Page 28 of Death on the Rocks

Broken from her thoughts, Lily frowned at the sound of Alanna’s high-pitched voice as she joined them on the patio.

“This weather is unbelievable,” she said, glaring at Mrs Miller as though it was entirely her fault. “I feel like a prisoner. We even tried to book a helicopter to get off the island, but they refuse to fly, same as the planes. It’s ridiculous. I’ve suffered a trauma and I want to go home.”

“It’s dangerous to fly in this weather,” Mrs Miller said. “But fog like this never stays long. Especially not in the spring. It’ll be a few days at the most.”

“A few days!” Alanna shrieked, then switched her gaze to Marc, who was leaning in the doorway. “She says it might take a few days. What are we going to do for a few days?”

He shrugged. “Just wait, I guess. What else can we do?”

Lily could empathise about waiting. How long would she have to wait for everyone to clear out so she could get back into the shed? Since it didn’t seem it was going to happen anytime soon, she slipped away from the continuing conversation about the weather and went up to the relative peace of her room.

Half an hour later, she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and shifted to the door to better hear the conversation between Alanna and Marc.

“I can’t do anything about the weather,” Marc was saying patiently. “And since your attempt at bribing the helicopter pilot didn’t work, I’m not sure what else we can do.”

“My nerves can’t take this.” Alanna’s voice was only just audible through the door. “I swear I’m going to have a breakdown.”

“We’ll be home before you know it,” Marc said. “Why don’t you get on with writing that post about Vinny for your followers…”

Lily caught Alanna saying something about her fans missing her before the voices trailed off. Moving to the window, she spotted Mr and Mrs Miller in the garden – heads bent together as they chatted by the wall. That thwarted her plans to go back to the shed.

To kill some time, she set out in search of food. She spent an hour in a cafe at the other side of the island, and the daylight was fading when she returned to the house.

Bypassing the front door, she slipped stealthily around the side of the house and made straight for the shed. Quietly, she slid the bolt and opened the door. She’d be in and out within moments, then walk straight back to Hugh Town and the police station.

Except when she moved the plant pots aside, there was no sign of the camera.

Against logic, she pushed her hand into the corner and fumbled around as though she might have just missed it.

Nothing.

Frantically, she moved around the shed, checking every inch of shelf space.

Still nothing.

The camera was gone.

Chapter Nineteen

TUESDAY

After spending mostof the night tossing and turning, Lily finally fell into a deep sleep just as the sun was rising, then woke with a start hours later.

Frantically, she hopped out of bed and pulled on jeans and a hoodie. She’d tried calling the police again the previous evening but had once again had no luck.

Now, she cursed herself for not trying harder to get in touch with them. She could have called the emergency number and asked them to pass on a message, or tried messaging through their social media site, as the locals apparently did.

There was no sense worrying about that now. She’d try an in-person visit to the station and hope the place was manned.

A rush of relief hit her when she swept the bedroom curtains aside. The fog remained, meaning Alanna and Marc wouldn’t have been able to leave the island yet. It felt suddenly imperative that no one went anywhere until the police had got to the bottom of all of this.

The power walk along the quiet lanes got Lily’s blood pumping and she felt a rush of anticipation when she approached the police station.

Distracted, she didn’t immediately see the Millers lingering outside the building. It was the voices that drew her attention.

“I’d like to get on the next ferry,” Flora said to her husband. “After all this, I need a break. As soon as the weather clears, we’ll go over and spend a week or two with Kerry and Jim.”

“We can’t both go,” Rodney argued. “We have guests.”

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