A Poisonous Plot (Lily Larkin Mysteries #3)

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

It didn’t take long for Dante to open the door to the restaurant. When he did, it was with his phone held aloft.

“Have you seen this?” he asked Lily as he waved it around. “Didn’t I tell you someone is sabotaging me? I came to see you earlier, but you weren’t at your shop.”

“I’ve been out most of the day,” she told him, homing in on the phone screen, only to find it had gone to the screensaver.

“Good. You’re working on the case then? Do you know who’s poisoning people?”

“No. What’s on the phone?”

“It’s all over social media,” he said. “People wrote posts about the lovely welcome baskets they got.” He clicked on a post and brought up a photo. “And then someone posted that they got ill after they drank tea from their basket. Now more people are ill. It’s just like here in the restaurant.”

“It definitely doesn’t feel like a coincidence.”

“What have you found out so far?” he demanded.

“Not much.” She didn’t like to admit that she’d only just begun to take his complaint seriously. “What I would like to know is who wrote the bad review for the restaurant. The one that mentioned foreigners taking the jobs on the island.”

“I’d like to know too,” Dante said determinedly. “That’s why I hired you.”

“You didn’t actually hire me,” Lily murmured. “Never mind. I think there must be a link between the reviewer and the person who sent the baskets. It seems logical, anyway, since the baskets were only sent to newcomers on the island.”

“How can we find out who it is?” Dante stared at her as though she had all the answers.

“Is it possible you remember who was in the restaurant the evening you got the review? Or around that time. Do you have a reservation list?”

“Yes.” He beckoned her into the kitchen and opened a hefty book on the table. “This is the reservation book, but if someone just came on the evening I won’t have a record of it.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “I already thought about it, but they were all very nice people, so I thought it might have been someone else who’d been in on a different day. Maybe they didn’t write the review straight away.”

“That’s a possibility.” Lily leaned to look at the relevant page in the reservation book, but struggled to read the handwriting.

“This is a teacher at the school,” Dante said, jabbing the book. “Came with her husband. Very nice couple. Can’t be anything to do with them.”

“You can’t rule people out just because they’re nice.”

“Fine,” he said. “Maybe it’s them, but I don’t believe it.” He pressed his finger onto the next name. “Zac Wheeler. He’s a fisherman. Supplies me lovely fresh fish. Great guy.”

“He definitely has the means of sabotaging you, doesn’t he?”

“With his fish? No way. They’re fresh and beautiful, and I already told you he’s a great guy.”

“It would be helpful if you could keep an open mind.”

He shook his head and trailed his finger down a line. “Mr Pengelly. Also, a great guy. Brought his staff in for dinner.”

“Wait, that’s Gordon from the garden centre?”

“Yes. Now don’t start accusing him. He’s been helping me get set up. No way he’d try to harm my business.”

“But I got ill after I drank a smoothie from the garden centre,” Lily said animatedly. “Who was he with when he came for dinner?”

“I told you – his staff.”

“Who is that?”

“Gordon and his daughter. She’s very sweet.”

Lily nodded. “I’ve met Sally.”

“Then there’s the rough-looking guy. A workman or gardener, a bit younger than me. Maybe fifty or so.”

“Denzel?”

“Yes. Denzel! And a tall man who smiles a lot. Very jolly. Like an overgrown little boy.”

“Arthur,” Lily surmised.

“Yes. He’s a funny guy.” Dante scratched his head. “Now don’t tell me you think one of them poisoned my customers.”

She inhaled through her nose, trying not to lose her patience. “Could any of them have come into the kitchen at all?”

“I gave them a tour,” Dante said with a nod. “Not that they’d need to sneak into the kitchen if they want to sabotage me.”

“How do you mean?”

“Gordon supplies me with a lot of fresh food. Vegetables and fruits and some herbs.”

Lily huffed out a humourless laugh. “That’s definitely dodgy. Glynis and I got ill from the smoothie at the garden centre and your customers are ill after eating food supplied by them. Either someone there is up to something, or someone is tampering with their goods.”

“No one there would do such a thing,” Dante insisted.

Lily patted his arm. “Not all villains look like villains.”

“I just don’t believe you,” he said.

“Let me look into it further,” she said. “There’s definitely something fishy going on.”

Dante threw his hands up. “Now you want to blame the fisherman?”

“No.” Lily smothered a smile. “It’s just a saying. I’ll get back to you, okay?”

“Yes. I rely on you, Lily.”

She drew in a deep breath as she strode out of the restaurant. Ambling along Church Street, she mulled everything over.

She tended not to believe in coincidences. Which meant she was keen to do a bit of sniffing around. If she could find a connection to the welcome baskets, she could pin all these incidents of poisoning on the garden centre.

With her investigative juices flowing, she told herself not to be so suspicious. Even if everything was linked, it didn’t mean there was anything sinister at play. Most likely, it was an honest mistake.

The fact that the baskets had been delivered anonymously didn’t necessarily mean anything. Maybe the benefactor merely wanted to do a good deed without any attention.

But there was also the restaurant review complaining about newcomers…

She wondered if she was right to be suspicious or if her recent investigations had left her with a tendency to assume the worst.

With a desire to pay another visit to the garden centre, she checked the opening times on her phone, then frowned when she calculated that she wouldn’t make it across the island in time.

Flynn added a fifth basket to the back of the Land Rover. He’d just closed the door when he caught sight of Lily across the road. He almost called out to her, but stopped himself at the last second.

She’d been walking slowly, but came to a sudden stop as though her batteries had worn out. After a quick shake of her head, she started up again, but only made it a few steps before standing still again. The shifts in her facial expressions gave the impression she was engaged in some deep mental conversation.

In the bright sunshine her chestnut hair looked lighter than usual, and when she hooked it behind her ear, the tightness of her jaw was visible even from the other side of the road. The tension in her features contrasted with her casual attire of low hung jeans and tight T-shirt with a logo so faded it was no longer recognisable.

He should really call out and make his presence known, but her lack of awareness was strangely captivating.

She set off again, then paused and pulled her phone from her pocket. Her eyebrows pulled together as she glared at whatever had offended her on the screen.

Finally, Flynn forced himself into action and jogged across the narrow street, pressing the fob to lock the Land Rover as he went.

Even when he sidled up beside her, she didn’t register him.

“Do you ever think about looking where you’re going?”

At his words, her face whipped up to meet his gaze, then she glanced all around as though reacquainting herself with her surroundings.

“Where did you come from?” she asked.

“I just collected a basket. You were miles away.”

She stared up at him. “You didn’t get a basket,” she stated firmly.

“Nope.”

“Why not?” she demanded.

He lifted an eyebrow. “Is that rhetorical, or are you expecting me to know why I was left out?”

“I’d like to know.” She pressed her lips together, seeming deep in thought again. “If someone was delivering baskets to newcomers to the island, why would they skip you?”

“Maybe I’ve offended them?” he suggested.

“That’s a fair possibility,” she agreed, a little too fervently for his liking. “But what if it’s not you they have an issue with, but your profession.”

“You think someone didn’t give me a basket because they don’t like the police?”

She shook her head. “I think they drew the line at poisoning a police officer. If you were committing a crime, maybe you wouldn’t want to commit a crime against a police officer, right?”

“Wait…” He pursed his lips. “What did I miss? Why are you assuming the poisonings were intentional?”

“Several reasons, but I’m not sure of anything yet. I need to look into it further.”

“I need to get the basket from you and then head back to the station.”

He decided it was as easy to walk to the shop with her than take the car. On the way, she told him about her visit to Dante and the restaurant’s connection to the garden centre.

“You could be on to something,” he agreed when they arrived at the shop and she finally stopped talking.

“Or I could be making connections which aren’t really there…”

“They’re definitely there. It’s worth looking into.” They stepped inside and went to the back of the shop. “I could mention it to the sergeant and see what he thinks.”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t mention the garden centre just yet. Tell him about the restaurant review if you want.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked as he retrieved the basket from the counter in the back room.

“I’m going to pay a visit to the garden centre tomorrow and see if I can find a link between that place and the welcome baskets.”

Of course she was.

Smiling, he wished her luck and made her promise to keep him updated.

Thanks to her information, his afternoon collecting food baskets felt a lot more worthwhile now. As much as she doubted herself, he was sure she was onto something. With any luck the sergeant would agree.