“No,” she answered in a quiet voice and sat back down on her chair.
“I’ve already preprogrammed Norville’s realty office number the private detective gave me. It’s the only number he could find.” Without hesitation he pressed the digit.
After four rings, a male voice answered in French. “Oui?”
Andreas thought it odd the person didn’t rep
ly with the name of the business. Speaking in French, he said, “I’d like to speak to Guion Norville.”
The man on the other end took a breath Andreas could hear. “Who’s calling?”
“Andreas Gavras, from Patras, Greece. Is he available?”
After a long wait, “I’m afraid not.”
He frowned. “Can he be reached at another number? If not, would you ask him to call my number? It’s of extreme urgency that I talk to him.”
“Monsieur Norville is no longer available.”
Andreas heard the click. The man had just hung up on him. He darted Zoe a puzzled glance and explained what had happened.
“Do you think he answered and pretended to be someone else when he found out who you were?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Maybe he doesn’t work there anymore. Didn’t you say he dabbled in other businesses?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe he has hired someone to answer the phone.”
“Then again it’s possible he’s in financial trouble. But I can’t imagine him hiding from creditors unless his family has cut off his money. There’s only one solution. I’m going to call the detective agency right now and get to the bottom of it.”
Andreas got back on the phone and asked to speak to Gus. In another minute he came on the line.
“Andreas?”
“Gus? I just had a strange conversation with someone at that realty number you gave me for Guion Norville.” He told him the gist of it.
“That is odd. It’s the only phone number I have for him. I haven’t yet found his wife’s. To my knowledge the name Norville Realty is still on the front door.”
“I need the address.”
“Here it is. In the meantime I’ll make more inquiries and get back to you if I find out any new information.”
“Thanks, Gus.”
“What did he say?” Zoe asked after he hung up the phone.
“He’s perplexed, too. After we get back to Patras tonight, I’ll leave for Nice first thing in the morning and find him. Since this is all I can do for now, let’s go up on deck. We might see some dolphins.”
Andreas left the galley first. He’d asked her to go to France with him, but didn’t hold out hope.
To his surprise she followed right behind him. He reached for another life jacket and handed it to her. The other one had to be in her cabin. After she put it on, she walked over to the side to look out at the water. “I can’t get over it. Another sunny, beautiful Grecian day.”
He found his binoculars to help her search, but couldn’t refrain from admiring her legs. Everything about her appealed to him.
“This is the experience of a lifetime. Oh—look! Two of them, jumping together!”