Constantinople (Istanbul)
Present day
It was still daylight. The plane was ten minutes from landing in Constantinople and the city came into view. It spread beneath them in all its glory and both Katerina and Aristo held their breath as the familiar monuments jumped up at them seeking their attention and worship, most important and most beautiful amongst them the Church of Ayia Sophia.
Their heart skipped a beat. They landed in the city of dreams in a thin veil of thorny rain. They checked into the Pera Hotel, in the former European Quarter of the City, on the Northern shores of the Golden Horn.
Selected members of the Order of Vlachernae were covertly watching their every step, ready to intervene, if required. Katerina and Aristo found old Dimitris’ house in the shadow of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Fanari district.
But three other men not of the Order were also watching their movements.
Katerina was about to knock on the door when she noticed that it was open. Katerina and Aristo cautiously stepped inside. It was dark inside as all the shutters of the windows were closed and no lights were on. There was only faint light streaming in through the gaps in the shutters.
Aristo tried a switch, but nothing. Upon entering the small sitting room, their eyes, that had started to adjust to the gloom, caught sight of a bundle near the fireplace and they approached for a closer look. It was the lifeless body of an old man. Katerina heard a noise coming from the far corner of the room and turned. She saw two eyes looking back at her. She went closer and peering into the semi-darkness, saw that it was a boy of about ten years old.
‘Aristo, over here.’
A voice broke through the eerie silence. ‘Please don’t hurt me. I’ve done nothing wrong. I won’t say anything. I promise.’
‘We won’t harm you.’ Katerina said gently. They saw the boy’s shoulders starting to relax and the tension dissipating. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Marios.’
‘I am Katerina and this is Aristo.’ They both smiled kindly to the boy and he visibly relaxed. Katerina indicated the body. ‘Marios, is that Dimitris?’
‘Yes.’
‘What happened?’
‘I help him with things. He sent me to get some bread. I came back and I was giving him his change when there was a gentle knock on the door. We had no reason to suspect anything was wrong, so I went to open the door. I hadn’t finished asking them what they wanted, when they pushed their way in and shoved me to the floor. They then went for Dimitris and strangled him.’
Aristo wondered why they had let the boy live as he had seen them and could identify them. He could be a potential witness. Aristo’s unuttered question was answered next.
‘I crawled into the corner behind that chair and tried to stay as still and as quiet as I could. They must’ve forgotten about me. They searched the place, and left annoyed and cursing.’
‘Did they say anything before they killed Dimitris or after?
‘They got Dimitris by his shirt collar and shook him several times, saying “Where is it? Where is it?” Dimitris kept saying “I don’t know what you are talking about”, but they didn’t believe him. Then they got angry and killed him.’
‘Do you have a home, somewhere to go to? Your family must be worried about you.’
‘I live here. Dimitris was my grandfather. He taught me how to survive. I will be fine. Don’t worry about me. Please, no more questions. Listen. He asked me to give you a message. He said he was expecting two people called Aristo and Katerina and that if anything happened to him, I was to find you and tell you. He told me before… before… they…’ and he broke into tears, whimpering like a frightened animal.
Katerina kneeled and wrapping her arms around him, held him close for the tears to subside. He put his head in her bosom and she felt him trembling. When the tears had dried up, he gently gestured for her to release him. And he gave them Dimitris’ message.
Katerina and Aristo tried to absorb what the boy just told them, but they struggled and it was a while before they regained their composure.