Santorini Caesars (4 page)

Tassos nodded. “After the Junta fell, his parents changed his name to his mother's.”

“Out of shame over his father's past?”

Tassos gestured no. “Not at all. It was a practical decision. No reason to saddle their son with such a notorious name.”

“You mean the military doesn't know about his father?”

Tassos patted her belly. “Darling, of course they know, and that name's not a problem there. His father was a much admired military man—still is, to some—and that makes the Brigadier part of a special clique of multi-generational military types who regard themselves as the true protectors of the nation, no matter who their ancestors may have served along the way.”

“Andreas thinks he may be hiding something about who killed his daughter.”

Tassos nodded. “If he is, my bet would be he plans on taking vengeance himself.”

“That's what Andreas thinks.”

“Then what's the problem? Let the Brigadier take care of this mess. I'm sure he'll find a way to restore capital punishment in Greece for the occasion.”

“At times it's hard for me to remember you're a cop. You sound more like a thug.”

“That's why you work for my squeaky clean buddy Andreas, and sleep with me.” He smiled as he tugged at the sheet in Maggie's grip. “You like us bad boys.”

Maggie held firm to the sheet. “Well, I'm glad you'll be helping us, at any rate.”

“
Us
?” said Tassos.

“Yes. Welcome to the investigation, Cyclades Chief Homicide Investigator Stamatos.”

Tassos tickled Maggie's belly through the sheet. “And by what authority are you assigning me a case?”

“The same authority that's going to keep this sheet up around my neck until you say
yes
.”

“That's not very romantic.”

“As a wise man recently told me, ‘Who needs romance?'”

Tassos frowned a smile. “Hoist by my own petard.”

Maggie said, “But look what you've gained,” and dropped her hands from the sheet.

Chapter Five

When Maggie arrived at work the next morning, Andreas was sitting behind his desk. She stuck her head in the open doorway to his office. “You're here before nine? What happened? Did Lila throw you out of the house?”

Andreas pointed toward the flickering television on the wall. “Obviously you haven't been watching this morning's news.”

“As a matter of fact you're right. What's up?”

“Demonstrations. Everywhere.”

“Before noon?” Maggie stepped inside the doorway.

Andreas waved his hand in the air. “Tell me about it, all across the country. Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Ioannina, Crete. If it has a university, it has a demonstration.”

“Over the murdered girl?”

Andreas nodded. “I'm just waiting for the rock and Molotov cocktail-tossing crowd to move in. International news channels are all over this, so it's hard for me to imagine them staying away.”

“I take that to mean you're not a believer in our minister's claimed ability to keep the violent ones in line.”

“Why, because his party once tossed the rocks he thinks his government gets a lifetime pass on incoming? The only distinction between his crew and the just-as-bad ones they replaced is in the different promises they made that they won't keep. This government is busy stuffing family, friends, and supporters into every position they can come up with, and pouncing on the same capitalist perks they once denounced. Their arrogance has them thinking the voters they care about don't care, but the people notice. Any day now it'll be his government dodging rocks and bottles.” Andreas pointed at the TV. “I just hope today's not that day.”

Tassos walked into the office, carrying a small cardboard carton.

“And to what do I owe the honor of this surprise visit?” said Andreas.

“You don't. My love does.” He kissed Maggie on the cheek.

“He dropped me off and went across the street for croissants and coffee.”

“What's the matter? You're too good for our GADA cafeteria?” said Andreas.

“I'm too old to suffer its indignities.”

“Indignities?”

Tassos put the carton down on Andreas' desk and picked out a cup of coffee. “Yes, think indigestion, but working differently on the system.”

Andreas waved his hand at Tassos. “Okay, I get it. Spare me the details.”

“Shh,” said Maggie, pointing at the television. The screen showed police in full riot gear standing outside Parliament, holding shields raised up against a crowd of hooded men wielding clubs.

“Damn it,” said Tassos. “There should be a fixed perimeter of barricades out there to protect our boys from being encircled and overrun.”

“The new government ordered them all taken down as a sign of ‘trust in the people,'” said Andreas. “Let's just hope the damn fools had the good sense to have backup on site, because if the crowd breaks through and our boys sense they're cut off and their lives are in danger…” Andreas waved a hand off into the air.

Tassos picked up a croissant and sat down on the couch beneath the windows. “I never understood the reasoning behind kids with sticks and stones running up against guys with badges and guns.”

“I told our
malaka
of a minister to be ready with a plan. Once word gets out that Athens is rioting, it's going to spread.”

Maggie nodded toward the television. “It's already happened. There's rock-throwing in Heraklion.”

“Great. Athens and Crete. And it's still breakfast time,” said Tassos.

Andreas' desk phone rang. Maggie picked it up, listened, covered up the mouthpiece, and said, “It's the
malaka
minister.” She handed Andreas the phone.

“Kaldis here.”

“
You're
responsible for all of this. If you hadn't moved that girl's body the protestors would have vented their anger by now. Instead, she's become a martyr for every student demonstrator in Greece.”

“Not sure I get the logic of how allowing rioters to tear up one part of Greece discourages them from tearing up the rest.”

“Kaldis, you're incompetent. I'm bringing you up on charges.”

Andreas counted to five. “So nice to hear you're in control of the situation, Babis. Have a nice day.” He hung up the phone.

Tassos stared at him. “Did you just hang up on the minster of public order?”

“Yes. He said I was responsible for the riots and he was bringing me up on charges, so I figured what was left for me to say?”

Tassos took a bite of the croissant. “You always seem to draw winners for bosses.”

The phone rang and Maggie reached for it.

Andreas put his hand on the receiver. “No need to.” He let it ring three times before picking up. “Kaldis here.”

“How dare you hang up on me!”

“Did you have something else to say to me? I thought you were finished.”

“You're finished, Kaldis.
Finished!
”

“Good, enjoy your day.”

As Andreas dropped the handset toward the receiver he heard Babis' tinny voice cry, “
Wait!
”

Andreas brought the receiver back to his ear. “Yes?”

“You owe it to your government to go on television and apologize to the people for what you've done to bring on these demonstrations.”

Andreas blinked. “You know, Minister, if I thought that actually had a snowball's chance in hell of working, I'd go for it. But all that's going to do is encourage bad guys to go after more cops.”

“I don't care what you think. We're in crisis. Our country is in danger and you must do as I say.”

“Minister, out of respect for your office, I will simply say I think you're out of your mind.”

“How dare you speak that way to me?”

“Well, my first choice was to tell you to go fuck yourself, but I don't want to carry that visual in my mind.”

“Kaldis—”

Andreas raised his voice. “Now you listen. Our country is on the verge of incinerating itself, whether the girl's death or something else triggers it. If you think hanging cops out to dry will change that, think again. We're more polarized as a country than at any time I can remember in my lifetime, and if all you can come up with to deal with this crisis are bullshit political maneuverings intended to protect your party's ass…well, I've already told you what you can do.

“Once you start sacrificing cops, who the hell do you think is going to stand up to the mobs the next time? Your volunteer neighborhood watch groups? Perhaps you'd like to form a protective alliance with Golden Dawn's neo-Nazi party members? And if they're not enough for you, how about calling out the military?

“That should all play very nicely in the international news. Just imagine the headlines, ‘Military junta tanks return to Athens' streets.' Should do wonders for tourism.”

“We've taken all that into account. Everything is controllable if you do as we say and apologize.”

“
We
? Whoever's in your brain trust ought to watch more television news and play less Nintendo. We're way beyond the apology stage. It's head-busting time out there on the streets, and you damn well better do something before someone else gets killed.”

Pause.

“Hello, anybody there?” said Andreas.

“What do you suggest?”

“What's worked before, a massive show of restrained police presence. Let the demonstrators know there's steel beneath the velvet glove that allows them to peacefully protest. And damn it, start arresting the violent wolves out there who are stirring up the sheep to fight. Unless, of course, you don't mind risking seeing the country in flames by tonight.”

“That's not the way this government does things.”

“And how's that been working out for you so far, Babis?”

“I don't need sarcasm.”

“Then let me put it differently. Ask your brain trust to consider how it plans on handling those same protestors once they start targeting your cars and homes with Molotov cocktails.”

“That will never happen.”

“Really? And here I thought you erected those police guard kiosks outside your homes for a reason. Is it just to make your neighbors think you're important?”

“Kaldis—”

“Yeah, yeah, watch the sarcasm.” Andreas shut his eyes, drew in and let out a deep breath. “If you let demonstrators think they can burn and loot as they please, just how long do you think it's going to be before some politically ambitious organizer gets the bright idea of delivering an up close and personal message to the big bad government bosses? Sure sounds like great TV to me.”

Andreas glared at the phone. “And if you wait until they're about to burn down your own house or car before ordering a police crackdown, imagine the message that's going to send to a country that's watched its government not lift a finger before then to stop the gangs?”

Pause.

“Just a thought.”

“I want you at the ministry right away.”

“Not for a news conference.”

“Understood. Bye.”

Andreas put down the phone. “He wants me at the ministry.”

“Why?” said Maggie.

Andreas spread his arms wide. “Maybe to fire me. He never wanted me back heading Special Crimes after the Prime Minister replaced me with him.”

“No surprise there,” said Tassos. “He knows nothing about police work and you do.”

“He's not a big fan of yours either,” said Andreas.

Tassos smiled. “Is it my fault that being nice to all those political prisoners of the Junta back in the day made me more buddy-buddy with the old lions of his party than he is? It didn't take much for me to convince them that your ministry appointment wasn't political but a temporary placeholder for your ailing predecessor forced to resign for health reasons. It took even less convincing to get them to see that if the new minister got to appoint his choice to run Special Crimes, with its mandate to investigate and root out political corruption, he'd turn it into his private Gestapo for going after his political rivals. Since they already knew him to be an unprincipled, bare-knuckle political opportunist, you were plainly a better alternative and so they insisted on your being reappointed chief of the unit as a condition of his becoming and remaining minister of public order.”

“Remind me again,” said Andreas. “Am I supposed to thank you for that or take you off my Christmas card list?”

“If he's so distrusted, why's Babis a minister at all?” said Maggie.

“Because he had a strong political following in the election,” said Tassos. “Enough to justify a ministry appointment in the new government.”

“Thank God he's not as influential as your friends,” she said with a smile.

“At least not so far, my love. But he'll keep trying to screw Andreas every chance he gets.”

“And on that note, it's time for me to head on over to the ministry and see what he has in mind for me this time.”

“Do you need backup?” said Tassos.

Andreas smiled. “That's not a bad idea. Maggie, is Yianni in?”

She nodded.

“Tell him to put on a tie. We're headed to the ministry.”

“A tie?” said Tassos.

Andreas smiled. “Yes, I want to make an impression.”

***

Andreas turned off Kanellopoulou Street into the parking area of the currently named Ministry of Public Order and Citizens Protection. He shut the engine and sat staring at the ministry building. He hadn't been here in quite a while. Babis didn't want him around and that was fine with Andreas. Andreas wondered why he even bothered to stay on the force. He didn't need the grief. And his wife had made it clear to him many times that they didn't need the money.

They lived way above his means as a cop, and his natural instincts regarding the subject of a husband living off his wife's money had made that reality a struggle for him to accept. “Stop being a such a
macho
Greek sexist,” she'd said. “As long as we're happy, who cares whose money it is? Besides, it saves you from all those temptations thrown at cops struggling to support their families.”

Andreas smiled. His domestic situation did spare him all the paperwork associated with reporting attempted bribes, because no one in the know ever bothered trying to corrupt him.
Don't even try, he doesn't need it
, was the word on the street about him.

“Are we just going to sit here?” came a voice from the passenger seat.

Andreas opened his door. “Sorry, Yianni, I was day dreaming.”

“Did it bring you any visions of what we might expect to run into upstairs?”

“All I know is what I told you back in the office. My guess is it has to do with implementing crowd-control measures for the demonstrations. Don't worry, you're just along for moral support.”

“I thought I was backup.”

“Nah, that's only if we'd have to kick down doors. Here we're invited.”

“Thanks for explaining the difference.”

“You're wel—”

“Hey, is that who I think it is heading into the building?”

Andreas jerked his head around to look at the entrance. “Son of a bitch. It's the Brigadier.”

“I doubt it's a coincidence.”

“Yeah, sort of makes you wonder what the minister has in mind.”

Yianni nodded. “So, what do we do now?”

Andreas stared at the entrance. “Same as before, play it by ear.”

“If you say so.”

“With one slight modification.”

“Being?”

“As of now, consider yourself backup.”