“They
were in the wrong place at the wrong time. If I’m getting closer to the terrorists,
they’re getting closer to me. They are well-organized, well-funded, and have sophisticated
communications equipment. Cell phones are easily monitored. You don’t see me with
one, do you?”
I shook my head no.
“I make calls from public phones when I need to and only when I need to. Max and Irene
have been at that house for a while. It was a matter of time until someone figured
out who they were. I’m sorry they thought killing Max and Irene would solve anything.
But then these are people that blow themselves up to take a lot of other people with
them. They use airplanes as weapons. They’re insane.”
Our meal arrived on that cheery note. I was once again famished. Along with our entrees
the waiter placed before us a salad of tomatoes, green peppers, black olives and cabbage
drizzled with olive oil and feta cheese.
We spent a few moments in silence as we demolished our food. I sighed in contentment.
“Your kebabs okay?” Zach asked.
“Delicious. How about your steak?”
“Perfect.”
I waded in again. “What about my aunt? You can’t possibly believe she fits into this
terrorist thing, do you?”
“She might have inadvertently wedged herself into the smuggling shoe along with the
terrorists. That’s how they finance a lot of their operations. They’ll smuggle anything
from potsherds to F14s. You wouldn’t believe the smuggling market worldwide. It’s
probably double the size of the legitimate market.”
“That’s incredible. You don’t think my aunt’s in any danger, do you? The terrorists
wouldn’t be interested in an eccentric old lady, would they?”
Zach put down his knife and fork. His eyes met mine.
“Claudie, terrorists don’t stop at eccentric old ladies. They stop at nothing. Your
aunt could be anywhere. This is the first time she came up on my radar screen. I have
to follow any lead that might help me crack this case.”
I looked out the window and pushed my sunglasses back on, not wanting him to see me
tear up. I was surprised myself at my reaction. He still thought of my aunt as a suspect.
I had to prove him wrong. In doing that I’d clear myself of the cloud hovering over
me. I willed myself to calm down and think level headed.
I guess it was good I had a partner like him to help me find her. Unfortunately, he
was into something much deadlier than smuggling a few small statues. I didn’t want
to get involved in terrorism. But by association, I already was. I had to depend on
him whether I trusted him or not.
Our being lovers complicated things a bit, didn’t it?
He touched my finger tips with his. “Hey, I’ll help your aunt, if I possibly can.
I promise. Don’t go crying on me.”
“I’m not crying,” I said, still hiding behind the glasses.
“Yeah, then why is your nose red?” He pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket
and handed it to me. It was clean, white and pressed.
I wiped at my nose and eyes. He paid the bill and stood. “C’mon, we’ll try to find
who your aunt was associating with while she was here, including Mr. Bellomo.”
I scooted out of the booth and followed him from the still crowded restaurant, and
thanked the ancient gods for another good meal on Cyprus. I don’t think I had ever
had a bad one.
Zach eased into traffic and headed for old town Pafos where Mrs. Crawford lived, the
same place Yannis and I had visited only two days ago, more like two millennia. I
doubted she would be home. More than likely she would be out with her friends having
lunch and doing the tourist thing. There were tons of Brits on the island. She was
sure to have connections and a multitude of opportunities for socializing.
We decided since I had been there before that I would do the front work. The same
Cypriot woman answered my knock and said no, Mrs. Crawford was with her friends and
no, she
were in the wrong place at the wrong time. If I’m getting closer to the terrorists,
they’re getting closer to me. They are well-organized, well-funded, and have sophisticated
communications equipment. Cell phones are easily monitored. You don’t see me with
one, do you?”
I shook my head no.
“I make calls from public phones when I need to and only when I need to. Max and Irene
have been at that house for a while. It was a matter of time until someone figured
out who they were. I’m sorry they thought killing Max and Irene would solve anything.
But then these are people that blow themselves up to take a lot of other people with
them. They use airplanes as weapons. They’re insane.”
Our meal arrived on that cheery note. I was once again famished. Along with our entrees
the waiter placed before us a salad of tomatoes, green peppers, black olives and cabbage
drizzled with olive oil and feta cheese.
We spent a few moments in silence as we demolished our food. I sighed in contentment.
“Your kebabs okay?” Zach asked.
“Delicious. How about your steak?”
“Perfect.”
I waded in again. “What about my aunt? You can’t possibly believe she fits into this
terrorist thing, do you?”
“She might have inadvertently wedged herself into the smuggling shoe along with the
terrorists. That’s how they finance a lot of their operations. They’ll smuggle anything
from potsherds to F14s. You wouldn’t believe the smuggling market worldwide. It’s
probably double the size of the legitimate market.”
“That’s incredible. You don’t think my aunt’s in any danger, do you? The terrorists
wouldn’t be interested in an eccentric old lady, would they?”
Zach put down his knife and fork. His eyes met mine.
“Claudie, terrorists don’t stop at eccentric old ladies. They stop at nothing. Your
aunt could be anywhere. This is the first time she came up on my radar screen. I have
to follow any lead that might help me crack this case.”
I looked out the window and pushed my sunglasses back on, not wanting him to see me
tear up. I was surprised myself at my reaction. He still thought of my aunt as a suspect.
I had to prove him wrong. In doing that I’d clear myself of the cloud hovering over
me. I willed myself to calm down and think level headed.
I guess it was good I had a partner like him to help me find her. Unfortunately, he
was into something much deadlier than smuggling a few small statues. I didn’t want
to get involved in terrorism. But by association, I already was. I had to depend on
him whether I trusted him or not.
Our being lovers complicated things a bit, didn’t it?
He touched my finger tips with his. “Hey, I’ll help your aunt, if I possibly can.
I promise. Don’t go crying on me.”
“I’m not crying,” I said, still hiding behind the glasses.
“Yeah, then why is your nose red?” He pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket
and handed it to me. It was clean, white and pressed.
I wiped at my nose and eyes. He paid the bill and stood. “C’mon, we’ll try to find
who your aunt was associating with while she was here, including Mr. Bellomo.”
I scooted out of the booth and followed him from the still crowded restaurant, and
thanked the ancient gods for another good meal on Cyprus. I don’t think I had ever
had a bad one.
Zach eased into traffic and headed for old town Pafos where Mrs. Crawford lived, the
same place Yannis and I had visited only two days ago, more like two millennia. I
doubted she would be home. More than likely she would be out with her friends having
lunch and doing the tourist thing. There were tons of Brits on the island. She was
sure to have connections and a multitude of opportunities for socializing.
We decided since I had been there before that I would do the front work. The same
Cypriot woman answered my knock and said no, Mrs. Crawford was with her friends and
no, she
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