Chapter 2
Chapter Two
The evening was pleasantly sedate. After dinner at the King’s Arms, they had a couple of drinks and wandered back to Flynn’s place to curl up on the couch.
The following morning felt perfectly indulgent as they lazed in bed.
While Flynn slept deeply, Lily dozed – happy to be lazy while also savouring the time together.
Becoming gradually more awake, she propped herself against the headboard and let her gaze linger over Flynn’s toned shoulders and torso.
She pushed away thoughts of leaving him in a few days and tried to focus on the present moment. Her phone lit up beside the bed, and she clicked into the message from Maria.
First customers of the day! she wrote along with a photo of Seren and Kit with ice creams.
Be careful of those two, Lily typed, smiling. Pair of troublemakers!
Setting the phone aside, she reflected on how comfortable her relationship with Maria had become. Exchanging messages was an almost daily occurrence.
Flynn shifted, breaking her trance.
“Morning,” she said, while he gazed up at her.
“You were looking very serious.”
She tried to smile, but her thoughts were too heavy. “I think a lot about how different my life would have been if my uncle had raised me on St Mary’s instead of our vagrant life.”
Flynn propped himself on his elbow, waiting for her to continue.
“Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if he’d done things differently, but I never really consider what my life would have been if my parents hadn’t died.
” A lump swelled in her throat. “It’s not something I ever remember thinking about.
I guess because I always felt safe with Uncle Derek.
There were things I wished were different about my life, but it was never that I wanted to be raised by someone else. ”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Flynn muttered.
“Yes, but it also feels disrespectful to my parents.” She tilted her head.
“Not that it matters. It’s not as though wishing would change anything, anyway.
But if I thought someone had killed my uncle, I don’t think I’d sleep or eat or do anything else until I’d tracked them down.
Maybe I should have that urgency for finding out what happened to my parents. ”
“It’s not as though you haven’t thought about it,” Flynn said. “You’ve looked into it and found the property developers.”
“Yeah, but I haven’t done anything with that information.”
“Not yet. You’ve also had a lot going on recently.”
She shrugged. Maybe her mind had been occupied – what with the sergeant’s death and Flynn leaving, and Jessica going away, too. It was all excuses, though.
“I want to go and see what else I can find.”
“Okay. We can drive over there today if you want.”
Lily trailed her fingers over Flynn’s hair. “Sorry,” she whispered. “That was quite an intense conversation for you to wake up to.”
“It’s fine. And I think it’s a good idea to sniff around a bit. It’s clearly been playing on your mind.”
She shuffled down the bed and cuddled up to him. “Thank you.”
Two hours later Flynn pulled into a parking spot outside Harper Developments on Victoria Road in Romford.
“Is this the right place?” Lily asked, staring at the squat building with faded signage, sitting snugly between a sandwich shop and a nail salon.
“It’s the address you put in the sat nav,” Flynn said. “And that’s the name of the company, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” She scrolled over the website on her phone, checking the address.
“I think this is right. Look at the website, though.” She tilted her phone.
“I was expecting something more professional. And bigger.” She’d been anticipating some slick, glass tower of a building, not a dreary, converted shopfront.
“Shall we go in?” Flynn asked as Lily caught movement through the window.
“Yeah.”
The thought that they might have got the wrong place gave her a confidence boost, as did the building itself, which couldn’t have been less intimidating, especially compared with the image she’d had in her head.
Striding up to the door, she glanced through the window at the young woman hovering beside a photocopier with a mug in her hand.
Her hair was in a messy bun, and her jeans and V-neck T-shirt made Lily’s earlier nerves feel laughable.
She was almost certain it would be a wasted trip.
She blew out a breath and pushed at the door.
“Hello.” The woman at the photocopier took a step back as her gaze flicked nervously between Lily and Flynn. “I… umm…” She glanced around the room and Lily did the same.
The frayed grey carpet and desk strewn with papers didn’t create the most professional vibe, nor did the faded pictures on the walls, which were presumably building projects they’d worked on.
“Can I help you?” the woman finally asked.
“Maybe,” Lily said. “Are any of the owners here?”
“Marianne is here,” she said hesitantly.
“She owns the company?” Lily asked.
“Partly. It’s her and her dad, but officially her dad has retired.”
“Is that Richard Harper?” Lily asked, quoting the name she’d found online.
She nodded. “Does Marianne know you’re coming?”
“No.”
“Right.” She shifted her weight. “Is it a business matter?”
“Sort of,” Lily said. “I believe Harper Developments was interested in buying my parents’ house. It was a long time ago, but I had some questions about it.”
“Marianne’s in her office. I’ll have to check if she has time. She has a few video conferences this morning.”
“It wouldn’t take long,” Lily said.
“I’ll ask.” The woman was almost at the door on the other side of the room when she shook her head and turned back. “Sorry. I didn’t get your names.”
“Lily Larkin.” She gestured beside her. “This is Flynn… Grainger. He’s a police officer.”
“Oh.” The woman’s eyes widened. “Right. Okay. Just hang on a sec. I’ll be right back.”
“What was that?” Flynn hissed as soon as the door closed behind her.
“Sorry.” Lily cringed. “I don’t know why I said that. When she said Marianne had meetings, it sounded as though she was making excuses. I thought she’d be more likely to agree to see us if I mentioned you’re a police officer.”
“Maybe she’s a busy woman who actually has meetings.”
“I really want to meet her, though. I reckon it will have been her dad who worked on the project when they were trying to buy my parents’ house.”
The door at the back opened again, and the woman reappeared. “You can come through,” she said with a smile.
She directed them to an office at the back of the building where a tall woman around forty greeted them at the door with a firm handshake.
“Marianne Harper,” she said curtly, then gestured to a couple of chairs beside the sturdy wooden desk, which was much tidier than the one in the other room.
“Thanks for seeing us,” Flynn said, taking a seat.
“No problem. I have a call scheduled shortly.” She checked her watch as she sank onto the leather office chair. “I have a little time. What can I help you with?”
“It’s probably going to sound a little odd,” Lily said. “I’m trying to get information about a project your company was involved in just over twenty years ago.”
The woman’s smile slipped into a puzzled frown. “Go on.”
“I was living in Truro with my parents. From what I understand, Harper Developers offered to buy our house, along with the other houses on the cul-de-sac. I believe they were still in negotiations when my parents’ house burnt down.” She inhaled deeply. “My parents were in the house at the time.”
“I’m sorry.” Marianne closed her eyes briefly. “That’s terrible.”
Lily nodded. “I’m trying to understand exactly what happened.”
“I’m not sure how I can help.” She stretched her neck. When her gaze came back to Lily, there was a fierceness that hadn’t been there before. “It was twenty years ago.”
“I know, but I think your dad was involved in the project and…”
Marianne shook her head. “I’ll stop you there. If you’ve come here after twenty years to stir up trouble, you can forget it. We may look like a small outfit, but I know some good lawyers. I won’t have you coming in here throwing accusations around and harassing an old man.”
Lily straightened in her seat. “I’m not accusing anyone of anything, and I didn’t come to cause trouble.”
“Why did you bring a police officer then?”
Lily sighed. “He’s my boyfriend.”
“Are you a police officer?” Marianne asked Flynn.
“Yes, but I’m not here in any official capacity.”
“And yet you felt the need to mention it,” she said sceptically.
“That was stupid,” Lily said. “I was worried you wouldn’t make time to talk to me so I mentioned he’s a police officer.
I shouldn’t have done – it’s irrelevant.
” And it had totally blown up in her face since it had clearly put Marianne on the defensive.
“I honestly don’t want to cause trouble.
I’m only trying to understand what happened with my parents. ”
Marianne sank back in her chair, her shoulders dropping slightly. “You’d need to speak to my dad, but I don’t want you upsetting him.”
“I don’t intend to.” Unless he’d played a part in the fire – in which case she’d do a lot more than upset him. “Do you know if he was involved in that project?”
She nodded once. “He’d only just joined the business.
His brother started the firm a few years before that.
Dad was going to help expand it. I was at university, but I remember how much it rattled my dad.
” She twisted her lips to one side. “There were allegations made. All unfounded, but it took Dad a long time to get over it.” She smiled softly.
“He can be a bit of a bull in business, but he’s a gentle soul – wouldn’t hurt a fly. The allegations devastated him.”
“I’d really like to speak to him,” Lily said. “Does he still work here?”
“Sticks his head in from time to time,” she said, with a hint of an eye roll. “Likes to make sure I’m not ruining the family business, but technically he’s retired.”
Lily glanced around the sparse room. “I was expecting the company to be…”
“Bigger and less rundown?” Marianne asked wryly.
Lily smiled.
“We’re a family business. My dad and uncle had big ideas to start with, which they soon tempered.
After my uncle died a few years ago, things scaled back further.
We do fine,” she added. “We just don’t need big, fancy offices.
Most of our meetings take place over video calls, or we travel to clients.
The project managers work from home. This setup works fine. ”
“I didn’t mean to offend,” Lily said.
“You didn’t. Though maybe I’ll move decorating back up my list of priorities.”
“Could you put me in touch with your dad? I’d really like to ask him some questions about what he remembers.”
Marianne tilted her head back and she stared at the ceiling for a moment, then she pushed a notepad and pen across the desk. “Leave your details and I’ll ask him to get in touch.”
Lily jotted down her name and phone number. She passed it back with a sceptical smile. “Are you actually going to pass this on?”
“Yes. He’s away at the moment. I don’t want you calling him out of the blue and springing this on him while he’s supposed to be on a relaxing holiday. I’ll tell him, though, and I’m sure he won’t mind speaking to you.”
Lily’s heart sank. “How long is he on holiday for?”
“He’ll be back on Thursday.”
“I’m only in London until Tuesday,” Lily said desperately.
Flynn took her hand and squeezed. “You can talk to him on the phone, and maybe see him next time you’re here.”
“I suppose,” Lily mumbled.
“Sorry,” Marianne said, standing. “I will give him your number.”
“Thanks,” Lily said, shaking her hand.
It hadn’t been a completely wasted trip, but it hadn’t been particularly helpful either.