The Forty Column Castle (24 page)

“How long have you been out there?”

“Since the police arrived. I came running as soon as I found out that you had re-surfaced
here, and they were on their way to question you.”

He looked none the worse was the infuriating part. Like he had just come from the
library or something. He had on a new outfit, pressed black slacks, collarless gray
silk shirt, hair neatly combed. He continued to sip his brandy and study me.

“You’re gorgeous, has anyone ever told you that?”

“Yes, Yannis did a few minutes ago.”

“I thought I was the only one who noticed.”

“Not according to him.” I wanted to rub something gooey and sticky into his smug face.

He cupped my neck and smoothed his thumb over my cheek. “She didn’t hurt you, did
she?”

I shook my head. “I gave her a headache though. The driver, too.”

“Well done, Princess.” He ran his hand down my back and up under my shirt. “Have anything
on under here?”

“Stop that.” I socked his arm as hard as I could. “If you think you’re going to get
off easy, you aren’t. Where did you disappear to?”

“Claudie, I felt certain you would be safe in the hotel room. Besides, I had to find
the American couple. I found him, but unfortunately she found you. I’m truly sorry.”

He scooted his chair over so he could put his arm around my shoulders and pull me
into him.

I resisted his embrace and pulled away. “You’re a cop, not a criminal. Why did you
play that infernal game with me of suspecting I was a criminal when it was all a game,
and you knew it?”

He shrugged. “It wasn’t a game at first. I did suspect you, because I didn’t know
who had planted the antiquities on your aunt, or if in fact she was involved. So I
tried to draw you out, hoping, of course, that you weren’t involved. Besides, I have
this gorgeous creature who comes to me, damsel in distress, and you think I’m going
to let her out of my sight?”

“Likely story. I’m not buying it. You nearly got us both killed at your so-called
safe house. What about Max and Irene? That was carrying things a bit far, don’t you
think?”

With the tip of his finger he moved my chin so I had to look into his eyes. “I told
you that wasn’t in the plan. The whole business was unfortunate. You fitted into my
charade, and we started to enjoy each other.” He grinned into my eyes. “Tell me you
didn’t relish our interludes.”

I huffed and looked away. I hated giving him the satisfaction of saying yes. “What
happens to the American couple?”

“He’s still on the loose. She’s in police custody, thanks to you. They found her in
the tombs. I need him to lead me to the jewels. Tonight I hope to catch him in the
act, and we’ll have all of them, if everything goes according to plan. With their
demise the terrorist cell’s source of funding will be gone and their operation, too.”

Moon glow lit his face. Maybe it was the silvery play of moonbeams around us that
threatened to weave me back into his spell. I was relieved to see him in one piece.

He checked his watch. “I’ve got to go. I wanted to make sure you were all right. Wait
for me here, will you, so I know you’re safe?”

I avoided his eyes, and he moved his face into my line of vision. “Promise me, you’ll
wait here. I’ll come back for you in the morning. Okay?”

I had to look into those deep brown eyes, and I searched the darkness and depth of
them.

“Okay,” I said in a small voice.

He left through the kitchen and went out the back door. As he crossed in front of
the window, I saw he was carrying the duffle bag. He couldn’t be going that far I
reasoned, since he was walking and carrying a heavy satchel. Of course, I wasn’t going
to allow him go without me. Not after all we had been though.

I followed him along several back streets through a Cypriot neighborhood lined with
small, neat, adobe houses and shadowed by orange and lemon trees. He was headed in
the direction of the ruins at the west end of Pafos. He ended up at the beach parking
lot where we had parked and enjoyed each other in the back seat of the green Honda
SUV. The blue Honda SUV was the sole vehicle parked there. I took cover behind the
rocks on the beach. He changed clothes, put on the photographer’s vest and loaded
it from the duffle bag, then took off across the rocky terrain. I followed at a distance,
using the light of the moon to keep track of where he was going and praying the rocky
goat path would not be my undoing. The surf pounded to the west. I hoped the sound
of it would cover my footsteps. The only breeze was off the sea, for which I was grateful.

His destination was the Forty Column Castle. The moon shone on the ruined castle,
the arches shadowed and menacing. I lost him as he rounded one of the massive walls
outside the main entrance to the castle. I hurried so not to lose sight of him. As
I rounded the wall, an arm snaked out and covered my mouth and crushed me against
him. I was forced into a crouch, and a familiar voice said, “You promised to stay
at Yannis’s house and wait for me.”

I couldn’t say anything because he had his hand clamped hard over my mouth. I didn’t
make a squeak. He hauled me to the shelter of a mound of rubble from the excavation.
I could tell by his ungentle manner of dragging me that he was mad.

“Why can’t you do what you promised,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

“You need help.”

“I have help.” He blew out a breath of frustration.

I was almost sorry I had come. Almost.

“Look, there’s no time now for talk. I don’t want to blow this sting operation. I’ve
worked a long time to nail this bunch. Don’t blow this for me.”

I shook my head, not daring to talk.

“Here.” He pulled a small pistol from his vest pocket.”Take this. I’ve got to go closer
and watch the entrance. Stay right behind me and don’t make a sound.”

He led the way to another pile of rubble where we had a good view of the entrance.
I crouched beside him, and we watched for signs of activity. The moon slowly traveled
across the sky. The shadows changed shapes in the ruins but no one showed.

“Do you really think they buried the jewels in the ruins?” I whispered.

“Yes, because we got the captured Maruti driver to talk. This is where the American
couple is to meet the terrorists tonight. The jewels are hidden here. The husband
is to show up and retrieve the jewels. Then we arrest him when he passes the jewels
to the terrorists.”

My nerves were humming, and it wasn’t the cold since the night was mild. It was extreme
fear. Zach was sitting with his loaded gun and vest filled with bullets and heaven
knows what else. All I could think of was how scared I was. My small pistol had the
safety on. Just thinking about the damage it could inflict made my stomach heave.

My eyes played tricks on me. I saw movement where none was. A small animal, maybe
a desert rat, skittered in the bushes to the back of us. I pressed closer to Zach.
I could feel the tense alert of his body in the hardness of his muscles. Mine were
starting to cramp. I shifted position to take the strain off my back.

He put his finger to his lips and pointed to a spot at the far side of the ruins near
the corner where an arch met the massive wall. A shadow moved stealthily, then quicker
and with purpose.

We hunkered down lower in unconscious reaction. My breathing was so loud I thought
the shadow would hear. But the shadow seemed intent upon its mission and scurried
along the front of the castle and ducked through the first arch and into the interior.

“There has to be a second person,” Zach said so low I could barely make out his words.
Sure enough, another shadow materialized from the same corner and hurried along the
same route. Both figures were black and hooded.

Zach had explained the strategy. Wait until they had located and retrieved the jewels
then stop them one way or another. But don’t let them leave the ruins of the castle.

“I’m counting on them leading us to the spot where they hid the jewels. If they don’t,
we’ll have to dig up the entire complex up, and the Department of Antiquities would
frown on that. I’m going closer.” He reached into one of his vest pockets and pulled
out my cell phone. “Here, I’ve been meaning to give this back to you. If something
goes awry or you hear gun fire, run away as fast as you can and call for help.”

“Right.” Running was within my range of capabilities.

I watched him do a running crouch closer to the outer wall of the ruin.

The two shadows had disappeared into the interior court of the castle. The ground
inside was uneven packed dirt. There were drains inside that had been excavated but
mostly hewn rock abounded. I couldn’t imagine anyone would bury treasure where it
wouldn’t be obvious it had been recently dug unless they had moved rocks from the
walls or drain and replaced them.

I was a lot happier now that my supporting role was on the side of the good guys and
that Zachariah Lamont had turned out to be NPYD instead of a felon.

Pop. Pop. The sound was so soft, I almost didn’t hear it. But my mind knew. Silencer.
Those were the popping sounds that a gun with a silencer makes. What if I were wrong?
I nibbled on my nails in indecision. If I called for help now, and Zach hadn’t caught
the thieves red handed, then I’d have blown the whole sting.

What to do? I wasn’t going to run away. Creep closer, I decided, to see if I could
see anything. I would have to peer around a good twenty foot wall or climb up over
it which meant scaling the loose rubble at the top. But creep closer I did, my heart
in my mouth. My creeping consisted of a crab walk and silent cursing as my toes hit
unseen rocks and plants with stickers that I never recalled seeing during the daylight
hours. I heard nothing more after those two pops. I could not recall Zach saying he
had a silencer for his gun.

I made it to the outer wall of the castle and listened. The night was quiet. We were
so close to the harbor I could hear the lines clinking against the masts of the sail
boats at anchor. No people sounds emanated from inside the roofless castle.

I took several deep breaths to try to quiet my inner trembling. It didn’t help. Everything
was chattering -- my teeth, hands, legs, gut, breath. I was a veritable bowl of quivering
jelly. I knew if I had to use a gun it would jump right out of my hand.

I leaned close to the wall. The stones still retained the heat of day. The warmth
helped calm me till my nerves were humming instead of jangling. I had to go on. I
had to find out what those pops were. I inched around the opening and ducked into
the niche in the wall to the entrance. From there I was able to view into the interior
court but saw only more walls made of blocks of hewn rock.

I hesitated. Maybe I should go back, get clear of the ruins and call. What if Zach
had been shot? I kept going and cleared another one of the interior walls which were
labyrinthine in nature. I pressed close to the wall, trying to stay in the shadows.
I heard another pop and almost in the same instant a bullet ricocheted off the wall
about three inches from my nose. I ducked and streaked back toward the entrance of
the castle. But I wasn’t alone. The pounding of footsteps behind were as loud as the
beating of my heart. I hurtled through the entrance and smacked into the waiting arms
of a midget. It wasn’t really a midget, but he was small and our grunts were about
the same volume. I walloped him with my pistol before he had time to recover which
bought me enough time to get away from the little guy but not from the hand that grabbed
my shoulder and spun me around.

“Stop,” said the hooded figure.

The gleam of the gun barrel gave it a silver moon hue. It was pointed at my face.
It had a big, long silencer fitted onto the end.

“Drop your gun.”

I stopped in mid-struggle and dropped it. When the gun pointed at you is bigger than
yours, drop it. Or at least I did. It was an automatic reaction. No thought involved.

“Walk.” The arm gripping my shoulder pulled me back into the interior of the castle,
none too gently might I add, and not where I wanted to go. The voice was rough and
hoarse, like the man who owned it had been shouting all day. This was the part of
the caper in which I had not wanted to get involved. But I wouldn’t listen to Zach,
would I?

We wound our way into the smaller interior rooms that had probably been used for milling
and baking. Unfortunately, I recognized the path. We were on our way to the six latrines
that had been excavated. They had hidden the jewels in the latrines. Clever.

Two shadowed figures worked at the end of the main drain, which emptied into the exterior
ditch that encircled the castle, where the remains of a man were found during the
excavation. The unfortunate gent had tried to escape the falling debris of the earthquake
in 1223 by crawling down through the latrines to the drain. But the drain exit was
blocked by narrow slits that only allowed liquid waste to dribble outward into the
ditch. The poor man had died in place with a blue glass bottle in hand. In the exact
spot where the excavators had found the skeletal remains of the hapless earthquake
victim, two men were digging at the stones blocks of the drain.

To the side against the wall Zach lay face down in a pool of blood. My heart hit the
stone floor of the latrines. He was dead.

My hooded captor shoved me. I hit the wall and sank onto my knees. I wished I had
called for help. I could have wished a lot of things in that instant, but my most
fervent wish was answered. In the dim light I saw the rise and fall of Zachariah Lamont’s
back. He was still breathing.

I counted four thieves including the little guy lying outside. None seemed interested
in me. It appeared that the stones of the latrine were being a bit testy about being
moved even though they must have been before, if the jewels lay hidden beneath.

Something occurred to me, as I inched as close as possible to Zach’s prone body and
clasped his ankle for comfort. His ankle was warm and that cheered my quaking little
heart. What occurred to me sitting there watching the three thieves curse and bang
their chisels against the reluctant stone was that Zach said this was a sting operation.
That meant there had to be more good guys somewhere. My bet was that Helena was waiting
in the wings. I tried hard not to look around. But my head wanted to swivel all over,
trying to see if I could spot her.