Jeffrey Siger - Target - Tinos

“And places like Xobourgo have been used for concealing treasures for centuries. How the hell did the thieves ever find where the stuff was hidden inside that massive rock?” said Kouros.

“Or any of the other places without a map like this one, with crosshairs precisely drawn over treasure rooms,” said Tassos.

“This is starting to sound like an Indiana Jones film,” said Kouros.

“Let’s just figure out what these places have in common,” said Andreas.

They stared at the map.

Andreas was the first to speak. “The church in town and that convent where the nun’s dreams led to the discovery of the Megalochari are obvious hiding places for Foundation treasures. Not so obvious are the monastery outside of Kardiani and that church in the middle of nowhere on Mount Tsiknias. But I’d say the cleverest move was getting the Catholics into the act by using their Jesuit monastery.”

“So, we have five church related sites,” sites said Kouros.

“Six, if you take a close look at where the crosshairs meet at that spot over by Steni.” Tassos pointed with his finger. “Right by where the crosshairs meet is a small church. Care to bet whether there’s a tunnel running between the church and whatever is at the ‘x’?”

“Okay, so now we have six likely places within church control. What’s that mean?” said Andreas.

Kouros said, “Just like the fortress at Xobourgo, the church on Tinos has always used its properties for concealing treasures from marauders and pirates. I’d bet there are secret passages and hidden rooms for just that purpose at all those locations. The thieves probably knew the same thing.”

“What about the other five?” said Andreas.

Tassos pointed to the map again. “Xobourgo is a no-brainer. It’s a stone honeycomb of secret places. And that spot outside Volax is filled with volcanic thirty-foot high monoliths and bizarre-shape boulders covering a plateau of natural hiding places. As for Pyrgos, it’s home to some of Tinos’ greatest marble sculptors and the crosshairs are fixed on a place filled with some of the finest examples of their craft, entombments in the Pyrgos cemetery. Another not so unusual hiding place for treasure.

“But what I can’t get a fix on are the two along the coastline. There’s nothing there but shoreline.”

Kouros took a paperback book out of his back pocket.

“What’s that?” said Andreas.

“A guidebook to Tinos.”

“You’re kidding,” said Tassos.

“How do you think I’ve been able to find my way around this island on my own? Or know how to pronounce ‘Xobourgo’? Don’t knock it, it’s been very helpful.”

“So, we’ve got nine obvious hiding places and two that aren’t. How-”

“Chief, I’ve got it!”

“I haven’t even asked the question?”

“I mean about the other two. According to the guidebook those spots marked by the sea are caves! The one up by Makrisia Bay is called Mygospilia and the other cave is Spilias, over by the Bay of Livada.”

“Very good, Yianni. Put that guidebook on your expense account.”

“I have an expense account?”

“Back to my question. How did the thieves possibly figure out all eleven hiding places without someone on the inside tipping them off?”

“Anything on that in your guidebook?” said Tassos. “Check out those suggested day long excursions to places of interest around the island. Perhaps it’s listed under ‘Follow the yellow brick road to secret hiding places.’”

Kouros shot Tassos the middle finger.

“That just might be the answer,” said Andreas. “They ‘followed’ the Foundation’s ‘inconspicuous’ couriers when they transported valuables from Panagia Evangelistria to the other storage sites.”

“But how would the thieves know who to follow?” said Kouros.

“Because the couriers are ‘longtime’ employees of the Foundation. Do you care to bet how many locals could tell you right now who the likely couriers are if you put the question to them?”

Tassos said, “That still doesn’t explain how the thieves found the hiding places, let alone got inside. They would have had to follow the couriers into the middle of nowhere to find some of those places. They’d be spotted in a minute. Even a helicopter would be noticed.”

Andreas rubbed his eyes. “Not necessarily.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” said Tassos.

“I can’t remember the name of the book, but it had some pre-historic man character with a unique way of hunting dangerous prey far quicker than he was. He’d start out by stalking his quarry as far as he could before losing it. Then he’d wait at that spot until the prey passed by another time, and track it from there as far as he could again before losing it. The hunter did this for as many days as it took to find the quarry in its lair.”

“Nice story, but that would take a hell of a lot of time,” said Kouros.

“And patience. Especially since we’re talking about eleven sites,” said Tassos.

“Not really,” said Andreas. “Panagia Evangelistria is obvious and you could easily follow the couriers to Kechrovouni Monastery and the Jesuit Monastery without being noticed. The same for Xobourgo and, depending on the time of day, Katapoliani Monastery, as well. And with Pyrgos being such a popular place for tourists, couriers wouldn’t be likely to notice anyone trailing them unless their stalkers were dumb enough to follow them into the cemetery. That left only five storage sites requiring more time and ingenuity to pinpoint. But why would the thieves care how long it took to find the others, or for that matter, however many more secret sites there were? They’d already struck it rich with six locations to rob at their leisure.”

“Uhh, Chief, there’s another explanation,” said Kouros.

“Which is?”

“They put a tracking device on the courier vehicle and followed its signal to the sites.”

“I like Andreas’ theory, it has a more traditional flair to it.”

“Whatever way they did it, it could have been done without the thieves being tipped-off by someone on the inside,” said Andreas. “So, that leaves us with three open questions aside from who they are. How did they get in, how did they transport the items, and where did they take them?”

“To repeat myself, it would take a lot of time and patience to case those sites before finding the best way to get in and out undetected,” said Tassos.

“And specialized electronics help to get around the alarms and cameras,” said Kouros.

“But evidently the Foundation didn’t start to put in that sort of security until years after the robberies began. And by the time it did, I’m certain the thieves had stolen more than enough to buy whatever brains and equipment they needed to get around anything the Foundation installed,” said Andreas.

“It’s a no-brainer how they transported the stuff,” said Tassos. “In their pockets, and not a soul would notice. They could have used motorbikes or even walked away. We’re talking gems and small pieces of gold, not tea sets and paintings. As for ‘where the stuff is,’ how about anywhere in the world by now? And if any is still on Tinos, I think you guys realize by now that this island is nothing if not one big hiding place.”

Andreas took a drink of water. “It seems to me that we’re looking for a person or persons capable of spending extensive amounts of time patiently locating and carefully reconnoitering eleven sophisticated hiding places, and of circumventing elaborate electronic surveillance and security systems once they do. And who are smart enough to realize that by committing tiny burglaries they’re not likely to draw the sort of heat they’d do with big ones.”