She nodded, her attention back on Nikos speaking to the officer. “I hope you’re right.”
So did he.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The next couple of days were filled with interviews with the port police and the federal police, who, along with Rube, assured Sam that the safest place he or Remi could be during the investigation was right there on Fourni.
Sam, knowing Remi was worried, mentioned what the police said as he, Remi, and Nikos walked up the hill to Zoe’s house.
Remi was quiet as they started up the steep stairs leading to the winding path. Finally, she looked over at Sam. “I still think we’d be safer on one of the bigger islands. Like Samos, where there’s a larger police force.”
“The Kyrils would be stupid to try anything here,” he replied, pointing to the police boats in the port. “With the federal police here, too, I’d say it’s the safest place to be.”
“He’s right,” Nikos said. “As small as this island is, we’ll be the first to notice strangers. Everyone here knows you. They’ll keep you safe. On Samos . . . ?” The older man shrugged. “Too many tourists. How will you know who belongs and who doesn’t?”
When they arrived at Zoe’s house, Dimitris came out to meet them. He’d been helping her notify her extended family and friends on the neighboring islands of
the upcoming funeral.
“How’s Zoe doing?” Sam asked.
“Okay, for now. Denéa’s staying here with her until her cousin gets in tomorrow morning. At least we finished the last of the calls to notify everyone about the funeral.” He gave a tired smile. “I didn’t think it would be this hard.”
Nikos put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “As much time as you and Zoe spent together as children, it’s no wonder. Tassos practically raised you along with her.”
Dimitris nodded, then led them inside. Zoe, her eyes red, the circles beneath dark, brightened when she saw them. Denéa and Manos stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a few dishes that the neighbors had prepared and dropped off. They sat down at the table, Zoe picking at her food, the others eating quietly.
Nikos watched his son pouring more wine into his glass. “What you need is a break. All of you.” He gave Zoe a kind smile. “If Tassos were here, he’d agree with me. We declare tomorrow a day of rest. We go out on the boat. Do a little fishing, a little diving. We toast your grandfather on the water. If the police want to talk to us, they can wait.”
She looked up at him, quiet for several moments, then nodded. “I think you’re right. It’s exactly what my grandfather would want.”
Dimitris turned a grateful look toward his father. “What time should we meet?”
“Let’s all have breakfast at Skavos’s café at nine, then head out.”
With plans finalized, they finished their dinner, cleared the dishes, then sat around the table, listening to Manos as he told them a story about the time Tassos caught him and Dimitris, both about ten at the time, throwing eggs down the stone stairs not too far from the house. “We hadn’t even gotten through an entire dozen,” he said. “But he handed us a bucket of water and a couple of rags, and made us wash every step, all the way down to the port.”
Remi’s brows rose. “Are you talking about the stairs we took to get here? There have to be nearly a hundred of them.”
“Those stairs, yes,” Manos replied. “And it felt like there were a million.”
Dimitris grinned at Zoe, who was laughing. “There was a hole in the bucket,” he said. “The water lasted us about ten steps before we’d have to go back up, get more, then lug it down to the next level.”
Zoe, wiping tears from her eyes, laughed even more. “I remember him watching you through the window. You realize he gave you that bucket on purpose? He wanted to teach you both a lesson.”
“I knew it,” Dimitris said. “I always told Manos he’d sabotaged us.”
“It worked,” Manos said. “We never threw another egg.”
After a few more tales, Sam and Remi hugged Zoe good night, then started the walk back. When they reached the stone stairs, looking down the several flights to the street below, they both laughed. “I think I would have liked Tassos,” Sam said.
“Me too.”
They stood there a few moments, the water shimmering with the lights reflecting from the port, while above them, stars sparkled in an ink-black sky. Remi sighed. “It really is beautiful here.”
He looked over at her. “Buy you a drink, Remi Longstreet?”
She linked her arm through his. “There’s nothing I’d like better.”