Page 2 of Death on the Rocks

“It could be if they didn’t live hundreds of miles away from us.”

“Or if we didn’t live hundreds of miles from them,” Flora said pointedly.

“Let’s not start this again,” Rodney replied. “I know you miss them, but we’d hate living in a city. Besides, we’ve got a good thing going here. It’s what we always dreamed of.”

Flora’s voice lowered in volume again, becoming hard to make out. “I didn’t dream of rearranging my furniture to suit the whims of some spoiled little princess.”

“Indulge her in her photoshoot,” Rodney said. “She’ll be gone in a few days and when she writes us a glowing review, all the furniture removal will be worth it.”

Flora didn’t have a chance to argue since the sound of footsteps interrupted them.

Vinny strode along the hallway, casting Lily a cursory glance before stopping at the doorway to the breakfast room.

“Everything okay?” Rodney asked, stepping closer to Vinny and subsequently into Lily’s field of vision. “Can we help you with anything else out there? Drinks maybe?”

“Did one of you move my camera?” Vinny asked accusingly. “It was out there on the table and now it’s vanished.”

“It can’t have just vanished,” Rodney said. “Maybe it got moved while we were rearranging things. I’ll come and help you look.”

“It’s not exactly small,” Vinny pointed out. “If it was out there, I’d have found it myself.”

“Maybe someone moved it inside out of the way.” Rodney patted Vinny’s shoulder. “Let’s have a proper look around.”

Placated, Vinny followed him, and Lily descended the rest of the stairs.

“Everything okay?” Flora said, stepping into the hallway.

“Great, thank you. I’m just off for a bit of exploring.”

“Lovely weather for it,” Flora said.

Yes,Lily thought.Perfect weather for an ice cream.

If only she could find the shop.

Chapter Two

Salty air rushed around Lily,invigorating her on her walk across the island. Green fields and privet hedges gave the sense that a piece of the English countryside had been dropped into the Atlantic Ocean. At least until the water came into view. Given the azure hue it felt more like Caribbean waters than the Atlantic. The sun slipped out from a fluffy cloud, seeming to rain diamonds on the surface of the rippling waves.

With her senses fixed on her surroundings, it felt like no time until Lily reached Hugh Town. After strolling along the quaint main street, bordered by dainty shops, she found the harbour and then Porthcressa beach, which stretched in a long crescent.

At the top of the beach, a concrete promenade was dotted with cafes and outdoor seating. No sign of an ice cream shop, though.

A dog and its owner veered around her as she pulled her backpack from her shoulder. After retrieving her photo, she studied it as though she hadn’t already looked at it a thousand times.

Lily could only have been around four when it was taken. Presumably it was one of the last photos of their little family – and one of the few Lily had of the three of them.

It should have been a treasured possession when she was growing up, but she’d only recently found it among her uncle’s things. Strange that he’d never shown it to her before, especially as she’d asked him on several occasions about one of her only clear memories of her parents – of being in an ice cream shop where the owner had taken her inside and shown her how the ice cream was made in huge metal machines.

Her uncle had brushed her questions about it aside until she’d convinced herself it wasn’t a real memory at all. At least until she’d found the photo and been convinced it was taken at the ice cream shop from her memories.

The building in the photo was at the end of the row, but as she set off in that direction she felt a sinking feeling. An ice cream shop would surely have a buzz of people. There was nothing of the sort here. In fact, the last building was derelict and a sorry sight given its prime beach location.

Maybe she wasn’t even in the right place. Turning in a circle, she wondered why she was even looking for an ice cream shop that she’d visited with her parents more than twenty years ago. The chances of it still being in operation had been slim, and what exactly had she intended to do when she’d found it?

Ripping her gaze from the building, she stared out to sea and felt an emptiness settle in her stomach. The hunt for the ice cream shop had given her a purpose, and if this was the end of that road, what would she do next? Where would she go?

Home,presumably. She just wasn’t sure where that was.

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