Page 1 of A Poisonous Plot

Chapter One

It had becomea habit for Lily to unlock the door to the ice cream shop as soon as she went downstairs in the morning. The closed sign was enough to keep the general public out, and leaving the door unlocked meant anyone coming by for a social call could let themselves in. It saved Lily from trudging back and forth.

The dainty bell rang above the door just as she pulled her latest batch of ice cream from the freezer in the back room. Perhaps there would come a time when that sound annoyed the heck out of her, but the bell had only been installed a week ago and so far she loved it.

Her mouth watered even before she caught the scent of coffee, which drifted through at the same time that Flynn called “hello”.

“I might end up like one of Pavlov’s dogs,” Lily said, stepping out from the back room and setting her tub of ice cream on the work surface behind the counter.

When he quirked an eyebrow in confusion, she kept talking.

“You know, the experiment with the dogs that had a conditioned response to a bell…” Surely he knew this.

“I know about the dogs,” he said, handing over her coffee. “I’m only surprised you're admitting to salivating at the thought of seeing me.”

“The coffee,” she said, rolling her eyes. “The thought ofcoffeemakes me salivate. Thank you,” she added. “And good morning.”

“Morning.” In his police uniform, he always seemed to take up more space. That was probably the bulky stab vest, since his ego was big enough even when he was off duty.

“Hard at work, as always,” she joked.

“It’s a tough job keeping the Isles of Scilly free of crime,” he replied mockingly. “I am actually here on official business, though.” He leaned against the counter.

“What business?” She inhaled the delicious aroma of her coffee before taking a sip.

“You still haven’t set a date for the grand opening of the ice cream shop. Which seems like a crime to me.” He flashed a cocky grin, and she turned away from him to ease the lid from the ice cream tub and inspect the contents. She’d been happy with it when it had come out of the ice cream maker yesterday, but the flavours often changed subtly overnight.

“Lily?” Flynn growled impatiently. “What’s the deal with the opening?”

She waved a dismissive hand. “I’m waiting for Rhys to finish the flyers and posters.”

“It’s difficult for him to do that without you giving him a date.”

She turned and locked eyes with him. “You’ve been talking to Rhys about me?”

“I just saw him.”

Lily glanced at her watch. “He’ll have been out checking the lobster pots with Ted, I suppose. Did he say if they’ve had much interest in the boat tours?”

He eyed her sternly. “Stop changing the subject. Choose a date and open the shop. Or don’t set a date and just open.”

“I’m not ready to open yet.”

“You’ve spent a month doing the place up and perfecting your ice cream making techniques and flavours. You’re ready to open.”

“I’m waiting for a couple of pictures for the walls,” she told him as her eyes swept the room.

The shop had been freshly painted, and the floor had been revamped with large black and white vinyl tiles. Alongside the original stainless-steel tables and chairs, the new flooring gave the place a wonderful retro vibe.

She had to admit, it looked fantastic. It also made her a little emotional to think about how much help she’d had from the community. So many people had pitched in.

“Also,” she said in a rush. “I’m waiting for the health and safety inspection.”

“You don’t need to wait for that. You can open without it.” Flynn sounded distinctly bored with the argument they’d been having for at least a week. “You’ve also taken more food hygiene courses than you need to. Just open the shop.”

“I need to decide which ice cream flavours to start off with. I tried something new yesterday.” She pointed at the tub in front of her.

“You can’t change the subject that easily.” His eyes lingered on the container and Lily knew it was exactly that easy to get him off topic. “What flavour is it?”

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