Those You Trust: compelling women's psychological fiction

by Bernie Steadman

  Some of the women spoke excellent English, but we settled in the end to Greek with English translations when I got stuck. It was incredibly useful to be dropped into ordinary-speed conversations, if a little terrifying. One of the women was a dress designer, another an architect. I gave my card to several of them, and realised that Delphine had invited people she thought might be able to help me.

  She grinned at me from across the room at one point, and I felt suddenly grateful that I had met this talented woman and that she might want to be my friend.

  I took tiny canapés from a waitress, and relaxed into the atmosphere. I was admiring my surroundings and watching Nikos chatting as Delphine flitted between her guests, charming them. Every time I met Delphine I had to reassess how I felt about her and her husband. It was obvious that he had aimed high to capture Delphine. She was a natural at all this stuff, and fitted far better into his lifestyle than Maria ever would have done.

  A quiet gong sounded to call us in for dinner. I was really looking forward to the meal. My expectation was that the food would be of the highest standard, and I was hoping not to be disappointed. Kokorakis seated me on his left and the dress designer on his right. Leo was down the table near Delphine which suited me. I felt uncomfortable in his presence now. It was hard to pretend that I was enjoying his company, when I’d been accusing him of being a spy, or worse, only a few days ago.

  Over tiny individual dishes of tempura calamari, squid stuffed with prawns and plates of salmon and caviar, I got to know my host a little better.

  Kokorakis poured me a dry and delicate white wine. ‘I am so glad to meet you, Anna,’ he said. ‘So you have come to the island from England to live?’

  I answered him in Greek. It seemed wrong to let him struggle, and I needed the practice. ‘Yes, I have inherited my grandmother’s house in the town, and it was time for me to move on and find a new life. It came at the right time, I suppose.’

  ‘Welcome, welcome. Tell me a little about yourself. I know you are a designer, but what about your family? Were they happy for you to go away?’ He speared a piece of caviar-topped salmon and chewed on it.

  ‘I’m an only child, so they were quite unhappy to see me go, but I feel like I’m coming home, Mr Kokorakis.’ I drank more wine. Oh God, what if he asked me more about my parents, and what if the feud Irini mentioned is real? I felt a bit panicky. What could I say?

  His hooded black eyes widened. ‘Are your family local? There are some Georgious in the area.’

  Well, I couldn’t refuse to answer. ‘I think so. Dad’s mother lived here, of course. To be honest, Mum and Dad worked hard to buy our restaurant in Manchester and we never talked about Dad’s background at all. He has made his home and life in Manchester.’ I concentrated on my food, and breathed in relief when the woman on Kokorakis’ other side asked him a question. For some reason, I never expected to have to talk to him about my family, and I didn’t want to lie, so I turned to the man on my other side, the husband of the architect, and talked to him about interior design, and his love of fast cars. Riveting it was not, but it saved me from further embarrassment with my host.

  The main course was actually two courses, a fish stew in little bowls followed by lamb, traditional at Easter, roasted and served with vegetables. Although dessert was served, I hadn’t even a squeak of room left. Expectations had been more than satisfied.

  I’d relaxed a bit, and was more able to chat to Kokorakis, who said, ‘Please call me Niko,’ after an hour or so. He wanted to know about my work with Delphine and about what I had done to my own house. He seemed genuinely interested in me and my work, and it felt fine, not intrusive or seedy.

  Kokorakis would have been one amongst many self-made businessmen in the city where I used to live. They, or rather their wives, made up the biggest proportion of my client base. If I wanted to pursue a friendship with Delphine, I’d need to be friendly with her husband, and he was making it easy. He poured the wine generously, and because I was eating at the same time, I matched him glass for glass.

  ‘Anna, that is a very old watch you are wearing, I think?’ he asked, and took my wrist to have a closer look. He looked for a long time, tracing the gold filigree design on the silver. ‘Is it a family heirloom?’

  ‘Yes, it was my great-grandmother’s. Dad gave it to me when I was twenty-one. I love it very much.’

  He looked misty-eyed for a moment. ‘Take good care of it. I am sure your great-grandmother would be proud to know that you are looking after it,’ he said.

  ‘I will. I never knew her, and this is a connection to her, in a way.’

  At the other end of the table, Leo had been working his way steadily through the wine, too, and his loud stories and laughter were interrupting other conversations. He was boorish as soon as alcohol loosened his private school training. He and I were going to have a serious conversation at the end of the evening. Then I asked myself why I was wasting my time wondering about him, when really I just needed to dump him.

  After dinner, those of us who had actually been eating, i.e., not Delphine, staggered into the sitting room and fell onto the sofas, groaning quietly. Coffee appeared as if by magic. I was quite drunk, and drank two cups down quickly. I needed at least two pints of water as well.

  As soon as we were all settled, Delphine delighted me by sitting at the piano and playing some gentle jazz. She was good. It washed over me, and I suddenly felt sleepy. Time had gone by quickly and my watch said almost twelve. Smokers wandered off to stand outside on the patio, and I saw Kokorakis grip Leo firmly by the elbow and take him out of the room for a chat, as promised.

  I lay back against the soft leather for several minutes, enjoying the music. I didn’t feel the need to talk to anyone, I was simply enjoying the mood. After she had finished playing, Delphine sat next to me. I gave her a round of applause.

  ‘So have you had a good time, Anna? My husband wasn’t too nosy, I hope?’

  ‘Not at all. I’ve had a lovely time, and the food was exquisite, even if I did eat too much of it.’

  She smiled in appreciation. ‘Eleni and her husband, Panos’ – she indicated the man we had seen earlier at the door – ‘look after us. We have extra staff for dinner parties, and managing the garden, but otherwise we keep a small staff here. Eleni was trained in Paris and Athens.’

  ‘Ah! That explains everything. She’s a gifted cook. Please thank her for me.’ And ask her if she’ll give me lessons, I didn’t add. ‘I’d love to be able to cook like her.’

  We chatted about the next steps for the Andreanakis house for a few more minutes, until I became aware of raised voices coming from outside the room. Delphine excused herself and slipped away through the door, patting the air with her hands to assure us everything was fine.

  Fine? I wished for the ground to swallow me up, because the only two people out there were Leo and Kokorakis, and everyone in the room had stopped talking so they could listen to the American, shouting.

  There was an abrupt stop, the sudden crash of the front door slamming, and then nothing. I caught Ekaterina, the architect, raising her eyebrows at me, and managed a mortified shrug. Well, I didn’t know what had happened, did I? But it didn’t mean I couldn’t find out. I followed Delphine out the door, along the corridor and stood in the entrance to what looked like a study. Delphine stood with her hands on her husband’s chest. His face was a dark, blotchy red, anger leaking from every pore. He turned to glare at me.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I said, ‘I wondered what happened. Is everything all right?’ Clearly something awful had happened. ‘What did he say?’

  Delphine turned from her husband and came toward me, head on one side. ‘A disagreement, that is all. But I think your companion has left without you. Stay here, and I will collect your things, then you don’t have to go back into the sitting room.’

  I nodded, dumbly. She wanted me out, that was clear.

  Kokorakis moved and stood behind his desk. ‘Is that man a good friend of yours,
Anna?’

  I flushed. ‘No. No, he’s not. I didn’t feel able to tell him not to come tonight after I had invited him, but he is no longer a friend of mine. I’m so sorry to bring trouble to your house, Niko. I would never have brought him here had I known…’

  ‘Known? Do you know who he is? Who he really is?’

  He gave me such a hard look my legs wobbled and I had to lean against the door jamb. I struggled to clear my head. ‘No, I don’t, honestly. I know he isn’t who he says he is. I know he’s been lying about what he’s doing on the island, but I don’t know who he is. Unless you can tell me?’

  Kokorakis poured himself a drink from a decanter on the table while I tried to get my drunken thoughts into some sort of order. So, was Leo a spy? Had he threatened Kokorakis in some way?

  Behind me, Delphine arrived with my shawl and bag, wrapped the shawl around my shoulders and stuffed the bag into my hand. ‘Are you throwing me out?’ I asked.

  Delphine shook her head, and held me in a brief hug. ‘Of course not. All the guests will be leaving soon. But I need to talk to Nikos now. I will call you in a day or two and explain what has happened. In the meantime, and you must promise me this, Anna, you must have nothing to do with Leo Arakis. He is a dangerous man. Do you promise?’ She held onto my free hand and squeezed it, hard.

  ‘I promise. I don’t want to see him anyway, but please, can’t you tell me anything about what he said?’

  She cast a glance at her husband, who was still a terrible colour. ‘As you can see, this has been hard for Nikos. Trust me, Anna, soon you will know everything.’

  With that, she bundled me out through the door and into the night. More secrets, more lies. More not telling Anna anything. It was becoming the story of my life.

  I stumbled down the road, feeling and looking like an abandoned drunk. Around me exploded the fireworks of the Easter celebrations, voices and music came from doors and open windows, and ahead of me, in the town’s tavernas, people were having a wonderful time. I thought of Alex, out with the expats on what would be a raucous night, and felt small, and lonely, and like I had made a terrible mistake when I had smiled back at Leo Arakis that very first time.

  As soon as Delphine had sent her guests away, citing a sudden headache on Nikos’ behalf, she went back into the study and closed the door. ‘What happened?’

  ‘He wants in on my business. Listed the areas of weakness that he has studied, told me I should say yes and avoid any unpleasantness.’

  ‘But who the hell is he? How dare he come up here demanding anything from you at all? Does he have any idea who you are?’

  Nikos’ face turned puce once more. ‘Everything, not anything; the wine and oil and the building business. He said I owed it to him after what I did to his father; that he should be my heir; that he had been studying the business carefully over the past few months, and knew all its weak points. And wouldn’t the tax office like to know exactly how many people I employed, and how much business I was actually doing? He has been spying on me.’

  ‘His father?’

  ‘He is apparently Leontes Kokorakis, Stephanos’ son.’

  Delphine sat heavily on a chair. ‘So he changed his name to fool us.’

  ‘And fool us he did.’

  ‘Oh God, Niko, what did you say to him?’

  ‘I refused to believe him at first and attempted to throw him out.’ He held up a bruised wrist, finger marks turning blue where the blood had risen to the surface. ‘But he was too strong for me.’ He took a long swallow of his brandy, and breathed out a sigh. ‘So then he tried to bargain with me, and get me to give him a chance, working alongside me. As if I would give in to his puny threats. I asked him why he hadn’t come to me openly as my nephew first, and asked to learn the business in the normal way, and said then it might have been an option.’

  ‘What did he say? The feud?’

  ‘Exactly. He will inherit nothing from his own father, who appears to have taken the same stance with his children as mine did with us. And he believes that he can only get something from me through threats and bribery, because of the feud. And possibly because of the way he has been raised.’ He wiped a shaking hand across his brow. ‘All those years ago, and the actions of my father are still visited on his sons and their sons. Will it ever stop?’

  ‘What then? How did you get him to go?’

  ‘I could see he was getting very angry, so I told him to get out, and that he would get nothing from me. I called Panos, who got him out after a little struggle. He left, but said this was not over, and he would be back.’

  ‘Was it wise to throw him out? Who knows what he may do now, Niko? We may be in danger.’

  ‘How could I negotiate with him when he came into my house and threatened me? How could I give my business to him? I’d rather lose it all. No, he does not have the qualities I am looking for in an heir.’

  He pushed himself to his feet, walked around the desk and drew Delphine up so he could hold her tightly. ‘No,’ he said into her hair, ‘Anna will inherit. She can have it all.’

  She pulled back. ‘Anna knows nothing about this business.’

  ‘But she can learn, Delphie, and we like her. I think she has a good heart and a strong mind.’

  He took her by the hand. ‘Let’s go up to bed, I have had enough of today. A few weeks ago I did not think I had any relatives. Now I have many, and I don’t want all of them. I’m very tired, let’s talk in the morning. I must plan carefully if we are to survive this attack.’

  21

  The sunlight streamed in through the sides of the window blind as usual and beat on my face. I woke to find myself caught up in a hot tangle of duvet.

  It was after nine on a beautiful Easter Sunday and somehow I had slept through bells, fireworks and drunken people staggering home. Which was a blessing.

  What I needed was an easy day where I could process Leo the Liar out of my brain and focus on a future made much simpler without him in it.

  I took a couple of headache pills and made tea and ate toast. I was starving, as usual, despite all the food the night before. Food always makes me feel better, and I was at least calmer by the time I settled with my phone and composed a short text to Leo. Thanks for last night. Embarrassing me in front of people is not my idea of having a good time. I’m deleting your number. Do not try to contact me again. I removed the first sentence, not at all sure he would understand sarcasm, and sent the text.

  Mum called. Dad was not very well at all, could I come home soon? I had a panic, what if he was really ill and they, naturally, hadn’t told me? ‘Mum, tell me what exactly is wrong with him. When you said his waterworks, did you mean his prostate?’

  ‘Yes, but it’s okay, darling, he is having the treatment. It’s quite common for men of his age, I believe. He would just love to see you, he is very low in spirit.’

  ‘Right, then I’ll come as soon as I can. I’ll book the flights and let you know. I can be there by the end of the week.’

  ‘Good, that will be perfect. We’ll see you soon. Love you.’ And she ended the call. Home it was then. I’d be happier off the island for now, with an angry Leo marauding about.

  I checked local news and read some reports of the night’s festivities. A ridiculous Easter bonnet parade run by expats which featured Cathy prominently marching at the front sporting a bird’s nest on her head was the most interesting article. Nothing else came up of interest.

  Tentatively, I texted Delphine to thank her for the evening and to ask if they were okay. Nothing came back from her.

  A tap on the door brought Irini into the kitchen. She had returned from church, dressed once again in black with her head covered. ‘Did you have a good evening? I noticed that you came home alone.’

  ‘You don’t miss much, Aunt Irini.’

  She shrugged. ‘I’m an old lady, I don’t sleep much. Was it a nice party?’

  ‘Take a seat, I’ll make tea. It’s a long story. It started well, Nikos and Delphine
were very good hosts, and I had a lovely time. Their house is beautiful, and the food was fabulous.’ I added water to the kettle, tea to the pot and found two pottery mugs in the cupboard.

  ‘Yet you came home alone.’

  I watched the kettle come to a boil and poured water onto the leaves. ‘Leo behaved badly. We were all drinking but he got loud and difficult. Then Nikos took him into the study and there were raised voices and Leo left, slamming the door like a child. I was really embarrassed.’

  ‘Hmm. I wonder what they were talking about?’

  ‘I thought Nikos was going to talk to Leo about the house and land he wants to buy. Perhaps there is some problem with it.’ I poured us tea and sat next to her. ‘Anyway, Aunt Irini, I will not be seeing Leo Arakis again. I have finished with him for good, and I’m glad.’

  She touched her mug against mine. ‘In that case, let’s drink to independent women.’

  ‘I’m going to book a flight home for later in the week, to see my parents. It is about time I sorted out all this mystery,’ I said, pouring more tea and breathing in the fragrance.

  ‘Yes, do go home. I think also it is time for it all to come out, especially now that you are living in the town.’

  We drank our tea and she told me more about Stavros, and her daughter and grandchildren, all of whom I was to meet now that the Lent fast was over. ‘There will be feasting, Anna, I must warn you!’

  Finally, she pulled herself up from the chair. ‘It’s a beautiful day for a walk. The spring flowers are all out. You will feel better if you do something nice. It is a tradition to walk today, after all. Forget about all this nonsense with the young man.’

  I opened the back door and saw her through it. ‘You look after yourself,’ I called after her, and closed the door and locked it. Just in case a certain someone was around.