“Yes, he would. I can promise you that Mr. Demiris will be happy to give you anything you want.”
“Why? What does he get out of it?”
“Nothing.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Why would Demiris make a deal like that?”
“I’m glad you asked.” Lambrou pressed down the intercom button: “Bring in some coffee, please.” He looked at Tony Rizzoli. “How do you like yours?”
“Er—black, no sugar.”
“Black, no sugar, for Mr. Rizzoli.”
When the coffee had been served and his secretary had left the office, Spyros Lambrou said: “I’m going to tell you a little story, Mr. Rizzoli.”
Tony Rizzoli was watching him, wary. “Shoot.”
“Constantin Demiris is married to my sister. A number of years ago he took on a mistress. Her name was Noelle Page.”
“The actress, right?”
“Yes. She cheated on him with a man named Larry Douglas. Noelle and Douglas went on trial for murdering Douglas’s wife because she wouldn’t give him a divorce. Constantin Demiris hired a lawyer named Napoleon Chotas to defend Noelle.”
“I remember reading something about the trial.”
“There are some things that were not in the newspapers. You see, my dear brother-in-law had no intention of saving his unfaithful mistress’s life. He wanted vengeance. He hired Napoleon Chotas to see that Noelle was convicted. Near the end of the trial, Napoleon Chotas told the defendants he had made a deal with the judges if they pleaded guilty. It was a lie. They pleaded guilty. And they were executed.”
“Maybe this Chotas really thought that…”
“Let me finish, please. The body of Catherine Douglas was never found. The reason it was never found, Mr. Rizzoli, is because she is alive. Constantin Demiris had her hidden away.”
Tony Rizzoli was staring at him. “Wait a minute. Demiris knew she was alive, and he let his mistress and her boyfriend go to their deaths for killing her?”
“Exactly. I’m not sure precisely what the law is, but I am sure that if the facts were to come out, my brother-in-law would spend a good deal of time in prison. At the very least, he would certainly be ruined.”
Tony Rizzoli sat there, thinking about what he had just heard. There was something puzzling him. “Mr. Lambrou, why are you telling me this?”
Spyros Lambrou’s lips moved in a beatific smile. “Because I owe my brother-in-law a favor. I want you to go see him. I have a feeling he’ll be very happy to let you use his ships.”
Chapter Fourteen
There were storms raging in him over which he had no control, a cold center deep within him with no warm memories to dissolve it. They had begun a year ago with his act of revenge against Noelle. He had thought that that had ended it, that the past was buried. It had never occurred to him that there might be repercussions until, unexpectedly, Catherine Alexander had come back into his life. That had necessitated the removal of Frederick Stavros and Napoleon Chotas. They had played a deadly game against him, and he had won. But what surprised Constantin Demiris was how much he had enjoyed the risk, the cutting edge of excitement. Business was fascinating, but it paled compared to the game of life and death. I’m a murderer, Demiris thought. No—not a murderer. An executioner. And instead of being appalled by it, he found it exhilarating.
Constantin Demiris received a weekly report on Catherine Alexander’s activities. So far, everything was working out perfectly. Her social activities were confined to the people she worked with. According to Evelyn, Catherine occasionally went out with Kirk Reynolds. But since Reynolds worked for Demiris, that presented no problem. The poor girl must be desperate, Demiris thought. Reynolds was boring. He could talk about nothing but the law. But that was all to the good. The more desperate Catherine was for companionship, the easier it would be for him. I owe Reynolds a vote of thanks.
Catherine was seeing Kirk Reynolds regularly, and she found herself drawn to him more and more. He was not handsome, but he was certainly attractive. I learned my lesson about handsome with Larry, Catherine thought wryly. The old expression is true: Handsome is as handsome does. Kirk Reynolds was thoughtful and reliable. He’s someone I can count on, Catherine thought. I don’t feel any great burning spark, but I probably never will again. Larry took care of that. I’m mature enough now to settle for a man I respect, who respects me as a companion, someone with whom I can share a nice, sane life without being worried about being thrown off mountaintops, or being buried in dark caves.