“Well, then give me some words I want to hear,” said Kouros.
The clan leader shrugged. “The brothers’ murders were a tragedy.”
“Yeah, I can tell you’re all choked up.”
“You are a very difficult man.”
“This is my nice side. Stop fucking with me. Why were they murdered?”
“No idea.”
“Fine, start packing.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“I’m not asking you to be.”
“Then we will not leave.”
“Do you have any gasoline?” said Kouros.
“Gasoline?”
“Yes, or should I have it brought up from town?”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’re going to have to burn your trucks, tents, and everything else in the camp. Public health hazard.”
“You can’t do that!”
“File a complaint with the E.U.” Kouros looked at his watch. “Better get busy. One hour and fifty minutes until the boat leaves or the barbeque starts.”
The leader mumbled a tsigani curse Kouros recognized.
Kouros smiled, reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. “And I don’t smoke.” He flicked the lighter and held the flame up to the clan leader’s face. “Your choice,” and repeated the curse.
“Two women, Greeks. They were the last ones anyone saw with the brothers.”
“The ones from the bar?”
“Yes.”
“Who were they?” said Kouros.
“No idea, women like that read too much. They think the rom life is romantic. Our boys take advantage of them. Can you blame them?” The leader smiled.
“What do you know about the women?”
He shrugged. “The boys said they liked to fuck.”
“I see the brothers liked talking about their women.”
“When the women aren’t rom we all do. It’s a tradition. But the brothers were here only the first morning after they met the women. They never came back to camp after that.{
“What else did the brothers say about them?”
“Nothing that mattered.”
“What does that mean?”
“Most girls like that want booze and drugs before fucking. These two weren’t into drugs. They wanted to get high on something else. The brothers said it was weird at first, but after they got used to it they said they liked it.”
“What was ‘it’?”
“Gas. The women called it ‘laughing gas.’”
Kouros swallowed hard. “Where’d they get the gas?”
“They didn’t say.”
“Where are the women now?”
“No idea. No one has seen them since the brothers disappeared.”
“Any ideas on who might have wanted the Carausii boys dead?”
“If I did, I’d have told the other cops who asked me.”
Kouros paused. I sure as hell hope Chief knows what he’s doing having me say this. “I want you to tell Shepherd that my boss wants to meet.”
The clan leader’s head jerked slightly to the left.
“I’m sorry, did I say something that surprised you?” said Kouros.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Just tell Shepherd that GADA’s Chief of Special Crimes wants to talk about three dead Carausii brothers, a dead guy in Syntagma, and a Pakistani who passed away unexpectedly this morning. I’m sure Shepherd knows how to find him, but if not, here’s my card.”
The clan leader took the card without looking at it. “What do you want me to do with this? I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
Kouros shook his head. “Then I’m very sorry for you, because the rest of the message to Shepherd is, ‘If you don’t agree to meet, it will be a very lonely August 15th for you.’ There won’t be a member of Shepherd’s flock left on Tinos. And the first to go will be guess who?” Kouros pointed a finger at clan leader’s forehead.
“By the way, if you don’t pass along the message what do you think is going to happen to you when Shepherd finds out that everyone disappeared because you didn’t do what my boss asked you to do?”
Clan leader put Kouros’ card in his pocket.
“Good choice,” said Kouros.
The clan leader’s face seemed paler. “Your boss may regret that I made it.”
“ Nitrous Oxide! ” Andreas said the words so loudly Kouros might have heard them on Tinos without his phone.
“Those two women definitely set up the brothers,” said Kouros.
“They might even be the killers,” said Andreas. “Once the gas knocked them out, all the women had to do was get them into the van, drive it to the spot, and torch it.”
“One could have driven the van while the other followed to pick up her partner.”
“But somehow I just don’t think it’s going to be that easy,” said Andreas. “Either way, we’ve got to find those two women.”
“They’ve disappeared, no one has seen them or has any idea who they are.”
“Not surprised. I think you should go out to that tsigani bar-”
“I already did, Chief. Like I said, no one has any idea who or where they are or can give a description better than big blond hair and even bigger tits.”
“What I was going to say, Yianni, was ‘I think you should go out to that tsigani bar’ and locate every building in the area with a field of vision that includes the bar and anywhere customers might park. Then check out the buildings to see if any has a surveillance camera that might have caught something. It’s about time we get lucky.”
“Will do. But what are you going to do if the Shepherd calls?”
“Be very surprised,” said Andreas. “I can’t imagine he will, but I wanted to shake things up, see if he makes a mistake.”
“In my book, five murders already qualify as pretty well shaken.”
“You’re starting to sound like Tassos.”
“Hey, I did what you asked and my guess is he’s going to pass along the message. I just think that with all the distractions of the wedding you’re too easy a target for the bad guys.”
“Don’t worry about me. Just chase down those cameras and make sure you’re over here tomorrow in time for the wedding.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Bye.”
Andreas was alone in their bedroom. He put the phone in his pant pocket.
Those bastards are terrorists. “Goddamn them. Goddamn us. ” He’d said the words out loud but not loud enough for anyone to hear.
As far as Andreas was concerned, Greece really blew it in 2004. It had the best minds from the CIA, MI6, Mossad, and everywhere else in the world focused on preparing Greece for the Olympic games, sharing their latest ideas and information on how to protect against terrorism. It was Greece’s perfect chance to learn, to build on what the world’s best counter-terrorism experts were giving it. But what did Greece do? Nothing. Let it all go to waste. Now the terrorists were back and Greece had no idea where to begin dealing with them, much less finding them.
