Eve gasped.
“He’s about fifteen years younger than she is,” Eve said, with a note of excitement in her voice. “Mind you, he’s not fussy where women are concerned. He’s quite a gigolo, and proud of it......Well, well, now that definitely opens up the suspect list, doesn’t it, Jane? Yiannis has got a violent temper, as you well know, and I wouldn’t rule him out as the killer. Lucy could have upset him in some way, making him angry and he then strangled her. I reckon with him, the murder wouldn’t have been premeditated. He’s a strong man as well and it wouldn’t have taken much for him to carry her round to the cave from the cove. He could even have killed her somewhere else and brought her to the cove by car.”
“You could be right, but they could just have been flirting the day I saw them. Lucy could easily have been having an affair with someone else and he could have killed her.”
Eve nodded, but tried not to smile at Jane’s excitement.
“Yes, it could definitely be another man, Jane.”
Eve thought how interesting the case was already proving to be. Unlike the previous murders, there were already two prime suspects early on in the case. Lucy’s husband, Kevin, topped it of course. Their marriage was on the rocks and he could have become fed up of arguing with her. Finding out that she was seeing another man could have been the last straw. Then there was the lover. It looked quite likely that Yiannis was the man that she was having the affair with. Eve knew he was promiscuous. During the season, he was always hanging around the female holidaymakers and as much as she hated to admit it, Yiannis was very good looking and he did manage to get his fair share of tourists. Eve felt sorry for them. Yes, a lot of the girls in their late twenties or early thirties knew it was just a bit of fun and wasn’t going to lead to anything more, but some of the younger girls fell madly in love with him and ended up with broken hearts. She was sure he had been having a few one night stands the previous summer even though he was in a serious relationship with Laura, the poor girl who Phyllis murdered. Of course, the man who Lucy had been having the affair with might not be Yiannis, which would bring in a third suspect.
Eve hoped Yiannis was the killer. They hadn’t got on since she had suspected him of murdering Jane’s father and he was always having a dig at her.
I would feel much more relaxed if he were locked up for a good many years, I really would, Eve thought to herself. Mind you, it still seems strange that he would have an affair with Lucy. She must have thrown herself at him. He’s not the type to turn down a bit of fun, even if the woman’s not exactly attractive. Perhaps that’s it. He didn’t want anything serious while she did and the only way to get her out of his life was to kill her.
“Eve, what do you think?” Jane interrupted Eve’s thoughts.
“What did you say?” Eve jumped. “I’m sorry. I was miles away.”
“I could see that. You’d better be careful when you get home otherwise David will think something’s wrong. You’re usually so chatty. If you’re not, he might think you're obsessed with the murder.”
“You’re right, I suppose.”
“Anyway, Eve,” Jane continued, “I was hoping that I could help you solve the case this time. I mean, you’d be in charge of course, but I’d like to assist. I’d be very discreet. I think I’d be an asset with Paul being Kevin’s brother. I might find out quite a few things.”
Eve looked at Jane. She had thought about asking for her help earlier, but was now a little worried. After all, Eve did like to take all the credit for solving the murders for herself. David had helped her before and had let her get all the praise, but would Jane?
Yes, I’m pretty certain she would. She’s shy and would probably hate the limelight. It would also be useful to have someone to look out for me and to watch my back, plus Jane was right, she could find out lots of interesting bits of information just from listening to Paul and Kevin.
“I am getting bored as well, Eve. I did have that job making breakfasts in a cafe in Almerida covering for someone in hospital, but she’s back. It’s hard to get jobs here now. I know I have my inheritance from Dad, but I need something more; something to occupy my mind.”
That did it for Eve. She knew exactly how Jane felt.
She needs something interesting to occupy her days. She doesn’t want to be in the spotlight......or perhaps she’s being very clever, knowing that I will sympathize with her. But if she is, full marks to her. She’ll be a useful addition. I still think I can easily be in charge.
“Okay, Jane, you’ve won me over, but I think that this time we’ll have to be very discreet. Remember what happened to me last time and also to you and Paul, and I know you heard about all the attempts on my life after your Dad was killed.”
“I totally agree, Eve. I’m not even going to tell Paul. That way he might tell me more about what his brother has to say.”
“Great,” Eve said, smiling, but then her face dropped.
“What is it, Eve?”
“David’s niece, Emma, is arriving today for six weeks. That’s all I need at the moment.”
“Do you think it will interfere with our investigations?”
“Hopefully not. She’s got a job in a bar called The Blue Lagoon. It’s that trendy one where all the young people go. She doesn’t start until nine and finishes in the early hours of the morning. David’s moving back to his house for her stay, but he said we’d be taking her round to see the island during the day. I can’t see it though. After working half the night, I expect she’ll be in bed most of the day and David has to write. Apparently Emma was here for a couple of weeks last summer before I got here and was offered a job for this summer. David isn’t madly keen about her working there.”
“Why on earth not? Paul and I have been there a few times. It’s fun and there were people there in their late twenties, like me.”
“You know David, he does worry. He can be a bit of a prude at times. I think he thinks it’s a bed of sin or something like that. I’ve told him we’re going one night and he groaned, but we are! Anyway, Emma is twenty one, so it’s not as if she’s straight out of school.”
“Men!” Jane exclaimed.
Eve shook her head. David was such a complex man. Sometimes he could be so serious, but at others, he was the complete opposite. Eve immediately felt guilty for thinking of him as dull and boring. In fact, sometimes he would quite astound her.
Actually, it’s not surprising he wants me to give up searching for murderers. They keep trying to kill me and he has to rescue me all the time. He has to put his own life in danger. I mean, he rushed into my burning house to rescue me and broke down James Anderson’s patio door when I was poisoned and tied up. He’s always there to save me. How can I be so stupid?
For a moment, guilt overwhelmed Eve and she was just about to tell Jane that they had better give up their foolhardy plan to capture Lucy’s killer, when a thought struck her and she knew she couldn’t stop. It was getting too intriguing.
“I’ve just had an awful thought,” Eve whispered.
“What?” Jane asked excitedly.
“About someone else who could have been a possible lover of Lucy. No, I must be mistaken.”
“Oh come on, Eve, tell me. It doesn’t matter if you’re wrong. I mean, I told you about Yiannis.”
“I just can’t believe this person would do such a thing to his wife. They seem so happy together.”
“Appearances can be deceptive.” Jane added impatiently.
Eve noticed the eager tone in her voice and knew she’d have to tell her.
“Okay, I’ll tell you......It’s Pete, Annie’s husband.”
“No,” Jane said. “I don’t believe you. What makes you think that he’s the one?”
“I don’t. It’s probably nothing. Back in April I went to Rethymnon to have a look around the shops and to go to the archaeological museum. That’s when I saw them together. Pete and Lucy were on the other side of the street. They weren’t kissing or holding hands or anything like
that, but they were laughing and looked happy together. I can’t explain it, I’m sorry. Normally, I would have gone over, but something inside me told me not to. Then at the last minute, I turned round and she was touching his arm. You see, it seems like nothing. The next time I saw Pete and Annie was at their wedding anniversary party and they seemed very happy, so I put the Rethymnon incident out of my head and I had forgotten it until now. Lucy and Pete were probably there separately, had bumped into each other and were just talking.”
“Yes, you’re probably right. Pete and Annie appear to be so close, but there is a slight possibility that they might not be. Gosh,” Jane went on, “if they were having an affair, Annie would be devastated.”
“I know. Well, I don’t think I should say anything to the police about Pete. Not yet, anyway. After all, I didn’t see them doing anything that proves they were having an affair.”
“I agree, but you think I should say something about Yiannis, don’t you?”
“I do; I think so anyway. He did kiss her after all. The police won’t tell him that you blabbed.”
“But word gets around so quickly, Eve. It beats me sometimes how people get to find out things.”
“I know. It’s quite uncanny. Look Jane, I know it’s a difficult decision and you’ve got to make it by yourself.”
Jane sighed, wishing she’d never seen Lucy and Yiannis together.
“I’ll have to tell them, but I’ll wait until Paul gets home and he can come with me. I don’t want to go there on my own.”
“And its better I don’t accompany you otherwise Dimitris Kastrinakis will think I’m interfering in the murder investigations again. I need to keep my head down as much as possible.”
Jane nodded in agreement.
With all that settled, the girls tucked into their breakfasts before the food got too cold.
“Well, Jane,” Eve continued a few moments later, “That was a lovely breakfast, but I’d better get home. David will be up soon and will be wondering where I am.”
“Won’t he be suspicious?” Jane asked.
“Possibly, but I’ll get round it. He’ll probably be too concerned about his niece coming to stay that he won’t be thinking too much about anything else.”
“Or he could be worried about Emma coming here with the assailant still at large!”
“Oh Jane, you really are a harbinger of gloom. Anyway, he doesn’t know it’s a murder yet. I’m pretty certain that this was a premeditated crime or even if it wasn’t, it was done by someone who Lucy knew very well. Why would that person want to kill a complete stranger?
“I don’t know,” Jane replied, feeling a little stupid.
Eve suddenly wondered if she was the right person to be helping her solve the crime. She seemed to be lacking in intuition. Eve had completely forgotten that she too had worried that David might think this.
Well, so what, thought Eve. I still like Jane and she is lonely and bored, so I’ll let her help me even though I don’t think she’ll be able to assist me much.
Eve did sometimes think she was the only person who could gets things right.
“Don’t worry about it, Jane,” Eve said, smiling sweetly. “Keep putting forward any ideas you have. We need to look into every possibility. And now, I really must go. Emma’s plane comes in at twelve thirty and I still have a lot to do.”
Jane wondered what that was. Emma was staying at David’s house and she hardly thought Eve was going to go over and clean it. In fact Eve didn’t even clean her own house. She had a cleaner who came in twice a week so her house was always spick and span and Paul was her gardener so the garden was always watered and looked beautiful. There was very little Eve had to do herself so no wonder she was bored. Mind you, Jane couldn’t imagine Eve doing anything as menial as housework, although she had certainly turned into a good cook. From what she had heard, particularly from Eve’s adversary, Betty Jones, was that Eve couldn’t even boil an egg when she had come to Crete a year ago. According to Eve, that, of course, was nonsense.
“Thank you again for breakfast, Jane,” Eve said, getting up. “It was wonderful. You’ll let me know if you find out anything from Paul, won’t you. A text would probably be better than a call today.”
“Of course I’ll let you know, but I expect Paul will be with his brother most of today.”
“I’m sure he will be and then the police will probably be buzzing around again......... Come on Portia, we’re off.”
Portia came bounding up to Eve. She had adopted the dog almost as soon as she had arrived on Crete. Portia was one of the many strays on the island and Eve fell for her immediately. The dog’s story nearly had an unhappy ending when Phyllis, the murderer of Jane’s father, poisoned the dog, but luckily, she was rushed to the vet in time and survived.
Jane watched Eve walk away with Portia. She felt both excited and scared. She had always wanted to be a private detective, but knew she wouldn’t have the stamina or the personality for it. Having a go at private sleuthing with Eve was going to be thrilling, but she knew how many times Eve had escaped death and now she was a little afraid. At least Eve wanted to be discreet this time so they should be safe, shouldn’t they?
* * * *
Eve walked back home quickly which delighted Portia. She was a young dog and loved to get as much exercise as possible. Unfortunately, she was going to be disappointed this morning. Portia wasn’t going to benefit from a long walk with her mistress because Eve wanted to get home as soon as possible. She hoped that David hadn’t woken up yet, not wanting to explain to him why she had got up uncharacteristically early. David would find it strange that she had risen before him, let alone gone out.
I’m sure he’ll be suspicious.......or is that my guilty conscience rearing its’ ugly head?
In a way Eve was looking forward to David moving back to his own house. On the one hand, he wouldn’t know what she was doing all the time and she would be able to concentrate on the murder, but on the other, she would miss him terribly. It had surprised her how easily she had got used to having him around.
Eve had lived alone for so long that she didn’t think she would be able to adapt to living with another person. However, it had been easier than she had imagined, but what she didn’t seem to realize was that David had let her have her own way in most things. He was much more astute than she game him credit for. He knew that it would be difficult for Eve to adjust to another person living in her home, having been single all her life. He loved her despite all the flaws in her character and wanted to make the transition as easy as possible.
Eve still wondered why David insisted on moving back to his own house while Emma was visiting. She did think that sometimes he could be a bit old-fashioned.
After all Emma is twenty one; I don’t think she’d bat an eyelid if David stayed on in my house. I have two spare bedrooms so she could stay with us as well. Mind you, she’d probably rather have David’s house to herself. Or is that what he’s worried about?
What was worse was that he intended to stay at home for the whole of Emma’s stay.
If it wasn’t for the murder, I’d pack up and go away on holiday somewhere for a couple of weeks. It isn’t going to be the same being alone for so long.
David had stayed at Eve’s house quite often, but she had yet to stay at his, giving the excuse that it would be an awful lot of trouble to bring over her make-up, hair styling appliances and clothes, not to mention the dog. David knew she was being a little selfish, but had let her get away with it so far. She wondered if he’d ask her to stay with him while Emma was there, but thought it was unlikely.
Although the idea of a holiday was appealing, Eve decided there and then not to leave Crete while Emma was staying. She couldn’t miss out on solving another crime and was desperate to be the centre of attention again. Anyway, hadn’t Dimitris told her not to leave the island? Mind you, that had annoyed her immensely. Eve Masters did not like being told what to do.
“And Dimitris told me
not to interfere, but I will discover who murdered Lucy, mark my words,” she said to Portia as they reached the front door.
Just as Eve was about to put the key in the lock, David opened the door, looking relieved.
“Where on earth have you been, Eve? I’ve been worried sick.”
Damn, Eve thought. He’s up and he doesn’t look happy.
“I’m sorry, darling,” she said, putting on her most apologetic voice. “I couldn’t sleep. I kept seeing Lucy’s body lying all cold and alone in that cave; so I got up early and took Portia for a walk. You were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Come here, Eve,” David said, pulling her close to him and holding her tightly. “I’m sorry to have shouted. Lucy could have been murdered which means there might be another crazed killer on the loose. He or she could go for you next.”
“I haven’t done anything to provoke anyone, David, so why should they hurt me?”
“Perhaps they know your reputation and want to get rid of you before you uncover who they are.”
“Goodness, I never thought of that,” Eve replied.
She suddenly felt sick and vulnerable. She hadn’t thought that anyone would try to kill her before she did anything, but now that David had put it into words, it was a distinct possibility. She then thought that maybe it would be safer to tell David that Lucy had been murdered rather than keep it to herself. It probably wouldn’t be long before he found out anyway.
“I have something to tell you, David,” Eve spoke quietly. “Lucy was murdered. I met Paul on my walk and he said she was strangled.”
David gasped.
“It isn’t the best time for me to be leaving you here on your own then, is it?”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine, David.”
Eve didn’t want him to change his mind.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Eve nodded.
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