‘Karl, you and Stelios had better get started,’ Dora commanded. ‘Takis, drive them as near as you can, or the van’s going to get there before they do.’

‘My car’s in the garage under the hotel. I’ll get it now.’ He sprinted off at once. A couple of minutes later he was back.

‘Right,’ Stelios took a deep breath, ‘I suppose we’d better get on with it.’

‘Take care, old man.’ Dora leaned down and kissed Karl. ‘And remember: in the end, it’s only a statue. Not worth getting killed over.’

‘Now she tells me,’ he said with a grin.

‘Don’t go in till you get the signal from Nell that the van’s ready and the fishermen are standing by,’ Dora reminded them.

‘We do have brains, you know,’ Karl replied, nettled. They climbed into Takis’s car, and he sped off down the narrow coast road.

‘Now we have to hope Karl and Stelios know what they’re doing,’ Moira commented.

Demetria was as good as her word. Once they had the van, they drove about a quarter of a mile to a small chapel with the familiar dome and shrines all round it. A gaggle of whiskered fishermen, none of whom knew a word of English apart from possibly ‘squid’ or ‘seabass’, stood excitedly chattering outside. They shook Nell’s hand in the manner of children embarking on a school trip.

Oh God, Nell thought, I hope this is going to be all right. A wave of anxiety rose in her at the realization of how many people they’d involved without any guarantee of their safety.

A grey-bearded man called Apostolis, who wore a cap and fisherman’s jumper and seemed to be the leader, rapped out something indecipherable, and deep silence fell as they all climbed into the van.

‘His father was a hero of the resistance,’ Demetria confided with a wink. ‘I think Apostolis has decided this is his moment to grab a share of fame.’

Twenty minutes later, after lumbering over a small road rutted with potholes, they arrived at a spot north of the boathouse and parked in a small grove of tamarisk trees.

Nell felt for her phone. She climbed silently out of the van and walked round until she had a clear view of the boathouse. Then she looked for the light on the phone. Typically she couldn’t find it, and swore to herself about how much she hated technology. Magically the light suddenly came on.

She flashed three times, and held her breath.

Twenty

‘Stelios!’ Karl grabbed his arm as they made their way towards the isolated boathouse. ‘Had you thought? It’ll probably be locked.’ The usually jaunty Karl looked as white as whey, which had the effect of making Stelios feel braver.