2

Naxos

Archaeologist and film presenter Martin Day unfolded himself from the cramped interior of his old Fiat 500 and reached inside the back for his briefcase. Naxos was busy, tourism being well under way by June, and he had been lucky to find a place to park. There had been nowhere in the shade and the day was hotter than usual. He locked the car and left it to heat up to a gruelling intensity that would be all but unbearable by the time he was ready to drive home.

He was looking forward to his meeting with George. Giorgos Kostakos, who owned a travel business in the Chora of Naxos, was relieving him of the burden of booking all the ferries, flights, hotels and hire cars he would need during the coming months of filming in the islands. Normally he would make his own travel arrangements, but this summer was not going to be normal. Not in the least. He was going to be working on some of the most outstanding ancient sites in the Aegean as part of a project more challenging than any he had attempted before. It would be, as he had said to Helen only that morning, extraordinarily hard work, despite being both fun and rewarding.

Inside his friend’s cool office, Day threw himself into a chair where he could get the full benefit of the air conditioning.

Giorgos Kostakos, third in the family of that name and a pillar of the community, shook his hand from a half-standing position and sat down again behind his desk with a laugh.

‘You’re going to be a busy man, Martin,’ he said, pulling open the desk drawer and bringing out a folder which he handed to Day.

‘Now you understand why I came to you.’

‘So, everything is arranged for your first three trips, but I’m still working on the rest. Thanks for sending your wife’s driving licence details. Her arrangements are in the file too.’

‘You’re a star, George,’ said Day. ‘Any problems?’

‘Only one. I had to accept a room upgrade for the hotel on Santorini. No extra charge.’

‘Great!’

‘The trip to Crete was the most complicated, but it turned out well. You and your wife travel there on the Seajet and there’s a hire car arranged at Heraklion which either of you can drive. You take it to Phaistos and keep it for the duration of the filming. After you return to Naxos, your wife keeps the car for the rest of her time on Crete and drops it off at the airport when she leaves.’ He grinned. ‘She then flies to Santorini.’

‘Perfect,’ said Day, imagining Helen’s face when he told her that she would be flying to Santorini to join him, instead of going home alone to Naxos.

‘The Santorini hotel – is it an anniversary or something?’

‘No, just an opportunity to spoil ourselves.’

‘Well, you’re certainly doing it in style. The first few nights, while you’re filming, you’l