Korčula
Mljet had been a complete blank again, and she’d been almost as fed up as Lloyd had seemed on the sail here last night.
Which was a shame, because Lopud had been an absolute triumph.
Not only had Meri’s leaflets generated half a dozen new customers, but Lloyd had had the bright idea of offering to visit the community centre after the library closed to read to the children.
It was fair to say the manager, Filip, had bitten off her hand when she’d mentioned it, and it was all arranged for next Tuesday.
If it went well, Lloyd was determined to root out similar opportunities on the other islands.
But perhaps she wouldn’t mention that to Ivana yet. Just in case it didn’t work out.
Ana spun her seat left and right, gazing beyond the marina quay as a yellow taxi boat made its way towards Badija.
She was no further on with unravelling her own problems either, and last Saturday had left her feeling totally confused.
At one point she’d believed she was asking herself at least some of the right questions, but after she’d joined Pajo they’d had such a laugh, even helping Spiro to organise beach games for the children.
In fact, she couldn’t believe how much she’d enjoyed it.
Maybe it had been the amount of wine that she’d drunk – more than enough to make everything a little rosy.
In the warm light of day – and the small hours of the night – she’d realised very quickly that rosy was not what she needed.
And to make matters worse, another weekend would go by without her seeing Meri, who was heading off on a girls’ trip to Zagreb.
She so wanted to talk to her friend face to face about Pajo, but she was rapidly running out of options.
She stood and walked through the salon to meet her. “I’m here. Come aboard.”
Kristina stepped rather gingerly onto the transom, grabbing the rail as Dida Krila swayed.
“It’s all right,” said Ana. “She’s very stable, but if you’re not comfortable we can sit here.” She indicated the nearest banquette.
“Thank you.” Kristina dropped onto the seat. “It’s crazy, being an island girl, but I’ve never been good on boats.”
“Can I offer you coffee? Or a cold drink, perhaps?”
“No. Sit down for a moment, I need to talk to you about something.”
By the look on Kristina’s face, this was serious. Was the island withdrawing its funding? That would be a disaster. An absolute frigging disaster.
Ana’s mouth went dry. “OK.”
“It’s about Lloyd. Someone’s accused him of being a thief.”
“A thief!” Her jaw literally dropped open. Lloyd? No way. Absolutely no way.
“Yes. I have to say I was surprised too. It was why I didn’t bring any children last week. I needed to think this through. But the person is adamant, and reliable. And then of course…”
“Who is this person?” Ana folded her arms.
“She owns a restaurant in Lumbarda.”
“That’s ridiculous. When could Lloyd have gone to Lumbarda?
We can’t moor here until ten and we have to leave by four.
” But then … but then … he had stayed over one Friday night…
Jeben ti! No, think, Ana, think. There had to be a reasonable explanation, there just had to be.
Maybe he’d gone there and forgotten to pay his bill?
That would explain it. She pulled herself back to what Kristina was saying.
“It’s admirable of you to want to protect your team, but you and I both know he could have, because I bumped into him there the Saturday before last. And I have to say he was behaving most oddly.
However, it transpires the theft was years ago, which was why I was so unsure about saying anything, but then I went to a meeting with Ivana and the stolen purse from Kolo?ep came up. ”
The purse. The frigging purse. But Lloyd had been distraught. For days. But then, that very weekend, he’d gone to Lumbarda. Ana’s heart plummeted. Was there some sort of link? She cleared her throat.
“Did you tell Ivana your suspicions?”
“No. There was a whole room full of people. We were discussing many projects, not just this one, so it would not have been appropriate. I thought the best thing was to come to you.”
“So let me get this straight. This woman in Lumbarda is saying he stole something from her restaurant the other Saturday?” Surely he couldn’t have done? Lloyd? It made no sense at all.
“No, I told you. It was when he was on Kor?ula before. Thirty years ago.”
So what did thirty years ago have to do with anything now?
Ana began to fold her arms then stopped.
Lloyd had been to Kor?ula before? Why had he never said?
Of course, there could be one very good reason why he hadn’t.
The heat of the day pressed down on her, making her spine prickle with sweat and her stomach churn.
She needed time to process this, but Natali had only gone to the marine supplies store so she wouldn’t be away for much longer. Then Lloyd would come back and…
She stood abruptly. “Thank you so much for telling me. It’s something I needed to know.”
“What will you do? We can’t have a thief running the library.”
“And we can’t call someone a thief without evidence.”
Kristina sighed. “I know, but I’m in a difficult position, and if it hadn’t been for the purse as well… Perhaps it might be easier to focus on proving whether or not he took that than on something that happened years ago.”
Proof? But how could it be proved? “OK, Kristina, you had time to think this through, and now I need some. Would you mind giving me your number? Then we can talk next week.”
Numbers exchanged, Ana helped Kristina off the boat and watched her walk briskly along the quay. Behind her the old town rose, brightly coloured trip-boats bobbing in the harbour, but to Ana it was all a blur. What the hell was she expected to do now?
She returned to the galley, crouching to stroke Obi’s head when she lifted it from her basket.
Could it be true? Could Lloyd have stolen something thirty years ago?
And if so, did it matter so very much now?
After all this time, the woman could easily have been mistaken.
But the purse… Kristina was right. It put an entirely different perspective on things.
As did the fact he’d never even mentioned that he’d been to Croatia before, let alone this island.
That he’d lied was the most damning evidence of all.
Ana picked up her phone, then put it down again.
She had to speak to Ivana. She felt so disloyal, though.
Everything she’d known about Lloyd up until the moment Kristina set foot on the boat had been good.
But why hadn’t he told them the truth about coming to Kor?ula before?
Sranje, she didn’t want this hanging over her all weekend.
She had more than enough to think about.
She would pass it up the line to Ivana before the woman sneaked off early and be done with it. She picked up her phone again.
“Hi, Ana, you’ve just caught me.” She’d been right about that at least. “What can I do for you?” At least Ivana wasn’t wasting time on social pleasantries.
“Kristina came to see me. She says someone’s accused Lloyd of being a thief.”
“What?”
“Apparently it was thirty years ago, but I thought you should know what’s being said.”
“You’re right. These sorts of rumours don’t help anyone and we’re a public body. We need to be whiter than white. What’s your gut feel about the guy, Ana?”
“I would have said … I mean, I’ve had no issues with him at all. He’s been brilliant, in fact. But of course he was there when that purse was stolen on Kolo?ep. I know it’s a small thing, and he seemed devastated by it at the time…”
“If he’d come to us with an unblemished record, I might have agreed with you.”
Ana went cold. “He didn’t?”
“No. He resigned from his teaching job under a bit of a cloud, but his references were impeccable, and when I phoned his former boss she told me it had been an absolute one-off and there were mitigating circumstances. He’d been working in the school for more than twenty years without even half a black mark against his name.
But all the same, these one-offs add up. ”
“So did he steal something from the school?”
“No, nothing like that. He assaulted a pupil.”
“He did what?” Ana screamed down the phone, shock and rage bringing the bitter taste of bile to her throat. “You employed someone with a record of assault, for a live-aboard job with two women, without even telling me?”
“He does not have a record, as you put it, or we would never have taken him on. Don’t exaggerate, Ana.
Do you not think I checked with the British police as well as his previous employer?
There were no charges, nothing at all, and he was the best candidate by far.
None of the others even came close. But that’s not the point.
You need to investigate this theft. Find out what happened. ”
This was so not in her job description. She was about to tell Ivana that, when Obi jumped up and rushed towards the transom, wagging her tail for all she was worth. Natali was back.
“Have a good weekend, Ivana.” The words stuck in Ana’s throat, but she forced them out in as civil a tone as she could manage.
Her phone skittered from the chart table and spun across the floor, her hands shaking almost too much to pick it up.
Lloyd, a thief? A man capable of assault?
It went against everything she thought she knew about him.
But so did the fact he’d never said he’d been to Kor?ula before.
How the hell could she have got him so frigging wrong?
The nausea that had been threatening exploded through her and she only just made it to the sink in time.
Natali’s tentative hand was on her shoulder. “Are you all r-right?”
It should be frigging obvious that she wasn’t. But Ana couldn’t take this out on Natali; it was none of her doing. She was a victim too, if only she knew it. “No, not really,” she managed to whisper.
“You should go and lie down,” Natali told her. “I’ll clean up here.”
“We … we need to be on the move in an hour.”
“Well if you’re too sick, we can’t, and that’s the end of it. But … but if you can just pilot us out of the harbour, Lloyd and I can sail her home. I’ve done it before. Not on Dida Krila of course, but other b-boats, and I’ve helped you…”
Ana raised her head, leaning heavily on her hands, the joints of her fingers white where she gripped the side of the sink.
“I know you can do it. Thank you.” It was a godsend.
Natali was a godsend. Because, more than anything, it meant she would barely have to face Lloyd tonight.
Ana had no idea how on god’s earth she would manage that.