Waggoner — Oskar to dispose of with contacts. Coins value 100K

Roufos — sell half remaining coins for H

Mavros — send to Kornaria

Hildegard rocked back on her heels, struggling to fathom what the words meant. Did ‘dispose of’ mean kill, using their grandson’s awful shaven-headed, neo-Nazi friends? Had Rudi gone back on his anti-Nazi principles of decades and considered using the new generation of far-right thugs to get rid of the man who had bled them dry? Could he have seriously considered breaking up his precious collection, even if ‘H’ referred to her? But worst of all was the last line. Alex Mavros had been a good friend to them and was trying to find out what had happened to Rudi. Why had he been planning to send him to the drug-producing village? She and Rudi had never been up there — Germans were not welcome, even benefactors — but, from what she’d understood, going there would be highly dangerous for the investigator, especially after his involvement in the return of the actress’s assistant.

Confused and suddenly feeling very old, Hildegard stood up slowly and went over to the desk. The least she could do was warn Alex Mavros about Kornaria.

Mavros’s first reaction was to reach beneath the driving seat for any other weapons Mikis might have stashed there. All he found was a long spanner. He grabbed it and put his shoulder to the door.

‘Wait! Wait!’ said the closest of the hulking men. ‘We’re on your side. Mr Tsifakis told us to keep a look out for you.’

Mavros ran an eye over them. Now he recognized one of Mikis’s friends, who had been on guard duty outside the clinic when Maria Kondos was there.

‘Shit, you gave me a fright!’

‘Sorry about that. The old man must have screwed up your number.’

Mavros gave him the correct number. ‘And you are?’

‘Yannis.’ He looked over his shoulder. ‘And these are Christos and the Pig.’

The latter was marginally larger than his companions, but certainly not overweight. ‘You should see his flat,’ Yannis explained, with a laugh. He looked into the Jeep. ‘Who are these lovely ladies?’

Cara smiled sweetly at him, while Niki ratcheted up her stare to high frost.

‘Anyway,’ Yannis continued, ‘what can we do for you? Mr Tsifakis doesn’t want anything nasty to happen.’

‘That’s comforting. Have you got any weapons?’

‘What do you need?’

Mavros smiled. ‘In the middle of the city, nothing. Later, who knows?’

‘Put it this way,’ said the big man. ‘This pickup has enough arms to keep a small army at bay.’

‘Let’s hope we don’t need them,’ Mavros said, thinking of the mountain men who were on his case and realizing how small that hope was. ‘Listen, Yanni, give me your phone numbers and I’ll call you if I need you.’

The Cretan looked in at the women again. ‘You sure you don’t want us to cover your. . backsides?’

‘Ha. Not right now.’ Mavros input the numbers into his mobile’s memory.

‘OK, happy travels,’ Yannis said, waving into the Jeep.

‘Who were those madmen?’ Niki asked, when they set off again.

‘Our guardian angels,’ Mavros said. ‘But we don’t need them now. It’s time for an early dinner.’ He headed into the centre of Chania, keeping an eye on his mirror. There were no macho-man pickups to be seen.

Then his phone rang. He listened to what Hildegard Kersten had to say, struggling to make sense of it. ‘You mean your husband was doing business with Roufos?’

‘At least thinking about it. Alex, you must be very careful. Whatever you do, stay away from Kornaria.’

‘I’m working on that,’ he replied, not telling her that he was sure he’d have to go to the village to get to the bottom of Maria Kondos’s kidnapping and of her husband’s death.

‘If you see Oskar, tell him to stay away from Waggoner. And to come and visit me. I have things to tell him.’

Mavros agreed to that and cut the connection. If he saw Oskar, it would probably be in the company of numerous unfriendly skinheads, and he had the feeling the Kerstens’ grandson would not have forgotten his humiliation in the orange groves.

Then his phone rang again. It was Haris Tsifakis.

‘I’ve found Roufos.’

‘Wow, that was quick.’

‘You’d better get over there as soon as you can. My contact says he’s been looking jumpy.’

‘I’ll bet he has.’

‘Do you want Mikis’s friends to come along?’

‘No, thanks. I can handle that sleazy beanpole.’

‘What about your women?’

Mavros hoped Niki didn’t hear that characterization of her and Cara. ‘You think I can get rid of them? Besides, they might distract the tosser.’

The Cretan laughed. ‘Make sure they don’t distract you, my friend.’

Mavros glanced at them. Cara was looking out of the side window, while Niki’s eyes were fixed straight ahead. For a second, he wished the Jeep was fitted with passenger ejector seats.

TWENTY-ONE

Mavros parked the Jeep as close as he could to the harbour and led the women down a narrow street.

‘Nice,’ Niki said. ‘I wish Athens was so quiet.’

Mavros glanced at her. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying the surroundings — old walls, balconies, flourishing plants cascading to the paving stones. A kid on a bike came past like a rocket, honking his horn. Even that only raised a smile from her. For the umpteenth time, he was amazed how quickly her mood could swing.

They came out on the restaurant-lined front with the dome at the eastern end and Cara drew her cap down lower. There weren’t many people around in the early evening, the sun sinking slowly and casting its reddening light on the island of Ayii Theodhori.

‘That’s the bastion of St Nicholas,’ the actress said, pointing to the low fortification on the long jetty that almost enclosed the harbour. The lighthouse that was a well-known local feature was at its end. ‘Venetian, but much of the other building work was carried out during the Ottoman Empire.’

Niki looked at Cara in surprise. ‘You’ve been reading up on the city.’

The actress laughed and stuck her chest out. ‘Not just a pretty pair of peaks.’

Mavros had to bite his tongue. ‘Erm, right. Why don’t you two go to that cafe while I talk to Roufos?’

‘No,’ they said, laughing at their unintentionally perfect timing.

‘Forget it, Alex,’ Niki said. ‘I’ve come all the way to Athens to see you. Besides, we can guarantee your safety.’

‘Exactly,’ Cara agreed. ‘He’s hardly going to hold a Hollywood star at gunpoint, is he?’

‘Probably not,’ Mavros admitted, though he didn’t discount that Roufos might have other scumbags on hand to do his dirty work. ‘All right. But at the first sign of trouble, you do exactly what I say.’

The women looked at him dubiously and then nodded.

Mavros led them to the five-star Kydhonia Palace hotel at the far end of the front. It had been formed by knocking together several Venetian buildings that had escaped the German bombing and had a distinct look of opulence. The sunshade stands were painted gold and the chairs were several leagues above the arse-racking furniture of a kafeneion.

A young woman in a figure-hugging dress that was someone’s idea of a Minoan priestess — without the breasts entirely bare — gave them a wide smile.

‘We’re here to see Mr Tryfon Roufos,’ Mavros said, carefully keeping his eyes level with her face, as Niki was right behind him.

‘Certainly, I’ll let him know, Mr. .?’

Mavros gave what he hoped was a complicity-inducing smile. ‘The thing is, these ladies are a surprise for his birthday. Do you think you could send us up unannounced?’

The receptionist gave Cara and Niki the once-over and then turned back to Mavros. ‘I understand. Mr Roufos often has. . lady friends.’ She gave a moue of distaste. ‘It’s suite 513 on the top floor.’

Mavros nodded his thanks and headed for the stairs.