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‘You told me you worked at the Atlantis Hotel.’
‘I…’
‘That’s a lie, too.’
‘Okay, I admit…’
‘And you told me you were a mixologist, which turns out to beanotherlie!’
‘I’m sorry, Heidi, I…’
‘That’s enough lies from one person for a whole lifetime! But we’ve found out who you really are, we know about the terrible things you’ve done, and what we want to know, right here, right now, iswhy! And we want the truth this time, if you even know what that is.’
Suzie thought for a moment that Nathan was going to try and bluff his way out of the situation, so to save time she reached into her pocket and handed him the silver bracelet Miranda had found at the bookshop.
‘I believe this is yours?’
‘Yes, where did you find it?’
‘At the bookshop in Oia.’
Nathan grimaced and Suzie could see the previous bravado drain from his body. Whilst she had known she was right when she had told Miranda that the bracelet belonged to Nathan, it gave her no pleasure to be proven correct definitively, especially when she saw Nathan lower his gaze, shame and embarrassment written across his face.
‘Okay, I admit it.’
‘So youareHolsHacker?’ Heidi demanded.
‘Yes.’
Heidi gasped out loud, and Suzie’s heart gave a nip of sympathy when she realised that her friend had actually been expecting – no,hoping– that Nathan would deny it, that he would deliver a totally believable explanation as to why he couldn’t be the person who had published the highly intrusive video on YouTube and upset her friends in such an appalling way.
‘So you admit you broke into the bookshop, trashed the place, and wrote those words on the bathroom mirror?’
Nathan gawped at Suzie. ‘I didn’t break in! I would never do anything like that! And I certainly didn’t trash the place! I was on my way home after more than a few ouzos with a bunch of friends, and I saw that the door was wide open. As it was two a.m., I went down the steps, intending to close it, but then I thought I’d better take a quick look inside first, just to make sure there was no one in there, even though the place was in darkness. I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw all the books scattered across the floor. I just assumed the owner had decided to have a reshuffle of their stock or something like that, but now I realise that someone must have been in there before me. Anyway, I… I needed to use the bathroom, and when I was in there an idea came to me, so I… well, I assume you know the rest.’[ED3]
By now Heidi had recovered from the shock of Nathan’s admission and her eyes were blazing. Small dots of red had appeared on her cheeks, and her hands were curled into tight fists in her lap, but when she spoke, her voice was surprisingly calm.
‘And my skincare products? Was that you, too?’
Nathan’s lips twisted with regret as he nodded. ‘Sorry, Heidi.’
‘And whatexactlydid you do to them, might I ask?’
‘I just added a squirt of self-tan to a couple of jars.’
‘Oh my God! I wasmortifiedby what happened to Miranda, Robyn, and Diana!’ Heidi cried. ‘You made me think I had caused them serious harm with my products. I was seriously thinking about giving up on something I love doing! And not just that, butallof my business ideas! How could you do that to me? I don’t understand.’
‘I’m so sorry, Heidi, that’s the last thing I wanted. When I saw those cardboard boxes on the table in the taverna, I asked Stefanos what was in them, and when he gave me a long and very detailed lecture about them being organic beauty products, made using only natural ingredients – many of which had been sourced from the island – I assumed they had something to do with him. I was horrified when you arrived at the taverna and started to wave them around, offering them to your friends to try out.’
‘But why, Nathan?’ asked Suzie, softly. ‘Whydidyou do those awful things?’
‘It was just a bit of fun. I didn’t set out to hurt anyone.’
‘But youdidhurt people,’ Heidi whispered, holding his gaze.
‘I know, I know, and I’m truly sorry, and if I could turn back the clock and do things differently, then I would.’
‘So, are you going to explain?’
