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“I didn’t hide.”
“You did!” Lily spat. “You hid when you didn’t tell me you owned the ice cream shop. Why wouldn’t you want me to know that?”
She waved a hand in front of her face, then turned when the kettle clicked off but made no move to do anything with it. “I didn’t want the stress of it. If you knew who I was, you’d have questions.”
“You’re right about that. I have so many questions I’m not even sure where to start.” The chair screeched on the tiled floor as she pulled it out and dropped onto it. “Did you know my parents?”
It took a moment for Maria to turn again and when she did, her face was a blank mask. “No,” she said flatly. “Why would I know your parents?”
“They visited your shop.” She searched her bag for the photograph, noting the tremble in her hand when she drew it out. “Here,” she said, crossing the room. “That’s them, and me. Twenty years ago.”
“Lots of people visited the shop.” She frowned at the picture. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember them.”
“Did you take the photo?”
“Possibly.” Her lack of reaction was infuriating. “It was a long time ago. And the shop was always very busy in the summer.”
“Are you sure you didn’t know them?” Lily asked desperately. “Their names were Julia and Christopher Larkin.”
“Doesn’t ring a bell,” she said. “I’m sorry I can’t help. I really do have a lot to get on with, if you don’t mind.”
“Idomind.” Lily went back to the chair and sat with her back perfectly straight. “What made you close up the shop and leave the island?”
Maria rubbed at her forehead, and her jaw tightened. “I bought the shop impulsively. A midlife crisis, I suppose. But living on a remote island didn’t turn out quite how I imagined, so I left.”
“And the fire?”
Her shoulders rose a fraction. “What?”
“There was a fire in the shop, wasn’t there?”
“Yes.”
“Was that why you left?”
“Partly. I’d already been toying with the idea. The fire felt like a sign that it was time to go.”
“How did the fire start?”
Her eyes were full of suspicion when they strayed to Lily. “I don’t know.”
“Wasn’t there an investigation, or anything?”
“I had candles on the tables in the evenings. It’s thought that I probably forgot to blow one of them out.”
“You sound as though you don’t believe that.”
“Maybe I forgot. When you do things on autopilot it’s hard to know. In the end, it didn’t matter how it started. There was a fire, it was dealt with. No one was harmed. That’s the main thing.”
“Yes,” Lily whispered, sadness rushing through her in a heavy burst. “My parents died in a fire.”
“I’m sorry,” Maria said.
“Thanks.” Feeling defeated, Lily stared at the floor.
“I don’t want anything to do with the shop,” Maria said eventually, breaking the silence. “That’s why I didn’t want you to know who I was. I don’t want you calling me with every littleproblem, or asking my advice. Everything needs to go through Mr Greaves.”
“Why didn’t you sell it when you left?”