Excerpt of "Deadly Secrets" - Chapter Four, Part Two

Sophie stared at her, puzzled, but she kept quiet.
Helena managed to have a friendly conversation with Maria, and only after she had purchased the sailing boat and walked out of the shop, she realized how tense she had been for the last few minutes.
“Helena, what’s wrong?” Sophie asked, and Helena could hear the concern in her voice.
"Nothing, I’m fine,” Helena reassured her. She could tell Sophie didn’t believe her, even though she didn’t insist.
They walked for a few more minutes on the waterfront, but since they had both lost their enthusiasm, they decided to head back home.
“We didn’t even have that ice-cream we were talking about all day,” Helena said as soon as they walked inside the house, feeling kind of guilty for ruining her aunt’s day like this. She had decided to ignore the old lady’s warnings, and she was mad at herself for paying attention to nonsense like this.
“It’s okay,” Sophie said. “We can have our ice-cream on the veranda. The view from up here is even better.” Leaving the bags she was carrying on the steps, she walked to the kitchen.
Helenaleft her bags next to Sophie’s and walked out on the veranda.She gazed at the deep blue sea, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
“That sounded like something very serious is puzzling your mind,” Dimitris said, and Helena looked at him, surprised. He was sitting on a lounge chair on the far side of the veranda.
“Hello, Dimitris,” she said simply.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken at all.
“No,” Helena said and turned her back to him, walking towards the railings. She grabbed hold of the handrail and kept her eyes fixed on the water. She stood there for several minutes, when she sensedhim standing right behind her.
“Sometimes, it helps to talk about things,” he said.
“Dimitris, it’s nothing,” she insisted. But seeing that she wasn’t going to get away with this so easily, she told him in a few words whathad happened. She tried to make it sound funny, but Dimitris didn’t seem amused at all. On the contrary, he was staring at her very seriously.
“It’s probably nothing,” he finally said. “But it doesn’t hurt to be careful,” he added, and Helena was shocked to hear those words coming from him. She never expected a strong man like him to believe in fortunetellers and things like that. But then again, what did she knowabout him?
“I’m going to take the stuff I bought upstairs,” Helena said and hastily walked back inside the house.
Dimitris didn’t say a word and kept on standing by the railings, where she was a minute ago, staring out towards the sea. Helena tookthe bags upstairs and threw them on her bed. She was going to empty them later. Right now, the only thing she wanted was to take a hot bath and try to unwind.
She walked over to her bathroom and filled up her tub. She took off her clothes and sunk into it. Little by little, she felt the tension leavingher body, and when she was finally relaxed, she got out and reached for her towel.
She had put on a robe and was blow-drying her hair, when she heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” she said, expecting to see Sophie or Martha—the sweet, old housekeeper. However, it was Dimitris who came in.
“Sorry to bother you,” he said, and Helena heard the uncertainty in his voice.
She stared at him, without saying a word, as he walked towards the open French doors, which led to the balcony. She followed him outside and waited for him to talk when he was ready. She could tell there was something bothering him.
“Helena, listen…” he said after a while. “It might seem nonsense to you, but we Greeks believe in fate and destiny. I’ve heard and seenthings you would never believe,” he continued.Helena just stood there silently. She could tell there was more to it.
“I know Asimina—the old lady who talked to you. The whole island knows her. A lot of people have gone to her for answers, and even sometimes for help. Even politicians from Athens come visiting her sometimes. Believe me, she’s no fake,” he said, probably seeing the disbelief in her eyes.
“What are you saying, Dimitris?” she asked, terrified. “You believe my life is in danger?”
“Of course not,” he said uncomfortably and coughed to clear his throat. “All I’m saying is that it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
“I’m not going to lock myself up in the house just because some crazy old lady told me that I’m going to have an accident,” Helena said stubbornly.
“Helena, listen,” he said. “Asimina foretold my father’s death, and I’ve heard from my mother she had even sent word to your father not to go out on the boat the night he disappeared…”


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