Nancy was awakened early Tuesday morning by the sounds of the island coming to life. After throwing back the crisp white sheets, she pushed open the wooden shutters and stepped onto the balcony.
All around her, Mykonos was bustling. Hotel workers wheeled carts of food along the path below her. To her left, three mopeds raced up the hill toward Chora. Motorboats and sailboats zigzagged through the shimmering sea on the horizon, and a group of college guys jogged along the beach.
She was watching the joggers when she spotted a young man and woman standing in the sand at the bottom of the path from the hotel. From their gesturing arms, they seemed to be arguing, though Nancy couldn’t hear them from the balcony.
She blinked as she recognized the white uniform and blue apron worn by the maids at the hotel. The girl was Niki, Nancy realized, and she was talking to Dimitri, the photographer.
Curious, Nancy leaned against the balcony rail and watched. Niki was shaking her head adamantly. She reached into a large tote bag, took out a manila envelope, and thrust it into Dimitri’s hands. Then she waved Dimitri off, turned away, and stalked up the path to the inn.
What’s inside that envelope? Nancy wondered. It was certainly large enough to contain three passports. And considering Niki’s suspicious behavior, Nancy wouldn’t be surprised if the maid was the one who had stolen the passports. She still didn’t know why Niki would steal them, but she was definitely going to try to find out.
“Wake up, you guys,” Nancy said, going back into the room. While Bess and George sleepily got out of bed, Nancy told them what she had just seen.
“That definitely seems suspicious,” Bess said, pushing her hair back with a headband and going into the bathroom to wash her face.
George glanced at the watch resting on her bedside table. “Too bad we can’t do anything about it now. We still have to get dressed and eat breakfast, and Bess has to call the embassy in Athens,” she said. “We’d better hurry if we’re going to catch the boat to Delos at ten-fifteen.”
Two hours later Nancy stood beside Mick on the deck of a thirty-foot fishing boat that was used as a ferry in the summer. Tourists milled along the deck, taking in the sunshine and the views. Bess, George, and Zoe stood by the rail, tossing bread crumbs to the gulls that flew alongside the boat, while Nancy and Mick watched.
As Nancy turned toward Mick, he slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
“Look at you, with your white sundress and golden tan,” he said, “You’re beginning to look like an Aussie girl.”
“I hope that’s good,” Nancy said.
“Good? You look fabulous!”
Nancy couldn’t help thinking that he looked pretty good himself, in his khaki shorts and white T-shirt.
“We’re almost there,” Zoe said, joining Nancy and Mick as the boat nosed toward a bare green island that was no more than a few miles long. Already Nancy could see the ruins of a huge, pillared building on a hill above the tiny harbor.
“It doesn’t look as busy as Mykonos,” Bess observed.
Zoe nodded. “Delos is mostly a museum. Once the tourists leave at the end of the day, it’s deserted, except for a small hotel, government guards who protect the ruins—and the lizards who live among the ruins.”
“Ugh,” Bess groaned. “Lizards?”
“Don’t worry—they don’t bite,” Zoe said with a laugh.
As the boat docked, the teenagers moved toward the ramp where the other passengers were beginning to gather. They waited at the back of the crowd for their chance to disembark. Nancy was just about to step onto the walkway when she noticed the uniformed guards stopping the passengers as they got off the boat.
“What’s going on over there?” she asked Zoe.
The Greek girl frowned in confusion. “Those men are from the Delos police,” she said. “But they don’t usually question tourists. I wish I could hear what they’re saying.”
“I can,” Mick said, wheeling back toward Bess. “They’re asking for passports.”
George craned her neck to see over the crowd. “It looks as if they’re turning one couple away.”
The color drained from Bess’s face. “Passports? But we’re still in Greece. I didn’t think I’d need a passport for this.”
“I don’t understand,” Zoe said as the group hesitated at the edge of the gangway. “They usually don’t check passports here.”
“What am I going to do?” Bess asked worriedly. “That stolen passport is going to ruin the rest of my trip!”
Chapter Four
Nancy took another look at the two guards. They were wearing khaki uniforms and had stem expressions on their faces. She hoped they were friendlier than they looked.
“Tell them the truth, Bess, that your passport was stolen,” Nancy advised, taking Bess by the arm and walking down the ramp with her. “Relax, we won’t leave you.”
At the end of the gangway the two girls paused before the officers. “Passports?” one officer, a young man, asked curtly.
While Nancy turned her passport over for inspection, Bess began talking rapidly, trying to explain about her stolen passport. The two guards seemed utterly confused until Zoe stepped in and translated, speaking to them in Greek. At last she turned back to Bess.
“They don’t want to let you on the island,” she said apologetically. “They say they cannot allow a security risk today.”
Nancy blinked. Bess, a security risk? She was about to defend her friend when Mick stepped up to the guards and handed over his passport. “I can vouch for this young lady, Officer,” he said, clapping a hand on Bess’s shoulder.
The young officer was ready to dismiss him, but his partner, an older man, paused and pointed to the diplomat’s seal on Mick’s passport. Nancy could see that the guards were impressed. In Geneva Nancy had learned that Mick’s father was an Australian diplomat. Would the Greek police dare to cross someone with diplomatic ties?
She held her breath as the young officer clapped Mick’s passport shut and returned it to him. “You may go,” he told Bess in heavily accented English. “But you must contact the American embassy today to get new papers.”
“I will—I mean, I already did,” Bess said, backing away.
A moment later the rest of the group had passed the guards’ inspection. Nancy gave a huge sigh. “That was a close call,” she said as they clambered along the dirt landing next to the ramp.
“I wonder why they beefed up security today?” George asked, glancing back at the police officers.
“Good question,” Nancy said. For a brief moment she wondered if there was some link between the security check and Bess’s stolen passport. Then she shook herself. Not everything that happened in the world was a mystery.
The group paused at the ticket kiosk just a few yards away from the dock, and Zoe helped everyone count out the entrance fee. Then Nancy turned toward the island’s ruins.
“Delos was the religious center of ancient Greece,” Zoe explained. “Most of the buildings here were built to honor the gods. Huge festivals were held with singers, dancers, processions, horse races, and athletic contests. The island is small, so we can tour it on foot in a few hours.”
“Just lead the way,” Bess said cheerfully, following Zoe as she took a right turn from the boat landing in the harbor.
Nancy smiled, glad that sightseeing seemed to be taking Bess’s mind off the passport problem. Soon after, Nancy, too, was absorbed by the houses they visited, with colorful mosaics and geometrically patterned tiles.
The group worked their way through the many houses that were scattered along the uphill path to Mount Kynthos, the tallest point on the island. Nancy was nearly out of breath by the time she reached the summit. But when she stood overlooking the entire island, she knew it was worth the climb. The mixture of green fields and smooth marble ruins made Delos a land that time forgot.