Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
The rush of adrenaline subsided, turning Lily’s insides jittery as she walked back to Flynn’s room. He stirred when she walked in and she darted to the bedside, but he only groaned before his facial muscles slackened and he slipped back into sleep.
She pulled up the chair and kept hold of his hand while she waited for him to properly wake up.
The nurse came to check on him a couple of times over the next hour or so. When the door opened a third time, Lily looked up to find Sergeant Proctor creeping in.
“Hi,” he whispered. “Has he woken up yet?”
“Not properly.” She tilted her head and caught the sympathetic look the sergeant gave her.
“Here’s what I can’t figure out,” he said quietly. “Did you really suspect Sally had been poisoning people?”
She gave a small shake of her head. “No. I was fairly sure it was Gordon. I knew he was in the hospital and I thought the easiest way to get him to admit to everything would be to accuse Sally.”
“Clever.” He rested a hand on the edge of the bed, beside Flynn’s leg. “Unconventional, but clever.”
“I’m just happy we can put a stop to all of this. He won’t get away with it, will he?”
“No. I’ve spoken to colleagues on the mainland who agree that he’s a danger to the community. PC Hill will take him over on the ferry tomorrow and he’ll be held on remand until he goes to court for sentencing. He’s looking at a prison sentence.”
“Good,” Lily said, then looked at him questioningly. “When did Gordon have time to put the stuff in Arthur’s greenhouse?”
“Right before he poisoned himself with that plant. He knew the investigation would heat up and decided he’d point us in Arthur’s direction.”
“It didn’t make sense,” Lily said. “When I found him in his office, it was as though the plant had cut him and he’d collapsed immediately. With Flynn, it wasn’t instant. There was time for him to deal with the cut before he passed out. Gordon would have been able to try and stop the bleeding or call for help. The back of his arm was also an odd place for it to have cut him if it was an accident.”
“That’s what made you think it was him?”
“It didn’t add up.” She let her head sink to her arms, resting on the bed.
“You look exhausted,” the sergeant said. “You should go home. PC Grainger is in good hands here.”
“I’ll just hang around a little longer. I want to be here when he wakes up.”
The sergeant nodded. “I need you to make a statement, filling in the blanks about all of this.”
“I will,” she said wearily. “It doesn’t need to be today though, does it?”
“No. Not today.” The sergeant straightened up. “I left a message for Flynn’s dad but I haven’t heard from him. I might go and try him again.”
“Okay.” Lily couldn’t even be bothered to lift her head.
“Go home,” the sergeant said. “You need to rest. Aren’t you opening your shop tomorrow?”
“Maybe.” She couldn’t think about that. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to face it, and would likely postpone. “I’ll go home soon,” she whispered, then said goodbye as the sergeant left.
She’d just closed her eyes when she felt Flynn’s fingers curl around hers. In an instant she was alert again and searching his peaceful features.
“Lily,” he murmured without opening his eyes.
“I’m here.” She put a hand on his chest.
“Arthur,” he mumbled, lips barely moving.
“It’s fine. Everything is fine.”
“You’re okay?”
“Yes. You’re in the hospital, but you’re going to be all right. I’ll explain everything when you’re feeling better.”
“Good.” His features relaxed as he slipped back into sleep.
Lily pressed the call button and updated the nurse when she arrived. The doctor came to check on him too and he woke again, just enough to mutter that he felt okay, but was tired.
Doctor Redwood insisted that he’d likely sleep all night and kindly told Lily to go home.
“I’ll just stay a little longer.”
She’d stay for another half an hour, she told herself, attempting to get comfy on the orange chair. After that, she’d go home and get some sleep.
Flynn felt as though he was under water, fighting to reach the surface. Some invisible pressure was pushing him down and his thoughts were trapped in a thick fog. Finally, his eyelids obeyed him and he blinked at the stark room.
Where the heck was he?
His hand throbbed and the dull pain seemed to clear his thoughts.
He’d cut it in Arthur’s greenhouse and the poison had made him light-headed. The dizziness hadn’t bothered him as much as the thought that he’d been about to pass out and leave Lily to deal with a deranged lunatic who’d been poisoning people.
Lily had been in danger and he’d been helpless to do anything. Presumably she’d figured it out, since he was reasonably certain he was in hospital. His instincts told him she was fine.
Again, the throbbing in his hand drew his attention. He lifted it to find it wrapped in a bright white bandage. Pressure against his thigh told him he must have done something to his leg too, though he had no recollection of that.
“Oh,” he muttered, as he looked down at what had felt like a boulder wedged against his leg. If it hadn’t required so much effort, he’d have smiled at the sight of Lily, fast asleep in a chair with her arms and head slumped onto the side of the bed and using his leg as a pillow.
She couldn’t possibly be comfy, but he couldn’t bring himself to wake her. Ignoring the soreness in his palm, he lay his bandaged hand softly over the back of her head and closed his eyes again as he tangled his fingers in her hair.
He slipped in and out of sleep, comforted by Lily’s presence. Only when the pins and needles spread to his toes, did he give her a gentle nudge.
“I might lose a leg if you don’t stop cutting off my circulation soon,” he said, his voice hoarse.
She wiped at the side of her mouth as she woke.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, sitting up.
He wriggled his toes and moved his foot from side to side.
Her hair was stuck to one side of her face and creases marked her cheek. She stood and arched her back while gently moving her head from side to side.
“It wasn’t comfy for me either,” she said through a yawn. Her eyes widened as though only just registering where they were. “How are you?” she asked, peering at him. “You look better. Do you feel better?”
“I feel terrible,” he said groggily. “Like I have the mother of all hangovers.”
Lily slumped back into the chair. “You scared me,” she said softly.
He reached for her and when she took his hand it felt like the most natural thing in the world. He had no memory of what had happened since he passed out in that greenhouse, but he’d swear that Lily had been there the entire time, holding his hand.
“I really didn’t think it was Arthur,” he said and felt a pang of sadness that he’d been wrong about him.
“It wasn’t,” Lily said.
“What?” A wave of exhaustion hit him and it was a battle to keep his eyelids open.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked. “Sleep if you need to. I can fill you in later.”
“Carry on,” he said, but closed his eyes. “I want to hear about it.” He brushed his thumb softly across Lily’s palm. “Unless you want to go home and sleep?”
“I can tell you before I go,” she said.
He nodded. “You may need to tell me again when I’m more alert. And if I fall asleep while you’re telling me, don’t take it personally. It’s not a reflection of your storytelling.”
“I won’t take it personally,” she agreed. “And I’m probably going to tell this story so many times in the next weeks that you’ll get sick of hearing it.”
He smiled and sank back into his pillows. “What happened after I passed out? I remember hearing Arthur in the garden and you using my radio. After that it’s a blank.”
“I was totally freaking out,” she told him, then launched into a full account of everything he’d missed.
Since he couldn’t keep his eyes open, or contribute to the conversation, he continued moving his thumb against her hand so she at least knew he was listening.
He struggled to keep up with the chain of events, but it wasn’t only the overwhelming tiredness that made it difficult to concentrate on the words. The softness of her skin under his thumb took most of his attention.
“I should probably go and let you rest,” she said eventually. Her voice was so quiet that it was clear she didn’t know if he was still awake.
He was fairly sure he’d nodded off again, but woke up at the mention of her leaving. Forcing his eyes open, he held her gaze. “It’s the opening of the shop today, isn’t it?” He thought that was right, unless he’d slept for longer than he thought.
She groaned. “I’m going to postpone it.”
“No.” He shuffled to get more upright and hopefully force some alertness to his brain. “You have to do it. You’ve already put it off for long enough.”
“I don’t think another week will make any difference.”
“What time is it?”
“Seven a.m.”
Flynn looked around. “Where are my clothes and all my stuff?”
“In the cupboard, I think.” She untangled her fingers from his and walked over there. “Your uniform is in here.”
He asked her to find his phone from the pocket.
“Sergeant Proctor called your dad yesterday to let him know you were in the hospital.”
“Great,” Flynn said unenthusiastically. To be fair, he supposed it would seem like the appropriate thing to do. How was the sergeant to know that his dad was about the last person he’d want informed in an emergency?
“Everything all right?” Lily asked after passing him his phone.
“Yeah.” He tapped on the phone and searched his calls and messages. Finally, he admitted to himself that his dad hadn’t been in touch. He was lying in a hospital bed and he didn’t even care enough to send a message.
He set his phone down on the bed and focused on Lily. “What time is the opening for the shop?”
“It’s supposed to be two o’clock but I really don’t think it’s going to happen today.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve barely slept. That’s one reason. I’m also not prepared.”
“Yes, you are. The ice cream is ready to go. What more do you need?”
“A bit of energy and some positivity would probably be a good thing,” she said wearily.
“Go home and sleep for a few hours. You’ll be fine.”
She shook her head. “I’m not in the mood for any kind of celebration. It wouldn’t feel right…”
“Because of Gordon? It can be a double celebration. You figured out another mystery. That’s something to celebrate.”
“I meant it wouldn’t feel right without you there. When I thought about opening the shop, I imagined you there. Just for moral support or whatever, but I don’t want to throw a party when you’re in hospital.”
“I’ll be there,” he said confused. “I’ll sleep for a little longer, then I’ll be fine.”
“The doctor said you’ll need to stay for forty-eight hours at least.”
“No way. That’s not happening.”
She shifted closer to the bed. “No offence, but you look terrible.”
“I’m tired, that’s all. Nothing a few hours’ kip won’t fix.” He ignored the heaviness which had settled through his entire body and made him feel as though he were pinned to the bed. “The hospital gown makes me look worse than I am. It’s not my style.” He tilted his head. “Could you do me a favour and nip back to my place and grab me some clothes before you go home?”
“I can do that,” she said. “But you can’t leave here until tomorrow.”
“I’m not missing the opening of the shop.”
“In that case, I’m definitely not opening today. I’ll postpone until next weekend.”
“I want you to do it,” he said. “And I definitely don’t want to be the reason you put it off.”
She took a breath, drawing all the patience she could muster. “Fine. I’ll open the shop today. But you have to promise you’ll stay here and rest.”
He hesitated before he reluctantly agreed. “Ted will help you. And Seren and Kit too. And the rest of the Trenearys, no doubt.”
Lily sucked in a dramatic breath.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and winced at the screen. “Yep, I have a load of messages and missed calls from Seren. And a couple of messages from Kit and Ted.” Her shoulders slumped. “Dante has been trying to call me too. He’ll be after an update. I don’t think I can deal with him.”
“Just ignore him for now. You have other stuff to deal with. And apparently lots of support.” He pointed at the phone.
She tapped on the screen. “Seren will have been worried when I didn’t reply. I’ll just message and let her know I’m fine and will call her in a bit.”
“And tell her you need her help with the shop later,” Flynn added, though she didn’t seem to register him. “I’ll bet she already knows everything that happened anyway. You know what it’s like here… news spreads fast.”
“True.” She pocketed her phone and stepped closer to him.
“You are going to open the shop today?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said reluctantly. “I just need some sleep and then I’ll feel better about the whole thing.” She rested a hand on his arm. “You really do look shocking.”
He tried to smile, but didn’t have the energy. “I’m okay,” he said, then grabbed at her hand when she went to move away. “Sorry,” he said weakly.
“What for?”
“Passing out on you and leaving you to deal with everything.” He felt slightly sick when he thought back to the moment he realised he was going to pass out and leave her vulnerable.
“It’s not as though you did it on purpose.” Again, she went to move away and he tightened his grip to stop her.
“Thanks for staying with me,” he said, eyes locked with hers.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “You’d do the same for me. Now let me find your keys. Apparently, I’m off to root around in your underwear drawer.”
“You know I’d return that favour anytime,” he said cheekily.
She gave his leg a gentle shove. “Shut up and go to sleep.”
He was fairly sure he didn’t have much choice in that. He’d never felt exhaustion like it, but he managed to keep his eyes open to watch Lily rummage through his pockets for his keys.
“When I come back, I’ll leave your stuff at the front desk so I don’t disturb you,” she told him when she found them.
“Okay.”
“Sleep well.”
“Lily?” he muttered when she was almost at the door. “If you’re not too knackered after the opening, you could come back and tell me how it went.” When she didn’t respond immediately, he felt like the most demanding person in the world. She hadn’t left his bedside all night and now he was asking her to come back again at the end of her busy day. “Or tomorrow,” he added quickly. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. You’ll be too tired to come back later.”
“I’ll come back,” she said, quietly but firmly. “See you tonight.”