he turns and flings it into the bin.
Katia goes back to her computer. ‘Okay, now this is serious,’ she says, peering at him over the top of her glasses. ‘This can be very good for us, it can work to our advantage, but we must play our cards right.’
He nods. Katia has an excellent mind, she’s a brilliant mathematician, but she can also be very devious and crafty which often works to their advantage.
‘I've been checking their organization or party, whatever you want to call it,’ she says, in a matter of fact voice. ‘It goes by the name of DEMOS.’ She pauses, raises an eyebrow, then looks at Dev. ‘Now here’s the interesting bit. One of their members was recently kicked out of the party.’
‘Do you know his name?’ Dev asks, looking at her screen.
‘His name is Mario, he’s very young, about nineteen, he’s a bit of a live wire.’ She turns and smiles at Dev. ‘You know the type, he doesn't take well to rules and regulations and that sort of thing. Anyway, he wouldn’t follow the party line, so they booted him out.’
Dev’s mind is working fast. This could be what they’ve been waiting for. ‘Excellent,’ he mutters. ‘We’ve been trying to get one of our undercover agents to infiltrate them for some time now.’
After a few seconds he looks at her. ‘Get one of our agents to befriend this Mario.’
She nods, all ears now.
‘We need to find out about the members of the club,’ he mutters as if to himself. ‘We need someone who can behave as if they sympathize with his situation.’
‘Who shall we send,’ she asks, peering into his face.
He walks over to a computer, taps in a few words and a list of agent’s names appear. Scanning through them quickly he clicks into a couple of the profiles, then turns to Katia.
‘I think Demetri will be good. He's young, easy to get along with and he has a good track record.’
Katia looks happy. ‘Good, shall I contact him now?’
‘Yes, find out if he's up to it, make sure he’s a hundred percent sure he knows how to handle the situation. Tell him to take his time, give him all the background information he needs especially Mario’s political views, and tell him to be very careful.’
Katia nods.
‘I’m going home now to grab some sleep.’
Katia looks at him with a knowing smile and gestures for him to call her.
Dev smiles, her husband must be away tonight on business or whatever it is he gets up too. He opens the door to leave. ‘Okay, call me if it’s urgent.’
An hour later he’s in the shower feeling more relaxed. His phone rings, it’s on the basin outside the shower, he pokes out his head - it’s Katia’s number.
‘Good news!’ she says as soon as he answers. ‘Demetri has made contact - they're having drinks at a bar off Omonia Square. Maybe we won't have to wait long.’
He smiles to himself. She’s a fast worker in more ways than one. There’s a slight tap on his front door, he stops and listens, he’s not expecting anyone.
Wrapping a towel around his waist he makes his way to the door. There it goes again, this time it’s much louder. Wondering who it can be at just gone 1.00 am in the morning, he tightens the towel around his waist and looks through the spy hole.
Katia’s outside on her phone, he frowns and opens it. ‘What's wrong?’
She walks inside, takes off her long black coat and throws it over a chair.
Dev shakes his head and smiles - she’s totally naked.
She loosens her hair, kicks off her boots and slowly walks into his bedroom.
With a deep sigh, he follows her.
36
DEV’S APARTMENT
10.16 am
It’s late when he wakes up. He shoots out of bed furious with himself for oversleeping, he should have known what she was up to last night. She’s a beautiful woman, but also a married woman, this cannot be repeated.
He heads for the shower, turns it on full blast to ease his aching body.
Katia’s already showered, dressed and having coffee.
Ten minutes later Dev comes into the kitchen, gulps down a few sips of black coffee and they leave.
Katia takes a cab to HQ, Dev slides into his car. On the way he calls Demetri to find out what happened last night. The news is good.
‘We got on well,’ Demetri replies, excitedly. ‘We had a couple of drinks and Mario slowly opened up, he's feeling pissed off and after a few more drinks… well I was able to get all the information we need.’
‘Excellent! Did he say anything about the members?’
‘Yes, he thinks they’re a bunch of weirdos.’ He hesitates to take another drag of his cigarette, then mutters. ‘Then he told me something really interesting.’
‘What?’
‘It seems Alex was already suspicious of Fivos, he invited him for a drink, then planted a bug on him.’
‘How does he know this?’
‘He was there, he saw Alex lean across Fivos, he thought he was reaching for an ash tray, but then he saw him plant the bug on Fivos’s jacket.’
Dev draws in a deep breath. This is beyond his wildest expectations. ‘What else did he say?’
Demetri takes another drag, then carries on. ‘He said Alex knew Fivos was talking to the members, many people complained about him, they said he was a mole, that’s why he put the bug on him. Fivos wasn’t a member and Alex wanted to know what he was up to.’ He stops and stubs out his cigarette. ‘He caught him eavesdropping himself and was furious.’
‘What else?’
‘Only a few of them knew about this, including Mario. Alex swore them all to secrecy, he instructed them to say nothing to anyone. For a couple of days, they listened in to Fivos’s conversations via the bug, but then the conversations stopped so they presumed he'd found it.’
‘Did you tape what he said?’ Dev had specifically told Katia to make sure he did this. He drives slowly along Syntagma waiting for Demetri’s reply.
Demetri laughs. ‘Of course, Katia told me to do this. There were CCTV cameras near the bar and in the room, so we've got him on camera and on tape.’
/>
‘Excellent, bring him in, show him the footage and let him listen to the tape. And tell him we’ll go easy on him if he tells us everything.’
Dev stops off at a small café for a slice of toast and two strong black coffees. He makes a couple of phone calls then leaves.
As he arrives back at HQ, he spots Katia leaving with Jonathan the lawyer. He watches as she slides into Jonathan’s car.
She sees him and waves. ‘We’re going to the police station.’
He sticks his head out of his window. ‘I need to check the statements made by Alex Papadakis.’
Jonathan’s car speeds off with a screech of tires, Dev follows them.
When they arrive Jonathan and Katia go to see the Head of Police, Dev goes to check Alex’s statement. His eyebrows shoot up as he reads it. Alex says someone told him Fivos had been killed, but he couldn't remember who.
His phone rings, it’s Katia. ‘I thought you might like to know they’re questioning Mario.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?’ Dev demands, sharply.
‘I didn’t know,’ Katia replies, just as frostily. ‘I suggest you get over there now, I’m stuck here with Jonathan…’
Dev cuts her off and makes a beeline for the interrogation room. Fortunately, he hasn’t missed much. He eases himself quietly into a chair at the side of the room and hits record on his phone.
It doesn’t take long for Mario to realize he’s in trouble. The detective says they’ll go easy on him if he makes a signed statement telling them everything. At first, he refuses, they continue with the interrogation, he eventually agrees.
Taking out his phone Dev leaves the room to call Katia, no reply.
He calls the hospital where James and Fivos were taken on that fateful night. Fivos’s body is still in the morgue.
‘This is very important I want you to check his jacket, I think there may be a bug on it.’
Ten minutes later forensics call back, they found nothing on the jacket.
He starts pacing up and down the corridor then stops. Alex was voluntarily flown back to Athens to be questioned. So far, he’s refused to say anything about the party members. He tries Katia again, this time she picks up.
The Beth Papadakis Thriller Box Set Page 30