‘Rose,’ says Christos gently, putting one huge arm around his sister-in-law. ‘I promise you it will be all right. We will come through this.’
‘How?’ demands Rose. ‘The last time I tried to help people for work, a man came to the studio with a gun and was shot by the police. It was a miracle he wasn’t killed. That was my fault! Now a patient has gone missing and it’s my fault again, not to mention the two interlopers. I can hear them shrieking at each other! It’s chaos!’
‘We worked on safeguarding everyone,’ Adriana interrupts. ‘Insurance-wise, we told everyone we could not be responsible for their safety if they wandered off from the villa. Christos told every single guest that people have died going off by themselves on Greek islands. There have been terrible tragedies so we were careful. Nobody could know that Dan would just leave …’
‘I should have realised he’d go into crisis mode!’ Rose can’t let herself off the hook. ‘I thought it was OK because he was allowing himself to be an ordinary human, not a co-dependent person focused on a troubled long-term girlfriend. I was sure there would be guilt but not this! Not this random running away. He’s not the type!’
Adriana is shorter than Rose. The tip of Adriana’s head nearly reaches Christos’s shoulder. With Rose, she is up to Rose’s chin.
They have been through so much together.
Adriana had helped her sister come out of the hellhole that was life post-shooting onThe Talisman Effect. She isn’t going to let bloody Dan ruin this. They will track the stupid man down if it’s the last thing she does.
Plus, there are two tired and emotional women in reception and someone has to deal with them before they start hitting each other.
‘Rose, how about you let me rescue you for once,’ says Adriana.
‘No,’ says Rose automatically. ‘It’s my circus, they’re my monkeys.’
‘You need to be calm for the rest of the retreat. We have the rest of today and tomorrow to go. We are going to finish this. Go and make yourself some tea. Leave this to us.’
For a moment, Rose is going to object and then she stops. Adriana wants to take care of this. Rose needs to let her.
Adriana begins to issue instructions to her husband:
‘Get Alexei to go out and charm those crazy women out there. Tell him that everything we said to him about not flirting with guests is now off. He can flirt like mad.But only with those two. Whichever one bites, he takes her. Get Stavros too. He’s weeding at the entrance. He can mop up whoever Alexei leaves behind.’
Christos nods.
Alexei is only twenty-eight but he has been engaged to be married five times. Once to a woman with a yacht. Adriana says it’s because Alexei is more than just an Adonis: he’s got some magic ingredient that’s catnip to all women.
Christos thinks that his cousin being a six-foot-two part-time fireman helps.
No woman can resist a fireman.
‘Tell Alexei to take the women to the bar, get them cocktails.’ Adriana is on fire giving instructions. Christos loves her when she’s being fierce. Most people never see that side of her but his little Adriana is a tiger when it comes to taking care of family. He’s pleased that Rose is letting her take control.
‘Play that love song album that Alexei knows all the words to,’ Adriana continues. ‘When Stavros is there and they’re settled, you can brief Pavel and Marceline. Tell them to alert all the taxi drivers, round up everyone they can. The taxi men and women know everything that happens on the island.’
Christos nods.
‘We cannot phone the police about Dan for a second time. But we are going to find him. He is not leaving Greece.’ Adriana is grim. ‘Tell them it’s the hotel’s future at stake. And Rose’s,’ she adds softly.
Christos nods and takes out his phone.
India and Keera are still hiding in reception.
Keera’s watching her mother and Julia.
Julia is taller than Bobbi and, as such, it looks as if she’ll win the battle of the interlopers.
But Keera, watching, knows that her mom has a few years on Julia. Dr Bobbi was razing egos to the ground when Julia was still in knee socks.
The argument about stealing taxis and plane seats has become dirty.
Bobbi mutters something about ‘trampy outfit’ while staring at Julia’s tiny white shorts.
‘I wear what I want,’ snarls Julia, losing the cut-glass accent a bit as she gets angry.
