Page 47 of Artful Deceit
If she were the one who stole Lily’s money, she wouldn’t even begrudge her that. In fact, she’d be okay with Martha having it if it meant she could get away from her husband. She just needed to give the passports back.
Lily tuned back into the conversation as Saffron beamed beside her. “I posted on some local community boards,” she was saying. “Asking for a job on the island, because I thought I’d like to stay a little longer. I asked for something with accommodation included and said I was happy to do any kind of work. You won’t believe my luck!” She clapped her hands together. “I got offered a job as a nanny on a yacht!”
Lily made an appropriate noise of excitement.
“I have to leave with them tomorrow. That’s the only downside – cutting the art retreat short, but only by a couple of days, and I think it will be worth it. The family’s regular nanny had tofly home due to a death in the family, so they needed someone to step in, and they saw my advert. It’s so great. I get a nice room on the yacht and a free sailing trip. The pay is pretty good. And the kids seem very polite and well behaved. I went and met them all this morning and looked around the yacht. I’m so excited. It’s really unbelievable how these things just fall into my lap. The universe is always looking out for me, that much is certain.”
“It seems like it,” Lily said. “The trip sounds fantastic. So you’re leaving tomorrow?”
“Yes.” She pouted. “I would have come to say goodbye to you. No way I’d have left without seeing you. Let’s swap numbers so we can stay in touch.”
“Okay.” Lily pulled her phone out and forced herself to focus as they exchanged numbers.
As she walked back up the beach, she had an overwhelming urge to call Flynn and find out what the procedure was for people leaving the islands on private boats. Staff were checking for anything suspicious at the airport and on the ferry, but it would be easy to get stolen goods out if you had your own yacht.
Or hitched a ride on someone else’s.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Needingto address the feeling of discomfort which had been pestering Lily since her encounter with Len at the harbour, she set off for his place once the shop was closed for the day.
As she stood on his doorstep, he looked much calmer than when she’d last seen him, but his greeting definitely lacked his usual warmth.
“I know you probably don’t want to see me.” She spoke quickly, suspecting he might close the door in her face. “But I only want to say that I’m really sorry for this morning. I jumped to conclusions and I shouldn’t have.” She paused and when he didn’t close the door on her, she bumbled on. “In my defence, I’d do the same thing again.” She frowned. “Which I know makes my apology sound insincere, but I want to figure out who’s been stealing and to do that I need to keep an open mind. I can’t assume people are innocent because they seem like a nice person. I might make enemies but––”
He raised a hand, cutting her off. “I was angry this morning, but I’ve calmed down now. We’re all good. You don’t need to stand there yapping all evening. And if you’re going to insist on your yapping, you should probably come in so the neighbours don’t have to listen to you.”
Relief had her whole body sagging. “I really am sorry,” she said as she crossed the threshold.
“It’s in the past.” He gave her arm a pat, then led the way into the living room. “I didn’t mean what I said about your windows either.”
“Thank god,” she said, flopping back onto the couch. “The only reason I came to grovel was the thought of having to clean them myself.”
He chuckled, making his belly wobble. “I was upset this morning – having my honour called into question like that wasn’t pleasant, but I soon calmed down. I think you and I are cut from the same cloth. We both care about this community and hate the thought of anyone taking advantage of people here. So I understand your wanting to catch this thief. Respect it even. You ask the hard questions, but anyone who’s innocent won’t hold that against you for long.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
“I tell you what I don’t understand… what made you think it was me? Presumably because I’m a window cleaner and have access, but there must have been more than that.”
“It’s a long story,” Lily said. “I thought it was someone at the art retreat to start with…” She spent ten minutes telling him about her investigations and making him laugh as she regaled him with the story of sneaking around Roland’s room while he was fast asleep in bed.
“So as well as ruling me out as a suspect, you’ve also ruled out Roland?”
“Yes. But I’m not even convinced it’s anything to do with the retreat any more so I’m probably just chasing my tail.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “The pencil at the scene of the crime seems like a hefty clue to me.”
She hadn’t actually told Len about her missing items, but had claimed Hilary Phillips had found a pencil after the break in at her place. It felt good to chat it through, even if she still couldn’t be completely open.
“Gideon told me he offers the pencils to everyone he meets,” she said.
“That’s true. I think he was going to suggest paying me in pencils once.”
Lily laughed, but the mirth faded quickly. “I’m at a dead end,” she said sulkily.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if it were someone up at Gideon’s place. They’re an odd bunch from what I’ve seen.” He pressed his head into the chair cushion. “Tell me what else you know. Maybe we can figure this out together.”
Lily huffed out a breath. “I know Martha would like to leave her husband but feels tied to him because she isn’t financially independent.”
