“So you did try to sell him something else?” said Kouros.
“I made suggestions. But only after your uncle died. Never before.”
“How did you plan on making money out of the deal since it wasn’t your property?”
“I figured your cousins would cut me in for a share of the deal if I saved it. That’s what your uncle had promised to do for me on the original deal.”
“Add another piece from the Ukrainian, plus more from your new political patron, Orestes, and you have a pretty sweet arrangement.”
Alexander shrugged. “Why not? I’d have earned it if the deal went through. That’s the way business is done.”
“Sounds to me like you had a lot to gain from the uncle’s death,” said Andreas.
Alexander raised his right hand as if swearing on a Bible. “As I said, no way I had anything to do with his death. I loved Yianni’s uncle.”
“Yeah sure,” said Tassos.
“Okay, so don’t believe me. But check the proposed contracts for the deal and you’ll see that I was in for a piece of it.” He looked at Kouros. “Your uncle believed in paying people for their services. That’s why he was so successful. I stood to make a lot of money if the project went through. And whether or not I might make more now, killing your uncle put everything at risk. It made no sense for me. On any level.”
“One last question,” said Kouros. “Why would the Ukrainian have wanted my uncle dead?”
“The Ukrainian? He was the last guy who wanted your uncle out of the picture. Your uncle was the only one who could keep the family in line and get everyone to agree on the terms.”
“My guess is Mangas could still achieve that,” said Kouros.
“And with the way the economy’s in free-fall, at a better price for the Ukrainian,” said Andreas
“I think the same way,” said Alexander. “But the Ukrainian doesn’t. He’s ready to walk away from the deal. That’s why I brought in Orestes. If this deal happens for the family it’ll be because of me.”
“Who would have wanted him dead if not the Ukrainian?” said Andreas.
“A lot of people. But I’m not one of them.” Alexander stood up, still holding the pillow in front of him, and walked over to where his clothes were neatly laid out on the dresser. He put on his shorts.
“I hope you’ll believe now, gentlemen, that I have nothing to hide.”
Tassos nodded toward Alexander’s shorts. “That’s for sure.”
***
Traffic heading in the direction of GADA ignored the police siren, and the several side streets Kouros tried offered no better route.
Andreas drummed his right hand’s fingers on the passenger side dashboard. “Relax, Yianni, we’ll get there when we get there.”
“You did a great job, kid,” said Tassos leaning over from the backseat to smack Kouros on the back of his head. “I particularly liked the part about the ‘tape.’”
Kouros smiled. “Me, too. It was an easy bluff with nothing to lose. If he’d called it I’d have told him he’d get to hear it soon enough.”
“You mean like when you played it for your cousin?” Tassos smacked him on the back of the head again. “Did he even realize Andreas and I were cops? He acted as if we worked for your cousin.”
“In his part of Greece there’s not much of a difference. And the chief’s imitation of a kick-ass, bad-cop act didn’t do anything to disabuse him of that notion.”
“What do you mean imitation?” said Andreas.
“I personally thought you showed just the right combination of John Wayne and Rambo.”
Andreas lifted his right hand from the dash and flashed an open palm at Tassos. “I agree with the malaka in the backseat. You were the only one of us who had a shot at making him talk. Alexander’s not afraid of cops, but he’s scared to death of your influence with your cousin.”
“Kicking in doors is easier for me.”
“And a damn good job you did on Alexander’s,” said Tassos.
“Surprised the shit out of the landlord.”
“Not our problem. He’s who insisted on being there in case any of his tenants got curious.”
“Not one of them bothered to check on who’d just kicked in their neighbor’s front door,” said Tassos.
“My guess is the only curious one in the building is the landlord,” said Andreas. “And he just wanted to get a peek at what his ‘quiet’ tenant’s been doing with all those boys he’d been bringing up there for years.”
“As if he didn’t know,” said Tassos.
“If he didn’t before, he sure as hell does now,” said Andreas.
“Not sure who looked more surprised when I kicked in the door. Alexander or the landlord. You’d think guys like him would know better than to bring their mobile phones to places they don’t want to be found.”
“He probably thought only the Americans have GPS,” smiled Andreas.
“What do you think is Alexander’s next move?” said Tassos.
“Find another apartment,” said Andreas.
“Cute,” said Tassos.
“I doubt he’ll tell anyone about our little get-together this afternoon. There’s no upside in it for him unless he thinks we might say something to someone first. But Yianni made it crystal clear that everything Alexander said would stay just between us, as long as he didn’t have anything to do with his uncle’s murder.”
“There’s another reason for him not saying anything to my uncle’s friends about our visit. It risks they’ll find out we caught him playing Juliet to the boy’s Romeo and those old-time macho types aren’t very open-minded on the subject.”
“When you told him that what we found going on in his apartment would stay ‘just between us,’ I thought he’d kiss your feet,” said Tassos.
Kouros smiled. “At least.”
Andreas rolled his eyes. “Up until that comment I was about to compliment you on how much you’ve matured. You actually seemed to have meant it when you said, ‘I don’t give a damn who or how you fuck.’”
“Thank you, I did, and I don’t. It’s just hard acting mature with you two dragging me down.”
Andreas laughed. “My guess is Alexander’s already distancing himself from the Ukrainian. He knows we’ll keep squeezing him for information if he doesn’t, and the odds are that sooner or later someone in the deal will figure out he’s been talking to cops. Alexander is the sort of political hustler who has survived by knowing when to cut his losses and move on.”
“If neither Alexander nor the Ukrainian had anything to do with my uncle’s murder, then who did?”
Tassos shook his head. “It’s back to looking like the only one with both motive and opportunity is one very dead taverna operator.”
“Maybe,” said Andreas. “Or maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way.”
“Meaning?” said Kouros.
“Perhaps we should stop looking for someone who wanted your uncle dead, and start looking for someone who wanted the project dead?”
“That narrows down the field of potential suspects,” said Tassos.
“And fits with the death threat to my uncle if he didn’t change his ‘plans.’”
Andreas stopped drumming his fingers. “Another hotel owner? Jealous neighbors who wanted the project for themselves?” He paused. “Or, perhaps, one of your cousins who didn’t like your uncle’s plans for sharing the inheritance with the other cousins?”
Kouros squeezed the steering wheel for an instant. “I get your point.”
“Good. But whoever we’re looking for has to be someone with real leverage on that taverna owner. Enough to get him to kill his protector and ultimately himself.”
“An even smaller universe of suspects,” said Tassos.
“And it gives us a place to start,” said Andreas.
“Namely?” said Tassos.
“Orestes.”
“Orestes?” said Kouros.
“He’s another political hustler. But unlike Alexander, he knows all the players behind the scenes in every transaction he’s involved with.” Andreas smiled. “And he’s too arrogant to cut his losses when he should.”
***
“May I help you?”