“Black, thank you. Cream on the side.”
He gave me a once over and that should have made me feel attractive and flirty, but instead it made me uncomfortable, although I knew he couldn’t possibly know the police were searching for me. He winked as I paid him. If I needed a date, I knew who to look up.
When I had opened my wallet there wasn’t much Cypriot currency, so I changed five hundred U.S. dollars to Cypriot pounds at the banking window. Hoping that by now he was ready, I walked to Zach’s room with the coffee and tapped at the door. He opened the door dressed in long tan pants and a bulky black shirt.
“Oh, thanks,” he said, as I handed him the coffee. “I’m almost ready.”
“Do you have business to attend to today?” I asked, sipping coffee as I watched him.
“Not until later.” He was packing a black sports bag on the bed and threw in his shaving gear. “This should do.”
“Do you plan to stay out overnight?”
Zach shrugged a shoulder. “Just playing it safe.” He shoved a roll of money from the dresser into his pocket and slid a small pile of plastic cards into the other pocket. “I have some friends, a trustworthy couple who live in a small place in the Troodos Mountains. You can stay with them a few days. They’re retired Brits. I worked with him on a few projects some time back. They’re well-connected. They might be able to help.”
Zach picked up his bag, looked around to be sure he hadn’t left anything. He held out his hand. “C’mon, we don’t have much of a lead on them.”
Like a trusting child, I took his hand. He led the way to the parking area and opened the Land Rover, throwing our bags on the back passenger seat. Out of the corner my eye I caught a flash of blue and turned enough to make out the blue Maruti sitting in the parking lot. Zach followed my eyes then got in the driver’s side and started the Rover.
“He must have followed you from Yannis’s house. Let’s see if we can lose him.”
We sped past the Maruti and out onto the main road, headed south to Pafos.
I looked at Zach. “It looks like there are two in the front. Did you notice?”
“I only saw the car. That is double bad news.” He glanced over. “Any guesses who they are?”
“Given the circumstances, they might be interested in antiquities. They aren’t any friends of mine. They looked more Arab than Cypriot.”
“They might be tied to the smuggling operation in some way.” Zach peered into the rear view mirror. “I’m going through Pafos and on toward Limasol to get to the Troodos since the access road into the mountains is better. We should be able to lose them in town. I don’t want to get caught on back roads with these guys following us.”
He floored it, and we streaked down the highway. As we neared the outskirts of town, traffic slowed us down. The Maruti caught up, staying a few car lengths behind.
Zach wove in and out of town traffic, horns blowing as we sped by. “Scoot down onto the floor, just in case.”
“Good idea. I don’t fancy being picked up.” I slid off the seat on to the floor and hunched up facing him. I judged our progress through town by the tops of the buildings flashing by.
“I admire your skill at evasive driving. Where’d you learn it?” I held on to the seat to keep from sliding into the dashboard.
“On the job. I’ve done this a few times before.”
“I see. Feel like telling me where? You haven’t told me much about what you do for a living.”
He shrugged. “I do contract undercover work, mostly with local law enforcement agencies. I’ve done some work for the FBI. Some international jobs for the CIA.”
“And this time? What brings you to Cyprus?”
“Antiquities smuggling.”
My heart started to hammer. “As in the Elizabeth Davies case?”
Zach nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.
My stomach clenched, doubled over and turned inside out. “Whose side are you on?”
“I’m working for the New York City Police Department, anti-terrorism unit.”
“Why is NYPD interested in antiquities smuggling on Cyprus?”
“Terrorists deal antiquities to finance their operations.”
My stomach caught fire, and I could feel flames at the back of my throat.
“Where do I come in?”
“I thought maybe you might tell me.”
On two wheels he turned the corner onto the main road out of the east end of Pafos. I peeked over the seat. The Maruti got caught behind a car at the red light we had just run.
He checked the rear view mirror. “We may have lost them.”
We were out onto the open road, passing everything in our path.
“Don’t you think speeding might attract the police?”
“On Cyprus? You have to be joking. No one was ever pulled over for speeding on this island.”
I eased back onto the passenger seat and checked behind. “I don’t see them. You may have lost them.”
“Maybe, but I don’t intend to let up the pace. When I take the turn off for the Troodos Mountains on the west side of Limasol, I want to make sure that they aren’t behind to see where we turned. We need to make it into the mountains without our rear guard.”
“Do you think the guys following us are terrorists?”
“Don’t know.”
We rode in silence, the tension in the air hovering between us like an angry thunderstorm. I was overwhelmed with the inference in his questions. Did he think I was part of the smuggling ring? By association with my aunt?
Ridiculous.
Zach broke the awkward silence. “Feel like sharing any information with me?”
“Like what?”
“Like who you’re working for?”
“Me? I work for myself, I told you I own and manage a mutual fund in Boston along with my partner, Lena.”
“Are you sure that’s all you do?”
“You’re kidding right? What was all the stuff about helping me?”
“I’ll be glad to help you, especially if you can lead me to the leaders of the smuggling ring on Cyprus.”
“Don’t you hear well? That’s who I’m trying to find. You offered to help me.”
“You and your aunt work together. Am I right?”
The blood drained from my face, out through my fingers, and stained the clear blue Cyprus sky. Somewhere I had made a big mistake. What had Lonnie been saying about instinct going haywire?
Zach pulled off the road onto one of the scenic overlooks, one perched on a cliff with no guard rails. The sea sparkled and danced far below.
He studied the road behind us. “You see anyone?”
I checked again but I had just checked an instant before. “No one.” I wished I did see another vehicle, a truck, a police car, anyone, anything. But nothing. How could such a busy road be so deserted?
He got out of the Land Rover, pulled a pair of binoculars from the door pocket and scanned back over the road we had just traveled. The spot he had picked to stop afforded a clear view of the road and the cliffs from whence we’d come.
“They seem to have given up. The turn I want is just up ahead. I’m going to take it. Keep watching our back.”
It was an order, not a request. I nodded but I wasn’t looking at Zach. I was watching the sea, the way the sun glistened off the clear, turquoise blue water. Small waves capped in the distance. The sun shone hot, bright, dazzling on the sea. My beloved Cyprus had become a nightmare.
I tried to think of my life back in Boston, but it seemed light years away. Life right now boiled down to this spot, a Land Rover and a man I didn’t know but thought I did, if only a little, if only by instinct. His come on had been a ruse. Nice acting job. The nightmare was closing in, and I couldn’t escape. Was he kidnapping me? It felt that way.