Page 53 of A Poisonous Plot

“No!” Mirren laughed. “My kids don’t know that he sometimes stays over. I don’t want them to know yet. So if Denzel was snappy with you, it was because he was worried about covering for me, not for himself. He’d actually like my family to know about us.”

Again, Lily pondered the information. “I guess he’s pretty attractive for an older guy.”

Mirren snorted. “Funny, because in my eyes, he’s a younger guy.”

“How old––” Lily stopped herself, not sure she knew Mirren well enough to delve into her private life.

“He’s ten years younger than me,” Mirren said, smiling lightly. “Could you please cross him off your list of suspects now?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “Also, I know you spend time with Kit and Seren…”

“I won’t say anything.” She shook her head. “You realise your kids aren’t actually kids any more? They’re adults.”

“I know that.” She shifted the strap of her handbag on her shoulder. “They’re grown men. But they’re also just boys who miss their dad.”

Lily nodded slowly. “They also love their mum, and from what I know of them, I think they’d just want you to be happy.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I do plan on telling them. I just wanted to figure out how I felt myself first.”

“You don’t have to worry about me saying anything.”

“I appreciate that. And I’m sorry that you got a poor impression of Denzel. He’s a good man, really.”

Lily nodded again and walked Mirren to the door.

Chapter Twenty-Four

By mid-morning Lilywas putting the finishing touches to a large rectangle of blackboard paint on the back wall of the shop. The door opened, and she calledhelloto Kit and Seren, but neither of them greeted her. Kit lifted a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, then pressed the button on the side of his phone to increase the volume of the chatter coming through it.

“Is that Gordon Pengelly?” Lily whispered, sure she recognised the voice.

Seren nodded. “He’s being interviewed on the radio. Mirren just messaged to tell us. We thought you’d want to listen too.”

As Kit set his phone on the counter, Lily huddled around it with the two of them, tuning in to the conversation.

“It goes entirely against the ethos of the island,” Gordon was saying in a slightly pompous tone. “We’ve always welcomed visitors to the island, whether it be day trippers or those who stay for longer.”

“Come on,” the interviewer said. “You have to admit there’s often some rivalry between born and bred Scillonians and the people who move here.”

“Afriendlyrivalry,” Gordon said. “We’re talking good-natured banter, nothing more.”

“What radio station is this?” Lily asked.

“The Scillies have their own radio station,” Kit replied.

“Wow,” Lily muttered, not sure how she was only just finding that out.

“The islands need more business,” Gordon continued. “It’s good for our economy. But no business in the gastronomy sector can survive the backlash from making people ill. Dante Accardi was telling me he hasn’t had a customer in weeks. Even though he’s replaced all his food supplies, people just aren’t willing to risk it. I know all of this is making Lily Larkin nervous, too.”

Lily’s eyebrows shot up at the sound of her name and she moved closer to the phone, waiting for him to go on.

“Ah,” the interviewer said, a cheerful lilt in his voice. “Our very own private investigator. Why would she be worried?”

“She’s a newcomer,” Gordon said. “If something sinister is going on, that puts her at risk. She’s also about to open an ice cream shop. Imagine if she’s the next target for this saboteur.”

“Surely not,” the interviewer said. “You couldn’t sabotage ice cream, could you?”

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