‘Not like him,’ said the woman, ‘Still, you had better come in.’
They entered a darkened room and immediately they could see an old woman sat in a battered chair with a shawl wrapped around her knees. The young woman pulled up two chairs from the table and placed them facing the old woman.
‘Mama,’ she said in English, ‘We have visitors, friends of Peter. They have come to pay their respects to you.’
The old woman peered at them through thick glasses.
‘Friends of Peter,’ she said. ‘Which ones. Better not be Aetosh. Not welcome here, bringing their trouble all the time. Tell them to go.’
‘No, mama,’ said the young woman, ‘They are not Aetosh, they are English. Nice people. Look they have brought you flowers.’
‘English!’ she said. ‘What are English doing in my home?’
Brandon stepped forward.
‘Peter said to pop in and say hello,’ she said. ‘We haven’t known him long but he said you brought him up.’
‘I did,’ said the woman, ‘And look how he repays me. No job, no grandchildren, and left us without any food in the cupboard. I should have known. Spent most of his time riding his moped with the rest of the hooligans. Waster, that boy is, Nothing more than a scoundrel.’ She leaned back and closed her eyes, mumbling something incoherently under her breath.
‘I’m sorry,’ said the younger woman. She gets a bit upset these days. Times are hard you see.’
‘No matter,’ said Brandon. ‘Perhaps we shouldn’t have come.’ They stood up to leave but as they left, he paused and pulled out a pile of Euros from his wallet before placing them on the table.
‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘I don’t understand.’
‘I forgot to say,’ said Brandon. ‘Peter told me to give you this. It’s not much but it will help a little.’
‘It’s not charity is it?’ asked the woman. ‘Mama would never accept charity.’
‘No, certainly not,’ he lied, ‘Peter asked me to bring it to you.’
‘You sure?’ she asked.
‘Positive,’ interrupted India, backing up his story. ‘I was there.’
‘In that case, I will take it,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’
‘One more thing,’ said Brandon. ‘Who are the Aetosh, Mama refers to?’
‘Oh, take no notice,’ she said, ‘Just some silly gang Peter used to run with a long time ago. Anyway, how is Peter? I am surprised he ended up in England. He was always very patriotic and had no time for foreign people.’
‘Yes, I noticed that,’ said Brandon avoiding the question. ‘Anyway, we had better go. We don’t want to impose.’
‘When you go back, tell him to call the Mama,’ said the woman, ‘She misses him, really.’
‘We will,’ said Brandon and they made their way back down the hill in silence, both fully aware that the young man in question was laying on a marble slab in a London mortuary, Brandon’s bullet probably still lodged in the back of his skull.
‘What do you think?’ asked India. ‘Any help?’
‘I don’t know but the mention of a gang is a new development. Perhaps we can find out something about these Aetosh. The problem is we don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves. A couple of foreigners asking random questions about a local gang is bound to stand out.’
India stopped walking for a second before grabbing his arm and leading him back towards the bus station.
‘Where are we going?’ he asked.
‘Back to Kamariotissa,’ she said, ‘You want someone who likes to talk and I know just the person.’
Two hours later Brandon was sat in the cool dining area of the guest house waiting for the roast goat they had ordered for lunch. India was in the kitchen with Agatha and he could hear occasional bursts of laughter as the English librarian and the Greek hostess shared some unheard joke. Eventually the two women emerged and placed three bowls on the table along with three plates and some cutlery. The bowls contained strips of roast goat in gravy, boiled potatoes and bread. Agatha busied herself sharing out the food.
‘Agatha is joining us,’ announced India. ‘Isn’t that nice?’
‘Wonderful,’ agreed Brandon, falsely. ‘You can tell us all about this wonderful island of yours’
Agatha beamed with happiness, delighted at the attention. Throughout lunch she described the island and the lifestyle of the locals, interspersed with liberal accounts of sexual innuendo and rumour. India in particular took a shine to the woman and eventually took the lead in moving the subject nearer their purpose.
‘What about crime?’ she said between mouthfuls of food. ‘I suppose everywhere has their share of hooligans.’
‘Not much,’ said Agatha, ‘Though Stefan Pelapollis’s wife did push his lover off a cliff when she found out they were having affairs.’
‘When was that?’ asked Brandon.
‘Forty four years ago,’ said Agatha.
‘What about gangs?’ asked India. ‘I read somewhere there is a gang called the Aetosh.’
‘Used to be,’ said Agatha, wiping some gravy from her chin. ‘Silly bunch of young men who thought they could get independence from Greece.’
‘What does Aetosh mean?’ asked India.
Agatha screwed her eyes in thought.
‘How do you say in English? Ah yes, Eagle, I think, named after a stone up in the castle.’
‘Stone?’ asked Brandon
‘Yes. In Chora there is a castle that used to protect the village.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Very common peoples in Chora,’ she said. ‘All womens is sleeping with all mens. Disgusting!’
‘What is this stone?’ asked Brandon, trying to drag Agatha back from her favourite subject.
‘It is nothing,’ she said, ‘Just an ancient stone with the picture of an Eagle on it. It was the emblem of the Gatilusi family who ruled this island many hundreds of years ago. The Aetosh named themselves after the emblem and campaigned for independence for Samothrace. Of course, it never happened and they broke up many years ago.’
The rest of lunch was taken up by small talk and Agatha’s constant forays into the sexual exploits of her neighbours and guests. It seemed that she had an anecdote for almost everyone in the village. Eventually they finished their lunch and made their excuses to go up to their room.
‘Afternoon luvvinks,’ said Agatha as India passed. Verynice!’
They made their way upstairs and locked the door behind them.
‘That woman is unbelievable,’ laughed India. ‘Have you ever met anyone who is so obsessed with sex?’
‘She needs a good man,’ said Brandon.
‘I’m not so sure,’ said India, ‘By the sound of it, she has been through half the men on the island and is targeting the other half.’
‘I hope I’m not on the hit list,’ laughed Brandon.
‘After our little conversation in the kitchen,’ said India, ‘I don’t think you need worry about that scenario happening.’
‘Why? What did you say?’ asked Brandon with a look of concern.
India pinched one of Brandon’s cheeks
‘Aaah bless,’ she said, ‘Don’t let it worry your tiny little mind. Anyway, what do you think about these Aetosh then?’
‘Don’t know if it’s worth pursuing,’ said Brandon, ’But at this moment in time it’s all we’ve got. I tell you what, we’ll have a little siesta and this evening we’ll take a trip up to Chora. Have a look at this eagle thing in case we need to recognise it in the future.’
‘You have a siesta,’ said India, ‘I’m not tired. I think I’ll have a walk around the village. See if I can find a tourist information centre.’
‘Okay,’ said Brandon, ‘But be careful.’
‘Stop worrying, granddad,’ joked India, ‘You have your forty winks. Us youngsters will be fine.’ She held up an unused bikini. ‘I might even catch some rays while I am out there.’
‘I mean it, India,’ said Brandon. ‘Stay in the public areas.’
‘I will,’ she promised and left the room to get changed in the shower.
Two hours later, Brandon had had a cold shower and changed into a pair of shorts and T shirt. He packed his camera in his day sack along with a couple of bottles of water and made his way out of the tavern. On the way he called India on his mobile. By the time he reached the waterfront road, he had called her half a dozen times, each time the call going straight to answer phone. Finally, he heard the phone connect and spoke rapidly into the phone.