Page 2 of A Poisonous Plot

“Lemon curd and Biscoff.”

He licked his lips.

“I made the lemon curd myself,” she told him as she handed him a spoon.

“Fine. I’ll test it.” He ran the spoon through the ice cream, curling it into a neat scoop. “But we’re still going to talk about…”He eyed the ice cream and his voice trailed off. “Whatever we were talking about,” he muttered before shoving the spoon into his mouth.

Lily held her breath. “What do you think?”

“That’s amazing.” He groaned and slumped against the sideboard before reaching for another scoop.

She pushed his hand away. “Don’t double dip!”

“You need to get me about fifty clean spoons then,” he told her, tossing the spoon so it clattered into the sink.

“Or I could get you a bowl or a cone?”

“I’ll take a cone and a lecture about eating ice cream for breakfast.” His eyes flashed with amusement. “Or we could skip that today, if you’d like.”

She took a cone from the container on top of the glass-fronted counter, then loaded it up for him. “I think I’ll give up on lecturing you. You’re a lost cause.”

“My unhealthy breakfasts are entirely your fault, so the lectures are a little unfair.” He licked around the edge of his ice cream. “This is seriously amazing.”

The sound of the bell drew their attention, and they both smiled at the sight of the elderly lady striding in.

“Morning, Glynis,” Flynn said.

“Ice cream for breakfast, PC Grainger?” She caught Lily’s eye and shared a private smile. “Let’s hope there are never any criminals who need chasing, because I’m not sure you’d be up to it.”

“I’m perfectly fit!” Flynn said while he licked a stray blob of ice cream from the corner of his mouth. “Besides, don’t pretend you’re not about to eat ice cream at nine o’clock in the morning, too.”

“I definitely didn’t come here for intelligent conversation,” Glynis remarked, then shuffled past the two of them to peer at the ice cream. “New flavour?”

Lily nodded. “Lemon curd and Biscoff.”

“It’s the best yet,” Flynn said, right before his teeth crunched through his ice cream cone.

“Not better than the apple crumble?” Glynis craned her neck to look up at Flynn.

“Definitely better than that,” he said firmly. “And better than the banana and hazelnut, and possibly even better than the cherry ripple chocolate…” He looked thoughtful. “That one’s a close call. I’m undecided.”

“Seriously?” Lily asked, her chest expanding as she inhaled a satisfied breath.

It was strange to think that a month ago she didn’t have the slightest idea how to make ice cream, and even stranger to think that she might actually be good at it. To start with she’d just followed the recipes given to her by the shop’s owner, but now she was experimenting with her own flavour combinations. She felt a rush of pride every time someone complimented her on her creations.

“I need to try this,” Glynis said, helping herself to a cone.

She was in her eighties. Eighty-six to be exact. She’d announced it the first time they’d met, when she’d been passing on her morning walk and had called into the shop to introduce herself. Now, Lily saw her most mornings – sometimes she’d only wave as she power-walked along the promenade or sometimes she’d come in for a chat. Like Flynn, she was an enthusiastic taste-tester. A lot of the locals were. Lily was never short of people to give feedback on her flavours.

“Oh, thatisgood,” Glynis remarked with a sigh. “It’s up there with the apple crumble for me. So smooth and creamy, but then the crunch of the biscuit is perfect. The flavours are divine. The lemon really zings.”

“Definitely time to open the shop and share your ice cream with the world,” Flynn said pointedly.

“The world?” Lily asked, cocking her head.

“The island then.” He popped the last of his cone into his mouth. “Though I reckon people will flock from far and wide to sample this.”

“You know you’ll get free ice cream without the flattery,” Lily told him.

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