Page 84 of Dead in the Water

Russell shook his head while his entire body radiated tension. “You knew you wouldn’t find anyone else to buy a third share of the yacht. I can’t believe I fell for all the lies. I really thought we had a future together.”

“I might have been using you to start with,” Kerry said tearfully. “But not any more. And we can be together properly now. Vic will be in prison.”

“You really think I want to be with you now?” Russell shot.

“You can figure out your personal drama later,” Sergeant Proctor said testily. “For now, I’d like to get back to the station to formally interview Mr Cooper.” He turned to Russell. “Would you mind returning us to St Mary’s?”

“With pleasure,” Russell said, brushing Kerry off again. “From there, I think I’ll get a plane home.”

“Don’t say that,” Kerry whined. “We can work all this out.”

“I’m just happy I didn’t sign any papers and I don’t actually own any part of this boat.” He stalked back to the wheel.

At the back of the boat, Joyce cuddled up to Keith and sobbed against his shoulder.

After firmly telling Vic not to move a muscle, the sergeant approached Lily and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so,” she said, but she was shivering despite the warmth of the sunshine, and her stomach felt vaguely queasy.

The sergeant smiled. “Thanks for all your help with this.”

“Thank you for coming after me. I thought I was going to end up in a foreign country. Or possibly dumped overboard if Vic had found me.” She felt even more queasy remembering the fear she’d felt while hiding in the wardrobe.

“It seems you have a lot of friends on the islands.” The sergeant looked out at the boats surrounding them. “I’ve never had such an easy time rounding up support. As soon as your name was mentioned, people fell over each other to help.”

Lily smiled nervously as she glanced around.

“Hey!” Kit shouted. “Do you want to get a ride home with us?”

After a quick nod, Lily looked questioningly at the sergeant.

“Whatever you want,” he told her, patting her shoulder.

She’d only taken one step when she swung back and caught Keith’s eye. “What would you gain from Joseph selling his share of the boat to Russell?”

“What?” Keith pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “How do you mean?”

“I overheard you saying it would be financially beneficial for you if Russell bought the boat. I don’t understand why.”

“Oh.” He glanced nervously at his wife who let out a dainty sob. “It’s only that Joseph could be a bit of a stickler when it came to money.”

“He always insisted all costs should be shared equally,” Joyce said while dabbing at her eyes. “It wasn’t as bad when Lisa was around. He wasn’t as uptight about everything.”

“We used to split the cost between three couples,” Keith said, scratching at his jaw. “But after Lisa died, each couple had to pay two-fifths and he’d pay one-fifth. Which I realise is technically fair, but it felt petty.” His lips stretched to a sheepish smile. “Whenever Russell was out with us, he’d just pay for everything.”

From behind the wheel, Russell let out a laugh that was entirely humourless.

Lily stared at Keith and Joyce for a moment. Speechless, she turned on her heel and headed for the lifeboat.

Passing Flynn, she gave him a grateful smile, then felt an undeniable sense of loss as she moved away from him.

Watching Kit help Lily onto the boat, Flynn felt a sting of panic at letting her out of his sight.

“Go with her if you want,” the sergeant said, beside him. “PC Hill and I can handle things here. I don’t think Vic will cause any problems on the way in.”

“Thanks, Sarge. If you’re sure?”

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