When Dead in Greece by L.T. Ryan Read Free Book Online Page B

out a map of Crete and spread it on the table.  
    “This is where we are.” Esau circled a spot in blue ink. “And the cafe is back here.” Referring to the beaches, he added, “Over here is the touristy area. You’re going to go past all that. Maybe fifteen miles. Right about here is an unmarked lane. Doesn’t show on any of the maps, or on those GPS things, but it’s there. You will know it by the wooden signpost that is so eroded you can’t read what it once said. You turn there and go until it dead-ends. Say a quarter of a mile is how far it goes back. There’s an old house there, the only one. That is where they stay when they come to town.”
    “How do you know this?” Alik said.
    Esau tapped his finger on the spot and said nothing.
    “Have you been there before?” Alik said.
    Esau still said nothing.
    “Have they taken you there before?”
    Esau glanced up and nodded.
    “What’s going on here?” I said. “Tell us the truth.”
    Staring at the ceiling, the old man took a deep breath. “I need a drink. Get you guys something?”
    Neither of us responded as Esau rose and stepped to the counter. He uncorked a bottle, poured his drink, returned with a glass in one hand, and a burning cigarette in the other.
    The smoke swirled and spread. I resisted the urge to ask for one.
    I said, “Back at the cafe you said this was all your fault and that they were using Isadora to get to you.”
    He sucked on the butt of the cigarette, said, “Yes.”
    “Care to elaborate?”
    “I owe a debt.”
    “Can you pay it?”
    “Not at the moment.”
    “Will you be able to pay it?”
    He looked away. “I hope so.”
    “Say you can’t,” I said. “Say we rescue Isadora, and in doing so, we have to take out a couple of their men. What happens tomorrow when they find her gone? Find their guys dead?”
    “They come back, I suppose.”
    “And this time they’ll kill her.”
    His eyes glossed over and his lips trembled. The cigarette wavered in his shaking hand.
    “If they haven’t already.” I balanced my chair on its rear legs. “Right?”
    Esau nodded once. A tear slid down his cheek. I wondered if he feared Isadora was already dead.
    Alik said, “How much money do you owe?”
    Esau didn’t answer the question. “You have to hurry. We’re wasting time talking about this.”
    I looked at the darkened window. “We wasted time waiting until evening.”
    “No,” he said. “They would have been watching the road. They would have known, and you would’ve walked into a trap.”
    “For some reason,” I said, “I feel like I am now.”
    “Please, just get her. Bring her back here and I’ll arrange for safe transport for the three of you. I’ll deal with the men by myself tomorrow.”
    I glanced at Alik. He remained stoic. I couldn’t read his face. It appeared he wanted to leave the decision up to me.
    “OK,” I said. “Your pistol, you bring it?”
    Esau nodded, stood, lifted his shirt and then freed the handgun from his waistband. He set it on the table next to Alik. The Russian raised an eyebrow in my direction.
    “Take it,” I said.
    “I’ve got this too.” Esau turned and went to the kitchen. A drawer slid open. He rifled through papers. A few moments later he returned with a wooden sap. He slid it across the table to me.
    It was old and weathered. Dented in a few spots. A hairline crack ran from the top down.
    “A fine piece,” I said.
    “Was mine,” Esau said. “During the war.”
    “Got a bit of use.”
    He smiled. “Back in the day, those six men would have found their skulls cracked and we would have tossed their brains into the sea.”
    I rose and grabbed the sap. Assuming a fighting stance, I balanced it in each hand. “I’ll make sure you get it back, along with your niece.”
    Alik and I made our way to the front door. I slowed as we passed Isadora’s room. The door was cracked, but the lights were off. An invisible wall of her smell was a welcome respite from the odor of