Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lily was up before Flynn the next morning.
She woke him gently with a hand on his shoulder.
Blinking, it took him a few seconds to come around, then Lily had to remind him of the meeting with Mr Harper.
She apologised profusely as he dragged himself up and out of bed, and he repeatedly told her it was fine.
The two extra shifts had wiped him out, but he could catch up on sleep later. He sipped a coffee on the drive and the caffeine kicked in quickly.
“How do people survive without coffee?” he asked, placing the mug back in the cup holder. In the silence, he glanced across at Lily whose gaze was fixed out of the window. “You okay?” When he still got no reply, he set a hand on her leg.
“Did you say something?” she asked, turning to him.
“No,” he said and gave her leg a reassuring squeeze.
She went back to staring blankly out of the window for the rest of the drive.
Flynn’s phone rang just as they were getting out of the car at the dreary offices of Harper Developers.
Pulling it from his pocket, he had an overwhelming feeling it would finally be news about his move to Scilly.
After waiting to hear about it, it wouldn’t surprise him that they’d call right when he couldn’t speak.
“Is that work?” Lily asked when he frowned at the screen.
It wasn’t the call he’d been expecting, but it also wasn’t one he wanted to ignore.
“It’s PC Jones,” he said.
“Oh, no.” Her features scrunched up. “I hope I’m not in trouble.”
“I don’t see why you would be. He probably has news about Mr Latham’s family, or the coroner’s report. He said he’d keep me in the loop.”
“Okay.” Lily looked frantically at the phone. “You should take it and find out.”
“I’ll be quick.” He looked at the building and back at his phone. “It probably won’t take long.”
“Just take it,” she said. “I’m fine on my own.”
He stared at her. Given how nervous she’d seemed on the drive, he was surprised at her sudden calm. “Are you sure?” His finger hovered over the screen.
“Yeah. It might be better if I speak to Mr Harper alone, anyway. Take the call and wait for me in the car.”
“I’m here if you need me,” he said, then swiped the screen and ducked back into the car and greeted PC Jones.
“I just had a word with the coroner about Mr Latham’s postmortem,” his colleague said briskly.
“Yeah?” Flynn wasn’t sure why he was nervous. “Anything interesting?”
“No. It’s just like the paramedics thought. Blow to the back of the head when he hit the coffee table. Nothing suspicious.”
“Right.” He leaned onto the steering wheel. Maybe Lily had been wrong about someone having it in for him. Or at least anyone having enough of a grudge to kill him. “Any news on the family?”
“No. The coroner’s office hasn’t been able to find anyone yet. They’ve been in touch with his GP, but the doctor didn’t recall him – said the last time he’d been there was five years ago and that was only for a dose of antibiotics.”
“None of my neighbours know anything about any family or friends.”
“There must be someone,” PC Jones said. “The coroner’s office is going to dig deeper – they’ll no doubt turn something up.
I’ll have a look myself when I get a chance.
” A quiet knocking sound came down the phone, like he was tapping a pen.
“Do I have it right that he owned the building and took care of it himself?”
Flynn winced. This would probably be a good time to clue him in on Lily’s theory.
“That’s what I always thought,” he said slowly. “But I’m actually beginning to think there may have been something shady going on.”
“How so?”
“He claimed he owned the building. My rental agreement is with him. But yesterday evening I looked at the Land Registry and according to that he doesn’t actually own the building.”
“Who does?”
“Someone called Silverton. Who my neighbour believes was the previous owner. I don’t know why they’re still listed as the owners.”
“Sounds as though it’d be worth tracking them down to ask,” PC Jones said.
“Yeah. I appreciate you calling. If you could let me know what else you find, I’d appreciate it.”
“Not a problem, mate. I’d be surprised if I can get to it today, though. I’m giving evidence in court in an hour and it might take a while. Plus, I have a couple more pressing matters to deal with before I get to this.”
Flynn nodded. He knew exactly how it was. “If I’m not treading on your toes, I might see what I can find out about Mr and Mrs Silverton. Unofficially. I’d let you know what I find.”
“Go for it.”
Flynn released a quiet breath once they ended the call. Since he didn’t think he’d have a hope of stopping Lily from digging further, it was good to at least be open with PC Jones about it.
His gaze went to the office of the property developers, but there was no sign of Lily. Ignoring the urge to go and check she was okay, he scrolled through his phone, then tapped into his messages when one popped up from his sergeant.
He asked if Flynn had time for a call later. His heart beat faster at the words, informing him it was to discuss his transfer. That must mean a decision had been made. He checked his watch, contemplating how long until they’d be home again. Then he fired off a message suggesting a time.
Later, he’d find out his fate.
For now, he stared at the door of the property developer, hoping everything was going well inside.