Page 91 of A Poisonous Plot

“My partner in solving crime,” he said, as his eyelids closed.

A couple of minutes later, the car stopped and he blinked his eyes open.

“You’re not really supposed to drive on the promenade,” he teased.

“I didn’t think you’d make it unless I parked right outside the door. I’m still not convinced you’ll make it that far.”

“I’m all right,” he insisted and reached for the handle.

“Hang on,” Sergeant Proctor said, making him pause. “There’s something I wanted to mention… I know you’re only supposed to be here for a limited time, but if you wanted to stay longer, I’d be happy to have you.”

That woke Flynn up, though he wasn’t sure how to react. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you liked me very much.”

“I don’t always like the way you go about things,” he said. “And I think we see things differently sometimes. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I meant what I said before – you’re a good officer.”

“Thanks,” Flynn said, slightly uncomfortable with his superior being so sentimental. “I didn’t think there was a position for another officer here. I was an add-on, wasn’t I?”

“Yes. But there’s no harm in asking. If you’re interested in staying longer?”

Flynn pressed a hand against his forehead. “I miss London,” he said automatically. He missed being busy in his job and the camaraderie with his colleagues. He missed the adrenaline rush of going from one call to another with barely any time to process the situations he was dealing with.

At the same time, he no longer hated being on the Scillies. Not like when he’d first arrived. His eyes flicked to the ice cream shop and the bustle inside.

He didn’t hate it at all.

“It’s not as though I need an answer now,” the sergeant said. “Just let me know if you’d like me to look into it.”

“Thanks, Sarge,” he said and pulled on the door handle.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Dolingout ice cream and chatting with customers should have been a pleasant distraction for Lily, but her mind kept wandering to Flynn, lying in a hospital bed. She had to keep reminding herself he was fine. He was safe in the hospital and as soon as she’d finished stuffing people with ice cream she could check on him.

“Why don’t you go and mingle?” Ted suggested as he ran the scoop through the cherry ripple chocolate. That was Flynn’s favourite and the first batch was almost all gone. After handing the ice cream over to the young woman across the counter, Ted looked at her questioningly. “Did you even hear me?”

She dragged her gaze up to him. “What did you say?”

“Sit down for five minutes. I can manage here.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled weakly. “Thanks again for helping.”

“I’m enjoying myself,” he told her happily. “You must be pleased with the turnout?”

“I am.” There were a surprising number of familiar faces, too. It seemed she knew more people on the island than she’d realised.

Her first customers had been the couple from the bed-and-breakfast where she’d stayed when she’d first come to theisland. Flora and Rodney had been so enthusiastic about the ice cream shop that it had been an instant mood boost for Lily. Their gardener, Oscar, had been in with his girlfriend, too. And there was a gaggle of teenagers hanging around outside, which included Rhys and Jessica, and of course Max and Jory.

There’d also been a constant stream of Trenearys. A bunch of whom now occupied a table at the side of the room, keeping the noise level up, as they always did.

“Seriously, take a break,” Ted said. “You look as though you could do with it.”

She shook her head, worried that if she stopped and sat down, someone might ask if she was okay, which would be all it would take for her to lose control of her emotions. Keeping busy was her best bet. Another hour or two and things would wind down and she could check on Flynn. She’d feel better when she saw him and was certain he was okay.

Her gaze flicked to the edge of the room, where Dante Accardi stood in silence with his glamorous, dark-haired wife. His focus was on the strawberry cheesecake ice cream, which he was eating slowly from the cone.

Glancing up, he caught her watching him.

“We have a problem,” he said, taking a few steps towards her.

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