dilitirio E-Book

Timur E. Simsek

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 98

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Milos: an island where the light blue Aegean waters clash against golden beaches. A place, whose natural beauty hides dark tales. Some of which are better left untold. When the lifeless naked body of a Swiss tourist is discovered, hedonistic Inspector Dionisis Lagos is assigned to the case. But the task of solving this eerie tragedy proves to be far from easy, as it threatens to throw the island into destructive chaos... Unbeknownst to most, but crucial to this tale, lies a forgotten artifact known as the apple of Hephaestus.

Leseprobe

Observe the world and it’ll tell you the truth

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

ONE

Welcome to Milos!

A small island in the Aegean sea, a place some might consider the holy definition of paradise. An almost mythical oasis where the light blue ocean was in stark contrast to the dark and heavy clouds. It was late summer and the temperatures were mild, so rain was unlikely to come by any time soon. Evenings could be spent out on the patio drinking white wine and eating fresh fruit. Milos was one of those few places still untouched by modernity or tourism. It was the true Greek experience. Men playing backgammon in narrow alleys. The smell of fried pepper everywhere. Rugged, grayish-white mountains defining the shoe-like island. With its shallow golden beaches, turquoise see-through water, and white-blue houses, it presented plenty of unique landscapes. Milos was one of those places you could just let go of all your worries. Well, almost…

“Tragedy struck Milos today when farmer Akis Marakos stumbled upon a woman floating dead in the Papafragas caves” – as was reported by a news announcement later that day. Akis owned an apple farm close by and he was planning on taking his lunch break on one of the cliffs after collecting his harvest all morning long. He had been eating there for the past thirty years, and today would be no different. Akis was a round, stocky man in his early fifties. He had eyes going opposite ways and thick, white whiskers, looking much like the men during the colonial ages. He was a beloved member of Melian society and considered by many to be the kindest man on the whole island. The caves were his favorite thing in the world. The chalk-colored cliffs and the light blue-green water were one of the most beautiful sights he had ever laid eyes upon. Already as a child, he would look down into the caves at the small rocks shimmering on the bottom of the ocean. Or he would try to count the amount of tiny fish swimming around. Upon sitting down that morning to eat lunch, expecting to see nothing else but water and pebbles, Akis glanced mindlessly into the water. Suddenly, he recoiled in shock when he saw something sinister before him in the deep. It was a naked woman floating face down in the clear water, her body whipping from side to side in the faint waves. Without thinking twice, Akis immediately notified emergency helpers. While anxiously waiting for first responders to arrive, Akis’ lunch crashed down on one side of the cave and then catapulted into the water underneath.

To no one’s surprise, Aki's disturbing discovery sent shockwaves through the tiny island. Never before had the islanders seen such a horrific thing. Certainly, there had been people dying occasionally, and now with the Melian mafia splitting into two parties there was more violence, but the islanders considered themselves to be civilized people. Leaving a naked woman floating dead in such a beautiful location seemed almost a sin. It was decided by first responders that the unknown woman should be transported back to Adamantas, the largest city on the island so that forensics could take a closer look at her demise and possibly put a name on her.

Meanwhile, Inspector Dionisis Lagos was in Mandrakia, enjoying the taste of wine and the company of beautiful women. Somewhere in the background, a TV was making noise. Mandrakia was on the northeast side, right at the coast and roughly a ten-minute drive away from Adamantas. Lagos’ family had been living there since the dawn of time. The city was a small collection of colorful houses, all with direct access to the sea. Each house had its own fishing boat, oftentimes matching the color of the respective house. It was in one of those buildings, the village tavern to be precise, where all guests could hear Lagos’ roaring laugh echoing through the rounds as one of his many lustful women gently tickled his neck with her playful kisses. Indisputably, he was having the time of his life. “There are only two things every man must truly love; wine and women”, Lagos said laughing at a young man sitting not too far away. The guy looked at him in a rather awkward way. “Probably a tourist. Doesn’t know how to enjoy life”, Lagos said to the woman sitting on his right side. She had been busy caressing his chest hair, so when he suddenly addressed her, all she did was nod. “Someone bring more food!”, Lagos shouted at one of the waiters. It didn’t take too long for a young man to bring fresh fruits, Saganaki - fried feta, cheese, olives, watermelon pie, Ladénia - the Greek version of focaccia, and some pita bread seasoned with salt and thyme.

“Tragedy struck Milos today when farmer Akis Marakos stumbled upon a woman floating dead in the Papafragas caves”.

Upon hearing that statement coming from the TV, Inspector Lagos shot up from his comfortable spot so abruptly, the women jumped. Lagos intensely stared at the TV screen and listened. The news reporter talked about how Akis had sat down to enjoy his lunch when he found the dead body of an unknown woman floating down in the caves. “That’s not good”, Lagos said sternly to himself. He had a dark foreshadowing. Just as expected, suddenly his phone started buzzing. Sullenly, Lagos picked up and said: “Yassas, Dionisis Lagos speaking”. As expected, it was his superintendent. After a minute or two of receiving instructions, Lagos ended the conversation with: “I’ll be there shortly”. Then, he hung up the phone and looked at the women. “I must leave. There is business to be taken care of”. The women seemed genuinely disappointed for him to leave but knew they couldn’t do anything about it. Lagos had been ordered to come to Adamantas.

While the inspector was driving to Adamantas, Valentina Zehnder returned to her hotel room after jogging along Achivadolimni beach for the past hour. She usually didn’t go for runs, and certainly not for that long, but she had this venomous urge plaguing her. Valentina was extremely agitated and had to move her body to get her mind off of things. Her worries lay with her best friend, Stefanie Sigmund. The two of them were Swiss tourists and they had been spending the past two weeks peacefully on Milos. Enjoying nothing more but each other’s company and the warm weather. Unfortunately, after having a small argument earlier this morning, Stefanie had stormed out during breakfast, never to be seen again. It was now early evening and Valentina was frightened that something bad had happened to her best friend.

“Why don’t we go to Greece?”, Valentina had suggested roughly a month before Stefanie and her would board a plane to Milos. “That sounds like a fantastic idea. I haven’t been to Greece in forever”, Stefanie had replied. She wore a big smile on her face when her dark brown eyes met Valentina’s grey ones. Appearance-wise the two best friends couldn’t have been any different. Stefanie had brown, straight breast-long hair that she oftentimes wore in a messy bun. Her skin was pure silky-white perfection. Her body was tender and slim apart from her behind. Her buttocks were what drew most men in. Valentina on the other hand had red, short hair and lots of freckles. She was also of slim build but with neither noticeable breasts nor butt. Oftentimes, her sickly looks made people stay at least three feet away from her. But it was all right. Valentina didn’t care much for men. She was more than happy with Stefanie getting all the attention. Unlike Stefanie, Valentina didn’t like being the center of attention. She was more of the observant and silent type. She saw and knew everything, oftentimes being underestimated by her peers. Stefanie had her heart in the right place, but she only cared for superficial things like fancy cars, big houses, and men with status or money. Her goal in life was sitting pretty at the beach and drinking fresh coconut milk while shy men shot timid looks at her. Valentina enjoyed the company of books and intellectuals. She loved people with whom she could have deep and meaningful conversations. Yet, even though the two girls seemed like complete opposites, that might have just been the reason why it worked. Valentina and Stefanie had met in their first year of high school. Like so many true, and honest friendships, theirs was created out of pure coincidence. They sat next to each other during their first class, and upon noticing common interests, they decided to stick together. Six years had passed since, and not a single day had gone by without the two girls talking to each other. Later, upon finishing and receiving their degrees, they decided to move in together to save money. Traveling to Greece had not been their first vacation together, but one that was badly needed. Valentina had been working like a mad person and desperately needed to take a break, while Stefanie wanted to get away for a little while. Just a couple of weeks prior had she broken up with her latest boyfriend, who was now bothering her at every opportunity. Deciding to flee the country, and perhaps meet a “handsome Greek god with olive skin, green eyes, and curly hair” down south, seemed like just the right thing to do.

So it happened, just a couple weeks later, that Valentina and Stefanie boarded a plane headed toward Athens. After a short, rocky flight they touched down in the land of myths, colors, and heat. Before long, the two girls were on a ferry out to Milos. Upon arriving in Adamantas, Valentina and Stefanie hailed a taxi to take them to their hotel. The check-in went smoothly and soon enough, the two were standing in their cozy, little hotel room. “Don’t they offer soap? What is this place? Oh my god, and the bed squeals too?”, Stefanie shouted to Valentina, who had just hoisted her suitcase onto the bed. In true Swiss fashion, the first thing her friend did was complain about something. There was always something to nag about. It wasn’t that the Swiss didn’t appreciate what they had, but instead it was to advise anyone and anything on how to reach perfection. Good isn’t good enough. Perfect is. With that mentality, any Swiss walked through life. Just like a hand-made watch had to run without error, so too had life to unfold in a pristine pure state of perfection.

After a short moment of settling in, the two girls went for a short exploration walk. They always did that whenever traveling together to locate the most important stores, such as the beauty salon, the Italian restaurant, the groceries store, and the pharmacy. After that, they decided to lie a bit on the beach, where Stefanie eagerly checked the scene for boys. Apart from some middle-aged hairy men with pot bellies, no prince charming was around. But not all had been lost. Above everything else, getting a tan in was equally as essential to getting boys as having your nails done. Tanning was especially important to the rather pale-looking Swiss people, who loved nothing more than to just lie in the sun like dead flies. “God, I’ve missed the sun. Valentina, I’m telling you, sometimes I get depressed at home”, Stefanie exclaimed. “Tell me about it. I was born in the wrong country. I belong at the beach”, her friend replied while casually turning on her back. “Promise me, these two weeks will be the best of our lives”, Stefanie said while taking off her sunglasses so she could throw Valentina a worried look.

“I promise”.