Page 70 of Death on the Rocks

Flynn stared after him, trying to think of the best course of action.

It didn’t take him long to figure it out: stick to his original plan to keep his mouth shut, his head down and try to get through the next five months while making as few waves as possible.

He left the station with his jaw so tight he was probably damaging his teeth. Stalking quickly back to his flat, he tried not to let his anger get the better of him. The best thing to do would be to take Sergeant Proctor at his word and enjoy a week off. Technically, it was a holiday, even if it felt distinctly like a suspension.

To avoid getting further sucked down by his negative thoughts, he didn’t linger in the flat, but left again as soon as he’d changed.

The ferry didn’t leave for almost an hour, so he assumed Lily would still be over at the Miller’s place.

On instinct, he set off in that direction.

Chapter Forty-Five

On her lastmorning on the island, Lily packed her things, then had breakfast with a shell-shocked Alanna. It turned out Mrs Miller could make an excellent fry up when she wasn’t on a mission to incite negative reviews.

Mr Miller offered to drive Lily to the ferry, but she was happy to walk across the island one last time. She also had a stop or two to make on her way. Her desire to speak to PC Grainger one last time was only natural, she told herself as she walked. It occurred to her it would mean saying another goodbye, and the thought of it brought a heaviness to her chest.

As someone who’d spent most of her childhood moving from one place to another, it felt odd to be suddenly having such a hard time saying goodbye to people. At least until she realised that her upbringing hadn’t even given her the opportunity to say farewell whenever they moved to the next place. Suddenly, that didn’t seem like a bad strategy.

She could go straight to the ferry and not bother saying goodbye to PC Grainger. That was what she was thinking about at the exact moment that she spotted him walking towards her. Her smile came automatically, and she felt suddenly idiotic for thinking that she might just slip away without seeing him again.

“Good morning, PC Grainger,” she said brightly.

“Flynn,” he said, grinning. “Good morning to you, too. I was just on my way to find you.”

Warmth pooled in her stomach as they stopped in front of each other. In a pair of blue jeans and a black T-shirt, he looked way more casual than the other times she’d seen him.

“Sorry,” she said, realising she was staring. “This is the first time I’ve seen you out of uniform. Up close anyway. It’s a little disconcerting.”

“For me too.” His smile slipped away and Lily had the distinct feeling she’d said the wrong thing.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. I just like my uniform and…” He gave a quick shake of the head and his lips pulled into an unconvincing smile. “The sergeant rewarded my efforts yesterday with some time off.”

“You got suspended?” she said, her voice coming out louder than expected.

“No. Not officially. I got a week’s holiday. Except I’m not allowed to leave the islands.”

Lily frowned, annoyed on his behalf. “I think you should get a promotion. Or a medal maybe.”

“A medal?” He laughed at that, then glanced at her suitcase. “You’re early for the ferry.”

“I know.” Her lips twisted to one side. “I thought I’d grab a coffee before I leave. And I’d also intended to call into the station to see you.”

“Yeah?”

Feeling suddenly self-conscious, her gaze fell briefly to her shoes. “I wanted to thank you for yesterday.”

“Just doing my job,” he said with a shrug.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “But I think there was more to it than that. Your boss had told you to do nothing. And honestly, I don’t think everyone would have believed me.” She smiled lightly.“EvenIthought I might be going crazy at some point, but in the end, you believed me.” She shifted her weight, thinking how good it had felt when he’d arrived on the ferry to back her up. “Thank you.”

The vulnerability in her words hung between them, and the sudden silence seemed to stretch on.

“Can I join you for that coffee?” he asked eventually.

“Only if you’re paying,” she said, her words tinged with teasing that changed the atmosphere in an instant.

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