Page 74 of Artful Deceit
She was saved from the awkward atmosphere by the door opening. At the sight of Flynn, she shot out of her seat.
“Where did you go?”
“There was an emergency,” he said, a faraway look in his eyes. “Sorry it took so long.”
“It’s probably a good thing anyway,” she blurted out. “Because Maria is here now, and she knows about the passport. It’s a wild story, but I think I know how you can verify it…” She talked rapidly, telling him about her uncle’s theory that someone had killed her parents and grandmother, and had been coming after her too. She could hear how unbelievable it all sounded, but Flynn barely reacted to any of it – just stared at her blankly as she rushed through it all.
“I’m sure if you look back through the files about my parents’ death there’ll be something about my uncle and grandma asking questions. And my grandma probably told the police she thought someone pushed her. I’d think so anyway.” Finally, she stopped talking.
“Why did he have so much cash?” Flynn asked.
Lily opened her mouth to say she didn’t know, but Maria answered for her.
“If he needed to hide, he knew anyone could track them down through the bank. He wanted to always have enough so that they could rely on that and be untraceable.”
“Makes sense,” he said. “So it was legally obtained?”
“Yes. Derek had plenty of money – from Lily’s parents and from her grandmother. They lived off that, and he withdrew his wages from the bank every month. That way, if anyone ever questioned it, he had proof of where it came from. He’d just look like a man who didn’t trust banks.”
Flynn nodded and moved towards the back rooms. “Wait here a second,” he said without looking at them.
Lily frowned at how odd his voice sounded. Hollow almost.
“That was weird,” Maria said. “It almost seemed as though he didn’t even care.”
Lily whipped around to the front door. “Why is he alone?” she said, thinking aloud.
She barely had time to ponder it before Flynn reappeared.
“What was the emergency?” she asked.
Ignoring the question, he held out her backpack. “Get rid of the passport,” he said in that same dull monotone. “If you’re sure the money is legal, you should probably start spending it. The pounds anyway. You’ll have to get the euros changed or you could deposit them into the bank … but don’t make any big transactions.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on,” she said, taking the bag when he thrust it at her. “Where’s Sergeant Proctor?”
Flynn swallowed hard. “He had a heart attack.”
Lily sucked in a sharp breath. “Is he okay?”
The slight shake of Flynn’s head made no sense.
“No one else knows about your backpack,” he went on. “Except for Len, but if I deny any knowledge of it, no one will believe a word he says. As long as you get rid of the passport, there’s no proof to back up what he says. Maybe hide the cash for now, just in case. Not at your place. Somewhere else.”
“Flynn?” Lily blinked back tears. “The sergeant?”
“He died.” His chin quivered before he pulled his shoulders back. “I need to go and tell his wife, so you have to leave.”
“He died?”That can’t be right.“He can’t be dead.”
“He had a heart attack,” Flynn repeated, then pressed his lips together. “I did CPR, but…” He trailed off with another shake of his head.
Lily felt rooted to the spot. “I’m so sorry, Flynn.”
“I have a lot to do,” he said robotically. “Please, just go. I’ll call you later.”
When she took a step towards him, he took one back. “I have things that I have to do. I need to talk to his wife… I’ll call you later, but… I can’t do this now. I just need to get things done.”
“Yeah. Of course.” She bit down on her lip and nodded her understanding. He couldn’t deal with sympathy. He had to keepit together and get through his tasks. As much as it might feel like rejection, it wasn’t about her. “Call me if you need anything,” she said and gave him what she hoped was a comforting smile before she walked outside with Maria.
