Page 37 of Dead in the Water

“That’s probably a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Maybe.” Once again, Lily thought about Flynn’s notion that she was looking for a distraction. “I might be reading too much into things. If you’re looking for something, you tend to find things, but maybe they don’t really mean anything.”

The message she’d read was probably completely innocent.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“No, thanks.” She patted Kit’s arm and wandered back to take her seat.

Maybe instead of involving herself in other people’s business, she should focus on her own problems.

Chapter Seventeen

The restof the train trip was spent watching the scenery go by. Occasionally, Lily tuned in to Kit’s voice and took in the information about the islands, but mostly she spent the time psyching herself up to speak to Maria. The chances were she’d find out she was entirely wrong about Maria owning the shop, but she needed to know once and for all.

After parting ways with Joyce and Keith at the end of the tour, she wandered past the ice cream shop. There were a few customers but since Jessica appeared to have everything in hand, Lily didn’t even go inside, but continued towards Glynis’s house. Even if Glynis was at home, it didn’t mean Lily couldn’t speak with Maria alone. That had only been an excuse to put it off.

“Hi,” Maria said when she opened the door. “I’m not sure Glynis is up to a visit now. We’ve been for a walk this morning and she’s exhausted. She just fell asleep in her chair.”

“I won’t disturb her,” Lily said, resisting the urge to postpone the chat for another day.

Maria began to close the door. “I’ll tell her you called.”

“Actually,” Lily said, placing a hand on the door. “I wondered if we could have a chat.”

“You and me?” Given the unease in her features, anyone would think Lily had suggested they move in together not have a conversation.

“Yeah, it won’t take long,” Lily said breezily, then strode inside.

“I really don’t have much time.” Maria closed the door behind her. “I have a few jobs to do while Glynis is napping.”

Walking to the kitchen, Lily hovered beside the table and inhaled a calming breath. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something…” She trailed off, distracted by Maria reaching into the neck of her sweater and pulling out her necklace. With the pendant tight in her grasp, Lily couldn’t get a good look at it.

“Is that an anchor?” she finally asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Your necklace? Is it an anchor?”

“Yes.” She tucked it away again and crossed the room to stand beside the sink. “Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah.” She squared her shoulders. “Are you Gail Greenwood?”

Maria – or Gail, if that was who she really was – chewed on her bottom lip. There was no hint of surprise in her features, but she avoided Lily’s gaze and moved to fill the kettle.

“Are you?” Lily demanded. “I’m fairly certain you are. I just can’t figure out why you’d lie about your name.” A pulse of anger swept through her. “Actually, that’s not true… I think I know why you’d lie… Because you don’t want anyone to know you own the ice cream shop. I just don’t know why you want to keep that a secret.”

Maria’s shoulders rose and fell before she turned to face Lily. “I didn’t lie about my name. Maria is my middle name. I haven’t gone by Gail for a long time.”

“Howlong?”

“Twenty years,” she said nonchalantly.

Lily’s thoughts whirled so fast she felt slightly dizzy. “Why?”

“I never really liked the name Gail. I wanted a change.”

Lily struggled to keep track of the questions that buzzed in her mind while the kettle gurgled in the background. “Why did you hide from me?”

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