What! Gran lied to me about the Uber woman? Is the gossip from loukoumades Maria true?
Gran must have been trying to save face while she figured out what was really going on after he drained her bank account and did a runner. This plot is like an onion: as soon as you peel away a layer, there’s another underneath! My poor gran! How could the vile man do such a monstrous thing!
‘This … is a lot to process,’ I say. ‘How much did he steal from Gran?’
‘Six figures.’
‘What!’
‘Yep.’
‘So there was no oil rig?’
Mom shakes her head ‘No. There never was. Gran’s not stupid, Evie. She’s obviously said that for a reason.’
To buy herself time to figure it out.
‘Iknowshe’s not stupid. I’m the one who trusts in her, unlike you two meddlers. But you’re telling me Gran’s known all along he’s stolen and fled with her life savings and she’s OK with that?’ I piece all the bits of information I have together. Why didn’t she dash off to Corfu to confront him if she knew it was true?
‘I’m sure she’sfarfrom OK with it.’
‘Why wouldn’t she tell us the truth?’ Posy says. ‘This is her problem, always making up these grand stories so you can never tell what is fact and what is fiction.’
‘She’s probably embarrassed.’ Mom’s face falls.
‘I can see why,’ Posy says. ‘Husband number nine didn’t even last a full calendar year.’
‘That’s not nice, Posy,’ I admonish. ‘Gran must be heartbroken over this.’
Posy’s cheeks turn pink and she ducks her head like a recalcitrant child, which happens almost never. ‘Sorry, that was out of line. I get carried away sometimes.’
‘This is why we’re trying to get her home,’ Mom beseeches. ‘Look what happens when she’s all alone and making spontaneous decisions. Disaster!’
‘Forget about bringing her home, Mom. She’s happy here.’ I’m still reeling that Konstantine has committed a crime of this magnitude against my beloved Gran – to steal her money like that, he may as well have stolen her dreams. My sadness soon turns to white-hot rage. How dare he! All she wants is to live out her life in her colourful little cliff-top bookshop, surrounded by word nerds and rescue dogs and he’s tried to snatch that from her.
‘We have to get her money back.’ My voice is steely with determination.
‘I’m working on it this end,’ Mom says.
‘Do tell … while we don’t have the range of skills Gran has, like a black belt in karate and killer abilities with a katana, I do know sixteen pigs can eat a dead man in eight minutes.’
‘WHAT!’ Mom shrieks.
I shrug. ‘There’s a pig farm here in case it’s helpful in any way.’
Concern dashes over Mom’s face and I delight a bit when I see Posy reel back from the camera too. She’dbetterwatch her Ps and Qs, even if she has shown herself to be remorseful today when she goes too far. ‘No one needs to be, uh eaten. Don’t you worry about any of this. Leave it to me; you just make sure Gran’s OK.’
‘Yeah.’ Posy grins. ‘Broken hearts can lead to broken hips you know.’
Chastened Posy didn’t last too long! ‘Leave her hips out of this.’
‘Now, now, Evie, don’t get upset,’ Posy says grinning. ‘Gran will be OK. Maybe husband number ten will be a keeper?’
I roll my eyes at her attempts to goad me while Gran’s sweet face flashes into my mind. ‘What if this ruins her for love?’
‘She’s a hopeless romantic,’ Posy says. ‘Emphasis on thehopeless. She’ll be fine.’
‘Urgh, and you’re the opposite! You don’t have a romantic bone in your entire body.’
