Page 52 of Dead in the Water

“Because you sounded genuine. I’m used to sarcasm from you.”

“Sometimes I can be serious.” He shrugged. “When the situation demands it.”

“Can you do me a favour and give me a non-alcoholic drink that looks like wine?”

“Like non-alcoholic wine, perhaps?”

She smiled. “Have you got some?”

“Yeah. It’s not something I generally recommend.”

“I don’t care what it tastes like. I just can’t drink any more alcohol, but I’d rather he doesn’t know that.”

“Need to keep your wits about you, while he loses his.” He nodded approvingly. “You’re good at this investigating stuff.”

She opened her mouth to tell him she wished she was better, since she hadn’t got much useful information so far. Her jaw clenched and she kept the thought to herself. It was a conversation she would have had with Flynn and it felt strange to talk to someone else about it.

Besides, Russell was waiting for her.

“I’ll bring your drinks over,” Sean said.

“Thank you.” Lily took a breath, then plastered on a bright smile before turning back to Russell.

She’d stay for one drink and one drink only.

That was her plan. It went out of the window when they finished their drinks and Russell ordered another round without asking. There was a hint of a slur to his voice as he continued telling her his dream sailing destinations. He’d given up on the flirting, and Lily wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. It felt more comfortable, but she suspected it meant less chance of getting anything out of him.

He was finishing his drink when he pulled his phone from his pocket to check his messages. Lily only had time to see it had come from Kerry before he put the phone aside. The screen lit up with a notification of another message but he ignored it.

As curious as she was about the messages, the screensaver on his phone drew her attention too. She’d assumed he was single, but the picture of him and a brown-haired woman suggested otherwise.

“Who’s that?”

“An old friend,” he said, leaning back in his chair.

“She must be pretty special if she gets pride of place on your phone.”

He went to pick up his drink, only to find it empty. Lifting the glass, he called across the empty room to Sean. “Another one.” He pointed to Lily’s glass. “For both of us.”

Lily caught Sean’s eye and shot him a panicked look.

“I’m afraid it’s closing time,” he said. “Any more drinks will need to come from the minibar in your room. I have your bill here.” He wandered over with it and Lily’s eyes rounded at the numbers on the slip of paper.

“Bloody hell,” she whispered, apparently unable to control her mouth.

“Everything okay?” Russell asked, shifting in his seat to take his wallet out.

She blinked, checking she wasn’t misreading the bill. “The wine costs three hundred quid.” Looking at the glass, shefelt slightly queasy at the thought of drinking something so expensive. Except she hadn’t even drank it.

Why the heck had Sean added something so expensive to the bill? Surely Russell would take issue with it…

“You’re absolutely worth it,” he said, breaking her thoughts and tapping his card against the reader without even glancing at the bill. Then he pulled a bunch of notes from his wallet and handed them to Sean who thanked him and wandered away.

Lily blinked rapidly and stared at Russell as he made a meal of putting his wallet away. “Thanks,” she murmured.

“You’re welcome,” he slurred. “Thank you for your company.”

On the table, his phone lit up again. The smiling face of the brunette appeared behind the message notifications. She wasn’t someone Lily would ever have put Russell with. At a guess, she was probably a few years older than him and had a natural, graceful look about her.

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