Chapter 5
Chapter Five
There really wasn’t any point in being annoyed about Flynn having to work. Sulking about it would only make the situation worse, and Flynn clearly felt bad about it already. He didn’t need a guilt trip on top.
Besides, Lily could easily entertain herself for a couple of days. She could do some clothes shopping since that wasn’t something she could do back on St Mary’s.
Flynn had nipped out to get something for lunch when a gentle rap sounded at the door. Through the peephole, the landlord was distorted so his legs looked too small for his body.
“Hi,” Lily said, opening up.
“Hello. We met briefly earlier. Jeremy Latham. I own the building.” His smile faltered. “Oh, gosh. That sounded pompous, didn’t it?”
Unsure how to respond, Lily merely smiled.
“I only wanted to say a quick hello. I haven’t really seen Flynn since he came back from…”
“The Isles of Scilly.”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Thought I’d say welcome back…” He held out a plate of biscuits covered in cling film.
“Thank you.” The sight of the shortbread made her mouth water. “They look delicious.”
“My grandmother always makes me shortbread. I love it, but it’s too much for me.”
“Happy to help then,” Lily said, shifting her weight.
“I also wanted to check with Flynn that the kitchen tap isn’t causing any more trouble.”
“Flynn’s just nipped out. He didn’t mention anything about the tap.”
“Right. The guy who was living here while Flynn was away had some difficulties. I had someone in to fix it, but I wanted to check they’d done a good job.”
“You can look if you want,” Lily said.
“If I’m not intruding.” As he stepped forward, Lily got a waft of aftershave that smelled woody and expensive.
She led the way into the small kitchen at the front of the building, where the window looked out onto the main road.
“Looks good to me,” he said after turning the tap on and off again. “I used a company I hadn’t used before and you never really know if you’ll get someone competent or not.”
“What was wrong with it?” Lily asked, setting the plate of biscuits on the table.
“It was dripping.” He leaned against the counter. “Probably could have fixed it myself, but it’s a time issue. You know how it is.”
“Yeah.” Lily glanced towards the door, hoping Flynn might arrive back but well aware that he’d only just left.
“Do you live locally?” the landlord asked, apparently in no rush to leave.
“No. I live on the Isles of Scilly. I’m just visiting for a few days.”
“London must be a change of pace.”
“Yeah. It’s a lot busier around here.”
“It was good of you to help Gigi earlier.” He smiled fondly. “That little dog of hers really keeps her on her toes. I worry that one of these days it’ll get out onto the road and end up in some real bother. Gigi would be devastated.”
“It’s a cute dog.”
“Yeah. She had trouble finding a place to live that would allow pets. It’s a shame some landlords are so against it.”
Lily nodded.
“Don’t get me wrong, the dog’s a nuisance! But it’s all part of life, isn’t it?”
“I suppose so.”
“I certainly never imagined being a landlord would involve so much time hunting for a lost dog, but there we go.” He threw his hands up and chuckled. “Brings the neighbours together, anyway.”
“They all seem friendly,” Lily said, checking the time on her phone and wondering if she could discreetly send Flynn a message telling him to hurry.
“They’re a great bunch. A real mixed crew. Some keep to themselves, some seem to be constantly knocking on my door, but it’s all good.”
“I suppose that’s a drawback to living in the building.”
“Mostly I see it as a positive. I’m right here if anyone has a problem.”
“That’s good.”
“I think so. Never have any issues with Flynn, though. He’s an easy tenant. One of those who you hope will stick around.”
“That’s good,” Lily said.
“I’m not sure what his plans are, mind you…”
Lily took a deep breath, certain this was the reason for his visit. He wanted to discreetly question Lily about Flynn.
“I think he’s quite happy here,” she said, unsure why she felt the need to lie. It was weird, though, that the landlord had called over exactly when Flynn had gone out.
“Flynn should be back any minute,” she said. “You could ask him yourself.”
“I thought I’d only just missed him?”
“You did, but he’s only fetching something from the car.”
“Ah.” That got him moving. “I don’t want to stay and intrude. Especially not when you only have a short time together. I’m glad the tap is fine. You enjoy your stay.”
He practically tripped over his feet getting out of there, and Lily smiled smugly when she closed the door behind him.
“Your landlord was here,” Lily said when Flynn arrived back with a shopping bag in his hand.
“What did he want?”
“To check on a leaky tap, apparently.”
Flynn set the bag on the kitchen table and frowned at Lily. “You didn’t let him into the flat, did you?”
“Yeah.” She backed up to the counter. “Is that a problem?”
“He’s not allowed to come in without prior warning.”
“I thought about saying no, but he asked so casually that it felt weird not to let him in.”
While Flynn silently unpacked the shopping, Lily felt as though she’d done something stupid.
“Sorry,” she said eventually.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, putting milk away in the fridge.
“Would you have turned him away?”
“I guess I’d have let him in.”
“Why are you annoyed with me then?”
“I’m not,” he said lightly. “I don’t really like the guy, that’s all. There’s something about him… I don’t like the thought of you being alone with him.” He flinched. “Please don’t have a go at me for being over-protective.”
“I wasn’t going to.” She moved to sit at the table.
“What’s wrong with the tap, anyway?”
She shrugged. “He said there’d been a problem with it while you were away and he wanted to check it was sorted.”
“First I’ve heard of it.” He tilted his head at the plate of biscuits. “Did he bring those?”
“Yeah. He wanted to welcome you back or something.”
“Why are they on a plate?”
“I guess because that’s what he had to hand,” Lily said, confused.
“The packet would have been fine.”
She shook her head. “His grandma made them.”
“Yeah, right.” Flynn pulled the plastic off them. “Look! As if they’re homemade. He’s emptied them out of a packet.”
“They are all very uniform,” Lily said.
“He did the same when I first moved in, and again at Christmas.”
“Maybe he’s just trying to be nice.”
“Call me cynical, but I swear both times he was only using the biscuits as an excuse to talk to me.”
“That’s not so bad. He’s probably socially awkward and needs a way to strike up conversation.”
“Except he’s my landlord. We don’t need to be friends.”
“Yeah.” Lily chewed on her thumbnail. “Actually, I think he only came over today to talk.” She cringed. “I also think he purposely waited until you’d gone out.”
Flynn’s eyes flickered with irritation. “What was he saying?”
“I got the impression he was trying to figure out if you had any plans to leave.”
“Sounds about right. I’m fairly sure he’s wanted me gone since he found out what I do for a living.”
“How do you mean?”
“He didn’t know when I moved in. It was all a little chaotic. An old schoolfriend of mine was going to move in here, but moved in with his girlfriend at the last minute. So this place was free on short notice. I was living in a shared house and wanted my own place.”
“And you didn’t say what you did for a living?”
He shook his head. “Mr Latham didn’t ask many questions. He just wanted to know that I had a secure income. I told him I was a civil servant so there were no worries there.”
“When did he twig?”
“Only when I was transferring to Scilly. I advertised for someone to sublet my place and when Rodger came to look round I introduced him to Mr Latham. It came up in conversation then.”
“And he had a problem with it?”
“Not openly. But I could tell from his stupid jokes he had an issue with it.”
“Why?”
Flynn shook his head. “Some people just do. Who knows?”
“Maybe he has some kind of criminal past.”
“It actually wouldn’t surprise me.”
“Really?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s a harmless oddball, but I get sketchy vibes from him.”
“If he wanted you out, can’t he evict you?”
“Yes. But I suspect he thinks he can’t because I’m a police officer. Like maybe I’d come after him in some way. Honestly, I don’t know what goes through people’s heads most of the time. I’m just hoping I’ll be out of here before long.”
Lily smiled, happy to know moving was still on his mind.
“Sandwiches,” he said, plucking a paper bag from his shopping bag. “Let’s eat, then go play tourists for the afternoon.”