Feeling that my world has turned upside down, I look for a way to reverse it as circumstances continue to work against me.
The case of the Royal Doors in Japan and whether the Church plans to press charges against Mr. Roozemond and the Kanazawa College of Art is still pending. Proceedings against Robert Roozemond will have had to be initiated before the Dutch court can file a claim against Kanazawa College. A suit will be a lengthy process with an unforeseeable outcome, and we conclude that it does not make practical sense to proceed. Roozemond never addressed Papageorgiou’s request to identify the doors in person, but he and his legal adviser offered other options to Papageorgiou, which, they claim, went unanswered between 1991 and 1995. Roozemond claims this to be ample time to wait for a response before selling the Royal Doors to Kanazawa College. These facts, according to Mr. Polak, could weaken our case.
The archbishop and I fought incredibly hard for the return of these doors, but I’m afraid this is a fight we must surrender for now. This is an example of how dealers find loopholes in the law to legitimize the sale of illicit property. It is not just the dealers who are at fault here, it is all those who create a demand for these objects, who do a bare minimum of due diligence in investigating the legal status of what they are purchasing. I may have lost this battle, but the war is not over.1
Aristotle said, “Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.”
Just as the Cypriots have no case for extradition, there is also no evidence to back up their claim that I am the cause of their failings in Germany. The sting and the opportunity to bring these artifacts home should only have been cause of celebration.
The archbishop’s advice to have Polak take over the handling of negotiations with Van Rijn had all parties treading more carefully. The attorney general’s office of Cyprus continues to withhold evidence requested by the German authorities.
As my representative, Polak responds to Van Rijn’s attorneys concerning issues involving me. The remarks made by the attorney general are his unsubstantiated interpretations of the arrangement made between Van Rijn and the Church. His office is not only siding with Van Rijn; they are working in alliance with him. Van Rijn’s testimony was never a condition of the agreement I negotiated with him for the Church. The Church’s purpose is to recover the artifacts. The attorney general’s position is to prosecute. It is the police and attorney generals responsibility to retrieve a statement from Van Rijn.
There is an obligation on the part of the state to share Mr. Papageorgiou’s official reports identifying the artifacts for Cyprus with the Church’s attorney in Germany. Without documentation and proof of what Munich artifacts belong to Cyprus (Papageorgiou’s report), the church cannot repatriate its stolen artifacts. Attorney David Hole formulated a claim in October of 1997 on behalf of the Church and the state to obtain possession of the artifacts, but not having Papageorgiou’s report places us at a dead end.
Every one of Van Rijn’s accusations against me is disputed as lies and backed up with evidence.2 Polak forwards a response to Stella and notifies her that the Church will be dealing directly with Van Rijn’s attorneys.3
As April descends upon us, we are told that the Cypriots and the Germans will need Van Rijn’s direct testimony in order to prosecute Dikmen. Hole suggests revisions to my statement; I implement the changes and forward it to him a day later.4
Hearing a fax arrive, I walk over to the machine to investigate.
“Tomorrow is my late father’s birthday. You remember, the man you were going to visit and subsequently call by phone? Signed, MVR.”5
Van Rijn is signaling me. Here is my opening to lure him back to the negotiating table.6 Polak responds that we are open to meeting with Van Rijn and his lawyers. Unbeknownst to them, we are prepared to make a deal for the difference in the exchange rate in return for the fake Andreas. Polak puts off Van Rijn’s attorney after he makes outrageous preconditions. Van Rijn sends me copies of correspondence that Stella sent to his attorney. In one letter she guarantees he will receive $44,597, which is not part of any agreement I made with Van Rijn.7
When an invitation from the Greek minister of foreign affairs to be a guest speaker in Athens at the International Day of Museums arrives, I remember an ongoing civil case that the Church is involved with in Greece, and write to the Church’s attorney for an update. The case involves an icon, “The Enthroned Virgin Mary and Child,” which originated from the iconostasis of the monastery of Antiphonitis in the village of Kalograia and looted during the invasion of Cyprus.
The Enthroned Virgin Mary icon was exhibited on loan from Panagiotis Pervanas in the Byzantine & Christian Museum in Athens in 1984.8 Pervanas, a Greek who lived in Switzerland, purchased it from Sotheby’s. Archeologists recognized the icons in a catalogue from Petsopoulos’s exhibition as being stolen from Cyprus and reported it. The Church began a civil case against Pervanas in 1993.
No one thought to invoke the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Event of Armed Conflict (the Hague Protocol). If I can get Greece to invoke the protocol in this case, we will get the icon returned, and it will set precedent for the Dutch to invoke it in the Lans case, which is still ongoing. In light of this new development, I go to the Greek minister for culture, Evangelos Venizelos, and ask for his assistance. He confirms that Greece is part of the treaty and that I should meet with him in Athens.
After several weeks, Minister Venizelos has still not invoked the treaty.9 I call to discuss the matter with the archbishop.
“You must contact the president of Greece and tell him that he cannot ask the British for return of the Parthenon Marbles with one hand and deny invoking the protocol for Cyprus with the other. How can Cyprus ask for the application of the treaty in Holland for the Lans case if we are not demanding it of Greece?” I say.
“This is why you are a target,” says the archbishop. “You put everyone else to shame in the way you think,” he continues. “Send me a note and I’ll get it to President Stephanopoulos.”
I write a summary of the case, which the archbishop forwards to the President. A short time later, the ambassador of Greece notifies the archbishop that the Greek government will be returning the icon of the Enthroned Virgin Mary to Cyprus. Case closed.
Concerned, the Cypriots have not provided proof of provenance regarding the Munich evidence after seven months’ time, I write to the minister of foreign affairs asking for his intervention. The Germans will only consider extradition of Dikmen after he has been prosecuted in Germany. Dritsoulas is about to put a counter claim on part of the Munich artifacts. The Dutch and German lawyers of the Church are advising that a clear distinction be made between the civil and criminal case and suggest that we appeal for the return of the artifacts to the Germans as quickly as possible. Both the archbishop and I are extremely fearful about the fate of the artifacts.10
After months and months of waiting to receive comments from the attorney general’s office about my statement, it arrives in the form of two sentences. Polak sends my statement back with revisions and informs them that if they don’t send the statement within the week, we will send it directly to the German authorities ourselves. The Cypriots do not comply with a May tenth deadline, and so we proceed.11
As the last days of June fade into July, Van Rijn returns.
“Forget about lawyers. I want to meet with you alone, behind customs, at Schiphol airport,” he says.
The game is back on. I get advice from a friend who works at Interpol on how to tape Van Rijn and rush off to purchase a recorder at a spy shop in Amsterdam. Van Rijn will ask me if I am recording him, which places me in a moral dilemma. How do I justify lying, and will Van Rijn, who is such a good reader of people, be able to see that I am? The archbishop advises me that what I am doing is in self-defense, and that helps me to cope.
I drive to Schiphol, buy an airline ticket to London, and meet Van Rijn behind the customs area.
He’s seated at a table by the self-serve coffee shop. I slowly take my seat, moving in confidence, looking him in the eyes.
“Are you wired?” he asks.
“Would I do something like that? You are the one who wires!” I respond with my Greek/Dutch/English accent deliberately played up, breaking the ice and making him laugh.
“Why did you do what you did to me?” I ask in a more serious tone.
“You left me no choice. I have kids to feed. You made me believe that every Cypriot is like you!”
“You tried to destroy me, Van Rijn,” I say, looking directly into his eyes.
He goes on making excuses until I can’t bear to hear another word.
“I never lied to you. Never made a promise I didn’t keep. Do you have any idea what you put me through?” I say.
His facial expression tells me he’s about to confess when my mobile phone rings. It’s Michael warning me that the tape recorder is about to go off and I should excuse myself to go to the restroom to flip the tape.
“Michael needs me. Would you excuse me?” He graciously encourages me to take the call. In the restroom I flip the tape, refresh my lipstick, and return to the table.
“I’m waiting for you to answer me, Van Rijn. Why did you lie to the authorities and tell them I promised you a casino, land, and more money?”
He looks at me, and I can see he feels bad.
“I’m sorry. I had to discredit you to get you out of the picture, so I lied about the casino and the land. You never promised me those things. Nor did the archbishop. I felt I deserved more than I got. Munich was such a success, and I had nothing to show for it. I am sorry for everything I put you through. I’m desperate. I’ve burned my bridges and can’t go back to my old life. I need money.” I breathe easier now knowing that I have proof that he lied on tape.
“Do you have any idea how your people talk about you?” he asks.
I don’t respond. At the end of the day, I still wear the hat of an honorary consul.
“I can damage your government badly with what I have these people saying on tape. It will destroy your government’s image if it gets out to the press,” he says, as he hands me a letter that Stella wrote to his lawyers. In it she states that I am working on my own and never had the authority to speak for the government of Cyprus. Stella even suggests that Van Rijn go after me if he does not get the money he is owed.12
“I have Tassos on tape asking me to lie to the German authorities and Stella guaranteeing that the attorney general’s office will get the Church to pay me money.”
“I don’t believe you,” I say. He pulls out a tape and plays it for me.
“Yes, Van Rijn. She is an impossible woman and she has caused you a lot of harm. The attorney general has just put her in her place with the media. The minimum amount you will receive is $44,597. That is now agreed.”
It seems to be Stella’s voice. I’m devastated.
“When are you going to give me the fake Andreas, Van Rijn?”13
“Stella promises the Church will pay me $44,597 and there is no mention of getting the fake Andreas in return. Unless the Church pays me additional money, I see no reason to return it.”14
“The Church will not be blackmailed, Van Rijn, under any conditions.”
“Pay me some money and I’ll give you the tapes. I guarantee you will change your mind when you hear the evidence,” he says.
“It is the fake mosaic I am after.”
“Then I’ll see you in court,” Van Rijn says.
On July 16 I fly to Munich with Polak to deliver my statement to Peter Kitschler. While we are there, we meet with David Hole, who informs us that Van Rijn’s lawyers are filing an ex parte application to freeze the Munich assets in anticipation of a judgment against the Church of Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus. The timing couldn’t be worse as the question of voluntary return is being presented to Aydin Dikmen’s attorney. Van Rijn is in the process of trying to sell the tapes of Stella and Tassos to Dikmen’s attorney, just as he tried to tape our conversations and work both sides of the fence during the Peg Goldberg Kanakaria case in America.15
David Hole briefs us. “In order to establish that a person is trafficking in Germany, the prosecution has to prove that the objects have been in the subject’s possession for less than ten years or there must be evidence that a connection between the subject and the thief exists, which in Dikmen’s case cannot be proven. The only link we have to prosecute Dikmen is Van Rijn and his collaborators who were already guaranteed anonymity. Dikman’s continued silence poses additional obstacles. The Germans will probably only be able to prosecute Dikmen for representing that the fake Andreas mosaic was real and believe that Van Rijn’s testimony will not offer evidence in regard to trafficking. Dikmen can be charged with perjury for not reporting the artifacts found in his possession on October seventh. During the Kanakaria case, he was convicted of tax invasion for which he received a suspended jail sentence. If he is convicted on the forgery charge, the suspended sentence will go into effect.”16
The attorney general’s office forbids David Hole to give us access to the eight binders of provenance evidence prepared by Papageorgiou, which David Hole will be presenting to the German authorities.17 Having to deal with his two clients, the Church and state, separately has posed an extenuating conflict of interest for Hole.
Even with one foot in Cyprus and the other in the Netherlands, I manage to keep the peace on the home front. Michael understands my situation and the dilemma I face trying to get the Munich case back on track.
Van Rijn is in the catbird seat. We hope to get his statement about the sale of the fake Andreas, but he will be angling to get paid for it. The question is how little can we get away with giving him. As I leave for the airport, a fax comes in from David Hole. Van Rijn’s attorney is threatening to issue a court order to place a hold on the artifacts in Germany until his claims against the state and the Church are resolved.18
Cyprus in July means cloudless skies, intense heat, and celebration of Commandaria, a sweet dessert wine made in Cyprus from sun-dried grapes in an ancient style of winemaking that dates back to the twelfth century.
Arriving at the palace in Nicosia, I am struck by the archbishop’s appearance. He looks tired and thin as he leads me into the study in his private quarters. I feel guilty burdening him with anything more than he is already carrying at the moment.
“Your Beatitude, you seem troubled. Are you feeling all right?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer me. He continues to stare off into space as he stirs his tea.
“Your Beatitude,” I say gently, trying to coax him into conversation.
He turns his attention to me but seems distant.
“I would like to seek medical consultation in the Netherlands. Would you consider arranging an appointment for me to see someone there? I can’t risk a doctor’s visit here; it will be all over the newspapers the next day.”
“Of course. When do you want to come?”
“Let’s get this Munich case into the secure hands of another attorney and settle the dispute with Van Rijn first.”
“Bishop Vasilios should be present at all your meetings, don’t you think?” I ask.
The archbishop agrees.
Smiling, he says, “It’s useless to try and beat these people at their own game. It’s time to make new rules.”
“Okay,” I say.
“I’m calling a meeting between the Church and the government, but in essence it will be in the spirit of a truce. The attendees will be Bishop Vasilios, the attorney general, Tassos, Stella, Mr. Polak, Mr. Hole, and myself. I want the government to believe that I have crossed over to their way of thinking. Your absence, in their minds, will make them think that you are no longer in charge.”
“I don’t understand,” I say.
“If you are out of the picture it will give me a chance to place Polak in charge.”
I love the archbishop’s ability to see the situation from two diametrically opposed ways of thinking and design a plan that could very well derail the stalemate between us and the Cypriots.
A ringing phone wakes Michael and me out of a dead sleep. I quickly grab the receiver and head downstairs so as not to wake the children.
“For your own good, listen to this!”
I then hear Van Rijn playing me excerpts from the tape recordings he’s made of the police and Stella. He also plays me a conversation he has had with Dikmen’s attorney whom he tries to strike a deal with.
“Who else would give you the benefit of hearing this!”
Tassos and Stella trade insults about me.
The Church’s position is compromised. Van Rijn can now try to extort additional funds.
AUGUST 24, 1998, THE ARCHBISHOP’S PALACE, NICOSIA
The archbishop, Bishop Vasilios, Attorney General Markides, Stella Ioannides, Tassos Panayiotou, Mr. Hole, Mr. Polak, and two additional police representatives, who are not identified, arrive at the archbishop’s palace at high noon. The attorney general lays out the state’s position.
“Convicting Dikmen for the looting of the artifacts is barred by statute in Germany, which means we cannot get approval to extradite him to Cyprus. We can try him for selling the fraudulent Andreas, but we will need Van Rijn’s cooperation in order to get Lazlo’s testimony.”
“What about the perjury charges?” asks Polak.
“Yes, Dikmen made statements under oath in connection to a tax debt for which he can be prosecuted,” the attorney general continues.
“Van Rijn has agreed to testify, to get Lazlo to testify, and to cooperate in returning the fake Andreas for an additional sum,” says Stella. “Both Tassos and I recommend that the Church negotiate with him on this matter,” says Stella.
“It’s really not something the Church feels it should pay money for,” says Polak “Mr. Van Rijn seems to think the Church and the Republic are not operating from the same front.”
“Our office does not support Van Rijn,” says the attorney general.
“That is not the fault of the Republic. This is coming from the Church,” adds Stella.
“Apparently, your office does act as an intermediary for Van Rijn,” says Polak. “Van Rijn knew about this meeting today. He didn’t get that information from me. Your office is recommending that the Church negotiate with Van Rijn,” says Polak.
“There is a discrepancy between the information given by Mrs. Hadjitofi and that given by Van Rijn,” says Markides.
“I find it curious that you regard the statements of Mrs. Hadjitofi and Mr. Van Rijn to be on the same level,” Polak tells the attorney general. “Mrs. Hadjitofi’s statement is backed up with documentation to your office, to the archbishop, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Van Rijn has no proof and no witnesses.”
“You should pay him. He can provide additional information,” says Stella.
“Under whose authority was he told that he would be paid this $44,597? This is not part of the Church’s deal with Van Rijn,” asks Polak.
“The archbishop approved it,” says Stella.
Polak replies, “Please, this was promised to Van Rijn in a letter from your office on May twenty-sixth. You committed money to Van Rijn on the Church’s behalf on your own authority.” Polak exhibits memos that Van Rijn forwarded to the Church backing up what he has just said.
“Mrs. Hadjitofi has disrupted an action by the Cypriot authorities in Greece!” says Stella, which gets a smile out of the archbishop.
“I’m not aware of any facts supporting your allegation,” says Mr. Polak.
“It’s not an allegation, it’s a fact,” says Stella. “Nothing will be put in writing.”
What Stella refers to is my trip to Greece to recover the Enthroned Virgin Mary icon.
Mr. Hole presents a summary of the meeting. All parties agree that a civil case should be avoided. It is decided that Polak will be acting on the Church’s behalf and will take the lead in negotiating. Van Rijn will receive $44,597, for which the Church wants conditions stipulated, but the attorney general’s office does not. The Church is now in charge again.19
My phone is ringing.
“I hear you are back in charge, woman!” reels the voice of Van Rijn when I pick up the phone. “Congratulations.”20 Van Rijn knew the outcome of the meeting even before I did.
Van Rijn and Polak have several phone meetings, but Van Rijn produces no evidence to justify his claims. He played tapes of Stella where she tried to minimize the roles of both the Church and me in the Munich sting operation. Van Rijn complains that he risked his life in pursuit of the Cypriot artifacts and that he will settle now for replace with $545,000. This is typical Van Rijn. The settlement number will continue to change by the hour.
I’ve had about all I can stand. On the twentieth of September, Polak and I meet with Van Rijn once again at the Hotel des Indes.
“Do you maintain the same legal position that Mrs. Hadjitofi and the Church promised you a casino, land, and additional money?” asks Polak.
Van Rijn is not as chipper and confident as he was the last time I saw him. “I had a heavy drinking problem at the time. I don’t recall what I was promised,” he says.
Van Rijn will always tell me one story when we are meeting alone and another when there are others involved. Now that Polak has the authority to strike a deal with Van Rijn, his natural inclination is to try to get maximum dollar out of the Church. Mr. Polak fleshes out his arguments, then I go in with a bottom line number to strike the deal.
“There has been a slight change,” he says. “I had to borrow money. It was necessary for me to pledge the fake Andreas against it.”
“Are you in a position to physically deliver it?” I ask.
“Yes,” he responds. “I can deliver the fake Andreas, Lazlo’s testimony, and I’ll drop all litigation for a payment of one hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
“We will have to get back to you,” says Polak.
“This is take it or leave it deal,” says Van Rijn. “I’m not interested in a lower offer.”
“We will have to get back to you,” I repeat, as Mr. Polak and I stand to leave.21
The next day, Van Rijn meets me at Polak’s office.
“Here’s our take it or leave it deal,” I say. “We will pay you a hundred thousand Dutch guilders ($22,207), plus I’ll reimburse you for your flight to Holland, in exchange for delivery of the fake Andreas, a guarantee that you will get Lazlo to testify, and you agree to drop all charges against the Church and the Republic of Cyprus.” He looks at us, realizing we will not budge.
“Where do I sign?” asks Van Rijn.22
September 25, at the Hotel des Indes, at our usual table, Mr. Polak and I meet Van Rijn for the turnover of the fake Andreas.
“We did it, you and I,” Van Rijn says as he pushes a cardboard box across the table toward me.
“And Lazlo?” I ask.
Van Rijn responds, “I promise. He will testify. You tell me that I never give you something for nothing, so here it is.” Van Rijn pushes a box of thirty-five audiotapes across the table.
He has turned over all of his recorded conversations with Stella Ioannides, (Attorney General’s Office), Tassos Panayiotou (Police), Marios Andreou (Police), Marios Matsakis (member of the Cypriot Parliament), and Aydin Dikmen’s lawyer.23
“What I do for you I do for no one.”
His words stun me. Why? I think to myself. I can’t give what I don’t know how to give! I’m a person who focuses on what still needs to be done and does not appreciate the accomplishment in the moment. This is in part why I could not give the approval to Van Rijn that he so desperately seeked. On the other hand, withholding is also part of my strategy, because his help came with a price.
On October 27, Polak submits a written summary of the Lans argument to the court. Now we await the verdict.24 I also take great pleasure in sending a signed agreement where Van Rijn admitted he lied to the minister of foreign affairs and the director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which clears my name. I have waited for this moment since that awful day in in December of 1997 when Van Rijn discredited me in front of the police and the attorney general’s office. Van Rijn admitted that his only way to get more money from the state and the Church was to remove me as possible interference. Van Rijn told me he was shocked at how easily the attorney general’s office and the police were willing to take his word over mine. I’ve heard the taped conversations, and they do not reflect well on the people involved. There are no winners in this situation.
I reported to the attorney general that I was in receipt of Van Rijn’s taped conversations and offered to forward them to his office but received no response. Van Rijn continues to try to get back in my good graces. He faxes apology notes almost daily along with tips about stolen artifacts. I do not reply.
As Socrates said, “One thing I know, that I know nothing. This is the source of my wisdom.”
After five years of trying to get pregnant I finally succeed. The news couldn’t come at a worse time, but I have always been told that God does not give us more than we can handle. Michael is euphoric, and he deserves to feel this way. Please, God, I pray, don’t let anything happen to this child.
The public prosecutor in Munich, Mr. R. Alt, a man with a friendly disposition, greets Bishop Karayiannis Vasilios and me in the reception area of his office with a warm smile. The assistant prosecutor and Officer Siemandel, who worked with Peter Kitschler on the Munich sting, are also present.25
“This will help in the prosecution of Dikmen,” says Alt.
“I would like to request a receipt for the fake Andreas, please, with a note that it will be turned back over to the Church after the termination of this prosecution,” I say.
“Of course,” Alt responds.
“Dikmen has not consented to the return of the artifacts to Cyprus. We can now confront him with the fact that we have the fake Andreas and see if this helps to sway him,” says Alt. “If he declines, we will try to reach a settlement by mitigation of the charges in return for his consent to return the artifacts,” says Alt, confident that our chances are good.
“Will our bargaining position improve if the Church litigates against Dikmen for the nine hundred seventy five thousand Dutch guilders ($500,000) that Van Rijn paid to him through the intermediaries during the initial phase of the sting?” I ask.
“Unfortunately, the bills were never marked so they can’t be traced back to the Church,” he says.
The expression on his face shows his thinking.
“You can’t prove it. Besides, Dikmen’s money is held in a private limited company in Turkey. It will be difficult for the Church to attach any claim on Dikmen’s possessions, as the German tax authorities have a higher priority on any claims.”
“If Dikmen does not consent to the return of the artifacts, I would suggest the Church start civil proceedings,” says Alt, providing information I would prefer not to have heard. “Right now we are waiting for Lazlo’s hearing in the Dutch court. A trial for Dikmen in Germany will probably begin in November 1998.
Jan Fred van Wijnen could be a witness for the prosecution of Dikmen as he saw the fake Andreas in Van Rijn’s car. I also have a tape recording of Van Rijn negotiating with Dikmen’s lawyer.
We move on to a meeting with Mr. Kitschler, Mr. Siemandel, and other law enforcement officers including the Bavarian chief of police.
“Part of the deal that will be offered to Dikmen is that if he reveals the whereabouts of the real Andreas, we will agree to six months’ less imprisonment,” says Mr. Siemandel. I feel that the Germans are pulling for us. They have seen firsthand what the state has put me through, and their support is most welcome. To be able to find the real Andreas would help to erase the bad memories of the past year.
Before we head to the airport, we stop off in the basement of police headquarters where approximately a hundred artifacts belonging to the Church are stored. The eyes of the Kanakaria mosaic of Thomas follow me, calling me to take it home, but I must reluctantly leave it behind.
We speak to David Hole about getting a copy of the evidence that was submitted to the Munich prosecutor on behalf of the church, and he continues to send notes back to us that he needs the attorney general’s approval. Hole represents the Church and the government yet we continue to be denied access to the evidence, and may have to take legal action to get it.
There is no rest for the weary. Van Rijn is furious that I have not publicized the tapes he gave me, so he threatens to go to a reporter who will take the tapes public.26 It’s not a matter of trying to cover them up as he claims. My goal is to get the artifacts back, and that is where I am concentrating my energies at the moment, not in exacting revenge. He notifies the German police, who now wish to have the tapes as well. I share only the tapes relative to Dikmen’s attorney.27
The same day I receive a very upsetting phone call from the archbishop.
“Tasoula, I see the people and I recognize them but I can’t remember their names.”
“Your Beatitude, do you want me to come? I will get on a plane tonight and be with you in the morning.”
There is silence.
“How can I help, Your Beatitude? Does the Holy Synod know?”
“No, not yet. I want to see a doctor first. Can you arrange it?” he asks.
“Yes, right away,” I say, full of worry. I start planning how to get the archbishop out of Cyprus and into the Netherlands to receive medical attention. Socially, my network is extensive in the Netherlands and I know one of the royal house doctors personally, who would act with the utmost discretion. It is imperative that the press believes he is coming to Holland to finish business on the Munich and Lans case.
Like the American Santa Claus, Sinterklaas has a long white beard, but the style of his long red cape makes him look more saintly than festive. For three weeks now Andreas has placed his and Sophia’s shoes by the fireplace. Each night he sings the Sinterklass song before going to bed in the hope that when he rises there will be a small present or treat in each of their shoes. The final day of Sinterklass is now upon us. Tonight he departs Holland and I’ve arranged for an actor dressed like Sinterklaas to come to our home as a surprise for our children.
Not all is rosy. I feel terribly off today. I’m having terrible cramping and have Michael rush me to the doctor.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hadjitofi, I regret to tell you that you’ve had a miscarriage.”
I take one look at Michael and start crying. I feel as if I’m a high-speed train that never stops until it crashes. I am so preoccupied with the return of these artifacts I am losing sight of the things that are most important to me. Yet still, I cannot stop, I cannot give up, regardless of what it is costing me, and I don’t understand why.
“This is good news, Tasoula. You can get pregnant! You just need to finish with this Munich ordeal and get back to our life together so we can try again,” says Michael.
Without his calm, sturdy, dependable support, life would have been much tougher for me.
Arriving home, just in time to see the joy on the children’s faces as they sit on Sinterklass’s lap to listen to a story, there is no time for regrets, only space for renewal.