Page 37 of A Poisonous Plot

“Yes.” Lily straightened her spine, happy that she wasn’t the only one to think so. “Do you think he could have done it? He lives alone, and he seems a little odd…”

“No.” Kit cut her off. “No chance. And he’s not odd. He’s a little different, that’s all.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound harsh.” She was surprised by Kit’s defensiveness. “You did just say it’s a weird coincidence that he wrote a blog and then people started getting poisoned.”

“Yes, but I was thinking that someone read his blog and got ideas.”

“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” Except she had a funny feeling about Arthur. “Do you know where he lives?”

“Yes,” Kit said warily.

“I only want to ask him a few questions,” Lily insisted. “See if he can help me out.”

He hesitated for a moment. “Give me your phone.” Lily opened the map app and passed it over. “Don’t harass him,” Kit warned as he handed the phone back with a pin dropped on the map. “If I hear you’ve upset him, we’ll have a problem. Okay?”

A smile automatically lifted Lily’s lips but fell away when she realised Kit wasn’t joking.

“I won’t upset him,” she promised. “I’ll just nip over and see if he can help me figure out who’s been poisoning people.”

“He’ll be at the garden centre this morning,” Kit said, checking his watch. “And this afternoon he’ll be going over to Tresco. He helps in the gardens over there twice a week.” He smiled gently. “Arthur is a man of routine. He only ever changes his plans if the weather is bad.”

“The weather?” Lily asked.

“If the weather is bad, he won’t get the boat to Tresco. That’s the only thing that interferes with his routines.” Kit backed away. “I have to get to the train.” He raised a hand to wave before continuing on his way.

Alone, Lily stared at her phone screen. Apparently, if she wanted to catch Arthur at home, she’d need to wait until the evening.

But maybe he didn’t need to be at home for her to do more investigating.

As she set off along the promenade, she called Flynn. He answered almost immediately.

“Missing me already?” he asked.

“Something like that,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Have you got any plans for this afternoon?”

“Nothing exciting. What are you up to?”

“I’m on a little reconnaissance mission and thought you might like to join me.”

“Does this involve any illegal activity?”

“Possibly a bit of trespassing, but only in someone’s garden. You can sit that bit out if it’s a problem for you.”

“Who are you spying on?”

“I’ll be at your place in a few minutes. Get your shoes on and come down. I’ll tell you on the way.”

Chapter Seventeen

Twenty minutes later,they were standing at the front gate of Arthur Penrose’s house. The property sat remotely in the northwest of the island, looking out to Tresco and Bryher and countless small islets. On a clear day, the view must be sensational, but everything was overcast today.

Unsurprisingly, the garden was perfectly maintained. Roses crept up the stonework at the front of the house on either side of the door. A neat lawn was intersected by a gravel path, which forked just beyond the front gate to lead to the front door and either side of the house.

“Knocking on someone’s door isn’t trespassing,” Flynn said, turning the iron handle of the gate and pushing it open.

“He won’t be home,” Lily told him. “Apparently, his trips to Tresco are like clockwork.”

“Well, we can knock on his door to see if he’s home. If not, we could have a quick check to see if he’s in the garden.”

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