Chapter 32
Poppy had been avoiding social media since the whole Simon Daley drama had blown up. Even to the point of logging completely out of Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.
Her plan had been to stay off the sites until she returned to England. But finding out that Jem could be related to Simon changed things.
She had told him what had happened to her before she had come to Crete, how Simon had tried to sabotage her career, turning the book world against her, and he had been full of sympathy. But had it all been an act to gain her trust?
As far as she could remember, she hadn’t ever mentioned Simon’s name, though.
Was it possible that even if they were connected, Jem had no idea about what Simon had done?
The cameras, though, and the things being moved in the villa. How did she explain those?
Unless her first instinct had been correct and Martin was behind everything.
It did seem a little coincidental, though, that she had travelled all the way to Crete and was being tormented here, as well as back home, and that the name Daley had cropped up again.
What if they were all in on it together?
The thought occurred to her and she dismissed it just as quickly.
She was being ridiculous now. This wasn’t some kind of witch hunt where Martin, Jem, Sue and Ian were all involved.
Still, she did need to see if she could find a connection between Simon and Jem. That, at the very least, might give her some peace of mind.
She tried a Google search first, typing in both of their names, but although she found a website for Jem’s photography and several results for Simon’s books, nothing seemed to link the two of them.
Knowing she wouldn’t sleep tonight unless she checked, Poppy logged on to Facebook.
Straight away she could see the notifications were stacked up and that she had new messages waiting too, but she ignored those for now, searching for Jem first. She tried Jeremiah Daley and then Jem Daley, but although there were results for both, they led to different people.
Perhaps he wasn’t on Facebook. Not everyone was.
Instead, she turned to Simon.
Seeing his face fill her phone screen made her feel nauseous.
From what she could see, he hadn’t posted anything else about her, but she didn’t stay long on his profile. Instead, glancing through his friends list.
It was a waste of time, though. Without Jem having a profile, there seemed no way to connect the pair of them.
She plucked up the courage to look at her notifications. Bracing herself as she scanned over the list.
She didn’t click on any of the comments but was able to tell from the preview that they were a mix, and luckily only a few appeared to be nasty. She was also relieved to see that over the last two days, there had been no further interaction.
As she scrolled the list, one name stood out.
Greg Tooley.
She wasn’t connected to Keira’s boyfriend on social media, but she saw that he had sent her a message request. Was it to do with Keira?
Curious, she logged into Messenger.
Tension rippled through her as she clicked on his message, her eyes widening as she saw he had contacted her multiple times.
Please tell Keira to call me.
Did you get this? I need to speak with her now!
I’m not joking Poppy. This isn’t funny any more. You tell her that.
I don’t know what kind of game you two are playing. You’d better pass this message on and get her to call me or I’ll make sure you regret it!
What the hell?
Poppy’s mouth was dry, her chest tightening when she saw the messages had all been sent over the last four days.
Keira was already home. Why did Greg think she was still in Crete?
She started to type a reply, but her fingers were shaking so badly, she kept making typos. And what was she even supposed to say?
Sucking in a deep breath, realising a message wouldn’t suffice, that they needed to have a proper conversation, she hit call.
At first, she didn’t think Greg was going to answer, but then she heard his voice.
‘Poppy?’
‘I’m sorry. I’ve only just seen your messages.’
In his typical Greg way, there were no pleasantries.
‘Where is she?’ He sounded really pissed off.
‘I thought she was with you?’
‘What?’
‘Keira flew home last week,’ Poppy told him. She struggled to keep her voice from tipping into hysteria. ‘I wasn’t here when she left, but she messaged to say she’d had an emergency.’
‘An emergency?’ he repeated, sounding sceptical.
‘Yes. I haven’t spoken with her since. I thought she was with you.’
There was silence on the line and for a moment she thought the call had ended. But then she heard him clear his throat.
‘Don’t play games with me, Poppy. Where is she?’
‘I promise you, I’m telling you the truth.’
He hissed out a breath. ‘Then why the hell has she told me she needs to stay with you for longer! This isn’t bloody funny. I’ve had her new boss on the phone. He’s not happy that she’s taken more time off without getting it approved.’
So Keira hadn’t gone back to work either? Now Poppy was really worried.
‘I don’t where she is, but I swear she’s not here.’
‘Bollocks. I don’t believe you.’
She wasn’t getting through to him and it seemed he was only growing angrier.
‘I’m not a fool. You tell her that. And she’d better start replying to my messages too or there will be consequences.’
‘Greg! I’m not lying.’ Frustration was making the panic worse now and she drew in a deep breath trying to calm herself. ‘Keira’s not here,’ she insisted. ‘And now I’m really worried about her. If she’s not with you or with me, then where the hell is she?’
‘You tell me!’ There was still bluster in his words, but now she also heard uncertainty.
‘Should we call the police?’
‘What?’ He spoke the word as if she’d just said something really stupid. ‘Enough of this now, Poppy. Put her on the line.’
‘I can’t!’ Hysteria bubbled over now. ‘What part do you not understand? She’s not bloody here!’
There was more silence, then finally it seemed he was taking on board what she was saying. ‘You said she flew home last week?’
‘Yes. I can send you a screenshot of her message if you like.’
‘Fuck! So where do you think she is?’ There was a pause. ‘If that bitch is cheating on me.’
‘She’s not cheating on you!’ Poppy swallowed, needing courage before she voiced her next words. ‘What if something has happened to her?’ she whispered.
Greg laughed, but she heard the edge beneath it. ‘Don’t be stupid. This will be Keira playing games.’
‘She doesn’t play games, Greg. You know she doesn’t. Have you spoken to her parents?’
‘How the hell are they going to help? They’re in bloody Spain.’
‘Well, she might have contacted them or gone to see them,’ Poppy pointed out. ‘You should check.’
‘You know they don’t like me.’
‘Just talk to them. We need to find out if anyone has seen her. If they haven’t, then we have to involve the police.’
He huffed out a sigh, seeming reluctant, but then he said reluctantly, ‘I’ll call her mum in the morning.’
‘Please let me know what she says?’
‘Yeah, yeah. Night, Poppy.’
He ended the call and for a moment she didn’t move, staring at her phone.
Logging back into Facebook, she checked Keira’s profile, but there were no new updates.
Was there anyone else she could contact?
There were a couple of friends they knew from the gym. She sent them messages asking if they had seen Keira.
Both of them were quick to respond, confirming that they hadn’t.
At a loss and needing to do something, Poppy pulled up Keira’s number, trying her friend again. The call went straight to voicemail.
Instead, she sent a message.
I’ve just spoken to Greg. He says you never flew home. Where the hell are you, Keira? This doesn’t make any sense.