50
Day walked straight to join Aristos at Katerina’s taverna. Katerina ensured they had a quiet table, enabling Day to bring his friend up to date. Aristos listened calmly and without a great deal of comment. He appeared to be someone for whom the bizarre aspects of human behaviour no longer held any surprises. Only one thing provoked a reaction from him.
“I’m amazed that anyone would dream of returning artefacts to the site from which they had stolen them,” he said.
“Yes, it can’t have happened often, can it?”
“It comes down to Elias’s character, I think. From everything you’ve told me, I picture him as one of Tolkien’s hobbits. There he was, secretly working on his own, squirrelling things away, hiding his treasures. Or – what was his name? – Gollum, obsessed with his Precious.”
“Yo
