“You’re sure?”
“Very. I have a near photographic memory. I can recall each of the photos I took, and none of them were of those men.”
“She’s right,” Dimitris told Sam. “If it wasn’t for the birds, we probably wouldn’t have noticed them at all, they were that far away. And we left shortly after. If they were doing anything, it wasn’t obvious to me, either.”
“Whatever they were doing,” Sam said, “it’s clear they think the two of you saw or photographed something that they didn’t want anyone to see. Maybe a field trip up there is in order. If we’re lucky, we’ll discover what has them so rattled.”
Nikos looked up at the clock. “It’ll have to be without me. I have a full crew coming in to start documenting the shipwreck.”
“Are you sure it’s safe for you to be out on the water?” Remi asked him. “What if Adrian Kyril’s men come after you?”
“I have a hard time believing they would be so foolish as to try something again in broad daylight. Especially now that the police are aware. And if that isn’t enough to dissuade them, perhaps the presence of nearly twenty divers and archeologists will make them hesitate.”
* * *
—
Their first stop before returning to Fourni was to replace the water-damaged cell phones. Once back on Fourni, Sam, Remi, and Dimitris hiked up to the top of the hill, where Remi had stood taking photographs. The offshore breeze swept across the hilltop as they surveyed the countryside. Remi, holding her auburn hair off her face, pointed to her right. “You see that patch of junipers about halfway down the hill? That’s where I saw the men.”
Dimitris nodded. “And the birds flew up from there. I think if we drive around to the other side of the island, it’ll be easier to get to that spot.”
Sam pulled his binoculars from his backpack, focusing in on the area. From this vantage point, there wasn’t much to see but the rocks and shrubs. “Let’s go have a look.”
They hiked down to the car, then drove to the other side of the island, having to stop for a herd of goats that crowded the road. Dimitris honked, slowly idling the car forward as the animals took their time crossing the pavement, before disappearing down the east bank in a cacophony of bleats and bells. Once past, he drove a bit farther, then pulled over, parking on the side of the road. Sam saw a number of footprints in the dirt on the side of the road, indicating several people had been there before them. He stopped the other two as they started forward.
“What’s wrong?” Remi asked.
“Nothing, yet,” he said, crouching down on the ground, eyeing the footprints on the trail leading up to the area. “How many people did you see?”
“Four, but then only three.”
“Interesting. There’re four sets of prints leading up. And look, over here, only three going back.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Remi moved next to Sam, crouching down beside him. “Maybe one set is older.”
“Maybe . . . We won’t know until we get up there.” He stood, moving around the outer edge of the trail. The area was a mix of low scrub and jagged stone angling up the steep hill like steps. It was slow going, but they made it to the area Remi had pointed out, recognized by the odd grouping of junipers around what at first appeared to be a level clearing of flat limestone.
“Wait here,” Sam said, then moved closer on his own. He crouched beside a spindly fig tree.
The sun glared down on them, keeping her from seeing what Sam was looking at. “Did you find something?” she asked.
“Possibly an explanation as to what they were looking at.” He motioned them to join him, adding, “Keep to the far right. There’s a few footprints here.”
She and Dimitris picked their way across the same path Sam took. When they reached his side, Remi was surprised to see a yawning, dark hole just in front of him. As she neared, she could feel the cool air coming up from the depths. “How deep do you think it is?” she asked.
Sam found a large rock and tossed it in. She heard it hit four times on the way down. “Deep enough,” he said.
Dimitris seemed shocked. “I didn’t know this was here.”
Remi examined the footprints in the patch of dirt near the cave entrance, seeing what looked like scuff marks, as though one of the persons standing there suddenly pivoted. She stepped across a narrow gap between two rocks on the right of Dimitris, thinking it might have a better view down into the cave. The stone beneath her foot shifted, causing bits of gravel to fall into the hole. She peered down, realizing what she thought was a solid surface was anything but. “Sam . . . ?”
“Don’t move your feet.” He leaned forward, reaching out. “Take my hand.”
The urgency in his voice frightened her. She grasped his fingers, her palm sticky with sweat.
“Slowly, step toward me.”