“Tomorrow morning. You can speak with her then,” Zoe relented. “I’ll arrange it.” Then she reached out and squeezed Nancy’s hand. “For now, please just try to enjoy the party. All this talk of crime is not good on such a lovely night.”
With that, Zoe turned back to the crowd at the table and announced, “Please help yourself to the food. The goat has been roasting for hours, and it’s been cooked to perfection.”
Bess grinned. “I thought I smelled something delic—” She paused, her blue eyes concerned. “Did you say goat?”
“Not your everyday River Heights fare,” George said, heading over to the buffet table. “But it does smell great.”
As Nancy and the others stood in line for food, the smoke of the charbroiled meat made Nancy’s mouth water. In addition to the grilled goat meat, there was chicken stewed in tomato sauce, potatoes, rice, and the classic Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, onions, and feta cheese. Before long the teenagers were back at their table, their plates heaped with food.
“You know, Theo,” George said, dipping a hunk of crusty bread into the olive oil from her salad, “we’re relying on you to teach us some authentic Greek dances.”
Bess looked over at the dance floor, where a few guests were already moving in time to the soft music. The trio of musicians was made up of a violinist, a clarinetist, and a man who played an instrument that resembled bagpipes. “I’d love to learn, but the steps look awfully complicated.”
“It’s not so difficult. A good dancer listens to the heart,” Theo said, his eyes twinkling. “I am sure you can handle that, Bess.”
“I’ll give it my best shot,” Bess said.
As soon as everyone finished eating, Zoe brought the group over to introduce them to her cousin Helena, and Helena’s fiancé, Petros. While Bess and George were talking with the bride-to-be, Nancy stole away for a word with Zoe’s father. She asked if he had heard from the police about Bess’s passport, but he didn’t have any news.
Finally Nancy joined her friends on the dance floor. For the moment she was at a dead end. She decided that she might as well take Zoe’s advice and have a good time.
Zoe was walking the group through the steps of the Stae Tria, one of the most popular Greek dances. With their hands on one another’s shoulders, all the dancers formed a wide circle. The band was playing a slow song, so it was easier to follow along at first.
“You’re doing well,” Zoe said as George kicked at the air.
“One, two, three, kick, kick,” Bess counted aloud, laughing when she missed a step.
Nancy counted along, trying to get the hang of the dance. She couldn’t help laughing, too. The lively beat of the music filled the air until almost all the guests joined the circle. Theo added some dramatic effects, leaping through the air and slapping his feet on the floor.
Gradually Nancy fell into the rhythm of the dance. The complicated steps seemed more and more natural as Mick cheered her on. To her amazement, one man danced among the crowd with a bottle balanced on his head. Two other men danced around with dinner plates, which they smashed against a wall with bravado. The song ended, and applause and cheers erupted from the crowd.
“The plate-breaking is a Greek custom called spasimo,” Zoe explained. “We try to keep it at a minimum, or else we’ll run out of dishes!”
“I’ll bet,” Nancy said, laughing.
The dancers were applauding the band when Nancy noticed a sudden movement in the shadows beyond the trellis at the edge of the lawn. She squinted into the darkness, and suddenly she saw a figure.
“Is something wrong?” Mick asked, noticing the expression on her face.
But before Nancy could answer, the stranger stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, with wavy brown hair and a muscular physique. Moving onto the candlelit dance floor, he tapped George on the shoulder.
George spun around, and her mouth fell open.
“Kevin!”
Chapter Six
Nancy could hardly believe it. It was Kevin Davis, George’s boyfriend!