Target: Tinos Read Online Free Page A

Besides, why pick those two brothers and this year to make a point?”
    Andreas tapped the pencil against his forehead. “Odysseus probably came to the same conclusion. I’ll give him a call to see if he had any ideas he didn’t put in the file.” Cops did that sort of thing, especially with politically sensitive cases. “By the way, is the victims’ clan based in Greece?”
    Kouros nodded. “Menidi.”
    “Ouch.”
    Menidi was an area about three miles west of the center of Athens just south of Mount Parnitha, and perhaps the most dangerous neighborhood in all of greater Athens. Here was where those who gave tsigani a bad name threw babies in front of out-of-place expensive cars in the hope of getting a settlement for “the accident,” where the poorest of the poor found a place to live, and drug lords and human traffickers ruled. It was a no man’s land for cops. But tsigani weren’t the only bad guys in Menidi. They shared the criminal turf with the ians —Russians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Albanians and other eastern Europeans—and the is— Afghanis, Pakistanis, Iraqis, etcetera.
    “If this involves ians or is out for revenge I can definitely see the two tsigani being fried alive,” said Andreas.
    “Yeah, but they’d have been wide-awake when it happened,” said Kouros.
    “I’m not sure what we have here. But it definitely doesn’t look like ‘ tsigani fighting tsigani .’”
    “As long as it’s what our minister considers non-Greek bad guys killing other non-Greek bad guys he won’t give a damn about their ethnicity. He’s broadminded that way.” Kouros smiled.
    “Spoken like our good friend Tassos. Which reminds me. Maggie, come in here. I need you for a minute. Please .”
    Maggie popped her head through the doorway. “You’re the boss.”
    Yeah, right. Andreas and everyone else at GADA knew Maggie’s mastery of GADA’s bureaucratic ways made her more important than any chief inspector.
    “Could you find Tassos for me?”
    “He’s at home.”
    “On Syros?”
    “No, my place.”
    Tassos was a widower, and Andreas’ chance mention of him to Maggie, not knowing of their long ago romantic past, had helped put them back together.
    “Do you think you could get him to come in here this afternoon? I need his help.”
    Maggie smiled. “Don’t we all.” She closed the door.
    Kouros said, “You can’t be serious about asking Tassos to sign off on this case.”
    “I’m not. But the minister said he wants everything ‘wrapped up,’ and I intend to do just that. Which means I need Tassos’ help. No one knows the Cyclades better than he does. I want to know if bad guys are killing bad guys and, if so, who and why. And if it’s something else…” Andreas waved his hand in the air. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
    “And no doubt burn it to ashes in the process.”

Chapter Three
    Tassos was in Andreas’ office by four and up to speed by five. That was when Maggie swung in with coffee, a meze selection of food, and a quick apologetic, “Sorry to interrupt, but I must keep up my men’s strength.”
    “Stick around,” said Tassos. Kouros and Tassos were sitting on chairs next to Andreas’ desk. “We’re about to start guessing at what has our fearless minister so hot to close an investigation into two murders.”
    “Which ones? Things are happening so quickly these days that I’m losing count,” said Maggie.
    “The ones on Tinos while we were at your grandniece’s baptism in Thessaloniki. You’re probably better qualified than we are at guessing what’s on a bureaucrat’s mind.”
    Maggie set the tray on the desk in front of Tassos. “Make that on any man’s mind.” She dropped onto the couch.
    “Okay, let’s start with what’s on yours,” said Andreas nodding at Tassos.
    Tassos picked up a spanakopita . “Your friend, the police chief, has been on Tinos for only a little over a year, but he got the interviews right. Tsigani don’t take