Page 123 of The House Swap

Tom Rainer.

There had been a time when she would see she had a message from him or his name would appear on the screen when he phoned her, and her heart would lift, excited to hear from him. But now it conjured only revulsion. All of it had been a lie.

As for why he had come to Crete, the explanation had been less clear, but there had been enough suggestion to piece it together.

The police said there had been an incident with a woman in England.

Nothing yet proven and it was still being investigated, but there was enough concern from her family that Martin had found himself under pressure.

It seemed that leaving had been easier than facing the music, with Crete offering him a fresh start. Here he had been able to continue without scrutiny.

Until Poppy.

She had been the first one he had tried to take things further with. The first time he had attempted to turn his virtual world into reality.

The police uncovered the extent of the preparations he had made for the life he expected them to have together, whether she came willingly or not.

It hadn’t started that way. When Poppy had first proposed visiting Tom, Martin had seen an opportunity to lure her to Crete. He was a practised liar and the stories about the Paris wedding and his best friend’s car accident had come easily.

Looking back, she realised he had always had an excuse every time she had tried to meet with him. But he had been craftily smart too – like for example when he had been in London for a birthday party, eager to see her, but knowing full well from her social media posts that she was away.

At the time, Poppy had blamed herself that they hadn’t been able to meet up. She’d had no idea she was being manipulated. Everything he had done had been with the intention of fooling her.

Then her visit to Crete had given him a new opportunity.

With Poppy alone in the villa, he would be able to observe her closely.

But then Keira had come with her. At first, she had simply been an irritant, but then she had caught Martin snooping through Poppy’s things, and events had taken a darker turn.

She was an obstacle in the way. One he knew he had to deal with. And it was then his plans for Poppy grew darker.

He had never intended to let her leave Crete.

That knowledge continued to play on her mind, unsettling her in a way she couldn’t quite shake, as did the depth of his deception.

Looking back, it shocked her how convincingly he had made her believe he was in England. He had allegedly spoken to her neighbour, Mrs Okafor, remembering the unusual name from when Poppy had been complaining about the woman. And when he had pretended to check on Keira, mentioning the orange cat in the window, it was because he knew from Keira’s phone that she had one. Poppy had supplied the name Dustin herself.

At the time, it had all seemed believable. Now, she understood it was information she had given him or he had picked up. Details he had stored away and used.

The betrayal cut deep.

She and Keira stayed on in Crete for a few more days. Partly because they had to, but also neither of them felt ready to leave straight away.

Both their families had offered to fly out, while Greg had tried to insist Keira come home, but they needed this time, just the two of them. And quietly, Keira had admitted to Poppy that time away from Greg had made her rethink her relationship. She realised it wasn’t working. When she got back to England, she intended to end things.

Keira recovered quickly, at least on the surface. Physically, she was fine, and she insisted she would be okay, brushing things off in her usual carefree way. But there were quiet moments where Poppy could see the strain beneath.

They had checked into a hotel and Jem called in on them regularly, making sure they were both okay. His presence became a steady reassurance in a situation that had felt anything but. And, gradually, things began to settle and feel almost normal again.

It was in the hotel room, while Keira took a shower, that Poppy finally dared to properly venture back online. There she was relieved to discover that the outrage Simon Daley had stirred up around her had been overshadowed by a fresh scandal.

Another author had come forward accusing Simon of plagiarising passages from her own thriller, and she was armed with plenty of proof.

Poppy took little pleasure in watching the same crowd turn on him. Even if he did deserve it. After all, he had helped make her vulnerable in the first place, and looking back, she could see how easily her thoughts had spiralled during the days after Keira had disappeared from the villa.

She had begun to see danger everywhere. Even when it didn’t exist.

Sue and Ian had been a part of that.