Page 59 of Artful Deceit
“Thank you.” Her phone pinged, and she opened the message from Hilary, which included a photo of the stolen necklace. She zoomed in.
“It’s Hilary’s necklace,” she said after checking the one onthe floor again. “I don’t want to touch it, but I’d like to move it so Gideon doesn’t spot it…” She nudged it with the toe of her shoe so it was a little more hidden by the stack of books. “Gideon must have dropped it there by accident. I’m sure the rest of his stash isn’t far away.” Her eyes darted around the room. If she could just get her hands on her backpack, she could put all this behind her.
“Time to go?” Len asked.
“Yes,” Lily replied. “I’m right behind you.” She went to the kitchen with him as though she intended to follow him right out. Instead, she waited until he was a couple of rungs down before she told him she just wanted to check something and darted back through the kitchen.
The backpack must be around somewhere. But as she scrambled through every inch of the living room and then the bedroom, she began to lose hope. Maybe there was an attic space. She couldn’t see anything obvious, though. Or perhaps there was a cellar.
“Lily!” Len hissed from outside. “Hurry up.”
“I’m coming,” she muttered dejectedly. Climbing back down felt like way more effort than going up. Partly because she was losing hope of ever finding her backpack and partly because her battered muscles were becoming stiffer by the minute.
“Sorry,” Len said when she was safely on the ground. “I thought I heard someone, but I think it was just hikers passing on the lane. Let’s get out of here. I’m getting twitchy now. I’ll drive you home.”
“I’d appreciate that,” she said, hobbling back to the van beside Len and his ladder.
“What happens now?” he asked on the drive across the island. “Should I leave everything to you?”
“Yes. Leave it to me,” she said wearily. She whipped her head up abruptly. “I know you were joking earlier about me getting the credit, but we really can’t ever tell anyone what we just did. It’s totally illegal. Also, it will be bad for business ifpeople think you’ve been using your ladder to climb in people’s windows and trespass on their property. Even if Gideon is guilty.”
“Do you have any doubts about that?”
“The evidence is right there in his flat. But it won’t make any difference. Even if it was for a good cause, people won’t like what we did.”
“You’re right, of course. I’ll have to settle for being an unsung hero of this tale.”
She smiled lightly. “Sometimes that’s just the way it goes.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Len droppedher off as close to the ice cream shop as he could get, but she quickly decided on a change of destination. Once she’d cleaned herself up, all she’d want to do is lie on the couch in her pyjamas and not venture out again.
Hobbling through Hugh Town, she got a few odd looks. Apparently, her injuries weren’t subtle.
Pulling out her phone, she called Flynn.
“Are you at the station?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Can you meet me outside in about two minutes?”
“You could just come in,” he said, a quizzical note in his voice.
“I could, but I’d rather not. Come outside, please.”
He’d just walked out when she rounded the corner. The sympathetic tilt of his head made her want to snuggle against his chest and cry until she felt better.
“What happened?” he asked softly.
“I fell out of a tree.” She’d have laughed, but suspected that would hurt.
Flynn’s eyebrows lifted. “Should I ask?”
“Not right now. I have other stuff to tell you about. This little anecdote can wait.”
“Are you okay, though?”
