Page 69 of Deep Blue Lies

SIXTY-EIGHT

“Thank you for waiting Miss…” – he flips open his notebook – “Whit-a-ker, this shouldn’t take long.” He gives me a solemn smile.

I nod, readying myself.

“When you found the body, did you see or hear anybody else in the bay?”

“No.”

“Did you see anybody when you approached the area? Anybody acting suspiciously?”

I think about this, retracing my path in my mind.

“No. I don’t think so.”

He reads through something in his notebook. I can’t see what, but he flips the pages several times. Suddenly he looks up.

“What time was it that you found… Ms Grant?”

“Um, I think it was… We were meeting at eleven. I think it was about five to. Ten fifty-five.”

The officer nods.

“OK.” He looks up, meets my eye for a moment, then repeats himself. “OK.” He flips the notebook shut.

I’m confused. “Is that it? Is that all you need to know?”

“For the moment yes, if I need to ask anything more I know where to find you.”

“But I was meeting her,” I protest. “Doesn’t that make me… a suspect?”

He smiles, but doesn’t quite laugh at this, except he nearly does. Then he seems to gain control of himself. “Do you think you should be suspect?”

“ No. Of course not. I didn’t do anything, but?—”

“Calm yourself, Miss Whitaker. It is very clear what has happened here, I am sorry to say.”

“What?”

He looks thoughtful a moment, as if this isn’t something he should say, but then tells me anyway.

“Your friend Imogen arrived yesterday and checked into the Aegean View Hotel – you probably know this. It seems as she was arriving – into the airport, and taking taxi, into the hotel – she was paying with cash, from a purse with many banknotes. Too many. This was noted at the hotel, but perhaps noticed also at the airport, who can say…?”

“Noticed by who?”

He pauses, makes a face, but then decides to be understanding of my ignorance. “Unfortunately there are gangs of Albanians who target tourists on the island. Not just here on Alythos, but across Greece. It is a wide problem.”

I stare at him, not understanding.

“Our neighbours to the north.” He sighs, like he’s talking about a troublesome family member. “It is a difficult place to live, and many cross the border – illegally of course – to target the tourists here.”

“But I was meeting her. She was going to speak with me, to explain something. What if she was attacked for that instead?”

“I think this is unlikely, we did not find the purse, nor Ms Grant’s telephone, most probably it was stolen.”

“ No , no. The thing she was going to explain is important, it might be dangerous.”

He seems taken aback by this. But at least he seems interested.

“What was she going to explain? ”

I pause, trying to think clearly. “I don’t know, that’s the point. She didn’t get the chance to tell me, but couldn’t that be the motive? Someone attacked her to stop her talking?”

He frowns at me now, like he doesn’t understand suddenly. “What was it…” – he stops, searching for the word – “ referring to , do you know this?”

I take a breath before replying, but nod at the same time.

“She was going to tell me what happened, here on Alythos, when I was born. Something about my mother.” I try to make my explanation sound heavy and important, but as I finish I realise just how weak it really sounds.

“What I mean is, there was something she had to tell me, about what happened when I was a baby.” I want to tell him about the other baby, the one involved in the murders, but I can’t because that’s not me.

He gives me an awkward smile and glances to the door, like he wants to get away.

“OK, well I think this is not something to kill over, yes?” He gives me a final smile, dismissive. I sit back. One of his words hits me hard.

Kill? I know she’s been attacked. Did someone really try and kill her? New questions come to my mind quickly.

“How is Imogen?” I ask. “Where is she now, is there a hospital here on the island?”

The policeman nods now, happier to be on familiar ground again. “Yes. Your friend is alive, but it is serious. This is all I know for the moment.”

“Can I see her?”

“This you will need to check at the hospital.”

“What hospital, where do I need to go?”

He looks uncomfortable for a moment, but answers anyway.

“She was taken first to the medical centre here in Kastria, but I believe now she has been transferred to the hospital in Panachoria. It is larger, with more facilities.” He stands, and this time it’s clear the interview is over.