Jeffrey Siger - Murder in Mykonos

Her mind was racing but her body didn't move. He has a gun! She waited for the next rounds but heard only the wind. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked toward the houses. Not a single light had come on, not a sound from a door or window opening. Maybe the wind had swept the sound away from them — or maybe no one was there. Then she thought, if he has a gun, I'm not safe in those houses even if people are there. I must get to where I can defend myself — against him and his gun.

She stared north, looking for movement — and found it coming steadily south on the road fifty yards north of where she'd left it. 'It's him!' She said the words aloud into the wind. She watched him start to run. He'd seen her. The road was no longer a choice. She had to get away, had to start moving. She crawled up into a crouch and moved as fast as she could to the west, away from the road. She was headed into the ruins over a half-mile from where she wanted to be. It was Delos' flattest and most indefensible part. It felt like hours that she'd been stumbling over walls and excavations — looking over her shoulder on every step, until she found herself standing amidst the fabled marble lions of Delos, on the western side of the ancient city. She stared southeast over the ruins of its Sacred Lake and largest building, the Agora of the Italians. Somehow, she'd have to cross southeast through the heart of the ruins and climb east along Mount Kynthos, Delos' most prominent height, without being caught. She was as far away from where she wanted to be as she could imagine.

She was tired, she was cold, she was hungry, and she was naked. Worse yet, she had no idea where her pursuer was. She hadn't seen him since he stopped at the place where she'd heard the gunshots. He must be ahead of me, she thought, waiting for me to cross the ruins. I know he's out there, waiting to kill me. That thought led to another, a bizarre one that made her smile: I can't believe this; here I am, in a cradle of ancient Greece, being forced to compete for my life and I'm perfectly dressed for the occasion! Naked as all those Olympian boys. She put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. She was afraid if she started, she'd become hysterical — and lose it all.

She stared off toward Mount Kynthos. Fitting, too, she thought, was the place she'd chosen to make her stand: it was what remained of a temple built to honor the pagan deity on Delos probably closest in kinship to Saint Kiriake. Annika was on her way to the hillside Temple of Isis, the magical Egyptian goddess of protection and healing and a modern symbol of female power. Some claim worship of Isis ended only when her many temples were renamed in honor of another hallowed female icon, the Virgin Mary. Andreas and Tassos let the port police officer lead the way. They stayed ten yards behind, scanning from side to side for signs of doubling back — or anything else that might be helpful. They found it in discarded tampons. Now they were certain they were following Annika.

The cop did a good job of tracking her bare feet through the dirt — even after they left the road and headed west. Andreas thought she was headed to some houses, but her tracks abruptly veered south just past where she seemed to have fallen. Hopefully the cop was as good at following tracks over ground pounded almost to stone by thousands of tourist feet a day, because that's where they were headed — to the heart of tourist Delos.

'Chief, we have a problem.' The cop stopped about ten feet past the place of her fall.

'What is it?' asked Andreas.

'The sandal prints turn back toward the road.'

The prints had been in step with Annika's since the church. Andreas looked toward the road. 'I wish your buddy would get here with those damn lights.' Frustrated, he looked at Tassos. 'Why'd the killer suddenly stop following her?' He looked at Tassos.

'Doesn't make any sense, does it,' Tassos said, as a statement, not a question.

The cop said, 'Maybe he heard your gunshots and decided to take off?'

'Maybe,' Tassos said somberly. 'Or maybe he knows where she's headed.'

'How could he know?'

Tassos shrugged. 'My guess is he's spent a lot of time here and probably knows most of Delos' secrets. She's trying to hide in his backyard. Who knows what she said or did that helped him figure out what she's likely to do now. One thing's for sure: he has something in mind.' He paused. 'And he's not afraid of us or' — he gestured toward the houses — 'the drunks in there sleeping off the panegyri.' He pointed to the sandal prints. 'I think I'll follow these.'

'Do you think it's a good idea tracking him alone in the dark — especially if he knows this place as well as you think he does?' Andreas obviously didn't like the idea.

Tassos' voice was firm. 'One of us has to follow him, and I know this place pretty well myself. The ancients didn't just build temples here. They were practical businessmen and had ways to escape from invaders and pirates. The official version is that all their secret tunnels and hideaways were destroyed or simply collapsed over time.' He paused. 'I don't believe it. Too many smugglers still use this island. Smugglers don't go where there's no place to hide — and with our guy liking tunnels as much as he does' — Tassos shook his head and repeated himself — 'I think he's up to something.'

'Okay, but what makes you think you can find him?'

In the dark, Tassos sounded like someone speaking in a trance. 'A few years back, antiquities illegally removed from Greece and some other places started turning up in the newer acquisitions of prominent European museums. It wasn't just embarrassing for the museums, it was expensive; they had to return what they'd acquired to the plundered countries without getting their money back. The museums and their insurance companies wanted the source cut off and raised holy hell with Interpol to do it.' He paused. 'Interpol traced the operation to the Cyclades but couldn't find the bad guys. I did — right here on Delos.'

'That's the favor you called in?'

Tassos nodded.

Andreas let out a breath. 'At least wait for the kid with the lights.'

Andreas made out another nod in the dark.

'We'll follow her.' Andreas gestured for the port cop to start moving. 'Hopefully, one of us will find who we're looking for before they find each other.'

Tassos started walking. 'I'll follow these tracks back to the road and wait there for the lights.'

By the time Andreas and the port policeman reached the edge of the ruins by the Lake Area, they were sure Annika knew she was being followed. Her sudden shifts in direction and dramatically shortened stride were what you'd expect from someone ducking and crawling to evade a pursuer.

What Andreas couldn't figure out was why the killer had called off the chase. He probably knew she'd spotted him, but why would he stop when he was so close? Unless he didn't want the chase to end — at least not yet… or not here.

He scanned the ruins. Nothing. He turned to the cop. 'Okay, let's get back to the tracks — and switch to the red lens on your light, it'll make them easier to see on this hard stuff.' Andreas knew that no matter what the bastard had in mind, he wasn't likely to give up on his plan, whatever it was — and Annika didn't seem likely to give up on hers either, whatever it might be.

Perhaps Tassos was right and she did have a plan… one the killer had figured out. That meant any minute she could be dead. Andreas preferred to think the killer had turned away because he was afraid to fight her face-to-face after the rock-throwing back at the church — and her tracks would lead Andreas to a place where he'd find her safe and sound. But Andreas hadn't believed in fairy tales in a very long time. He knew they had to find her fast. Annika had left the lions and moved toward the southeast beyond the dry lake bed that once was the reservoir of Delos. She moved tentatively, conscious of every shadow and alert to every sound. She passed through the crumbled former marketplaces for slaves, goods, and grain and by the monuments, temples, and other ruins of Delos' central area. It was here that the people of Delos erected the Sanctuary of Apollo to honor the son of Zeus who, myth held, they helped by allowing him to be born on Delos in exchange for his father's promise that the island would prosper. Now it was Annika asking for their help.