Two days later, Doyle walked into Bodie's flat and flopped down in a chair across from the sofa. Cowley's bark had been far worse than his bite, for he had not only stayed with them at hospital while Bodie's arm was tended, he had given them a week off. Now the curly-haired man frowned at his partner. "You're not ready."
Bodie was in sweatpants and an old t-shirt, turning something over and over in his hand. "You go."
"I can't go without you!" Doyle was exasperated. "Stavros specifically asked for you. Mirakis is going to be there too."
"Did the Cow find out why someone wanted to kill him?"
"Drugs. What else? Mirakis was working with Interpol to stop a pipeline using diplomatic pouches. Once the dead men were identified, Interpol picked up the rest of the gang and some of them talked." Doyle came over to the sofa to sit next to Bodie, peering at the object in his hand. It was the dented gold coin, and Doyle reached for it, half expecting his partner to pull it away. Bodie had always been cagey about his past, and the little he shared had always been of his own volition. Now Doyle studied the coin in his hand and waited.
"She gave it to me," said Bodie finally, in a low tone. "I told you about her once, remember? When we got Krivas?"*
"I remember you said she was beautiful and you loved her," said Doyle softly.
Bodie took the coin back. "Angela March, but I called her Angel. She was, you know. She was an angel. She was working at an orphanage, and we met when one of the kids got hurt and I took him to hospital." Bodie's throat worked. "She wasn't just beautiful. She was the kindest person I've ever known. She was so good with those kids…well." He fell silent for a moment. "I asked her to come back to London with me. You and me and the lights of London, that's what I would say to her. And then one day she said yes, and she gave me this." He stroked the coin as if it was a loved face. "She said it would bring me luck."
"I guess it did," said Doyle.
"Did it?" asked Bodie desolately, "If I hadn't been wearing it, I might be with her now." He turned his head to look at Doyle and read the words his partner would never say in his eyes. She doesn't need you anymore, Bodie. I do. An answering spark lit Bodie's eyes, and he slipped the chain over his head and tucked the coin under his shirt. "All right, I'll go, but only because it's by special invitation."
They arrived at the Ouzo Oasis to find a sign on the door announcing the restaurant was closed for a private party. Doyle whistled. "I didn't know Stavros was going to do that." He opened the door and went inside, bracing himself as Thea came running towards him.
"Uncle Ray!" She hugged him tightly, then turned to Bodie hesitantly, remembering the last time she had embraced him.
"I'm fine," he grinned, opening his arms.
She gave him a careful hug, then turned to the two men waiting at the big center table. Stavros Kanas came forward and shook first Doyle's hand, then Bodie's. "I can never thank you enough." He indicated the man by his side. "My friend Demetrius Mirakis. Demetrius, this is Ray Doyle, of whom you have heard, and my good friend, Mr Bodie, whom I have only just met."
Mirakis shook hands with both men, saying gravely, "Mr Bodie, Stavros has told me of what you did. I owe you a great deal."
"Thea's the one you owe," said Bodie. "She's a very brave girl."
Thea blushed and shook her head. "Let us not speak of it. Let us eat!"
They all sat down at the table. There was a whole roasted lamb in honor of the occasion, along with every dish on the menu, and the ambassador laughed. "Stav, we cannot possibly eat all this, you know."
"No one goes hungry tonight!" said Stavros grandly. He smiled at Thea as she signaled to him. "Yes, yes, bring it out."
She went into the office and came back with a bottle of ouzo, a wicker bottle holder, and a magic marker. "Uncle Ray." She handed him the bottle and he whistled and showed it to Bodie. It was over a hundred years old.
"This is a very special bottle," said Stavros gravely. "My grandfather brought it when he came from Greece." He took the bottle back. Thea was writing on the wicker, and when she finished, her father set the bottle in the holder. "This will hang in a place of honor over our door as long as the restaurant stands." He gave the bottle back to Doyle, who read the inscription and then handed it to his partner.
Bodie read the words and felt a lump in his throat. Something frozen inside him melted a little, and he gave the bottle to Stavros, smiling the sweet smile that had died with Angel and only come back with Doyle's friendship. He watched as the bottle was hung, knowing that something very good had come into his life with the words Thea had written. For Uncle Ray and Uncle Bodie with all my love. Thea
*Where The Jungle Ends