Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Flynn spent every spare moment of his shift wondering what was going on with Lily.
When he’d tried calling her late in the evening, it had gone straight to voicemail.
His messages weren’t going through either.
Had she switched her phone off by mistake?
Maybe she forgot to put it on charge overnight, and the battery died.
As he crawled into bed with no word from her, that was the most reassuring reason he could come up with for why she hadn’t been in contact. No doubt she’d realise when she woke and would message him.
He’d only been asleep for a couple of hours when he woke with a start. Reaching for his phone, he checked the screen, but he still hadn’t heard from Lily. Surely she’d be awake by now, and she knew he’d been worried the previous evening. Why wouldn’t she get in touch?
The thought of her meeting with the person who’d left the note sent a trickle of fear running down his spine. He sat up in bed, certain he wouldn’t be able to sleep any more without knowing Lily was okay.
He tilted his head at the sound of the TV in the living room, then remembered he’d given Mr Patel the spare key in case he had people wanting to look at the furniture while Flynn was at work, or asleep.
When the TV was still on ten minutes later, Flynn got dressed and ventured out to the living room.
Two chairs from the kitchen were in the middle of the room, aimed at the TV.
On them sat Mr Patel and the Australian guy from the flat upstairs.
Between them was a small side table with two mugs of coffee.
Pixie lay at Mr Patel’s feet, ears pricked up and tongue lolling out.
They turned in their seats, attention shifting from Bargain Hunt to Flynn.
“Did we wake you?” Mr Patel asked.
Flynn attempted to tame his wayward hair. “What are you doing?” he asked, evading the question.
“Aiden might be interested in buying your TV,” Mr Patel said.
“I was checking the picture quality,” Aiden said with his strong Australian twang. “Then I saw Bargain Hunt was on and I told Mr Patel that I haven’t been able to watch it for weeks, since my TV went on the blink.”
“I’m a fan too,” Mr Patel said happily. “And I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to watch it at home since my wife is preparing for the meeting with Mrs Silverton. I’ll get roped into helping if I go back, so I thought we could watch here for a little while.”
“You don’t mind, do you?” Aiden asked.
He did, actually. Waking up after only a few hours’ sleep to find his neighbours in his living room wouldn’t be ideal at the best of times.
With him worrying about Lily, he really didn’t need the intrusion.
Mr Patel had been very helpful, though, and he didn’t like the idea of having to deal with clearing out his flat alone.
Forcing a smile, he crossed the room towards the kitchen. “What time is your meeting with Mrs Silverton?” he asked.
Mr Patel checked his watch. “Soon,” he said, an edge of panic in his voice. “We’d better get over there. Are you coming?” he asked Flynn as he aimed the remote at the TV to turn it off.
“No. But can you tell the landlady I’ll give her a call about moving out?”
Mr Patel nodded and set off for the door.
“I’ll take the TV,” Aiden said. “Do you want me to wait until closer to your move, or can I have it straightaway?”
Flynn shrugged. “Straightaway is fine.”
Aiden said he’d be back for it after the meeting with Mrs Silverton and left with Mr Patel.
Wandering into the kitchen, Flynn tried calling Lily.
Straight to voicemail.
He went into their chat history and saw that she’d last been online the previous evening, shortly before nine – right before her mystery person wanted to meet her. Surely that wasn’t a coincidence.
With a horrible feeling of helplessness, he typed out a message asking if she was okay, despite knowing it was pointless.
The sound of the doorbell made him tense up even further. He was willing to bet it was one of his neighbours, and he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with them.
As he opened the door, he failed to muster a smile for Mrs Patel, who was dressed in jeans and a long, teal tunic, embroidered at the neckline.
“What can I do for you?” Flynn grumbled.
“Henry said you were awake, so I thought you might like to join us after all.”
“No, thank you. I’ve got a lot to do.”
“I’m sure you could manage half an hour.”
“I really can’t. Just let Mrs Silverton know that I’m moving out and I’ll call her in the next few days.”
“She’s here now, and it would be more convenient for her to speak to everyone together. She’s been having a difficult time, you know.”
“I realise that,” Flynn said through gritted teeth.
“So could you just––”
“No!” Flynn’s hands flew up, and every muscle in his body tensed.
“I can’t do whatever it is you want me to do!
” Vaguely, he was aware of the shock on her features, but something had snapped in him and he couldn’t hold back.
“I had about three hours’ sleep before waking up to people in my living room.
And I have about a week to pack up my life and move.
On top of all that, I can’t get hold of Lily.
She’s not answering her phone or messages, and I’ve no idea if she’s okay, so I might have to drive to Cornwall and find her. ” Finally, he ran out of steam.
The look of shock on Mrs Patel’s face made him instantly remorseful. “Sorry,” he said, inhaling deeply. “I just can’t make it to the meeting. Please give Mrs Silverton my apologies.”
“Wait!” she screeched when he started to close the door.
“What?”
“You shouldn’t be alone,” she said, pushing the door open. “At a time like this, you should have a community around you.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Sorry, what?”
“We can help,” she said, taking his arm and hauling him out into the hallway. When she pulled the door closed behind him, he stared at it while he tried to formulate words. He didn’t have his keys. The crazy woman had just locked him out of his flat.
He didn’t even have shoes on.
“Come on,” she said, striding across the hall. “Between us, we can help you figure this out.”
Flynn’s gaze darted between Mrs Patel and his own front door. Eventually, he set off following her.
He didn’t feel he had much choice since he’d need to get the spare key from Mr Patel.