The Girls Who Disappeared(46)

Stace looked down at her shorts and top. ‘I wasn’t sure of the plan. Why are you all so chirpy? My body feels like it’s made of lead.’ They didn’t seem affected by jetlag in the slightest but that was probably because they’d gone to sleep at a sensible hour last night, unlike Stace, who was drooling over Derreck until three o’clock in the morning. It served her right. What would the others say if she told them he’d taken his clothes off and jumped into the swimming-pool naked? That he’d invited her to join him and that a part of her had wanted to.

‘Iced coffee?’ asked Leonie, proffering a tall glass. Stace grimaced. She’d never tasted iced coffee in her life and she wasn’t about to start now. She shook her head and Leonie took a sip of it. She smacked her lips. ‘Surprisingly nice.’

‘I saw the lads leaving. Where are they going?’

Hannah laughed. ‘Worried John-Paul will make a run for it?’ she teased, knowing Stace’s insecurities. ‘They’ve gone to the 7-Eleven on the corner.’ They headed outside to join Maggie. Stace stood in the shade of the wooden arbour while Leonie and Hannah settled on the sun-loungers. Her heart fluttered when she remembered Derreck in the pool last night, the water rippling over his toned chest and the moonlight catching his gleaming strong shoulders. She took a deep breath, feeling disgusted with herself for the way her body betrayed her when she thought of it. It was because she was angry with John-Paul, she told herself.

‘But they went off in tuk-tuks,’ she said, perching on the edge of Leonie’s sun-lounger, the wood hot against the back of her legs.

Leonie wiggled her stubby toes. Her nails were painted a frosted pink and she was wearing a silver ankle bracelet.

‘Oh, relax, won’t you? Enjoy the time with us girls instead of worrying about where your precious John-Paul is.’ She closed her eyes. ‘Anyway, I heard Derreck and John-Paul talking this morning. I sensed they wanted to get the other lads on their own to ask them something.’

‘Ask them what?’ Panic flared in Stace when she remembered Derreck and John-Paul’s conversation behind closed doors last night.

‘I dunno, but I reckoned he was taking them to meet a mate,’ Leonie said, face turned up to the sun.

Why did Stace get the feeling that Derreck was trying to involve them in something … What? Unscrupulous? She shrugged off the thought. She wasn’t in a Robert De Niro film. She was being paranoid.

Stace got up and went back into the kitchen to get herself a drink. She was also starving. She hadn’t eaten properly at the barbecue last night as everything had been a bit overwhelming. She desperately wanted a cup of tea. Not iced, just hot like she had it at home. Was there even a kettle in this place?

‘Are you okay?’ a voice at her shoulder asked. She turned to see Maggie standing behind her, her feet and ankles damp from the pool. There were wet footprints on the marble tiles.

Stace attempted a smile. ‘Of course. We’re in this amazing place. I mean, look at it! It’s like a palace.’

‘But?’

Stace’s gaze flickered to where Leonie and Hannah were chatting quietly to each other, their eyes closed. It was nearly 40 degrees out there. They were going to burn if they weren’t careful. ‘It just makes you realize how bleak things are at home, doesn’t it?’

Maggie’s eyes widened. ‘What do you mean?’

Stace ushered Maggie further into the kitchen so that the others were out of earshot. ‘John-Paul has lost his job,’ she said. ‘I’ve not told anyone else yet.’

‘Fired?’

‘No, no, definitely not. John-Paul is a hard worker. The company aren’t doing that well so …’ She tried to quell the flurry of anxiety that assailed her every time she thought of it. ‘Last in, first out. That kind of thing.’ She lowered her voice. ‘And, also, last night I heard John-Paul and Derreck talking. And it sounded like Derreck wanted John-Paul to do something for him. That John-Paul owed him.’

‘For what?’

‘I have no idea, and John-Paul brushed it off last night when I tried to ask him.’

‘John-Paul’s a good guy. He won’t do anything stupid.’ Maggie’s voice was firm.

Stace opened the fridge and poured herself an orange juice. ‘He seems different since we got here. Secretive. Morose with me. And Derreck is so … so …’

‘Radiant. Magnificent. Sexy. Rich as fuck.’

Despite herself, Stace giggled. ‘I was going to say persuasive,’ she said, thinking of how close she had been to joining him in the swimming-pool last night. ‘But, yes, your words too.’

Maggie linked her arm through hers. ‘Come on, don’t let your anxieties ruin your holiday. We’ll probably never stay anywhere so plush again. Make the most of it.’

Two hours later the boys finally returned. ‘We’ve bought supplies,’ called Derreck, holding up a striped plastic bag as he led the others into the garden. Martin, Trev and Griff all looked in good spirits, particularly Griff, whose face was practically splitting with his huge grin. As soon as Stace saw Derreck she felt a ripple of excitement mixed with nerves. John-Paul was hanging at the back, a distracted air about him.

‘It took you two hours to go to the 7-Eleven?’ Leonie observed from where they were all sitting under a huge awning. It was too hot now to be in the sun. Leonie was looking particularly lobster-like.