Page 57 of Death on the Rocks

A couple of minutes later, she was back on the beach and running across it to reach the rocks at the base of the cliff. Pausing, she tried her best to approach in the same way she’d done when she’d found his body.

Because she needed to remember exactly where he’d been.

It took her a few minutes of studying the rocks, waiting for her memory to stir. But then she was there, in the exact spot she’d been when PC Grainger had arrived, looking at the exact spot where Vinny’s body had lain.

The scene was tranquil now, with no sign of what had happened less than a week ago.

It was all still there in Lily’s head, though.

There for her to study and analyse until she was certain she had everything straight.

Chapter Thirty-Six

“Someone definitely killed him,”Lily said when she burst into the police station half an hour later.

As usual, PC Grainger was sitting behind his desk, looking utterly bored.

“Good morning,” he said, not reacting to her tone or the fact that she was sweating profusely and no doubt looked a complete state after running the entire way across the island.

“Someone killed him.” She sucked in a breath. “All the suspects are about to board the ferry.” She heaved another lungful of air as she stood in front of him. She wouldn’t sit. There was no time for that. “You need to stop the boat,” she said, as firmly as she could while still short of breath. “If you don’t stop the boat, the killer will get away.”

“Do you have some new evidence for me, Miss Larkin?”

“I do.” She clutched at her side. “I was on the rocks this morning,” she told him, then shook her head when he gestured for her to sit. “I was on the rocks where Vinny supposedly fell, and I realised there’s no way he could have fallen.”

His eyebrows drew together. “Why?”

“He was too far from the foot of the rocks,” she said, still gasping for breath. “If he’d accidentally stepped off the edge,he’d have dropped like a stone, straight to the bottom. But that’s not where he ended up. His body was too far away from the cliff. There are only two ways he could have landed where he did – either he took a running jump, or someone pushed him with force.” Panting, she doubled over and pushed her fingers into her side.

“Are you okay?” PC Grainger asked.

She nodded. “I ran here. Got a stitch.”

“Do you need a glass of water or something?”

“No. I need you to stop the ferry and figure this whole mess out.”

He looked pained, but didn’t respond.

“Oh, come on,” she said, irritated now. “You can’t deny this. I’m talking about laws of physics… if there’d been a ledge for him to hit, that could have propelled him away from the rocks, but there’s nothing there. He would have fallen straight down. But he didn’t, because someone pushed him.”

PC Grainger sighed heavily. “And based on this, you want me to waylay the ferry and disrupt hundreds of people’s day?”

“In order to catch a killer, yes. I think it’s an entirely reasonable course of action. Also, not just based on this. Based on everything else I’ve told you.”

“And when it turns out that there is no killer? That Mr Roth just slipped and fell? What then?”

“Then we’ll be able to sleep better at night knowing we investigated properly.”

“I’m not sure how well I’ll sleep when I’m out of a job and am suddenly homeless,” PC Grainger muttered while massaging the back of his neck.

Lily stared at him for a moment. “Excuse me?”

“Nothing. Ignore me.”

“Is that the real issue?” Lily said, frowning as she slipped onto the chair. “You’re scared of your boss? Did the sergeant tellyou to leave things alone and you don’t dare to follow your own instincts?”

“That’s how it works in my job,” he said wearily. “There’s a hierarchy. A chain of command.”

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