Page 93 of The House Swap

‘I’m so sorry, Pops,’ Tom apologised when she had finished.

‘I don’t trust him,’ she said bluntly. ‘And I don’t think you should either.’

‘I’ll speak with him.’

‘You definitely should.’

‘I will. I promise.’

‘Okay.’

‘What about you?’ he asked. ‘Are you going to be all right staying there until Saturday?’

‘Sure,’ Poppy said lightly, trying her best to sound brave. ‘I plan to stay away from Martin and at least I found the camera. If I disable it, he won’t be able to watch me.’

After her call with Tom ended, Poppy stood in the centre of the room for a moment, the camera still resting on the countertop where she had left it. The television was still playing, but the noise was now in the background and she had long lost interest in what was happening on screen. Her attention drifted upwards to the ceiling, to where the camera had been. She had assumed it was a smoke detector, never really thinking anything about it. But now she questioned, were there any more in the villa?

She checked her bedroom first, dread sinking heavily in her stomach when she spotted the device on the ceiling. She hadn’t really noticed it before and, to be fair, she’d had no need to. It was part of the villa, sitting there dormant unless it needed to warn of danger. But now she knew what she was looking for, it stuck out like a sore thumb.

Knowing someone had probably watched her sleeping made her furious.

There were four more; three in the other bedrooms and another one she had missed in the living room. It bothered her that the cameras had not been hidden carelessly. They had been deliberately placed. Positioned to see everything.

After gathering all of the devices on the coffee table in the living area, she sent Tom a photo.

They are everywhere.

Shit.

Moments later, he called her.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, sounding worried.

‘No. This is really bloody creepy, Tom.’

‘I know, I know. I don’t know what to say. It’s freaking me out too.’

Poppy rubbed her free hand over her face. She was exhausted, frightened and right now she needed to find a way to take back some control.

‘I think I’m going to try to change my flight. Hopefully I can get one home tomorrow,’ she said, musing aloud.

‘I’m so sorry this has happened,’ Tom told her. ‘This was supposed to be a break for you to get away from all the Simon stuff.’ He hesitated. ‘You shouldn’t be the one to have to leave. Look, I’m going to get a flight home. There’s little we can do if we’re both in England. I’ll hop on a flight tomorrow and when I get back, I can talk to Martin and get to the bottom of this. If necessary, we can go to the police together.’

His suggestion made sense, Poppy supposed. Part of her wanted to call the police now, but she was alone in a foreign country, in a villa that wasn’t hers, with no proof of who had put the cameras there. Tom was the owner and he was taking it seriously enough to get on a plane. Once he arrived, they would deal with it together. Properly.

Still, the idea of staying in the villa alone, even now after she had removed the cameras, didn’t appeal in the slightest.

‘I should get a hotel for tonight,’ she decided, voicing her thoughts aloud.

‘You can try. I don’t mind helping you. But you could struggle. It’s out of season and not many places are open.’

Poppy’s heart sank. ‘I hadn’t thought about that.’

Tom hesitated. ‘Look, it’s getting late and you’d have to pack all your stuff. It’s just one more night, Pops. The bedrooms all have locks on the doors. There should be a key in one of the bedside units. You’ll be safe until I get back.’

He had a point. Even if she could find somewhere, by the time she had sorted everything and booked a taxi, it would be at least gone 10 p.m. It barely seemed worth it.

‘I guess so,’ she agreed reluctantly.