Page 10 of Death on the Rocks

They were a cute couple, Lily thought before her gaze drifted across the room again.

“It is all a bit mysterious, isn’t it?” Kit said. “There was definitely no opening for another PC on the island. And Sergent Proctor’s very shifty if you ask him about it. Though he did say PC Grainger was probably only here on a temporary posting.”

“I met him today.” Lily’s words drew the attention of all three of them. “PC Grainger,” she clarified.

“Did he try to sleep with you?” Keira asked.

“No.” She laughed at their eager faces.

“What happened?” Kit asked with a mischievous grin. “Tell us everything.”

“You’ve got a cheek calling us gossips,” Keira told him affectionately.

“Tell us,” Seren said across the bar.

Lily's gaze lingered on PC Grainger, who was completely oblivious to being the centre of their conversation. Then she flicked her eyes back across the bar. “First I want to know what you were about to say. About a rumour…”

“I heard he was working in London.” Seren’s whispered words had them all leaning in. “He got caught sleeping with some police chief’s daughter… she was only young… seventeen, I think. It was a big scandal but not actually a sackable offence. They’ve sent him over here to keep him out of the way while the dust settles.”

“I don’t believe it,” Keira said. “It sounds totally made up.”

“Sounds believable to me,” Seren said. “I’ve seen him leave this place with three different women since he’s been here.”

“It’s weird that you’re keeping track of his conquests,” Kit said with a small shake of his head.

“There are probably more,” Seren said idly. “His loose morals aren’t my only issue with him. You need to be friendly for small town policing and I’m not sure he knows the meaning of the word. He’s borderline rude when I serve him. And he never tips.” She looked at Lily. “What did you make of him?”

Before she could answer, Kit spoke. “I thought you were only visiting… how have you already met our new constable?”

She gave them a rundown of her strange day at the B&B, excluding the minor detail of her manhandling Vinny, but finishing with PC Grainger arriving in her room.

“He sounds quite heroic,” Seren said grudgingly.

“I don’t know about that,” Lily said. “I was glad he turned up when he did, though.”

“This won’t be good for Flora and Rodney.” Kit’s eyes were fixed on his phone. “The guy’s already written them a review.”

“What does it say?” Keira asked.

He pursed his lips as his eyes darted over the screen. “Nothing about the camera. It’s mostly about the breakfast.”His lips twitched upwards. “He has a real bee in his bonnet about his overcooked bacon. And then he rants about the bed and the pillow.” Kit paused and chuckled. “It’s quite clever not to mention the camera. A theft might not put people off since it would sound like a one-off and not the owner’s fault. But improperly cooked bacon…” He wiggled his eyebrows. “That’s got to be the most damaging complaint for a B&B.”

“My theory about Flora was wrong anyway,” Seren said. “I really thought she’d been writing the bad reviews herself.”

“Why would she do that?” Keira asked, voicing the question on the tip of Lily’s tongue.

Kit tilted his head to one side. “She and Rodney were in here last week. Rodney was complaining about a spate of bad reviews and some cancelled bookings. Flora jokingly said that it might be time to move to the mainland. Except it didn’t really sound like a joke. I mentioned it to Mum and she said she wouldn’t be surprised. Apparently, Flora has been desperate to move closer to her grandchildren for a couple of years now.”

“I heard her mention that today too,” Lily told them.

Kit returned his phone to his pocket. “Rodney would never leave St. Mary’s.”

“That’s why I thought she might have been the one writing the reviews,” Seren said. “If the business goes under they might have no choice but to sell up and leave.”

Keira stared at her. “You have a worryingly suspicious mind. People generally aren’t that devious.”

“Maybe she isn’t writing fake reviews,” Lily mused. “But she could be thereasonthey’re getting the reviews…”

“You think she burned the bacon on purpose?” Kit said.

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