Zoe stood, looking at each of them in turn. “I should probably go see what the police have to say. If anyone wants to come with me, I could use the moral support.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
The police chief was surprised to see Sam and Remi standing behind Zoe. Denéa had gone down to the port to try to find Dimitris, since he wasn’t answering his phone. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought my friends,” Zoe said as Dimitris burst through the door.
“No, no. Come in.” He beckoned them into his small office. “I’m sorry there isn’t more space.”
Zoe and Remi sat in the two chairs on the other side of his desk, while Sam and Dimitris stood behind them, Dimitris with his hands on Zoe’s shoulders.
Zoe took a deep breath, saying, “I heard that Adrian Kyril was arrested. Is that what this is about?”
“Not exactly. I have a few more questions, and some property to return.”
“Property?”
“The book I was telling you about when we spoke the other day.” He handed her a manila envelope from the desk. “We found it in your grandfather’s pocket—with the note I had you look at. Do you have any idea why he’d have a children’s book with him?”
“No.” Zoe opened the envelope, finding a small, faded, blue clothbound book inside. She pulled it out, running her fingers over the cover. “I haven’t seen this in so long . . .”
Sam leaned over her shoulder, unable to read the title, which was printed in Greek letters.
“The Pirates of Poseidon,” she said. “I loved this story when I was little. You could see his face light up when I asked him to read it to me.” She hugged the book to her chest as she looked at the chief. “I can take this?”
“Of course. I’ll need you to sign for it when we’re done. As I said, there are a few more questions I need to ask.” He smiled apologetically. “My colleagues in Athens are handling the majority of the investigation, which makes it . . . a bit difficult to coordinate. The one thing they don’t yet know is exactly why Adrian Kyril killed your grandfather.”
“It’s not enough that he did it?” Zoe said.
“Not always. The more we know, the better our case. Is there anything else that you can think of? Maybe you remember something more about what your grandfather was doing in the days before he was killed? Or why he was at that particular cave?”
“I’m sure he mentioned something about looking for Poseidon’s Trident. And he talked about the cave with the bones . . .”
Dimitris looked at the chief. “That has to be it. There were bones in that cave. We saw them. Maybe—”
“Goat bones,” the chief said. “I assure you that this is not that cave—assuming it even exists.” He focused on Zoe. “Did someone actually make an inquiry about Poseidon’s Trident? Someone else was looking for this so-called treasure?”
“Or someone was going to help him find it. I don’t remember, exactly. So much has happened since then.?
?
The chief leaned back, his chair squeaking. “Try not to take this the wrong way, Zoe. But this is where I’m having trouble with the story. I clearly remember your grandfather claiming to have found Poseidon’s Trident all those years ago. And, if I recall correctly, he was adamant that it wasn’t on Fourni. So why take these people to the Vardia cave?”
She looked down at the book, her eyes welling. “Maybe he was determined to make money off the legend. If someone wanted to see a cave with bones, then why not take them to see a cave with bones?”
“He actually found it?” Remi asked. “Poseidon’s Trident?”
She nodded. “Not that it did any good. After all that trouble, all that time and money, the only thing he brought back was a single coin. And then—” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “When he took it to have it appraised, he found out it was counterfeit. His friends laughed at him.”
The police chief’s dark eyes regarded Zoe with kindness. “You do know that everyone here on Fourni loved Tassos. Why do you think so many people came out to his memorial?”
“I know. But it still hurt him. He tried to tell them that that coin proved the treasure was out there, and that he was going to find it. No one believed him.”
The chief reached for a tissue box on his desk, handing it to her. “Did he ever tell you where it was? The cave?”
“Never. Only that it wasn’t on Fourni.” She pulled a tissue from the box, dabbing it at her eyes. “Is there anything else you need?”
“For now, no. If you could, though, at some time, go through his things. There’s always the chance that we overlooked something.”
She nodded, looked down at the book, then at him. “You said there’s something I need to sign?”