Page 42 of Death on the Rocks

She shook her head. “I want them to investigate Vinny’s death.”

“But he just fell,” Oscar said, eyes narrowing. “Him being a pervert doesn’t make his death suspicious, does it?”

“Not according to PC Grainger.”

Oscar’s shoulders relaxed and he pulled his phone from his pocket to respond to a message. “I have to go,” he told Lily. “Katie’s waiting for me. She was ignoring my calls after Vinny died, but suddenly she’s desperate to talk. I’m on my way to her place.”

“Can I come?” Lily asked.

“I don’t think she’d like it. She’s been pretty shaken up since Vinny did his so-called photo shoot. She’s terrified of people finding out about it. You can’t mention it to anyone.”

“Maybe she’d like to speak to another woman about it,” Lily ventured. “It must be hard for her to keep it to herself. I might be able to help.”

If he said no, she suspected she’d follow him anyway. Perhaps he suspected the same, as he gave a noncommittal shrug and led the way.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“What’s going on?”Katie asked, not opening the front door fully.

“Lily asked if she could come too,” Oscar said.

Katie’s nose wrinkled. “You’re staying at the B&B.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“She knows about the photos,” Oscar whispered.

Katie looked as though she might be about to close the door in their faces. “Why?”

“She found the camera in the shed.”

“I thought maybe I could help.” Lily offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile, but wasn’t convinced she’d hit her mark.

“I said not to tell anyone,” Katie hissed at Oscar.

“I didn’t,” he shot back. “She already knew.”

“Clearly Vinny was awful,” Lily said, attempting to present herself as an ally. “I can’t believe he used you like that.”

Katie’s features softened. “He showed me these arty black and white photos. In those photos you couldn’t see any of the women’s private parts, or their faces. And he offered me a lot of money…” She pressed her lips together, then met Lily’s gaze. “It wasn’t like that when he took my photo. I realised quickly, but not quickly enough. He’d already taken a bunch of pictures.”

“Can we come in?” Oscar asked.

Reluctantly, Katie opened the door wider and stepped aside to reveal a long hallway. “My parents will be out for an hour or so.”

“What did you want to tell me about?” Oscar asked as they entered the large kitchen at the back of the house. “You said you’d found something out…”

“Yes.” Her eyes brightened as she sank into a chair at the solid wooden table. In front of her, a laptop was already open. “It wasn’t just me,” she said as she clicked on the keypad. “I’ve been talking to a woman online and Vinny did the same thing to her. Promised her artistic shots and then took seedy ones. Then he refused to pay her.”

The chairs scraped on the stone tiles as Lily and Oscar sat on either side of Katie.

“How did you find her?” Lily asked.

“I was doing some digging around, checking Vinny’s social media sites and stuff. At first I was panicking, thinking he might post photos of me somewhere.” She gave a quick shake of the head. “Now, I realise that was stupid. He wouldn’t post them where anyone could see them. He’d get himself into trouble that way, wouldn’t he?” The innocence in her wide eyes made Lily’s heart squeeze as she looked questioningly at her. She nodded in response.

“Anyway,” Katie went on. “The only official work of his I could find was the photography he does…” She caught herself and grimaced. “The only work hedidwas the stuff for Alanna Harding. It seemed weird that a photographer wouldn’t have more clients or jobs, but I guess she kept him busy.” She frowned as though she’d lost her train of thought, then she gave a quick shake of her head and continued. “I saw Alanna write a post about his death and I got a bit obsessed by the comment section.Lots of people were sympathetic and shocked… but some of them…”

Lily’s eyelids popped. “Some of the women were glad he’s dead.”

“Did you see the comments, too?” Katie asked.

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