A Poisonous Plot (Lily Larkin Mysteries #3)

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

During a five-mile run with Flynn the following morning, Lily went over everything she knew about the poisonings. He was a good sounding board, but after chewing it all over, she still felt as though she’d hit a wall. The garden centre was at the heart of it all. That much she was certain of.

After a shower and a late breakfast, she answered the phone to Dante and spent fifteen minutes listening to him talk her ear off about his frustrations about the restaurant’s lack of business. She attempted to reassure him that she was looking into things and would let him know when she had something concrete to tell him. When she finally managed to get him off the phone, she fired off a message to Maria, checking how she was.

It took half an hour for a reply to come. She said she was feeling better physically but was worried about Glynis. Lily’s heart rate increased as her eyes flicked over the message which went on to say that Glynis had been airlifted to the hospital on the mainland earlier that morning.

Immediately, she hit dial on Maria’s number.

“Is she okay?” Lily demanded as soon as she heard Maria’s voice.

“The doctor insisted it’s a precaution. She isn’t happy with Glynis’s progress and wanted her to have access to more specialist care if she needs it.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t really know how bad it is since I wasn’t able to see her. I feel as though I’ve abandoned her.”

“You can’t help being ill.” Lily swallowed hard, searching for something positive to say. “Glynis will probably see it as an adventure – a helicopter ride and a bunch of medical professionals to charm. She’ll come back full of stories.”

“Thanks,” Maria said, apparently spotting Lily’s attempt to cheer her up.

“I need to find out who did this,” Lily said with a sudden feeling of urgency and a pang of guilt over sharing the smoothie with Glynis. “I’m going to look into this further,” she said. “I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

“Good luck,” Maria said quietly.

Tucking her phone away, Lily made a dash for the door. She wanted to speak to Arthur Penrose again, but she’d rather not do it at the garden centre this time, which meant she needed to track down his address. If Seren wasn’t working at the pub, Noah Treneary would probably be there. He worked there too and was usually as good a source of information as Seren.

She didn’t even make it as far as the pub before bumping into a member of the Treneary family. Kit was wandering along the promenade when she stepped outside – no doubt heading out to take a tour group around the island on his electric train.

“Hey!” he called, slowing as he approached her. “How are the preparations coming for the grand opening?”

“Oh.” She glanced at the shop over her shoulder. That was probably what she should focus on. Still, there was time for that later. “It’s all fine,” she said limply.

“Are you okay?” Kit asked, tilting his head.

“Yes. I just heard that Glynis has been taken to hospital on the mainland and my head is a bit all over the place.”

“Seren told me she was ill.” His eyes were full of concern. “She also mentioned that you think someone is deliberately poisoning people.”

She nodded sadly. “Do you know Arthur Penrose?”

“Yeah. Everyone around here knows Arthur.”

“He recently posted on his blog about poisonous plants that are commonly found in gardens.”

“Seren mentioned that too. It’s quite the coincidence, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Lily straightened her spine, happy that she wasn’t the only one to think so. “Do you think he could have done it? He lives alone, and he seems a little odd…”

“No.” Kit cut her off. “No chance. And he’s not odd. He’s a little different, that’s all.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound harsh.” She was surprised by Kit’s defensiveness. “You did just say it’s a weird coincidence that he wrote a blog and then people started getting poisoned.”

“Yes, but I was thinking that someone read his blog and got ideas.”

“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” Except she had a funny feeling about Arthur. “Do you know where he lives?”

“Yes,” Kit said warily.

“I only want to ask him a few questions,” Lily insisted. “See if he can help me out.”

He hesitated for a moment. “Give me your phone.” Lily opened the map app and passed it over. “Don’t harass him,” Kit warned as he handed the phone back with a pin dropped on the map. “If I hear you’ve upset him, we’ll have a problem. Okay?”

A smile automatically lifted Lily’s lips but fell away when she realised Kit wasn’t joking.

“I won’t upset him,” she promised. “I’ll just nip over and see if he can help me figure out who’s been poisoning people.”

“He’ll be at the garden centre this morning,” Kit said, checking his watch. “And this afternoon he’ll be going over to Tresco. He helps in the gardens over there twice a week.” He smiled gently. “Arthur is a man of routine. He only ever changes his plans if the weather is bad.”

“The weather?” Lily asked.

“If the weather is bad, he won’t get the boat to Tresco. That’s the only thing that interferes with his routines.” Kit backed away. “I have to get to the train.” He raised a hand to wave before continuing on his way.

Alone, Lily stared at her phone screen. Apparently, if she wanted to catch Arthur at home, she’d need to wait until the evening.

But maybe he didn’t need to be at home for her to do more investigating.

As she set off along the promenade, she called Flynn. He answered almost immediately.

“Missing me already?” he asked.

“Something like that,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Have you got any plans for this afternoon?”

“Nothing exciting. What are you up to?”

“I’m on a little reconnaissance mission and thought you might like to join me.”

“Does this involve any illegal activity?”

“Possibly a bit of trespassing, but only in someone’s garden. You can sit that bit out if it’s a problem for you.”

“Who are you spying on?”

“I’ll be at your place in a few minutes. Get your shoes on and come down. I’ll tell you on the way.”