The Tangled Web

by Lacey Dearie

  Flic had an unwanted hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. It had been there all afternoon, all evening and she suspected it might stay for at least a few days. The idea in her head that after all this was over, she would get back together with Adam, was never going to be anything more than an idea now. He probably hated her.

  On arriving back at the apartment earlier, she sat staring at the TV. When they received an email from Pamela spilling the beans about Scarlett and Magnus having a baby together, Vicky had stayed silent, keeping her iPod headphones plugged into her ears and had then gone outside to sunbathe by the pool alone. Flic’s only remark had been, ‘I wish I’d gone on the show now. That sounds like the best episode of Roland Reading ever.’

  Neither of them had been in the mood to go out for a drink but they’d done so anyway. Flic hadn’t wanted to admit she wasn’t a hardcore party animal and wanted a night in. Vicky hadn’t wanted to admit she was still upset about the day’s events.

  Lumi hadn’t returned to the apartment. She had taken no suitcase to Cyprus with her, just her handbag, and that had been with her when she ran off with George. There was no need for her to return. Vicky and Flic hadn’t spoken about her, or even mentioned her or George since they got back to Paphos. Christos had had the good sense to keep quiet and not try to speak on the drive back. It had been a silent journey.

  They had taken a walk to look for somewhere to have dinner, deciding to avoid the restaurant they’d been to the previous evening in case George and Lumi went back there (although Flic noted that it was unlikely since Lumi had posed as waitress the previous evening and was probably barred from the premises). They had picked up a burger at the local McDonalds and walked around aimlessly and silently, eventually finding a bar with live music from an Irish singer who had one hit back in the nineties that neither of them could remember the name of.

  ‘Anybody in from Scotland tonight?’ the Irish singer asked.

  Vicky and Flic gave a half-hearted wave and Vicky mumbled a feeble, ‘Yay.’

  ‘I’ll bet I know your favourite band!’ the singer grinned at them.

  They watched him, waiting for him to guess so they could knock him down. He lifted one leg and started hopping towards them as he played the first few chords of a famous song by The Proclaimers. They shook their heads and stared down at their drinks. They heard him make a humourless joke about their lack of response, to which nobody laughed. He went on to ask if anyone from Wales was in the bar and nobody replied, except for an English voice a few seconds later shouting, ‘Pack up and go home.’

  ‘Why can’t he just pester someone else?’ Vicky groaned.

  ‘Because we’re an easy target tonight. People out for a drink, not enjoying themselves are always easy targets for muppets like him. We’re going to end up being the butt of his jokes all night,’ Flic seethed.

  ‘We need to look like we’re having fun then,’ Vicky announced. She grinned at Flic. She showed as many teeth as possible. It was an obviously fake grin. Flic sniggered and scrunched her eyes closed.

  ‘You look creepy! Like the Joker from Batman,’ she tittered.

  Vicky giggled. ‘Just as well I’m thick skinned!’

  Their laughter subsided and they stared down at their drinks.

  ‘How’s your lager?’ Flic asked.

  ‘Flat and warm. How’s your cocktail?’ Vicky responded.

  ‘Making me feel nauseous. I asked him for a cocktail, something local, and do you know what he gave me?’

  ‘What? Has it got ouzo in it?’ Vicky guffawed.

  ‘No. It’s got champagne, Commandaria and honey in it. He called it a Cyprus Honey Trap,’ Flic snorted.

  ‘How ironic,’ Vicky sighed.

  They listened to the singer drone along to the tune of a Stereophonics' song then ask if there were any requests.

  ‘Do you know any Travis songs?’ Vicky asked.

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want this one?’ the singer smirked, then hopped towards them playing the opening few chords of The Proclaimers’ song again.

  Vicky ignored him and turned to Flic. ‘What do you think you’ll do when you get back to Inverness?’

  ‘I’m not sure if there’s any point staying there now,’ Flic shrugged.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Vicky flustered. ‘You’re going to leave? Why?’

  Flic shrugged again. ‘Inverness was my sanctuary. Nobody back at home knew where I was living and what I was doing. Everyone will know now. George won’t keep it to himself.’ She bowed her head and appeared solemn.

  ‘I can see your point,’ Vicky conceded. ‘But you have a life in Inverness now.’

  ‘Do I?’ Flic humphed.

  ‘Yes! You’ve got friends, and a job, and your Gran!’

  ‘My friends are just drinking buddies. They’re not the kind of people I can share things with.’

  ‘You’ve got a job. You’ve got that to fall back on. And once you’ve finished your training you’ll make a great plumber,’ Vicky enthused.

  They both began to laugh at the idea of Flic being a plumber, great or otherwise.

  ‘It was just to pass the time. There’s no way I want to do that for a living. My nails are a nightmare. I’m re-doing my Minx every night these days. It’s supposed to last a couple of weeks,’ Flic moaned.

  ‘So find something else to do. And what about your Gran?’ Vicky worried.

  She knew Flic’s grandmother was spritely for her age. She caught the bus everywhere by herself, wore clothes from New Look and even had the occasional night out at the pub according to her Tête-a-net page, but she was old and wouldn’t be able to stay that active for much longer. She would need looking after, and the only family member who was in the area was Flic.

  ‘Gran has plenty of friends. I’d visit all the time. I would just be a car journey away. She’d be fine,’ Flic dismissed.

  ‘I don’t want you to leave,’ Vicky admitted.

  ‘Really?’ Flic seemed surprised.

  ‘We’ve been through a lot together in the last few months. You’re the only one who understands all this HunE-trap Investigations carry on. I’ve already lost one good friend in Christos. I don’t want to lose another,’ Vicky sniffed. She was close to tears.

  Flic’s heart softened a little and she patted Vicky’s arm encouragingly. ‘You’d be fine. Like I said, I’d only be a car journey away. And I’d come back and visit you. If you don’t mind getting visits from a snooty unhelpful cow,’ she smirked.

  ‘You knew I’d called you that?’ Vicky gasped.

  ‘Of course I did. That “hold” feature on your phone in the office doesn’t work. I could hear everything you said about me,’ Flic advised.

  ‘Oh God. And you still wanted to be friends?’ Vicky asked softly, almost whispering.

  ‘What can I say? I’m a friendly kind of person behind the snooty unhelpful exterior,’ Flic smiled.

  ‘I don’t think I’ve got any good friends left in Inverness now. You’re leaving. Christos is out of the picture. I have no idea what I’m going to say to Scarlett next time I see her…’ Vicky trailed off.

  They both involuntarily giggled again.

  ‘I did think she was getting a bit chubby, but I didn’t want to mention it. Are we really surprised that she was having it off with someone else?’ Flic asked.

  Vicky shook her head. ‘I’m definitely not surprised it was Magnus. When I think back now, they did seem to know a lot about each other. That must have been why she was so nervous at the hospital the night of Adam’s crash when we were all there together.’

  ‘And how she knew exactly where he lived when I asked her. How long do you think it was going on?’ Flic wondered.

  ‘I have no idea. Probably ages. Nine months at least,’ Vicky surmised.

  The singer finished his attempt at a Travis track and began a Coldplay tune.

  ‘This’ll be my last one. The humidity has warped my guitar and I don’t have an amp for my electric one. Cyprus has destroy
ed my guitar, as well as my self belief,’ the singer huffed.

  Vicky threw her head down on the table and covered her ears. ‘I know how he feels. But seriously, this guy needs to lay off the rock ballads. He’s depressing me!’ she whimpered.

  ‘I can’t complain. I felt rubbish before he even started,’ Flic conceded.

  Vicky lifted her head. ‘I’ve just realised something. What are we going to tell Amy?’

  Flic mocked tears and shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I suppose by lying to us she was in breach of contract, so we can try to wriggle out of it. We could ask Magnus, I suppose. We can’t ask Adam though. He’ll want no part of this.’

  ‘Talk of the devil,’ Vicky remarked and pointed towards the window.

  They saw Adam walking past the bar as he appeared to stop and look at the poster advertising free live music that night. Flic thought he looked sad. His shoulders were slumped, his eyes had lost their twinkle and he kept his hands in his pockets. His swagger was gone. It broke Flic’s heart to think that before she had arrived in his life, he was so effervescent and energetic.

  He walked up the steps and opened the door. His eyes seemed to be instinctively drawn to the two women. As soon as he saw them he turned and started to walk back out of the bar, but he hesitated and went back in. He walked straight to their table and sat down.

  ‘Alright?’ he began.

  They nodded and muttered their own greetings, neither of the women sure what to say to him or how to explain what had happened.

  ‘I’ve just come from your hotel. I was there waiting for Lumi to come back,’ he announced.

  ‘And did she?’ Vicky asked.

  ‘Yes. I nicked her passport out of her bag earlier today when she was at the shop so she couldn’t go anywhere without us,’ he stated matter-of-factly, as if it were a perfectly normal occurrence to steal someone’s passport.

  ‘She actually put her bag down?’ Flic asked.

  ‘Yeah. She trusted me. Didn’t notice that when she put it down to pay for her shopping, I had bent down to tie my shoe lace. And reached into her bag. She didn’t suspect me,’ he nodded.

  ‘What did she have to say for herself? I mean, when you saw her tonight,’ Vicky demanded.

  ‘Not much. Just that she needed her passport because George was waiting for her. They were getting ready to fly home. They arranged the flight this afternoon apparently. Got sick of being here and wanted to leave the island,’ he explained.

  ‘I had wondered if they might stay here for good. I suppose I was wrong,’ Flic frowned.

  ‘Well, she said George had bought her a plane ticket a few days ago to fly home with him. They just changed the dates,’ Adam smiled joylessly.

  ‘I might go back to the hotel. Leave you two to talk,’ Vicky announced.

  ‘I should warn you that Christos turned up while I was waiting,’ Adam cautioned her.

  ‘Is he still there?’ she fretted.

  ‘No. He left a package at reception and left. He said to tell you he was sorry and also apologised about Pamela. Said he had no idea it was her and he’s learned his lesson. He’s going to think twice now before…doing that kind of thing with a stranger online.’

  ‘I should think so too,’ Vicky tutted.

  ‘Text me when you’re back at the hotel safely,’ Adam commanded.

  Vicky nodded and left the bar, ignoring jibes from the singer about leaving so soon because of his singing.

  Adam and Flic both stared down at the table for a few minutes. Adam played with the beer mats nervously and Flic racked her brain for something to say to him which wouldn’t make her sound like an idiot or a bitch. She couldn’t come up with anything.

  ‘What are you going to do with your last day in Cyprus tomorrow?’ he asked.

  ‘Shop. I have tons of money from George for the divorce settlement that’s been lying in my bank account untouched for a few years,’ Flic informed him.

  ‘Retail therapy?’

  ‘Yeah. But I was planning to buy a new wardrobe anyway. That’s why I brought that big empty suitcase.’

  Adam nodded, remembering the size of case Flic had brought with her. So she wasn’t some idiot who had packed her entire wardrobe for two days away. There was method in her madness.

  ‘There’s someone else waiting for Vicky back at the hotel,’ Adam announced.

  ‘Who?’ Flic asked.

  ‘She’ll tell you when you get back there yourself,’ he replied, shaking his head. He clearly wasn’t sure he should have said anything at all.

  ‘Christos told me all the other stuff that happened today. About George and Amy not being together anymore. And how he punched George. I know it wasn’t your fault, what happened today,’ Adam began.

  Flic nodded. ‘It must have been a bit of a shock to get that photo though,’ she granted.

  ‘It was,’ he grimaced. His face aged five years in five seconds at the reminder of the photo.

  ‘I suppose not everything is what it seems and it’s easy to make an innocent party look guilty sometimes,’ Flic concluded.

  ‘Makes you wonder how many other people are caught in those situations,’ Adam nodded.

  ‘I know. People we’ve investigated might have been victims rather than perpetrators. Technology makes it easy to misread things,’ Flic sighed.

  ‘And when you mix that was good old fashioned dishonesty….’ Adam didn’t finish his sentence. They both knew what he meant.

  Flic pinched the bridge of her nose. She relaxed her shoulders and tried to feel less guilty than she did. Yes, there had been times when she had got it very wrong, but there were also times when she had exposed cheaters and given people the information they needed to make an informed decision. She had to hang onto that thought. She couldn’t let herself feel guilty for other people’s dishonesty.

  ‘I think you’re doing the right thing quitting HunE-trap Investigations,’ Adam advised. ‘I’m out too. Maybe Magnus could go it alone. Or Scarlett could help him,’ he sniggered.

  ‘You heard about the Roland Reading show?’ Flic guffawed.

  ‘Yeah, I read Pamela’s email. What a mess!’ he whooped.

  ‘Did you know anything about it? Or suspect anything?’ Flic asked.

  ‘Yeah, I knew they’d been involved. I always suspect Magnus of being up to no good. That’s why I kept out of it completely when he and Vicky got together. I knew it wouldn’t last. It’s funny though. He hates kids and now he’s going to have one!’ Adam grinned.

  ‘The poor baby,’ Flic scowled, the smile quickly disappearing from her face when she realised someone was going to have Magnus as a father.

  ‘Let’s just wait and see. We shouldn’t make assumptions. He could be a good dad. He might surprise us,’ Adam attempted to convince himself and Flic.

  ‘I suppose,’ Flic nodded.

  ‘What about you? Are you going to keep going with your plumbing?’ he smirked.

  ‘No. I have no idea what I’m going to do. I was thinking about moving away and making a fresh start. There’s nothing to keep me in Inverness,’ she said.

  ‘What about me?’ Adam huffed.

  ‘What about you?’ Flic echoed. She was confused. Please don’t let him be stringing me along, she thought.

  ‘Well, haven’t you wondered what things would have been like between us without all the spying, and the accident? I have. I was hoping we could start again,’ he admitted, his disappointment evident in his expression.

  ‘I’d like that,’ Flic smiled.

  ‘You’d have to stay in Inverness for us to try again though. I’m not keen on long distance relationships,’ he warned.

  ‘I suppose I could still make a fresh start where I am right now. Or we could move somewhere else together,’ she nodded.

  Adam grabbed her hands and kissed them softly. ‘We’ll start again. From the beginning. You should speak to Magnus about some work. See if he can sort you out with one of his business plans. I hear there’s a cupcake stall shor
t of a glamorous baker.’

  *****

  Vicky was welcomed by a clowder of the resident cats on her arrival back at the hotel. She had been nervous walking back alone, worrying herself sick that she might run into Lumi and George. Relief swept over her as she walked towards reception and left the threat of seeing them again behind her.

  ‘Hello Cleopatra,’ she said to the one recognisable cat whose name she could pronounce, kneeling down to stroke the fur on her head. She rose and climbed the steps, three of the cats following her inside.

  ‘Good evening. Could I have my room key please? Number forty-one,’ she greeted the receptionist.

  ‘Good evening. Here you are.’ The girl passed the room key to her. ‘A visitor was here earlier, asking for you. He spoke to your brother while he was waiting and then he left. He left this package for you.’

  Vicky nodded. She already knew, from her conversation with Adam, that Christos had been there and left her a package. She took the padded envelope the girl handed to her, thanked her and walked to the seating area across from reception.

  She sat down on a sofa, stopping for a split second to admire a bookcase in the seating area. The shelves were full of books from different languages to accommodate any nationality of guest. She had meant to visit this area of the hotel earlier and examine the bookcase to see if there was anything she recognised in there. She would have loved to stay here longer and borrow one of them to read by the pool. She dismissed the idea from her head, reminding herself that she could bring Sasha some time in the future and borrow one of the books to read when Sasha was sleeping at night. Despite all the drama she had gone through on this trip, she was enjoying being here. She and Colin had so much fun when they were here before and she had spent much of her time since she arrived imagining what Sasha would have been doing if she had been with her.

  She ran her fingers over the sealed edge of the padded envelope, wondering if she wanted to open it here, by herself, with only the cats for company and comfort if she didn’t like what she saw inside, or whether she wanted to wait until Flic was back. That was IF Flic came back, and didn’t go to Adam’s hotel. Now, there was a thought. If they sorted their relationship out tonight, she might be alone here. Maybe it was a good idea to open it now. She ripped the seal open and reached inside. She pulled out a single small sheet of notepaper and a pen. Was this it? She unfolded the sheet and began to read.