top at Goldfish Point.
She glanced over at him. “What are you staring at?”
“You . . .”
She smiled. There was no hint of trouble, fear, or worry in that smile, and he wanted to remember it forever.
A moment later, her attention was drawn to the landscape. The island wasn’t all that large, but the rocky terrain made it difficult to see anything that might resemble a cave entrance. Remi took a slow turn around. “Going back to the it’s-a-place-not-a-treasure, that has to mean something. There has to be a reason for the name.”
“Man-eater?” Nikos said. “Given because the sailors drowned.”
“No. If Poseidon’s Ear is a cave facing the water, what makes someone call a place Poseidon’s Trident? A rock formation?”
“Sorry,” Sam said. “There’s nothing remotely close to a trident up here.”
“But in the story, Poseidon shook the ground in anger. So, what if that earthquake knocked his trident to the ground?”
Definitely an idea with merit. Sam examined the rock formations, trying to imagine if any of them appeared as though they might have, at one point in time, been standing up. Near the northwest edge of the islet, he saw one rock formation that angled across another. He pointed at it. “That sort of looks like it could have fallen from an upright position.”
Remi glanced around. “But where’s the cave?”
She was right. From where they stood, there didn’t appear to be one at all. As they started to walk toward it, they heard the tinkling of a bell, then saw a goat’s head pop up from the ground just a few feet from the rocks. The creature scrambled out and ran off.
Nikos laughed. “My friend did say to follow the goats.”
“That he did.” They approached the formation, which very much appeared to be a massive spire of rock that had fallen upon another. And there, in front of it, the gaping mouth of a cave.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Minerva Kyril sat aboard the Mirage, when Ilya finally walked in the stateroom. “Please tell me we finally have word?” she asked.
“They’ve apparently landed on an islet just south of Fourni, Megalos Anthropofas.”
“Why would they be there? More of this Poseidon’s Trident nonsense?”
“That would seem the most likely reason. The islet is a barren piece of rock. My men can pick them off before they ever realize they’re targets. I’ve ordered the helicopter readied.”
A fitting end. Because of her son’s obsession with that godforsaken treasure, bringing unnecessary attention to her island, she’d had to suspend all operations in the face of the federal police investigation.
Her phone rang. She checked the caller ID, saw her attorney’s number, and answered it, turning it on speaker. “Leon,” she said, placing the phone on the table. “Please tell me there’s some good news?”
“The best I can give you is that it’s not all bad. Since your men are unwilling to testify that he pushed the old man into the cave, and the two witnesses didn’t actually see anything but your son standing there, the police don’t have a case for murder.”
“Small miracle.”
“That being said, they do have a good case for kidnapping. If it goes to court, we’re likely to find ourselves in the midst of an ugly inquest. I have a feeling that none of us will survive it.”
The mistake had been hers. She should have cut Adrian from the family business years ago. He was reckless and there was no talking to her son once he set his mind to something. Sadly, his narcissistic personality clouded all sense. He knew better than anyone, refused to listen to reason, and blamed everyone else for his inept handling of whatever the task at hand. “So how do we stop this . . . nightmare from happening?”
“Short of murdering your son in his cell?” Leon said.
Ilya’s expression darkened. “I don’t find that amusing.”
“I agree,” Minerva said. While Ilya might work for her, he had an unwavering loyalty to her son.
“I meant no harm,” Leon replied. “It was merely an unfortunate figure of speech. The prosecutor has offered a plea deal, which is why I’m calling.”
“A plea deal?” Minerva said. “To what?’