“How about a visit to the hotel,” Robin said, “to invite them over for dinner with us tonight? After dinner, I will show Damaris the garden and you can show Teddy the letter. You know he will be just as excited as you are.”
She caressed his face again. “You are excited, aren’t you, darling? I didn’t go through all of this trouble for nothing?”
Gideon soaked up the warmth of her touch. “All right. I’ll go and invite them right away.”
Chapter Five
Former inspector Jasper handed the fisherman a few coins and thanked him again in his best Greek before turning away with his suitcase in hand. Red jumped up and down by his side. The retriever didn’t seem to feel wobbly from the crossing, but Jasper’s legs still seemed to want to adjust to the boat’s rise and fall on the choppy waves and he sat down on a low stone wall to enjoy the warmth of the sun on his face. He had left Athens a few days ago to explore what he considered the real authentic Greek life, and a visit to unspoiled Kalos had seemed like a perfect idea.
He had been too late for that day’s last ferry so he had managed to find a fisherman who would take him across, determined to make the island in time for a late afternoon plate of goat’s cheese, dried sausage and the white sauce with herbal ingredients that he could never find at home.
Jasper turned his head to search for an eatery where the terrace wasn’t too crowded – or too empty, indicating the cook might be less than apt at what he produced. His gaze embraced the entire view and lingered on the blue building with the red roof seated so snugly above it all. Probably private property.
As his gaze returned to the scene before him, his attention was drawn to an elderly couple who were obviously sightseeing, carrying both a map and a camera around with them. The camera especially made them stand out as people who had money to spend and it didn’t surprise Jasper that a short, wiry man was making his way over to them, looking furtively about him.
Long years at Scotland Yard had taught Jasper to recognise crime before it was even committed and he rose to his feet. Ordering Red to watch his suitcase, he walked away, ambling casually with his hands behind his back, but never taking his eyes off the little man. The crook was near the couple now, and bumped into the man, grabbing him by the arm with one hand and excusing himself in a flood of high-pitched Greek; meanwhile, his other hand disappeared into the man’s pocket and came back out with his wallet.
Jasper walked faster, still maintaining a nonchalant air. The thief excused himself one more time, also to the woman, and sneaked away, weaving through some fishermen busy with nets and a few women talking over their baskets of vegetables.
Jasper avoided the people and stayed close to the houses, passing the open door of a tavern from which soulful Greek music flowed, along with the scent of the spiced sauce he was after. His stomach growled but he didn’t let himself be deterred as he followed the little man into an alley between two houses.
Washing was drying on lines overhead, and a stray dog nuzzled a broken pot with geraniums to lift his leg and water the already pitiful-looking plants. The little man wasn’t looking back any more, and Jasper overtook him and put his hand on his shoulder. “I will take that wallet and return it,” he said in Greek. He knew it was grammatically imperfect, but understandable enough. “I’m with the police so you had better not make an issue out of it.”
The man stood motionless. Jasper felt his muscles tense for the moment of escape and wrapped his arm around his wiry frame. “The wallet. Now.”
The man dropped it in the street, and Jasper released him. He ran off like a wild animal fleeing a hunter. Jasper picked up the wallet and returned to the bustle at the harbour. The couple were still looking around. He went up to the man and said, “I think this is yours?”
The man looked down at it. “Yes! How did you get it?”
“There are pickpockets here. I’d be more careful if I were you.’
“Why, thank you.” The man looked up at him. “You’re English as well?”
“Perhaps staying at the same hotel?” the woman added. She pointed up at the blue building on the cliffs which Jasper had been admiring earlier.
“Is that a hotel?” Jasper asked.
“Yes, and a very good one. You must come and stay there. Have dinner with us tonight, so we can properly thank you for helping us.”
Jasper suppressed a sigh of exasperation. Wherever he went, he could never escape his talkative fellow countrymen. But he was glad to have learned it was a hotel, and an introduction might come in handy. He did need to sleep somewhere and he hadn’t made any reservations in advance.
“I was just about to have some food,” he said, pointing at the eatery. “After you’ve finished sightseeing, please come and find me on the terrace. Then we can go up to the hotel together.”
“The food in those places isn’t very good,” the woman said, with a concerned look. “They don’t know how to make cheese here.”
Her husband nodded. “And what they call wine! Vinegar, it is.”
Jasper smiled politely. “Just let me know when you’ve finished. Until later.”
* * *
“But why do we have to dine with them?” Damaris asked Teddy for the fourth time, turning to and fro in front of the large mirror in the bathroom, uncertain if her dress was suitable for the occasion or not. She hadn’t expected luxury dinners with high-placed friends.
“Gideon and I might go into business together. He’s important to me.” Teddy kissed the back of her head. “Just bear with it tonight. We don’t have to see them every day while we’re here.”
His eyes looked into hers in the mirror’s reflection. There was something in them she hadn’t seen before. Something daring? Reckless? A coldness?
Damaris stepped away and picked up her shawl from the bed. She was starting to imagine things. Just because she had had a frightening experience, and a lawyer had told her about a fortune she had never known about. It was better to just put it out of her mind for the evening.
She lingered at the bedside a moment, touching the lemon halves she had put there. They’d keep the beetles away. She had to believe that.
As she turned to Teddy, she caught a flash of anger in his eyes. It was there one moment, gone the next. Why did he seem so piqued about those lemons? Just because she hadn’t gone to see the orchards with him?
How childish, actually.
They went outside, and Teddy locked the door of the suite. He put the key in his pocket and offered her his arm. In front of the hotel a car was waiting for them. A dark green Ford.
“I thought you said there were no Fords on this island,” Damaris said.
“I didn’t expect any to be here.”
“But it’s the car of your friends. Wouldn’t you know it?”
“I imagine it’s the car of the friends of my friends. They are only staying at another’s house and, presumably, driving in another’s car.” Teddy opened the back door for her. “In you go, darling.”
He himself sat in the front with Gideon, talking about something that had been in the papers a few weeks back. Damaris barely listened. She watched the island sights that breezed by, aching for the carefree feeling she had had when they had come up to the hotel snugly in the hay. It was almost as if the two of them had been different people then. Not just Teddy, she herself also. Coming to the hotel had changed her. Had made her skittish, doubtful, even afraid.
What was wrong with the place?
They reached the villa, and Teddy helped her out of the car. His hand was warm around hers, almost reassuring. Perhaps she was imagining he was different somehow, as she herself was under too much pressure. Pressure to prove herself worthy of being his bride?
She suddenly longed to casually reveal she had half a million pounds waiting for her back in England, but the lawyer’s warning echoed in her mind. She hadn’t made a will yet.
So what? she silently challenged herself. If she died now, her aunt would get it all. An aunt who was in Engla
nd and who didn’t know a thing about money. What did that have to do with Teddy, and beetles being portents of death?
Or a voice calling for her from the building that was now their honeymoon suite, calling her by a different name.
Eleanor.
Who was Eleanor?
Inside, Robin was waiting for them, immediately taking Damaris by the arm. “We’re eating outside. That is what’s so pleasant about these Mediterranean places, they stay warm in the evening. You could never do this at home. You’d be too chilly after a while.”
The table was set with long candles in holders, a towering arrangement of fruit and flowers and shells on their plates reminding Damaris of the one with the coin left on her pillow. Where had she put the coin? Teddy had said it mattered. Had to save it for good luck.
How odd. She wasn’t even superstitious.
A maid brought soup and they ate, exchanging mere pleasantries about where they had all been before. Damaris felt silly having to admit she had never travelled, but Robin was kind enough to ask her about their honeymoon so far and Damaris could talk about that for hours. In fact, she wondered as she came to herself over the main course, her cheeks hot and her wine glass empty, again, whether she was talking too much and embarrassing her husband.
Gideon said that he didn’t like dessert and would rather show Teddy something and the men left just as the maid appeared with bowls of thick yoghurt, drizzled with honey and topped off with walnuts.
Robin leaned back as she dipped her spoon into the yoghurt. “It’s a wonderful way to keep your figure,” she confided. “Better than sweet desserts. I do put honey on top, but it’s not the same as all these heavy English puddings, you know.”
She smiled at Damaris. “You have an enviable look. So trim. How do you keep your waist that way?”
“I don’t really do anything for it,” Damaris said, and to her surprise Robin began to laugh.
“No, darling, that really won’t do. You have to tell a story about it. Say that you… rub your stomach with ice cubes or something equally atrocious. You have to make people believe you’re doing something hard to achieve your good looks. Make them believe you’re a woman who invests in herself.”
“I don’t think rubbing ice cubes over your stomach would be healthy,” Damaris said. “What if someone tried and hurt themselves?”
“You’re far too kind and considerate.” Robin winked at her. “Women are like predators. Especially in our circles.”
It gratified Damaris that she said our, including her.
Robin continued, “You need someone to hold your hand as you navigate the waters. Why not let it be me? I admit I’m a bit of a basket case at times, but I can be witty and wise when I want to. Most of all, I’m usually honest. And you will soon find out most people aren’t.”
Not Teddy, either?
A ball formed in Damaris’s stomach. She put her spoon down as the yoghurt suddenly seemed too much to finish.
Robin said, “Listen to that chirping. Crickets. Such a peaceful sound.”
“Aren’t you afraid of beetles?” Damaris asked. “I mean, the big black ones?”
“They don’t come inside,” Robin said. “Unless someone collects them, like naughty boys do. I’m glad I don’t have children. They always have frogs in their pockets and other disgusting things.” She shuddered.
Damaris said, “I think I’d like children.” She stared into the darkening garden. She had seen herself raising them with Teddy, him reading to them and her playing with dolls and walking with the baby carriage through the park. Just being a family. Being the family she had once been with her parents even if she couldn’t remember much of it. As if it had been erased, wiped out of her memory.
Robin said, “Perhaps you’re pregnant already. A friend of mine fell pregnant on her honeymoon.”
Damaris blushed at the direct reference to such a delicate topic.
Robin said, “Is Teddy eager for it? He does seem like the man who’d want a son.”
Damaris shrugged. “I don’t know, really.”
“There must be a lot of things you don’t know. After all, you were only engaged for three months before you married. Gideon and I were engaged for three years and I still didn’t get to know him very well. He’s always working, you know.”
“What does he do?” Damaris wanted to know.
“Oh, he invents things. Not impractical, silly things, but things to make life easier. To use in the house.” Robin smiled. “I can’t tell you much about it. It’s all very hush hush. If it gets out too early, other people could steal the invention. It’s a very delicate business.”
“I see.” Damaris didn’t really understand but wanted to look like she did.
“It’s so nice of Teddy to want to invest in it,” Robin said. “You can have all the brains in the world to dream up wonderful things but you can’t do a thing when you don’t have money to develop them and get them onto the market.”
That made sense.
Robin said, “I want to show you the garden. Come on.” She jumped to her feet and came over to Damaris, pulling her arm through hers and leading her down the steps. “It’s nice to have a friend out here. You see, Gideon wanted to come here and I was kind of reluctant. It can get so hot in the days and… it’s not exactly full of interesting people. But he finds peace and quiet here to invent.”
“So he is actually working here? It’s not a holiday?”
“Gideon is always working on something. And the location inspires him. The music, the people, even the food. He has been scribbling down new ideas like a lunatic. I love him most when he’s like that. Energetic, busy.”
Robin released a sigh. “It’s just so hard when a man has so much talent and nobody sees it. You know the worst thing? Even his own family doesn’t see it. They don’t believe in his inventions. They think he’s just walking around with his head in the clouds. But I know he can succeed. And he will succeed. I will support him every step of the way.”
It had to be nice to believe in your husband that way. Support him, stand together as a couple.
Robin halted and looked up. “Ah, the first stars. There is little light here, not like it is in London. You can see so many more stars. And the moon is getting close to a full one again.”
She stared at it with wide open, almost feverish eyes. “The full moon makes me kind of reckless. I want to go swimming in the sea. Feel its power. It tugs like it can just drag you away.”
She turned her head to look at Damaris. “Have you been to the beach yet? It’s amazing. Not the busy beach where all the people go, but the beach beyond the village.” She gestured with her hand. “It’s so quiet and peaceful there. And things wash up. I’m still waiting for a bottle with a letter in it from someone in need.” She laughed softly.
Damaris listened as the woman rambled on about life on the island. There was something soothing about her stories, something putting the unrest in Damaris’s chest at ease. She wondered for a moment why she had been so afraid of those beetles in her room. Why she worried about having money to her name. Did it really matter when you were honeymooning on a dream island?
A strange sound resounded and she froze, widening her eyes.
“That’s just an owl,” Robin said. “The pet of the goddess Athena and symbol of wisdom. They say hearing their call is unlucky, but I never noticed any adverse effects of it.”
Damaris rubbed her hands across her arms. They were covered in goose flesh. “Let’s go in, anyway. It’s getting cold.”
“Of course. Forgive me, I’m a bad hostess. I should have offered sooner. I just love being out here. Looking up.” Robin cast one last look at the moon and stars and then led her away.
Chapter Six
“That was a very good dinner but now I must really get some rest. Good night.” Jasper rose from the hotel’s dinner table with a nod to the English couple who had invited him to dine with them. They had introduced themselves as the Murrays, and despite his earlier mis
givings, Jasper had enjoyed listening to Mr Murray telling about his many travels for his diplomatic work. The food had been excellent, the wine even better, and he left the table with a deep sense that all was well with the world.
It had been a good idea to leave the Riviera behind for a bit, and cleanse his mind of the murder case that had occupied him there. Retired as he was, he had hardly been able to say no to a friend and neighbour asking for his help when he had believed one of his heirs was trying to kill him.
Jasper shook his head as he stepped into the walled garden to breathe some air before turning in. The dining room had been filled with cigarette smoke and it felt like he had to clear his lungs. He stood in the darkness away from the light flowing out of the hotel’s lobby, trying to determine what all the different scents in the garden were.
Suddenly he heard voices coming out of the doors. He retreated even further into the shadows.
A woman said, “You need not have drunk so much.”
“I drink what I want.’
A key clanked on the tiles. Suppressed cursing as the male figure bent down to retrieve it.
“Let me do it,” the woman said. She bent down as well, but the man spat, “Don’t bother,” giving her a shove that landed her in a nearby bush. “I’ll get the spare at the desk.”
He staggered away.
Jasper wondered if he had to go over and help the woman to her feet but he figured he would only embarrass her by intruding upon this unfortunate scene. She seemed to have found the key, for she rose with a satisfied sound and went to the door of the separate building. He could hear the sound as a door unlocked. She opened it and hesitated, looking back as if she wondered if she had to wait for her husband. Then she went in.
He had just decided he had better go inside before he bumped into the drunken husband when a scream rent the air.
Instinctively, he sprinted for the door to the separate building. The woman stood halfway inside, pointing at something on the bed. In the wavering light of the oil lamp on the bedside table he could see a skull on the pillow. Its mouth hung open, and something glittered inside.
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