Page 47 of Death on the Rocks

“I was just heading out,” Lily said.

“Please.” Mrs Miller tipped her head towards the living room. “I won’t keep you for long.”

With an impatient sigh, Lily changed course. As she passed the breakfast room, she spotted Marc sitting alone with a coffee in front of him. He looked up from his phone to give her a friendly smile.

In the living room, Mrs Miller closed the door behind them and Lily perched on the edge of the sofa.

“I wanted to apologise for yesterday,” Flora said.

“Okay,” Lily replied.

“I feel terrible.” Flora sank onto the arm of the couch. “I snapped at you and I shouldn’t have done. I barely slept for thinking about how rude I was.”

“I think we’re all a bit on edge at the moment.”

Flora managed a weak smile. “The weather isn’t helping. Being cooped up isn’t good for anyone.”

“I’m sure it will clear soon,” Lily said.

“About that,” Flora said. “According to the weather forecast, the fog should lift overnight tonight. I know our other guests are keen to leave as soon as possible, so I just wanted to check that you’re still planning to stay until Friday?”

“Yes,” Lily said slowly. “Is that a problem?”

“No, no,” Flora said quickly. “It’s not a problem at all. It’s only that I’ve been desperate to see my daughter. I’ve booked myself and my husband on the ferry tomorrow morning. You’ll be here alone for your final night, but I’ve asked my neighbour to pop in and cook your breakfast. And if there’s anything else you need, I’ll leave her number. That wouldn’t be a problem for you, would it?”

“No.” Having the place to herself sounded like absolute bliss. “That’s fine.”

“Perfect. That’s all I wanted to tell you. And I’m sorry again for yesterday. I wasn’t myself.”

“Really, it’s fine.” Lily couldn’t ignore the look of despair in Mrs Miller’s features. “Are you okay?” she asked, giving the words the weight of a genuine enquiry rather than a polite nicety.

Mrs Miller wrung her hands in front of her. “My nerves are a little fraught, that’s all. I’m sure some time away is all I need.” She paused and caught Lily’s eye. “I’m concerned about my husband, too. He’s been out of sorts recently. You weren’t there, but he shouted at Mr Roth the other day. It was so unlike him. It was like something snapped inside him.”

Lily thought back, trying to recall the incident which she’d secretly watched from her window. Given the way Vinny had provoked him, she actually thought Mr Miller had been quite controlled.

“That’s why I got so upset yesterday when you suggested the police should investigate further,” Flora added.

“Why would that bother you?”

She shrugged. “If they ask more questions, it will come out that Rodney had argued with Mr Roth. It might look bad, I suppose.”

“But…” Lily frowned, stunned by the turn of the conversation. “You don’t think…”

“No,” Flora said quickly, before a flash of uncertainty hit her eyes. “No.” More firmly this time. “Of course not. It’s only that he was embarrassed about losing his temper, so I’d hate for him to have to relive it and have to answer police questions about it.”

“It’s normal that people lose their temper from time to time. I’m sure they’d see it for what it was.” Another thought struck her. “He was here in the house with you when Vinny died, so it’s not as though anyone could accuse him of anything.”

“Yes,” Mrs Miller said, the uncertainty returning to her voice. “We were together.”

Lily’s heart rate increased as she eyed Flora intently. “Hewaswith you, wasn’t he? You sound as though you’re not sure.”

“He was here.” She nodded firmly but didn’t meet Lily’s eye. “Here with me the whole time.” The smile she gave Lily looked entirely forced. “Are you sure you don’t want breakfast?” she asked, her tone overly sunny.

“No, thank you.”

After watching Flora scuttle back to the breakfast room, Lily ventured to the front door with her mind whirring even more than it had been before.

Chapter Thirty

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