Once Heinrich cracked the case and gave Montaine what he wanted, who was to say that the corporate bastard would keep his end of the bargain? There were a hundred better candidates for a job like that. High-class suck-ups with people skills, or investigators who were already based in Europe and knew the territory.

Damn, was he even going to get to see Jan again?

Hell, yeah, Heinrich decided. He’d bust this case, impress the hell out of Montaine, and make him offer that job. Then Heinrich would bite the bullet and work under the guy while setting up his European operations. At least he’d be with Jan. At least he’d be doing something useful with his life.

Thalia murmured in her sleep and shifted her weight. Heinrich realized that he had unconsciously squared his shoulders, waking her up.

Her eyes fluttered open, then widened as she saw where her head was resting.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, shifting her head to rest on the seat.

“Don’t mention it. It’s my pleasure,” he said, but she had already fallen asleep.

By the time they landed in Athens, Heinrich was red-eyed and irritable. Between worrying about Jan and this case, he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. As they hit the tarmac, Thalia yawned. She stretched as if showing off her figure and then opened her eyes.

“We there already?” she asked.

“You got a full night’s sleep,” he grumbled.

“I always do on planes. How did you sleep?”

“Like a baby. Let’s go kill some antiquities thieves.”

“Let’s get a hotel first. Your credit card.”

Heinrich grinned. “Why not? We’re on expenses.”

“The Ministry of Antiquities is on a shoestring budget these days. I’ll show you someplace cheap.”

“Killjoy.”

They ended up at a spare, functional hotel just off Athens’ main square. As the taxi passed them on the road skirting the edge of the square, Heinrich saw a gathering of several hundred people. A number of banners proclaimed something about the unity of the Greek people. A long line of mostly elderly individuals stood in front of what looked like a food stall.

“Those are farmers who come in from the surrounding countryside,” Thalia explained. “They distribute food to anyone who needs it. They’ve been here every day since the crisis hit.”

“Looks like they’re helping mostly pensioners.”

Thalia nodded. “They were the hardest hit. The pensions were slashed and utilities went way up. A lot of these old people would be on the street if it wasn’t for these farmers.”

They checked into separate rooms and Heinrich connected his laptop to the Wi-Fi. Still no response from Jan.

“Damn it,” he muttered.

After a shower and a strong coffee, he knocked on Thalia’s door. She answered looking rested and beautiful. Despite all his stress, Heinrich felt a stirring of desire. That was cut off quickly when Thalia got down to business.

“I’ve spoken with the antiquities collector,” she told him. “His name is Kristian Lambros. We can meet him at his place in an hour.”

Ah well, he thought.