Watching the Wind Blow (The Greek Village Collection Book 9) by Sara Alexi

Author:Sara Alexi [Alexi, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-12-03T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

‘Why don’t you just go alongside and arrest him?’ Petta’s voice is not calm and he mops his brow with a handkerchief embroidered with two black butterflies.

Captain Yorgos wants to leave, but Marina keeps asking him questions. Is his boat seaworthy? How far will they have got in the time they have been gone? With each answer, he grows with importance until he is sitting upright and pulling his t-shirt to cover his stomach and picking the dirt from under his nails to make him look more respectable. Marina is fanning herself with a newspaper.

‘People in Athens have taken an interest, and the decisions are not in our hands. We have to be patient,’ Captain Demosthenes replies. He is calm, but he too is sweating in the heat. Picking up the remote, he presses the button to turn up the air conditioning but no matter how hard he presses, it is as high as it will go. He throws the remote back on his desk with disdain.

‘This is not about who makes the decisions. This is about my wife.’ Petta is a bigger man than Demosthenes. He could use his height to intimidate the port police captain, but he doesn’t. His t-shirt is slowly darkening with sweat between his pectoral muscles.

‘I understand, Petta, but we have to follow orders.’ Demosthenes’ voice sounds sincere.

‘What would you do if you were giving the orders?’ Petta ruffles the hair of his child, who clings to his leg.

‘I would probably put a vessel either side of the yacht and demand his surrender. With such a tactic, he would be unwise to refuse.’

‘And if he did?’ Petta is doing his best not to shout.

‘Well, there is the problem. If there was no one else on board, we would open fire, shoot stern to bow on the diagonal. So you see the problem.’ Demosthenes accepts an offer of coffee by a petty officer. Petta refuses.

When the coffee arrives, the port police commander takes his down the stairs and outside. Petta watches him through the window, drinking and looking out to sea and holding his elbows up so any breeze there is cools him.

‘Drink something, Petta my love. You have eaten and drunk nothing all day,’ Marina soothes, putting down the newspaper.

‘Sometimes it is best not to take anything in when we are stressed,’ Captain Yorgos offers her in an obsequious tone of voice.

Petta gives him a sideways grimace, but Marina thanks him for his kindness. Yorgos excuses himself to get the ashtray and when he comes back, he casually moves his chair a little closer to Marina.

‘Marina, maybe we should take our minds off everything that is happening. I understand you have the corner shop in the village. Do you have land as well?’ Yorgos asks.

Marina’s look is blank.

‘Petta, ask the port police what will make them take action,’ she demands.

‘Mama, I am afraid for them to take action now. They say they might have to use guns if he refuses to surrender.’ A sparrow

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