It was a long shot, but she was desperate.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t give out that information.”
“Can you at least tell me what time he left the order?”
“Just a moment and I’ll check.” After a minute, the salesclerk
returned. “It was phoned in at 5:00 p.m.”
“Thank you for your help.”
After she hung up, one more idea flitted through her mind. She
called the resort again and asked if she could speak to Delia, the darling girl
who’d been the maid for their rooms. Could Delia call Stephanie back collect,
please? It was very important.
The front desk said they’d give her the message. Within a half
hour, Stephanie’s phone rang and it was the resort calling. Delia was on the
other end.
“Hello, Stephanie.”
“Oh, Delia. Thanks so much for calling me back.”
“Of course. How is the handsome Dev?”
I wish I knew.
“Actually, I’m not
sure. I’m really worried about him. That’s why I’ve phoned you. I’m thinking he
must have left the island early because he was ill and didn’t want me to know or
worry. I thought I would have heard from him by now, and need your help to find
him if it’s at all possible.”
“Tell you what. My boyfriend works at the airport servicing the
planes before takeoff. I’ll ask him to find out what planes took off on April 27
after five in the evening. Perhaps he’ll learn something that can help you.”
“I’ll make this worth your while, Delia.”
“I would like to do this for you. I never saw two people more
in love.”
Tears scalded Stephanie’s eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I
just hope he isn’t fatally ill.”
“I don’t blame you for being upset.”
Whether Delia believed her excuse for calling or not, Stephanie
couldn’t worry about that now.
Two hours later her phone rang again. “Stephanie? He couldn’t
get you names, but there were three flights out that evening, if this helps. One
was a nonstop flight to Los Angeles, California, another nonstop to Vancouver,
British Columbia. The last was a private jet owned by the Vassalos Corporation,
headed for Athens, Greece.”
She blinked.
None of the planes had headed due north to New York. Her
spirits plunged. If he’d been called back to his work on an emergency, surely he
would have taken a direct flight to New York. There were dozens of them leaving
the Caribbean for that destination.
“You’re an angel for being willing to help me, Delia. Expect a
thank-you in the mail for you and your boyfriend from me.”
Stephanie rang off, shaking with the knowledge that Dev had
lied to her without compunction.
Who are you, mystery
man?
Had he pulled a fictitious name out of a hat on the spur of the
moment? Was Dev a nickname?
One thing she was convinced of at this point: he was no New
Yorker. And he’d been in an enormous hurry when he’d left Providenciales.
Thousands of businessmen traveled by private jet. Certainly if he’d needed to
leave before they’d even had dinner, it would make sense he had his own special
mode of transportation waiting. No long lines...
Before she did anything else, she went to her computer in the
den of the condo she’d inherited from her mother, to make a global search of the
name Vassalos in Greece. One source came up more prominent than all the rest and
drew her attention.
Vassalos Maritime Shipping, Egnoussa,
Greece.
Shipping...
After more searches she discovered the Oinousses, a group of
small islands in the eastern Aegean Sea near Turkey. Egnoussa, the largest
inhabited one, was fourteen kilometers long. One of Greece’s most important
naval academies was based there, due to the rich seafaring history of the
islands. A smaller island, Oinoussa, was also inhabited.
Reading further, she learned Egnoussa was home to some of the
richest shipping magnate families in the world. There were only four hundred or
so inhabitants, with some fabulous mansions. A naval commercial academy and
museum were located on one part of the island.
She replayed the memories of Dev in her mind. His urbane
sophistication and knowledge set him apart from other men she’d known. He’d
possessed a natural authority and spoke impeccable English. But when she thought
about it, she realized he hadn’t sounded like a New Yorker.
Had he come from a Greek island? If so, he would naturally be
at home in the water.
He’d told her he worked for an international exporting company
in New York. Did that company have an outlet in Greece? Did Dev work for it?
Exporting could translate to mean shipping, couldn’t it? In her mind it wasn’t a
far stretch to see where he might have come up with his lie.
What if Egnoussa was his home? Was he from
that
Vassalos family, with the kind of wealth that had opened every
door for him? Maybe this was a stab in the dark, but the more she thought about
him, the more the shoe seemed to fit. The cliché about looking like a Greek god
fit him like a second skin.
She could phone the shipping company and ask questions. But
since he obviously didn’t want to be found, if he was there or got wind that she
was trying to reach him, she might never get answers. Scrolling down farther,
she found more information.
After a short flight from Athens to the island of Chios, an hour’s
boat ride takes you to Egnoussa Island. There’s one hotel with only twelve
rooms, one taxi. You can walk Egnoussa in a day.
Her mind reeled with ideas. She could take some pictures of him
with her and show them to someone at the shipping office. Stephanie would know
immediately if that person recognized him. Maybe she was a fool, but for her
baby’s sake she had to try to find him, and would use some of her savings to get
there.
Stephanie called the doctor to make certain it was okay to fly.
He told her she’d be all right for twenty-eight weeks. After that, she’d need to
check with him about it. Since Greece didn’t require immunizations for visitors
from the United States, she’d be all right.
Luckily, she already had a passport. When she and her friends
had decided to vacation together, they’d applied for passports in case they
decided on a vacation along the French or Italian Riviera. But in the end, the
Caribbean had won out.
If she traveled to Greece and it turned out to be a fruitless
mission, then so be it. Whatever happened, the sooner she went, the better for
her state of mind. Unlike her mother, who didn’t attempt to tell her lover he
was a father, at least Stephanie could explain to her child that she’d done
everything humanly possible to locate the man who’d called himself Dev
Harris.
Life was going to be difficult enough from here on out. She
would have to discuss her condition with her boss. If he could give her a front
desk job until after the baby was born, she’d be thankful and grateful. But if
not, she’d need to start looking for another kind of job after she got back from
Greece. Besides finishing paying off the mortgage, she needed to earn enough
money to provide for herself and the baby.
Copyright © 2014 by Rebecca Winters
ISBN-13: 9781460324172
THE FINAL FALCON SAYS I DO
Copyright © 2014 by Lucy Gordon
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