Clive Cussler - Wrath of Poseidon

“Likewise.”

“Just to let you know where we’re coming from, Adrian Kyril has decided not to plead guilty to the kidnapping and assault charges. Apparently, he changed his mind once news of his mother’s death reached him. I’m afraid that means you and Miss Longstreet will probably end up having to return for the trial.”

“What about in between now and then?”

“More than likely, as soon as we finish here, she can go home. I expect no more than a couple of days or so. You, on the other hand . . .” He shrugged. “I’m afraid it’s going to be a bit longer. I hope no more than a week or two for us to wrap up all the loose ends. Four deaths here, one on the Kyrils’ island, and if I’m not mistaken, a vehicle accident on Samos.” He gave Sam a grim smile.

“It is what it is,” Sam said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to assist you in your investigation.”

“Very good. Let’s get started.”

It took about three hours for them to finish up their interview, Sam relating what happened, Sergeant Kompouras stopping him every now and then to clarify details or refer to the diagram Sam had drawn of the islet and their positions as the helicopter assault took place. Finally, Kompouras looked at his watch, almost midnight. “It’s been a long day. As I mentioned to the others, I would like to finish up the interview with the four of you tomorrow on Megalos Anthropofas. I can’t imagine that will take very long, but I would like to see this cave. I wasn’t there very long before coming over here. The evidence techs were just cordoning off the site and removing the bodies. They hadn’t been able to locate the cave opening.”

“Understandable. It wasn’t easy to find even before it was blocked.”

Remi, exhausted, had immediately fallen asleep. Sam, however, had lain awake most of the night, thinking about her. Her emotions had to be running the gamut.

The following morning, she was quiet, but she appeared well rested, not like she’d been the morning after their escape from the Kyrils’ island. She even seemed close to her normal self when they walked into town to meet Nikos, Dimitris, and Zoe for breakfast at Skavos’s café.

At ten, they met Sergeant Kompouras at the port, Nikos taking the Asteri , since the Lazy Krab was out of commission after the helicopter attack. Once everyone was aboard, Remi braced herself against the railing as the boat took off. Sam moved beside her, the two simply sharing the space in what he hoped was companionable silence. About midway there, when Remi made no move to speak, he asked, “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

“. . . Are we okay?”

“I’ll be glad to get home.”

Which wasn’t an answer at all. Sam decided not to press the matter. “The sergeant said that if everything works out, you may actually get to leave as early as tomorrow.”

“Not you?”

“Not for a while. He was thinking a week or more.”

She stared out toward the water, her gaze on the islet as they approached. “I really have to think about all of this . . . us . . .”

The finality of her words caught him by surprise. “If it helps, I’m willing to wait as long as it takes.”

She drew in a deep breath, reached over, and put her hand on his. “I know. I think that’s what makes this all so bearable.”

It wasn’t much, but it was enough for Sam, and they remained there, side by side, as Nikos motored into the quiet inlet. Within minutes, they were hiking up the rocky hillside to the top. As before, they heard the bells tinkling from the small herd of goats that lived on the island, a few watching warily as they neared the crest, then approached the wreckage. While the bodies were gone, the crumpled remains of the helicopter’s fuselage was a stark reminder of their narrow escape from certain death.

Sergeant Kompouras pulled his small notebook from his pocket. “Where, exactly, is this cave?”

Dimitris walked over, standing on the rubble. “Beneath this rock.”

Kompouras moved beside him, then looked at Sam. “This is what fell when the helicopter hit?”

“It was. Remi and I were just inside when they attacked.”

“And how was it that all of you escaped?”

“Remi found a tunnel leading out,” Sam said. “It opens up on the north side. We climbed to the top and then . . .” He glanced in the direction of where he’d killed the lone gunman. “This way. I’ll show you.”

Kompouras followed him to the cliff’s edge, overlooking the Aegean and Fourni in the distance.

“You see the crevice about twenty yards down? That’s where we came out,” he said, pointing to the rocks on their left.

“You’re telling me that you scaled that cliff all the way over there?”

“We did.”

“I’m not sure I would have dared it.”

“We didn’t have much choice.”

Dimitris moved beside them. “What’s really sad is that we may have actually found evidence that the treasure called Poseidon’s Trident exists. Now it’s buried under a couple of tons of stone.”

The sergeant crouched at the cliff’s edge, using his phone to take a few photos. “What puzzles me is why Minerva Kyril would have been here. You were looking for some mythical treasure. She was allegedly trying to protect her drug empire.” He glanced over at Sam. “If I had to guess, her son’s obsession with Poseidon’s Trident brought too much unwanted attention to the family business. Especially when the four of you ended up on the Kyrils’ island.”

“Not that we found much there,” Sam said, “other than a few trigger-happy guards.”

He looked up from his phone. “But you did mention the glass vials you saw in the warehouse. I meant to ask you about that. By the time my team arrived on the island to investigate the shooting, the glass vials were gone.”

“You think they’re important?”

“We’re not sure yet. What makes it worth looking into is that we found bits of glass in the debris from the explosion that killed one of our agents. No one has found any explanation for it. Especially when the shipment was supposed to be nothing but olive oil, tins, wood, and plastic wrap around shipping cartons.”

Sam recalled seeing the boxes of vials, but at the time, his focus had been on finding and freeing Dimitris. “Had I known . . .”

“Yes. That old hindsight, twenty-twenty.” The sergeant eyed the cliffside, then stood, glancing at Dimitris. “You really think there’s some evidence of this treasure down there?”

“I found some shards from a broken amphora.”

“It couldn’t have been from one of the goat herders?”

“I suppose it could.”

“Except,” Sam said, “we didn’t see the shards until after the helicopter crashed. The impact caused part of the cave wall to shear off.”

Sergeant Kompouras slipped his phone into his pocket. “Any chance you would be willing to take another look? If we prove Poseidon’s Trident really exists, it will be one more piece of evidence against Adrian Kyril.”

Dimitris gave a firm nod. “Count me in.”

“Yes,” Nikos said.

Sam, recalling Remi’s reluctance to enter the cave from the beginning, asked, “How about it?”

“I think I can go in.”

“Let’s do it,” he said to the sergeant. “The more evidence, the better.”

CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

Once Dimitris retrieved the gear bags from the Asteri , they were able to find a solid spot to anchor their rope almost directly above the cave’s north entrance. Before they started, though, Sam pulled Remi aside. “You don’t have to go down there.”

Remi’s gaze searched his, and for a moment, he was certain she intended to back out. He could see the hesitation, even a moment of fear in her green eyes. But then she took a deep breath, and nodded. “Yes, I do. I am not going to let that man win. And if I have to go back into the cave to take him down, so be it.”