“I thought you weren’t going to come” he whispered in Greek and turned cautiously to look at the couple who’d walked in right after her and sat at a table nearby. They were young and obviously in love, but Tony had learned long ago things weren’t always exactly what they appeared to be.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” the woman whispered.
“Stay!” Tony raised his voice just a touch and grabbed her hand with his.
The woman twisted uncomfortably and drew her hand back, but remained in her seat.
“I know, you’re scared,” he continued, lowering his voice again and totally aware that the couple next to them glanced at them from time to time.
“Listen,” she said. “I know I agreed to do this, but I have to be sure…I need your reassurance.”
“I’ll do the best I can,” he said, and when he saw that she wasn’t satisfied, he continued, “That’s all I can promise you.”
“You don’t know him,” the woman said. “If he ever found out I talked to you, he would kill me.”
Suddenly, Tony stood up. “Let’s go!” he said and threw some money on the table.
The woman was taken off guard and looked around her petrified. A couple seconds later, she followed him outside without saying another word.
“Are we being followed?”
“No,” he lied. “Just being cautious.”
They walked down the street and around the corner, where Tony had parked his car.
A few minutes later, as they drove by the restaurant, he saw the couple standing outside and the man talking on his cell phone.
I was right, after all, Tony thought, but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. The woman next to him was already scared enough. If she suspected she’d been followed, she would probably not cooperate after all.
***
Manos slammed the phone down on his desk.
“That bitch!” he yelled, making his son jump in his seat.
“What now?” Eric asked cautiously.
“Elizabeth talked to the police!” he barked, not able to control his anger any longer.
“I told you!” his son replied and immediately drew back, seeing the murderous look on his father’s face.
“You stay out of this! I had my reasons for not informing the police earlier. The fact that she’d stolen the money from the safe made her vulnerable and that was very convenient for us.”
“Was that the real reason you didn’t turn her in?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that the reason you didn’t turn her in was that the money was for your bastard!” Eric burst out, not being able to hold back any longer.
“Shut up!” his father warned him in a low, threatening voice. “I told you, this is none of your damn business.”
“It is my business!” Eric retorted. “My mother went through years of hell, knowing that you were having an affair with your secretary. And as if that wasn’t enough, you had to get her pregnant too!” he said accusingly. “I believe that’s why you didn’t report the theft and not that you wanted to be able to blackmail her.”
“Enough!” Manos barked, slamming his hand on the desk. “I’ll deal with you later.” The threat was evident in his voice. “But for now, I have other more important things to attend to,” he concluded, showing his son that the conversation was over.
***
“Michael, talk to me,” Jackie whispered and walked over to sit next to him on the bed. “Like it or not, we’re stranded here with a lunatic out there on the loose. We have to be honest with each other,” she continued, knowing she had no other choice but to trust him, at least for now.
Michael took a deep breath, hesitating for a moment. Then he took her hands in his. “Listen,” he said, “I didn’t lie to you about the house being mine. Constantinos Demiris was my godfather, and in his will he left me sole heir of this property.”
He hesitated for a moment, obviously waiting to see Jackie’s reaction.
She stood still, searching his face. She had already seen the will and knew that this much was true. Constantinos Demiris had left his entire fortune to Michael Apostolou. But Michael hadn’t claimed the inheritance for some reason. Why? Why would someone inheriting that much money not come forward and claim it? She looked at him suspiciously. Something was wrong—something didn’t fit.
She realized that Michael was waiting for her reaction and shifted uncomfortably. This information had changed everything, and now she wasn’t sure how to proceed. Too many questions whirled around in her mind and no answer whatsoever. The fact that Michael hadn’t claimed his inheritance puzzled her since the very first moment she read the will. But there was more to it—more things she couldn’t understand. Why Michael? Why would Constantinos Demiris cut out of his will all his blood relatives and leave everything to Michael? It didn’t make any sense.
Jackie remained silent, trying to decide whether she should trust him. Was he telling the truth? What if the will was a fake one? After all, he did have access to the house and the secret room, and he could have forged a will.
Michael kept silent, watching her cautiously.
“Why didn’t you come out and claim your inheritance?” she asked, searching his face.
“I had to be careful,” he admitted. “There was so much going on.”
“What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously. How much did he know? she wondered.
“I’m sorry about your cousin,” he said suddenly, catching her off guard.
“What?” she asked surprised.
“I know about Maria,” he said in a soft tone of voice.
Jackie got up and walked over to the window. She knew he would check her story, but she’d thought she would have more time to get what she’d come for and leave before he could put things together. But now….
“She was murdered,” she whispered.
“I suspected as much,” he said and approached her from behind.
She felt his hands on her shoulders and felt the need to lean back against his strong chest and close her eyes. She needed his strength, but instead, she pulled away.
“She was murdered for no reason,” she said turning to look at him. “Whoever killed her thought she was the heiress of this property.”
“You’re probably right,” he admitted and shifted uncomfortably.
“A girl was murdered!” she shouted at him, not being able to control her temper any longer. “And all because of you!”
“Jackie!” he said and reached for her, but she ran out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door.
Tears streamed down her face so Jackie could hardly see where she was going. She ran blindly towards the woods, wanting to get as far away from him as she could.
Maria was dead, and Aphrodite was in grave danger and all for nothing. They weren’t even the heiresses. Michael was.
“Jackie!”
She heard him calling after her, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t face reality right now—she couldn’t face him. She needed to get away and think. She kept on running, and entered the woods. Coming around a large tree trunk, she was yanked from behind. She tried to yell, but a man’s hand was firmly on her mouth and his other one holding her by the waist against his chest. She stood there petrified, hearing Michael calling for her.
“Don’t you dare to make a sound or else…” a deep masculine voice whispered in her ear in English with a distinct foreign accent. Jackie froze in her place, having no doubt the threat implied was for real.
They stood still until Michael’s voice got further and further away, and then, she felt the grip loosen. She was getting ready to turn and face whoever it was, when she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and everything went blank.
***
Michael searched everywhere, but Jackie was nowhere to be found. It was hours later, when he returned to the house and called Tony. Things couldn’t get any worse, he thought, but he was dead wrong.
He list
ened to his partner reporting on his conversation with Elizabeth Kristalis and felt his temper rising. Manos will pay for all this, he swore underneath his breath, but for now, his priority was to find Jackie. He gave Tony instructions and asked him to contact Stavros at the Corfu Police Department. He wanted them to search for Jackie.
Stavros Doxiadis—Chief of the Corfu Police Department—was a very close friend of Michael and his partner. They’d served together in the Special Forces and later on had joined the Police Academy together. Along with Peter Costopoulos, the four of them were very close. Peter was the only one who didn’t follow them to the Police Academy after the Special Forces, but decided instead to become a reporter.
Michael had talked to Stavros earlier before coming to the island. But after Jackie ran away from the hotel, Michael visited the Police Department and informed his friend on some more details, and confided his suspicions about Manos to him.
Stavros told Michael he had done some checking on his own and found out some interesting things about Philip Manos and his dealings on the island. He even told him that when some months back, their friend Peter did an article on the Evergreens Resort and the controversial dealings taking place over there, he received some threatening phone calls and notes. He told Michael that Peter had information that a member of the Demiris family as well as their attorney, Nancy Felini, were also involved in those dealings.
Stavros had also provided Michael with a police Jeep and information that led him to believe Jackie had gone to the mansion.
Michael was very concerned about all this information and wondered if there was really a member of the Demiris family involved. And if so, who was it? Was it Stephanos? And how much did Jackie know? Was she also involved?
He had to move and he had to move fast. No matter what—whether she was involved in the Evergreens Resort dealings or not—Jackie had disappeared and he couldn’t jeopardize her life.
Chapter Seven
Jackie woke up with a roaring headache. She felt cold and wet. Her body was aching from lying on something hard. Opening her eyes, she realized she was lying on the ground inside a small cave with her hands tied behind her back.
What happened? Where am I? She uneasily scanned her surroundings. How did she end up here and how long had she been here for?
She remembered someone grabbing her. Her heart started pounding faster and her mouth went dry. Who was he and what did he want from her? Would Michael be able to find her? Her mind was whirling from all that had happened. Too late now, but she wished she’d stayed at the mansion with Michael.
If only I could just stand up and try to make it to the entrance of the cave.
She tried to move, but her entire body was numb. Before she had any time to give it another try, she heard footsteps outside. He’s back. She frantically looked around for any possible way to escape. There seemed to be no other way out except the entrance of the cave. Thinking fast, she decided the only thing she could do was to pretend she was still unconscious. She could probably buy some time to figure a way out of this mess.
She laid still, trying to control her heavy breathing, while cold sweat ran down her spine. She was terrified and it took every last ounce of self control to resist the urge to open her eyes and face her assailant.
She felt someone approaching and she lay as motionless as she could, even though she was trembling uncontrollably inside. She felt him leaning over her and unconsciously clenched her teeth, resisting the urge to scream.
Jackie heard another noise coming from somewhere outside the cave. The noise seemed to draw the assailant’s attention, and Jackie sensed him move away from her.
She remained still for a moment longer and hearing nothing, she let out a deep breath and opened her eyes. She couldn’t see much, as it was getting dark outside so she just laid there praying.
It seemed like hours before she heard something moving again outside. Or maybe it was just minutes. She wasn’t sure anymore. Agony and fear had made her lose track of time. She held her breath, too scared to even breathe.
“Jackie!”
She heard Michael’s voice and her heart skipped a beat.
“Jackie!” Yes, it was him all right and not her imagination playing games with her.
“In here!” she yelled, with as much strength as she could muster, feeling tears of relief run down her face.
A couple seconds later, Michael bent over her and cut the ropes confining her with a knife.
As soon as her arms were free, Jackie threw herself in his arms and started sobbing uncontrollably.
“Is he gone?” she asked in a broken voice.
Michael held her in his arms, caressing her hair and whispering in her ear, trying to calm her. “Yes, he’s gone” he reassured her. “Are you all right?” He pulled back to look at her face in the fading light.
“I’m fine now” she said and reached for him, not wanting to let go.
“Can you walk?” He slid the knife into his boot and helped her to her feet.
“I think so,” she replied and took a few steps, holding onto his arm to prevent herself from sliding once again to the ground. Her knees felt weak and her walk was unsteady, but she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Deep down inside, she was worried that the man might come back, and then they would both be in danger.
Michael squeezed her arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry! Everything is fine.”
“I was so scared,” she admitted and looked at him with eyes wide from fear.
“I’m here now and I’ll never leave you out of my sight again,” he promised and looked at her tenderly. “I’ll always be here for you, Jackie.”
She drew a deep breath, feeling her pulse accelerating and a sizzling sensation spreading all over her body. Everything else seemed to fade away, except Michael’s eyes staring into hers, holding her captive.
***
Michael seemed to be the first to recover from the intensity of the moment. “We need to get back to the mansion” he said, drawing his pistol from its holster. He wanted to get her inside as soon as possible. He didn’t want to scare her, but on the other hand, he wasn’t sure who else might be out there and what exactly he had to face. Being inside would give him an advantage, at least for now.
“But who was he? Did you see him?” she insisted, shivering.
“No,” Michael replied and this was partly the truth. The man had seen Michael approaching and decided to flee. But Michael had gotten a glimpse of him, as he approached the area. He wanted to go after him, but at the moment he was more anxious to find Jackie and make sure she was all right than anything else.
The figure he had seen tonight, though, looked nothing like the previous two intruders. What’s going on? Who were all these people and who was hiding behind them? Was it Manos, as Michael suspected, or was it someone else? What got him even more puzzled was that the well-built, muscular figure he’d seen tonight seemed vaguely familiar. Who was that man and why had he kidnapped Jackie?
“Michael…” he heard her calling and realized that he was squeezing her arm hard.
“I’m sorry” he murmured and immediately loosened his grip on her arm. Then he led her outside the cave and back to the mansion through the woods.
***
Jackie felt safe and relieved walking next to him in the dark. Even though they had no flashlight and there was no moon, Michael seemed to know exactly where he was going. He knows these woods like the back of his hand.
She realized he must have known about the other way out too, but for some reason, he hid it from her. Why? The question burned in her mind, but she decided to leave it for later. Right now, all she needed was a hot bath and a good night’s sleep. She was in no position to think any more. She was exhausted physically and above all emotionally. This whole experience had been an emotional rollercoaster and she couldn’t wait for everything to end.
Jackie was sure Michael kept secrets from her. No matter what though, she needed his help. She was in way ov
er her head. This was a very dangerous situation, not to mention the fact she was in a foreign country, a stranger among strangers. Michael was her only contact and she needed to stay close to him, at least for now.
***
Manos paced up and down his office, fuming. He had been waiting on Roussos for the last couple of hours. Where the hell is he? What if something went wrong?
A knock on the door made him stop and spin around to face it. “Come in!”
Roussos stepped inside.
“Where the hell have you been?” Manos yelled.
“I came as soon as I could,” Roussos replied.
“So, what happened? Did you find them?”
“They weren’t in the attorney’s office. I turned the whole damn place upside down, but found nothing.”
“What?” Manos slammed his fist on his desk. “What do you mean they weren’t there? Where could they be?”
“I have no idea…maybe…”
“Maybe, what?”
“They might be at a bank.”
“A safety deposit box!” Manos exclaimed. “Why didn’t I think of that? All we need to do is find out which bank the attorney was dealing with.”
“Find the bank and then what? Breaking into the attorney’s office is one thing, but robbing a bank?”
“We’ll do what we have to do,” Manos replied giving Roussos a lethal look.
“You’ll have to find someone else for that! Banks aren’t my kind of thing.”
Manos looked at Roussos and smiled approvingly. He wasn’t only good at getting things done, but he had turned out to be a fine actor, as well. That idiot son of his was in for a real treat.
“Get out of here!” he roared. “I’ll take care of everything myself.”
Roussos turned to leave, when he heard Manos’ voice. “And don’t forget Elizabeth. I want this taken care of right away.”
“Yes, sir” Roussos replied and closed the door behind him, uttering a silent curse.
***
Roussos stood for a second outside Manos’ office, just long enough to exchange a look with Eric, who was standing at the door of the dark closet behind Elizabeth’s empty office. Then, he left quietly.