Page 6 of Achille's Earth Angel
Achilles chuckled. “I’ll remember that. Goodbye, my friend.” He dropped his hand and stepped back as Hercules turned and started walking down the beach. He was surprised when he suddenly stopped and came back.
“I wasn’t going to tell you this in case you started hounding me every day, but you can contact me anytime through a temple. There is a foundation of the old temple built to Artemis in Nas. It’s not that far from here, on the northern coast. She won’t like it if you use her temple to call me, but she’ll get over it.” He smirked at Achilles. “Besides, I know things that she wouldn’t want Zeus to know if she gets too heated up.”
Achilles rolled his eyes. “Of course, I won’t be summoning you every day. Believe it or not, I can get along just fine without you,” he retorted. It was true, he could get along just fine without his eternal friend, but he would miss him greatly. He just wasn’t going to tell him that, his ego was big enough. “Go on, get out of here. Run home to daddy.”
Hercules laughter rang out across the sands as he turned and began jogging along the beach. Achilles watched him until he reached the edge of the trees where he turned and lifted his arm in goodbye. He lifted his arm in return, feeling just a little bereft as his friend vanished. Shaking his head, he turned and walked towards the village. He had an Angel to find.
***
ANGE PARKED IN FRONTof the quaint and slightly dilapidated building made of stones and lumber masquerading as a police department. The municipality of Evdilos, like the rest of Ikaria, didn’t have much crime to speak of. As with any small town though, they would be the most likely to know who was in and out of the island.
The overhead fan droned away as she stepped inside the small building, the shade from the sun automatically cooling the air slightly. She took off her sunglasses and waited for her eyes to adjust as she swept the interior of the office area. Some advertisements for upcoming events snuggled between the usual sort of home-made requests for babysitters, yardwork, and whatever else anyone wanted done hung on the post board on the wall. The long wooden counter stood in defense of an old scarred office desk and a chair that sported a hole in the side cushion. Papers lay in scattered array all over the desk and the shelf stack had papers falling out of it. The untidy filing cabinet in the corner had certainly seen better days.
The office was devoid of people, no one sitting in the hard wooden chairs, and no one waiting in line at the counter. She walked up and smacked her finger against the bell that sat beneath the plastic-coated sign that read,For assistance ring bell.
It sounded like chair legs dropped to the floor and a muttered curse was offered before a young man in uniform came around the corner and stopped dead when he saw her. His tanned face, that ridiculous blond curl that never left his forehead, and his bright, white-teethed smile warmed her heart. “Ange! What are you doing here?”
Energy and excitement flowing from him, he moved from behind the counter and enveloped her in a massive hug. “Take it easy, Alex,” she said with a laugh. “You’re squishing me.” She pushed back in his cradling arms. “So, did you decide to stay on the island after all instead of going to the Athens police force?” she asked her cousin. Twice removed on her mother’s side, but still her cousin.
He ignored her question, his liquid brown eyes turning serious. “Hey, I’m sorry about your dad, Ange. I know that’s got to be rough for you.” He hugged her gently this time and released her.
Ange nodded, unable to speak over the lump in her throat.
He grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s go over to Soukis and get some brunch. You can catch me up on your plans.”
As he led her to the door, she finally found her voice. “Can you just leave the office unattended?”
He grinned as he closed the door and flipped the sign to the Closed for thirty minutesside. “Oh sure,” he replied pointing the small line at the bottom of the sign that read, look for me at Soukis.
She shook her head. “Nothing much changes around here, does it? I’m surprised to find you though, I thought you had other plans.”
His smile faltered. “I did, but when Adam died, my dad asked me to stay here for a while.”
“I heard, I’m sorry,” she said softly, placing her hand on his arm. Adam had been Alex’s older brother and a fisherman. His boat had been caught in a freak storm last year. They’d found the wreckage, but never recovered his brother’s body. Death was so much harder to accept when you didn’t have the physical person to say goodbye to.
“It’s only temporary. I know he needs me right now, especially with Mom gone.”
“I understand,” she murmured, thinking of her own father. He’d wanted her to pursue her own dreams, but it was his dream that she would eventually take over his home and business. That had always been a decision for the future, and she’d taken the appropriate business courses, but she’d been happy in the city.
After graduation and due to her love of Greek mythology, the University had asked her to stay on and teach for a while. She’d agreed. Perhaps she should have come home, she would have had more time to spend with him.
“Alex, if you are on duty, who took my report when I called in earlier this morning?” she asked, curious.
“Had to be Perseus, although he didn’t say anything. I was running late and he was in a hurry,” he joked.
“Knowing Perseus, he probably forgot,” she replied with a chuckle. “That man has to be one-hundred and five by now.”
Alex shot her a grin. “One-hundred and six to be exact. I’ll look through the desk and see if he left a message for me.”
“Good luck finding it,” she replied dryly, remembering the mess of papers everywhere. “You need to get neater stand-ins.”
“He was free.”
Ange rolled her eyes. “Remind me to call 1-1-2 next time around.”
“If you’re really in danger, that would be the best thing to do anyway,” he replied seriously. “They are better equipped to handle emergencies.”
Inside the restaurant, Ange told him what had happened earlier that day. “So, I wanted to know if there were any theatre people in town, or traveling shows, gypsies, you know—strangers that might account for those men.”
