My mind was clear. There were no more choices. I knew exactly what to do. I got in the van, opened the throttle and pushed on straight back up the island and the mountain to Maria. She'd help me find the others.
It was a po-faced aunt that met me in the hall. 'Good God, Godfrey! Where the hell have you been? I've been worried sick - and Aristethes isn't exactly chuffed either. He loves that van.' Before I could begin to explain, she gave me a hug and continued the sermon on thoughtlessness. 'We didn't know what to think. No one knew where you were. How could you disappear without a word like that? But listen to me my lad, don't you ever do that again. You're not too big to spank you know. Are you sure you're alright?'
'Auntie I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere until I finish what my father began.'
'You should have left a message - what do you mean you're not going anywhere? Anyway, shut up a minute. I'd like you to meet our friend Irene.'
A calm, handsome lady offered me her hand, 'Hello Godfrey. At last we meet. May I say I loved your father, Pantelis. For most of my life he was a constant friend and I was deeply moved when Agni came to my house. We were able to talk and free a lot of pent up emotion so please don't worry, I'll take care of her.'
'Thanks Irene. She needs all the help she can get,' we laughed. 'Did you go to the club, Auntie?'
'Before I came back, I went to Pani's dressing room. I had to. I don't know what I expected to find but I had to go. The lights, the pictures, the coat stand, his sad old shoes, everything was OK until I saw a photo of me and him kissing and I was in shreds again. I was crying for myself, for losing him. You see, a good part of my life has been shared with a crazy Greek musician who told me time and again that stars shone in my eyes and I believed him every time. That made me realise no distance could ever separate us. I will always have him with me as long as there are stars. So, I wiped my face and blew my nose and when I left that room, I knew I'd be fine.'
'I'm glad you had your friend to comfort you.'
She tucked her hand in the crook of Irene's arm, 'Come on, let's go round to my room. I want to choose something suitable for my debut at the Archaeological Museum, after all, I wouldn't want to upstage them.' And they closed the door to her room like a couple of schoolgirls with some devilry in mind that made absolutely no sense to anyone else.
Maria crashed into the hall, all agitation and gabble. She was waving a piece of paper above her head as though she'd won the Lotto.
'Mr. Godfrey! Mr. Godfrey! Help is coming. Athens got my message. Look. Look!' She thrust the paper under my nose then read it out loud herself, 'For Maria Kortakis, Mayor of Sophia and Dorini from Greek Customs & Excise, Port of Rhodos: Support teams and reinforcements will liaise on the beach at Faria 1200hrs, 21st. Please confirm ETA Kaliantikos. Chief Superintendent, Hellenic Republic.'
'Not before time. The others will be here any minute.'
'Mr. Godfrey this means we have the government behind us. Ha! Let the tumbrels come,' she kissed the paper once or twice then took a deep breath and straightened her face, ‘we must keep our heads if we are to succeed.'
We gathered in the sunshine of the yard to go through the plans and all agreed Nikos would take me and Alexis to Faria where he would guide me to Athena. The conversation was light but eye contact was minimal. We laughed at the slightest thing and tried to be bright. When Maria and Manolis came out, I poured some mint tea to get our brains going and talked about anything but our mission. Then, with a sigh, Maria stood and put her hand to her forehead, 'I'm sorry. It's just that the time is going by so fast and I don't feel ready yet.' I thought she was just saying what we all were thinking until she turned to face me, 'Mr. Godfrey, I have to tell you something and it is very important...' Manolis raised his face and we saw it was covered with tears.
From somewhere deep inside Maria came the wail of a wounded animal as she collapsed into a chair, deeply saddened with grief. She reached out and we fell towards her, asking if she was ill or needed a doctor. We loosened her scarf and unbuttoned the top of her shirt and when she got her breath she lifted her face to me and crossed herself,
'Leave me, Mr. Godfrey, leave me. I have deceived you. It was me. I killed your father. I killed the most honourable man I have ever known. I killed him and now, I want to die.'
Alessandra spun round to glare at Maria, her hand clasped over her mouth, 'What? What are you saying? What are you talking about?'
I pulled back, unable to shut my ears as the horror of what she said sunk in.
'Oh, I don't expect you to believe me when I say I don't understand. I went down to the club to convince him our problems could be solved if we allowed Kaliantikos to control the tourism. He told me they were not what they seemed, and that there was trickery and double-talk. Then he told me about the hoard at Faria. I was bewildered, crest-fallen, and deep inside I think I resented my ignorance of this knowledge. I thought it was me who'd found our solution, but he was adamant. He'd already decided what to do. Before I'd arrived, he had given Irene his list of these evil thieves translated into Classical Greek with instructions for her to inscribe it onto an amphora, to cast it in her kiln and to take it with Agni to the Archaeological Museum in Athens. They would know what to do. When I tried to go and stop her, Pantelis intervened. We argued. There was pushing and pulling and as we swung around he cried out and fell to the floor. He held his chest as though it had been pierced by a sword.'
Unable to accept the things she'd said I sat rigid, appalled, and whispered, 'Didn't you try to help him?'
'Mother of Zeus! I panicked and ran. Came back here and hid, waiting for the police.' Manolis wrapped her in his arms. She went on, 'Everyday since then we have been living a lie. I can't believe where I am. There is no place to hide from my wickedness. My past has found me. I don't ask for forgiveness, please help me. I didn't mean to kill him. He was closer than a brother and now my friend is dead. I swear I believed everything that Kaliantikos had said. I put my life in your hands. Do what you want with me.'
I looked at the crumpled, pitiful heap lying there and took her up in my arms. For several moments I just held her then something came to me and somehow I understood. 'Maria, Manoli, listen to me, please. There'll be no more talk of what happened between you that night. Or of who was right and who was wrong. You and father were bound by a friendship lasting years. All friends have arguments, but they have nothing to do with hate. Don't blame yourself, Maria. Father's heart was completely exhausted and no one will blame you for that. How could they?' I looked from face to face. 'He loved you because you both stood strong for all you held in your hearts. For the community you shared. You were both fervent, dedicated people - you had to be - but, as he grew older I think his conflicts began to take their toll and so his heart grew weaker until, in that dressing room, in that final moment, it gave out and without warning his struggles were over. Please Maria, never think for one second you were responsible for that heart attack. It was inevitable. What has happened here must stay within the walls of this yard. Maria, you have our support. You are still our mayor. Nothing has changed.'
Nikos and Alexis nodded. Alessandra took her hand, 'Maria, you are a good woman and we love you. We are all well aware of your sacrifices. We are clear in our hearts and we want you to please stay with us, just as before.'
Then Manolis took my hand, 'Mr. Godfrey there is one thing we must do because we love. We have wounded and bruised your dear aunt. So now we must explain and hope she can forgive her broken friends.' He turned to Maria, 'Come on my love, she's in her room.'