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“It looks as though the weather will clear tomorrow, but transport will be chaos with a backlog of visitors trying to get on and off the island. We’ll hold off on transporting the body until the following day to avoid adding to the chaos.”
“Makes sense,” Flynn said. “I spoke to the deceased’s sister earlier.”
“How did that go?” Sergeant Proctor fished in his pocket for a tissue and blew his bright red nose.
“Fine. She was mostly interested in what she might inherit.”
“One of those types, eh?” He made a face as though he were trying to raise an eyebrow but found it too much effort. “You really never know how family members will react.”
“She seemed to think her brother had a lot of money,” Flynn ventured, knowing he had to tread carefully while he tried once again to convince the sergeant that something shady was goingon. “I thought it was odd that a freelance photographer would be so flush.”
Sergeant Proctor wiped a hand across his brow. “Don’t tell me she got your investigative instincts into gear again? Just because someone has money doesn’t make their death suspicious.”
“I realise that, but you have to admit that the missing laptop raises questions. I also had Lily Larkin in here again today.”
“The woman who found the body?”
“Yes. She’s noticed some things that don’t add up… and some suspicious behaviour.”
Shaking his head, Sergeant Proctor stood. “I thought we were clear about how things stood yesterday.”
“Yes.” He swallowed hard. “But––”
“Stop it.” Sergeant Proctor rounded on him. “You need to understand that small town policing is very different to city policing. Things work differently. You need to drop this idea of starting some investigation which will lead to nothing. A man tragically died, and we dealt with the situation. That’s the end of it.”
Flynn tried to argue, but was cut off before he could even get a word out.
“I’m not sure you fully appreciate just how thin the ice is that you’re teetering on. The only reason I agreed to have you in my station was as a favour to an old colleague. But at this point, I’m not sure there are many people who would be upset about me lodging an official complaint against you. I reckon even your father would be happy if you were forced into a career change.” He paused at the door. “Just keep your head down and don’t cause trouble. I don’t see how that’s so difficult.”
“It’s not,” Flynn said, his voice firm and stable despite coming through gritted teeth.
“Good.” Sergeant Proctor gave a subtle nod. “I’m off home, but with any luck, I’ll be back in the next day or two. Try not to cause any problems between now and then.”
Flynn remained rigid in his chair, grateful for the clarity that hit him. He might not like the way Sergeant Proctor did things, but he was his superior and had far more experience than Flynn.
Also, if he wanted to keep his job, it seemed he didn’t have much choice but to put the irregularities of the Vincent Roth case out of his head.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The missing laptopreally threw Lily’s brain into chaos as she walked back to the B&B. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Someone was trying to cover up Vinny’s illegal activity. She had no doubt about that. PC Grainger had promised to speak to his boss about looking into things further, and she didn’t see how they could ignore the mounting evidence. Surely they had plenty of information to launch a proper investigation, and she had the impression PC Grainger was keen to get on with it.
He said he’d call her later and update her. Until then, she planned to do more digging into the owner of the ice cream shop.
Back at the B&B, she was rooting in her pockets for the front door key when the door swung open. Oscar stood before her, wearing the guilt-ridden look of a kid who’d been caught swiping an extra biscuit.
“Hi,” Lily said, not moving to the side. “How are you?”
“Fine.” He glanced behind him as Flora called his name.
“What’s the rush?” she said with an outstretched hand. Discreetly, she pressed a few bank notes into Oscar’s palm. “A little holiday bonus. You enjoy your trip.”
“We’ll see him on the ferry tomorrow,” Mr Miller called from behind his wife.
“Oh, yes. We probably will.” She looked lighter than the other times Lily had seen her – more relaxed. She said a quick hello to Lily before dashing away with a comment about finishing her packing.
“Are you going away?” Lily asked Oscar when they were alone.
“Just for a little while. Katie’s wanted to get away and I said I’d go with her. We’re going to rent a car and tour around Cornwall. Stay at campsites.”