Page 81 of Artful Deceit
“No. I’m wondering whether to question Len Marrack again. See if we can get him to confess to planting it there.”
“It’s up to you,” Flynn said, hoping he sounded casual. “He claimed he didn’t know anything about it when we interviewed him. To be honest, I’m not sure it’s worth pressing him about it. I guess he just threw it inside when he was supposed to be cleaning windows.”
“And then he gave you an anonymous tip to search the place?” Jeff asked, tilting his head.
“Yeah.” He swallowed hard. “We had a call from an unknown number saying we should search there. I imagine it was him. He just wanted to keep us off track while he got the stolen goods off the islands.”
“It almost worked,” Jeff said.
“Yeah.” Flynn backed up to the door, keen to put an end to the conversation. “I might go out for a wander if you don’t need me for anything here.”
“Fine by me,” Jeff said, then got back to placing itemsin the box.
Outside, the sunlight was dazzling, and the sky was a cheerful shade of royal blue. “Finally,” Flynn muttered. After all the drizzle and grey skies for the last couple of weeks, the sunshine was a welcome sight.
It did, however, mean there was a queue in the ice cream shop and a lot of bustle outside it too. Loitering outside, he watched Lily handing out ice creams with Jessica at her side.
“Is she okay?” a voice asked beside him.
“Hi,” he said to Maria, then shrugged in reply to the question. “I’d say she’s been better. She was pretty stressed out this morning.”
“You can hardly blame her. The poor thing has a lot on her plate.”
Flynn gave a curt nod.
“I heard you’re going back to London soon.”
“Yes. Just until I can figure out a way to get a job here again. Lily won’t believe that it’s just temporary.”
“That makes sense.” She inclined her head, and they walked towards the beach. “From what I know, she grew up without much stability. Finally, she feels settled here, and now the rug is being pulled out from under her. You’re leaving, and Jessica is leaving. I think she’d grown pretty fond of Sergeant Proctor so that must be a blow too. And if all that isn’t hard enough, I’ve just told her that her parents may have been murdered. Her grandmother too.”
Flynn lifted his eyebrows. He’d been so caught up with his own problems, he’d barely stopped to think about everything that Lily was dealing with. He definitely could have been more patient with her.
“It’s surprising she’s managing as well as she is,” he said, wishing he didn’t have to leave next week. “Will you keep an eye on her?” he asked. “When I’m not here.”
“Yes. I came to see how she was doing, but I’ll come back when she’s not so busy.” She took a step away. “If I don’t see you before you leave, take care of yourself. And come back soon.”
“I intend to,” he said and returned her smile before she wandered away.
A moment later, Maria glanced back over her shoulder. “And make the most of this sunshine,” she said cheerfully.
“Yeah.” He turned to watch the families enjoying the beach, then smiled to himself as an idea came to him.
Chapter Forty-One
A mid-morning visitfrom Seren and Kit lifted Lily’s spirits, as did the beautiful weather and the buzz of the busy shop. The lack of contact from Flynn bothered her, and she regretted how grumpy she’d been with him that morning. Not that she had much time to dwell on it given the constant stream of customers in the afternoon. When she spotted him loitering outside, she felt immediately better.
At least until she arrived back from the back room and there was no sign of him.
“Did Flynn come in?” she asked Jessica.
“I haven’t seen him,” she said while scooping chocolate ice cream. “Why?”
“I thought I saw him outside.” She wandered to the door and looked along the promenade, but there was no sign of him. She lingered for a few minutes, basking in the warm sun on her face and enjoying the sight of families on the beach.
“Did you find him?” Jessica asked when she went back inside.
“No.” She already had her phone out and fired off a quick message:sorry about thismorning.
