‘Did you buy any of that?’

  Michail, already sitting with an iron-rigid back, consulted his notepad. ‘It is difficult to know for sure,’ he said. ‘Mr Barlas was adamant about his key card having been stolen. His alibi is strong; it appears he did indeed leave work at 5pm, as he told us, before heading to the café. The staff have corroborated his story. We were right to let him go home. I don’t believe we would have uncovered anything sufficiently incriminating. However, I have the feeling that he is not telling us everything.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Sofia agreed, looking out of the window at the turquoise sea. ‘My gut tells me he’s telling the truth about the key card. I don’t see why else he would so willingly hand over the records. But it feels like there’s something else. I think it’s wise to assume that whoever entered Teddy’s room that night has something to do with his murder. Unfortunately for us, if they have any sense at all, they’ll have wiped the card for prints even if we could find it.’

  Michail sat very still, as he usually did when he was thinking deeply. Eventually, he said, ‘I have a strong feeling that we are misinterpreting something that we have already come across.’

  ‘Oh?’ Sofia widened her eyes. ‘Any idea what that is, then?’

  He shook his head, completely ignoring her sarcasm. ‘Usually, the facts begin to work together. One leads to another and then another until the mystery is solved. However, for this case the board is still a random mess.’

  ‘Your whiteboard?’

  ‘Yes.’ He nodded and sunk low into his seat, his chin pressing against his chest. Clasping his hands together, his brow furrowed. ‘What did you think of Maria?’

  The question completely threw her. ‘Maria? Iraklis’s daughter? What did I think of her?’

  ‘Correct. Maria Barlas. Did you form an opinion?’

  ‘I… well, I only spoke to her for a few minutes.’ She tried to picture the scene in the lobby. ‘Katerina certainly wasn’t enamoured.’

  ‘No,’ Michail said, his face giving nothing away. ‘Her questioning methods followed absolutely no protocol – I have already made a note of that.’ He stared straight ahead, blinking at slow, methodical intervals.

  ‘It makes sense she was concerned about her father’s well-being,’ said Sofia. ‘Iraklis is all she has left family-wise – the station police confirmed that.’

  Michail pressed his lips together, still apparently lost in his thoughts.

  ‘Is there something else?’

  ‘Yes,’ he answered quickly, giving a sharp nod. ‘Yes. I have conducted a thorough audit of Teddy’s public social media posts. It seems that Alek represented him accurately. His recent photos are all of the resort. He gave the impression that he wanted to impress people.’

  ‘I see…’ She didn’t comment on the abrupt change of subject.

  Michail pulled out his phone to show her. ‘His final post, a selfie, shows him wearing the pink shirt and the salmon chinos by the pool.’

  She studied the image. Indeed, Teddy posed, looking up to the camera, his face beaming with self-satisfaction. ‘His clothes still haven’t shown up. We’ve searched everywhere.’

  Michail frowned. ‘We’re missing both the key card and the clothes. They’ve either been destroyed, hidden, or they’re still with the culprit.’

  ‘Yes.’ Sofia leaned back, stretching her legs out as far as she could in the footwell. ‘If I were the killer, I’d have burned them by now, but, as we know, killers don’t always behave sensibly. Unfortunately, we have no profile to work with.’ She observed him closely, his serious profile thrown into stark contrast against the bright seascape glittering past the window. She bit her lip, dubious as to whether now was the time to bring it up, before saying, ‘How are things going with Katerina?’

  At the mention of her name, he visibly tensed. ‘Very well, thank you for checking, Major Sampson.’

  Sofia sighed, wishing she could create some space between her legs and the hot leather of the car seat. She hadn’t had a chance to shower after her swim and chlorine lingered on her skin, making her clammy and uncomfortable. ‘You should tell me if you’re experiencing problems, Michail. I wasn’t expecting it to be plain sailing.’

  ‘You have noticed that I am not performing sufficiently?’ he asked, his forehead screwing up into what looked like deep concern.

  She shook her head. ‘No. But I have noticed that you are becoming more reserved, less of a team player. You’ve achieved a lot, Michail, and you’ve made huge professional leaps over the past year. I wouldn’t want anything to ruin that.’

  He looked as though she had slapped him in the face. She shifted against the leather seat, sweat pooling at the small of her back. ‘This isn’t meant as a criticism–’

  ‘I am allowing personal feelings to get in the way of solving the crime?’ His words filled the car so earnestly that she didn’t know how to reply.

  Eventually, she said, carefully, ‘I’m not blaming you. But Katerina is back and, for this case at least, you’re partners. I would think about trying to find a way to work together again, even if it’s only temporary. For your own good, just try and find a way?’

  The car pulled up on Saturn House’s drive, past the row of olive trees. She exhaled, looking forward to her impending shower. Before getting out, she said to Michail, ‘Does that make sense?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I must find a way to work with Katerina. So far, my efforts have been insufficient.’

  Something about the way he said this didn’t fill her with a great amount of confidence, but, before she could respond, Lily appeared at the top of the marble staircase, wearing yet another pair of designer stilettos and a silk kimono wrapped around a white swimming costume. Sofia reluctantly opened the car door.

  ‘You wanted to chat?’ Lily descended the stairs, her pink lips puckered with anxiety. ‘That’s right, isn’t it? You wanted to see me? That girl said…’

  ‘Officer Galanis was correct.’ Michail strode around the side of the car and levelled Lily a concerted stare. ‘We have some further questions for you. Officer Galanis and I will interview you in room nine in approximately ten minutes, if you are free?’

  Sofia noticed a slight tremor in the corner of Lily’s jaw. That was interesting – what did she think Michail needed to ask her about? Lily had handed over the footage of her attack – she must have known that they would watch it. And anyway, she had been the victim, not the perpetrator. Lily took a small breath and checked her phone, giving a prim nod.

  ‘I’m meeting with some press ahead of the Saturnalia in half an hour… if we can make it quick…’

  ‘We will be as efficient as possible,’ Michail said, walking past her briskly and flexing his knuckles as if preparing for some sort of physical fight. ‘As you might imagine, we consider finding Teddy Menkopf’s murderer a greater priority than your summer event.’

  Michail stood alert and ready in the same makeshift interview room as they had used yesterday. His conversation with Sofia had proved very useful indeed: he had clearly allowed his judgement to be clouded by his personal feelings about Katerina’s return. Worse than that, he had not seen how he had allowed his emotions to interfere with the smooth running of the investigation. Unacceptable. Luckily, he had already identified a clear course of restorative action. Difficult as it would be, he had to find a way to ensure that he and Katerina worked well together. Although he suspected his counsellor would disagree, this meant hiding away all Katerina-related emotions somewhere unfindable. There would need to be a blockage in the syphon where they were concerned. Then he could return to making rational and useful decisions: the balance of his mind would return. This method would allow him to keep his emotions completely hidden: the cave… the lies… he would box them away. Sofia was right: he must do everything within his power to ensure an efficient working partnership.

  ‘Thanks for calling me up.’ Katerina was by the window, her arms folded, the hot breeze blowing her hair in gentle wisps about her face. Michail had decided to leave the windows open in favour of turning the air conditioning on – not only was it better for the environment, as he had explained, but he was growing fond of the sound of the sea and its soothing effects.

  ‘It is no trouble. We are a team and, therefore, we must work as one.’ He arranged his face in the most encouraging expression that he could muster, without adding that Sofia had insisted that Katerina join him in the interview, despite her English not being fluent. For some reason, instead of matching his new optimism, Katerina dropped her eyes to the ground. He opened his mouth to clarify his position – she seemed to have misheard – when Lily opened the door.

  ‘Ms Woodstow, please take a seat,’ he said, assuming his place on the sofa as Katerina joined him.

  Lily flashed them both a smile and held her index finger up as she read a message on her phone. Then, she folded her legs and leant back on the chair. ‘Honestly, it’s been a day already.’

  ‘Yes.’ Michail frowned: it was only 3pm. ‘We watched the security footage from your office…’ He paused to allow enough time for Lily to react. She blinked, her eyes widening before her chest rose as she inhaled.

  ‘You saw it then? Oh God…’ Her hands flew to her mouth. Michail looked to Katerina who had cocked her head to one side, wondering how much she had understood.

  ‘You gave us the footage,’ she said, to his surprise, in impressive English. ‘You must have known that we were specifically looking for any events in the lead-up or on the night of the murder. This can’t be a shock to you.’ Katerina leaned in towards Lily, her elbows resting on her knees as Michail fought to seem unsurprised at the assuredness of his partner.

  Lily nodded in tiny sparrow-like flinches, as if every one of Katerina’s words came as an expected blow. ‘Yes, yes, I know… I suppose… I suppose I didn’t want to draw attention to it… obviously I knew you’d see eventually…’

  ‘Attention to what?’ Katerina asked.

  It seemed impossible, but Lily’s eyes opened even wider. ‘Oh God, I feel so bad… you must think I’m an idiot.’

  Michail cleared his throat. ‘At the moment, perhaps, until you can offer us a reasonable explanation.’

  Lily’s wet eyes froze, and, for a moment, the watery swell of her bright blue irises glazed over. Then, she bit her bottom lip and replied, ‘She wanted more pay. I… we don’t pay the support staff at all well here, actually. It’s something that the locals have been going on about for a while. She started asking for a raise and I wouldn’t give it to her.’ She shrugged and shook her head. ‘It’s head office’s call anyway, not mine. I kept telling her.’

  ‘So, she attacked you because she wanted more money?’ Katerina asked, her voice landing flat against the coffee table between them.

  ‘S-she has a short fuse,’ Lily stuttered. ‘I didn’t know what to do. I… well, I sacked her immediately after that.’

  ‘You didn’t tell us because you were ashamed that you didn’t pay her enough?’ Michail pressed.

  ‘That, and… well… I didn’t want a fuss made… causing trouble for Irene. I know what it looks like, but she’s a good person really, at heart.’

  ‘How do you know that?’ Katerina stood and strolled around the back of the sofa.

  ‘She’s just a cleaner!’ Lily exclaimed.

  ‘You were protecting her?’ Michail asked. He opened the laptop on the table and tapped the space bar. The attack played out before them, Lily’s silent cries, writhing helplessly on the screen. ‘Why would you want to protect someone who did this to you?’

  ‘I was embarrassed, okay?’ Lily began to cry. Reaching into her bag for a tissue, she dabbed beneath her eyes. It came away smeared with black and beige streaks. ‘I drove this woman, this person to do… that! She just wanted more money and I didn’t do anything. I didn’t even send an email. So she…’ Her words broke into a small sob. She sniffed, throwing her shoulders back. ‘It’s not a big deal, is it? I mean, I gave you the footage… I knew you’d watch it. I know I should have told you immediately, but I… I just didn’t think it was relevant with everything going on!’ She sobbed again, this time more loudly.

  ‘A violent attack on the night that one of your guests was murdered is very relevant,’ replied Katerina, making her way back to the sofa. ‘What is she searching for?’

  ‘What?’ Lily’s eyes darted up, filled with confusion.

  Katerina pointed to the screen. ‘She’s looking for something, see? What’s she looking for?’

  Lily shook her head. ‘Money? Probably money, like I said.’

  ‘Is that what she’s shouting about too?’ Katerina pushed the laptop closer to Lily.

  ‘Yes, yes…’ Lily answered, closing her eyes as if the memory was too painful for her. ‘She was shouting about money. I couldn’t understand everything…’

  ‘I see.’ Katerina looked to Michail who gave her a small nod. ‘Where does she live? Irene? We’ll want to question her.’

  ‘Near the Temple of Aphaia. I’ll get you her address.’ Lily sniffed.

  ‘We will need that immediately,’ Michail prompted, standing to open the door. Lily nodded and pushed herself from the sofa, her ankles unsteady within her high heels. ‘If there is anything else that you have neglected to tell us, we will need that too,’ he added.

  Lily dabbed her cheeks with her fingertips. ‘There is a teeny-weeny thing, that I don’t think is relevant but–’

  ‘Everything is relevant,’ Michail interrupted, flicking open his notepad. ‘Go on.’

  Lily looked hesitant, her mouth hanging open in mid-breath, Michail nodded expectantly, which seemed to prompt her to begin. ‘I heard… crying. A woman crying on the night that Teddy was murdered. I was in the office, before Irene’s visit, and I could have sworn that I heard weeping from outside. I had a poke about, you know… I thought it might be one of the models or something… but by the time I’d followed the sound, it had stopped.’ She shrugged. ‘That’s it.’

  Michail stared at her to ensure she had remembered to tell them everything.

  ‘There’s nothing else! Oh God, I feel so stupid…’ Lily cried. Neither Katerina nor Michail contradicted the feeling, and there was a short pause before she flicked her handbag over her shoulder and left. Michail listened to the sharp click of her heels as she disappeared down the corridor before turning to Katerina.

  ‘Your English has improved significantly.’

  Katerina gave him a sad smile. ‘I’ve had a year to brush up,’ she said. ‘A lot of time on my hands.’

  ‘Congratulations for putting it to good use,’ he said.

  Katerina looked at her hands, which were laced over her lap. ‘Michail, you don’t have to… you don’t have to be nice to me. I understand–’

  The box labelled ‘Unfindable Katerina Feelings’ gave a tempting shudder from somewhere deep inside, but he shook his head, forcing it to stay locked and still. Sofia had been clear: for them to work effectively, he and Katerina must get along. ‘Please consider what I said yesterday as irrelevant. We need to try and push through our past. It is the only way that we will be able to focus fully.’

  Although he had been very clear, Katerina seemed stunned. She stared up at him, her lips slightly parted and limp, devoid of words.

  ‘Sofia has instructed that we be friends again,’ he clarified, ignoring the jolt in his abdomen as he uttered the word. He remembered, all too clearly, what it had been like to have Katerina as his friend. And he remembered, all too clearly, what it had been like to lose that friendship. But he could not ponder upon these things: he packed them into his box immediately.

  ‘Sofia,’ she repeated. ‘I see–’

  ‘Precisely. Like I said, please disregard everything I said yesterday. We must move forward to solve this case.’ To solidify the sentiment, he stepped forwards and held out a hand to her, as a gesture of goodwill.

  She observed him for a moment and stood up to face him. ‘Michail, I don’t think–’ For some reason, she seemed upset.

  ‘I am certain that this is the best course of action,’ he said, waggling his hand to remind her of its presence. She sighed and extended her own hand to meet his. He wasn’t sure how to process the sensation he felt when their palms touched, their thumbs entwined. It wasn’t unpleasant, yet it wasn’t entirely comfortable either. He arranged his lips into a smile and nodded. The job was done. He had cemented their friendship afresh, just as Sofia had asked him to do. Everything could now run as normal.

  ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Now, what did you think about Lily?’

  Katerina blinked a few times before answering him. ‘Erm, right. Good. I mean, she was all over the place, wasn’t she? She seemed genuinely embarrassed. I just don’t understand why she didn’t mention the attack before. Seems odd, although she initially didn’t realise that we were investigating a murder. Maybe she’s frightened of Irene. She could have thought that giving us the footage was a way of telling us without having to actually tell us?’

  ‘It’s possible.’ The soft wash of the sea drifted through the windows, and he exhaled, setting his thoughts into order. ‘So far, we have two instances of clues being handed to us on a plate. Iraklis claimed ignorance, Lily claimed… incompetence. Do we believe either of them?’

  Katerina gave a small laugh. The sound danced in tandem to the sea’s low hum. ‘It’s not a problem we usually have, is it? People offering up clues willingly?’ She shrugged and made for the terrace, rolling up her sleeves. ‘I didn’t go easy on Lily. Her story, as silly as it is, was consistent. And she’s happy for us to visit Irene.’

  She rolled her shoulders back and made for the terrace. He followed her outside and joined her in watching the sea. ‘In addition to your English, your interview technique has also improved. You were pertinent and precise.’