‘We haven’t met the owner,’ Stella went on. ‘We’ve only had dealings with Mrs Papadakis.’
Secretly, she rather hoped at this point he’d let slip who the owners were, but on hearing the housekeeper’s name, he sneered again.
‘Her? Pah! That woman’s nothing but trouble.’
‘That was weird,’ Stella commented when she and Louise finally left the shop and stepped out into the sunshine again. ‘What a strange reaction!’
Louise nodded. ‘He’s obviously got some sort of grudge against Katerina. I wonder why.’
Intrigued, they decided to visit the old man’s daughter’s studio right away, but when they checked the time, they realised they’d already been gone a good few hours.
‘We’d better get back. The kids are probably awake by now.’
As they strolled the other way up the high street, Stella’s phone rang. It was Jon and she had that familiar sinking feeling again.
‘Why did it have to be Harriet?’ he blurted before he’d even said hello. There was a crack in his voice. ‘She was a good person; she had so much more to give.’
Stella swallowed. He hadn’t improved since yesterday, then. In fact, he sounded worse. She desperately wanted to help, but it was hard to find the right words.
‘She was a wonderful person, a one-off,’ she replied gently. ‘Cancer’s just so cruel. It doesn’t discriminate.’
Louise stopped to look at some cheap sunglasses on a rotating display stand, giving Stella space to move a little way away and talk in private.
‘I’m sorry I can’t make things better,’ she went on. ‘I’m always here to support you.’
‘I know you are.’ He made a choking sound, which she felt deep down in her gut. ‘I’m so lost without her. At least work’s some sort of distraction. I don’t know what to do with myself now it’s the holidays.’
‘Why don’t you come and join us?’ The words escaped from her lips before her brain had time to catch up. ‘There’s a spare room with a double bed and plenty of space. You can swim and go for walks and read. It’d be so good for you. You can hang out with us if you fancy and not if you don’t. The flight’s only four hours; it’s easy.’
Jon hesitated. ‘I’m not?—’
‘You don’t need to decide now.’ Stella was on a roll, swept along by her own idea. ‘Have a think and talk to friends. We don’t need much notice, or any, really. You can let us know the day before if you like.’
‘It’s a really kind offer, but?—’
She was convinced he was going to say no. Maybe it was just as well. After all, she hadn’t checked with Louise. Then again, surely she wouldn’t mind. She knew how much Jon had suffered.
There was a pause and Stella wondered if he’d bring the conversation to a close. To her surprise, though, his voice came back louder and clearer than before.
‘I’ll give it some thought, I promise. I’ll let you know asap.’
* * *
Seeing that the conversation was over, Louise re-joined Stella and the women continued their journey.
‘All right?’ Louise asked.
Stella nodded. ‘Sort of.’
‘What was it about?’
‘The usual stuff. Why did Harriet have to die, how lonely he is. I feel useless a lot of the time. I mean, what can I say?’
‘It sounds like he just wants you to listen,’ Louise replied. ‘You’re doing all you can. I wish he’d occasionally give you a break, though, and talk to someone else instead.’
A group of young English women walked by, wearing skimpy tops and shorts and laughing loudly. They weren’t looking where they were going and one bumped into Louise, who wobbled, almost knocking over a display of hats. Luckily, she managed to right herself just in time.
‘Careful!’ she said sharply. The woman paused briefly to apologise, but Louise scowled.
