The Mykonos Mob Read online

  THE MYKONOS MOB

  The Tenth Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  “A perfect setting and first-rate storytelling.”

  —Ragnar Jónasson, bestselling author of The Dark Iceland series

  AN AEGEAN APRIL

  The Ninth Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  Best Books of 2018 in Crime Fiction—Library Journal

  Greece’s Thriller Writer of Record—The New York Times

  “The great man behind Greece’s crime mysteries.”

  —Greek City Times

  “Vivid local color, agreeable central characters, and exciting action scenes make this a winner.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “The ninth case for Siger’s Greek detective, brimming with suspense and a distinct sense of place, continues to deepen the back story of its band of heroes.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Siger’s ninth atmospheric mystery vividly depicts the political and economic issues involved in the European refugee crisis. VERDICT: Fans of Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy books and other police procedurals that handle violence and political issues with black humor will welcome this outstanding crime novel.”

  —Library Journal (starred review)

  “This latest outing also offers a perspective on the Balkan Peninsula and the thorny issue of asylum seekers. A fast-paced international series.”

  —Karen Keefe, Booklist

  SANTORINI CAESARS

  The Eighth Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  “[This is a] novel that’s both a rock-solid mystery and comments incisively about so many issues besetting Europe and the world today.”

  —Huffington Post

  “The eighth case for Siger’s police hero has a timely plot and a handful of engaging back stories about its detective team.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “As always, Siger provides readers with an action-packed plot, well-developed characters with lots of attitude, breathtaking Greek scenery, and a perceptive take on the current political and economic problems affecting Greece. International-crime fans need to be reading this consistently strong series.”

  —Barbara Bibel, Booklist

  DEVIL OF DELPHI

  The Seventh Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  2016 Barry Awards nominee for Best Novel

  “Siger brings Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis some very big challenges in his seventh mystery set in troubled contemporary Greece...The final plot twist proves well worth the wait, but it won’t take readers long to get there as they will be turning pages at a ferocious clip.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “Though the reader is always several steps ahead of the police here, Siger’s sublimely malevolent villains make the book a page-turner.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “A killer named Kharon (for the mythological ferryman who transports the dead across the River Styx) and bomba, or counterfeit wine, complicate the lives of Chief Inspector Kaldis and his team. The seventh book in Siger’s Greek procedural series features a strong sense of place and a devious plot.”

  —Library Journal

  SONS OF SPARTA

  The Sixth Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  “Siger paints travelogue-worthy pictures of a breathtakingly beautiful—if politically corrupt—Greece.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “Kaldis’ sixth case offers a lively, gritty plot, an abundance of local color and two righteous heroes.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Filled with local color, action, and humor, this story will give readers a taste of modern Greek culture and its ancient roots.”

  —Booklist

  MYKONOS AFTER MIDNIGHT

  The Fifth Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  2014 Left Coast Crime Awards nominee for Best Mystery in a Foreign Setting

  “Vibrant with the frenzied nightlife of Mykonos and the predators who feed on it. A twisty page-turner.”

  —Michael Stanley, award-winning author of the Detective Kubu mysteries

  “The investigation that follows—highlighted by political interference and the piecing together of a complicated international plot that threatens to disrupt the easygoing, anything-goes life that Mykonos is famous for—keeps the reader engaged, even as it makes obvious that in Greece it really matters whom you know. The emergence of a shadowy master criminal bodes well for future adventures.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Gorgeous Mykonos once again becomes a character when conflicting forces battle for the resort island’s future in Siger’s fifth series entry. Greece’s financial vulnerabilities play a key role as Chief Inspector Kaldis digs in.”

  —Library Journal

  “From the easy banter of its three cops to its clutch of unpredictable villains, Kaldis’ fifth reads more like an Elmore Leonard caper than a whodunit.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Acclaimed (particularly by Greek commentators) for their realistic portrayal of Greek life and culture, the Kaldis novels are very well constructed, and this one is no exception: not only is the mystery solid but the larger story, revolving around the political machinations of the shadowy global organization, is clever and intriguing. Fans of the previous Kaldis novels would do well to seek this one out.”

  —David Pitt, Booklist

  TARGET: TINOS

  The Fourth Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  A New York Times pick for the summer—Marilyn Stasio

  “Thrilling, thought-provoking, and impossible to put down.”

  —Timothy Hallinan, award-winning author of the Poke Rafferty thrillers

  “Nobody writes Greece better than Jeffrey Siger.”

  —Leighton Gage, author of the Chief Inspector Mario Silva Investigations

  “Target: Tinos is another of Jeffrey Siger’s thoughtful police procedurals set in picturesque but not untroubled Greek locales.”

  —The New York Times

  “A likable, compassionate lead; appealing Greek atmosphere; and a well-crafted plot help make this a winner.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “An interesting and highly entertaining police procedural for those who wish to read their way around the globe and especially for those inclined to move away from some of the ‘chilly’ Scandinavian thrillers and into warmer climes.”

  —Library Journal

  “The fourth case for a sleuth who doesn’t suffer fools gladly pairs a crisp style with a complex portrait of contemporary Greece to bolster another solid whodunit.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Siger’s latest Inspector Kaldis Mystery throbs with the pulse of Greek culture...Make sure to suggest this engaging series to fans of Leighton Gage’s Mario Silva series, set in Brazil but very similar in terms of mood and feel.”

  —Jessica Moyer, Booklist

  PREY ON PATMOS

  The Third Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  “...[a] suspenseful trip through the rarely seen darker strata of complex, contemporary Greece.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Using the Greek Orthodox Church as the linchpin for his story, Siger proves that Greece is fertile new ground for the mystery genre. Sure to appeal to fans of mysteries with exotic locations.”

  —Library Journal

  “The third case for the appealing Andreas will immerse readers in a fascinating culture.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  ASSASSINS OF
ATHENS

  The Second Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  “Jeffrey Siger’s Assassins of Athens is a teasingly complex and suspenseful thriller....Siger and his protagonist, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, are getting sharper and surer with each case.”

  —Thomas Perry, bestselling author

  “Siger is a superb writer....Best of all, he creates the atmosphere of modern Greece in vivid, believable detail, from the magnificence of its antiquities to the decadence of its power bearers and the squalor of its slums.”

  —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

  “This is international police procedural writing at its best and should be recommended, in particular, to readers who enjoy Leighton Gage’s Brazilian police stories or Hakan Nesser’s Swedish inspector Van Veeteren.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “With few mysteries set in Greece, the author, a longtime resident of Mykonos, vividly captures this unfamiliar terrain’s people and culture. Mystery fans who like their police procedurals in exotic locales will welcome this one.”

  —Library Journal

  MURDER IN MYKONOS

  The First Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery

  “Siger’s intimate knowledge of Mykonos adds color and interest to his serviceable prose and his simple premise. The result is a surprisingly effective debut novel.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Siger’s view of Mykonos (where he lives part-time) is nicely nuanced, as is the mystery’s ambiguous resolution. Kaldis’s feisty personality and complex backstory are appealing as well, solid foundations for a projected series.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Siger...captures the rare beauty of the Greek islands in this series debut.”

  —Library Journal

  “Siger’s Mykonos seems an unrelievedly hedonistic place, especially given the community’s religious orthodoxy, but suspense builds nicely as the story alternates between the perspectives of the captive woman, the twisted kidnapper, and the cop on whose shoulders the investigation falls. In the end, Andreas finds more than he bargained for, and readers will be well pleased.”

  —Stephanie Zvirin, Booklist

  The Mykonos

  Mob

  A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis

  Mystery

  Jeffrey Siger

  Copyright © 2019 by Jeffrey Siger

  Cover and internal design © 2019 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

  Cover design by Sourcebooks Inc.

  Cover image © Kavalenkava Volha/Getty Images

  Sourcebooks, Poisoned Pen Press, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious and are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.

  Published by Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60563-4410

  (630) 961-3900

  Fax: (630) 961-2168

  sourcebooks.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging 2018959451

  Printed and bound in the United States of America.

  SB 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Contents

  The Mykonos Mob

  Cycladic Islands Map

  Mykonos Island Map

  Mykonos Town Map

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Acknowledgments

  Mihalis, Roz, and Spiros Apostolou; Ronnie Bond; Petros Bourovilis; Nellos and Lee Canellopoulos; Beth Deveny; Diane DiBiase; Nikolaos Drivas; David Dyer; Andreas, Aleca, Nikos, Mihalis, and Anna Fiorentinos; Theodora Giovanidou; Paul Greenwood; Donna Harris and Ken Richards; Mark Hartman; Kelly Howe; Nikos Hristodoulakis and Jody Duncan; Flora and Yanni Katsaounis; Olga Kefalogianni; Panos Kelaidis; Alexandros Kolomvotsos; Nicholas and Sonia Kotopoulos; Miltos Kozonakis; Joshua and Kendall Latner; Linda Marshall; Terrence, Karen, and Rachel McLaughlin; Sarah Mucho; Ino Panagopoulou; Phyllis Pastore; Barbara G. Peters and Robert Rosenwald; Bobby Peaco; Kostantina Polychronopoulou; Nikos Raftopoulos; Holli Roach; Kathy “Babe” Robinson; Manos and Irini Rousounelous; Vangelis Savarikas; George Seirinakis; Jonathan, Jennifer, Azriel, and Gavriella Siger; Ed Stackler; Ion Stavropoulos; Hronis, Kate, and Marisa Taboulhanas; Vasilis Tsiligiris; Miltiadis Varvitsiotis; Dimitris Xenarios; Susan Xenarios; Barbara Zilly.

  And, of course, Aikaterini Lalaouni.

  IN MEMORIAM

  Nikolaos Andreas Fiorentinos (1994-2018)

  He called me Pappou, as do Anna and Mihalis.

  “I am like any other man.

  All I do is supply a demand.

  —Al Capone

  Chapter One

  He never wondered about the purpose of life or how he turned out as he had. It all just sort of happened. He became a cop because he saw it as the surest way for a kid born into Greece’s working class in the tumultuous early 1960s to make a living. He got lucky when, after the fall of the Military Junta in 1974, he joined the youth movement of a left-wing political party that came to power in 1981 and remembered to reward its loyal friends.

  As he rose in rank, the more friends and money he made, the more power he amassed. He kept careful track of where the bodies were buried and possessed an uncanny instinct for digging up the ones he needed to achieve his purposes. An effort by the opposition party to paint him as corrupt failed when the prosecution’s main witness died in a boating accident. An investigation into the witness’ death faded away soon after he announced his decision to retire from the Hellenic Police force with the rank of colonel.

  That’s when he began to make truly big money, capitalizing on his contacts and former position as head of police for the South Aegean Region, home to Greece’s most popular tourist islands for the rich and hard-partying globetrotting crowd.

  Tonight, the Colonel was far away from all that glitz and glamour. He sat in a restaurant in a nondescript, middle-class eastern suburb of Athens, virtually equidistant from downtown Athens, its port town of Rafina, and Venizelos International Airport.

  “A convenient place for a meeting,” said the one who’d arranged it.

  The Colonel leaned back in his chair and yawned. The conversation had been as boring as the meal. Everything about the place was mediocre, from its tired, thirty-year-old decor to the hookers at the bar, and the ruddy-faced, pudgy man sitting across the table from him who had yet to say why their mutual business acquaintance thought they should meet.

  “Am I keeping you awake, Colonel?”

  “Barely.”

  Ruddy Face smiled. “How do you like my place?”

  The Colonel leaned forward. It was long past time to get dow
n to business. “If this is your joint, why don’t you just tell me why you wanted to meet? You sure as hell don’t need my services to run this operation.”

  “You’re right, it’s a dump.” Ruddy Face paused. “But I have plans.”

  “What sort of plans?”

  “I’m buying a club on the islands. It’s going to be first-class in every way.” He nodded toward the bar. “Including the girls.”

  “Which island?”

  “One you control.”

  “Control is a mighty big word.”

  Ruddy Face smiled. “Let’s just say, I don’t like the idea of getting involved in a business where my investment isn’t secure.”

  “That’s prudent of you.”

  “Can you help me?”

  “If you’re asking for security, the answer is yes.”

  “I’m talking about protection for all aspects of my business.”

  The Colonel shrugged. “It’s all a matter of price. You tell me what you want, and I’ll tell you what it will cost you.”

  “I hear you’re pricey.”

  “You heard right. But I make sure things run smoothly.”

  “How do you do that?”

  “I don’t have competitors stirring things up, jockeying for business. I maintain order among the chaos.”

  “They might see things differently.”

  “If by they you mean competitors, there are no they on my island. I’m the only game in town.”

  “I get your point,” said the man. “I’m sure we’ll come to terms.”

  “If you want to open a club where I’m in business, I’m sure we will.”