She smiled at his remark and went on. "I simply snipped out a pattern from some pillow ticking. The halter is tied in the back with a bow and the pants are knotted on each side. See!" She stood and undid the knot over her left hip, letting the diminutive cloth dangle teasingly.

"Very, very clever. What do you do for an encore?"

"How much is it worth to you?" she asked seductively.

"How about an old Milwaukee streetcar token?"

"You're impossible," she pouted. "I'm beginning to think you're daft."

He had to force his eyes to ignore her body. "Right now I've got some details that need clearing up."

She stared at him blankly for a few seconds, started to say something, then thought better of it; his face was unsmiling and serious. She shrugged, slowly retied the bikini and settled into a vacant chair.

"You're acting terribly mysterious."

"I'll revert to my old sweet, lovable self after you've answered a few simple questions."

She scratched at an imaginary itch above her left breast. "Ask away then."

"Question number one: what do you know about your uncle's smuggling operations?"

Her eyes went wide. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do."

"You're insane," she said, glaring at him. "Uncle Bruno owns a steamship line. Why should a man of his wealth and social standing stoop to petty smuggling?"

"Nothing he does can be considered petty," Pitt said. He paused a moment, monitoring her expression, and then continued. "Question number two: before you came to Thasos, when was the last time you saw von Till?"

Not since I was a little girl," she answered vaguely. "My mum and dad were drowned when their sailboat overturned in a sudden storm off the Isle of Man. Uncle Bruno was with them at the time. So was I. He saved my life. Since that awful accident he has been very good to me; the best boarding schools, money when I needed it. He always remembers my birthday."

"Yes, he's all heart," Pitt said sarcastically. "Isn't he a bit old to be your uncle?"

"Actually, he was my grandmother's brother."

"Question three: how come you never paid him a visit before now?"

"Whenever I wrote and begged him to let me come to Thasos, he always wrote back and said he was too busy, involved with some vast shipping transaction or something." She giggled softly. "I fooled him this time, though. I simply popped in and surprised him."

"What do you know about his past?"

"Nothing really. He talks very little about himself. But I do know he's not a smuggler."