Payne turned his attention to Allison. “Have you ever heard of this place?”
She nodded. “I’ve heard of it. But I don’t know much about it. It’s in northern Greece, far away from Athens. As far as I know, it’s filled with monasteries and nothing else.”
“How far from Constantinople?”
She gave it some thought. “Not far at all. Why?”
“Close enough to move a statue to?”
“It’s much closer than Olympia. So the answer is definitely yes.”
Payne looked at Jones. “What do you think?”
“What do I think? I think there has to be a reason that armed guards are protecting a bunch of monks in the middle of nowhere.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Jarkko raised his hand. “May Jarkko ask question?”
“Go on,” Payne answered.
“Will you need guide to Mount Athos?”
Payne smiled. “Why? Are you offering?”
“Yes, if you are paying. Are you paying?”
He nodded. “Yes, I’d be paying.”
“Then Jarkko is offering! When you want to leave?”
“As soon as possible.”
Jarkko grinned. “We can leave soon. But first, we must drink!”
62
Before boarding Clive’s boat, Dial called Henri Toulon at Interpol for an update on the Spartan situation and also to let him know about his missed meeting with the governor.
“Nick,” Toulon said, “I was just about to call you. We have some news on George Pappas. His truck was found in Leonidi, approximately fifty kilometers away from Spárti.”
“His truck was found? Was he inside?”
“No. It was abandoned next to a wooden pier.”
Dial grimaced. “What’s a pier doing in the middle of the mountains?”
“No, no, no. Leonidi is not in the mountains. It is a small fishing village. His truck was found next to the sea.”
Dial pictured a map of Greece in his head. The Taygetos Mountains were west of Spárti, located in the middle of the Peloponnese. Meanwhile, the Aegean Sea was to the east, completely in the opposite direction. “Why in the world was he over there?”
Toulon answered. “We do not know that he was.”
“Wait. You think his truck was stolen?”
“Oui. It is a possibility.”
“If that’s the case, where are Pappas and his men?”
“We are not sure. Right now, the police in Leonidi are searching for witnesses. They found his truck, so they might be able to find someone who saw the driver.”
Dial nodded. “That’s a start. What else is being done to find him?”
“The Spárti Police went to the village that Pappas was planning to visit first. And they found something strange.”
“What do you mean by strange?”
“No adults. No kids. No clues of any kind. The entire village was empty.”
“Empty? How can the village be empty?”
“I do not know. But no one was there.”
“Shit,” Dial cursed. “The villagers cleared out because they didn’t want to be questioned. Something bad happened up there, and they knew the police would be stopping by.”
Toulon nodded. “Oui. That makes sense.”
“Does Spárti have access to hounds?”
“I do not know.”
“If they do, have them start there. Maybe they’ll pick up a scent. At the very least, maybe they’ll find the villagers hiding in the mountains. That might be just as helpful.”
Toulon made a note. “I will suggest it at once.”
“Before you do, I wanted to give you an update on my meeting with the governor.”
“That is right. How did that go?”
“It didn’t. Turns out Mount Athos is on Byzantine time.”
“You did not know that?”
“Of course I didn’t know that. How the hell was I supposed to know that?”
Toulon shrugged. “The same way I knew that. By being smart.”