‘We could have champagne,’ suggests Alexei, leading the way, swaying slightly as he walks, taut buttocks displayed in his tight yoga gear.
‘Is it bad to use men’s sexuality for our own gain just because it’s convenient?’ asks Keera of India.
‘If those boys can calm Julia and your mother down for even half an hour, I think it’s a win-win situation,’ says India. ‘Now we’ve got to find Dan.’
Chapter Thirty-Seven
‘A tall man, big shoulders, too thin, probably a cyclist, great leg muscles?’ Agnes at the embroidered goods shop is listening earnestly as Pavel, another one of Christos’s cousins, describes the missing tourist from Villa Artemis.
Agnes no longer reveals her age to anyone, and wears bottle-top glasses but can spot both a shoplifter and a good-looking man from at least a hundred yards away.
‘Yes, that’s the one,’ says Pavel.
He and Marceline have already contacted as many of the island’s taxi drivers as they can on their vast WhatsApp group. They’re all determined to track Dan down. If Dan is on Corfu, they insist they will find him.
Without the police, Pavel has been at pains to explain.
Looking for the same man twice would annoy any policeman.
‘He’s trying to get away from it all,’ Adriana told Pavel and Marceline. ‘I can’t see him leaving the island. He hasn’t taken his suitcase. He panicked, I think. That’s all.’
Agnes has good news for Pavel.
‘This Dan, he came into the village this morning. Lookedsad,’ says Agnes thoughtfully. ‘I hate to see a beautiful man sad. I came out of the shop to see if he wanted to talk but he walked on, never saw me.’
Agnes sighs.
She’s been experimenting with tigerish orange and black streaks in her grey hair but nobody has noticed so far, which is disheartening.
‘What direction did he walk in?’ asks Pavel.
‘Past the Sia girls’ shop and the beach shop, in the direction of La Taverna which obviously wasn’t opened then.’
‘Thank you,’ says Pavel, kissing her hand.
He must ask his mother if Agnes’s eyesight is going. Her hair is currently full of mad colours, like an explosion in a hair dye place.
Agnes smiles happily as she turns back into her shop.
Pavel kissed her hand.
Well, now.
Seventy-eight years old and she still hasn’t lost it.
‘They’ve cancelled everything for today,’ says Bernard loudly as he stomps to a sunbed. ‘I told you this retreat was a shoddy affair.’
‘Oh shut up, Bernard,’ says Keera crossly. ‘You’re being nasty. There’s lunch laid out inside for anyone who wants it.’
He ignores her and snorts loudly, irritation leaking from every pore.
Keera knows that Grazia has gone into Xanthe to shop.
Rose has told them all that the timetable is paused until Dan is located and the unwanted visitors are dealt with.
Keera would like a few words with Dan.
But first, she needs to speak to her mother. Bobbi’s at the bar, carousing with Alexei, Stavros and Julia.
