“We should check out his story, just to be sure,” Nancy said.
Mick looked out over the sea, a serious expression darkening his handsome face. “Do you think that those criminals decided to come after us?” he asked after a moment.
Nancy winced. “I sure hope not. First of all, I’m not sure they’d be able to find us that easily. And if the police are looking for them, my guess is that they’d want to lay low.”
“But it is a possibility,” Bess said, her brow furrowed in concern. “I think we all need to be careful.”
“I don’t intend to mess with those terrorists again,” Nancy assured her friends.
Just then she caught sight of a young man in a black wet suit coming down the path from the hotel. At first she was alarmed, but that feeling faded when she realized it was Theo. He waved and headed right for them.
“Theo’s finally turned up,” Nancy whispered to her friends, “and he’s dressed for the part.”
“Yásou!” Theo called out cheerfully. “I’ve just come back from Dragonisi. I caught a few fish this morning, too.”
“Why are you wearing that?” Zoe snapped at him. She looked as if she didn’t know whether she should attack or defend her friend.
Theo glanced down at the wet suit. “I was snorkeling,” he said, confused.
“You hate snorkeling,” Zoe retorted.
“I changed my mind,” Theo said. He looked from Zoe to the others on the beach. “What’s going on here? Why are you all so serious?”
Jumping to her feet, Zoe went nose-to-nose with Theo. “Nancy and Mick were just attacked by a man with a spear gun—a man in a black wet suit.”
“You must be joking!” he said. Then, realizing that they were serious, he said, “Wait a minute. You don’t think that I—”
Zoe jabbed a finger at his chest. “And you’ve been spending a lot of time on Dragonisi—where three international terrorists were hiding out!”
“What?” Theo looked completely baffled. “What is she talking about?”
Although Nancy wasn’t happy that Zoe had told Theo about the terrorists, she couldn’t let the subject drop now. She told Theo about the letter from Mick’s diplomat friend and about the cushions from the Sea Star that she and Mick had found in the terrorists’ cave.
“I never met those people—I swear it,” he insisted. “A lot of things have disappeared from my boat over the past few weeks. First there were the missing cushions, then fishing equipment and cans of food. I thought the other fishermen were playing tricks on me. Then I realized everything disappeared while I was anchored near Dragonisi.”
“That explains about the orange cushions,” Mick said to Nancy. “And the terrorists probably stole the canned food and fishing stuff, too.”
Nancy still wasn’t convinced. “But what about the red-haired girl?” she asked. Theo blanched at the question, but she didn’t back off. “We saw you with a young woman—a petite girl with red hair who looked just like the female terrorist.”
“She’s not a terrorist!” Frustrated, Theo rubbed his hands over his eyes, then peeked out through his fingers at Zoe. “I have been taking snorkeling lessons from a diving instructor on Dragonisi. A pretty girl, a redhead. But her name is Eleni. And she would never hurt anyone.”
“Then why is Eleni such a big secret?” George asked.
Nancy thought she knew the answer, but she waited for Theo’s reply. Staring at Zoe, he said, “I didn’t want to hurt you. I know you’ve been mad at me for breaking up, but I want to stay friends.”
“I’ve been mad at you for acting so strange!” Zoe protested. “What kind of friend refuses to talk about what he does all day, every day?”
Theo shrugged. “I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”
Zoe rolled her eyes and sighed. “Only if you promise to be honest with me from now on,” she said. “And wipe that sheepish look off your face.”
“I promise,” Theo said, smiling.
Nancy was glad that Zoe was on better terms with her friend, but she knew that Theo couldn’t be ruled out as a suspect yet. His explanations were reasonable, but how could she be sure that he was telling the truth?