Chapter 14
Police were checking CCTV in all the likely places where Jessica could have been, and appeals were going out on local radio and TV stations, as well as on social media.
So far, checks with her bank revealed she hadn’t withdrawn any cash, hadn’t made or picked up any phone calls and hadn’t been admitted to any local hospitals.
‘The police chief said he’s surprised no one remembers seeing her in the village or on the ferry or any of the buses she was supposed to use, but it doesn’t mean something bad has happened to her,’ Ralph explained to the others, once he’d put down the phone.
‘Apparently, most missing people are found or return in the first few days, which is encouraging. We must hold on to that.
‘He thinks she’s low risk, because she’s so used to travelling on her own. They do seem to be doing everything they can to locate her, though. They’ll be in touch again tomorrow – unless they’ve got news, obviously.’
Ralph took a deep breath. He and Edie had been in the pool when the phone rang, doing lengths in a bid to distract themselves.
He’d leaped out of the water the moment he heard the call, and had stood talking by the stone balustrade, looking out at the sparkling sea stretching far into the horizon.
Soon, Edie had got out too, and fetched a towel to wrap round her husband’s shoulders. Mac, who’d been on a lounger, attempting to read his book, had put it down straight away and listened in on the conversation.
The three of them were now gathered on the top pool step, sitting side by side, while Ralph related what he’d heard.
‘I don’t understand why she’s low risk,’ Edie commented, bending forward to rest her elbows on her knees and staring into the distance. ‘She’s been missing for two days and nights. When does she become high risk?’
Mac, who was between her and Ralph, lowered his legs so his feet dipped in the cooling water.
‘I’m not sure,’ Ralph replied hollowly. ‘I guess in a day or two, if they still haven’t found her.’
‘Shouldn’t they be searching the area?’ Mac asked. ‘If no one saw her in the village, isn’t it possible she changed her plans at the last minute? She might have decided to go for a walk before catching the ferry. What if she fell? Have they considered that?’
Ralph nodded. ‘Our chap said they’ve done a preliminary search and found nothing, but I’m sure things will ramp up if they have to. That’s when they’ll get us involved. Probably the locals, too.’
They all looked up when Hannah appeared and joined them by the pool. She’d returned from the village about an hour and a half after Ralph and Edie and had gone straight to her room.
She’d obviously had a shower and had changed into a long white T-shirt and black leggings. Her hair was still wet and her face was bare of make-up and shiny with moisturiser.
Ralph repeated almost word for word what he’d told the others.
‘I just feel so helpless,’ Hannah said with a sigh, when he’d finished speaking. ‘If only there was something we could do now.’
‘You could make supper.’ Mac gave a sardonic smile. ‘Some hope.’
Hannah pulled a face, as if she’d caught a whiff of sewage. ‘If you’re hungry, why don’t you make it? We had some mezze in the village. I don’t want anything else.’
Mac rose and looked calmly at Ralph and Edie, ignoring his wife completely. ‘Do you fancy something? I’m happy to walk down to the village if we need anything.’
Edie explained what there was, and she and Ralph agreed they might be hungry in a while.
Mac nodded. ‘OK, great. I’ll light the barbecue and put some things together. If anything’s left, we can have it tomorrow.’
He was about to leave when Hannah piped up. ‘It just occurred to me – did you see Jessica when you went for your run on the morning she vanished? You were very quick. You must have overtaken her?’
Edie inhaled sharply and she heard Ralph do the same. All eyes were suddenly beaming in on Mac. He paused for a moment, like an actor preparing to deliver a monologue, and looked down at his wife, who was still seated.
‘No, I didn’t see her,’ he said, slowly and deliberately. ‘I didn’t stay on the path. I decided to go off-piste.’
‘Ah.’
The silence that descended was so loud, it made Edie’s head hurt and her vision blur. There was a sour taste in her mouth and her tongue felt as if it had been coated in sawdust.
Mac walked away but his words seemed to hang in the air, circling round her brain in a bizarre sort of dance, which made her sick and giddy.
She shuffled right up close to Ralph, who put an arm round her shoulders and squeezed tight. Meanwhile, her head was suddenly so unbearably heavy she could hardly support it, and it fell against his chest.
* * *
It was completely dark by the time they sat down for supper, so black, Edie felt as if she were floating in a cauldron of dense, sticky coal tar.
Only the flames of the candles could pierce through the lightless void; human eyes were useless.
She’d grown so accustomed to the loud, rhythmic clicking of the cicadas that she scarcely noticed them, but they all heard an owl, hooting eerily in the distance. Once or twice, a bat fluttered by, quite close to Edie’s face, and made her squeal.
‘They’re harmless; they won’t hurt you,’ Ralph reassured her, but chills ran up and down her spine all the same.
The scent of the sausages cooking on the barbecue had made her stomach rumble. They smelled of smoke, meat and wholesome, aromatic herbs and tasted even more delicious than she remembered.
Hannah, who wasn’t eating, had opened two bottles of wine – one red and one white – and Edie found herself greedily gulping the alcohol. Soon, her head was pleasantly buzzing, she felt her muscles relaxing and, at long last, her mind began to quieten down.
The others were clearly craving a release just as much as she was and they, too, kept reaching for the wine to top themselves up. Soon, both bottles were gone and Ralph went inside to fetch some more.
‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if Jessica rang now, out of the blue?’ Edie commented, with a forkful of food suspended in the air in front of her.
‘Yes,’ Ralph agreed, plonking two more wine bottles on the table. ‘If only.’
Edie’s phone was beside her plate and she’d checked it several times since sitting down. They were all doing the same and now it was Hannah’s turn to have another try.
‘I’ve got this awful feeling we’re not going to see Jessica again,’ she said, glancing at her screen before shaking her head and setting her mobile aside.
‘Don’t!’ Edie replied, with a shudder, noticing for the first time that Hannah’s face was deeply flushed. Her eyes looked glossy and adrift, too, floating aimlessly round her surroundings.
Edie hadn’t been watching how much her friend was drinking, but it must have been more than the rest of them. No one else was wasted.
She was quite relieved in a way, because it was harder to take Hannah’s gloomy prediction seriously.
Ralph made no comment and took another swig of red wine, but Mac banged his fist on the table, making everyone jump. ‘Why would you say that?’ he said, through half-clenched teeth. ‘You don’t know anything more than the rest of us.’
Hannah’s mouth was slack and drooping slightly on one side. Her eyes, though, stopped drifting and descended on him. ‘No, but I know you ,’ she said, jabbing a finger clumsily in his direction.
Her gaze floated off again briefly before refocusing. ‘You and your filthy temper…’ She paused to hiccup. ‘You killed her, didn’t you? Hic… You did the dastardly deed.’
The last two words were accompanied by emphatic nods. She didn’t need to underline them, though. No one could mistake the meaning.
Edie’s mouth dropped open and Ralph froze like a statue. Meanwhile, Mac’s expression switched from anger to shock. ‘I can’t believe what I just heard. You’re insane!’
His upper body swayed slightly from side to side and, even in the gloom, Edie could see his face had turned pale, almost grey.
Hannah, oblivious, ploughed on. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it?
’ She was slurring her words. ‘As soon as Jessica said she was going to Nosh-er-Knossos… suddenly, you… you were dead keen on running… hic… not that you normally run… in fact you’re pretty bloody lazy most of the time, no all the time…
’ She laughed and her arms flailed clownishly.
‘I reckon you whacked her on the head… hic… didn’t you? See? I’m Miss Marple…’ Another laugh. ‘You whacked her on the bonce and chucked her in a… in a gully, or whatever you call them… Job done.’ She dusted her hands off, as if wiping them clean of something. ‘Nice one, Mac.’
She tried to high-five him across the table, but he backed away sharpish and seemed to shrivel into his seat like a snail retreating into its shell.
Edie was speechless and felt dazed and panicky. She couldn’t forget the fact she, too, had thought it slightly strange when Mac had suddenly decided to go for a run. Also, that he’d failed to buy the shopping, which had been the main purpose of the trip.
Although he’d come back surprisingly soon, he’d probably still have had enough time to harm Jessica and even hide her body somewhere, too. What’s more, he’d arrived home covered in dirt. When Edie had asked him about it, he’d dismissed her concerns, claiming he’d fallen over but wasn’t hurt.
Perhaps it was all untrue and at this very moment, Jessica’s poor body was lying in a shallow grave somewhere on the mountain. Edie had a painful lump in her throat when she tried to swallow and her eyes felt hot and stingy.
Marina’s strange words from earlier came flooding back.
‘Things are not always as they seem… what you think is real may be a lie…’
Was she referring to Mac? Did he have more than just a bad temper? Was he a murderer ?
Edie stooped down and picked up her sweatshirt, which had fallen off her chair onto the ground. All of a sudden, she was freezing cold, with chattering teeth.