A Deadly Twist by Jeffrey Siger (free novel reading sites .txt) 📕

north of them. “I was here when that was being built. As you guessed, it’s a long-abandoned project. A hotel project, to be precise.”

Maggie nodded. “So, that’s where you met that grandfather from Siphones.”

“Yes. He was around forty then.”

“And the beaches surrounding it sounded so idyllic I thought you’d like to see them,” said Andreas.

Lila rolled her eyes. “I wondered why you agreed so quickly to come to the beach in the middle of a case that has you stressed out. It’s not like you to risk relaxing, especially with Yianni in the hospital.”

“I’m not stressed out,” he barked.

“Yeah, sure. But at least admit that you brought us here so that you could check out that place.” She pointed north.

Andreas shrugged. “Sure, we’re here, so why not? Besides, it could be interesting for other reasons. I hear artists have done some extraordinary things with it.”

Lila stood. “I’m going swimming. If you can bear to wait until I return before gallivanting off on your little expedition, I might join you.”

Andreas lay back on his towel, staring straight up at the sky through a space between the umbrellas. “Lord spare me from doing good deeds unappreciated by mere mortals.”

Lila kicked sand on his legs. “Like I said, wise guy, wait for me.” She turned and ran toward the sea without waiting for a reply.

“I think the tag line to that exit was, ‘or else,’” said Tassos.

“Don’t I know it.”

“Good,” said Maggie smiling. “We’ve obviously trained each of you well.”

* * *

Lila swam for twenty minutes, dried in the sun for ten more, changed into a one-piece bathing suit, and said to her husband, “So, are you ready for our hike?”

Andreas got up from his towel, grabbed a T-shirt, and slipped into a pair of sandals. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Are you guys coming?” Lila asked Maggie and Tassos.

“Nope, you two are old enough to go off exploring on your own,” said Tassos, stretched out on a towel under an umbrella.

Andreas took Lila’s hand and led her up toward the SUV.

“Why don’t we just walk along the shore over toward the church?”

“While you were swimming, I noticed a pickup parked over by the church drive out to where we parked. It’ll be a lot easier following that road than struggling past rocks and brush in bathing suits.”

Their walk along the road to the church took five minutes, the last minute alongside a half dozen or so decrepit concrete shacks across the road from the church.

“What are those buildings?” Lila asked.

“My guess is they’re part of the old hotel project, but from the shutters and doors, I’d say that at least some of them were used after the project was abandoned. For what purpose or by whom, I’ve not a clue.”

They continued their walk, passing more faded structures and rows of unfinished stone and concrete walls. Andreas stopped at a still-serviceable concrete pier jutting out into the sea. “It’s right where Tassos said it would be.”

“Why didn’t he come with us if he knows so much about the place?”

“He said it’s been too many years for him to remember where that Siphones grandfather dug his suspicious holes.”

“That doesn’t sound like Tassos.”

“I know,” said Andreas. He shrugged.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to be in a place that reminds him of his time in service to the Junta?”

“No, he came to grips with that long ago. My guess would be it’s something far simpler. Like he’s afraid to take the walk. Maggie said he’s watching his weight but is reluctant to do more than minimal exercise.”

“If I’d known that, I’d have insisted he come with us.”

“I know; that’s why I didn’t tell you.”

Lila went to smack him, but before she could, Andreas bolted toward a dirt path leading up to a wide promontory overlooking the sea.

“Ha ha, too fast for you.”

“We’ll see about that,” said Lila charging after him. “You’re in sandals and I’m in sneakers.”

“Yeah, but I’m more afraid of you than you are of me,” Andreas yelled, not turning or slowing down.

As they neared the top, the scope of the project they’d seen only part of from the beach came into view. One- and two-story stone skeletons tracked along the rim of the cape in an architectural theme reminiscent of the Roman Coliseum’s penchant for archways.

They stopped.

“This is amazing,” said Lila.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Andreas turned to face the sea and swept his hand across the horizon. “I’d bet this view is what attracted the hotel project here in the first place.”

“Why do we Greeks insist on selling our very souls?” Lila sighed. “But having said that, I must admit that compared to many of the modern-day hotel projects plaguing us, this one actually looks to have tried fitting in with its setting.”

“Don’t be so sure about that. It wasn’t finished. Who knows what it would have looked like then.”

“Sadly, you’re right. But with any luck we’ll never know.” She took his hand. “Come, let’s look around.”

They left the shrubbery-lined path to walk between the perimeter buildings into a broad, open space covered in concrete. Unkempt gorse and other hardy greenery competed for random patches of available dirt.

“This must have been the intended main entrance and parking area,” said Andreas. “Be careful where you step; parts of the concrete have collapsed. This entire area must be hollow below.” He pointed to a hole just in front of them.

Lila poked Andreas on the arm. “Do you see what I see?” She swung around in a circle. “They’re beautiful, they’re stunning, and they’re all around us.”

Huge, colorful murals of mythical creatures—faces, birds, and omens—leaped out at them from almost every vertical surface. Long-abandoned concrete walls had been turned into gigantic canvases, one more challenging to the senses than the next.

“I’ve heard of this place, even seen photographs of some of the art, but I never imagined how overwhelming it is to see them here, in the surroundings that inspired their creation.” She swung around again. “They were painted a few years back by a Balian