Carolyn Keene - Greek Odyssey

“Evcharistó,” Niki said, hugging the magazines to her chest. She started toward the door, then turned back when she realized she was still wearing Bess’s hat. “I almost forgot,” she murmured, smiling. “You have such beautiful clothes.” Quickly she put down the hat, picked up her bucket of cleaning supplies, then ducked out the door.

“A fashion ally!” Bess said, clapping her hands together.

Nancy didn’t say anything right away. After tossing her penlight, sunscreen, and an orange hat into a canvas bag, she looked at Bess and said, “I still want to check out the stuff about her sister.”

“Oh, come on, Nancy,” Bess protested, taking the wrapped package out of her tote bag and placing it on the dresser. “What do your instincts tell you?”

Nancy thought for a moment. “That Niki’s just a nice girl who wants to be a model. And she had the bad luck to get caught snooping around in your things.”

“So you do understand,” Bess said, grinning. “She’s just a slave to fashion—like me.”

Bess and George were in high spirits as they jumped into a cab with Kevin and headed off toward the airport. Kevin had been able to schedule his interview for that afternoon so that the three of them could travel together.

When Nancy met Mick on the terrace after seeing off her friends, her heart did a little leap. He was dressed in black swim trunks and a green T-shirt that hugged his broad, muscular shoulders. “Ready to slay the dragon?” he asked, spinning his baseball cap around on one finger.

“They say the dragon dried up years ago,” Nancy told him.

He tapped her nose gently. “Well, if anyone can find the beast, it’s ace detective Nancy Drew.”

“I’m game,” Nancy said, laughing. “But first I have a few things to straighten out with Zoe.”

They found Zoe in the hotel’s kitchen, supervising the lunch preparations. When Nancy told her about her conversation with the maid, Zoe confirmed that Niki’s sister had recently moved to America. “She used to work right here, in our kitchen.”

Zoe frowned, thinking over the situation. “I didn’t know about Niki’s desire to be a model, but I know she has been planning a trip to America. In fact, she asked my father to keep her passport in the family vault so that she wouldn’t misplace it.”

“Niki already has a passport?” Nancy asked. If Niki was free to travel to the U.S., why would she steal Bess’s passport for her own use?

“Yes,” Zoe replied. “I should have thought of that last night when you asked about her at the party.”

That just about clears Niki, Nancy thought. But she still wanted to pay close attention to Dimitri.

“What a feast!” Nancy exclaimed as she caught sight of the picnic basket that Zoe had prepared for Mick and her.

“Grapes, oranges, cheese, stuffed grape leaves, and pastries,” Mick said, popping a grape into his mouth. “This is great, Zoe. Thanks.”

A middle-aged man appeared at the kitchen door with his pale blue cap in his hand. He said something in Greek to Zoe, who then turned to Mick and Nancy. She introduced the balding, heavyset man as Nikos, the guide she had hired to take them to Dragonisi.

Soon they were off. Nikos didn’t speak much English, Nancy discovered, but she was so wrapped up in the beautiful day that it really didn’t matter. She leaned contentedly against Mick as they cruised along, the boat cutting through the water with ease.

Nancy’s first glimpse of Dragonisi was of a wild, isolated mass of rock and sand. Nikos circled the island so that she and Mick could get their bearings. One end of the oblong island seemed to be the hot spot for snorkeling. Haifa dozen boats were anchored offshore, and Nancy saw three different groups of swimmers who seemed to be taking instruction.

“Hey, check that out!” Mick said, pointing to one of the boats bobbing in the water near the beach. “Isn’t that the Sea Star ?”

Squinting over the sparkling reflection of sunlight on the water, Nancy was able to make out the distinctive star on the boat’s yellow hull. “That’s it,” she said, scanning the beach. “And there’s Theo.”

No sooner had Nancy spotted him than she saw Theo bounding over to a petite girl with short red hair.

“That’s strange,” Mick said as their boat coursed ahead. “When I asked him to bring us to Dragonisi he turned me down—and yet, there he is.”

Nancy was wondering the same thing as she tied her reddish blond hair into a ponytail and tucked it under her orange baseball cap. “Maybe another group hired him to bring them here,” she said.

After circling Dragonisi, Nancy and Mick asked Nikos to drop them off in a secluded area. They chose a rocky beach on the opposite side of the islet from the groups of divers and made arrangements with Nikos to pick them up at the same spot at four o’clock.

Knowing that they would have to wade ashore, Nancy had worn a swimsuit under her clothes. Now she stuffed her shorts, T-shirt, and sneakers into her tote bag. Holding the tote bag over her head, she lowered herself into the water and waded to the beach. Mick followed, balancing his clothes and the picnic basket. Standing on the uneven stretch of sand broken by craggy rock formations, they waved to Nikos as he sped off.

“I don’t know about you,” Mick said after they found a cozy spot in the shade of a twisted olive tree, “but after that boat ride, I’m starved.”

Nancy glanced at the dark cave openings in the rocky hills. “I guess the caves can wait until after lunch,” she said.

She opened the picnic basket, and they split up the generous portions of fruit and spread the cheese on the crusty bread. While they ate, they discussed the fading trail of the missing passports.

“I think you’re right to keep an eye on Dimitri,” Mick said. “He’s suspicious, all right.”

Nancy sighed. “And he’s our only lead, unfortunately. I wish I had more to go on.”

“This morning I contacted some friends of my father’s at the Australian Embassy in Athens,” Mick told her, licking his fingers after eating a stuffed grape leaf. “They’ll let me know if they hear of similar thefts—or if they come across any information on Bess’s passport.”

Half an hour later Nancy was sure she couldn’t eat another thing.

“Some more grapes?” Mick offered.

“No, thanks.” She was already on her feet and slipping her clothes on over her swimsuit, which had dried in the sun. “I’m dying to explore some of those caves that Theo told us about. This should help light the way,” she said, pulling her penlight out of her tote bag.

“That tiny thing?” Mick teased. He reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a high-powered flashlight. “Zoe left this for us,” he said, pushing his cap back on his head. “When it comes to caves, you don’t want to be left in the dark.”

The first cave they explored had an arched opening with a vaulted rock ceiling high overhead. “It’s like a Gothic cathedral,” Nancy said. A moment later, she laughed as her voice bounced back in an eerie echo.

Inside, they climbed between two huge boulders and found themselves on a narrow path leading into the darkness. “We’d better keep close to each other,” Mick said, turning back to take Nancy’s hand before he continued. Nancy stepped carefully, watching the beam of Mick’s flashlight bounce along the walls ahead.

She nearly ran smack into Mick when he stopped abruptly. “Whoa!” he said, grabbing Nancy by the waist and taking a step back.

“What is it?” she asked. Her eyes followed the beam of light as it moved over the ground in front of them, then dropped off into blackness.

“The path ends—very suddenly,” Mick said, dropping to his knees and shining the light down into the pit. “That must be at least a twenty-foot drop, and there’s water at the bottom.”