A Taste of Greek (Out of Olympus #3) (14 page)

His eyes bored into her. “We have things to discuss. Urgent things.”

She felt a shiver race through her. There had to be a way out of this. She couldn’t see him later. All he would do was continue to grill her about his sandals. No, she had to find an excuse and buy herself some time until she had retrieved the second sandal from Irene and found a way to return both of them unseen. It was the only way to get out of this mess unscathed.

“Are you coming?” the paramedic asked, about to close the doors to the back of the van.

She nodded quickly, then looked back at Hermes. “Fine.”

By the evening Irene would have done what she needed to do, and Penny would have had enough time to sneak into the B&B, return the sandals, and nobody would be the wiser.

She could only hope that her plan worked.

17

The hospital visit had taken longer than Penny had expected. Not only did they have to wait over an hour until the x-rays could be taken, the attending physician also insisted on contacting her grandmother’s regular doctor to discuss her other health issues. By the time the physician was ready to release her, it was already mid-afternoon.

While they waited for a nurse to bring a wheelchair, Penny finally had a chance to sneak away for a few moments to make a phone call. She’d made up her mind: no matter whether Irene was done with carbon-dating the sandal or not, Penny would take it back this afternoon, just as soon as her grandmother was back at home. Since the doors of the B&B were surely left open during the day, she would somehow manage to get inside and leave the sandals somewhere, where they could be found.

“This is Irene,” the call was answered.

“Hey, Irene, it’s Penny. About the sandal,” she started.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve taken the sample and started the process, but I’m not done with it yet. Carbon-dating takes a little longer than a couple of hours, I thought you knew that.”

“Doesn’t matter now. I’ve changed my mind. I just need the sandal back,” Penny cut her off.

“Oh? Well, fine. Pick it up in the morning in my lab. I’ll get in at 7:30.”

“I need to get it back today. Now. Please.”

Irene sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I’m in the car. I’m already on the freeway.”

Panic surged through her. “What?”

“Yes, I told you I had this family outing today. I’m on my way there and I won’t be back till really late tonight.”

“Oh, no!” That couldn’t be happening! She needed the sandal now. What was she going to tell Hermes when he questioned her later?

“What?” A crackling came through the line. “Can’t . . . ”

“You’re breaking up,” Penny said, having trouble hearing Irene’s response.

She pulled the cell from her ear and looked at the display. The call had been disconnected.

“Damn it!” she cursed.

This wasn’t part of her plan. What would she do now?

***

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Hermes tossed his friend Triton another look.

Triton nodded, then looked at Eros, who leaned against the kitchen counter in the B&B. “It’s going to be a piece of cake.”

“You guys are absolutely crazy!” Sophia exclaimed.

“No offense, Sophia, but this is god business, so please stay out of it,” Hermes said as gently as he could.

“Hermes!” Triton warned.

Hermes tossed him a glare. “I said ‘please,’ didn’t I?” Then he ran his hand through his hair. “This had better be working.” He motioned to the window. “The storm’s passed for now, but whatever is distracting Zeus at the moment won’t last for long. He’s gonna let us feel it, and a storm will be the least of our problems.”

Eros shrugged. “Hey, I’m looking forward to this. It’s Triton, who’s pissing in his pants.”

A slap over the back of his head shut Eros up. “Another word and I’m tossing you in the fountain,” Triton added as he wiped his hand on his pants. “What kind of crap are you putting in your hair?”

“Hey!” Eros combed his hair back into place.

Sophia rolled her eyes. “I’ve got guests to take care of.” Shaking her head, she left the kitchen.

Hermes almost wanted to mimic Sophia’s eye-rolling, but refrained from it. His friends were doing him a favor. The least he could do was overlook their antics.

“Well, we’d better get suited up,” Triton said to Eros, motioning to the stairs that led to his and Sophia’s private apartment.

“Good luck,” Hermes said and headed out of the house.

He was planning to give Penny the third degree and question her until she could no longer deny what she’d done. In the meantime, Triton and Eros would execute their own plan of how to get the sandals back.

Hermes had a cab drive him to Penny’s house. The very fact that he had to take mortal transportation again, only increased his annoyance about the fact that he hadn’t been able to get the truth out of Penny earlier. Hadn’t they been interrupted by her grandmother’s trip to the hospital, he would already have his sandals back.

When the taxi stopped in front of Penny’s house, he paid the driver and walked to the entrance door. He rang the doorbell and waited impatiently. Penny had better not play possum and pretend she wasn’t home. He could hear sounds coming from the inside.

“Penny,” he called out, simultaneously knocking his fist against the door.

Finally he heard the sound of footsteps hurrying toward the door. When it was ripped open forcefully, Hermes instinctively jolted backwards.

“I’m coming, damn it, I’m coming!” Penny’s father growled, appearing in the doorframe. “Can’t do two things at the same time!” When his eyes landed on Hermes, he planted his hands at his hips. “Oh, it’s you.”

Hermes ignored the unfriendly tone in his voice and decided that he wasn’t going to be any friendlier than his reluctant host. “I’m here to see Penny.”

“She’s not here.”

“I told her I’d be coming by.”

From the house, the voice of the old lady called out. “Bart, who is it?”

“Nobody!” Bart answered, then glared back at Hermes. “Penny had something important to do.”

He grabbed the door, about to shut it, but Hermes wedged his foot between door and frame, preventing him from closing it.

Bart narrowed his eyes. “I said—”

“I’m not deaf,” Hermes cut him off. “Where is she?”

For a moment, Bart seemed to hesitate, but then it appeared as if he changed his mind about something. “She went to church.”

“Church?”

“Yeah, Grace Episcopal down on Wentworth Street.”

Surprised at the revelation, Hermes stepped back, and Penny’s father didn’t hesitate and shut the door without another word. Why would Penny go to church? Did she think that praying would make her sins undone? Not in a million years! If she thought she could avoid him by hiding out in a church, she was sorely mistaken.

He flagged down another cab at the next street corner and gave the driver the address of the church. During the short ride he was fuming. He’d told her that he would come to her house once she was back from the hospital, and Penny had clearly ignored his request to speak to her and instead decided to evade him.

Eager to tell her just what he thought of her evasion tactic, Hermes paid the driver as soon as the taxi stopped at the curb. He jumped out and ran up the few steps that led to the main entrance of the massive church. He listened for sounds from the inside, but heard no music or chanting, leading him to believe that no service was in progress.

When he opened the heavy door and entered the dark interior, silence greeted him. He’d never much liked the heavy and solemn atmosphere many churches seemed to have in common. They were very different from the palaces the gods lived in. If only the mortals knew that no god worth his salt would hold court in such a place. Well, maybe just one: Hades. He was all for dark and gothic!

Hermes stepped farther into the interior, perusing the pews and searching them for any sign of Penny. There was none. Had her father sent him on a wild goose chase? He’d clearly sensed that Bart didn’t like him, and the feeling was mutual.

Hermes turned around and swept another gaze over the empty pews when his eyes fell on to the confessional on one side of the exterior wall. Had Penny come for a confession? As if that would make things right. He walked closer to the intricately carved confessional to ascertain if it was occupied, when he heard steps behind him.

He whirled around and stared at a priest coming toward him.

“May I help you?” the clergyman asked, a soothing tone in his voice.

“Actually, I was looking for a friend. I was told she would be at the church. But I see that the church is empty so I guess I was misinformed,” he said and turned to leave.

“Maybe she is downstairs in our basement,” the priest suggested. “Is she a volunteer?”

Hermes stared at him, his forehead furrowing. “A volunteer?”

The man nodded and pointed toward a side door. “Yes, in our soup kitchen.”

Hermes’ heart nearly stopped. Penny volunteered at a soup kitchen? No, the priest had to be mistaken. “I don’t think Penny is a volunteer. I’ve probably got the wrong church.”

“Penny Galloway?”

Hermes nodded.

“Oh, yes, she’s downstairs. She’s one of our most loyal volunteers. Comes every Sunday night like clockwork.”

“Penny? Are you sure?”

The priest looked at him quizzically. “You seem surprised.”

That was an understatement. He was in disbelief. “I’m afraid I haven’t seen that side of her yet.”

The clergyman smiled. “Penny isn’t somebody who talks much about the things she does for other people. She gets very embarrassed when we honor her and the other volunteers each year, thanking them for their service. Without her and the many others who help us every week, we wouldn’t be able to run the soup kitchen anymore. And there are so many people in this city who need our help.”

Hermes nodded, virtually speechless, unable to understand how these different sides of Penny fit together: the brilliant scholar, the caring grand-daughter, the thief, and the soup kitchen volunteer. Something didn’t make sense. Maybe he had to see it with his own eyes to believe it. Maybe then it would sink in.

“May I see where she works?”

The priest pointed to the door. “The soup kitchen is open to the public. Just follow the signs.”

“Thank you.”

Hermes turned on his heels, walked to the door the priest had indicated and opened it, descending into the basement. Voices and the clinking of cutlery already drifted to him, as did the aromas of home-cooked food.

At the bottom of the stairs he followed the sign pointing him to the right. After a few yards the hallway widened and double doors opened up to a large room. Hermes stopped at the entrance to it and peered inside.

The room was furnished with long tables and benches on one end, while several serving stations with an open kitchen behind them made up the far end of the room. A large number of people sat at the tables, already eating, while a lot more stood in line, waiting to be served.

Penny wasn’t hard to spot. She wore a colorful apron, her hair in a ponytail, a friendly smile on her face as she served an old woman and said a few words to her.

Drawn to the scene, Hermes took a few steps into the room and continued watching Penny. She seemed at ease with what she was doing, spooning out various different dishes on the plates the patrons were holding out to her, just like the three other volunteers were doing beside her. She appeared to have a friendly word for each and every person she was serving.

As she now served a gray-haired black man who had to be older than Methuselah, even Hermes could see that the man’s hands were shaking badly. Penny seemed to notice it too, because he could hear her words drift to him now.

“Why don’t I bring you a plate to the table?” she asked, her voice so full of kindness he couldn’t comprehend that this was the same woman who’d stolen his sandals.

“Sunshine, that’s so kind of you,” the old man responded.

“What would you like with your meatloaf today?” she asked pointing to the containers.

“The yams, and some of them green beans. With lots of gravy,” he replied and shuffled to the closest table, taking a seat on the bench.

Penny prepared his plate and carried it to him, placing it in front of him with a smile. “And if you want more when you’ve eaten that, just give me a holler.”

“Thanks so much, sunshine,” the man said and dug into his food.

Hermes turned away and fled into the hallway. To these people Penny was an angel. She was a pillar of this community, donating her time to a good cause. How could she be a thief? If the Penny who was currently serving food at a soup kitchen was the real Penny, then what had made her steal his sandals?

18

Eros looked at his friend Triton, all decked out in black pants, shirt, and shoes. He held a balaclava in his hand. “If Dio could see us like this!”

“He’d only want to join in; just as well that he flew to Napa,” Triton cautioned. “And it doesn’t take three to break into some university office with minimal security.”

“I really don’t know why you need all this get-up!” Sophia smirked. “You guys look like the crew from Ocean’s 11.”

“As far as I’m concerned, this heist is more important,” Eros defended their appearance.

“Exactly,” Triton agreed.

Eros grinned at Sophia. “A lot is riding on this. And this is our best chance. While Hermes is keeping Penny away from her office, we can search it to our heart’s content.”

Sophia pointed to Triton’s hand. “And the balaclavas?”

“Baby, you don’t want me to get arrested because I get caught breaking into the university, do you? I can’t risk my face showing up on the security cameras. People will recognize me.”

Eros nodded. “Same here. Granted, I only visit from time to time, but considering I can’t teleport, I don’t fancy sitting in a jail cell I can’t escape from.”

“Are you guys even sure that the shoes are in her office?” Sophia questioned. It seemed that she wasn’t at all pleased that her husband was doing something illegal.

Eros exchanged a look with his friend. “It’s safer than keeping them at home with her grandmother and father there.”