firearm.
No one said a word. Although military service was mandatory for all Greek men and each probably had several guns at home, for the police chief to insist on guns meant this had to be far more serious than the mayor was letting on.
It was Pappas who said what everyone had to be thinking. 'Is that to prepare for the worst?' His tone was sarcastic but he didn't wait for an answer or dwell on his point. Instead, he threw up his hands in a sign of disgust and turned to face the men. 'Okay, let's set this up so we're not running into each other inside — because some of you are such lousy hunters you'll be shooting at shadows.' That got them snickering. He'd lightened the mood and no one seemed to object to his taking charge — it was almost as if it had been planned that way.
Pappas suggested they divide the area into five sections with groups of four assigned to each section. He and the remaining men — the 'old-timers' he called them — would man a command center out of his Jeep on the hillside adjacent to Panos' property. No one offered a better idea, but Andreas insisted that each search group report back at least once every hour, and any that didn't would have police dispatched to their last reported location ASAP.
Andreas noticed the mayor move his head to catch Pappas' eye, and immediately Pappas said, 'Okay guys, let's get to work.' The men filed out with nervous, resigned looks on their faces, expressions you'd expect to see on men asked to be pallbearers at the funeral of a stranger.
Pappas stopped as he passed Andreas. 'How dangerous do you really think it's going to be?'
Andreas put his head down so as not to look him in the eyes. 'Don't really know.' Then he lifted his head and looked straight at him. 'But I'd tell them to be careful, real careful.'
Pappas nodded. 'Thanks,' he said, and left.
'What do you think?' the mayor said to Andreas.
'They know she's not in there on holiday.' Andreas sounded annoyed.
'They probably think she was kidnapped by the same one who killed the Vandrew woman.' Mihali's voice was calm.
Andreas was surprised. 'That doesn't bother you?'
He nodded no. 'Not really. Everyone knows a woman was murdered and the killer's still out there. Once they get started, they'll be like farmers chasing a fox with a chicken in its mouth. They won't be thinking about all the other chickens killed by the fox, just the one in its mouth.'
'Yeah, and what happens if they catch the fox?'
He patted Andreas' arm and smiled. 'We should only be so lucky. If it's okay with you, I have to get back to town.'
Andreas didn't want to let the subject drop but could tell the mayor was in 'please the electorate' mode. He'd seen it in a lot of politicians. It meant no straight answers.
'Sure, I've got to leave for the mines anyway. I'll let you know if something turns up,' Andreas said, although he was certain the mayor would get his news straight from his volunteers, probably before he did.
As Andreas walked toward the door the mayor yelled out in a grandly cheery voice, 'Happy hunting, Chief.'
Andreas wondered what the hell was going through that man's mind that made him so happy in the middle of this nightmare. She hadn't moved from where he'd left her, under the light, flat on her back. He dropped a small beach bag on the floor beside her and stared at her face. He'd seen enough young women die slowly to tell she was still alive. He knelt down and gently lifted her injured hand. Cradling it in his left hand, he gently stroked it with his right. His eyes studied her body for movement, and when he looked at her face his own took on the gaze of a kindly friar. He stared with what seemed only benevolent interest for several seconds before giving her wrist a sudden, violent twist. She winced only slightly.
He placed the injured hand over her right breast, then reached down for her right hand and drew it across her body to rest on her left breast. Then, he sat back on his haunches and reached into the bag for what he needed next, confident the pain he was about to inflict would not wake her.
Annika was finding peace. The light was bright silver flecked with gold, the air bursting with fresh scents of springtime and mellow sounds of distant songbirds as smiling children in soft white muslin danced around her. They called her 'sister' and asked her to join them. From the circle of dancers, a little boy reached out for her hand. She followed him with her eyes but did not reach back. Two young girls with yellow flowers in their hair stepped forward and offered her a soft, white muslin gown. Looking down, she realized she was as naked as the day she came into the world. She looked up and stared into the light. Was this what she wanted to do? Was it time to join her brothers and sisters? Annika was so very tired, and they offered her peace.
She was about to accept the gown when her head jerked violently forward. The children must be pulling at her hair. It hurt. She felt the tugging and touching move along her body to places only her lover had been. These were not children, certainly not any she wanted to play with for eternity. She pushed the gown away and waited for the touching to end.
When it stopped there were no more children or songbirds. Only silence and a blinding light. She was no longer in a place of peace. Had she made a mistake not going with the children? Perhaps they would come back for her. She prayed they would. She'd long ago lost track of time, and now all hope of rescue was gone. She felt abandoned. All she wanted was to find that place of peace.
She felt someone lift her hand. The touch was gentle and comforting. It must be one of the children, returned to show her the way. Now she would take the hand; it was time to go.
Her mind began drifting away from her body. The separation was almost complete when a bolt of pain seared through her left wrist. Although she knew the pain was real, her mind was too detached to trigger a reaction in her body. She knew, too, that whoever did this was not some gentle soul leading her to peace. She grew angry at the pain; it ignited her competitive fire and she longed to fight for control of her body. Her challenge was taken up almost at once.
The new pain didn't seem much at first. It built up slowly. Something was being forced deep within her. Her legs had been pulled apart but it was not a man inside her. It was something else trying to fill her womb. When the real pain came, it was in long bursts of fire. Just when she'd get used to one, another would thrust into her. They seemed to have no end. She wondered if this was the pain of childbirth. In a flash of thought she knew this was the pain of her own rebirth, pain she must endure to survive. She would not let it beat her. She would not let him beat her.
Now 'him' filled her mind. Him! Him! Annika's conscious mind was returning. She remembered where she was — and her tormentor.
Then a different pain began, in a different place. She felt a burning tear as something pushed into her from behind. Again it wasn't a man — but she knew it was him doing this to her and that was all she needed to bear the pain. If she could regain control of her body, she'd fight him to the death; but she couldn't even open her eyes. Only her mind was working.
Now she felt pain below her eyes. It was being forced into her nose. She couldn't breathe. She was suffocating and face-to-face with the instinctive panic that comes with it. Somehow she must get her mouth to open. It was her only chance for breath. She steeled her will for the seconds left and focused her mind on a single word: breathe. He was so busy forcing the last of the tampons up through her nostrils that he didn't notice the slight parting of Annika's lips and the first frail draw of breath. It was almost sunrise and the only good news from the mines was that the searchers weren't shooting at one another. At least not yet. No one had found a thing, all were exhausted, and most still had day jobs to get to. The mayor promised fresh volunteers 'first thing in the morning,' which probably meant hours from now in Mykonos time.
What the hell, thought Andreas, it probably doesn't matter much now anyway. All the likely places turned out to be busts — nothing even close to Panos' or the artist's. It was like looking for a needle in miles of buried haystacks. Andreas didn't hold out much hope of finding Annika Vanden Haag this way.
He told Pappas to have the men call it a night. Andreas respected Pappas' knowledge of the mines, but as Pappas told him, 'unless you know what the killer has in mind, there's no telling where he might be.' Between themselves they'd dropped the mayor's pretext for the search. Andreas let him assume they were looking for the same man who killed Vandrew. He suspected the others had reached the same conclusion.
Andreas thought it might help if he ran through the possible suspects for Pappas, but he didn't dare. Even if
