Chapter 29 The hour was well past three when the telephone rang. The bell jangled urgently

and echoed through the front room of a modest house in the city's downtown, not far from a

certain boxing gym well known to many field agents of the Red Panda. After a time the ringing

stopped, leaving behind a silence that was almost as jarring as the

plaintive cry had replaced. The piece was a fragile one, however, and a moment later it was

shattered by the bell once again. At last the plodding of heavy feet on the stairs could be

heard, together with a steady stream of muttered curses, some in English, the most

deeply offensive in Greek. Spiro Papus turned the corner, his eyes barely slits as he

shuffled for the telephone. No sooner had his hand reached the receiver, then the incessant ringing

stopped once again, spurring a torrent of curses from the old man's lips that would

have made a sailor blush in any one of a half a dozen

languages. At last, his venom spent, Spiro stood and stared at the telephone a moment still seething.

He seemed to be waiting. Sure enough, less than a minute later the ringing began anew,

and Papa snatched up the receiver and barked into it like an enraged dog.

What, what, what do you want?

He bellowed, leaving the late-night caller no opportunity to answer.

There was a momentary silence, in which only the boxing trainer's fierce breathing could be

heard.

Mother hen calling, a quiet voice said at last.

What?

Spiro seemed genuinely perplexed for a moment.

"'Mother hen calling,' the voice said again without elaborating.

...