Free An Aegean Prophecy by Jeffrey Siger

time spent as a rookie cop in an island prison guarding the junta’s political enemies. He’d taken greatpains to befriend all the politicians under his care as a hedge against Greece’s return to democracy. That made him great friends among both outright fascists and hardcore communists. No doubt the ones on Ikaria fell into the latter category. It was a bastion for communists long ago forced to relocate there from other parts of Greece.
    ‘I have what you want. I’m on a landline, do you want to chance it?’
    ‘What the hell, if every phone line in this country’s tapped, we’re wasting our time trying to save it anyway. Shoot.’
    ‘It was a lot easier than I thought. The person who called the minister of public order to get you assigned to the case didn’t try to hide who he was. Everyone in the office knew.’
    ‘Why don’t I think I’m going to like what’s coming.’
    ‘Oh, it’s not as bad as you think.’ Then Tassos told him the name.
    ‘Great, a former prime minister. How’s that
not
bad news? Who’s possibly going to make him talk? He’s untouchable, another dead end.’
    ‘Are you finished?’
    Andreas slammed his hand on the desk.
    ‘As I was saying, it was easier than I thought. You see, the person who got him to make the call also must have figured that a former prime minister was untouchable, that no one possibly could force him into revealing a confidence, and so he didn’t bother to use an intermediary when asking for the favor. What he didn’t know was that the prime minister owed a few favors of his own.’
    ‘I could kiss you.’
    ‘Don’t pucker up quite yet. The prime minister has, ashe admits, “a weakness for contraband antiquities,” and that’s had me bailing him out of more than one politically sensitive nightmare. But he’s of the kind that doesn’t like being reminded of favors owed. When I told him what I wanted, he raged on about ‘How dare I ask him to betray his word,’ ‘Who did I think I was asking him to violate a confidence,’ etcetera, and he threatened to hang up.’ Tassos paused. ‘But he didn’t.’
    Andreas could almost see a grin through the phone.
    ‘We reached a compromise. He said he couldn’t give me the name because there’d be no way for him to deny he was the source. Instead, he gave me a phone number. Said it’s for the man who wanted you assigned to the case. Our distinguished former prime minister’s exact words were, “Take this number and lose mine.”’
    ‘The next sound you hear will be a kiss—’
    ‘Hate to wreck your style, but I’ve a boat to catch. I checked out the number, it’s in Thessaloniki.’ Thessaloniki was Greece’s second largest city, located in northeast Greece. Tassos quickly read off the number, then repeated it. ‘Bye-bye.’
    ‘Thanks, kiss, kiss.’ Andreas stared at the number, then pressed the intercom. ‘Maggie, come in here, please.’
    She was in before he hung up.
    ‘I need you to find out what you can about this number.’ Andreas held out a piece of paper.
    She didn’t take it. ‘It’s a Thessaloniki number, no further information.’
    He stared at her. ‘You ran it for him, didn’t you?’
    Maggie shrugged. ‘He was on a boat in the middle ofthe Aegean, and we knew you’d want to know. What’s the problem?’
    Andreas put the paper down. ‘No problem. Just wondering why I’m always the last to know what’s going on in my own office.’
    ‘You’re too busy handling the big things.’ She smiled. ‘Besides, we want to try to get you home in time for dinner, don’t we?’ She turned and left.
    Andreas stared at the door. Now the women in his life were teaming up on him. He stood no chance.
    He shut his eyes and sat quietly for several minutes, then picked up the phone and dialed. It rang six times and he was about to—
    ‘Hello.’ It was a formal, resonant, male voice.
    Andreas swallowed. ‘It is I.’
    ‘And whom would that be?’
    ‘The chosen one.’
    ‘I’m