Page 51 of Death on the Rocks

As though the name might be forgotten again, Lily hurriedly opened her phone and made a note of it. “Gail Greenway,” she mused, hoping it might spark a memory, but nothing came.

“Do you know her?” Mirren asked.

“No. I don’t think so.” She drew the old photograph from her pocket and handed it to Mirren. “This is me and my parents.”

“In front of the ice cream shop,” Mirren mused.

“Yes. I have a feeling Gail might have been the one to take the photo.” She paused, feeling an unexpected pang of sadness. “My parents both died, probably not long after this photo was taken. I only found the photo recently, and…” She paused again. “I’m probably being silly and nostalgic, but I have this strange feeling that the ice cream shop was somehow meaningful… like my parents were friends with the owner or something.” She felt even more emotional at the sympathy in Mirren’s eyes. “I spent ages tracking down the ice cream shop. It feels a bit deflating that I couldn’t track down the owner, but now that I know her name I might have more luck. Maybe I can find her on the internet.”

“Maybe.” Mirren patted her hand. “I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

“It’s a massive help to have her name. That should be helpful in tracking her down.” Except, she was supposed to be giving all this up and figuring out what to do with her life.

She could allow herself a simple internet search, though. What harm could that do?

Chapter Thirty-Two

The patchy internetsignal meant Lily would have to wait until later to see what she could find out about Gail Greenway. After so many months of searching, having a name felt significant. She just wished the name meant something to her, but it didn’t jog her memory in the slightest.

After strolling through Hugh Town, Lily arrived at the police station and stepped quietly inside. “Are you still working alone?” she asked PC Grainger, who was sitting in the same spot he’d been the last time she’d been there. An image of him and his blonde friend popped into her head, and she shoved it aside.

“The sergeant and PC Hill are still ill,” he told her.

She nodded, trying not to convey her disappointment. Maybe if the sergeant had been there, he might take her concerns more seriously. As it was, she’d once again have to convince PC Grainger, and she suspected she was starting out on uneven ground. Not that it mattered. All she had to do was pass on what she’d uncovered and then it was out of her hands.

“What can I help you with today?” The way he stressed the wordtodaymade it sound as though she was a nuisance he had to deal with regularly.

She sat heavily on the chair opposite him. “I know you said you wouldn’t look any further into Vinny’s death, but I wanted to update you on what I’ve found… in case it might make you reconsider.”

He sighed as he rested his elbows on the table. “You’ve been playing Miss Marple, have you?”

She shrugged. “I see myself as more of a modern detective. And younger than Marple, obviously, but I see what you’re getting at. And yes, I have been digging into the incident, but it was hard not to.”

“Really? I know the weather hasn’t been brilliant, but I’m sure you could have found something else to entertain yourself. If hiking isn’t your thing, there’s always Netflix… surely you have Netflix?”

“I…” She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. The mocking in his tone scrambled her carefully constructed thoughts into chaos. Taking a steady breath, she vowed not to let him goad her. “I’m only here to report what I’ve found,” she said archly.

“Fine.” He leaned back in his chair and interlocked his fingers on his chest. “Hit me with it.”

“Well.” She swallowed hard, annoyed with herself for getting flustered. The more confident and arrogant he was, the more feeble she felt. “I don’t know who did it,” she said.

“Who did what?”

“Killed Vinny.”

“Right,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Of course. That’s helpful.”

“I can’t even say for certain that someone did,” she said, choosing to ignore his teasing. “There’s definitely some stuff that seems dodgy.”

“Such as?”

“I’m fairly sure he was involved in some criminal activity. Specifically pornography.” She cut him off when he tried to speak. “Before you ask, no, I didn’t find the memory card, but I found the subject of the photos.” She described her visit to Katie and the fact that at least one other woman had experienced the same.

“If Katie doesn’t want to make a statement, I can’t really follow it up.”

“I’m hoping she might change her mind.”

PC Grainger leaned forwards. “You mentioned that you think someone killed Mr Roth. Are you suggesting that Katie pushed him off the cliff?”

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