A Poisonous Plot (Lily Larkin Mysteries #3)

Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Flynn slept for longer than he’d intended. His pounding head protested when he forced himself up in the middle of the afternoon. As he struggled to get dressed, his limbs felt as though they’d been filled with lead. Perching on the bed to catch his breath, he had the overwhelming urge to lie down again. If he did, he’d be asleep within moments and he couldn’t imagine he’d wake again until the following morning. Which meant he absolutely couldn’t lie down.

The door handle clicked and he snapped his gaze to the door. If it was Lily and she’d postponed the opening, he was going to be furious. Or at least mildly annoyed since he wasn’t sure he had the energy for more than that.

Sergeant Proctor looked slightly puzzled. “They said you weren’t up and about yet. How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better, but I’ll survive.”

“Glad to hear it. You gave us a bit of a scare.”

“I’m fine,” he said while his eyelids felt as though someone had tied weights to them.

“The doctor says you’ll need a week off work.”

“I’ll probably only need a couple of days.”

The sergeant stood up straighter. “You’ll take a week, and longer if you need it. No arguing.”

Flynn didn’t have it in him to argue – he barely managed a shrug. He needed to get up, but gravity seemed to be stronger than usual.

Sergeant Proctor cleared his throat. “I thought I should let you know I called your dad last night. Wanted to keep him abreast of the situation.”

“Right,” Flynn said. “Thanks.” If he had any energy he might be put out that he hadn’t had so much as a message from his dad. And he obviously hadn’t bothered to let his mum know he was in hospital or his phone wouldn’t have stopped.

“I don’t know what happened to get you transferred over here,” the sergeant said, making Flynn’s brow wrinkle at the change of subject.

“Really?” Maybe his brain wasn’t functioning properly because he’d have sworn the sergeant knew all about it.

“I heard a version of events,” he said, walking over to the window. “I realise now it might not have been the whole story.”

Flynn managed a quiet, humourless laugh. “Right. Okay.”

“I’d be interested to hear your side of things, if you want to tell it.”

He shook his head. “I’ve been here for almost three months, and now you’re asking me what happened?”

“When I spoke to your dad last night––”

Flynn cut him off. “You spoke to my dad and realised that a guy who doesn’t care that his son is lying in a hospital bed might not be the great guy that everyone thinks he is.” He sucked in a breath. “That’s about the size of it, isn’t it?”

The sergeant only looked at him sympathetically.

“My dad might not be drowning in paternal affection, but he’s also not a liar. Whatever he told you about me was probably the truth.”

“I’m not entirely convinced about that.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Flynn snapped.

“No,” Sergeant Proctor replied levelly. “It doesn’t. I enjoy working with you. You’re good at your job and you’re a decent man. That’s what matters.”

Shocked, Flynn just stared at the sergeant as the words sunk in. “You may be overestimating me,” he finally managed through the lump in his throat.

The sergeant chuckled. “I didn’t say you don’t have your flaws. I can list them, if you want?”

“As lovely as that sounds, I’m just on my way out of here.”

“I thought you had to stay another night.”

Flynn pushed up from the bed and picked up his bag. “The doctor said I’m fine. I’ll just be lethargic for a day or two.” Which felt like the understatement of the century, but he really didn’t see the need to stay in the hospital another night.

In the hallway, he almost collided with a nurse coming his way.

“You’re not supposed to leave today,” she said. “Where are you going?”

“I’m fine to leave,” he murmured, wishing people would stop making him waste his energy on speaking.

“The doctor won’t sign you out until tomorrow morning at the earliest.” She looked frantically at the sergeant, who clapped a hand on Flynn’s shoulder and almost made him crumple under the weight.

“Stay here another night,” he said. “What’s the rush to get home?”

“I’m not going home,” he said through gritted teeth. “Lily’s opening the ice cream shop today and I promised I’d be there.”

“Given the circumstances, I’m sure she’ll understand you not being there.”

“I know that,” he said as he set off along the brightly lit hallway.

He caught the sergeant exchanging words with the nurse, but he didn’t care what they said, he was leaving and that was that.

When the sergeant plucked Flynn’s bag from his hand, a ripple of irritation expanded his chest. “I really don’t have the energy to argue with you, but I am leaving.”

“I can see that.” The sergeant’s eyebrows rose in amusement. “If you can manage to hold a pen, you need to sign a document to say you’re leaving against medical advice. And then you need to let me drive you to Lily’s place. Those are my terms. You can take them or leave them.”

“Okay,” he agreed, relieved at the thought of being driven over there. It wasn’t far, but he wasn’t sure he’d have made it on foot.

As it was, even getting himself into the Land Rover felt like a mammoth task.

“Need a leg up?” the sergeant asked, amused as he held the door for him.

Ignoring the sarge’s newfound sense of humour, Flynn hauled himself into the car.

“Are you sure you don’t just want to go home?” the sergeant asked when he put the car into gear.

“No.” He leaned his head back and battled against sleep. “I promised Lily I’d be there.”

“I guess I could eat an ice cream.”

“Are you going to stay and babysit me?”

“I don’t know about that, but I don’t want to miss out on watching you get shouted out when Lily realises you left the hospital against medical advice.”

Flynn smiled at that.

“You two have got pretty close, haven’t you?”

“My partner in solving crime,” he said, as his eyelids closed.

A couple of minutes later, the car stopped and he blinked his eyes open.

“You’re not really supposed to drive on the promenade,” he teased.

“I didn’t think you’d make it unless I parked right outside the door. I’m still not convinced you’ll make it that far.”

“I’m all right,” he insisted and reached for the handle.

“Hang on,” Sergeant Proctor said, making him pause. “There’s something I wanted to mention… I know you’re only supposed to be here for a limited time, but if you wanted to stay longer, I’d be happy to have you.”

That woke Flynn up, though he wasn’t sure how to react. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you liked me very much.”

“I don’t always like the way you go about things,” he said. “And I think we see things differently sometimes. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I meant what I said before – you’re a good officer.”

“Thanks,” Flynn said, slightly uncomfortable with his superior being so sentimental. “I didn’t think there was a position for another officer here. I was an add-on, wasn’t I?”

“Yes. But there’s no harm in asking. If you’re interested in staying longer?”

Flynn pressed a hand against his forehead. “I miss London,” he said automatically. He missed being busy in his job and the camaraderie with his colleagues. He missed the adrenaline rush of going from one call to another with barely any time to process the situations he was dealing with.

At the same time, he no longer hated being on the Scillies. Not like when he’d first arrived. His eyes flicked to the ice cream shop and the bustle inside.

He didn’t hate it at all.

“It’s not as though I need an answer now,” the sergeant said. “Just let me know if you’d like me to look into it.”

“Thanks, Sarge,” he said and pulled on the door handle.