Chapter 13
Edie stood and watched the two police officers heading up the high street in the direction of the jetty. Before they got there, however, Ioannis disappeared into a store, possibly Mr Makris’ shoe shop. Meanwhile, Aikaterini ventured a little further before entering Marina’s art studio.
‘We forgot to ask if we can do anything to help,’ Edie commented, turning to the others when she could no longer see the officers, and sitting back down.
‘We should probably leave them to it while they make their initial enquiries,’ Ralph replied, scratching his head. ‘Hopefully someone will have seen something. I’m sure the police will get us involved further down the line, if we need to search the area, say.’
He swallowed, wincing slightly as if it hurt. ‘Let’s just pray it doesn’t come to that.’
Hannah, who’d been staring into space, came to all of a sudden. ‘God, what a nightmare! I wish we could rewind the clock and tell Jessica to stay with us.’
‘What do you think’s happened?’ Edie asked, wrinkling her forehead. ‘Do you get the feeling she’s OK?’ She hesitated for a moment while her eyes darted this way and that. ‘Or not?’
Hannah gave a helpless shrug.
‘There’s no point trying to guess,’ Ralph said, slightly tetchily.
He beckoned to one of the waiters, who’d been lurking close by when the police officers were there, but was now standing in his usual place near the café entrance, with his back to the wall.
‘I need a drink,’ Ralph told the women as the waiter approached. ‘I’m thirsty. Anyone else?’
Both Edie and Hannah ordered Cokes, while Ralph wanted an espresso and sparkling water.
His leg had started bouncing under the table again, doing its nervous jig.
Edie reached out and put a hand lightly on top of the back of his.
‘You all right?’ she asked in a low voice, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
‘Sort of. You?’
‘Same,’ she replied, with a tense smile.
It felt wrong to be sipping drinks in a seemingly leisurely fashion, watching the small boats coming in and out of the harbour and listening to the happy chatter of fellow customers and passers-by.
Edie was impatient at the best of times and hated having to play the waiting game, but there was nothing useful she could do to further the investigation right now.
Her spirits lifted somewhat when she spotted Marina coming towards the café. She must have finished speaking to the policewoman, who was now chatting to a group of folk outside the artist’s studio.
Marina was wearing a loose, multicoloured dress and sandals, and her long, wavy black hair fanned out freely round her shoulders.
Her stance was anything but relaxed, however. She was walking very fast, with short, determined steps, her arms tight against her sides and her gaze fixed firmly ahead.
She failed to acknowledge Edie’s wave but on reaching the café, she stopped abruptly before making her way to the table and sitting down without being asked.
Ralph, being gentlemanly, started to rise but Marina shook her head.
‘Please, don’t get up,’ she said firmly. It was more of a command than a request and he did as he was told.
Everyone was so alarmed by her grave expression, no one spoke a word.
Edie’s heart started pounding and her stomach keeled like a ship in a storm. ‘What’s happened?’ she finally managed to mutter in a raspy voice. Her mouth had gone dry. ‘Have you heard anything about Jessica?’
Marina crossed her slim, bare arms and the bangles round her wrists jingled merrily, as if determined to try to lighten up the sombre atmosphere. ‘No,’ she said, fixing her deep-set, dark brown eyes on Edie. ‘I don’t know where she is, but I need to tell you something.’
Her gaze was so intense, it made Edie shiver and Hannah gasped.
‘What?’ Edie asked, before swallowing.
‘You need to know, things are not always as they seem and what you think is real may be a lie,’ Marina said quietly, still staring into Edie’s eyes. ‘Keep an open mind and try to trust the process. Nothing happens in this world by mistake. So long as you keep the faith, all will be well.’
‘Wh-what do you mean?’ Edie said with a stammer. ‘I don’t understand?—’
‘Leave it, Edie.’
She stopped mid-speech and stared at her husband, whose eyes flashed in warning.
‘Why can’t—?’ she began, but he raised his hand like a halt symbol.
‘Look,’ he said, turning his attention to Marina, ‘I’m sure you mean well, but I don’t believe in visions or special powers, or whatever you like to call them. Edie and I aren’t remotely religious either.
‘Our friend’s gone missing and we’re all under a lot of pressure right now. We’re worried sick. No offence, but it really doesn’t help if you give me or my wife strange warnings that don’t make any sense. Please keep them to yourself.’
Ralph’s bluntness embarrassed Edie and she felt her cheeks and the tips of ears turn red. At the same time, though, she was grateful to him for shutting Marina down, so to speak.
As he said, they were under quite enough stress already without the artist getting involved and giving them the heebie-jeebies. And he was probably right when he’d said Marina, like Katerina, was just a bit fey and Edie should ignore her.
Even so, she couldn’t help feeling strangely drawn to the artist and somehow knew she wouldn’t be able to forget her chilling remarks, however hard she tried. She’d keep going over them in her mind, trying to work out what they meant. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself.
If Marina was offended by Ralph’s put-down, she didn’t show it.
‘I’m sorry for disturbing you like this,’ she said calmly, before rising. ‘I know you’re very anxious. I hope Jessica turns up soon.’
Ralph thanked her and she was about to leave when Jean-Luc approached from behind and tapped her on the shoulder, making her start.
‘Greetings, my fair sister!’ he said in a silly, over-the-top English accent. He grinned at Hannah, inviting her to share in his joke, and, still silent, she smiled back.
Marina, though, wasn’t amused. ‘Have you heard about Jessica?’ she asked with a frown.
The Frenchman took a step back and raised his dark eyebrows. ‘Jessica? No. What’s happened?’
Glancing round the table, he noticed Edie’s and Ralph’s serious expressions for the first time and his face fell. As soon as Marina had finished filling him in, he pulled out an empty chair and plonked down, as if his legs were in danger of buckling.
Marina needed to get back to her studio, but he wanted to stay behind to recover.
Unsurprisingly, he also had a lot of questions.
Hannah was the one who seemed keenest to answer them, so he moved to the chair next to her.
They were soon hunched over, their heads almost touching, deep in conversation.
The waiter returned to ask if there were any more orders and Jean-Luc wanted an espresso. Ralph decided he was hungry, having eaten very little all day, and persuaded Edie and Hannah to have something more, too.
‘We may as well wait till the police have spoken to Mac,’ he said.
Hannah explained she’d sent a text to warn him of their visit and all he’d said in reply was, ‘OK’ .
Jean-Luc looked amused and sat back, smoothing his hair. ‘He is a man of few words, your husband? He is not, as we say in France, a raconteur .’
‘Not remotely.’
Hannah, who was in a shortish skirt, uncrossed her long bare legs and crossed them again. ‘All he really likes talking about is sport.’
‘Ah.’ The Frenchman leaned in again. ‘Some men are obsessed with sport. I have friends who talk about it all the time. Personally, I’m more interested in art, films, books, culture and—’ there was a pregnant pause ‘—and women.’
Hannah’s eyes widened and she gave a simpering little smile.
Edie, who was watching, felt her muscles tighten and the blood rush to her head. She turned away quickly and tried to focus on the plates of food the waiter had just put on the table instead.
Ralph had ordered a selection of mezze to share, including dakos – twice-baked barley bread brushed with olive oil – topped with chopped tomatoes and local mizithra cheese and sprinkled with oregano.
There were also dolmades – vine leaves stuffed with rice, pine nuts and minced meat – plus tahini – a dip made from sesame seeds, olive oil and lemon juice.
Some other small bowls contained pale pinkish taramasalata , made from fish roe, tzatziki , and fava , made from split yellow peas and onion.
Everything looked delicious, including the basket of warm pitta bread, but Edie still had little appetite.
She couldn’t quite believe Hannah was flirting with Marina’s brother again, while the police were searching for Jessica. As every hour passed, the need to find her became more urgent, yet to look at Hannah now, you’d think she hadn’t a care in the world.
It was Jean-Luc who polished off most of the mezze .
Ralph and Hannah had just a small amount, while Edie could only nibble on some pitta.
She’d been keeping an eye on the police officers, going in and out of the stores, and realised she hadn’t seen them in a while.
Perhaps they’d gone to speak to Mac now.
The bad news was, they couldn’t have obtained any vital information yet that would lead to Jessica’s discovery, or they’d have surely told Edie, Ralph and Hannah. Edie could only hope their colleagues in Knossos were having better luck and there’d be a breakthrough soon.
Bored with sitting round twiddling her thumbs while Jean-Luc and Hannah chatted each other up, she rose and wiped the crumbs off her lap.
‘I’m going back to the villa. Anyone coming?’
‘Me,’ Ralph replied, tossing his napkin on the table and rising, too.
Edie glanced at Hannah, who looked up, all wide-eyed and innocent.
‘Oh! I wouldn’t mind some coffee first. I’ll catch you up. I won’t be long.’
‘See you,’ Jean-Luc added, clocking Ralph’s and Edie’s anxious faces again and remembering not to smile.
Deep worry lines appeared between his eyebrows, but as soon as Edie’s back was turned, he and Hannah resumed their heart-to-heart.