Chapter 25
Jem stayed with Poppy for over an hour. Long enough to make sure she had stopped shaking, and for the adrenaline to fully drain from her system.
By the time it had, she was left feeling strangely hollow and exhausted.
At first, she had doubted him. She hadn’t voiced her suspicions aloud, but her experience at the Pritchards’, followed by the tense walk back to the villa, had left her so on edge, she couldn’t help but question everything and everyone.
Jem knew them. His dad had been close friends with them.
Was he involved in whatever they were up to?
He had been gentle with her. Patient as well.
Not pressing too hard as he persuaded her to open up.
And she was certain the concern in his eyes had been genuine as she struggled to explain what had happened over the course of the night.
Perhaps it was actually voicing her fears aloud, but by the time she had finished speaking, she felt foolish all over again.
Had she overreacted? She really wasn’t sure. Although she wasn’t doubting her recollection of events, had she simply read too much into them?
Jem leaned back in his chair, a slight frown on his face. ‘I’m sure there’s a rational explanation,’ he said slowly. ‘Sue and Ian can be a bit much sometimes.’
Poppy was watching his reaction and knew he was choosing his words carefully.
‘What does that mean?’ she asked. Did he not believe her?
He hesitated, again searching for the right words.
‘I mean they’re very friendly people. Too friendly at times. Sometimes they forget that not everyone is as comfortable with attention as they are.’
His explanation sounded reasonable enough, but it didn’t fully soothe Poppy’s unease, and every time she thought back to the dinner, she couldn’t stop herself from trembling.
‘Sue sounded genuinely worried when I spoke to her. She said they were showing you Ian’s wine collection and you just bolted.’
‘Are you surprised?’
When Jem waited patiently for her to elaborate, she grew agitated, raising her voice.
‘I bolted because of the way they were acting and the things they said. They called it his playroom, for Christ’s sake.’
‘Ian is really into his wine,’ Jem pointed out, his tone gentle.
‘Well, he wasn’t drinking much of it tonight,’ she snapped.
Jem’s eyes widened briefly, a slight tic in his jaw betraying his calm exterior.
‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’ Poppy scrubbed her hands over her face and back through her hair. ‘I don’t mean to take this out on you. I just don’t know what to think.’
‘It’s okay.’
‘Have you ever been in their cellar?’ she asked, curious.
Jem was currently living next door to them and Sue and Ian had taken him under their wing. Given Ian’s love for his wine, it made sense they would have shown Jem too.
‘No,’ he admitted. ‘Though I’ve heard all about it.’
‘He had something in his hand. It looked like a knife.’
‘Sue said he had a corkscrew. That he wanted you to pick the wine for dessert.’
She had told Jem that? It all sounded very convenient.
But what if it was true? She hadn’t actually seen a knife. She had just assumed it was one. Either that or a pair of handcuffs. All she had seen was the glint of silver.
‘Okay, look at it this way. If Sue and Ian had bad intentions, why didn’t they come after you, instead of calling me?’
Poppy stared at the floor, twisting her fingers together.
‘And,’ Jem continued, sounding far too reasonable, ‘why pick tonight? I knew where you were. I was supposed to go to dinner too, remember? If you had suddenly disappeared, Sue and Ian would be the first suspects.’
She hadn’t thought of it like that and didn’t like that his argument was making too much sense.
‘They must have thought I was insane,’ she said quietly, realising that she had perhaps overreacted.
‘You’re not insane, Poppy. You were scared. There’s a big difference.’
Something about the calm certainty in his voice helped loosen the knot in her chest, and for a moment she allowed herself to lean into the relief of not being alone.
But eventually Jem stood, glancing towards the front window.
‘I should let you get some sleep,’ he said. ‘It’s been a long night.’
Oh God. She had forgotten he’d had to drive to Heraklion to meet the accountant.
‘I never asked you how things went,’ she said now. ‘Did you get the paperwork signed?’
Jem smiled tightly. ‘Yeah, it’s all good.’
She walked him to the door.
‘Thank you for coming,’ she said quietly.
He paused on the step outside, reaching out to give her arm a reassuring squeeze.
‘Call me if you need anything, okay? Even if it’s just because the place feels too quiet. I don’t mind.’
‘I will.’
He studied her for a moment longer, then gave a small nod and headed back towards his car.
Poppy watched as he opened and shut the gate, waiting for the familiar click of the latch, before closing the door.
She checked the locks twice before turning off the lights and heading to bed.
But, despite how tired she was, sleep didn’t come easily.
Her mind replayed the evening in fragments, and each time she closed her eyes, the images shifted slightly, details rearranging themselves in ways that made her question what she had seen.
She had no idea what to believe. Either the Pritchards were dangerous and had hidden their true intentions from Jem or she was turning into a paranoid mess. Neither scenario was comforting.
And a sharp thought hit her – if something actually happened, who would even notice? Keira wasn’t answering and Tom was back in England. She had Jem, but they didn’t know each other that well. And he had his own distractions. She truly was alone out here.
Eventually, exhaustion won and when she woke the next morning, the sunlight filtering through the curtains was bright and sharp. As the events of the previous night came back to her, a dull ache pulsed at the base of her skull.
In the cold light of day, she was beginning to doubt her version of things. Not enough that she would trust being alone with Sue and Ian again, but the hot wave of embarrassment that flushed her cheeks as she remembered running from their house sickened her.
If she was wrong, she had made a complete fool of herself.
She rolled over onto her side and reached for her phone. Still nothing from Keira – and the silence continued to worry her gut.
Fortunately, nothing else from Sue either.
There were two messages waiting on the screen, but to her relief they were from Jem and Tom.
First, she replied to Jem, who was checking in on her, letting him know she was okay, then she opened Tom’s message.
Happy Monday, Pops. I’ve got a flight back to London this morning. Am I okay to crash at your flat again?
Instead of typing a reply, she tapped the call button, needing to hear his familiar voice. He answered on the third ring.
‘Good morning, trouble,’ he greeted her.
He sounded so warm and familiar, it wrapped around her like a blanket and suddenly she wanted to cry. She wished he was here in Crete.
‘Hi,’ she managed, her tone soft.
Tom being Tom, he picked up that something was wrong immediately. ‘You sound tired.’
‘Yesterday was a weird day,’ she confessed.
‘I thought you were having dinner with your friends?’ he asked, and she could hear the frown of concern in his tone.
‘I did. It’s just…’ She fell silent, unsure where to even begin.
‘Talk to me, Pops. What’s wrong?’
He sounded so worried about her, and after another moment of hesitation, she found herself telling him more than she had planned.
Not everything. She was still embarrassed describing the dinner scene in full, but enough to explain the strange tension of the evening and the uncomfortable feeling that something had been off.
Tom listened without interrupting.
‘I ended up running out of their villa,’ she admitted, her face hot with the humiliation. ‘And then I walked back.’
‘All by yourself?’
‘I didn’t dare go back. And I couldn’t get a signal to call a taxi.’
‘Oh, Poppy.’ For a moment, it sounded like there was pity in his tone and she cringed, but then he added, ‘I’m so sorry you were made to feel like that.’
She swallowed down the ball of emotion in her throat, grateful he understood. If Keira had been here, she would have told her if she was overreacting. But she wasn’t. At least she still had Tom to steady her.
‘I keep wondering if it wasn’t them. If it was me imagining half of it,’ she whispered.
‘I know you and your instincts are pretty solid,’ Tom quickly said. ‘So I doubt that.’
Poppy sat up, pushing her hair back from her face with her free hand. It was Monday morning and she should really be trying to do some work. Not lying in bed feeling sorry for herself.
She moved to the window, pushing open the curtains.
‘Everything just feels… wrong lately,’ she confessed. ‘I came here for a break, but since Keira left, I feel like I’m slowly losing my mind. I mean, first the stuff in the villa that I can’t explain, then last night.’
‘Hey, you’re allowed to feel rattled,’ Tom said quietly. ‘You’ve had a lot thrown at you in a short space of time.’
His tone had softened in a way that made her feel calmer.
Drawing in a deep breath, she stared out through the window at the glistening pool on the terrace and the bright blue of the sea beyond the olive trees. The water seemed calmer today. She just wished she felt the same.
‘I hate doubting myself like this.’
‘I know.’
There was a pause on the line, then she told him in a small voice, ‘I wish you were here with me instead of back in England.’
Another pause stretched and her mouth dried, regret making her wish she hadn’t said the words. But she couldn’t take them back.
Eventually, Tom cleared his throat.
‘I wish that too,’ he admitted, and any doubts she had disappeared, hearing how sincere he sounded. ‘I’d come back sooner if I could, but I can’t leave until I know James is definitely going to be okay.’
Poppy understood.
‘Perhaps you could stay a little longer in England?’ she suggested. ‘I fly back on Saturday.’
Another pause, but then an answer that cheered her up.
‘Now that I might be able to do. I’d need to change around a few things, but leave it with me, okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘In the meantime, I’m going to make a call. I think you need a change of scenery.’
Poppy was curious now. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.
‘How do you feel about a boat trip?’ Tom proposed.
The suggestion caught her off guard.
‘Just a couple of hours out on the water, getting some fresh air and sun,’ he continued. ‘You can head over to Spinalonga. Everyone raves about it. Then maybe drop the anchor for a swim if you’re feeling brave. It will get you out of the villa for a bit.’
For the first time that morning, the idea made her feel something close to excitement. ‘That actually sounds amazing.’
‘I thought it might. Let me speak to my friend, Kostas, who arranges them. I’ll message you the details, okay?’
‘Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?’
‘Absolutely not,’ Tom assured her. ‘Look, I offered you my villa so you could relax. If arranging a boat trip helps with that, I’m happy to do it.’
Poppy smiled. ‘You know, you’re very good at this.’
‘At what?’
‘Taking care of people.’
‘It’s a hidden talent,’ he told her, laughing, before his voice softened. ‘I like taking care of you.’
Her chest tightened at the warmth in his tone. She should have known he would find a way to make things better.
‘Just promise me you’ll try to enjoy it, okay?’ he urged.
‘I will. I promise.’
After they ended the call, Poppy sat quietly for a moment, and for the first time since Keira had left, the villa didn’t feel quite as oppressively silent. The thought of getting out and doing something different was exactly what she needed.
Fresh air. Open space. The chance to try to forget the tensions of the last few days.
She couldn’t wait.