Read Online Aegean Intrigue by Patricia Kiyono - Free Book Online Page B

professor, she turned and saw his grim expression as he took in the scene.
    â€œProfessor, perhaps you'd better tell me what's going on here.”
    Professor Theo stiffened when he heard Alex. He cast an anxious glance around and Francie panicked. Surely he wouldn't try to escape? Alex would easily catch him. But the gentleman closed his eyes and dropped into his seat. He put his head in his hands and groaned. After a moment he took a deep breath and looked up. “In a way, I am relieved this is over. The stress of this ordeal has been worse than the punishment I will receive. I've been a fool, thinking the secrecy was worth throwing away my principles.”
    ****
    Francie sat on a hard wooden chair in the crowded hallway off the lobby in the police station, the tissue in her hand crushed into a soggy mess. The professor had just been escorted into a room for questioning. She still couldn't believe the man who had become her surrogate father could be a criminal. The rest of the crew apparently felt the same way, because they had all come to support him. Josh and Willem huddled in a corner of the lobby while Jane and Yannis stood across from them, next to the window. Yannis had his arm around Jane, who leaned into him for support.
    A shot rang out. For a moment, everyone froze in stunned disbelief. And then mayhem ruled. A woman screamed and officers scrambled for their guns as they ducked and crawled toward the open window.
    â€œYannis! You're bleeding! Someone help, please.” Jane's voice rose above the confusion. Yannis lay at her feet, a pool of red forming around him.
    Francie rose to go to him, but a firm hand on her shoulder made her stop.
    â€œStay where you are, Francie. It looks like someone is shooting into the building and you need to stay away from the windows.”
    At his touch, Francie's breath quickened. Would he always have this effect on her? She shook off the thought and pulled away from his hand. “Yannis is hurt. He needs help.”
    â€œHe's getting help now.”
    Even as he spoke, a pair of young officers bent over him. Jane hovered nearby, sobbing. Francie moved toward her, but Alex got there first. He put an arm around the girl and spoke softly as he pulled her down to a crouch and led her away from the scene. Bringing her to the hallway where Francie sat, he settled Jane in the seat next to her. He raised a brow in a silent request, and Francie nodded in understanding. She placed her arm around the younger girl.
    â€œSit here with me, Jane,” she said. “Let the medics do their work.”
    â€œI can't believe this,” Jane sobbed. “Who would want to hurt Yannis? He's never done anything to hurt anyone else.”
    â€œI don't know,” Francie admitted. “But at least we're close to the medical center, and there are people here who can find out who did this.”
    Huddled against the wall with Jane, she observed the action. Though Alex wasn't part of the police force, he was in the thick of things. Just like at the dig. Instead of sitting back and watching everyone else work, he was personally involved. No wonder she couldn't stop her feelings for him.
    Once the police sergeant determined it was safe, the men tending Yannis put him on a stretcher and moved toward the door. He moaned, and Francie sighed in relief that he was still alive. Would the tiny medical center on the island be able to save him? It was nothing like the large hospitals in Athens.
    Jane stood. “I want to go with him.”
    Francie glanced at Alex, who nodded. “Go ahead,” he told her. “It appears they have the shooter in custody.” He gestured toward the front entrance, where a rough looking man was brought inside, protesting loudly. “Francie, you might want to go with Jane.”
    Francie agreed, and they piled into the ambulance. Arriving at the medical center, she and Jane followed the stretcher in. It was going to be a long day.

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