‘Did you hear that?’ he asks Niko, but Niko is already pushing his way towards the door, holding his hands up for quiet. There is another loud tap, a series. Niko frowns and peers though the spyhole. He curses loudly. The customers begin to shuffle and murmur. But Niko undoes the steel bolt and clicks some more locks. The door opens a crack. A low, rapid conversation takes place and then the door opens. A man in uniform steps into the cafe. A grey uniform with polished buttons and a shiny black Sam Browne belt that holds a black holster: a gendarme. The murmur inside the room turns sharp. Niko closes the door behind the new arrival, puts his arm around the gendarme’s shoulder and whispers something into his ear. The gendarme frowns, and to Tom’s horror he turns and stares right at him. Tom remembers that his pistol is upstairs, that he doesn’t know if there is a back door to this place. At that moment, Zoë slides into the empty chair next to Tom.

‘Don’t worry about the policeman,’ she says to him in a low voice. ‘This is Sólon Pandelis. He is a … a good chap.’

‘Are you quite certain he’s … ?’ Tom swallows: adrenalin has dried out his mouth. Then Apostoli shouts something. The newcomer sweeps off his peaked cap and grins, a little sheepishly. He has a pleasant, rather heavy face with a large nose and a bushy moustache that adds to his air of world-weariness. Everyone begins to curse good-naturedly.

‘If Niko let him in, then you are safe. Sólon is a policeman but there are still some good policemen. If it had been his brother …’ Zoë shakes her head. ‘He’s coming over. Try to stay calm.’

‘I am absolutely calm.’

‘Please. Don’t worry.’ Zoë lays her hand over his. Just for a moment, but it sends a shock through him. ‘Ela, Sólon!’ She is beckoning to the gendarme, who is approaching. He smiles at Tom rather uncertainly and Tom smiles back. With a creak of leather the gendarme pulls up a chair and sits down opposite him. There is a tense pause. Every eye in the Cordelio is fixed on the three of them.

‘Hello,’ says the gendarme in heavily accented English. ‘I am pleased to meet you.’ He hesitates, then holds out his hand. Tom nods and takes it. The man’s grip is reassuringly hard. The gendarme turns to Zoë and speaks urgently in Greek.