the killer were one of those on his list, there were five others he'd be naming as a potential serial killer. God knows how someone like Pappas would use that information against those men — freely citing Andreas as his source for the slander. Not something to do lightly if you valued a career. Still, if they were to have the best chance at finding her, he might have to tell him.
Andreas was standing by Pappas when he heard him radio the last group of searchers to come in. He looked at Andreas. 'Any suggestions on where to send in the new guys?'
Andreas nodded no. 'Wish I did.'
Pappas stared at him and took his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket. 'Sun's back.' He put them on. 'May I make one?'
'Sure.'
Pappas walked to the old mining-company maps laid out on the tailgate of his Jeep. They'd used them to keep track of the crews down below. 'I think we ought to start looking here,' he said, and pointed to an area by the sea. It was at the opposite end of their current search.
'Why there?' Andreas asked.
Pappas shrugged. 'I don't know, call it a hunch.'
Now it was Andreas doing the staring. 'What's your real reason?'
Pappas gave the smile of a shark searching for prey. 'Probably about the same as yours for starting us at this end.' He pointed again at the map.
'I never told you why I picked there.' Andreas' voice was coldly professional.
'Would you have if I'd asked?'
'No.' Andreas cracked a smile.
'Look,' Pappas said, his tone changing mercurially, 'it's late and I'm tired. This is my suggestion. Decide if you want to take it or not, and call me if you do. I have a business to run.' He seemed to fall back on that tone every time Andreas almost started liking him, and it pissed Andreas off.
Andreas let his anger pass before speaking. 'I'll consider your suggestion. Just tell me where it is. These mining maps have no topographic references I'm familiar with.'
Pappas smiled again. 'It's a tunnel that opens over there.' He was pointing toward the rising sun. 'By the priest's beach.'
Andreas was pretty sure how he knew to pick that spot. That brought back his anger, though he tried hiding it. 'Fine. We'll start there.' He knew he sounded abrupt. A few seconds passed and Andreas reached out his hand. 'Thanks for all your help,' he said sincerely. 'We couldn't have done it without you, and I'd very much appreciate any suggestions you can give the new men.'
They shook hands.
Andreas' anger wasn't at Pappas — it was at the contractor's friend and benefactor, the mayor. 'The damn bastard only cares about himself.' Andreas was ranting on the phone to Tassos as he drove back to town. 'I can't believe he gave him the names.'
Andreas heard a yawn. 'Ahhhh, start believing. I'm not surprised. Just be happy he's on our side — for the moment. By the way, what time is it?'
'About seven. What do you mean 'on our side'?' Andreas couldn't shake his anger.
'He wants to find the killer as badly as we do. He also wants to keep things quiet, and knows Pappas will keep his mouth shut if he thinks it might jeopardize the island's building boom.' He yawned again. 'I'm sure the mayor told Pappas what to say at the meeting in the taverna. It made Pappas look like he wasn't afraid to stand up to him, and that way the warning about a killer out of Pappas' mouth, not the mayor's.'
Andreas shook his head. 'Real smoothie.'
'Yeah, so's a snake. Bet when he gave Pappas the suspects' names he told him to get you to tell him too. That way, if anything went wrong, Pappas could name you as the source and you'd believe you were.'
'Son of a bitch.'
'That's one of his nicknames. Hey, don't worry, no harm's been done, but watch the guy. He's capable of anything, and I mean anything. That's how he's stayed in power so long. He knows where all the bodies are buried — and how to bury them too.'
Andreas winced at Tassos' choice of words. 'Okay, so, how are we set up for tonight?'
Tassos wasn't yawning anymore, but he still sounded casual. 'There are more churches to Saint Kiriake on Mykonos than I thought, but some — like the big one in town — are too public for our killer to use. We'll only have to worry about the out-of-town ones off by themselves.'
Andreas' voice sounded doubtful. 'Something about this guy makes me not want to take chances.'
Tassos' tone turned serious. 'We don't have enough men. I don't want a cop sitting alone in the moonlight in the middle of the Mykonos hills waiting for a serial killer to show up. It's too dangerous, especially for the rookies — not to mention the kids still in the academy. We need at least two for every church.'
Andreas was serious too. 'Can't do it. We have to cover all the churches with what we've got or I'm calling Athens for help. Can't risk it. Not with all our suspects running around loose.'
He could hear Tassos' breathing quicken. 'What if we get teams to cover the out-of-town churches and uniforms walking beats between the ones in town? That'll give a show of force in town too — and coverup the fact that most of our cops are in the countryside.' Andreas knew Tassos was trying to sell him on keeping Athens in the dark, and he wondered if Tassos might be more worried about his pension than he'd let on.
'What time do we deploy?' Andreas' tone was neutral; he would think about the suggestion.
'To be safe, I figure two hours before sunset. They'll be up all night.'
'They're young Greek men on Mykonos — they should be used to that.' There was a mischievous lilt to Andreas' voice.
Tassos laughed. 'Yes, but it's harder to stay awake when you're not drinking and dancing.'
Andreas laughed too. 'Where are you now?'
'Syros. I had to wake up the archbishop to get his help. I've had a half-dozen men going through the archdiocese's records since three this morning mapping every Saint Kiriake church on Mykonos — everyone they have a record of, that is.'
That alarmed Andreas. 'How can there be churches they don't know about?'
'As the archbishop told me, we're talking centuries here, and it's possible not every church is in their records. The local priest would know, and certainly the family who takes care of the church would know; it's just that Syros may not have a record of it.'
Andreas knew it seemed too simple just to watch every Saint Kiriake church until the bastard showed up. 'That's just great. So, how do we make sure we have them all covered?' He knew if there was one person on Mykonos who knew them all, it was the killer.
'We're cross-checking against baptism, wedding, and death records to see if any other Kiriakes turn up.'
'How long's that going to take?' Andreas' frustration was building.
Tassos started sounding edgy. 'Don't know yet, but it's the best we can do. I'm planning to be in Mykonos by noon with my men. I'm bringing with me whatever information we find by then, and any more will be faxed to your office.'
Andreas let out a breath. Tassos had to be as frustrated as he was. 'Okay, just try not making too grand an entrance. Forty police arriving at the same time might look like an invasion.'
'We're coming in civilian clothes on the ferry so as not to scare the tourists. Where do you want us to meet you?'
'I'll have a bus pick you up at the pier.' He thought for a second. 'It'll take you to the taverna we went to last night in Ano Mera. We'll use it as headquarters.' He ran a hand through his hair. 'God, this is going to attract one hell of a lot of attention no matter how quiet we try to keep it.'
'I think Mihali's already managed to circulate our cover story to every local on the island. It's our police doing all it can to rescue a foreigner from possible harm. It will enhance the island's reputation for protecting tourists.' Tassos spoke with the mayor's pompous, public-speaking cadence.
Andreas smiled and hoped he wasn't about to hear another story about farmers, foxes, and chickens. 'Okay, I get the message. See you in five hours.'
After they hung up, Andreas decided not to confront the mayor as he'd planned. What's the use? he thought. Each of them, in his own way, was doing the same thing — trying to keep his mind off tomorrow's most likely
