Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Searching for the dog made Flynn think of a call he’d got when he’d first started working on St Mary’s.
The call hadn’t surprised him – he was used to the public making weird requests of the police – it was the fact that Sergeant Proctor had taken the call seriously and sent Flynn out to help look.
Flynn had thought the sergeant had been having fun at his expense, but it hadn’t taken long to figure out that there was no such thing as wasting police time on the Isles of Scilly.
With no sign of Pixie around the building, he contemplated going back inside before deciding to give it a few more minutes. Maybe he could avoid getting caught up in the inevitable drama of his neighbours. Gigi would have dragged them all out of their flats by now, he was sure of it.
He pulled his phone out and returned the call from PC Hill which he’d missed while driving Lily to the property developer that morning.
“I thought you were ignoring my calls,” Jeff said jovially when he answered. “How’s everything in London, Sergeant Grainger?”
Flynn rolled his eyes, but couldn’t quite rein in his smile. “It’s not official yet.”
“Your message said you’d passed.”
“Yeah. But I’m not a sergeant until I get a post, am I?”
“You’ve officially applied?”
“Yeah. They said I should hear soon. Waiting isn’t fun.”
“You’ll definitely get the job. And, personally, I hope it’s soon.” He lowered his voice. “I’m not sure how much more I can take of Sergeant Holmes.”
“Let’s just be grateful he hates it on St Mary’s and wants to move back to the mainland.”
“It’ll be nice when I don’t have to hear him complaining about the job here on a daily basis.”
“Fingers crossed it won’t be for much longer.”
“Have you told Lily about your plan yet?”
Flynn’s heart sank. Keeping secrets from her had felt terrible from the outset, and he had to remind himself regularly that it was for her own good.
“I don’t want her to get her hopes up in case it doesn’t work out.”
“Surely you could tell her now. The job application is more of a formality, isn’t it? You have experience working on St Mary’s and you’re qualified. Plus, Sergeant Proctor sang your praises to anyone who’d listen. I’ve put in a good word, too.”
“I appreciate it,” Flynn said. “But I think we both know that if I get the job, it’s mostly because no one else wants it.”
Jeff chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that… not to the guy who’s going to be my boss very soon, anyway.”
Flynn wandered along the pavement, grinning at the thought of being back on the Scillies in a matter of weeks. “I’m still concerned Superintendent Brand might get involved and veto my transfer.”
“Surely if your dad was going to say something, he’d have done it by now.”
“Maybe. But I wouldn’t put it past him to let me get my hopes up and then step in at the last minute and mess things up.
” Flynn stopped and turned back the way he’d come.
“I still don’t know if he hasn’t realised I’ve been trying to get promoted, or if he knows and hasn’t done anything about it.
” The spark of hope that his dad knew and was okay with it was entirely na?ve, but Flynn couldn’t quite let it go.
“I really think it’s going to work out,” Jeff said. “Where are you anyway? I thought Lily was visiting?”
“She is. I’m out searching for my neighbour’s lost dog. Or pretending to anyway.”
“London isn’t as exciting as I recall, then?”
Flynn chuckled. “I better see what Lily’s up to.”
“Sounds like a good idea. She’ll get in trouble if you leave her alone for too long.”
Smiling, Flynn said goodbye and ended the call, only for his phone to ring again almost immediately.
The call from work had him running through a mental list of what it could be about.
His heart rate increased at the thought that it could be news of his promotion.
After inhaling a deep breath, he swiped a finger across the screen to answer the call.
Five minutes later, he was standing outside the flats when Lily called out to him, letting him know they’d found Pixie.
Her smile as she approached him made the call from work even more frustrating.
“What’s up?” she asked. “Were you just hanging around out here to avoid interacting with your neighbours?”
The corners of his lips twitched upwards. She knew him too well.
“Gigi seems to think you’re a bit of a player,” she went on. “What with all the women you bring home.”
Shaking his head, he slipped his arms around her waist. “What did she say?”
“Just that she’s seen a lot of women coming and going. Not for a while, apparently, so you’re off the hook.” She draped her arms around his neck, looking thoroughly amused. “Have you been telling the woman upstairs about me, by the way? She knew my name.”
“Caroline?”
“Yes. I thought you didn’t know any of your neighbours.”
“Just Caroline. She cleans the communal areas in the building and also cleans my place every couple of weeks. I’m surprised she knows your name. I don’t particularly chat to her very much. When we do talk, it’s usually her complaining about being a single mum and telling me how unruly her son is.”
“I think you’re safe to come back inside.”
“Good, but I wasn’t hiding. I was on the phone. My boss called.”
“How come?”
Flynn tensed, hating the disappointment he was about to cause. “Apparently a lot of my colleagues are off with flu,” he said slowly. “They’re desperate for people to cover the next few shifts.”
Her bottom lip jutted out. “What did you say?”
“They’re really stretched. We were short on my last shift and it’s no fun at all. It’s a safety issue, for us as well as the public.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. “You said you’d work?”
“I said I’d do day shifts tomorrow and Sunday. But I made it clear that’s all I can manage. Monday and Tuesday I’m all yours.”
“Okay,” she said weakly.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t feel I could say no…” It was tempting to soften the blow by telling her he was probably going to be back on St Mary’s soon, and they’d be back to seeing each other every day. Better to wait, though. Hopefully, it would all be official in a matter of days.
“It’s really okay,” she said, slumping against him and hugging him tightly.
“You get me for the nights,” he said, the words edged with mischief.
“That’s all I really need you for.” A grin lit up her features as she pulled back to look him in the eyes. “It’s also London. I can’t imagine I’ll have a problem filling my time.”