Tassos' tone remained the same. 'Don't know, but in today's world some movie or TV program on human sacrifice in some ancient civilization could have set him off.' He paused. 'Maybe that Mary Renault book did it — the one about your lady with the cord, Ariadne, getting mixed up in human sacrifice on Naxos.' He gestured toward that neighboring island. 'Or even a news story on those crazies still doing it in parts of India and Africa.' He paused again. 'He's probably twisted so many things up inside his head even he doesn't know what's driving him anymore. I don't see much of a chance of us ever knowing what pushed him over the edge, but I do think we'll identify him. It's only a question now of when.'
Andreas offered him a cigarette, and Tassos took one. 'Do you remember the story of Saint Kiriake?' Andreas asked.
'She was a young woman martyred by pagans who tried torturing her into denying her faith.'
Andreas lit Tassos' cigarette and then his own. He drew in a puff and slowly let it out without saying a word; when he did, he sounded like a preacher. 'Yes, but what first attracted the pagans' attention was her extraordinary beauty. No matter what tortures or guiles they tried, she wouldn't give in. God protected her and healed her wounds — even destroyed a pagan temple and a few of her tormentors in the process.'
Tassos took a puff on his cigarette before speaking. 'Sounds like a plan. Let's just hope Kiriake can get some of that action working for Vanden Haag tonight.'
'Amen to that.'
21
When it came to schmoozing, the mayor was one of Greece's best. Once he locked on, there was no graceful escape from his bottomless pit of conversation. Catia was learning that firsthand. He'd not left her side since she introduced herself as the sister of the deputy minister. Despite all the mayor's words, he hadn't told her much more than that the police were doing everything humanly possible to find Annika and expected to do so soon. When she said she appreciated all that he and her brother had done to organize the search, Catia caught what she thought was a puzzled look on his face, but he quickly offered lengthy praise for her brother's help and commitment to the search.
No matter how many ways she asked whether Annika was in danger, his answer always was 'I sincerely hope not.' The mayor dismissed the taxi driver's reference to 'another girl's body' as a product of 'uninformed village gossip' growing out of an 'isolated, unrelated crime' involving some of those 'wrong types' now allowed into Greece. He was certain a woman of Annika's 'obvious character' would not associate with such a 'bad element' and with 'hundreds' of police searching by 'land, sea, and air,' she'd be found 'before too long.' When she pressed him for a more definitive time line, he shrugged and said, 'Soon.'
Her impatience at his stalling was about to erupt when a fast-moving helicopter suddenly shot over the taverna. Without looking up, the mayor smiled broadly. 'See, it's like I told you. It's the port police flying out to find your daughter. It's only a matter of time. Trust me.'
It was the perfect phrase for turning her impatience into alarm. She must call her brother immediately. The pilot and copilot were told to look for a middle-aged man and a kidnapped young woman in — probably — an inflatable boat. That hardly narrowed the search. Practically every yacht afloat used inflatables, and the idea had caught on. Now everyone could act like part of the yachting set for the price of a blow-up boat. They had a lot of hovering to do before sunset.
They swept north out of the airport over Panormos Bay and its popular, clothing-optional beaches. Even late in the day, the beaches were packed with partiers. The pilots took a quick peek at the bodies on the beach and moved on to hover over the occupied boats anchored offshore. There were a lot of naked bodies in those boats and a few explicit acts going on undisturbed by their presence. One couple in a Zodiac even waved at the chopper in the midst of their humping. The guy looked middle-aged and the brunette looked young, but from the way they were going at it they seemed happy enough. Besides, there was another middle-aged man/young woman couple doing the same thing at the same time on the deck of a nearby sixty-foot sloop. Just another typical summer day in the air over Mykonos beaches.
The chopper flew out of the bay, turned east, and ran along the north shoreline in the direction of the mines. They decided to search the rarely used coves and beaches along the north and east coasts first. Then on to Tragonisi, a tiny, deserted island two thousand yards east of Mykonos, once favored by pirates and still by smugglers for its secret caves and hidden inlets. That was where they were betting their man would feel safe. Time to surprise the bastard. He kept thrusting for a few minutes longer just to be sure. He stopped and listened. No rotors. He turned his head and scanned the sky. Nothing. He sat up and looked around at the other boats, then down at her. She was breathing faster and stronger than before. He couldn't believe their brief, adolescent dry- humping session was bringing her around.
He'd had her lying atop the bow cushions on her stomach — as if sunbathing nude — when he heard the helicopter. He'd done the first thing he could think of to hide — be obvious. He'd pulled off his pants and lifted her to the floor. Then spread her legs, gripped his fingers in hers, and did what he could to make it look convincing — even lifted one pair of interlocking fingers in a wave. It worked.
Now what to do? They were anchored far enough out not to attract attention from shore, and the other boaters were into their own thing. Still, he wanted to get out of here. She could wake up any minute, and he had no drugs to give her. He'd left it all back at the cell when he ran. He wanted to tie and gag her but didn't dare in daylight — too many people around.
His original plan was to hide in one of the caves to the east — or on Tragonisi — until it was time to take her to the church. He'd started off in that direction but changed his mind. Being chased by police wasn't part of his plan, and those caves were the logical first place they'd look. He'd decided to turn west and hide in the open among tourists who still believed all was perfect in paradise.
He looked at the sky. It would be hours until dark. He wanted to move out to sea but knew he couldn't with that helicopter still searching for them. If she woke up here, she'd start screaming. He sat quietly staring at her. Slowly, and with great care, he covered her with the gray dress, stood up, put on his pants, and went to fetch the bowline. He improvised a garrote and placed it next to her throat. If she slept until dark, she lived; if she woke, she died. Deputy Minister Renatis had no idea what his sister was talking about: a massive search for Annika? He asked to speak to the mayor. The mayor was his usual political self — all words, no substance.
'Minister, you must know your niece is very important to us and we're sparing nothing in our search to find her.' He smiled at Catia.
'What's all this about another body — and what's that got to do with my niece? I want to know now.' He spoke like an angry boss.
The mayor lowered his voice — presumably so Catia couldn't hear but possibly as a supplicant to the deputy minister. 'A young tourist woman was found murdered a few days ago, and the police are concerned the same killer may have your niece.'
The phone was silent for so long the mayor must have thought the connection had failed.
'Why wasn't I told?' Spiros asked in a voice as cold as stone.
The mayor paused. 'Didn't the chief call you about it? I thought he had.'
Spiros didn't answer. He was certain the mayor was just another politician instinctively trying to pass blame, but he remembered that he'd been avoiding Andreas' calls. Perhaps that's what the chief was calling about. He asked to speak to his sister.
'Catia, I'm leaving immediately by helicopter to be there with you. Don't worry, we'll find her.'
Silence.
He tried sounding reassuring. 'Our very best men are on this. We'll find her. I promise. You must believe me. I'm leaving now for the heliport.' He looked at his watch. 'And I should be there in forty-five minutes. Around nine.'
He heard a meek 'Okay, I'll be waiting for you.'
He was angry at himself for ducking Andreas, but that didn't excuse what was going on in Mykonos without the knowledge and authority of his ministry. Heads were going to roll. He'd see to that personally. But first, he must get to Mykonos and take charge of this mess. Andreas and Tassos personally checked every church to Saint Kiriake
