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“Grandma? Are you okay?” Alyssa asked.
“Kostos isn’t here,” Nancy said, her voice breaking. After a dramatic pause, she added, “He must have realized he didn’t have feelings for me after all.”
“So, he left without saying goodbye?” Janine demanded, her tone dark.
“What a baby,” Maggie said. “I thought only younger guys got away with ghosting.”
But Alyssa looked even more stricken than before. “Grandma, do you think Kostos took the map and blueprints?”
Nancy stuttered. “What? Why would he do that?”
“Call him,” Maggie said. “Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding. Maybe he’s out getting breakfast, or…”
“Maggie, his suitcase is gone,” Alyssa said firmly.
Nancy searched her pocket for her phone and called Kostos. Her chest did not rise as though she held her breath with fear. After six rings, he didn’t answer. When she called again, it went straight to voicemail.
“He blocked you!” Alyssa cried.
Nancy blinked at Alyssa, clearly broken-hearted. Janine’s heart went out to her mother. She hated seeing her so defeated, cowering under the weight of a horrific man’s decisions.
“When did you meet Kostos, Grandma?” Alyssa asked, sitting next to Nancy on the bed.
Nancy stuttered. “I told you. I met him…”
“The day we left,” Janine answered, her heart pumping.
“It’s just a coincidence,” Nancy said.
“But what if it isn’t a coincidence?” Alyssa suggested. “What if he targeted you to get close to us? What if he knew…”
“But I was the one who told him about Teresa and the scavenger hunt,” Nancy said.
“Was he especially curious about it?” Maggie asked.
“Everyone was!” Nancy said. “It was weird and interesting. It was all anyone wanted to talk about.”
The room fell silent. Alyssa had her arm around her grandmother, holding her as she shook, and Maggie and Janine exchanged glances, both of them eager to save the day, yet unsure how.
“Why don’t we wait a little bit longer?” Janine said. “If Kostos doesn’t reveal himself by this afternoon, we’ll know we have a problem. And we’ll call the police.”
Nobody had another idea, so they went with hers. As they returned downstairs wordlessly, Janine marveled that, although she was an adult, she was often struck with the feeling that she had no idea what to do, where to go, or what the proper solution was. Maybe everyone felt that way.
As they waited for a sign from Kostos, Alyssa called Nico, who came over immediately, both proving himself not to be the thief and proving himself loyal to Alyssa. As they spoke in the dining room, Janine stepped into the hallway to call Henry and explain what had happened. Henry was captivated.
“Kostos? Really? That Greek guy?” he stuttered.
“You met him. Did you get any sense he was trying to swindle my mother?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Gosh, Janine. I wish I was there with you. This is freaking me out.”
Janine closed her eyes, imagining herself safe within the arms of this man, back home in the familiar Martha’s Vineyard sunlight.
“I think you should call the police, just in case,” Henry said. “And maybe, if they can’t find Kostos, you should go to a hotel tonight, just to be safe.”
Janine thanked him, told him she loved him, and then returned to her family, who, after a conversation with Nico, had decided the same thing. It was time to call the cops.
Two police officers arrived at the villa within the hour. One of them, Vio, spoke much better English than his partner, Arturo, so Vio did most of the talking. After they explained to them what they knew, along with the connection to the secret society, Vio explained everything to Arturo, who made several phone calls to the Venice police station, followed by the Florence police station. When he returned to the living room, he was pale as snow.
