Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Flynn was starting to feel like a clingy boyfriend – a new experience for him.
Leaning against the kitchen counter, he reminded himself how single-minded Lily would get when she was investigating.
The message she’d sent about meeting with a police officer had been pretty blunt, but she’d promised to call him when she could.
It was half an hour before he needed to leave for work. He stared at his phone, then gave up on waiting and called her instead.
“Hi,” she said cheerfully, answering after a couple of rings. “I was going to call you in a few minutes when I got back to the house. Time got away from me today.”
“Where are you now?” he asked, guessing from the echo that she was driving and had him on speaker.
“My plan was to go shopping to get something for dinner, but I passed a gastropub and decided to stop and eat there instead. So now I’m stuffed and heading back to Malporth to collapse on the couch for the evening. It’s been a long day.”
“You found a police officer to speak to?”
“Yes,” she said enthusiastically. “He retired a year ago, but he was the local PC when I was a kid. And he says he always had suspicions about the fire, but there was no proof it was intentional and he was eventually told to leave it alone.”
“Wow,” Flynn breathed. “Did he suspect anyone in particular?”
“No. There were a few things he found odd about the neighbours at the time, but nothing concrete. Mainly, it seemed to be the issues with my grandmother afterwards that made him suspicious. Apparently, she told him someone pushed her down those steps, but later changed her story. He thinks she decided to go into hiding rather than trust the police to deal with the situation.”
“So he doesn’t know what happened to her?”
“No, but when he heard that she died, he looked into it and couldn’t find any evidence of it. He also couldn’t figure out who started that rumour – if that’s what it was.”
“What’s your plan?” he asked, knowing she’d have one.
“My usual, keep asking questions until I find out something useful.”
“So you think someone there knows what happened to your grandmother?”
“No, I was actually thinking that if I could figure out the truth about the fire, Clara might feel it was safe to come out of hiding. I think that’s what’s going on – she disappeared to stay safe.”
“Okay,” Flynn muttered. Surely it would be stating the obvious to point out that if someone committed arson and then resorted to violence to silence Clara, there was no telling what else that person was capable of. “I’m worried about you,” he said. “I don’t like you investigating this alone.”
“I don’t feel unsafe,” she said. “And I have Roy’s number – the ex-officer – he told me to call if I need anything or if I have any concerns. He’s close by. And there’s Nancy too. I haven’t told her that I think the fire might have been intentional, but I trust her. I’m not entirely alone.”
“I wish I was there,” he said.
“Me too. Hang on, I just pulled up. I’ll take you off speaker.
” He heard her tap on the phone and then the sound of the car door closing.
“That’s better,” she said. “My day really has been hectic. Oh, I got a photo album that Samantha Weston made me after the fire, with photos she collected from the neighbours. Uncle Derek had taken me away before she had a chance to give it to me. It was strange to look through it.”
“I’ll bet. You must be emotionally drained.”
“I haven’t really had time to process it. Wait a sec…” A jangle of keys came and then she muttered something he didn’t catch.
“What was that?”
No reply.
Had they been cut off? He checked the phone screen, but they were still connected.
“Lily?”
“I’m here,” she said, a faraway quality to her voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just walked into the cottage and there’s a note… someone must have put it through the letterbox.” She swore quietly. “This is weird.”
“What does the note say?”
“It’s kind of creepy,” she murmured.
He straightened his spine. “Tell me what it says.”
“Don’t freak out or anything. It says…” She sighed dramatically. “If you want to find out what really happened to your parents, be at the marina at nine. Last boat on the right at the end of the jetty.”
“Who’s it from?” Flynn asked, trying to stay calm.
“A friend, apparently. That’s all it says – no name.”
“That’s weird, Lily. You can’t––” He stopped himself and rubbed the back of his neck.
Not only did he not want a lecture for telling her what she can and can’t do, he also didn’t want to try and control her. For a start, he was fairly sure it was impossible. Also, she was intelligent enough to know meeting a stranger after dark wasn’t a sensible idea.
“It’s very dodgy, isn’t it?” she said.
“Yes. If they want to talk to you, why not just knock on the door? Or at least arrange to meet during daylight hours.”
“Exactly. No way I’d go and meet someone on the jetty in the dark.”
Flynn breathed a sigh of relief.
“Did I tell you about my old neighbour, Bert, who lives on a boat?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I wonder if other people live on boats at the marina. Maybe that’s why they asked to meet there – it’s their home.”
“Possibly. But why not during the day? And why not tell you who they are?”
“Perhaps they work during the day. Or perhaps they know that someone killed my parents and are worried about meeting the same fate if they’re seen speaking to me.”
“Lily,” he said, dragging her name into a pained plea. “Please don’t go there.”
“I’m not going to.”
“Really? Because it sounds as though you’re looking for reasons why it’s okay to go there.”
“Well, they said they can tell me what happened to my parents,” she snapped. “So far it’s the best lead I’ve got.”
Since he couldn’t think of a calm response, he kept quiet.
“I know you don’t like being told what to do,” he said eventually. “And I’m not saying this to be controlling… I’m worried about you. This sounds dangerous. If you get into trouble, I can’t help.”
“I won’t go,” she said wearily.
“I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you,” he said.
“You don’t have anything to worry about.”
Except he would worry. Mostly because he knew her well enough to know how curiosity would niggle at her. Someone was claiming to have information about her parents’ deaths. Of course, that would be hard to resist.
“Do you have any idea who it might be?” he asked.
“Not really. The only person who springs to mind is the woman who owns the gift shop. Apparently she came looking for me today, but when I tried to speak to her at the shop, she clammed up and marched me out of there. But as I was leaving she told me we’d talk another time.
Like she just didn’t want to speak to me in public. ”
“That’s weird. Why would she leave such a cryptic note?”
“I’ve no idea. She’s acted strangely every time I’ve seen her. Everyone says she used to be close to Clara, but they fell out and she hasn’t had a good word to say about her since.”
Flynn blew out a breath. “Could you find someone to go to the marina with you? What about the police officer?”
“I just told you I wouldn’t go.”
“Yeah, but I know you. You won’t be able to resist. And I understand the temptation.”
“I do want to know what’s going on. If the note is designed to lure me into some kind of trap, then I want to know about that too. That could be exactly the information I need to find out the truth about my parents.”
“Okay, so either get the retired officer to go with you, or just call the police and explain the situation. Maybe I could make some calls and get one of the local officers to check it out with you.”
“Thanks for the offer,” Lily said. “But if you get the police out here, they’ll arrive in the police car and scare anyone off. I’ll never get any information.”
“I can explain the need to be discreet.”
“It seems unlikely that they’ll get undercover officers out here in a couple of hours, don’t you think?”
He released a sigh. “You’re right. That won’t happen.”
“I’ll ask Roy. I bet he’ll be more than happy to come. He wants to find out the truth too.”
“Okay. Ask him. Just please don’t go there alone. And keep me updated. I’ll try to keep my phone on me at work.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you stress.”
“You always cause me stress,” he said lightly. “I’m quite used to it by now. I just prefer it when I’m around in case you need backup.”
“I prefer that too,” she said.
“I need to get ready for work,” he said. “Stay in touch.”
That was as much as he could ask of her. Beyond that, he had to trust she was sensible enough to keep out of harm’s way.