The Lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski Read Free Book Online Page A

say you missed?”
    “Seventeen.”
    “That’s what I thought. But there are only sixteen on this list.”
    Payne picked up his copy of the printout and counted the calls. “You’re right. Sixteen.”
    “Check your phone again. Count the missed calls.”
    Payne did what he was told. “Seventeen.”
    “So we’re missing a call.”
    He nodded. “And I know which one. The guy called every half hour except for one instance around nine this morning.” He scrolled through his phone. “Nine-fourteen to be exact.”
    Jones double-checked his list. “Bingo! That’s the one.”
    “Why wasn’t it listed?”
    “I have no idea. Let me check the original file again.” Jones hit a few buttons on his laptop and studied the document. Several seconds passed before he noticed the problem. “For some reason my printer only printed the first page of the phone log. Hold on. Let me print page two. It looks like this call came in from a different country code, so it was listed on a different sheet.”
    Both men stared at the printer as it sprang to life.
    A moment later it was spitting out a sheet of paper that was nearly blank. One line for the header. One line for the phone call. Then nothing but empty white.
    Still, the missing page gave them their biggest break yet.
    A phone number that they recognized.

10

    A ndropoulos hustled from room to room, searching for his boss. He finally spotted Dial in the main courtyard, where he and an elderly monk were leaving the bell tower. Andropoulos stopped in his tracks, not sure if he should approach, until Dial waved him over.
    “Nicolas,” Dial said as an introduction, “this is Marcus, my squire.”
    The old man nodded but said nothing.
    “Where have you been hiding?” Dial wondered.
    “Sir,” Andropoulos whispered, “we need to speak.”
    “That’s right. I promised you a chance to impress me. I guess now is as good a time as any.”
    “No, sir. It’s not that. It’s something else.”
    “Such as?”
    Andropoulos shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir. It’s confidential.”
    Dial glanced at Nicolas, half-embarrassed. He had spent the past several minutes trying to convince the monk that he would be kept in the loop on everything, hoping to establish a level of trust that rarely existed between church and state. Now the first thing out of Andropoulos’s mouth was that he had a secret. Talk about shitty timing.
    “Don’t worry. I understand,” Nicolas said. “Some things are not meant to be shared.”
    “Talk tomorrow?” Dial asked.
    The old monk nodded, then hobbled out of sight.
    Dial waited until Nicolas was completely out of earshot before he turned his attention to Andropoulos. “This better be good.”
    “It is,” the young cop assured him. “Potentially great.”
    “How great are we talking?”
    “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I’d like to show you something and get your opinion.”
    “Oh goody. Show-and-tell!” Dial said sarcastically. “Please, lead the way.”
    The two of them walked across the monastery toward the small annex that had been built behind the main chapel. It was an unremarkable building with several windows that hadn’t been cleaned in weeks. Andropoulos opened the narrow door and ducked inside the stuffy room. Originally it had been used for meditation; now it served as a gift shop.
    Dial stepped inside and stared at the cheap trinkets on the tables. Suddenly, snippets of his conversation with Nicolas sprang to mind.
    The old monk was right. Agia Triada had become a haven for tourists.
    “Don’t tell me,” Dial said. “You want me to buy you a T-shirt.”
    Andropoulos ignored the comment. He was far too excited about his discovery. “Earlier you said the difference between a good investigator and a bad one was the ability to examine a scene. Well, as far as I know, I’m the first one to notice this.”
    Dial glanced around the room, confused. “Notice what?”
    Andropoulos pointed toward a chest of drawers that rested