Chapter 13 #2
Edie saw them huddled together in the corner like two lovesick teenagers, laughing animatedly at some private joke or other and blind to what was going on around them.
Once she and Ralph were out of earshot, her frustration seeped out, like air escaping from a punctured bicycle tyre.
‘I think it’s weird the way Hannah’s behaving, don’t you?’ she said, sticking her hands in the pockets of her shorts.
Ralph glanced sideways at his wife.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You must have noticed! She’s all over that man like a rash.’
‘Yes,’ Ralph agreed. ‘Very odd. And inappropriate.’
‘Inappropriate?’ Edie repeated, with a hiss. ‘Outrageous more like! I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t been there. I don’t know what’s come over her. Maybe she’s having a nervous breakdown or a midlife crisis or something. I’ve never seen her like this before.’
‘I have.’
Edie stopped in her tracks and stared at her husband, open-mouthed. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve seen her flirting at parties sometimes.’
Edie made a scoffing sound. ‘What? When she was a student? That doesn’t count.’
Ralph rubbed his nose as if he had an itch. ‘No, much more recently.’
‘Really?’ Edie’s eyebrows shot up. ‘When?’
‘I can’t remember exactly, but I know I’ve seen her coming on to people – quite subtly, but it was obvious what she was up to.
Mac mentioned it to me once. He said it happened quite a lot and it made him feel humiliated.
He said he thought it was something to do with her wanting validation, but he didn’t know why she felt the need.
She got plenty of praise and reassurance from him. ’
He resumed walking and Edie had to hurry to keep up. She was silent for a few moments, processing what she’d just heard, before coming to the conclusion Mac’s word couldn’t be trusted.
‘Well, I never noticed Hannah doing anything to embarrass him,’ she replied dismissively.
‘I do know the slightest thing made him jealous. She only had to look at a man and he’d freak out.
She probably feels like letting her hair down now after years of being under his thumb, and I don’t blame her.
The way he acted the other night was appalling.
‘I just think, with Jessica missing, she should stay away from Jean-Luc for the time being. He’s a bit of a creep anyway, in my view. But if she’s planning on taking it any further, it’s because Mac’s driven her to it. The blame is all on him.’
A young, dark-haired girl walked by in a pink and white spotted dress, holding two enormous, fat, fluffy black dogs on leashes.
She could only have been about eight years old and was such a skinny little thing, the dogs could easily pull her over.
They looked quite docile, however, ambling obediently on either side of their mistress, only stopping every now and again to sniff something.
Edie remembered April saying she had two big Bernese dogs and guessed these must be them. The girl was probably Meaty’s sister.
Sure enough, the animals paused outside the supermarket entrance and waited for her to lead the way inside.
When Ralph stopped again, Edie watched the dogs plod one by one through the open door. The very last things to disappear were the tips of their furry tails.
The idea of living in a small flat with two such enormous creatures made her shudder. But reflecting on the dreadful prospect didn’t distract her enough to make her lose her previous train of thought entirely.
‘How come you never told me about Hannah’s flirting before?’ she asked, picking up the threads of their conversation.
Ralph pretended not to hear. ‘We should probably get some food for tomorrow,’ he said, gazing in the supermarket window, with his fists perched nonchalantly on his hips. Edie wasn’t so easily fooled. Pushing forwards, she wedged herself between him and the shop window, jutting her chin.
‘Don’t try and avoid the question. Why didn’t you tell me?’
Ralph rubbed his stubbly cheek and shifted slowly from one foot to another, as if playing for time.
‘She’s your friend,’ he replied at last. ‘I didn’t want to badmouth her. Anyway, flirting’s not a crime. I just felt a bit sorry for Mac, that’s all.’
If Edie had a shred of doubt about whether any part of Mac’s story was true, she wasn’t going to admit it. Hannah – and the sisterhood – would always come first.
‘Well, I don’t feel sorry for him,’ she said with a snort. ‘Not one little bit. I hope Hannah dumps him the minute we get home.’
* * *
Naturally, April was thrilled to see the couple as it gave her the chance to do some digging.
She was standing behind the shop counter, flicking through a magazine, but looked up the moment they entered.
‘I’m so sorry about your friend,’ she said, closing the magazine quickly and shaking her head. ‘Bad business. I’m surprised no one saw her get the ferry, mind.’
She eyed them slyly while they put some cheese and a packet of cold meat into their basket.
‘That’s if no one did see her,’ she continued, before raising her eyebrows, which were rather badly pencilled in, as usual. ‘Did they?’
She looked a bit different today because her blonde hair, usually scraped back, was loose.
It was rather dry and brittle, owing, perhaps, to too much straightening, but she was wearing an attractive, short-sleeved, white lace top that showed off her tan, plus eye-catching blue earrings and a matching necklace.
Edie knew she was fishing for juicy information, but didn’t mind. Naturally, April was curious, anyone would be.
‘The police haven’t told us anything yet,’ Edie answered honestly. ‘I think they’re up at the villa now, having a word with our other friend, Mac.’
April pretended to straighten a pile of greaseproof paper on the counter, which she used for wrapping meat.
‘Fancy a few sausages?’ she asked. ‘Those Cretan ones you had the other day? You said you liked them. You can have them on me.’
Edie started to protest but April wouldn’t hear of it.
‘It’s the least I can do. Treat yourself, why don’t you? You deserve it, what with everything you’re going through.’
Without further ado, she scooped up a string of six or seven sausages from the chilled display cabinet and wrapped them in paper.
‘Was she meeting anyone in Knossos – your missing friend, I mean?’ she asked, resuming her not-so-subtle line of enquiry as she popped the parcel of sausages on the surface beside her.
Meanwhile, Edie took a tub of Greek yoghurt from one of the fridges, along with a pot of hummus.
‘No, not that we were aware of. Unfortunately, she didn’t say where she was staying and we didn’t think to ask, which doesn’t help.’
Walking over to one of the shelves, she selected a couple of packets of sweet biscuits, deciding she needed some comfort food. Meanwhile, Ralph found a big bar of chocolate to add to their growing grocery pile.
April was just getting into her investigative stride when one of the huge dogs reappeared from upstairs and lumbered over to her side, wagging its tail and looking up at her with moist, expectant eyes.
It was soon followed by Meaty, who was blowing a huge bubble. When it popped, he was left with a mess of sticky gum all over his nose, cheeks and mouth.
April stared at the dog, then Meaty, and back again.
‘What’s she doing here?’ she snapped, pointing at the animal, which promptly plonked itself down on its haunches and continued to gaze at her adoringly.
She glared at Meaty once more. ‘Take her upstairs – now! And for Christ’s sake, wash your face. You’re an embarrassment.’
There was a pause while Meaty tried, unsuccessfully, to pick off the gum with his grubby fingers. Meanwhile the dog, sensing a brief window of opportunity, heaved itself up and took a surprisingly agile flying leap at the counter.
Before anyone realised what was happening, it had grabbed the packet of sausages and waddled upstairs as fast as its legs could carry it, clearly thinking its birthday and Christmas had come all at once.
April threw her arms in the air and screamed. ‘After her – this minute!’
Meaty turned tail and raced after the dog, his feet thumping on the wooden steps as he went. Bang-a-bang-bang.
April, Edie and Ralph stared at the ceiling, listening in silence as a torrent of thuds and crashes erupted overhead.
‘I hope nothing’s broken,’ Edie said rather lamely after a while.
‘I don’t think the sausages will have survived,’ Ralph muttered darkly.
At last, they heard a shout and Meaty hurtled back downstairs.
‘Got them!’ he yelled triumphantly, holding aloft a torn package with a few bits of chewed pink meat still clinging to the wrapping.
He was about to proudly present the parcel to Edie and Ralph, as if it were a gift, but April whipped it off him just in time.
‘Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t give it to them now. There’s nothing left!’
The look of horror on her face, along with Meaty’s surprise, made Edie giggle; she couldn’t help it.
‘Oh well.’ She glanced at Ralph, who was biting his cheeks, trying not to laugh, too. ‘At least the dog’s had a slap-up meal. I guess she’s partial to a Cretan sausage as well – and who can blame her!’
* * *
April insisted on giving them some more, unchewed sausages and after saying goodbye to her and Meaty, they trudged back to the villa with the shopping bags, cursing themselves for buying too much.
‘I can’t think why I got all that stupid cheese,’ Edie grumbled. ‘No one feels like eating anything anyway.’
By the time they arrived, the police had left and they found Mac sitting on his own by the pool, hunched over, with his hands clasped between his knees, staring into space.
He looked up when he heard them and gave a small smile, but his eyes were dull and lifeless.
‘Hi,’ Ralph said, trying to sound a bit cheery. ‘How are you doing?’
Mac shrugged. ‘Same as you, I guess. This whole thing is a shitshow.’
Edie and Ralph pulled up another lounger and sat side by side.
‘Did you speak to the police?’ Ralph asked, and Mac nodded. ‘How were they?’
Mac sat up straight and crossed his arms. ‘Pretty aggressive, to be honest.’
‘Oh!’ Ralph couldn’t hide his surprise; they’d seemed so pleasant and helpful earlier.
‘They were asking loads of questions about my marriage,’ Mac went on. ‘They wanted to know if Hannah and I were happy or not, and what we argued about the other evening.’
He looked Ralph straight in the eye, before shifting his gaze to Edie.
‘Did you tell them about the fight?’ he said. ‘What did you say?’
Edie’s pulse started racing and she fidgeted with the hem of her shorts.
‘We didn’t… I mean I didn’t, actually. I was going to, because I didn’t want to keep anything back in case it was relevant. But then Hannah started talking about it, so I left her to it.’
‘And?’ Mac’s blank expression made Edie shiver; she couldn’t work out what was going on in his head.
‘Basically, she told it as it was,’ she said.
Mac gave a hollow laugh. ‘You mean she gave her version of events?’
Edie was confused. ‘Well, yes. Why not? Surely that’s normal? She didn’t lie, if that’s what you mean.’
Mac swallowed. ‘She also told them I didn’t like Jessica, correct?’
Edie glanced at Ralph, who was sitting completely still, listening carefully.
‘She said you’d taken against her for some reason, and vice versa.’
‘Too right.’ Mac exhaled with a long, loud puff.
‘Where is Hannah anyway?’ He glanced round, looking for her, as if she might suddenly appear, like an apparition. ‘Didn’t she come back with you?’
Ralph jumped in to answer before Edie got the chance.
‘She’s on her way. She won’t be long. Did the police say anything else about Jessica? Do they have any leads?’
‘None at all,’ Mac replied. ‘Not that they mentioned to me, anyhow. I got the impression they didn’t exactly take to me. God knows what they said about me after they left.’