Doyle was studying a menu when Bodie arrived and took a seat across from him, looking around with an quizzical expression. "From the way you talked about it, I thought this place was a lot fancier."
His partner grinned. "It may not look like much but this is the best Greek food in London."
It was true the Ouzo Oasis did not seem very impressive at first sight. It was small, a dozen tables, with a filigree lamp over each table providing the only lighting. There were no pictures on the walls, in fact there was no art of any kind. The only striking feature was the collection of bottles hanging from the ceiling. Bodie indicated them. "What's with the bottles?"
"Go and look." Doyle gestured to a waiter. "I'll get us an appetizer sampler."
Bodie got up and examined the bottles. They were a varied collection of ouzo, wine, and even beer bottles, all in small wicker bottle holders with written messages. Murray and Alice, March 15, 1965 Teach me to hear mermaids singing He recognized the John Donne quote and became fascinated with the inscriptions. There were bottles commemorating weddings, family reunions, births, wins at sporting events, and even one for a horse race that had given the unknown writer a windfall. Not all the dedications were happy. One had a picture of angel wings and the words Little Stella, always in our hearts, love Mommy and Daddy and another that simply said 1946 Thank God we survived.
Bodie went back to the table. "Some of those bottles go back decades."
Doyle nodded. "The owner, Stavros Kanas, is the third generation and customers have been hanging bottles since the place opened."
"And they don't run out of room?"
"I asked about that once and Stavros told me when they need room they take down the oldest bottles and store them in the basement. They have every bottle that was ever hung."
"You know the owner?" asked Bodie.
His question was answered by a cry of "Uncle Ray!" A young woman in her early twenties ran up and threw her arms around the curly-haired man. She was really lovely, with clear olive skin, big dark eyes, and hair so black it glinted blue. Doyle stood up and hugged the girl.
"Uncle Ray?" Bodie was amused.
His partner smiled down at the girl. "This is Thea Kanas. Thea, my friend, Bodie."
A short dark man with coal black hair and a thin intelligent face came up behind the girl with a tray of spanakopita, dolmades, olives, feta cheese, hummus, cucumbers, and pita bread. "Ray! It is good to see you, my friend!" He set the tray on the table and pumped Doyle's hand.
"It's been a while." The curly-haired man indicated Bodie. "I wanted my friend to see the place."
"Any friend of Ray Doyle's is a friend of mine!" Stavros bowed. "I see you have met my daughter, Mr…"
"Bodie," said Doyle.
"Mr Bodie." Stavros took the menus. "You must let me bring you something special. We just got in some fresh lamb, I will prepare kebab with mousaka that will make your mouths sing!"
Doyle smiled. "Sound good, Bodie?" When his partner nodded, the curly-haired man said, "Whatever you say, Stavros. Can we get some ouzo?"
"At once!" Stavros bustled off, his daughter following after giving Doyle a kiss on the cheek.
"Are you Greek royalty?" asked Bodie.
"Not exactly," chuckled Doyle. "First time I was ever here was in the line of duty. Thea was only twelve years old then but she was working the cash register. Some villain came in, stuck a gun in her face, took all the money. I got the call."
"What happened then?" asked Bodie, scooping up hummus with pita bread. He took a bite and nodded approvingly, then tried a spinach pie. "You're right, this is the best I've ever tasted."
"Told you." Doyle popped an olive in his mouth, followed by feta cheese and a stuffed grape leaf, and chewed for a moment. "Stavros called me every day for a week, asking if the man had been caught. I told him it was rare to solve this kind of crime, and he finally told me Thea was so traumatized she was afraid to come in here. All she ever wanted was to take over the restaurant and now she couldn't even walk past the door. It was breaking his heart. Thea's mother died when she was born and she's all he has. I started dropping in at his flat after work to talk to Thea, and I took her to the park, and then we came in here and I hung out while she worked. I caught a break and arrested the villain, and then I went to court with Thea when she testified against him."
"So now you're Uncle Ray." Bodie smiled, a sweet smile not often seen on his face and then only when he was with his partner. "Ray Doyle, sometimes I think you are a very nice man indeed."
Doyle tried to sound casual. "It isn't often a cop gets to feel he's really making a difference. Truthfully it was as much for my benefit as Thea's, but Stavros has been grateful ever since. And I've been keeping up with them ever since. I even went to Thea's graduation from the London Business School. She manages the place now."
Bodie saw the emotion on his partner's face and decided to give him a moment. "Be right back." He stood up and went to the loo.
Thea came back to the table with a bottle of the ouzo her father kept for special customers and two kanonakia that had been in her family for generations. She poured a small amount of ouzo into the little thick-bottomed glasses, then added chilled water to turn the liquid from clear to milky white. As she finished preparing the drinks, the door to the restaurant opened and two men came in, big men with quiet faces and nondescript dark suits. As the door swung shut, they each produced a pistol with a silencer. Doyle's back was to the door, and when he saw the terror on Thea's face, he jumped up and turned to see what had frightened her.
One of the men pointed a pistol at Doyle. "Do what we say and nobody will get hurt."
Doyle put an arm around the trembling girl. "It's all right," he whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you." During those few seconds he forgot about Bodie and when he saw him come out of the loo, it was too late. Bodie saw the gun pointing at Doyle and before his partner could shout a warning, he went for his own weapon. He almost cleared the holster when the other stranger fired twice and Bodie went down, lying still as a broken doll.