“You don’t need to—” Isabelle began.
Flora chirped, “Four!”
“Four. I’ll be here.”
They climbed out of the rental car that Val (blessed Val) had arranged to be delivered to Regan’s apartment. “I’m going straight to the police now, girls. Please know I’m doing everything I can,” said Lee. They nodded somberly, perhaps relieved to be told to focus on themselves for a change.
As Lee pulled forward, she was startled by a loud knocking on the passenger window. A teacher motioned for Lee to pull over. Had she already been recognized, even in sunglasses and a rental Hyundai? Lee moved her car out of the line.
“Sorry to bother,” said the teacher, when Lee slid her window down.
“It’s OK.”
“Are you…is Isabelle…?”
“She’s my niece.”
“Oh,” said the woman, who wore the same getup as the girls, the drab, orphan-girl uniform even worse on a middle-aged woman. “I was hoping to speak to their mother.”
“I’m her sister. Regan is…she’s out of town. I’m watching the girls. How can I help?”
“Well, I just wanted you to know…”
The teacher was clearly nervous. Lee felt for her—it must have been difficult to be an administrator at a school for rich kids.“Please go on,” said Lee, removing her sunglasses to make eye contact.
The teacher blurted out, “Isabelle has been spending time with a young woman who doesn’t go to the ASA.”
“Yes?”
“This young woman lives nearby. She’s been caught selling drugs to the ASA girls and sometimes…becomes romantically involved.”
“I see.”
“Yes, well, it seems that Isabelle might be this young woman’s…newest…friend. And Anastasia Boosalis is problematic. She’s very wealthy and…problematic.”
“Thank you for telling me,” said Lee. “I’ll make sure my sister knows about this.”
The woman flushed. “Anastasia is an heiress,” she said. “To the Boosalis fortune? She’s been expelled from several schools in the city. I believe she has a personal tutor now.”
The name sounded familiar to Lee from society magazines and social media. “Thanks again,” she said.
“I’ve heard tell of ketamine, opioids, and they crush up their Adderall pills and snort them!”
“Oh dear,” murmured Lee.
“House parties in these giant mansions…and on their island homes!” The teacher seemed titillated…and maybe a bit envious. “Some of them have ski chalets in Switzerland,” she continued, “and Park Avenue apartments. I’m sure there’s cocaine and extremely expensive wine.” The teacher stopped speaking and pursed her lips, perhaps imagining sipping a glass of cabernet in Gstaad.
“Again, thank you,” said Lee, waving and rejoining the car pool lane. Truly, Isabelle’s teen antics were no worse than Lee’s had been. But on the other hand, Lee had grown up to be a battyactress with no family of her own…not even a pet! And alcohol problems ran in the family for sure. Lee thought about her brother, Cord, with a pang of sadness.
To distract herself, Lee punched “Police” into her car GPS and hit the button for “Hellenic PoliceΕλληνικ?Αστυνομ?α.” It was seventeen minutes away, back toward downtown.
As Lee drove, her mind filled with questions: Was Regan’s neighborhood called “downtown”? Would the cops speak English? Where could Regan be? What should Lee do about this drug-dealing heiress girlfriend of Isabelle’s? And where could she get a strong coffee?
By the time Lee reached Hellenic Police Headquarters at 4P.Kanellopoulou Street, the adrenaline that had powered her journey from Savannah to Athens was gone. She actually wished for a bit of anxiety, even mania, to give her the energy to push forward and find her sister.
Depression robbed Lee of agency, and her meds did the same.
She drove around and around the imposing police station, peering through her sunglasses, trying to find a parking garage. Finally, Lee spotted a likely structure, the wordsσtaθmoς aytokinhtωnin neon above an entrance that led, as it turned out, into an underground space with extremely tight, spiral ramps.
