‘Trouble?’ Edie asked anxiously.
Ralph, beside her, pretended to bury his nose in his book, but she knew he was all ears.
‘She bought a second-hand laptop from some acquaintance she’d only just met,’ Hannah said angrily. ‘Her old one broke. She paid a ridiculous amount for it and of course it crashed immediately. Now the person who sold it to her has disappeared. He’s not replying to any of her calls or texts. Apparently the laptop’s not worth fixing.
‘She took it to a computer repair place and they said there’s too much wrong with it. She spent all her savings on it, can you believe? Now she doesn’t have a laptop for her exams. I told her, tough. It’s her fault for being so gullible. She’ll have to sort it out.’
Hannah’s mouth clamped shut and her pupils shrank to small, black, glittering dots. For the second time today, Edie was taken aback by her friend’s rage. Before this trip, she’d have described Hannah as pretty even-tempered, and she’d never realised how strict she was with her kids.
Though Charlotte could be demanding and difficult, she was still young, and Edie felt sorry for her. She’d made a foolish mistake and was no doubt beating herself up about it.
A laptop was essential for her end-of-year exams. If Maisie had done the same thing at that age, Edie knew without a shadow of doubt she’d have been upset, angry and exasperated, for sure, but one way or another, she’d have helped her daughter out.
In fact, she and Ralph wouldn’t have expected Maisie to spend all her savings on a laptop in the first place; they’d have bought it for her or, if they couldn’t afford it, contributed as much as they possibly could.
‘What a nightmare,’ she said. ‘I bet that bastard who flogged it to her has done it before, too. If I were you, I’d be tempted to lend Charlotte the cash for a new one. She could set up a direct debit and pay you back an agreed amount each month?’
‘No way.’ Hannah’s jaw jutted and the veins in her neck protruded. ‘She’s always been useless with money. She’s got to learn.’
Edie decided to leave it there. Charlotte was Hannah’s daughter and there was no point arguing. Besides, Jessica was the more pressing worry.
It seemed almost pointless to try calling yet again, but Edie did so anyway, to no avail. After putting her phone back down, she turned to Ralph.
‘It’s one o’clock. We said if we hadn’t heard anything by now, we’d make a plan.’
Ralph removed his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes. His face looked lined and drawn, and Edie felt a rush of guilt, because it was her fault Jessica was here.
‘You’re right,’ he said, replacing his shades and sitting up straight. ‘I googled emergency contacts this morning. I’ve got a number for the Greek Tourist Police in this area. They’re available twenty-four-seven. I’ll give them a call.’
The sun was high in the sky now and even in the shade, Edie felt hot and slightly nauseous. Listening to her husband on the phone to the police, describing Jessica and the situation they were in, seemed unreal.
Edie imagined she was looking down on herself from some distance away, as if she were a character in a play.
‘Yes, we’ve tried contacting her numerous times…’ she heard Ralph say, in a far-off voice, and, ‘No, not to my knowledge. She didn’t mention anyone she knew…’
The police wanted to know what she was wearing, what she’d taken with her and what her behaviour was like before she left.
‘We didn’t know she was going to Knossos till that morning… out of the blue, yes… History teacher… very fit… single… independent…’
He held the phone away from his ear and looked at Edie.
‘Do we know anything about her family? Or close friends?’
Edie shook her head. ‘She never mentioned parents or any brothers or sisters. She didn’t seem to have friends either, not even other teachers. I was the only one, really – to my knowledge, anyway. And Hannah, of course, but she’s much more recent.’
As she spoke, it dawned on Edie how little she actually knew about Jessica. Their conversations had mainly centred round Jessica’s numerous interests: books, ancient Rome and Greece, films, running and so on.
Edie had certainly spoken to her about Maisie and Ollie and she’d been to the family home. In fact, she was probably far more knowledgeable about Edie’s private life than the other way round.
Ralph interrupted Edie’s train of thought with another question.
‘Can you send me some photos of Jessica? Close-ups if you’ve got them, and full-length ones. As soon as you can.’
He glanced at Hannah. ‘You too.’
Both women scrolled through their collections, shared what they had and Ralph forwarded them straight away to an address he’d been given. When he finally came off the phone, he said the person he’d spoken to had very good English and seemed sympathetic, helpful and professional.
‘The police are going to make some enquiries in the village and around Knossos. It’s a shame we didn’t ask which hotel she was staying in the first night. There are so many in that area. It could have been any of them.’
