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Roxy watched them go. It was strange to meet Demetrios under such circumstances after having heard Shauna talk about him all these years. The two of them seemed so right together. It wasn’t just that they were both so striking, that they made such a handsome couple. It was the way they slotted together, as if Shauna was the light to his shade, or maybe she was the calm and he was the storm.

Despite her encouraging words, she was worried about the missing girl. She hoped Ariana would turn up soon, unharmed and wondering what all the fuss was about; she dreaded to think what it would do to Demetrios if anything had happened to her.

She was about to finish her glass of retsina and head back to the villa when she spotted Grace heading towards the harbour.

‘Grace!’ she called, waving frantically. ‘Over here!’

Grace had her head down and her backpack on her shoulder. She turned to see where the voice had come from. Spotting Roxy, she waved back and came over to see her.

‘Where are you off to?’ Roxy asked, pointing at her backpack.

Grace shrugged in reply, and Roxy noticed that she was dressed for travelling in sturdy shorts and a polo shirt, rather than her usual vest and shorts.

‘I’ve decided to move on,’ the girl told her. ‘There’s a night ferry to Athens. I really should be getting back to England, and now is as good a time as any.’

‘Listen, Demetrios didn’t mean what he said earlier. He’s just out of his mind with worry.’

‘How do you know about that?’

‘I was out here on the terrace, I couldn’t help but overhear. You shouldn’t leave because of that. Seriously, once he has calmed down, he won’t want you to go.’

Grace looked rueful. ‘You may well be right. But I think my time here was coming to an end anyway. Now is as good a time as any to leave.’

Roxy stood and gave the young woman a hug. ‘Grace, honey, you look so sad. Why don’t you stay and have a drink with me? You’ll feel better.’

Grace hugged Roxy back and then pulled away. ‘Honestly, I’m not sad. I’ve had a wonderful time here and met some amazing people, I’ll never forget this place. It was lovely to meet you, and Alex, too … Oh, I almost forgot …’

She took her backpack off and dug around in it for a moment before pulling out a small stuffed toy goat. ‘I bought this for Alex.’

‘Oh, Grace, that’s adorable!’

‘It’s a little friend for Alfie the Alpaca,’ Grace said. ‘Tell Alex he can call her Grace the Goat if he likes.’ She laughed.

‘Nothing wrong with a goat; they’re independent, intelligent and tenacious.’ Roxy laughed, too. ‘Well, goodbye, Grace. If you ever get to London or New York, give me a call, OK? I’d love to see you again. I’m sorry you didn’t get to meet Shauna.’

‘I can’t wait to see her Grace Kelly movie. Tell her I said hello.’

They hugged again and then Grace headed towards the ferry. Roxy looked down at the little toy; Alex would be sad he had missed her, but he’d have this as a consolation. And, who knows, maybe Grace would look them up one day.

‘Calm down, he won’t tell you anything if you threaten to kill him,’ Shauna said.

Demetrios’s face was a picture of fury. They had already driven to see several of Ariana’s friends, all of whom had heard about Ari’s disappearance and had spent the afternoon calling other friends and other acquaintances, trying without success to locate her. But one name that kept cropping up was that of a young man: Georgiou Andino.

They had learned that, over the past few weeks, Ariana had been seen frequently with the boy, that they had been to various parties and gatherings. More ominously, they learned that Georgiou had a drug habit. Though Shauna had suggested that they inform the police and let them question the boy, Demetrios had insisted on driving to the Andino family home. They found him lounging by the pool in a pair of tight swimming trunks, casually smoking a joint.

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. ‘I don’t know anything, old man. Your daughter does what she likes, and so do I.’

‘And one of the things you like is taking drugs,’ Demetrios observed coldly.

‘Ari doesn’t need any help from me in that department. She’s crazy for cocaine – in fact, she showed up at the party last night and offered me a wrap.’

‘You liar!’ Demetrios snarled. Shauna stilled him with her hand.

‘Look, we’re just trying to find her, that’s all. Did she say anything about where she was going when she left the party?’

Georgiou shrugged again. ‘She kept going on about that English chick – how she was going to confront her about something. I don’t know what.’

‘What had she taken?’ Demetrios asked.