Chapter 31
Poppy heard the sound of Jem’s car before she saw the sweep of headlights across the front of the villa, and she quickly grabbed her bag and keys, letting herself out of the door.
She had been ready early and watching for him, eager to have some company.
She hadn’t slept properly last night, and food had been an afterthought, her stomach too tight with nerves to manage more than a few bites.
Despite heading out for a long walk to try to clear her head, she hadn’t seen a soul.
Too much time alone had allowed the events of the past twenty-four hours to play on a loop in her mind.
She knew that wasn’t helping.
Although she had spoken to Tom a couple of times today, both calls had been brief and disappointing.
He hadn’t been able to get a flight back.
Not today. He had managed to book one for tomorrow, but it would mean another night alone.
He’d said he would speak to Martin when he got back. Deal with everything face to face.
At least she had Jem for a distraction tonight. She needed the normality of dinner with a friend and was glad she hadn’t cancelled.
He was already out of the car before she’d locked the door, opening the gate and meeting her on the pathway.
‘How are you?’ he asked, his gaze skimming over her appreciatively. ‘You look nice.’
‘Thank you. So do you,’ she told him, earning herself a quick and easy smile.
She meant it. The fitted sage-green shirt he was wearing loose over the top of his dark jeans hugged his body in all the right places and complemented the colour of his eyes, while the unruly curls of his dark hair added a little bit of perfectly imperfect chaos.
‘I found another restaurant a bit further along the coast, so I booked a table. I hope that’s okay. I know there’s not much open midweek and I guessed you wouldn’t want to go back to Manoli’s.’
‘That sounds good,’ Poppy agreed gratefully, understanding that he had purposely avoided Manoli’s because Sue and Ian were likely to be there.
The air had cooled noticeably since sunset and the breeze was much colder than it had been on previous evenings. It ruffled Jem’s hair as she followed him to the car.
‘So, how was your boat trip?’ he asked, once they were both in the car and heading down the track towards the coast road.
Poppy had been mulling all afternoon about whether to say anything. Jem knew Martin. What would he think if she told him what had happened? Would he say she had overreacted?
And then there were the cameras. She couldn’t prove her suspicions that Martin was involved.
‘It was eventful,’ she said.
He took his eyes briefly off the road to look at her, one eyebrow raised, his face dark in the shadowy interior of the car. ‘Eventful good or eventful bad?’
Poppy sighed, making a decision.
‘Let’s just say it wasn’t exactly what I expected.’ She hesitated. ‘My friend, Tom. The one whose villa I am staying in, he arranged for his friend, Kostas, to take me out on his boat. But Martin showed up instead.’
‘Martin Roe?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. Apparently, Kostas couldn’t make it, so he stepped in.’
‘Okay. But you’ve met Martin.’
Jem said it as a statement, not a question.
‘Yes, I have.’ Poppy gave a small shrug. ‘I know it’s stupid, but I always feel a little uncomfortable around Martin. I didn’t really want to go with him, but I felt awkward backing out, especially after Tom had arranged it. So I went anyway.’
‘You said it was eventful. Did something happen?’ Jem asked, his tone gentler now.
‘It was just really uncomfortable. He took me to Spinalonga, but after that he insisted on going further out to sea, then he pressured me into getting in the water. He just kept going on and on about it until I eventually caved. But then, when I was in the sea, the boat drifted – because he hadn’t anchored it.
He’d forgotten to mention that bit. And…
’ She paused, her face heating, wondering if what she was about to say next would sound irrational.
‘I panicked. It seemed so far away and I thought he was leaving me out there.’
Silence filled the car as Jem processed her words.
‘But he helped you back onto the boat?’ he asked, after a moment.
Poppy looked down at her hands. ‘He did when I reached it, but not when I was in the sea,’ she admitted. ‘I asked him to bring the boat closer, but he wouldn’t. I had to swim back.’
Jem exhaled slowly. ‘That’s not okay, Poppy.’
‘I probably overreacted,’ she said quickly. ‘He couldn’t help drifting, and I got back okay. I just panicked, I guess.’
‘That’s beside the point. He should have helped you.’
He sounded annoyed, and Poppy nodded, before turning to look out of the window.
At the time, she had been frightened, but, truthfully, what had happened with the boat was no longer her biggest concern. The cameras were far more unnerving.
She waited until they were in the restaurant before she told him about those.
The place he had taken her to was in the opposite direction to where they had gone last time, out past where Jem’s villa was. Which made Poppy feel bad.
‘You went out of your way to get me,’ she pointed out. ‘I could have come to you.’
Jem had lifted an eyebrow. ‘You don’t have a car,’ he reminded her. ‘And I wasn’t going to let you walk in the dark.’
She had meant she would have caught a taxi. Still, it was nice he was concerned for her safety.
The taverna was smaller than the others she had been to, and far less busy. As they took a table by the window, with a view over the sea, she felt some of the tension in her shoulders begin to ease.
They ordered wine and then food, and for a while the conversation stayed light.
It was midway through the meal, when Jem had broached Martin’s behaviour on the boat again, that Poppy decided to tell him about the cameras.
‘I found something in the villa last night,’ she said.
She had tried to keep her tone casual, but must have done a poor job, because Jem immediately looked up from his meal, his eyes narrowing.
‘You did?’
Perhaps it would be easier if she just came out and said it.
‘Yes. I found cameras hidden in the smoke alarms.’ As she explained, she watched his expression move through surprise to shock.
‘I found one in the kitchen first. It should have gone off when I burned my pasta, so I unscrewed it to check it was working, and that was when I saw the lens. Once I realised, I checked the other rooms. They were everywhere.’
Jem stopped eating and leaned back in his chair, processing. ‘Jesus, Poppy. You’re serious?’
She nodded.
‘This guy whose villa you’re in—’
‘Tom.’
‘Yes, Tom. What the hell does he think he’s playing at?’
‘He says he knows nothing about them.’
‘And you believe him?’ Jem sounded incredulous.
When she had first found the cameras, she had immediately assumed Tom had put them there. It would have made the most sense. But she had heard his shock upon realising that whoever had put them there had been spying on him too. He hadn’t faked that.
‘Yes, I do,’ she said decisively.
Jem was quiet for a moment.
‘You should go to the police.’
‘It’s not my villa. Anyway, Tom’s flying back tomorrow.’ She shook her head. ‘He’s going to confront Martin and then we’ll speak to the police.’
Something changed in Jem’s expression. ‘Why do you think it’s Martin?’
‘We don’t for sure. But he has a key and he’s always coming around. And well, after yesterday…’ She stopped herself. ‘He seems the most likely suspect.’
It helped talking about what had happened, even though she could tell Jem didn’t trust Tom still. She supposed it was understandable. He simply didn’t know Tom as well as she did, and unless she was mistaken, she detected there was a little jealousy.
Which was stupid. Nothing had happened between her and Jem, just as nothing had happened between her and Tom. Eventually, she managed to change the subject, relieved when they moved on to safer topics.
Still, it played in the back of her mind that she would have to return to the villa alone again later tonight. She was starting to dread the place. Even though the cameras were no longer up, she still felt so nervous.
She took her time over her food and made sure to order dessert too. Not because she was hungry, but it meant longer in the restaurant. More time before she had to go back.
Eventually, though, the evening came to an end and it occurred to Poppy that this might be goodbye for her and Jem too. With Tom back tomorrow, they probably wouldn’t have a chance to meet up again before she flew home. Would he want to stay in touch? She hoped so.
What had initially seemed like a holiday romance waiting to happen had settled into a budding friendship, both of them seeming to realise it wasn’t the right timing for anything more. She would be sad to lose him from her life.
For now, she tried to enjoy their remaining time together.
They were back in Jem’s car when she realised she wouldn’t be going straight back to Tom’s villa.
‘Shit,’ he muttered, as soon as he started the engine.
‘What’s wrong?’ Poppy asked, peering at the flashing warning light on the dashboard.
‘One of the headlights is out,’ he told her. ‘I’m going to need to get it fixed before I can take you back.’
‘Will there be anywhere open this late?’
‘I have a spare bulb back at my dad’s place. We can make a detour.’
At first, Poppy nodded, but then her chest tightened, realising the significance of going to Jem’s villa. The Pritchards lived next door.
‘It’s okay. I’ll get a taxi back,’ she said quickly, already reaching for the door handle.
‘Don’t be silly. It will take me minutes to change the bulb.’
‘I don’t mind. It will be easier.’
She must have looked like a deer caught in headlights, because his surprised expression softened to one of understanding.
‘You’re worried about Sue and Ian.’
‘I don’t want to see them, Jem.’
‘You won’t have to. They’ll mostly likely be in bed.’
Poppy glanced at the dashboard clock: 23:10. Was he right? She supposed it was getting late.