Page 96 of The House Swap

‘You said it was eventful. Did something happen?’ Jem asked, his tone gentler now.

‘It was just really uncomfortable. He took me to Spinalonga, but after that he insisted on going further out to sea, then he pressured me into getting in the water. He just kept going on and on about it until I eventually caved. But then, when I was in the sea, the boat drifted – because he hadn’t anchored it. He’d forgotten to mention that bit. And…’ She paused, her face heating, wondering if what she was about to say next would sound irrational. ‘I panicked. It seemed so far away and I thought he was leaving me out there.’

Silence filled the car as Jem processed her words.

‘But he helped you back onto the boat?’ he asked, after a moment.

Poppy looked down at her hands. ‘He did when I reached it, but not when I was in the sea,’ she admitted. ‘I asked him to bring the boat closer, but he wouldn’t. I had to swim back.’

Jem exhaled slowly. ‘That’s not okay, Poppy.’

‘I probably overreacted,’ she said quickly. ‘He couldn’t help drifting, and I got back okay. I just panicked, I guess.’

‘That’s beside the point. He should have helped you.’

He sounded annoyed, and Poppy nodded, before turning to look out of the window.

At the time, she had been frightened, but, truthfully, what had happened with the boat was no longer her biggest concern. The cameras were far more unnerving.

She waited until they were in the restaurant before she told him about those.

The place he had taken her to was in the opposite direction to where they had gone last time, out past where Jem’s villa was. Which made Poppy feel bad.

‘You went out of your way to get me,’ she pointed out. ‘I could have come to you.’

Jem had lifted an eyebrow. ‘You don’t have a car,’ he reminded her. ‘And I wasn’t going to let you walk in the dark.’

She had meant she would have caught a taxi. Still, it was nice he was concerned for her safety.

The taverna was smaller than the others she had been to, and far less busy. As they took a table by the window, with a view over the sea, she felt some of the tension in her shoulders begin to ease.

They ordered wine and then food, and for a while the conversation stayed light.

It was midway through the meal, when Jem had broached Martin’s behaviour on the boat again, that Poppy decided to tell him about the cameras.

‘I found something in the villa last night,’ she said.

She had tried to keep her tone casual, but must have done a poor job, because Jem immediately looked up from his meal, his eyes narrowing.

‘You did?’

Perhaps it would be easier if she just came out and said it.

‘Yes. I found cameras hidden in the smoke alarms.’ As she explained, she watched his expression move through surprise to shock. ‘I found one in the kitchen first. It should have gone off when I burned my pasta, so I unscrewed it to check it was working, and that was when I saw the lens. Once I realised, I checked the other rooms. They were everywhere.’

Jem stopped eating and leaned back in his chair, processing. ‘Jesus, Poppy. You’re serious?’

She nodded.

‘This guy whose villa you’re in⁠—’

‘Tom.’

‘Yes, Tom. What the hell does he think he’s playing at?’

‘He says he knows nothing about them.’

‘And you believe him?’ Jem sounded incredulous.