The Tangled Web

by Lacey Dearie

  ‘To tell them what? You weren’t as pleased to see your ex-husband as he was to see you?’ George mocked.

  ‘George?’ she gasped. She had barely stopped to look at the person who had grabbed her. She had been so busy trying to push him away. The fact that she had kissed this man thousands of times before hadn’t triggered any memories. He could have been anyone. She was just too angry to think straight right now.

  ‘I can’t believe you don’t recognise me honey,’ George smirked.

  ‘Of course I do. And don’t call me that,’ Flic spat.

  ‘Aren’t you surprised to see me?’ George asked.

  Flic remained silent. She sneered at him but couldn’t bring herself to lie and say that she wasn’t surprised to see him. After all, she had known he was on the island. It wasn’t a total shock to find a fellow tourist at a busy tourist attraction.

  She glanced over George’s shoulder and saw Lumi messing around with her damned phone again. Didn’t she ever put that thing down? And why wasn’t Lumi coming to her rescue. She was obviously in distress. Flic could have done without her being around today. All she wanted to do was support Vicky and get out of here, but Lumi had insisted that they soak up the atmosphere, perhaps go for a swim. When Flic had flatly refused to get undressed and go swimming, Lumi had seemed more annoyed than she should have been. Then she announced that she was going to collect pebbles. Collect pebbles? Was she five years old or something? The least she could have done was come over and support Flic in her attempts to fight George off. Whatever happened to girls sticking together?

  ‘You should never grab a woman like that! It’s the hallmark of an arsehole,’ Flic blasted.

  ‘Sorry babes, I was just trying to be friendly,’ he teased. ‘Nice hair, by the way. I preferred you as a red-head though.’

  ‘What do you want anyway?’ Flic flustered.

  ‘What do I want? Well, I want peace to get on with my life without my ex intruding on it. Isn’t that what we all want?’ George gave a loud hearty laugh, but it was lacking in humour.

  Flic began to get a little concerned. ‘You’re a fine one to talk. You could just have stayed away, even though you’d seen me here. You could have ignored me, not kissed me,’ she scolded. She was beginning to feel unsettled. His warm brown eyes, the ones she had looked into so lovingly in a past life, used to be reminiscent of a friendly dog. The friendly little puppy was morphing into a terrifying Rottweiler.

  ‘Flic! Are you ok?’ Vicky panted as she ran towards them.

  ‘I’m alright, but I just want to get out of here,’ she replied pleadingly, giving a glance towards George, then Christos.

  Vicky understood the question Flic was trying to ask without words. She turned her head back at Christos too, who was standing a few meters away with his hands in his pockets, sheepishly shuffling his feet along the pebbles.

  ‘We could talk another time,’ he shrugged. ‘It’s more important to get Flic out of here.’ As he spoke he nodded towards George.

  George seemed to be sizing Christos up, but clearly decided Christos was not a threat to him as he lost none of the bravado in his posture and the cocky, slightly menacing smile was fixed on his face. Christos ignored George and kept his eyes fixed on Vicky. It was clear to Flic from the way they looked at each other that they had said all they needed to say for one day. If the damage to their friendship was to be fixed, it would have to be done some other time.

  Vicky nodded to Flic. ‘Of course. Let’s get you back to the flat. Lumi? Are you coming?’

  Lumi flashed a bright smile in their direction. ‘Obviously! Where else would I be going?’

  As Lumi walked back to them from behind a large rock where she had been collecting pebbles and playing with her phone, Flic could have sworn she gave George a sideways glance and a sneaky smile. She had to be imagining that though. Why would Lumi be smiling at George?

  The three women walked through the tunnel back to the car park and the gift shop.

  ‘Did I see you taking photos of Flic and George?’ Vicky asked Lumi.

  ‘What? No. I was taking pictures, but I was admiring the landscape. I am outraged at what happened, for sure,’ Lumi nodded enthusiastically.

  Flic flashed a confused expression in Vicky’s direction and Vicky returned it with an equally confused shrug. If she was so outraged, why didn’t she help me, Flic thought.

  They reached the car park and halted almost as soon as they had entered the area. Flic couldn’t see their hired car anywhere. She twirled around three hundred and sixty degrees, looking for any sign of Adam. He was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Where’s the car?’ she said aloud.

  ‘That’s him over there! Looks like he’s leaving,’ Vicky pointed out. He was waiting at the junction for traffic to clear on the main road.

  Flic started to run towards the car but as she reached it the car sped off, making a high pitched screech, leaving the smell of slightly burnt rubber behind it.

  ‘What’s going on? Why has he left?’ Flic fretted.

  ‘I don’t know. I’ll phone him.’ Vicky retrieved her phone from her pocket and called Adam’s mobile.

  Flic gave Lumi a quick glance and noticed that she appeared unconcerned and unsurprised. ‘Ask him when he’s coming back!’ Flic instructed.

  Vicky shushed her and said, ‘Adam! What’s going on? Where are you going?’ There was a pause before she added, ‘But why? How are we supposed to get back to Paphos?’

  ‘What’s happened?’ Flic panicked. She could guess from Vicky’s lowered eyebrows that Adam had gone and wasn’t planning to come back.

  Vicky lowered her phone and stared at it. ‘He hung up,’ she puffed.

  ‘What’s happened?’ Flic repeated. She couldn’t help but detect a lack of worry from Lumi once more. She might even go so far as to say that Lumi looked amused.

  Vicky pressed the keypad lock on her phone and placed it back in her pocket. Her worry had changed to annoyance and she looked directly at Flic. ‘He just said he was going back to his own apartment, and maybe George could take us to ours.’

  ‘George?’ Flic squinted. ‘Why would George take us back? How did he even know George was here?’

  ‘Is there a problem?’ George called from behind them, his voice echoing slightly as he arrived from the tunnel.

  ‘No problem at all!’ Lumi exclaimed, smiling brightly and giving him an enthusiastic wave.

  Flic and Vicky snapped their heads around to look at each other. They were clearly thinking the same thing. They were silently asking themselves, and each other, whose side Lumi was actually on.

  Christos skulked along behind George, twirling his car keys absentmindedly in his hand as he moved. He gave Vicky a guilty glimpse then turned and made his way towards his own car.

  ‘There’s no problem,’ Vicky confirmed in an attempt to avoid speaking any further with George.

  He was undeterred and kept swaggering towards them. ‘Are you sure? Nothing I can do to help out?’

  ‘Leave us alone!’ Flic squealed.

  ‘And why would I want to do that?’ he spat.

  Flic edged backwards away from him. Vicky shot a pleading look towards Christos who had stopped at his car door to watch what was happening. He started marching towards George, ready to come to the girls’ aid if need be.

  ‘Why would I want to leave YOU alone, when you’ve gone out of your way to try and destroy MY life?’ George pressed.

  ‘I haven’t,’ Flic stammered.

  ‘Oh yes. Play dumb. Feign innocence. Because I’m the one completely at fault here,’ he continued.

  Flic kept taking small steps backwards, moving away from the source of her irritation and squirmed as he followed her.

  ‘Do you think doing one unkind thing to you, years ago, means you have a licence to hate me and try to destroy my happiness for the rest of our lives?’ he barked.

  ‘I’d hardly call leaving your wife for her mate an “unkind thing.” Get it in pers
pective!’ Vicky snapped defensively.

  George shot a warning glance to Vicky before continuing his tirade. ‘I was sorry that I hurt you because I didn’t think you deserved it. But you also didn’t deserve to stay married to someone who wasn’t in love with you any more. I felt bad for how it happened, but I’ve lost all sympathy for you in the last couple of months!’ he growled.

  ‘Couple of months?’ Flic echoed.

  ‘Can I have the keys please, darling? I’ll go sit in the car,’ Lumi chirped.

  George removed the keys and passed them to her. As she skipped over to his car and sat in the front passenger seat, Flic and Vicky both started to mentally fit together the pieces of the jigsaw.

  ‘You’re working with HER? Aren’t you?’ Vicky snorted.

  ‘We’re not just working together. We’re a couple. Thanks to you two,’ he smiled.

  ‘I don’t understand how you two can be together. You don’t even know each other,’ Flic reasoned.

  ‘She got in touch back in February to tell me I was being investigated. She told me all about it - how she was homeless and you two approached her and offered her money to pose for pictures. She told me everything that she knew, and everything that happened afterwards,’ he stated.

  ‘Did she tell you she pinched the guy I had been seeing? And she only just broke up with him two days ago!’ Vicky sneered.

  ‘Yes. She did. I gave her a choice two days ago. I said if she was honest with Magnus and he still wanted her and she wanted him, I’d leave her alone. But I love her and I want to be with her. She chose me,’ he beamed proudly.

  ‘So she says,’ Vicky tutted.

  ‘She has always been honest with me. Which is more than I can say for you!’ he snarled at Flic.

  ‘So you’re leaving your second wife? For her? Someone you met online? My, my, history is repeating itself!’ Flic laughed humourlessly.

  ‘Actually, Amy and I split up just after New Year. She left me for someone else,’ he informed them.

  Christos was still watching and was close enough now to hear the whole conversation. George felt Christos’s eyes on him. He turned to look at Christos and advised him, coarsely and succinctly to leave. Christos stayed where he was.

  ‘But I don’t understand. Why would she want evidence of you cheating if you weren’t even together?’ Flic flustered.

  ‘Because she’s a psycho?’ Vicky offered.

  ‘Because we had a legally binding agreement put in place before we got married to protect her wealth. You know how loaded she was, and she was paranoid about me being a gold-digger. If she cheated, I got half of everything she brought to the marriage. If I cheated, at any time before we were divorced, she kept everything she brought to the marriage. She’s trying to protect her own assets,’ George explained.

  Vicky and Flic remained silent. They had never thought for a second to check that the person hiring their services was actually living with the person they were investigating. They had just assumed that everyone hiring them was doing it because they wanted proof of their suspicions and that the client was the injured party. They were making the same mistake that the people they trapped were making – trusting strangers.

  ‘Girls? Would you like to come back to Paphos with me?’ Christos offered.

  Vicky shook her head forcefully. She didn’t want to get into a car with Christos or spend any time with him.

  ‘I think it would be a good idea to leave now. There’s nothing left to discuss with…this person,’ Christos rammed home, giving George a disgusted sneer.

  ‘Actually, there is one thing left,’ George said, raising his hand to halt Christos.

  ‘What?’ Flic snapped.

  ‘Tell your darling I’m sorry he had to get caught up in all this. Lumi said he seems like a good guy, if a little on the stupid side,’ George mocked sympathy.

  Flic’s confusion was evident. George was determined not to leave until he had hurt her as much as possible though.

  ‘You and me? Kissing on the beach? That was no friendly greeting. I did it so that Lumi could get a photo of us together and send it to your beloved,’ he smirked.

  Flic wanted to howl and scream out her frustrations. She pulled the mask she had been wearing for so many years back on and tried to keep it there.

  ‘Actually, we’re not even together any more. That was pointless. You muppet!’ Flic mocked.

  ‘I don’t think so. Lumi said she overheard him telling Magnus he wanted to get back together with you. He missed you. He obviously does feel hurt or he wouldn’t have driven off, would he?’ George rolled his eyes.

  ‘You’re wrong. You’re just trying to wind me up,’ Flic shook her head dismissively.

  George moved closer to her until Flic could feel his breath on her face. ‘You know I’m right, honey. I’d say this is justice. You’ve ruined so many happy marriages and relationships. Now it’s time for some payback. How do you like having your future changed by some interfering, meddling, scheming…’

  ‘That’s enough!’ Christos blasted. He pulled George away by grabbing his shoulder and swung his fist straight into George’s nose.

  Flic pulled back, putting her hands to her mouth. Vicky pulled Christos away from George in case he was tempted to throw any more punches.

  ‘Let’s get out of here before we get into any more trouble,’ Vicky shouted.

  Vicky, Christos and Flic ran towards Christos’s car. He fumbled with the keys as he pressed the central locking button to unlock all the doors. After several failed attempts at unlocking the doors, they made it into the car, fastened their seat belts and Christos started to drive away from the scene, leaving George banging the back of the car with his fist in frustration.

  ‘Are you ok Christos?’ Flic panted.

  ‘I’m fine. My knuckles aren’t though. He’s got a really bony face!’ Christos winced.

  ‘Thank you,’ Vicky mumbled.

  Christos looked at Vicky sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Ordinarily he would have reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly, but since he was driving one-handed due to his bruised knuckles, he simply smiled at her and said, ‘You’re welcome. See? I’m not all bad.’

  32

  To: vicky@hunEmail.com

  From: weemela@hunEmail.com

  Subject: OMFG

  Date: 16th July

  Alright biatch?

  I dunno if you’ve heard from someone else already, but it’s all kicked off here. We got in major trouble from the Tête-a-net bigwigs and all our profiles have been shut down. They said our IP addresses will be logged and they won’t let us open any more profiles. I have no idea who tipped them off. Could have been after Scarlett’s Roland Reading episode though. It got aired on Friday. OMFG. Who would have thought it, eh? Scarlett and Maggie!

  How’s Cyprus…ahem… I mean Ibiza?

  Mela Moo :) xoxoxo

  *****

  To: weemela@hunEmail.com

  From: vicky@hunEmail.com

  Subject: Re: OMFG

  Date: 16th July

  Hiya

  I think I’ve got a rough idea of who might have tipped them off. I think it might have been Magnus’s now ex-girlfriend. Who has run off with Flic’s ex-husband. Don’t ask.

  Ok. We’re not in Ibiza, we’re in Cyprus. We took that assignment on and it backfired on us. Details later. Can’t be arsed typing it all out on my phone.

  Scarlett and Magnus? Have I missed something?

  Vicky

  xx

  *****

  To: vicky@hunEmail.com,

  CC: adamski@hunEmail.com,

  fx@hunEmail.com

  From: weemela@hunEmail.com

  Subject: Re: Re: OMFG

  Date: 16th July

  Yeah, u have missed shit loads! Scarlett was on Roland Reading on Friday. Must have been shown while u were travelling. She demanded a lie detector test from Peter 2 prove he hadn’t been cheating and he passed it. Then he said he couldn’t trust HER any more
, after she hired a team of virtual slags to spy on him. (They bleeped it out but you could fully tell that’s wot he was saying) (It was noted that the slags in question declined 2 comment or appear on the show) Then Maggie appeared, representing HunE-trap Investigations. I had no idea he had done that. Magnus was uber professional and plugged us shamelessly until the tables were turned and Peter accused HIM of having an affair with Scarlett. It was denied (obv) and Scarlett announced she was pregnant with Peter’s baby. Tears followed and Roland congratulated her. Then Peter announced he had a vasectomy years ago and didn’t tell her and it couldn’t possibly B his baby. Then Scarlett went in2 labour. She was stretchered off and Peter said he would like 2 come back for DNA testing on a follow up show.

  ****

  To: vicky@hunEmail.com,

  weemela@hunEmail.com

  From: fx@hunEtrap.com

  Subject: Re: Re: Re: OMFG

  Date: 16th July

  Why do I find this amusing?

  Flic

  x

  *****

  To: vicky@silverthistle.co.uk

  From: christospolycarpou@aphroditesbouquet.co.uk

  Subject: Evidence

  Date: 16th July

  Hi Vicky

  I know you won’t receive this until you get home and back to work, but I thought I’d send it now. Please store the attached sound file. I recorded the conversation between you, Flic and George this afternoon as a voice note on my phone. You can use it to send to Amy.

  Christos

  xx

  33

  16th July

  Flic hadn’t showered or made any effort with her hair for going out that night. She had tried to be subtle with her make-up since arriving in Cyprus but she still sweated most of it off and hadn’t taken the time to re-apply it. When she caught sight of herself in the mirrored counter in the bar earlier, her hair which was normally sleek and smooth had practically turned into a seventies style Afro. It was very unlike her to go out without religiously straightening her hair, fake-tanning her body and applying a mask of make-up. The truth was she didn’t care tonight.