“I said not time to use force,” said Torgos. “For threatening, however? Yes, it is time.”

“Your clock works differently than mine,” said Sparks, following him inside.

They were in a small, unused private dining room. There were cloths covering all the chairs and the large table, giving a ghostly aspect to it all.

“You thought I would not remember you,” said Torgos.

“I hoped you wouldn’t,” said Sparks.

“Perhaps you expected me to believe that Iris Sparks is now working as a lady’s maid.”

“Times are hard. One takes the jobs that one can. What gave me away?”

“I always make a point of observing who your Miss Kitsiou speaks to, Miss Sparks. When that person is one whose path crossed mine during the war, I take note. When that person shows up again the very next evening, I take action.”

“Good,” said Sparks. “This actually saves me a great deal of time. I was hoping for some clever seductive banter while we tangoed, but it wouldn’t have worked in these shoes.”

“Why are you pursuing me, Miss Sparks?” asked Torgos.

“I’m not pursuing you specifically,” said Sparks. “I was pursuing something with a Greek aspect to it. And then I realised that I had the opportunity do something beneficial.”

“Which is?”

“I came to save Tadeo’s life.”

“What?” exclaimed Tadeo.

“You were supposed to bring a particular person here to meet your boss,” said Sparks, turning to him. “He threatened to kill you if you didn’t.”

The two men stared at her, then at each other.

“He threatens to kill me every day,” said Tadeo, starting to laugh.

“I do,” Torgos chuckled. “It is out of love.”

“The truly terrifying one is my mother,” said Tadeo. “Why you married that woman, I will never know.”

“You should have seen her in her prime,” said Torgos, shaking his head sadly.

“He’s your son,” said Sparks, looking back and forth at the two of them. “And there I was, worried for him.”

“So, you eavesdropped on our conversation, and elected to come to his rescue through this elaborate disguise,” said Torgos. “That does not explain why you came to services yesterday.”

“How do you feel about direct questions?” asked Sparks.

“A novel approach. Why should I agree?”

“Because I have information that you want, and you have information that I want.”

“Perhaps. But are we on the same side?”

“I think the situation may be polygonal, but even if we aren’t on the same side, we aren’t necessarily on opposing sides.”

“Are you sure that you are not Greek?” asked Torgos.

“You want to find a man named Magoulias.”

“Yes.”

“Here is the first exchange: you tell me who he is and what side he’s on, and I will tell you where to find him.”

“How will I know that you are telling me the truth?”

“You won’t. Nor will I. We talk, we go our separate ways and decide how to act on what we know.”

“What do you think?” Torgos asked his son.