Free The Dead Travel Fast by Nick Brown

least appropriate but before he had time to reconsider they were face to face.
    “Been for any more paddles in rivers have we, Mr big shot Athenian?”
    Samarakis laughed at his own joke and as Theodrakis opened his mouth to reply he said,
    “And you’ve been drinking I see, nice that some of our local customs are rubbing off on you.”
    Before he could say more Theodrakis had him by the throat.
    “Listen you fat ignorant pig, I know you’ve been withholding information from me; so what does that make you? Not laughing now, you fat fuck, are you?”
    He could see the surprise in Samarakis eyes as clearly as he could see his spittle flecking the podgy cheeks. Samarakis tried to shake him off and gasped out.
    “Look, people are watching; stop this, it’s doing neither of us any good.”
    And now shocked himself, he dropped his hands letting Samarakis breathe and talk more easily.
    “Listen maybe we’ve not been fair to you, you know, overdone it a bit, but you’ve not helped yourself. We’ll talk later; I’ll fill you in properly but not here, like this, better tomorrow.”
    Theodrakis said nothing but watched as Samarakis shuffledoff noticing that around his neck he wore a charm to ward off the evil eye. The small crowd that had gathered to watch dispersed, and Theodrakis stood for a moment on the steps alone and shamed. He couldn’t bring himself to enter the building, nor could he face going back to his apartment in Vathia. It was at that moment, feeling at his lowest ebb, he remembered someone on his first day recommending a small fishing village on the other side as somewhere to chill. He walked back into town, brought a new shirt and toothbrush, and flagged down a taxi.
    Later, sitting on the balcony of his hotel room overlooking the sea, he considered his options. He’d been dropped off at the hotel by the taxi driver who told him he’d have no trouble getting a room. Normally during the tourist season the place was packed, but not this last couple of years. In fact, the hotel was more than half empty and the man watching football in the empty bar who welcomed him gave him a choice of rooms. He chose the best they had: a sea view with balcony and air conditioning. He lay down on the bed and slipped easily into a deep and mercifully dream free sleep.
    When he awoke, the sun was setting behind the mountain diffusing the room with soft light; he was hungry so after throwing some water over his face he grabbed his jacket and went out. He felt free, no one knew he was here, his problems could wait. The harbour was lined with a scattering of tavernas and bars, all of them half empty except for a scruffy one that was obviously the haunt of the local fishermen. This bar had a large group of men talking loudly clustered round a backgammon table.
    He recognised, to his surprise, the Englishman he’d seen with Andraki that morning amongst this group, and he envied him. He followed the waterfront to the last taverna by the harbour mouth; only one table was taken and the waitress was sitting by the entrance reading. He’d intended, out of some strange instinct of loyalty, to eat at the hotel, but this place appealed to him and he sat at the table nearest to the water and gazed out beyond the harbour to the mountains fringing the bay.
    A slight breeze ruffled the surface of the water and he watched the refracted reflection of the sun on the sea fade as night came in. The waitress looked up from her book and came over to the table.She was slim with short black hair and unusually tall. When she took his order a smile lit up her face, rendering her beautiful. He ordered a beer, followed by another, then feeling hungry asked for the menu. She laughed.
    “There is no menu tonight: we have some octopus stifado or we could make an omelette if you prefer.”
    He opted for the stifado and a jug of white wine. The food was surprisingly good, the wine thin and harsh. But the night air was cool and the stars hung over the bay. He