Page 10 of Never Too Late to Date

‘Why would anyone want to do that?’

Maeve freed her hand and waved it at the large plate-glass window.

‘Look at that view out there. We’re right on the coast, close to the town, and we own many acres of land as well as the buildings. We bought it for a song forty years ago, when the island was virtually unknown.’

Maeve’s voice faltered for a moment.

‘Every year the island becomes a little more commercial, step by step, more hotels and spas open up, and we’ve become a prime target for redevelopment. We’ve been approached so many times to sell by developers of all nationalities and offered more money than you could shake a stick at. Not that we would…’

Vicky looked out at the glorious blue of the sea and the large swathe of golden beach below them. She vowed in that moment to find a way to help this woman and the animals she so obviously loved. The impulse to bite the nail on her index finger was getting stronger and stronger. She’d only just managed to get her nails to a normal length. She mustn’t start all that again.

‘I can see it’s a highly desirable property, but surely no one can go around killing animals just to force a deal through.’

Just the thought made her blood boil.

‘Have you got the police involved?’

Maeve’s bitter laugh sent shivers through her.

‘We’ve tried, but they’re not terribly interested. As you’ll find out, things are a bit different here in Greece. A few dead cats at an animal sanctuary full of them doesn’t get much attention.’

Maeve took her hand again.

‘The big problem is that we have no proof. We can prove that the cats have been poisoned, but not who’s doing it, or, more importantly, who’s paying them to do it. I’m sure the developers aren’t getting their hands dirty.’

‘No. They’re far too clever for that.’

Having been married for more than twenty-five years to an estate agent who’d tried to rebrand himself as a property developer, Vicky had a pretty good idea of some of the murky little deals that went on behind the scenes. Ian had always skated far too close to the edge of legality for her liking.

Maeve took a tissue from the box on her desk and wiped her eyes before blowing her nose.

‘I must look a right state.’

Vicky did the so-so sign with her hand, which at least brought a tiny smile to the older woman’s face.

‘I’m so sorry to unburden myself like this. You’ve only just arrived. But the death of Blackie’—Maeve paused a moment—‘on top of the pressure of making enough money to keep this place going just got to me today.’

‘Hey. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You must be under the most enormous stress. I want to help you in any way I can.’

‘Thank you. I don’t like to pile it all on Seamus either. Between us, he’s had a couple of health scares. His heart’s not a hundred per cent.’

Maeve wiped her eyes again.

‘I don’t know how long we can go on fighting. We’re not getting any younger.’

Vicky shook her head.

‘You stop that right now. You can talk to me, in confidence, anytime. You’re both inspirational to so many of us. It’s just a rough day. I’ll go and get you a cup of tea.’

‘Ah, thank you, darlin’. And for being here. It was good to talk.’

As Vicky rose, she turned back a moment.

‘Obviously I’ll keep quiet. But does anyone else know what’s going on?’

‘Besides Seamus, it’s just Alex. We’ve managed to keep it from the volunteers so far, but Alex needed to do the tests on the cats to find out how they died.’

‘I see.’