Chapter 29 #2
Even as she clambered down, the device still in her hand, she understood.
It was a camera lens.
For a moment, she just stared at it, her brain trying to connect the dots.
Had it been watching her? For how long?
Could it hear her too?
Her mind went back over the last week and a half. She had assumed she was alone and had privacy, and she thought of the many times she had been in this room in just her underwear or bikini.
Had she been naked at any point? She couldn’t remember for sure but didn’t think so.
No. That was beside the point. A camera had been watching her and she had been unaware. It was not on.
Tom. It was his villa.
He should have warned her about the camera.
Unless of course he hadn’t wanted her to know.
Betrayal stabbed through her, anger coiling tightly in her gut.
He had been spying on her.
Furious, she muted the TV, then snatched up her phone, dialling his number. It rang twice before he answered.
‘Hey, trouble. How was your boat trip?’
‘I just found your camera!’ she snapped, ignoring his question. Right now, she was too angry to attempt a civil conversation.
‘My camera?’ Tom repeated, and she could hear his confusion.
‘The one you have hidden in the smoke detector in the kitchen!’
There was a lengthy pause before he spoke.
‘Pops. I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.’
He sounded genuinely shocked, but she’d had enough of being played for a fool.
‘Don’t lie!’
‘I’m not! Are you sure it’s definitely a camera?’
‘I have it in my hand. I can see the fucking lens, Tom!’
There was another moment of silence. When he answered her, he sounded shaken.
‘I don’t have a camera in the house. Smoke detectors, yes, but no cameras. The only one is outside the front. For security.’
His reaction had her losing some of her bluster. Was he being straight with her?
When she didn’t answer, unsure what else she could say, he quietly asked a question.
‘Why would I have a camera in the villa, Poppy? It’s just me there. There’s no need for…’ He paused abruptly. ‘Wait. Are you saying you think I purposely put it there so I could spy on you?’
He sounded horrified and hurt.
Yes, that’s what she did think.
Or at least had. Now she really wasn’t quite sure.
Either Tom was innocent, or he was a bloody good actor.
‘I don’t know,’ she admitted, the fight seeping out of her. ‘I just… It’s your place.’
‘It is. But you have to know I would never do that.’
No. The Tom she knew wouldn’t. She believed him.
‘Can you send me a photo?’ he asked, calmer now. ‘I want to see.’
‘Okay,’ Poppy agreed, putting him on loudspeaker while she put the device on the counter and snapped a shot, careful to get the lens in.
‘We’re assuming it was put there for you,’ Tom said, as she uploaded the photo. ‘But that thing was on the ceiling before I moved in.’
He sounded a little shaken, and for the first time, Poppy realised that perhaps this wasn’t directly about her.
‘Do you know who lived here before?’ she asked.
‘No, it was empty when I bought it. So maybe it was just left there and it doesn’t work.’
‘Oh, it works. There’s a red light on it,’ she told him, putting paid to that theory. ‘I think it’s recording.’
‘Great,’ Tom said, falling silent.
Poppy suspected he felt as violated as she did.
If Tom was innocent, and she believed he was, then who the hell else would be recording what was going on inside the villa?
Martin’s name popped in her head. He was often around, had a key for the property, and he gave off a weird vibe. Maybe he had swapped the smoke alarm for the camera. But for what gain?
Not sure how Tom would react, she mentioned his name.
‘I trust him, Pops,’ he said, immediately coming to Martin’s defence. ‘He looks after all of the villas. He’s a good man.’
‘What about the people who lived here before? Did he look after the villa for them too?’
There was an uncomfortable silence.
‘I believe so. He knew where everything was when I moved in.’
Tom sounded so resigned when he spoke those last words, Poppy couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
‘I think you have your answer,’ she said quietly.
‘No,’ he disagreed. ‘There’s no actual proof it’s Martin. We can’t jump to conclusions.’
Poppy thought back to her boat trip earlier.
‘Did you know he was going to be taking me to Spinalonga?’ she asked. ‘Did Kostas tell you?’
Again, she could tell she had shocked Tom.
‘No, I thought you had gone with Kostas,’ he said, before adding, ‘So it was just you and Martin?’
‘Yup.’
Poppy deliberated. Should she tell Tom what had happened?
She decided she would give him an abridged version, focusing on the fact that Martin hadn’t helped her when she’d struggled in the water.
‘I’m so sorry, Pops,’ Tom apologised when she had finished.
‘I don’t trust him,’ she said bluntly. ‘And I don’t think you should either.’
‘I’ll speak with him.’
‘You definitely should.’
‘I will. I promise.’
‘Okay.’
‘What about you?’ he asked. ‘Are you going to be all right staying there until Saturday?’
‘Sure,’ Poppy said lightly, trying her best to sound brave. ‘I plan to stay away from Martin and at least I found the camera. If I disable it, he won’t be able to watch me.’