by HC Michaels
“Of course. It’s fine. Really. I’m sorry I asked.” Tessa used that sheepish tone that made Elvira feel immediately guilty.
“Right. I’ll see you soon. The boat’s pulling in now.”
Elvira disconnected the call, feeling annoyed. How ungrateful of Tessa. She really did think she was here for a holiday. She was here to take care of Amelia, not galavant all over the island. She’d better be telling the truth about Tino. If she found out she was still seeing him, she’d be furious.
And Tessa would be fired. It was hard enough to look her in the eye knowing she’d slept with her brother. If the affair were to continue it would be too much to handle. The thought of Tessa telling Tino intimate details of her family’s life made her feel ill.
She made her way into the exit and nodded her thanks at the captain standing proudly at the gangplank.
Her father had gone ahead and was waiting for her on the dock.
“Where’s Tino?” she asked, looking around.
Her father pointed, his finger quivering.
She looked across to see Tino walking down the dock with a police officer on either side.
“Where are they taking him?” she asked.
“For questions.” Her father ran his fingers through his thinning hair.
Her eyes widened. The police wanted to question Tino? What the hell had he done now? He’d only been on the island a day and was already of interest to the police.
She was glad she hadn’t had the chance to talk to him. He hadn’t changed a bit and it was about time she stopped expecting him to.
“Come on, Dad.” She put her arm around him, noticing how much smaller he seemed in his grief. “I’ll take you home.”
He allowed her to lead him in the direction of his apartment. They walked in silence, their heads too full of thoughts for any words to make their way out.
Paul glanced up from his computer screen. “Bloody hell.”
Elvira gave him a look from the kitchen. “I’m good thank you, darling. How are you?”
“Oh sorry, you’re back. Hi.” He smiled apologetically. “I was just reading the news. Did you hear what happened?”
“No,” she said, an unusual expression crossing her face.
“A woman was murdered here last night.” He shook his head as he pointed to his laptop screen. “They found her floating in the resort pool. Is that near here?”
“It’s over the other side.” Elvira waved her hand.
“Right.” He breathed out a sigh.
“What else does it say?” she asked, coming to him, and peering over his shoulder.
“She was found naked. They suspect she was assaulted. This is awful. What kind of a place is this?” He shook his head and tutted.
“People get murdered everywhere,” Elvira said. “You’re not safe just because you’re on an island. There must be thousands of people here.”
“That poor woman,” he said.
“Let me read it.” She leant in front of him, and he caught the scent of her hair. She smelled good. She always smelled good. How did women do that? Tessa smelled good, too, not that he’d deliberately discovered that. In fact, he deliberately tried not to discover that. The last thing he needed was for Elvira to think he had something going on with the nanny.
He ran his hand down Elvira’s arm and she batted him away.
“I’m reading,” she said.
It seemed the glow from their afternoon delight the day before had well and truly extinguished. Maybe he should’ve gone with her to Proserpine.
But he’d had such a nice morning in the pool with Amelia. The smile on her face had been priceless. Plus, Tessa had admitted she was still jet lagged so it was good to be able to give her the morning off. Elvira expected far too much of her for what they paid her.
Elvira stepped back from his computer. Her face was white.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, a sick feeling pooling in his gut.
“Nothing.” She gave him a pained smile.
“Elvira.” He tried to make his voice stern. Something she’d just read hadn’t sat well with her. Surely, she wasn’t worried about her own safety? “This seems like some kind of random attack. It’s highly unlikely there’s a serial killer on the island. This has to be one of the safest places in Australia.”
“Tell that to the girl who was murdered,” she muttered.
He reached for her hand. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just that the police took Tino away for questioning when we got off the boat.” She squeezed his hand then let it fall. “You don’t think…”
“What? No. No, I don’t think.” Was she seriously implying her brother could be responsible for this? Her hatred for him seemed to have risen to some kind of new height—the kind that would result in altitude sickness.
“So, it’s just me being crazy again, is it?” she asked. “Like the old days.”
“I never said that. You’re not crazy, Elvira.” He stood up, wanting to reach out to her but not wanting to be brushed away again. “You never were crazy.”
“You made me feel like I was,” she sniffed. “You all did.”
“We were all crazy back then. How could we not be?” He took her into his arms. It was like hugging an ironing board. She was always so bloody tense.
“If it was him—”
“It wasn’t him.”
“There’s something else.” She reached into her handbag and pulled out the envelope he’d left on the counter for her. Pressing her finger to her lips as she inclined her head toward Tessa and Amelia’s bedroom, she handed it to him.
He slid out the contents and felt his eyes go wide.
“Is that?”
“Shh,” she said. “It is.”
“Who?” he mouthed. “Who sent it?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure yet, but I think you’re looking at the culprit.”
“Tino?” he whispered. “He wouldn’t do that!”
“Are you still taking his side?” She pulled away. “You always take his side. You’re no better than Dad. He’s up to something. Even the police can see that.”
“I’m not on his side. Not this time and not last time.” He let his arms fall to his side.
“Well, he’s killed before,” she said, snatching back the photo and shoving it in her bag. “Why couldn’t it be him again?”
“He didn’t kill anyone.” Tears stung the back of Paul’s eyes. “You know that.”
“He killed Bianca.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
It pained him that she wouldn’t let him be the one to comfort her. She always had to do everything for herself. She made him feel so bloody useless as a man.
“He did it,” she said again. “I know he did. And he’s done it again. Why can’t you see what I see?”
He didn’t know what to say. Every possible option was loaded with opportunities for her to blow his head off.
“I’ve booked the restaurant for seven o’clock,” he said with desperate hopes of changing the subject.
“Cancel it,” she said walking towards their bedroom. “I’m staying in tonight. Tell Tessa she can have the night off.”
“Let’s go out,” he said, following her. “It’ll be good. Tessa had the morning off. I’m sure she won’t mind if we go out tonight.”
She paused when she saw Amelia’s wet shorts and tee-shirt hanging over the back of a chair. He’d had to improvise given Elvira hadn’t packed her swimsuit. “Didn’t Tessa tell you I don’t want Amelia to swim?”
He winced, knowing he was going to be in trouble but also knowing she’d find out about it sooner or later. “She did, actually.”
She let out a long sigh.
“She tried to stop me,” he said, not wanting Tessa to be in trouble. “But I watched Amelia every second. She was fine.”
Elvira turned to face him, and they locked eyes.
Her face was such a contrast of emotions. She was strong and she was vulnerable. She was so full of
hate and so full of love.
“I love you,” he said, hoping to tip the scale towards the side of her that loved him.
Her eyebrows pinched together beneath her fringe, and she sighed.
“I’m taking a shower,” she said. “Don’t cancel the restaurant.”
That was as close as he was going to get to an I love you too, so he took it and smiled.
His wife was so frustrating. He knew all wives weren’t like that, but she was the only one he had. The only one he wanted. If only she were still the woman he’d married.
Tessa had been trying not to eavesdrop, but this was fairly difficult in a small apartment. She was lying on her bed while Millie tapped away on Paul’s iPad, playing a game that made a frog jump over some lily pads.
What the hell was going on? Did Elvira really think Tino was capable of killing that woman? And what did she mean that he’d killed before? Elvira had mentioned someone called Bianca. Tessa was certain she’d heard that name before, but not in that kind of context. She should’ve paid more attention.
“Mummy’s home.” Millie glanced up from her screen.
“Yes,” said Tessa. “Let her have a shower before you say hello.”
Millie looked back at the screen and tapped it furiously, not seeming to have had any intention of saying hello to her mother.
“Gentle,” said Tessa. “You’ll break it.”
“Finished.” Millie threw the iPad onto her bed.
“Why don’t you play the one with the monkeys,” suggested Tessa, wishing Millie’s attention span would last longer than two minutes. She really needed some rest.
“Boring.” Millie rolled her eyes.
“What about the alphabet one?” she suggested.
Millie scrunched up her face. “Not alfa-beet.”
Tessa didn’t correct her pronunciation, aware that Elvira would have. It was so bloody cute. How could anyone correct that?
“Okay, no alpha-beet then,” said Tessa.
Millie came over and threw herself on top of Tessa. “I’m hungry.”
“Let’s make dinner then.” Tessa scooped her up and carried her into the kitchen. She wasn’t expected to cook as part of her job, but often she liked to.
From what she’d overheard, she wouldn’t be going out to meet Logan tonight. Unless Elvira and Paul returned early enough, which wouldn’t surprise her. They weren’t known to be all night ragers.
Millie wriggled from her arms, went to her father, and climbed onto his lap.
Paul quickly closed his laptop and bounced her up and down, making her squeal.
“We’re going to need you to watch Millie tonight, if you don’t mind?” he asked, looking up at Tessa.
Tessa filled a pot with water and put it on the stove.
“Of course, I don’t mind. It’s my job.” She liked the way Paul asked, instead of expecting it to be fine with her like Elvira did.
“Great.” Paul set Millie back down on the ground. “Elvira had a rough day. She needs a night out.”
Tessa nodded, not wanting to let on what she’d overheard.
Maybe it wasn’t wise for her to meet Logan tonight, anyway. There was a killer out there on the island somewhere. It wasn’t Tino. She was certain of that. He might be a creep, but he wasn’t a killer. She’d slept with the guy. She’d know if he was some kind of psycho.
She knocked herself on the corner of the table as she walked to the pantry to look for the pasta she’d seen in there earlier. Millie loved pasta.
As she rubbed the sting from her hip, she remembered how rough Tino had been with her at times. Did that mean anything? Could he be capable of murder? But that was just him being playful. A pinch here or a slap there. It wasn’t like he’d inflicted any serious pain.
She shuddered. There were plenty of women out there who’d been married to men who turned out to be murderers and they claimed they had no idea. What made her think she was smarter than them? Maybe Elvira knew Tino better than she did. Maybe…Bianca couldn’t have been Tino’s girlfriend, could she?
“You okay?” asked Paul, frowning.
“Fine.” She pushed a smile up to her lips. “Ah, here it is.”
She picked up the packet of pasta and went to the drawer to find a knife to slit it open.
“Did you hear the news about that girl getting killed?” he asked.
“I saw the police down at the marina.” She opened the pasta and poured it into the empty colander ready to go in the pot. “I’ll read about it later.”
“Make sure you’re careful.” Paul’s face filled with concern. “Whoever did that might still be out there.”
“I’m always careful.” She smiled at him. He was like a surrogate father to her, not that she could say that to him. He wasn’t nearly old enough to be her father. She’d heard some terrible stories from her nanny friends about the dads coming out of the bathroom naked or rubbing up against them when they bent to empty the dishwasher. Paul never did anything like that.
“I’m going to get ready for dinner.” Paul ruffled Millie’s hair only for her to smooth it back down.
Tessa found Millie’s colouring book on the counter. “Come on, Millie, sit up here with me while I make your dinner. You haven’t finished colouring in that princess.”
“I want to do the rocket,’” she said, climbing onto one of the stools.
“Then do the rocket, you little astronaut.” Tessa laughed.
“Imfiminy and beyond!” Millie punched her fist in the air.
Tessa laughed and went to the pantry to look for something she could add to the pasta. Elvira had a box of groceries delivered when they arrived. They were going to need another box before the week came to a close. It was slim pickings in the pantry after only a few days.
“Millie,” she said, checking Paul had left the room. “Who’s Bianca?”
“Durrrp.” Millie shrugged her shoulders.
“Don’t say that. It’s rude,” said Tessa.
She hadn’t really expected Millie to know, but it was worth a shot.
In the two years she’d been with Paul and Elvira she’d known there was something strange about their family. Or rather, there was something secret. She’d been trying to work out exactly what it was, but until this week she’d come up with nothing except blanks.
Previously, all she’d figured out was that something big had happened a few years ago that triggered a massive change in their lives. She’d never known what it was, but it had caused Elvira’s parents to move to Queensland, sent Elvira spiralling into what seemed like some kind of depression and turned Paul into a workaholic. It seemed to have made Tino run away as far as he could, too. Would Tino killing his girlfriend have that kind of impact on the whole family?
She knew it was none of her business, but she yearned to know what had happened.
Bianca seemed to be the key that would unlock all the secrets.
It was as simple and complicated as that.
Tino had murdered someone and the shock of it sent his parents running to make a new life while Elvira struggled to cope with coming to terms with what her little brother had done.
It made some kind of twisted sense.
Except why wasn’t Tino in jail? And if he had a criminal record, how had he been allowed to travel to Greece? Maybe he had an evil twin? Was that even possible? Kosta certainly had seemed like a different person to Tino.
The water on the stove bubbled over and she tipped the pasta into it, stirring it with a wooden spoon.
Paul had said the girl in the pool had been assaulted before she was killed. Did that mean raped? Or bashed? Perhaps it meant both. Would Tino be capable of not only murdering someone, but assaulting them, too?
The memory of the police outside her villa in Mykonos came back to her and her blood ran cold.
Had Tino run away to Greece after murdering this Bianca woman, then attacked a girl in Mykonos before coming here to assault and murder another woman? If so, he wasn’t just a serial sleaze,
he was a serial rapist and murderer.
He was the common element in all the attacks. No wonder the police had wanted to talk to him. Elvira had said they took him away as soon as they got off the boat this afternoon.
It had to be him.
Which meant that last morning when she’d had sex with him in Mykonos, he’d come to her villa after attacking that poor woman.
She ran to the bathroom and threw up.
How could she have been so stupid? She was lucky to be alive.
She wasn’t going to go out and meet Logan.
She wasn’t going to look at another guy as long as she lived.
7 Days Before The Break
Tino pulled a pillow over his head, trying to block out the relentless sunshine. Whoever named this godforsaken island certainly got it right.
For a few blissful moments, his mind was clear. Then the memory of being dragged off the marina last night came back to him, and he removed the pillow from his face so he could punch it.
Bloody pigs! Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? Tino was here to say goodbye to his mother, not answer these stupid questions.
He’d already had enough questions from police to last a lifetime, which was why he’d shot through when he saw them hovering around Tessa’s villa in Mykonos. The Greek police were bound to be even worse than the Aussie ones. Especially given that he isn’t Greek.
Things had been coming to an end with Tessa anyway. She was going back to Melbourne, and it wasn’t like he was going to follow her. He’d made it clear from the start that it was a fling. Well, he’d thought he had. The look on her face when she saw him here on the island certainly indicated that she’d received another message all together.
She’d looked hurt. What had she been thinking? That he was going to marry her? He’d just wanted to sleep with her, like he’d wanted to last night. It sucked that she stood him up. He’d been so nice to her outside the zoo. For a moment she’d looked like she was softening towards him. He certainly felt how she’d reacted when she brushed into him. It had given him an immediate hard on.
