Page 44 of Dead in the Water

Or Flynn. He’d have been a good person to share her plans with. She still hadn’t answered his calls and messages from yesterday. Not properly anyway – she’d sent a thumbs up emoji when he’d asked how her day had been, but that was it.

Standing beside Russell at the helm of the boat, she toyed with her phone in the pocket of her denim shorts. There was still time to send a quick message and let someone know where she was. If she had a signal, anyway. She was about to pull her phone out to check when her eyes roamed over the deck.

Joyce sat nestled against Keith's side on the white leather bench seat – Joyce looking out at the endless expanse of water, while Keith had his head in a Sudoku book, pen poised in his hand. Across from them, Vic pursed his lips as he stared at his laptop on the table in front of him.

Looking at the sedate group, Lily’s worries about her safety seemed suddenly laughable. She was out for a gentle boat trip with a bunch of retirees. If anything, she might be in danger of being bored to death, but she couldn’t imagine she had much else to worry about.

Her fingers relaxed, releasing her phone in her pocket, and she pulled her sunglasses down from the top of her head as the sun slipped out from a cloud. The shrieks of gulls occasionally interrupted the gentle hum of the engine. Taking a moment to notice the scent of salt in the air, and the feel of the deliciously warm sun on her face, it all felt pretty intoxicating. A day away from the ice cream shop may have been exactly what she needed.

“Look at that,” Russell said, pointing to a bunch of rocks where seals lay in the sunshine. “They look very chilled out.”

Lily smiled at the sight. “A friend of mine told me they’re really playful. If you get in the water, they’ll often swim right up to you.”

“We can stop if you fancy a swim,” Russell suggested.

She shook her head. When she finally got around to swimming with seals, she’d go with Seren, who’d mentioned it a few times recently. Besides, they’d only left the harbour five minutes ago so she couldn’t imagine anyone would be keen to stop. Briefly, she wondered how long the little sailing trip would last. Given that Joseph’s son should be arriving soon, she couldn’t imagine it would be too long.

“What time is James arriving?” Lily asked Russell quietly. Hopefully she might get a chance to talk to him.

“Sometime this afternoon,” he replied, only just getting the words out before being interrupted by Joyce who stood and inhaled an excited gasp.

“There are puffins on that rock,” she pointed out, picking up a bulky camera from the seat beside her. “There’s something so special about puffins.”

“Never mind the birds,” Kerry said, emerging from below deck with a bottle of champagne in one hand and a collection of glasses in the other. “Who’s ready for a drink?”

“It’s not even eleven o’clock,” Vic said, rolling his eyes but not looking up from his computer.

“Champagne,” Joyce squeaked. “That seems a little…”

“Inappropriate,” Keith said, finally dragging his attention from his puzzle book. “I don’t think anyone is in a celebratory mood.”

“They should be.” She offloaded the glasses onto Vic.

Keith cleared his throat. “What exactly are we celebrating?”

“Life,” Kerry said firmly. “Given our recent reminder of how fragile it is, I think we should make every day count.” She popped the cork and drizzled the frothy liquid into a glass. “Joyce, be a dear and fetch more glasses, will you? I couldn’t manage enough for everyone.”

“I don’t want one,” Joyce said primly.

“Everyone else does,” Kerry told her without getting confirmation on that. “Two more glasses if you’re really not having one.”

Joyce had a flash of defiance in her eyes, which was gone in a blink. She disappeared down the steps into the heart of the ship.

Lily moved to take a glass when Kerry thrust one in her direction. She passed one to Russell too, but her eyes were on the steps when Joyce returned. Hopefully, one of them would offer to give her a tour later, otherwise she’d suggest it herself. Shehad said she hadn’t been on a yacht before. They shouldn’t be surprised by her being curious.

“To the simple pleasures in life,” Kerry said, raising her glass when everyone except Joyce had one. “And to not taking anything for granted.” Smiling fondly she ran the back of her fingers down her husband’s cheek.

Taking a sip, Lily hid her bemused frown. Most people she knew wouldn’t consider drinking champagne on a yacht to be a simple pleasure. After a couple of sips she moved to sit beside Joyce, who smiled gently before she went back to enjoying the view. Keith’s focus was firmly on his book.

Kerry sat forwards in her seat. “How did you get into the ice cream business, Lily?”

“Quite by accident.” She paused, considering how much of her story she wanted to tell. “I came here for a visit and the owner of the ice cream shop was looking for someone to lease it. I suppose it was serendipity.”

“How long have you lived on the Scillies?” Vic asked, closing his laptop and extending his arm behind his wife.

“I only moved here earlier this year.”

“Who were you visiting?” Kerry asked.

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