Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Maeve and Seamus hadn’t been in when she’d first knocked, which was unusual, so Vicky had to wait until lunchtime to break the terrible news about Bruce.
Luckily for her, it had been Angeliki on duty this morning at the sanctuary, and she hadn’t had to face Alex after leaving his house at dawn without saying goodbye.
She’d had a quick coffee and a chat with her friend, but it was all surface stuff; she’d promised the others not to let on about the poisonings, and there was no way she was ready to tell Angeliki about her unexpected night of passion.
If there was one thing she knew about Alex, it was that he wasn’t a gossip, so her secret was safe for the time being.
Dolly had seemed subdued when she’d let her out of her cage, with no Bruce to greet her, so she’d given the little dog plenty of cuddles and taken her for a walk along the beach, where there were grasses to sniff and holes to dig out, and explained to her about the cat’s sad demise.
Anyone listening would have called her crazy, but a part of her was sure that Dolly understood every word.
About to go on her break, she finally spotted Maeve and Seamus getting out of their car and rushed over in a desperate attempt to get things over with.
‘Hi, guys. Can I have a word, please?’
Maeve’s eyes, when they turned to her, were tired.
‘Is it OK if we do it later? We’ve just been into town for a long and very boring meeting.’
After building up the courage all morning, it was better not to let it drag on. The couple were sure to notice at some point that Bruce was missing and not following Dolly round like a lamb.
‘I’m sorry, but it’s urgent.’
Maeve let out a big sigh, and Seamus put his hand on his wife’s arm.
‘OK, let’s all go inside and have a cup of tea. You and Maeve go into the office, and I’ll meet you there with a brew.’
Vicky followed the older woman into the room and watched her sink into a chair with what looked like the weight of the world on her shoulders.
She didn’t want to add to her worries, but there was no avoiding it.
They sat in a companionable silence for a couple of minutes, while Maeve stared out of the window at the sea.
Seamus’s arrival with the tea tray and biscuits at least raised a smile from his wife.
Vicky had noticed that the Greeks found the concept of tea with milk a little unusual.
They were on board with straight black tea, and green tea very occasionally, although coffee would always be their drug of choice.
But adding milk to the mix was seen as peculiar.
Seamus poured them all a cup and sat down himself.
‘What’s all this about then?’
Vicky clasped her hands together.
‘I’m sorry to have to tell you that Alex and I…’ She paused to catch her breath. ‘There’s no easy way to say this… We found Bruce dead last night in the grounds, most likely poisoned.’
Maeve’s gasp bounced off the walls.
‘No! Not another one. I can’t take much more.’
Seamus went to stand behind his wife and massaged her shoulders with his big, strong hands. The tears in Maeve’s eyes were hard to ignore.
‘I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you.’
Seamus looked up from his task.
‘It’s not your fault, love. It’s just been one hell of a morning.’ He turned to his wife. ‘Can I tell her?’
Maeve nodded.
‘We’ve been at the bank, trying to find a way to keep the sanctuary, and not sell out to one of these bloody developers. But we’ve extended our line of credit for the last time. There’s no more money after this.’
He paused to reach down and squeeze the hand his wife held up to him.
‘And now poor old Bruce has been killed. It’s relentless. Someone wants us out. And maybe it’s time. Time to pack up and go back to Ireland.’
Vicky couldn’t stop herself speaking. ‘No! Please don’t go.’
Seamus’s shoulders dropped, and it was Maeve’s turn to comfort him, standing and pulling her husband into a hug. After a few moments, they both sat down again, and Maeve leant forward.
‘It’s not what we want either. We thought we’d end our days here, surrounded by the animals we love, but we’ve got a month left at most. We just can’t see a way out.’
Vicky’s brain whirred away as the thoughts flew around her head and solidified into an idea. She’d thought that planning the next phase of her life would take weeks if not months, but it had arrived in her head fully formed with a certainty that shocked her.
‘I can. I can see a way out.’
Both Maeve and Seamus stared at her in astonishment.
‘Please, just hear me out.’
‘Of course. Go ahead.’
Seamus’s tone of voice told her he was just humouring her.
‘Will you let me buy half the sanctuary?’
‘What?’
‘I’ve got money invested, a legacy from my parents, and I’ve been looking for some time for something worthwhile to do with it. I can’t think of anything more worthwhile than this.’
Her heart was racing, but it wasn’t fear coursing through her veins; it was excitement.
Maeve looked at her husband.
‘It’s a lovely thought, but do you have any idea how much this place is worth and what the running costs are?’
They obviously didn’t dare to hope she could afford it.
‘Not exactly, but tell me how much you were hoping for?’
Seamus named a sum that was well within her budget and left plenty over for a deposit for a house for her daughter Tasha, plus a contingency fund.
Her parents’ wish that their granddaughter should leave university debt-free had been carried out, and the rest of the money had always been hers to do what she wanted.
And this was very much what she wanted. More than that, it was what she’d been searching for since relinquishing her job, signing the divorce papers and waving her daughter off to the other side of the world.
It was something just for her. It was time to be selfish.
She reached over to take their hands.
‘I have that and more.’
The tears in both their eyes set her off too. Maeve squeezed her hand hard.
‘Are you serious?’
‘I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. It’s a genuine offer. Obviously, you’ll need time to think about it…’
Vicky watched Maeve and Seamus’s faces carefully. The look that passed between them was one of mutual love and trust. She’d never really had that with anyone, that almost telepathic level of communication. A brief nod and they both turned back to her. It was Maeve who spoke first.
‘We don’t need to think about it. We trust you, and we’ve seen how much you care about the animals. It’s a yes from us!’
Seamus beckoned her over.
‘Group hug, I think it’s called.’
After they’d hugged the life out of each other and sat down again, Seamus fished about in the desk drawer and brought out a bottle of whiskey and held it up.
‘It’s the proper stuff we’re drinking, whiskey with an “e”. None of that Scottish muck.’
He carefully poured an inch into each of their teacups.
‘Sláinte!’
‘Sláinte!’
‘Here’s to a successful partnership.’
The whiskey hit the back of her throat and warmed her empty stomach. Every nation had its own version of a soother, mused Vicky. She quickly dismissed the memory of drinking Metaxa with Alex and what it had led to. Her mind was already ablaze with everything that would need to be done.
‘We’ll have to get it all drawn up properly with lawyers, for both our sakes, and it will probably take me a little while to sort out the finances with the bank…’
‘Sure, sure.’ Seamus leant back in the chair. ‘But take the weight off a moment there. We need to celebrate a terrible day turning into a joyous one. Let’s forget about work and go for a long lunch at the café on the beach.’
After so long in a different country, Seamus was more Greek than he probably realised. Maeve got up from her seat.
‘Good idea. They do a great kritharoto, the seafood risotto with orzo pasta instead of rice.’
‘Mmmm, sounds gorgeous. I’ll bring Dolly along too. She seems a bit mizz without Bruce.’
‘Yes, do go and fetch her, poor little thing.’
‘Will do. And can I ask you one favour?’
‘Of course.’
‘Can you keep my part in this a secret for the time being, please? Until everything has gone through.’
Seamus’s smile made him look years younger.
‘Whatever you want.’
Any questions about what exactly her role would be, and where she’d live, would have to be put on hold. She couldn’t keep bunking down in the volunteer quarters once she was a co-owner.
It hit her as they stepped out into the late June sunshine.
As long as the deal went through smoothly, the glittering sea in the distance and the azure sky above would be hers to wonder at whenever she wanted.
She no longer had to leave the sanctuary in a few weeks, the island she’d come to love, or indeed Greece itself.
‘I’ll just get Dolly and see you down there.’
Arm in arm, her new business partners waved their goodbyes.
When she arrived at the café, Maeve and Seamus were deep in conversation, their heads bent together. They both shut up when she took a seat, and Dolly dived under the table and flopped down. For one horrible moment she thought they’d changed their minds.
‘Vicky…’ Seamus began.
Her heart sank. Maeve pulled at his sleeve.
‘Oh, hurry up, or the poor girl will think there’s a problem.’
It was nice to be referred to as a girl, but this poor girl was certainly on edge.
‘We’ve been thinking about your living arrangements…’
‘Me too.’
‘For goodness’s sake, Seamus, spit it out. What he’s trying to say is that we want to offer you the little cottage up past the outbuildings as part of the deal.’
Vicky pictured the one-storey whitewashed building in her mind. It was quite big enough for her and Dolly. It looked more than a little like Alex’s place.
‘That would be amazing. Thank you.’
‘It needs some work, mind. It’s been used for storage all these years. You’d basically have to gut the inside and start from scratch.’
‘That’s fine. I did that with my flat. Being on my own, I’ve got quite good at DIY, and I love the idea of putting my own stamp on something.’