Aegean Intrigue (7 page)

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There had to be a mistake. The professor had insisted he knew nothing about the person he was working for. But there had to be clues. She had to help him. Maybe there was something in his office. She'd start there.

After questioning, the crew had been released to the campsite. It was a tiny crew, with Christina and Professor Theo in police custody and Yannis air lifted to a hospital in Athens.

But stepping into the cubicle, she knew she wouldn't find anything. Every box and book had been confiscated as evidence. The desk was empty except for Alex's laptop, and his leather satchel. Alex! Maybe he would know how she could help the professor.

She stepped out of the office and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his voice coming from the far side of his tent. She rounded the corner, intending to keep her distance until he finished his conversation.

“I just sent the report to you. It should be in your inbox. His exact statement to me, the items in the mismarked boxes, everything.”

Ah, he must be speaking to Zotis. He said the investor wanted to know all the details.

“Yes, Zotis hired me to discover the thief from two previous heists. He insisted it was someone on the crew, but he pointed the finger at the wrong person.”

The wrong person?

“Look, I was hired only to investigate his suspicions, and I did. It's not my problem if his suspicions were incorrect. Francie Vasileiou was not involved in the thefts. I am finished with this case.”

He
's
an investigator?
I was a suspect
?

Alex ended the conversation, but Francie was too shell-shocked to move. She heard the gravel crunch beneath his shoes as he walked around the tent and the silence when he came to a stop in front of her. She raised her eyes to his.

“So you're not really the Project Director. You aren't even an archaeologist, are you?” She couldn't stop the tear from sliding down her cheek. How could she have been so wrong about him?

“Francie.” His deep voice was rough, pleading. “Francie, please. I knew it wasn't you all along, but I had to investigate. Don't you see? Until we solved the case, everyone was a suspect.”

She stared at him, tears clouding her vision. Her voice shook as her face heated in anger, and she nearly spat her words to him. “Everyone? Jane and Christina have never been part of a dig. Why would they be suspects?”

“Well, that's true, but—”

“And Yannis? He spent more time on his Blackberry than he did actual work on the dig, but you never—”

She gasped and pointed at him. “He works for you, doesn't he? That explains why he was so inept! I've never seen anyone so clueless about a dig. And he's not a college student learning the ropes! He's your assistant, isn't he? What was he doing on his Blackberry, writing and sending reports about the professor and me?”

“No, Francie, that's not—”

She turned away from him and paced. Her arms waved in frustration. There was nothing Alex could say to refute her, so she kept talking. “I've known Jane and Christina. They're not involved with the investigation. And the Professor—” Her voice broke. “We know he wasn't. What about Dimitri? Did he fake his illness so you'd have the opportunity to work with me in the kitchen?” She stopped pacing and faced him again. “Do you know what hurts the most? Knowing I've been a fool—again! After Leandros betrayed me, I vowed never to allow this to happen again. But you got through my defenses. I thought—I thought—” She couldn't go on.

Alex had to ask. “You thought what, Francie?”

She stopped, squared her shoulders, and looked up into his face. “I thought I had finally chosen to trust the right man.”

 

Francie poured herself a glass of cold water and flopped into a chair. Her apartment was clean and the last of her things were put away. The people who had sub-leased the apartment during her trip to Paros had left quite a mess, and she had spent the last few days mopping and scrubbing before taking all her belongings out of storage. She hadn't minded. Cleaning helped take her mind off her heartache.

The university had sent another professor to supervise as she, Willem, Josh, and Dimitri returned to the campsite to wrap up the dig and report their findings to the university.

Yannis had been sent to an Athens hospital to recover from his gunshot wound. Jane had gone with him, only to return to the campsite two days later. She wouldn't talk about Yannis, or anything else, except to say he was expected to recover. Christina had been charged with attempted murder and would eventually face a trial on Paros. Since the attempted theft of artifacts was a national crime, Professor Theo's trial would take place here in Athens.

Outside her apartment window, tourists mingled with locals as they shopped and dined. The tavern across the street buzzed with conversations spoken in several different languages as the maître d' enticed passersby to stop in his establishment. Just inside the tavern's doorway, a duo began to play traditional Greek music and the tinkling sounds of the
bouzouki
strings reached Francie's ears. Costumed dancers formed a line and started to execute the steps of the
syrto
.

The scene brought back memories of the evening in Parikia when Alex had stepped in to assist the elderly gentleman in leading the dance. She had known then he was a special man. She had wanted to suppress her feelings for him, but knew even then the effort was useless.

Alex had tried to speak with her in the days following the professor's arrest. But Francie had rebuffed him each time. The pain of his betrayal ran deep, and she burned with embarrassment knowing another man had used her to get ahead.

But he was just doing his job, her other self argued. He wouldn't have assumed her guilt if Zotis hadn't blamed her. He was a fair man who cared about people. There was the day he jumped into action when the professor cut himself. And the many times he had pitched in when he didn't have to, whether it was digging trenches or cooking meals.

Had she acted in haste? Had she made a mistake? Already she missed seeing him each morning, the dark stubble covering his face before he had his morning coffee. No matter how tough his day was, he always had a smile and a kind word for everyone. She even missed his annoying “take charge” attitude, because she knew in her heart he would allow her to voice her opinions and would take them seriously.

Hadn't he proven that he was different from the Greek men who had ruled her life? Hadn't he shown her he wouldn't try to smother her, to drain her and leave her with nothing?

She had to talk to him. How would she reach him? She needed to apologize, to let him know she understood why he did what he did and accepted him for who he was.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She had ordered her meal from a local restaurant, not having the energy to fix something for herself. Without stopping to wonder how the delivery person had gotten past the gate, she swung the door open, holding out a twenty-euro note. And then she froze. The delivery boy had the dark, sculpted face she had tried so hard to forget.

“You should not open the door before knowing who is on the other side.”

This man's voice had the same lyrical rhythm as Alex's. He had the same lithe build, the same ready-for-action stance, the same—

“Francie?”

She looked up into those sultry brown eyes, and for the first time she saw a hint of uncertainty. Was it possible…

“Francie, please let me come in. I have to speak to you. After I'm done, you can kick me out and I won't bother you again. But I need to explain something to you.” He held out the bag with her food. “I can talk while you eat, unless you have a guest waiting to share this with you.”

Her mind finally kicked in, and she stepped aside, allowing him to enter. His large frame crowded the entryway, and she scurried to the dining area. She motioned for him to set the bag on the table and then collected napkins, plates, forks and glasses. The simple tasks allowed her to gather her wits and face him again.

“If you're hungry, you might as well join me.” Somehow her voice remained calm, even if her heart and her stomach disagreed. She sat, keeping her eyes down. Maybe if she avoided looking at him, she thought, she might get through this.

Alex sat but made no move to eat. Francie pretended indifference, setting her food out and pouring her drink. She chewed, wondering how she was going to force the food down. After what seemed an eternity, he began to speak.

“I knew you weren't the thief. I knew it from the moment I saw you. But I had a job to do. I know you're angry about my deception. There were so many times I wanted to call Zotis and tell him to find someone else.”

“Why didn't you?”

He waited until she met his gaze before answering. “Because I couldn't leave you. And because I needed to find the true culprit so there would be no doubt you weren't connected.”

Could he really mean all that? Francie struggled to find her voice. Her throat went dry. “So was Professor Theo involved in the previous heists?”

“I don't know yet. It's possible someone else was the pawn.”

“How did Professor Theo get mixed up with Zotis?”

Alex frowned. “He used a go-between. The professor never met Zotis, never had any direct contact with him. Someone in the crew left messages for him, as well as his payments.”

“Someone—Yannis!”

Alex reared back. “How—why would you think so?”

“He was always on his Blackberry. And he was so preoccupied, except when he was with Jane. I couldn't understand how a graduate archaeologist student would be so clueless. I thought he was working for you, but it makes more sense that he worked for Zotis.”

“Mmm. Well, Yannis was using Jane, getting her to do some of his dirty work.”

“What?”

“He would ask her to deliver things in town, saying he had a headache, or he'd give her a package to mail.”

“How awful! Will Jane have charges against her?”

“Possibly. It depends on how much she knew and the depth of her involvement.”

Francie's brows drew together. “But Yannis wasn't on the last dig, so he wasn't the go-between for the other thefts.”

“No, he wasn't. It took some time to find the connection for the previous thefts. Do you remember telling me about Andre Barrineau?”

“Andre? The crew member from our dig in Turkey? Of course—he was so like Yannis, it makes sense that he filled the same role. Andre also had to be shown what to do and wasn't diligent about his paperwork. But he didn't have a Blackberry.”

“No, because Andre knew what he was doing and didn't have to rely on instructions being fed to him all day. But he was captured by Interpol just before arrangements were finalized for this dig. Yannis was a last-minute replacement.”

Francie took a moment to digest this.

“Since the professor is going to be…indisposed for a while, you might have to come to the trial and field questions regarding the dig. After all, there were many significant finds. And you were the professor's right-hand woman.” He paused before continuing. “We will see each other often. And I hope we will see each other outside the courtroom, too.”

Her eyes widened. Alex's revelation left Francie speechless, but he took her silence to mean she still considered him the enemy.

He paled. “Please, Francie, say you'll forgive me. I've discovered I need you with every fiber of my being. Without you, I am nothing.”

He leaned toward her, holding his hands out, palms up, in supplication. “I want to begin a new life with you. If you want to stay here in Athens and finish your degree, I will be able to provide for you. If you want to go somewhere else, I'll follow you.” When she remained speechless, he got up and began to pace, waving his arms in frustration. “You don't like my profession? I can cook. Maybe I can get a job doing that until I can open my own restaurant. Or perhaps I can—”

“Alex, stop.”

She stood and moved into his arms.

“You don't have to give up your way of life for me, Alex. I understand you were just doing your job, and I was foolish to blame you for that. I love living in Greece. We both have roots here. And I'll be happy wherever you are.”

 

During her first career, she taught elementary music, elementary classrooms, and junior high social studies. She now teaches part time at Grand Valley State University.

She lives in southwest Michigan with her husband, not far from her children and grandchildren. Current interests, aside from writing, include sewing, crocheting, scrapbooking, and music. A love of travel and an interest in faraway people inspires her to create stories about different cultures. She has written elementary school plays and educational materials.
Aegean Intrigue
is her third work of fiction to be published.

 

Chapter One