Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
When the doorbell chimed early the next morning, Lily all but jumped off the couch. After her phone call with Flynn yesterday, she was hoping everything was back to normal between them. He was working today, so she wasn’t sure if he would call in.
Peeking from the living room window to see if it was him, she was surprised by Mirren Treneary looking up. After raising a hand to indicate she was coming down, she slipped her trainers on and a thick cardigan.
“Sorry to call in so early,” Mirren said when Lily opened the door. She didn’t wait for an invitation before striding inside. “I needed to talk to you, and I didn’t want to wait.” When she reached the counter, she turned and scanned the shop before her eyes settled on Lily. “It’s about Denzel Harris,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her.
“Okay.” Lily locked the front door and moved towards Mirren. “What about him?”
“He says you’ve been harassing him about this whole poison thing.”
Lily’s eyebrows shot up. “Harassing is a strong word. I asked him a few questions, that’s all.”
Mirren opened her mouth, then closed it again and inhaled deeply through her nose. “He’s got nothing to do with the poisonings. You don’t need to question him.”
“He was very cagey when I asked him where he was on Friday night,” Lily said slowly, unnerved by how jumpy Mirren seemed.
“That doesn’t mean anything. Half the time I can’t remember what I did the previous day, never mind a week ago.”
“It wasn’t just that he couldn’t remember where he was,” Lily said. “I’m fairly sure he was outright lying. And when I pulled him up on it, he got a little aggressive…”
“Aggressive in what way?”
Lily thought back on her confrontation with him. “Slamming the door and raising his voice, and just his overall demeanour.”
“He’s not an aggressive person,” Mirren said, squeezing the bridge of her nose. “He must have been frustrated with your questions. I can promise you he didn’t do anything.”
“You can’t really know that,” Lily argued. “You’ve just said he’s not an aggressive person, but that’s not what I saw. So maybe you don’t know him as well as you think you do.”
Mirren glared at her. “I’ve known Denzel for over thirty years. I can tell you for a fact he’s got nothing to do with this.”
Lily gripped the back of the chair closest to her. “I’m sorry, but in my experience, you can never truly know someone. You think you know someone inside out, but they can always surprise you.”
Immediately, Mirren’s features softened. The tilt of her head expressed so much pity that Lily took a step back, as though she could avoid it.
“I’m sorry that’s been your experience,” Mirren said sadly. “But I’ve lived a lot longer than you and I promise it’s not true. Find the right people and you can absolutely know them as well as you know yourself.”
Lily shifted her weight, hating the turn of the conversation and the lump which had wedged itself in her throat. “I just don’t see why Denzel was so cagey about where he was on Friday.”
“Did it ever occur to you that he remembers exactly where he was, but he doesn’t want to share that information with you? And not because he was doing something criminal.”
“I’m not saying that’s not a possibility, but…”
“Lily!” Mirren snapped, cutting her off. “He was with me, okay? He had dinner at my place. That’s how I know he wasn’t out delivering poisoned gifts on people’s doorsteps.”
“We don’t know exactly what time the gifts were delivered, but it could have been late.”
“It wasn’t Denzel,” Mirren said confidently.
Lily frowned, thinking back on how annoyed Denzel had been about her questions. “Why didn’t he tell me he was at your place?”
Mirren let out a frustrated sigh. “For someone who fancies themselves as an investigator, you can be slow to catch on sometimes.”
Lily’s brain whirred for a moment. Then her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, then paused and considered her words. “How late did he stay at your place?” she asked carefully.
“All night,” Mirren said.
Lily felt her eyebrows rise. “Until the morning?”
“Yes. Are you getting the picture now?”
“I think so.” She hesitated as the information sunk in. “And you’re not just saying this to give him an alibi?”
“No!” Mirren laughed. “My kids don’t know that he sometimes stays over. I don’t want them to know yet. So if Denzel was snappy with you, it was because he was worried about covering for me, not for himself. He’d actually like my family to know about us.”
Again, Lily pondered the information. “I guess he’s pretty attractive for an older guy.”
Mirren snorted. “Funny, because in my eyes, he’s a younger guy.”
“How old––” Lily stopped herself, not sure she knew Mirren well enough to delve into her private life.
“He’s ten years younger than me,” Mirren said, smiling lightly. “Could you please cross him off your list of suspects now?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “Also, I know you spend time with Kit and Seren…”
“I won’t say anything.” She shook her head. “You realise your kids aren’t actually kids any more? They’re adults.”
“I know that.” She shifted the strap of her handbag on her shoulder. “They’re grown men. But they’re also just boys who miss their dad.”
Lily nodded slowly. “They also love their mum, and from what I know of them, I think they’d just want you to be happy.”
“You’re right,” she said. “I do plan on telling them. I just wanted to figure out how I felt myself first.”
“You don’t have to worry about me saying anything.”
“I appreciate that. And I’m sorry that you got a poor impression of Denzel. He’s a good man, really.”
Lily nodded again and walked Mirren to the door.