Page 16 of Dead in the Water

“Do you want to go to the pub tonight? I can treat you to dinner after my shift…”

“Won’t you need to work late today?”

“I don’t think so. The sergeant has everything under control.”

“The pub sounds good,” she said, then hesitated. “Actually, shall we do something different for a change?”

“Have you found something else to do on this island?” he asked mockingly.

A flutter of nerves rippled through her stomach, but all she could think of was Joseph’s comment about the sunset being better when you shared it with someone. “How about a beach picnic? We could watch the sunset.”

He hesitated for long enough that Lily felt slightly nauseous.

“Yeah, okay,” he said eventually.

“I’ll organise food. You bring drinks?”

He nodded. “I can manage that.”

“Give me a shout when you finish work?”

“Will do.” He raised a hand and waved.

Before he got very far, she called out to him, then swallowed hard when he turned back. “To be clear… I meant it as a date. I was asking you on a date.”

A smile teased his lips. “Yeah. I got that.”

“Good. I just wanted to make sure.”

“I’ll see you later.” His smile widened, and her stomach fluttered wildly as she watched him go.

Chapter Eight

Strolling back to the station,Flynn forced himself to concentrate on his surroundings. He greeted several locals and stopped for a quick chat with the woman who ran the post office. Inevitably, she had questions about the incident at the harbour, and he did his best to answer them.

Only when he had the station in his sights did he allow his thoughts to drift to Lily and their kiss on the beach. His mouth pulled into a secret smile as he pushed the door open.

The front desk was unmanned, but Sergeant Proctor appeared from his office at the back when Flynn called out a greeting.

“Did you find Lily?”

“Yeah. She was a little shaken up about the whole thing, but she’s okay.”

“What time did she speak with Mr Whittaker yesterday evening?”

“Sunset. It sounds as though he probably left her about nine forty-five.”

“That makes sense. He must have called his son straight after.”

“She said he was on the phone as soon as he left. Do you want to get an official statement from her?”

“No.” He drew in a breath which puffed out his chest. “Let’s try to keep her name out of our report for once.”

Flynn stifled a grin. “Did you hear any more from the guy’s son?”

“Yeah. He’s adamant he wants to come out here and fly back with the body, but he’s panicking because his wife is away on a business trip and there’s no one else to look after their son. He doesn’t want to bring him.”

“I don’t blame him.”

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