I groan. I literally ran away from the guy when I was supposed to be wooing him! Wooing him as if my life depended on it. What if he changes his mind about me now? I may have done an unimaginable amount of damage. How to fix it?
I’ll text him! I’ll explain. This is salvageable.
Sorry about my abrupt exit …
Really, I’ll have to stick with the pot excuse otherwise he’ll think I’m unstable. Maybe he already does? I’ll gloss over it – pretend everything is as it should be. I delete the sentence and start the message again.
Crisis averted. No pots were harmed in the making of this text. Today was fun. Hope to do it again. Evie.
Chapter 11
Behind the counter my phone buzzes. When I see it’s a group chat from home, I leave Gran to it in the bookshop and head to my villa.
‘Hey, Mom. Posy.’
‘Gran’s bank statement arrived yesterday.’ Mom moves her face close to the camera and lowers her voice as if about to disclose classified information. ‘Even though it’stechnicallya felony, I opened it.’
‘No “technically” about it,’ Posy says. ‘Mail fraud.’
‘Mail theft, if you want to be pedantic about it.’ Mom rolls her eyes. ‘Anyway, the point is, Gran is up to her eyeballs in debt; her funds are in arrears.Arrears!How can that be?’
Oh no! I knew she’d find out eventually; I just didn’t think it would be in such a simple way. Why oh why did Gran not redirect her mail if she’s trying to hide her budget blowout from Mom? Amateur move that she’s usually too clever to make.
‘Renovations don’t come cheap,’ I say. ‘If you saw this place, you’d understand. The cost of having things shipped to an island is exorbitant. She just needs to recoup some money, that’s all. I’ll send you some better photos of what she’s done and you’ll see.’
‘Photos are all well and good but those funds were supposed to last her retirement.’
‘Like you, Gran will never retire. She’s invested in Santorini, Mom. This place is magical, truly beautiful and it’s where she wants to stay long-term.’
‘Why did she go all out like this? Every last penny is gone. It’s not like her.’
‘Maybe Gran’s moved the money to another bank account?’ Posy says. ‘God, I hope she’s not mixed up with the mafia again.’
Mom lets out a groan. ‘That’s all we need. They said they wouldn’t be so forgiving next time.’ Gran got embroiled in a scheme with some slot machines and made a packet. Unfortunately, she kind of cut out the other investor, a mafia hood, claiming that Billy the Knuckle didn’t uphold his side of the deal. Mom got involved and made some of their legal troubles disappear and Gran kept all her fingers. We learned the hard way, you can’t cross mafioso even if they deserve it.
‘Donottell her that I opened her mail.’
Posy smirks. ‘Gran wasn’t born yesterday. You can bet your bottom dollar she suspects you’ll hire a forensic accountant to go over everything.’
Mom blushes. ‘And what’s wrong with that?’
‘You don’t exactly have her permission,’ Posy says. ‘I’m guessing she moved the money so you can’t track her spending. And she’ll probably call the cops on you, to slow your investigations down.’
Mom shudders. ‘She’d get a lot of enjoyment out of that too. Seeing me cuffed and led away like one of my clients. It doesn’t bear thinking about! Promise me you’ll keep this under wraps for now, but watch her like a hawk, Evie.’
My mind wanders to the note I found in Gran’s bedroom saying her husband wasn’t to be trusted. After the first fake-date fiasco I’d almost forgotten about it. I don’t dare breathe a word about it to Mom and Posy, but I’ll prod Gran for some answers. It might be connected to this latest problem.
‘I don’t want her to rack up anymore debt.’
Posy scoffs, but we make a promise to Mom to keep our traps shut before we ring off.
I head back to the bookshop, head buzzing with it all. If I told Gran Mom opened her mail she probablywouldcall the cops just for fun. Would she also assume I was snooping when I found the balled-up note? ‘Mom’s suspicious.’
I take a swig of water, my mouth dry from the adrenaline that’s pumping with all these secrets.
‘Can never leave well enough alone, that woman. I’d never have imagined my own daughter to be such a snoop. It’s the lawyer in her. Bet she’s going through my bank statements like some forensic accountant.’
I choke on the mouthful of water.
