“What about the man you picked up?”
“He’s a bellboy at Rizzoli’s hotel. Rizzoli told him he was playing a joke on someone. He gave him a hundred dollars. That’s all the boy knows.”
Inspector Nicolino took a deep breath. “And I don’t suppose anyone knows where Mr. Rizzoli is at this moment?”
“No, sir. I’m afraid not.”
Greece has seven main ports—Thessaloniki, Patras, Volos, Igoumenitsa, Kavala, Iraklion, and Piraeus.
Piraeus lies seven miles southwest of the center of Athens, and it serves not only as the main port of Greece but as one of the major ports of Europe. The port complex consists of four harbors, three of them for pleasure boats and ocean-going vessels. The fourth harbor, Herakles, is reserved for freighters fitted with hatches opening directly onto the quay.
The Thele was lying at anchor at Herakles. It was a huge tanker, and, lying still in the dark harbor, it resembled a giant behemoth ready to pounce.
Tony Rizzoli, accompanied by four men, drove up to the pier. Rizzoli looked up at the huge ship and thought, So it is here. Now let’s see if our friend Demiris is aboard.
He turned to the men with him. “I want two of you to wait here. The other two come with me. See that nobody gets off the ship.”
“Right.”
Rizzoli and two men walked up the gangplank. As they reached the top, a deckhand approached them. “Can I help you?”
“We’re here to see Mr. Demiris.”
“Mr. Demiris is in the owner’s cabin. Is he expecting you?”
So the tip-off was right. Rizzoli smiled. “Yeah. He’s expecting us. What time is the ship sailing?”
“At midnight. I’ll show you the way.”
“Thank you.”
They followed the sailor along the deck until they came to a ladder that led below. The three men trailed him down the ladder and along a narrow passageway, passing half a dozen cabins along the way.
When they arrived at the last cabin, the sailor started to knock. Rizzoli pushed him aside. “We’ll announce ourselves.” He shoved the door open and walked in.
The cabin was larger than Rizzoli had expected. It was furnished with a bed and a couch, a desk, and two easy chairs. Behind the desk sat Constantin Demiris.
When he looked up and saw Rizzoli, Demiris scrambled to his feet. His face paled. “What…what are you doing here?” His voice was a whisper.
“My friends and I decided to pay you a little bon voyage visit, Costa.”
“How did you know I…? I mean…I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I’m sure you weren’t,” Rizzoli said. He turned to the sailor. “Thanks, pal.”
The sailor left.
Rizzoli turned back to Demiris. “Were you planning on taking a trip without saying good-bye to your partner?”
Demiris said quickly, “No. Of course not. I just…I just came to check out some things on the ship. She’s sailing tomorrow morning.” His fingers were trembling.
Rizzoli moved closer to him. When he spoke, his voice was soft. “Costa baby, you made a big mistake. There’s no point in trying to run away, because you have no place to hide. You and I have a deal, remember? Do you know what happens to people who welsh on deals? They die bad—real bad.”
Demiris swallowed. “I…I’d like to talk to you alone.”
Rizzoli turned to his men. “Wait outside.”
When they were gone, Rizzoli sank into an armchair. “I’m very disappointed in you, Costa.”
“I can’t go through with this,” Demiris said. “I’ll give you money—more money than you’ve ever dreamed of.”
“In return for what?”
“For getting off this ship and leaving me alone.” There was desperation in Demiris’s voice. “You can’t do this to me. The government will take my fleet away. I’ll be ruined. Please. I’ll give you anything you want.”
Tony Rizzoli smiled. “I have everything I want. How many tankers do you have? Twenty? Thirty? We’re going to keep them all busy, you and me. All you have to do is add an extra port of call or two.”
“You…you don’t have any idea what you’re doing to me.”
“I guess you should have thought of that before you pulled that little frame-up.” Tony Rizzoli rose to his feet. “You’re going to have a talk with the captain. Tell him we’re going to make an extra stop, off the coast of Florida.”