Page 20 of Death on the Rocks

Her breath stopped as she was suddenly deep in a recollection of the arguments they’d had when she’d finally tired of being dragged from one place to the next. And then the last words she’d spoken to him… telling him he’d ruined her life. She’d wanted to take them back immediately, but her stubborn streak had made her wait a day before going to apologise.

He’d been dead when she’d whispered her apology in his ear, while squeezing his cold, lifeless hand.

“Oh, my goodness.” Seren removed her takeaway box from her lap and set it aside. “I’m so sorry. I’m like the most insensitive person ever. I just waltzed in and started stuffing my face. Are you okay? We can talk if you want. I just thought you might prefer to eat before we get to the subject of the dead body…”

Snapped from her memories, Lily realised she was still standing by the open door. She wasn’t in floods of tears, so that was something. Still, she must look like she’d lost the plot. She forced her muscles to relax as she closed the door.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m starving. I just zoned out for a moment there.”

“You’ve got a lot on your mind,” Seren said. “Eat up and then you can tell me all about it. Maybe it will help to get it off your chest.”

Lily sat at the dressing table to eat and didn’t bother to wait until she’d finished to give Seren the details of her morning.

“It’s frightening, isn’t it?” Seren said. “Thinking that life can come to an end so quickly. It gives me the willies just thinking about it.”

Lily pushed her empty takeaway box aside. “PC Grainger was great,” she said, knowing Seren would be interested in that bit of info. Also, she wanted to correct Seren’s view of him being grumpy and rude. Lily hadn’t seen that at all. “Really calm and kind,” she said.

“That’s good,” Seren said softly.

Lily nodded. “They say it was an accident.”

“The rocks get slippery,” Seren said. “And the fog is intense today. You can barely see your hand in front of your face.”

“They don’t do any kind of investigation though,” Lily mused. “That surprised me.”

Seren was about to pop a chip in her mouth, but stopped abruptly and set it back in the box on her lap before closing the lid. “What’s really hard with situations like this,” she said with a gravity to her tone that took Lily by surprise, “is not knowing exactly what happened. His family will never know precisely how he came to fall. That kind of stuff can haunt you.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” Lily probed.

The way Seren shook her head made it seem as though she might brush the conversation aside, but after a small hesitation she kept talking. “Kit’s dad died in a boating accident,” she said. “He was on his own, so we’ll never know exactly what happened. It’s hard for Kit and his family.”

“And you?” Lily ventured, recognising the grief in Seren’s eyes.

“Kit’s dad was great,” she said, an air of melancholy to her words. A moment later, she smiled gently. “Sorry. I wanted to check you were okay, not make you more depressed.” She sat up straighter. “Let’s lighten the atmosphere… you said PC Grainger was calm and kind, but I’d also like to know if he was flirting with you today.”

That definitely changed the atmosphere and the laughter that bubbled out of Lily felt wonderful.

Don’t get too attached,the voice in her head chimed again, but she shoved it to one side. She was only staying on the island for a week, so she wasn’t in a position to be making lasting friendships, regardless of how much she longed to.

But right at that moment she felt she had a friend, on a day when she really needed one.

“Did he flirt?” Seren demanded. “He totally did, didn’t he?”

“No.” Lily tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t manage it. “He was completely professional.”

“Well, you need to watch out, because he’s probably going to try and sleep with you.”

Lily shook her head defiantly.

“I bet you he will.” Seren let out a dramatic gasp. “You don’t even care, do you? Do you have a thing for PC Grainger?”

“No!” Lily suspected there was no way Seren would believe her unless she could stop with her incessant grinning.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shift her features to anything resembling a serious expression, and the more she denied any romantic feeling towards PC Grainger, the less Seren seemed to believe her.

Chapter Fourteen

MONDAY

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