by HC Michaels
“Thought you weren’t going to say another word,” said the young cop.
Tino spat at him. He had no other option. That smart arse had pushed him to his limit. Why should he make it easy for them and go quietly? He didn’t give a fuck if it upset all these precious families on their precious, fucking holidays.
The older cop jumped on him, knocking him to the ground and flipping him to his stomach with embarrassing ease before pinning his hands behind his back and handcuffing him.
Tino winced as the cop pressed his knee into his spine and leant forward to whisper in his ear.
“The only thing that’s fucked is you.”
“I didn’t do it.” Tino squirmed as he tried to shift the pressure on his back.
“That’s what they all say.” The cop dug in his knee deeper and pulled on Tino’s arms until they threatened to pop from their sockets.
Tino decided that now really was the time to stop talking, because by the way things were going, there was a good chance that fat prick was right.
He was fucked.
Tessa had never been questioned by the police before today, and if it never happened again, she’d be happy.
It was like they thought she had something to do with that murder. Or that she’d been harbouring Tino, aware of his guilt.
His guilt.
There was no doubt about it now. They had his DNA. He’d killed that girl. Raped her, too, by the sound of it.
Why hadn’t she listened to her gut? She’d been certain he’d done it and had somehow convinced herself she was wrong. Did that make her guilty, too?
She’d been offered a lawyer but refused. She had nothing to hide.
She told the police about everything, including the attack on Mykonos and her suspicion that Tino might have had something to do with it. She even told them about Bianca. And that photograph that she was now certain he must’ve sent to his sister as some kind of sick joke.
The interview had to be suspended twice while she threw up. Making those kinds of accusations out loud was so different to when they’d just been suspicions floating around inside the privacy of her head.
The police said they already knew about Bianca. Apparently, that was why they had Tino’s DNA on file. The coroner had found traces of his skin underneath the little girl’s fingernails.
Tessa wondered if it was normal for them to tell her details like this. It was as if they were trying to turn her against Tino so she’d give them more of the evidence they needed.
Couldn’t they see she’d already turned against him?
She felt so stupid! How had she let him blind her like that?
Worst of all was the realisation that Elvira had been right. Tino was evil. She should’ve kept away from him.
“You’re very lucky,” the police detective said as he was wrapping up the interview. He was an older guy with a hardened look about him. He was the one who’d pinned Tino to the ground earlier at the airport and was clearly stronger than he looked.
“Lucky how?” She raised her eyebrows. “To get involved with a murderer?” She felt like the most unlucky person on this island, if not the planet.
The detective shook his head. “Do you really think it’s a coincidence that out of all the people you met in Greece, it happened to be your boss’s brother?”
Tessa studied the detective’s name badge as she thought about his question. Detective Hooke. A fairly appropriate name for his job. But what exactly was he trying to hook her with by suggesting that?
“What are you saying?” she asked, deciding she was too tired to draw conclusions of her own.
“Not sure yet.” He scratched the bristles on his chin. “But it’s a hell of a stretch. Especially given the assault on Mykonos you told us about. How exactly did you meet him?”
“He worked at a bar. There was a voucher under my door for a free drink, so I decided to…” Oh, crap. A voucher that turned out to be a fake.
“What is it?” Detective Hook asked, leaning forward. “You decided to what?”
“I took the voucher to the bar, except Tino didn’t know what it was,” she explained. “He gave me the free drink anyway.”
“So, the voucher was a fake?” The detective wrote something down. “Do you think it’s possible he put it under your door so he could meet you?”
Tessa shook her head. “Then why would he tell me it was fake? If he went to all that trouble, wouldn’t he just take it and hand me the drink?”
The detective shrugged. “You’re telling the story.”
“And you’re asking the questions,” she huffed.
“Well, it seems someone wanted you to meet him.” He set down his pen so he could observe her. “You said he doesn’t get along with his sister. Do you think maybe it’s possible he was trying to get at her by getting involved with you? That he lured you to his bar with the voucher then took that photo to rub it in her face?”
Tessa shook her head. As much as she no longer trusted Tino, that didn’t make sense. “He didn’t give me that voucher. I’m not really sure he was behind that photo either.”
“Then who was?” the detective asked.
“I really don’t know,” she said.
This time the detective smiled as if he was her long lost aunt. “Did he ever hurt you?”
She shook her head. Tino’s playful slaps and nips hardly count as hurting her. She’s not sure she’d even tell her aunt about that.
“It’s best you tell us everything,” Detective Hook said, still smiling. “Don’t hold back. If he hurt you, then we need to know.
“Why?” Her heart rate rose as a sick feeling stabbed in her gut. “I’m still alive, aren’t I? If he wanted to kill me, he had plenty of chances. You don’t really think I was his next intended victim, do you?”
“We’re still establishing his pattern of behaviour,” the detective said. “But I think it’s safe to say it’s fortunate for you that you didn’t get on any planes with him.”
“I told you earlier, I wasn’t getting on any plane with him.” Her voice rose to a high pitch as she felt the need for him to understand. “I was going to Melbourne. He was heading back to Greece.”
“So, he didn’t ask you to meet him there?” The detective tapped his index finger on his notepad.
This must be a technique. Ask her the same questions over and over and see if her answer changed.
“No!” She sat forward to meet his gaze. “It was the opposite. He didn’t seem to want me in Mykonos at all. If he wanted to kill me, surely he’d have begged me to follow him?”
The detective wrote something down and nodded, not agreeing or disagreeing.
“Do you really think I was in danger?” she asked.
“Of course, you were,” he said, plainly.
“But none of this makes any sense.” She let out a long breath.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this stinking pond,” said the detective.
“Where is he now?” she asked, concerned about the prospect of running into Tino once more.
“In custody. We’ve taken him across to the mainland.”
She nodded, relieved.
Detective Hooke requested she stay on the island for at least the next couple of days and Tessa readily agreed to be any place Tino wasn’t. All she wanted was to go back to the hotel, crawl into a bed and stay there for a week. She didn’t care what it cost. She could ask her parents to send her some money if she got desperate.
She left the detective and went back to the same hotel she’d checked out of earlier that morning when her life had seemed so different to how it was now. The receptionist asked if she’d like the same room.
“No, thank you,” she said. “Any room but that one.”
“Was there something wrong with it?” the woman asked, her face folding into a concerned frown.
“Not at all.” Tessa forced a smile. “I just need a fresh start.”
“Got it.” The woman nodded. “In fact, I have one of
our suites available. How about an upgrade?”
Tessa’s eyes filled with tears. She’d managed not to cry the whole time she’d been with the police, a task made easier by the distance they kept from her.
But this receptionist being nice to her, threw her. Why was it that sometimes kindness had the ability to produce far more tears than cruelty?
“Thank you.” Tessa dabbed her eyes with her fingertips.
“No problem.” The woman held out a box of tissues and slid a room key across the counter. “Enjoy your room.”
Tessa took a tissue and nodded her thanks before making her way to the elevator.
The doors opened and she looked to the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with whoever came out. If she looked even a tenth as rotten as she felt, it’d be pretty awful. After all, she’d looked so bad she’d gotten a free room upgrade.
A man stood in the open door, blocking her way.
“Excuse me,” she said, trying to push past him without looking at him.
“First you stand me up and now you ignore me,” he said, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Hi Tessa.”
It was Elvira’s parents’ friend who looked like the famous vet. The very same one whose name had escaped her. She couldn’t remember it when she’d talked to him at the pool, and it wasn’t getting any easier now.
“Sorry…um.” What the hell was his name?
“Logan,” he helped.
“I’ve had a bad day,” she explained. “Sorry. I knew what it was…”
He nodded. “Maybe a drink would fix things? I’m a good listener.”
He was taller than she’d remembered. Blonder and fairer, too. Or had she just gotten used to Tino’s dark features?
“Thanks, but not today,” she said, wishing he’d let her move on, puffy face and all.
The elevator doors attempted to close, but Logan held them open.
“Stood up, name forgotten, and now rejected. Ouch.” He smiled the kind of smile that demanded a return, only the way she was feeling she just couldn’t oblige.
“I didn’t stand you up,” she said. “I told you I had to work. Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you lived on that yacht.”
“I do. But I thought it’d make a nice change to sleep in a bed that didn’t rock from side to side all night.” He swayed as if seasick. “I stay here occasionally for a break.”
“Fair enough,” she said. Everyone needed a rest from work from time to time.
“The real question is…what are you doing here?” he asked.
“Now that is a long story.” She gave him a tight-lipped smile.
“Well, maybe you can get away later tonight and tell it to me?” He gave her an alluring smile. “I’ll be at the Tavern again. Or I can meet you at the bar downstairs from here if that makes it easier for you.”
She frowned. “You’re asking me out?”
“What’s so confusing about that?” He smiled again.
“I look like shit.” If Tino had thought she looked terrible the night before, then she was taking things to new heights today.
“Not to me.” He reached out as if to touch her then changed his mind. “So, tonight then?”
“You’re very persistent,” she said, a small smile creeping onto her face. A part of her couldn’t help but be flattered. If this guy liked her when she looked like this, then things could only get better. She thought most guys were more superficial than that. This seemed more like a scene out of a corny movie than anything that had ever happened to her in reality.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said. “Eight o’clock at the bar downstairs. I’ll be waiting for you.”
He stepped aside so she could enter the elevator.
“I’ll do my best,” she said, as the doors slid closed, obscuring her view of him. As long as he didn’t think she was going to rock his bed at the hotel tonight, maybe a drink wouldn’t hurt.
She’d completely forgotten Logan existed after reuniting with Tino.
These two men were the complete opposite to each other. Where one was blond, the other had dark hair. Where one was charming, the other was caustic. Where one pursued her, the other demanded to be pursued. Where one was a nice guy, the other was a…murderer.
Tessa felt bile rise to the back of her throat.
She’d made some bad choices in her past but choosing Tino over Logan was her worst choice so far.
She exited the elevator and found her suite. It was beautiful. And enormous. And she didn’t have to share it with anyone.
She didn’t need Tino. She realised she didn’t need Logan, either.
She kicked off her sandals and threw herself onto the bed.
It was time to start making good choices.
And right now, maybe being alone was the best possible choice she could make.
4 Days Before The Break
Elvira tried to open her eyes. Something wasn’t right. Her eyelids were too heavy. It was like attempting to lift concrete blocks using the delicate muscles in her face.
She shifted her focus, trying to work out where she was. She wasn’t at home. It didn’t smell like her house and the noises were different. Something was beeping and she could hear voices. Far away voices filtering through corridors to her ears.
Why was she so tired?
Her thoughts began to drift as sleep pulled her under.
Seconds passed. Or minutes. Or hours. Or days. She couldn’t be sure.
Someone was saying her name. A man.
It was Paul. Saying her name, over and over like he was chanting the rosary.
She wished he’d shut up. How could she sleep with him droning on like that? She needed to sleep.
“Elvira, please, wake up. I’m sorry.”
He was gripping her hand, the pressure so firm she was losing circulation.
She tried to squeeze back to tell him to stop.
“She squeezed my hand!” Paul called out.
Who was he talking to?
“Leave me alone,” she murmured.
“She said something!” he shouted. “What did you say? Say it again, Elvira. Talk to me.”
Far out! He was excited. He didn’t normally pay this much attention to what she said.
“Go away,” she tried.
“Go away? She said go away!” He still sounded so excited. “Did you hear that? She told me to go away.”
He squeezed her hand tighter.
“I heard,” said a woman’s voice. “That’s a great sign.”
Who the hell was that? Was it Tessa? No, Tessa hated her. Why did Tessa hate her? Everything was so fuzzy.
“I’m not going away, Elvira,” said Paul. “Not now. Not ever. Not even if you open your eyes, stand up on the bed and shout it at me. I’m here. And I’m staying here.”
He was talking like he was deranged. Was she dreaming? Why was he behaving like this?
She forced her eyelids open to look at him.
The room was a blur with Paul’s face looming in front of her.
She blinked a few times, and he came into focus.
He was looking at her the way he had when they first met. Like she was a miracle he’d been lucky enough to witness. Nobody ever looked at her like that anymore.
“Paul,” she said, wondering why she’d wanted him to go away. “Stay with me.”
Tears were pouring down his face. She hadn’t seen him cry for years. Not since Bianca died.
“Is Amelia okay?” she asked, pushing down a wave of panic. Was this why he was crying again?
“She’s fine. She’s with your dad.”
Elvira closed her eyes. Why would Amelia be with her dad? He never looked after her. He wouldn’t even know how.
“Stay with us, Elvira,” said the woman’s voice again.
She opened her eyes to see a middle-aged nurse staring down at her.
“Do you know where you are?” she asked.
“Hospital.” Nurses worked in hospitals. It wasn’t that hard to figure out wh
ere she must be.
“That’s right. Do you know how you got here?” The nurse smiled at her in the same condescending way people had smiled at her at Bianca’s funeral.
“I took some pills,” she said, wincing as a wave of memories washed over her. “I didn’t mean—”
She bit her tongue to stop the lie. She had meant to. She’d swallowed each and every one of those pills with one very clear intention.
She didn’t want to be here.
So why was she? How could God take an innocent child who wanted to live and then save her—a pathetic shell of a woman who wanted nothing more than to die and join her baby girl in heaven?
Why did God have to be so cruel? Wasn’t there a devil to do that job? The devil didn’t exactly go around doing random acts of kindness, so why would God be so mean?
That’s because there was no God. She’d figured that out years ago. Or if there was, then it wasn’t the kind she wanted to believe in.
“I just want to be dead,” she said, looking across to Paul. “Please, just let me die. Why did you bring me here?”
He reeled back as if he’d been shot. Surely, he knew she felt like this. Just because she’d never said it out loud didn’t mean he wasn’t fully aware of how much of a struggle it was every day for her to just keep breathing.
If she hadn’t been pregnant with Amelia when Bianca died then she’d never have been able to continue on. There were times she resented Amelia for this. She’d be reading her a bedtime story while calculating in the back of her mind how old her daughter needed to be before she no longer needed her. Just how many years was she obliged to stick around?
This was yet another reason she’d hired Tessa. Amelia needed someone she could count on in life other than her father.
Except now she’d fired Tessa. Was it too late to get her back? Had she pushed her too far?
“Elvira,” said Paul, breathing in her face once more.
She turned away from him, feeling both love and rage for this man. Why couldn’t any of her relationships be simple?
“Elvira,” he tried again. “Please don’t talk like that. You don’t want to die. Amelia needs you. I need you.”
She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.