Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
A hooded figure all in black dashed out of the bushes a few yards away. Without hesitation, Vicky followed Alex as he sprinted after the apparition. It was too solid to be a ghost. It had to be the poisoner. Who else would be creeping about at this time of night?
Although she was fit, Alex had a good ten years on her, and she had fallen back a few feet when he managed to grab the mystery man or woman by the edge of their backpack and bring them crashing to the ground.
‘Stamata! Stop! Stay there.’
Alex’s voice echoed round the field, the anger in it raising the volume tenfold.
When Vicky caught up with the duo, a wrestling match was underway on the ground. The hooded figure was easily a match for the vet, and their bodies rolled over and over towards her as they grappled with each other. She’d been right. There was no way the figure was a woman.
‘Sit on him!’
Alex’s shouted instruction brought her to her senses. She sat down hard on the guy’s back, which gave Alex the chance to whip out a piece of rope from his bag, tie the man’s ankles together and flip him over.
The fight went out of the mystery man as he lay there panting, his chest heaving with the effort of trying to overpower Alex. He wore a full balaclava over his face, with just his eyes showing. Vicky looked closely into their brown depths, but rather than unbridled evil, all she could see was fear.
Alex bent down to pull the guy’s disguise off. It revealed a youth who looked as if he was still in his teens. His backpack had been thrown clear during the struggle, and Alex pointed at it while keeping a foot on the guy’s chest.
‘We need to check what’s in it.’
Rifling through the bag, Vicky found a couple of bottles of beer, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, pretty standard fare for a teenager so far. Right at the bottom, she spotted a wrapped plastic container, which she passed straight to Alex.
He carefully unwrapped it, checked the words on the side and opened the top to take a quick sniff.
‘Yep, it’s poison all right, you little bastard. What the hell do you think you’re doing? Killing defenceless animals.’
Alex moved towards the youth with fury in his face, but Vicky managed to grab his arm.
‘Don’t hit him. He’s not worth it. I’m sure he’s not the mastermind behind this.’
The sound of snivelling was loud in the night air. They both looked down at the crying figure.
‘Lipáme, lipáme.’
Alex let out a grunt.
‘It’s no use saying sorry now. I’ve had to bury the cats that you’ve killed. All nine of them. Have you ever seen a cat after it’s been poisoned? Seen the agony in their little faces?’
Alex repeated the words in Greek, which made the guy cry even more. Vicky was beginning to feel slightly sorry for him, but catching a glimpse of the cross that marked Bruce’s grave just metres away hardened her heart.
‘We need the police.’
Alex already had his phone out of his bag.
‘Yes, and we’ve got concrete proof this time. Let’s hope a spell in the cells will make him tell us who’s behind all this.’
The police came surprisingly quickly, and soon the youth and the deadly contents of his backpack were whisked away to the station.
Alex stomped off as soon as the red taillights of the police car appeared on the road above. His angry strides meant she had to double her usual pace.
When they reached the sanctuary car park, he turned to her.
‘We need to talk. Not tonight, neither of us is in the right frame of mind, but soon.’
With that, he nodded briefly once, got into his car and sped off into the night. Vicky stood open-mouthed at his departure. She didn’t want to talk either, but he hadn’t even given her a choice.
She managed to avoid him for the next few days, and any spare time was taken up with the arrangements to buy half the sanctuary.
Lengthy talks with the bank alternated with sitting down with Maeve and Seamus to talk budgeting and practicalities.
Yesterday, the couple had updated her on a visit from the police to say that the youth they’d caught with the poison had confessed to his crimes.
More importantly, he’d admitted to being paid to do it by the real culprits, the owners of a hotel conglomerate on the island.
The investigation was still ongoing, but there was plenty of evidence and they were hopeful of positive result.
A police conviction for the hotel group, coupled with the news of her investment in the sanctuary, should stop any further poisonings, which would be a weight off all their minds.
This morning she’d been informed that the final documents for the sale were ready and just needed her signature and the bank transfer.
She had one last thing to do. She glanced at her iPad. The special ringtone she’d assigned to Tasha filled her bedroom.
‘Mum, is everything OK? Your message said it was urgent. You’ve had me really worried.’
Her daughter’s lovely face appeared on the screen.
‘I’m fine, sweetheart. I just wanted to talk to you about something…’
‘Okaaay. What is it?’
Vicky took a deep breath.
‘You know that account set up by Granny and Grandad to pay your uni fees?’
‘Yes, so nice of them. I wouldn’t have been able to cope without that.’
‘True. There was also some extra money in there, quite a lot of money, which has been invested wisely and has increased in value.’
‘Right. And?’
‘I wanted to let you know that there’s enough in the fund to give you a hefty deposit on a house or a flat when you’re ready.’
‘Wow!’ Her daughter’s face lit up. ‘That’s amazing.’
‘It is.’
‘But…’
‘What is it you’re not saying, Mum? I can’t take much more of this.’
Tasha knew her so well. It had been the two of them against the world at times, so she couldn’t be surprised at her daughter’s intuition. There was no point drawing it out any longer.
‘With the money that’s left, I’m going to buy half the animal sanctuary.’
She’d rushed through the last bit at twice the normal speed.
‘Did you really just say you’re buying half the animal sanctuary where you’re volunteering?’
‘I did.’
Tasha was still so long that Vicky assumed the screen had frozen.
‘Well, I can’t pretend it’s not a surprise. But good for you, Mum. You need to do something for yourself. You’ve had a tough few years. He’s my dad, and I love him, but I know your life with him wasn’t always easy. And since Scout died, you’ve been really down. So, you go for it.’
‘Are you sure? It means that money will be gone for good.’
‘Mum! It’s not mine; it’s yours. Animals are my life, too, so I’m pleased you’re doing something so worthwhile. You don’t need it, but if you’re looking for my blessing, then you’ve got it with knobs on.’
‘Thank you, my darling.’
‘Enough of the gooey stuff though, my mascara’s running. Does this mean you’ll be staying in Greece?’
‘For a while, definitely, but I’ll be back and forth.’
Vicky rubbed the side of a fingernail with her thumb.
‘Is there something else still, Mum?’
‘Just one more little thing. Please don’t tell your dad about this.’
‘I wasn’t planning to, but why?’
‘Erm. He doesn’t know exactly how much was in that account. It was just for us.’
She didn’t need to say out loud that it was her escape fund, and her parents desperately wanted to ensure that Ian couldn’t get his hands on it. Although she wasn’t sure why she was still protecting the man – or protecting her daughter’s version of him, anyway.
‘If that’s what Granny and Grandad wanted, I’ll honour their wishes.’ Tasha did the zip sign across her mouth.
‘Thank you.’
Tasha’s boyfriend, Rob, appeared in the corner of the screen and blew Vicky a kiss, before beckoning her daughter over.
‘Sorry, Mum. I’ve got to go and deal with an injured wallaby. But keep me in the loop and speak soon.’
‘Bye, darling. Love you.’
‘Love you too.’
As the screen faded to black, Vicky fired up her computer.
She’d got her daughter’s blessing, so there was nothing to stop her now.
She confirmed all the details once more and pressed send to allow the money to go flying into Maeve and Seamus’s account.
There was no going back now. She pushed back her chair and went to tell them the good news.
Her good mood lasted for the rest of the day. She really wanted someone to celebrate with. In truth, it was Suzie she wanted to see, but she’d have to wait. She’d not seen anything of her friend this week, as Suzie had been flat out too, although they’d got up to speed on the phone.
Everything except her night with Alex had been revealed and thoroughly dissected, including her investment in the sanctuary.
Suzie appeared genuinely thrilled she was staying on the island, which was another big plus.
Celebration drinks were definitely in order.
They were meeting up the following evening at the big karaoke night at the bar, and since Christian was no longer persona non grata, hopefully she’d get to meet him too.
She couldn’t imagine for a moment that it would be Alex’s thing – the thought of him singing on stage was ludicrous – so she had no fear of him popping up.
He still hadn’t contacted her about their ‘talk’, but she was in no rush either.
It was still warm and sunny outside, even though dusk couldn’t be far away. A solo drink on the balcony would do her nicely for now. She had the ingredients for an Aperol Spritz or two in her room.
A sudden noise woke her from her slumber on the balcony.
Everywhere was in darkness. She must have fallen fast asleep where she sat.
The last few days had been extremely busy.
She shifted in the metal chair, her shoulder stiff where she’d leant against the frame.
The noise, starting up again, made her flinch as she groped her way back into her unlit room.
Keeping the light off, she crept along the corridor, hoping against hope that she was wrong.