‘Well, that guy Vladimir wasn’t so bad. The fact he wanted to screw Barbara only made him human. I thought I’d call and say thanks. He did pick up the check.’
‘Probably not a good idea. The only reason he’d want to talk to you — unless you can get him laid — is to make sure this whole thing wasn’t a setup. If I were you, I’d avoid him.’
Andreas nodded at the phone. ‘Good advice. I’m off to the airport.’
‘I wonder what they’re going to do with what they took?’
‘My guess is, start off by ruining a lot of people’s holiday.’
‘As long as it’s not ours.’
‘Amen to that, my friend.’
The area of Costa Ilios was not far from the center of town, but trying to get a taxi from there to the airport at six in the afternoon on the Saturday before Easter required a bit of a miracle. In Andreas’ case, it took a call from the current Mykonos police chief. Andreas hoped to get a seat on the 7:30 flight. It was the first one to Athens since he’d gotten up. He was banking on everyone being where they intended to be by now, what with Saturday night being the main event of Greek Easter.
Andreas was in the midst of a heated argument with a particularly belligerent ticket agent who kept insisting that despite a virtually deserted departures area there were no seats available on the flight, even for a GADA chief inspector.
‘Chief Kaldis.’
The voice was behind him. Andreas turned. ‘Yes?’
‘Mr Brusko would like you to join him for coffee.’ The accent was Russian but the man was not someone he recognized from last night. He was stocky, five-foot-ten, around sixty, and dressed like a college professor on holiday.
Andreas looked around. ‘I don’t see him.’
‘He’s at his home.’
Andreas nodded. ‘I see. Well, please thank him, but I have a plane to catch.’ He looked at his watch. ‘In thirty minutes.’
‘It is very important.’
‘So is getting home in time for Easter.’
‘He can arrange to fly you there.’
‘I’m sure he can, but my family is expecting me on this plane. Please thank him, especially for last night, but I must respectfully decline.’
The man studied him for a moment. ‘It’s about Zacharias.’
Andreas shrugged.
The man smiled. ‘Very good.’
‘“Very good” what? I don’t know any “Zacharias.”’ Andreas looked at his watch and turned back to the ticket agent. The agent looked right past him as if expecting a sign from Vladimir’s man. Andreas leaned in. ‘Bad move, numbnuts. If I don’t have a ticket in my hand in fifteen seconds, I’m coming behind this counter and kicking the fucking shit out of you. And just try getting a cop to help you.’
The guy started to stammer.
‘Eleven… ten… no talk… just a ticket… seven-’
The agent frantically punched away at his keyboard, yanked out a ticket from the printer, and handed it to Andreas.
Andreas turned and faced the Russian man behind him. ‘Your turn. Just how long a holiday would you like to spend in Greece? Ever see Midnight Express? Would you like to experience the Greek version? Consider your next move carefully.’ Andreas stepped toward him.
The man stepped aside.
Andreas leaned over and whispered in his ear, ‘Smart move. And tell your boss sitting in the Hummer outside not to be so conspicuous next time.’
Andreas walked to the check-in counter at the north end of the room. By the time he’d checked in and turned around, Vladimir was standing by the door to the departure gates.
Andreas walked straight toward him. ‘I see you missed my company.’
Vladimir nodded. ‘Yes, but this is far more serious than drinks at a bar and playing with a woman’s back.’
‘Maybe for you, but for me it’s a hell of a lot less exciting.’
Vladimir smiled. ‘May we talk outside?’
They went out and stood by the entrance to the parking area.
‘What you told me last night could have severe implications.’
‘About what?’
‘You know exactly what I’m talking about.’
‘Vladimir, you’re a nice guy, and I know you want to bury your cock about as deep as it can go in Barbara, but aside from that I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
Vladimir smiled again. ‘You’re right about point one, but I don’t believe your second.’
Andreas placed his arm over Vladimir’s shoulder and locked eyes with him. ‘For the life of me Vladimir, I really want to help you out here, so if there is something on your mind just tell me directly, otherwise please stop with all this bullshit and let me catch my plane.’
‘If you don’t confirm, nothing will happen.’
Andreas dropped his arm from Vladimir’s shoulder and shook his head. ‘I just bought the ticket, there is nothing to confirm.’
Vladimir nodded. ‘Okay, have it your way. Your elaborate ruse of last night will have been a total waste of time.’
Andreas patted him on the arm. ‘Obviously you’ve never slept with Barbara. Gotta run. Happy Easter.’ He never looked back. Just walked into the terminal, through the metal detector and out to the plane. He had no idea if he’d handled this test correctly but he’d gone with his instincts. What happened next was out of his hands anyway. And certainly not in God’s.
20
Vladimir and the other Russian sat in the back of the Hummer. It hadn’t moved from in front of the terminal.
‘What do you think?’ Vladimir asked.
‘He demonstrated the inborn, aggressive traits of an animal under stress. It’s called the “fight or flight response.”’
‘Okay, Anatoly, I know you’re a psychologist, but I’m asking for your KGB instincts. You dealt with these sorts all the time. Do you think he’s for real, or is all this some sort of setup?’
‘Does he have a motive for setting you up?’
‘Who knows, a lot of people would like to see me fall. He could be working for any one of them.’
‘I know, even paranoids have enemies, Vladimir, but he reacted like someone who feared he’d told you something he shouldn’t have. And the guy’s a cop. He knew that the best way to deal with that sort of confrontation was with absolute, flat-out denials. Assuming of course there was no other way to prove he was lying. You get in trouble when you try building a story. An experienced examiner will tear you to shreds.’
‘Or he really didn’t know what we were talking about.’
Anatoly nodded. ‘Yes, but do you believe that?’
Vladimir shook his head no. ‘I heard him, I know what he said. I know what he planned on giving me.’
‘Then he’s frightened.’
‘Could it be just another part of the con, a way of reinforcing what he said last night?’
‘Anything’s possible, but he didn’t seek you out. He was trying to get on a plane and off the island. We stopped him.’
