“But you are famous,” Dimitri insisted. “My friend Officer Rossolatos sings your praises.”
So that’s how he knows, Nancy thought. Did that also mean Dimitri knew about the passport thefts?
“I don’t know about that. . . .” she hedged, looking him in the eye. Was he testing her? She wasn’t sure if his naive enthusiasm was real or just a cover-up for a cunning master of forgery. As she and Bess said goodbye and left the store, Nancy resolved to find out.
The two girls were nearly a block away when Bess said, “Dimitri seems to be ‘good friends’ with everyone on Mykonos.”
“It is a small island,” Nancy said. “Still, I wish he hadn’t heard that I’m a detective. It’s going to make it harder to pin him down if he’s the passport forger.”
When Nancy and Bess arrived at the hotel, they found George, Kevin, and Mick lounging in the garden terrace overlooking the sea. George’s short brown curls were still damp from her shower, and she was wearing a denim skirt and red, short-sleeved top.
“Ready for our trip?” George asked Bess.
Bess nodded, pulling the wrapped windmill from her tote bag. “Yup. I just want to put this up in our room.”
“Have a seat, Nancy,” Mick said. He patted an empty chair. “We’ll get you some lemonade.”
“No, thanks,” Nancy told him. “I’m going up to the room with Bess to change. And I’m going to need some sunscreen and a hat if we’re going to spend the afternoon on Dragonisi. We’ll meet you back here in fifteen minutes, okay?”
When Nancy reached the top of the white staircase leading to their room, she found that the door was ajar—again! “That’s strange,” she said, turning back to Bess. Cautiously she pushed on the door and peered inside.
The sight before her made Nancy do a double-take. From the back the young girl in their room resembled Bess. She had on Bess’s red straw hat and a matching red bolero jacket. But looking closely, Nancy recognized the skirt and apron of the hotel’s housekeeping staff.
It was Niki Christofouros—dressed in Bess’s clothes!
Chapter Seven
“NIKI,” Nancy said, stepping into the room. “What are you doing?”
The dark-haired maid spun around and gasped. “I—” she stuttered, fingering the hem of the red jacket. “Um, Zoe told me you wanted to see me.”
“Hey, that’s my outfit,” Bess observed, more confused than angry.
“I was just—putting it away,” Niki said, quickly peeling off the jacket.
This time Bess didn’t let Niki off the hook. “Wait a minute,” she said, standing with her hands on her hips. “I know you went through my stuff before, and that same day my passport was stolen.”
Looking squarely at the maid, Nancy added, “Did you take those passports from the safe?”
“No!” Niki insisted, her brown eyes wide. She shook her head vehemently. “I swear it. I admit I have been looking at your things. But I never stole anything.”
“I saw you on the beach yesterday morning—with Dimitri,” Nancy said.
Confusion darkened Niki’s eyes. “Dimitri?”
Nancy nodded. “I saw you hand him an envelope. Did you give him the passports?”
“No!” Niki insisted. “I gave him back the photographs that he took of me because they were awful! I wanted some photographs of myself to send to—” She paused, searching for the right words. “Agencies in the United States, for being a model. My sister tells me I could be famous. But Dimitri made me look . . . plain, like an ordinary person.”
“You wanted pictures for a portfolio?” Bess asked, catching on.
Niki nodded. “I need a port—a portfolio to be a model in America. That is why I was studying those.” She pointed to the dresser, where some of Bess’s fashion magazines were open. “But I did not take anything.”
Nancy looked down at the glossy photos of smiling models. “I don’t understand,” she said. “Fashion magazines are available here. I’ve seen them in shops.”
“But they are European magazines,” Niki explained. “I am interested in what is going on in America. My sister lives there, and I am going to join her as soon as I have saved enough money.”
Bess and Nancy exchanged a look. Nancy could tell that Bess believed Niki’s story. She had to admit, the young girl was convincing.
“If it’ll help your career, why don’t you take these,” Bess said, gathering the magazines and handing them to Niki. “I’m sure you’ll find some new styles that will look great on you.”
“Evcharistó,” Niki said, hugging the magazines to her chest. She started toward the door, then turned back when she realized she was still wearing Bess’s hat. “I almost forgot,” she murmured, smiling. “You have such beautiful clothes.” Quickly she put down the hat, picked up her bucket of cleaning supplies, then ducked out the door.
“A fashion ally!” Bess said, clapping her hands together.
Nancy didn’t say anything right away. After tossing her penlight, sunscreen, and an orange hat into a canvas bag, she looked at Bess and said, “I still want to check out the stuff about her sister.”
“Oh, come on, Nancy,” Bess protested, taking the wrapped package out of her tote bag and placing it on the dresser. “What do your instincts tell you?”
Nancy thought for a moment. “That Niki’s just a nice girl who wants to be a model. And she had the bad luck to get caught snooping around in your things.”
“So you do understand,” Bess said, grinning. “She’s just a slave to fashion—like me.”
Bess and George were in high spirits as they jumped into a cab with Kevin and headed off toward the airport. Kevin had been able to schedule his interview for that afternoon so that the three of them could travel together.
When Nancy met Mick on the terrace after seeing off her friends, her heart did a little leap. He was dressed in black swim trunks and a green T-shirt that hugged his broad, muscular shoulders. “Ready to slay the dragon?” he asked, spinning his baseball cap around on one finger.
“They say the dragon dried up years ago,” Nancy told him.
He tapped her nose gently. “Well, if anyone can find the beast, it’s ace detective Nancy Drew.”
“I’m game,” Nancy said, laughing. “But first I have a few things to straighten out with Zoe.”
They found Zoe in the hotel’s kitchen, supervising the lunch preparations. When Nancy told her about her conversation with the maid, Zoe confirmed that Niki’s sister had recently moved to America. “She used to work right here, in our kitchen.”
Zoe frowned, thinking over the situation. “I didn’t know about Niki’s desire to be a model, but I know she has been planning a trip to America. In fact, she asked my father to keep her passport in the family vault so that she wouldn’t misplace it.”
“Niki already has a passport?” Nancy asked. If Niki was free to travel to the U.S., why would she steal Bess’s passport for her own use?
“Yes,” Zoe replied. “I should have thought of that last night when you asked about her at the party.”
That just about clears Niki, Nancy thought. But she still wanted to pay close attention to Dimitri.
“What a feast!” Nancy exclaimed as she caught sight of the picnic basket that Zoe had prepared for Mick and her.
“Grapes, oranges, cheese, stuffed grape leaves, and pastries,” Mick said, popping a grape into his mouth. “This is great, Zoe. Thanks.”
A middle-aged man appeared at the kitchen door with his pale blue cap in his hand. He said something in Greek to Zoe, who then turned to Mick and Nancy. She introduced the balding, heavyset man as Nikos, the guide she had hired to take them to Dragonisi.
Soon they were off. Nikos didn’t speak much English, Nancy discovered, but she was so wrapped up in the beautiful day that it really didn’t matter. She leaned contentedly against Mick as they cruised along, the boat cutting through the water with ease.
Nancy’s first glimpse of Dragonisi was of a wild, isolated mass of r
ock and sand. Nikos circled the island so that she and Mick could get their bearings. One end of the oblong island seemed to be the hot spot for snorkeling. Haifa dozen boats were anchored offshore, and Nancy saw three different groups of swimmers who seemed to be taking instruction.
“Hey, check that out!” Mick said, pointing to one of the boats bobbing in the water near the beach. “Isn’t that the Sea Star?”
Squinting over the sparkling reflection of sunlight on the water, Nancy was able to make out the distinctive star on the boat’s yellow hull. “That’s it,” she said, scanning the beach. “And there’s Theo.”
No sooner had Nancy spotted him than she saw Theo bounding over to a petite girl with short red hair.
“That’s strange,” Mick said as their boat coursed ahead. “When I asked him to bring us to Dragonisi he turned me down—and yet, there he is.”
Nancy was wondering the same thing as she tied her reddish blond hair into a ponytail and tucked it under her orange baseball cap. “Maybe another group hired him to bring them here,” she said.
After circling Dragonisi, Nancy and Mick asked Nikos to drop them off in a secluded area. They chose a rocky beach on the opposite side of the islet from the groups of divers and made arrangements with Nikos to pick them up at the same spot at four o’clock.
Knowing that they would have to wade ashore, Nancy had worn a swimsuit under her clothes. Now she stuffed her shorts, T-shirt, and sneakers into her tote bag. Holding the tote bag over her head, she lowered herself into the water and waded to the beach. Mick followed, balancing his clothes and the picnic basket. Standing on the uneven stretch of sand broken by craggy rock formations, they waved to Nikos as he sped off.
“I don’t know about you,” Mick said after they found a cozy spot in the shade of a twisted olive tree, “but after that boat ride, I’m starved.”
Nancy glanced at the dark cave openings in the rocky hills. “I guess the caves can wait until after lunch,” she said.
She opened the picnic basket, and they split up the generous portions of fruit and spread the cheese on the crusty bread. While they ate, they discussed the fading trail of the missing passports.
“I think you’re right to keep an eye on Dimitri,” Mick said. “He’s suspicious, all right.”
Nancy sighed. “And he’s our only lead, unfortunately. I wish I had more to go on.”
“This morning I contacted some friends of my father’s at the Australian Embassy in Athens,” Mick told her, licking his fingers after eating a stuffed grape leaf. “They’ll let me know if they hear of similar thefts—or if they come across any information on Bess’s passport.”
Half an hour later Nancy was sure she couldn’t eat another thing.
“Some more grapes?” Mick offered.
“No, thanks.” She was already on her feet and slipping her clothes on over her swimsuit, which had dried in the sun. “I’m dying to explore some of those caves that Theo told us about. This should help light the way,” she said, pulling her penlight out of her tote bag.
“That tiny thing?” Mick teased. He reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a high-powered flashlight. “Zoe left this for us,” he said, pushing his cap back on his head. “When it comes to caves, you don’t want to be left in the dark.”
The first cave they explored had an arched opening with a vaulted rock ceiling high overhead. “It’s like a Gothic cathedral,” Nancy said. A moment later, she laughed as her voice bounced back in an eerie echo.
Inside, they climbed between two huge boulders and found themselves on a narrow path leading into the darkness. “We’d better keep close to each other,” Mick said, turning back to take Nancy’s hand before he continued. Nancy stepped carefully, watching the beam of Mick’s flashlight bounce along the walls ahead.
She nearly ran smack into Mick when he stopped abruptly. “Whoa!” he said, grabbing Nancy by the waist and taking a step back.
“What is it?” she asked. Her eyes followed the beam of light as it moved over the ground in front of them, then dropped off into blackness.
“The path ends—very suddenly,” Mick said, dropping to his knees and shining the light down into the pit. “That must be at least a twenty-foot drop, and there’s water at the bottom.”
Staring into the black hole, Nancy felt her stomach drop. “That was a close call,” she said.
They backed away and retraced their steps to the cave entrance. Nancy didn’t realize how cool the cave was until she stepped out into the bright sunlight. She rubbed her arms and asked brightly, “What next?”
“You’re always ready for the next adventure,” Mick said, shaking his head. “That’s what I like about you, Nancy. Never a dull moment.”
“Come on, Devlin. Don’t tell me you’re ready to give up after one cave?” Nancy teased.
“Oh, not me. But with your curiosity, you’d go wild in Australia. Just think of it, Nan. A whole continent to explore.”
“Sounds great.” Nancy had to admit that the idea of visiting the distant continent appealed to her—especially with Mick to show her around. Things were definitely getting serious between them. She was beginning to think that everything back home—her friends, her work, and even Ned—would never be the same for her again, now that she’d met Mick. “Who knows?” she added. “Maybe we’ll have a chance to see Australia together.”
“You’re softening. That’s a good sign,” Mick said. He leaned close to press a gentle kiss against her lips. “So . . . which cave do you want to tackle next?”
Tugging on her fluorescent orange cap, Nancy surveyed the situation. She could see the openings to three other caves. One was so high that she knew it was out of their reach. Another opening was so narrow that she and Mick would have to crawl through it. She pointed to a square passage that started at the top of a flat, rocky rise. “Let’s try that one.”
Stepping through the wide mouth of the cave, Nancy and Mick found that the walls narrowed into a dark tunnel. It twisted right, then left, and then they saw a faint haze of light. Nancy was surprised to find that the tunnel ended at an airy chamber, lit by pale sunlight filtering in through an opening in the rock high above.
“It’s like a great hall,” she said, gazing around the huge space. At the far end of the chamber a pond of dark water, smooth as glass, stretched to the rough stone wall.
“We’re not the first people here,” Mick commented, switching off the flashlight.
Nancy followed his gaze to a recessed area on their right, where three knapsacks were propped against a boulder. Two sleeping bags were rolled out next to a few orange cushions marked with a star and some Greek letters. Nancy walked over to the boulder, knelt to pick up one cushion, and studied the markings. The first three letters were distinctively Greek, but the last four resembled the English letters aooa.
Standing up, she spotted a hearth and cooking utensils just beyond some boulders. “Someone’s camping here,” she observed. “Maybe we should head back. I feel like I’m intruding on their home.” She backed away and accidentally knocked over a lantern.
Leaning down to pick it up, she noticed an envelope on the ground beside it. The flap was partially open, and Nancy glimpsed the edge of a photograph. She looked more closely—and gasped.
“Passport photos?” She looked over the headshots of a dark-haired man. He seemed to have a scar on his face, but the photos were a little blurred, so she couldn’t be sure. “Check this out,” she said, turning to Mick.
“No time for that,” Mick said urgently. “We have to get out of here—and fast.”
Hearing alarm in his voice, Nancy dropped the envelope and joined Mick. He was standing next to a stack of wooden cartons. She squinted in the dim light to read the word painted on each of the cartons: Explosives.
“Explosives?” Nancy’s heart started pounding. “In here?”
Mick nodded, stepping away from the four cartons. “Enough to blow this place out of the Aegean.”
“It’s defini
tely time to go,” Nancy said.
She turned abruptly toward the cave’s opening, then froze as a man’s voice called loudly from the tunnel beyond the cave opening: “Shara! Shara!” He was answered by a woman, who spoke brusquely.
Nancy felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The campers were returning—and she had a hunch they weren’t going to be happy that she and Mick had discovered their collection of fireworks.
Mick’s eyes darted about the chamber. “Looks as if the way we came in is the only way out.”
“Not good,” Nancy whispered, her nerves twanging. “Mick, if those are the people who own these explosives, they might blow us away!”
Chapter Eight
NANCY TENSED as the man’s voice called again, “Shara!” His voice echoed against the cave walls, so it was hard to tell how far away he was.
“Do you know what he’s saying?” she whispered to Mick.
“It’s Greek to me,” Mick said.
In the tension of the moment Nancy couldn’t appreciate his joke. She shivered as she looked frantically around the cold, damp cave for somewhere to hide.
Mick had moved away from the explosives and was running his hands along the rock wall near the passageway to the tunnel. “See that ledge up there, over the opening to the tunnel?” he asked.
Nancy nodded, spotting the ledge that ran over the doorway, about ten feet from the ground. “But it doesn’t lead anywhere.”
“We can hide up there—if we can find a way to climb up.”
In a flash Nancy was beside him, searching the rock wall for cracks and crevices that they could use as handholds. The voices of the people were getting louder, but still Nancy and Mick hadn’t found a break in the rock.
“Quick, give me a boost,” Nancy said breathlessly. Mick laced his fingers together so that she could step up from his hands. Desperately she scraped at the rock wall overhead until she felt a triangular wedge she could wrap her fingers around. A moment later she pulled herself up onto the ledge.
Moving fast, she scrambled around, locked her foot into a crevice, and stretched out so that she could help Mick up. Her muscles strained and her body flattened against the rock ledge as Mick grasped her hand and hoisted himself up within reach of the ledge. He had to make it up before they were discovered!