The Tangled Web (40 page)
Authors: Lacey Dearie
‘No. I have no idea what I’m going to do. I was thinking
about moving away and making a fresh start. There’s nothing to keep me in
Inverness,’ she said.
‘What about me?’ Adam huffed.
‘What about you?’ Flic echoed. She was confused. Please
don’t let him be stringing me along, she thought.
‘Well, haven’t you wondered what things would have been
like between us without all the spying, and the accident? I have. I was
hoping we could start again,’ he admitted, his disappointment evident in his
expression.
‘I’d like that,’ Flic smiled.
‘You’d have to stay in Inverness for us to try again
though. I’m not keen on long distance relationships,’ he warned.
‘I suppose I could still make a fresh start where I am
right now. Or we could move somewhere else together,’ she nodded.
Adam grabbed her hands and kissed them softly. ‘We’ll
start again. From the beginning. You should speak to Magnus about some work.
See if he can sort you out with one of his business plans. I hear there’s a
cupcake stall short of a glamorous baker.’
*****
Vicky was welcomed by a clowder of the resident cats on her
arrival back at the hotel. She had been nervous walking back alone, worrying
herself sick that she might run into Lumi and George. Relief swept over her as
she walked towards reception and left the threat of seeing them again behind
her.
‘Hello Cleopatra,’ she said to the one recognisable cat
whose name she could pronounce, kneeling down to stroke the fur on her head.
She rose and climbed the steps, three of the cats following her inside.
‘Good evening. Could I have my room key please? Number
forty-one,’ she greeted the receptionist.
‘Good evening. Here you are.’ The girl passed the room
key to her. ‘A visitor was here earlier, asking for you. He spoke to your
brother while he was waiting and then he left. He left this package for you.’
Vicky nodded. She already knew, from her conversation with
Adam, that Christos had been there and left her a package. She took the padded
envelope the girl handed to her, thanked her and walked to the seating area
across from reception.
She sat down on a sofa, stopping for a split second to
admire a bookcase in the seating area. The shelves were full of books from
different languages to accommodate any nationality of guest. She had meant to
visit this area of the hotel earlier and examine the bookcase to see if there
was anything she recognised in there. She would have loved to stay here longer
and borrow one of them to read by the pool. She dismissed the idea from her
head, reminding herself that she could bring Sasha some time in the future and
borrow one of the books to read when Sasha was sleeping at night. Despite all
the drama she had gone through on this trip, she was enjoying being here. She
and Colin had so much fun when they were here before and she had spent much of
her time since she arrived imagining what Sasha would have been doing if she
had been with her.
She ran her fingers over the sealed edge of the padded
envelope, wondering if she wanted to open it here, by herself, with only the
cats for company and comfort if she didn’t like what she saw inside, or whether
she wanted to wait until Flic was back. That was IF Flic came back, and didn’t
go to Adam’s hotel. Now, there was a thought. If they sorted their
relationship out tonight, she might be alone here. Maybe it was a good idea to
open it now. She ripped the seal open and reached inside. She pulled out a
single small sheet of notepaper and a pen. Was this it? She unfolded the
sheet and began to read.
“Agapi mou, this is my gift to you. I bought it some time
ago and was waiting for the right moment to give it to you. I thought that
would be this afternoon. I was wrong. Instead, I’ll make it my parting gift.
It was supposed to be a spy pen. It has a built in camera. I wanted you to
use it to catch those cheaters and make notes you could show to your clients.
Now, I’ve changed my mind. It’s your writing pen. Use it for your research.
Take photos of places and people who inspire you. Write notes for your novel.
Because I know you can write it. You don’t need to keep writing those blogs.
You don’t need to have an interesting life to inspire you to write something
worth reading. Your imagination is enough. I just ask that you let me know
when it’s published, so I can buy a copy. Christos xx”
Vicky put the letter back into the envelope and twirled the
pen around her fingers. Didn’t he include the instructions for this thing?
She examined it more closely and was startled when she heard a click. Did she
just take a picture? She wanted to stay annoyed with him, but she couldn’t
wait to try out her new camera-pen. She still had one more full day in Cyprus
and she was determined to make the most of it now that the assignment was taken
care of. Sort of. She hadn’t even thought to bring a proper camera. All she
had was her phone’s camera, which was hardly discreet. She pointed the pen
towards Cleopatra and clicked again, then used the back of the envelope to pen
a short description of the cat.
She stood and looked around the hotel. It was only ten
thirty, but the bar was closed already and the whole reception area was
deserted. No chance of ordering a bedtime hot chocolate, she thought and
frowned.
As she walked into the garden towards her apartment, she
began to think about Christos’s relationship. She had already decided not to
speak to his girlfriend. After all, if she wanted to know if he was cheating,
she would pursue the matter herself. Vicky made up her mind not to meddle,
ever again. Even when she had been asked to do so, it hadn’t brought her or
Flic any happiness.
As for her friendship with him…well, she would decide that
when she got home. There was no question that things would never be the same,
and she would never be able to confide in him about any future heartaches, but
she couldn’t deny that she had been the instigator – SHE had been the one to
ask Pamela to investigate him, albeit as a fake assignment to keep Pamela out
of her hair. She felt she had no right to complain now that it had blown up in
her face.
She reached the front door of the apartment and put her key
in the lock. She heard rustling from a bush behind her and turned around. She
expected to see one of the cats, but was shocked to turn around and see Colin
sitting on a stone wall, the rustling noise coming from the plant behind the
wall.
‘Hi Vicky,’ he said, the smile audible in his voice.
‘Colin?’ she asked. She had no idea why she was asking.
She knew it was him. She would be an idiot to pretend she didn’t recognise
him. They had been a couple since their early teens and only spent the last
year and a half apart because of his itchy feet.
‘You look like you need a hug,’ he replied, walking towards
her.
She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer, pouring
all her emotion into the hug. ‘You arsehole! I could really have done with a
cuddle from you recently!’ she mockingly scolded him.
‘So I’ve heard,’ he muffled into her head as he kissed her
hair.
She pulled away and looked at him searchingly. It was no
coincidence that he was here, waiting outside her apartment for her. ‘Who told
you I was here?’
‘Your friend, Christos. He got in touch with me a couple
of weeks ago. He tracked me down on my old MaisonNet page. It was pure chance
that I checked it. I haven’t looked at it in ages! He said you were going to
be in Cyprus. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve been here for the last month
volunteering at a dog shelter near Famagusta. Didn’t he tell you I was coming
to see you?’ Colin asked.
Vicky shook her head. ‘No, he didn’t. What else did he
tell you?’
‘Not much. Just that you were going through a rough time
and it was very important that we talk. And that you had a big surprise for me
that might persuade me to come back to Scotland.’
Vicky pulled away. She wasn’t sure how or what she was
going to say to him. She was glad he was here though. She needed the
friendship she knew she would get from him. And Colin needed to know that
Sasha existed.
‘You’d better come in,’ she advised.
He nodded warily and followed her. When they stood at the
door and she fumbled as she turned the key, he nervously attempted to make
small talk.
‘Are you and Scarlett still Inverness’s most glamorous
funeral directors?’
‘Yeah, we are,’ she nodded.
‘What about your writing? Have you gotten your act
together and written that novel yet?’
Vicky smiled. ‘It’s funny you should ask that. I was just
about to start it.’
Three and a half years later….
Vicky wants to chat with you!
Christos says...
Hi Blondie ;) Long time no chat!
Vicky says...
Hiya :) I know. This must be the first we’ve chatted
since before Cyprus.
Christos says...
The least said about that the better ;) Did you get my
flowers?
Vicky says...
Yeah, thanks :) You really didn’t have to!
Christos says...
Well, it’s not every day you become a published author!
Vicky says...
It took me three years! And I’m self published. It’s not
like I’ve had the approval of a publisher :/
Christos says...
You had a dream and made it happen. You’ve taken your
destiny into your own hands. You deserve your moment of glory :)
Vicky says...
I can’t believe it’s finally happening. I just finished
off the “About The Author” section to put on the Kindle author profile. Do you
want to see it?
Christos says...
Obviously!
Vicky says...
Here it is...
Victoria Robertson is an indie author and funeral director
from the Highlands of Scotland. She is the daughter of a sex toy inventor and
erotic fiction novelist, Daisy D’Souza and is the sister of controversial Big
Brother winner Pamela Robertson. She lives with her husband Colin, daughter,
Sasha and son, Jason.
She divides her time between Inverness and Cannes, where
her brother is a personal trainer to the rich and tasteless and her former
business partner Flic is a successful “investigative celebrity photographer.”
(That’s a paparazzo to you and me)
In her spare time she enjoys playing with her children and
god-daughter Gypsy and stuffing her face with cupcakes baked by Gypsy’s mother
(her best friend and manager of the Petticoat Patisserie in Inverness),
Scarlett.
The HunE-trap is her first and last novel. The next dream
she hopes to realise is seeing her favourite band, Suburban Legends, play live
in their native California, after which she hopes to study for a degree in Geography.
Vicky is managed by Magnus Pellicci
([email protected]) and although she does not use social networking sites,
she loves to hear from her readers at [email protected].
Vicky says...
What do you think?
Christos says...
Perfect :)
Lacey
Dearie is an indie author from Ayrshire in Scotland. In her other lives she
has been a book-keeper, a secretary, a paralegal, a mystery shopper, a blogger,
a failed actress, a product tester and a freelance writer. Her first paid
writing job was an article about Friday the 13
th
in 2005 for British
magazine, The Lady (using her real name) and she hopes to begin writing factual
articles again in the future.
The
Tangled Web is her first novel. It was downloaded over 15000 times in its
first 9 months on Amazon. It reached number 1 in the Amazon UK Free Download
chart in January 2012. Lacey is currently working on the two novels, Divas
España and Glam Rock and a collection of short stories which is as yet
untitled. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her son, learning
to speak Spanish and Greek and catching up with the housework (oh, the glamour
of being an indie author).
Lacey
plans to donate 5% of her earnings from The Tangled Web to charities which
tackle homelessness in Scotland.
