by Lisa Heidke
‘Maybe. Anyway, I didn’t recognise him from Athens, which was a good thing, but before I could discuss the contents of the envelope, Con’s phone rang and he took off.’
Jack stopped drawing cubes on a blank sheet of paper and looked up. ‘Didn’t you think his behaviour was a bit odd?’
‘Of course, but I don’t know many Greek people. I didn’t want to make assumptions about a person I didn’t know.’
Jack nodded. ‘What happened next?’
‘I spoke to Marcus and told him I wasn’t going to hang around for this bloke any more. But then he said he would pay off a significant chunk of my debt —’
‘Go on.’
‘Jack,’ I resisted the urge to call him by his full name — Jackass. ‘Would you please stop telling me to go on? I’m going as fast as I can.’
‘Sorry. Force of habit.’
‘Let me see . . . I was nearly run over by a scooter —’
‘Coincidence.’
‘— and the apartment was trashed —’
‘Kids. Though you do seem to be a magnet for trouble, Claudia.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘So you were watching me the whole time?’ Jack looked away. ‘And then Levi disappeared.’
Angie shook her head. ‘When you put it all together, a lot has happened to you in the past few days. It does all look rather suspicious.’
‘Then you turn up in full CSI mode,’ I said, turning to Jack.
Jack shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
‘You said you saw Con in the crowd the other day?’
‘I said I thought I saw him. I started to chase him. I even called out his name, but he didn’t turn around. Besides, there was no point meeting up with him, I didn’t have the envelope with me. You were there, Jack. You saw me trying to catch Con’s attention a second time. If I’d been privy to a fiendish plan, do you really think I’d have tried to hook up with him while you were with me?’
‘Maybe. It’s not as if you knew who I really was.’
‘No, you’re right. I still don’t.’
‘Let’s continue, shall we? What happened with Marcus?’
‘By this stage, Marcus was snappy. He told me that Con was a busy man overseeing an enormous enterprise and that he’d come to the apartment when it suited him.’
‘And then you met up with him this morning?’
I tried looking out the window.
‘He came to your apartment this morning, Claudia,’ Jack continued. ‘I have the photographs to prove it. Are you saying you didn’t invite him?’
‘Hardly. I was still asleep when he turned up, hence the reason I’m looking so glamorous now.’
‘So you didn’t prearrange the meeting this morning?’ Jack asked, raising one eyebrow. He might have been a Jackass but his eyebrows were still fetching.
‘I think Claudia’s answered the question,’ Angie said. ‘She had no idea Con would show up at the apartment this morning.’
Jack nodded. ‘Before we finish, is there anything else you’d like to add?’
I shook my head.
‘Interview one completed at 1.54 pm.’ Jack pushed the ‘stop’ button.
‘Interview one? How many more interviews are there going to be? I’ve told you everything I know.’
‘What happens now?’ I asked Angie after Nina and Jack, armed with his crappy tape recorder, left the room.
‘Not sure.’
Not the answer I was hoping for.
‘I’ll look around and see if I can find out anything more. It might take me a while. You okay with that?’ Angie squeezed my hand and walked out of the room.
And I was left alone to think about the mess I’d gotten myself into — or rather, the mess that Marcus had dropped me into, headfirst. Although all the evidence indicated that he was up to no good, I had trouble believing it. Marcus had always been so easygoing. He never seemed concerned about company finances; in fact he was a generous employer, sparing no expense at the end-of-year celebrations and always rewarding staff with overflowing festive hampers.
Okay, so he hadn’t seemed so easygoing since I’d been over here, what with all the carry-on about the envelope. And now I knew why. Still, I couldn’t believe he’d really treat me like this, allow me to get caught up in criminal activity. Because if I believed that, then I’d have no choice but to believe that Marcus had been using me the whole time. It was a humiliating thought.
Much later Nina delivered to me some souvlakia, tzatziki, olive bread and a Diet Coke. I’d lost my appetite but forced myself to eat something in case this was the last food I saw for a while.
Being alone in this godforsaken place was a mild form of torture. Perhaps they’d hidden a two-way mirror and Jackass was spying on me to see if I’d crack? I looked around, scrutinising each wall. There didn’t seem to be a secret mirror anywhere. But then again, logic told me that if it were concealed I wouldn’t see it. What about a hidden camera? I searched the walls and came to the conclusion that it was highly unlikely I was being watched. But I decided against scratching my nose, just in case.
Where was Angie? She and Jack had hit it off right from the word go. Maybe they were getting to know each other better over an intimate airport lunch. Were they both laughing about me right now? Giggling about what a pathetic loser I was?
Just then Angie appeared in the doorway with Jack.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Jack said to Angie and closed the door behind him.
‘Angie!’ I snapped. ‘Is it over? Can we leave now?’
‘Not quite,’ said Angie, dragging two chairs together and motioning for me to sit.
‘What do you mean, not quite? I haven’t bloody well done anything wrong.’
‘The good news is I think Jack and the police believe you.’ She hesitated. ‘Or at least,’ Angie qualified, ‘they want to believe you . . . It’s a start.’
‘Who is Jack anyway? An undercover cop?’
‘Private investigator.’
I shook my head. ‘What’s the bad news?’
‘Although they’ve taken Marcus Cassoli into custody in Brisbane —’
I gulped.
‘— the police over there haven’t finished interviewing him. Jack has to wait to hear what Marcus says. Also, because the Greek authorities are involved, Jack doesn’t have the power to release you. That’s up to Nina, and she needs the okay from their Australian counterparts.’
‘Nina?’
‘She’s the police officer in charge. Jack was only doing the interview because of his English.’
‘Bloody hell. And he still came in all guns blazing.’
‘It’ll be okay.’ Angie stroked my shoulder. ‘It’s obvious you were caught in the crossfire.’
I wasn’t feeling confident. ‘What about Con? What’s he said?’
‘Not a lot. Although it’s a given he’s guilty. The police over here have had their eye on him for ages. He’s a known drug dealer, hacker, into money laundering —’
‘Slowly,’ I said. ‘My head’s still fuzzy.’
‘Apparently the flash drive has a series of numbers embedded in it — a secret code, if you like — that would have given Con the information he needed to transfer millions of dollars out of several Australian bank accounts and into Swiss ones. And using the Swiss bank-secrecy laws, Con could have simply turned himself into the invisible man. He already had mechanisms in place — shell corporations, numbered accounts, forged documents.’
‘The perfect plan.’
‘Theoretically. The irony is that Marcus trusted this swindler but, as it turns out, Con was trying to cheat Marcus. Marcus thought of Con as his money courier, with you as the go-between, but Con had much bigger plans. Marcus assumed that Con would remain honest and split the money. He had no idea who he was getting himself involved with.’
‘But why would he have trusted Con in the first place?’ I wondered out loud. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’
‘Desperation. Marcus’s business isn’t a
s rock solid as it appears.’
‘And me?’ I asked Angie, dreading the answer.
‘I’m afraid you were the one Marcus was going to pin it on if things went wrong.’
I dropped my face into my hands and rubbed my eyes and cheeks. ‘How the hell did I get caught up in this nightmare?’ But I knew the answer. I’d been taken in by Marcus. I’d believed him when he said he cared about me and wanted to help. He’d been so easy to trust. It never occurred to me that Marcus’s business dealings were anything but above board.
‘Whenever the office accounts didn’t add up, I assumed it was because of my atrocious maths skills.’
‘That’s what Marcus wanted you to think.’
I shook my head. ‘He’d let me off the hook by telling me his accountants would deal with it. I’m a naive idiot, aren’t I? And a lousy judge of character.’
‘Perhaps you’re an optimist who sees the best in people.’
I guess that was one way of looking at it.
‘It’s going to be okay,’ said Angie in the tone a psychiatrist might use to coax a deranged person off a twenty-metre window ledge. ‘We’ll all be laughing about this in a few hours’ time. Jack knows it’s a mistake.’
‘It’s more than a mistake. I really thought Jack was becoming a friend. To find out he was using me all along . . .’
‘I don’t think —’
I held up my hand. ‘It’s the sorry story of my life. All the men I’ve known have used me in one way or another. Thanks for being here today, Angie. It’s funny, the first time I met you, I thought you liked Jack.’
‘As in wanted to shag him?’
‘Something like that.’
‘Whatever gave you that idea? I don’t, by the way.’
‘No, I know. Just me being suspicious. I thought Jack was too good to be true. Turns out, he is.’
Angie pulled me towards her in a bear hug. ‘None of this is your fault, Claudia,’ she said when she let me go. ‘How were you to know what Marcus and Con were up to?’
I shook my head. ‘I can explain about Marcus —’
‘You don’t have to. It’s none of my business. I’m sure you had your reasons.’
Did I? Did I have a reason for sleeping with Marcus, or did I just do it because it felt good when he paid attention to me? Because I felt special when Marcus paused for an extra couple of minutes in my office every morning when he did his rounds?
‘So the memory stick held a code?’ I said.
‘Yeah, and once accessed, vast sums of money could have been drained from the company’s bank accounts, including overdraft facilities which ran into the millions.’
‘And I was the one who almost made it all possible?’
‘Unfortunately, Claudia, that’s exactly what Jack was thinking.’
Moments later, the door knob turned and Jack walked in. ‘Claudia,’ he said, putting his hand on my shoulder, ‘you’re free to go.’
Thank goodness. I couldn’t believe it. I shrugged his hand off my shoulder. ‘You mean it’s over?’
‘Not quite.’
He just had to rain on my parade.
‘We’ll print out a transcript of your interview and I’ll need you to sign it tomorrow. We’ll also need you present at Marcus Cassoli’s hearing in Brisbane later this year.’
‘Sure.’ Whatever. I wanted to get out of there, go back to the apartment and have a shower. ‘Just one thing, Jack — they won’t’ be coming after me because I dobbed, will they?’
‘Who?’
‘Con and his mates.’
‘Doubt it. Con’s on his way to Athens. He’s going to be busy for the next seven to ten years. You don’t have to worry about him.’
‘And Marcus?’
‘Marcus will also be busy.’
I nodded and walked towards the door with my head held high and Angie beside me.
‘Claudia,’ Jack called out. ‘You’ll have to repay the twenty thousand dollars as soon as you land in Australia.’
Excellent. Financial Armageddon.
Part of me wanted to ask why Jack had lied to me, why he hadn’t simply asked me about all this before it got out of hand. But I couldn’t face him a moment longer.
I was over it.
And over him.
I walked out the door still feeling wretched. Of course the holiday had been too good to be true. Even though I’d had an affair with Marcus, a free European holiday was an extravagant pay-off. Not to mention the money. He’d never cared for me at all, he’d just been using me. The same with Jack bloody Harper. What was it with men and me?
24
It was close to five o’clock by the time we arrived back at the apartment. Vacillating between tears and blind rage, there were so many things I was upset about I didn’t know where to begin.
Firstly, I was furious with myself for allowing Marcus to use me for his sinister ends. None of this would have happened had I not slept with him. And then to find out there were other women as well! Still, I couldn’t help feeling shocked that Marcus would do something like this. He might have been a faithless jerk, but I wouldn’t have thought he was a criminal with connections around the world. Would Marcus really have let me take the rap for this? Apparently so.
‘Claudia, it happens — a lot more than you think, sweetheart,’ said Angie as we sat on the terrace with Sophie and Tara some time later.
‘That makes me feel so much better,’ I said before bursting into tears again. Obviously, there were a hell of a lot of idiots like me in the world. It wasn’t a comforting thought.
‘You couldn’t have known,’ Tara said.
‘Yes I could. You told me I was getting into serious shit. But I didn’t listen to you.’
‘There’s one thing I don’t get,’ said Sophie, twirling her ringlets in contemplation. ‘Angie said that you’ll have to pay back the thousands of dollars Marcus gave you. Why did he give you so much money in the first place?’
Tara and Angie looked at me and then uncomfortably at each other, but said nothing.
‘I’ll see what the boys are up to,’ said Angie finally, standing up.
‘I’ll join you,’ said Tara, and they both disappeared inside.
‘Sophie —’
‘What is it?’ she said, squeezing my hand.
I couldn’t believe I was about to destroy her faith in me again.
‘I slept with Marcus.’
‘No,’ she started.
‘I did.’
‘What? You’re kidding? He’s married, for God’s sake,’ Sophie said, practically spitting out the words.
‘Separated.’
‘Did you love him? Did you intend becoming his second wife?’
‘No. I don’t know. I was confused.’
My answer seemed to infuriate her further. ‘If you weren’t in love with him, why the hell would you do it? Why would you play with people’s lives that way? His wife? Their children?’
‘It wasn’t like that, I promise. I had no intention of going to bed with him but he was so kind and sympathetic about all the stuff with George —’
Sophie rolled her eyes.
‘Okay,’ I said, putting my hands up. ‘I have no reason. It was inexcusable.’ I slept with a married man. End of story. No matter how much I tried to reason why, I couldn’t. My morals were in the gutter. Marcus didn’t force me. He didn’t declare his undying love for me. Neither of us did.
Sophie was seething. ‘So it was just something you did to pass the time?’
‘It wasn’t that either. I like — liked — Marcus, a lot.’
‘So the fact that this man had a wife and children didn’t matter?’
I didn’t answer. How many times could I tell her Marcus was separated? Besides, it was beginning to sound lame even to me.
‘How can I compete when there are women like you, waiting to pounce on every married man that comes along? Women like you, who are funny and charming and don’t have to worry doing about doing the laundry or gr
ocery shopping?’
‘This isn’t about you, Sophie.’
‘Of course it’s about me. It’s about every married woman who’s cheated on by their husbands with single women who don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves. They think they’re so goddamn special.’
‘I’m not special.’
‘You got that right,’ Sophie fumed. ‘You’re a walking cliché!’
I shook my head. An affair was only a cliché until you were smack bang in the middle of it, living the lie every day.
Sophie wasn’t finished. ‘You’re a disgrace, Claudia.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ was all I could manage.
‘It’s not me you should be apologising to.’ With that Sophie turned and walked up the stairs towards the road that led into Fira.
I thought about chasing her but I couldn’t face another scene. Maybe after she’d had time to think, she’d feel less furious. And as angry as she was with me, I was even angrier with myself. I knew what I’d done with Marcus was wrong.
‘That went well,’ said Tara when she and Angie walked back outside.
‘What am I going to do?’
‘Sophie’s in shock. Give her time,’ Angie suggested.
Tara wrapped her arms around me. ‘God, you get yourself into some situations.’
‘I know. I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess.’ I thought for a few more minutes before speaking again. ‘I keep going over everything again and again. My brain won’t let it rest. I know that sleeping with Marcus was selfish and I have no one to blame but myself. And I know he used me to get to Con —’
‘I doubt Marcus knew how far Con’s criminal tentacles stretched,’ said Angie. ‘Jack thinks Marcus was duped into believing Con was the answer to all his financial worries.’
‘And he had me to pin it on if things went wrong.’ I closed my eyes and shook my head. ‘I can’t forgive myself for putting you guys in danger.’
‘We were never in danger,’ said Tara. ‘It was our overactive imaginations.’
Just then Sophie walked back down the stairs. I got up out of my chair and walked over to her. ‘I’m so sorry, Soph.’
‘So am I.’ Sophie sighed. ‘You thought he was separated. It happens.’
