Page 11 of Artful Deceit

She should have destroyed the fake one the moment she’d found it after her uncle died. There’d been a false passport for him too, and she hadn’t hesitated in burning that one. Why had she held on to hers? Clearly, nothing good could come from it.

And now someone else had their hands on it.

She pressed a hand over her mouth as bile rose in her throat. If anyone found out she had a forged passport, it was going to raise questions she didn’t have answers to. Slowly, she exhaled a breath and forced her mind to focus.

Somehow, she had to find her backpack. Preferably without letting anyone know she’d lost anything.

Chapter Six

It feltfutile to lock the door now – when there was nothing of any value left – but Lily locked both the door to the flat and the front door all the same. Secondary to the stress of her missing backpack was the uncomfortable thought of someone creeping around her flat. Thinking about it gave her a chill.

Walking purposely along the promenade towards the cafe, she took deep breaths to compose herself. Hopefully, the water she’d splashed on her face before leaving had removed any trace of her earlier tears.

Crying wouldn’t solve anything, and she couldn’t let herself fall apart.

Several tables were occupied in The Cookie Jar, but Lily didn’t pay much attention, other than to do a quick sweep for anyone she knew. As far as she could tell, it was mostly holidaymakers.

“Morning,” Pippa said when Lily approached the counter.

“Hi.” She ordered a black coffee and waited for Pippa to set it on the counter before she spoke again. “I don’t suppose you saw anyone around the ice cream shop this morning, did you?” she asked, trying to sound casual as she handed over the exact money in coins.

“How do you mean?”

“I forgot to lock the door when I went for my run, and I had the feeling that maybe I’d had customers wandering in when the place was empty.”

A crease formed between Pippa’s eyebrows. “Was something missing? You know there have been some burglaries over the last few days? Flynn came in yesterday and told me to be on alert. It was mentioned on the radio this morning too.”

“I know. That’s probably why I got a weird feeling. Most likely it’s only me being paranoid, but I thought the chairs had been moved or something… I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.”

“That’s creepy. I saw you and Len when I was putting the tables outside, but I didn’t particularly notice anyone else.” Her eyes flicked across the room to where a group was just leaving, laden down with satchels and tote bags. “That guy was asking about your opening times,” Pippa said quietly. “The one with the wild hair. Maybe he’d gone into the shop beforehand to see if you were open.”

“Maybe,” Lily mused, watching the eclectic group move outside and along the promenade.

“An odd bunch,” Pippa mused while her eyes followed them. “They’ve been in a few times over the last week. The scruffy looking one hasn’t bought a thing. Just sits there as though it’s a social club.”

“Who are they?” Lily asked.

“A bunch of amateur artists, on the island for a retreat. Gideon Rowe runs it. He’s a bit of a recluse. Another oddball, if you ask me.”

“I saw them on the beach earlier,” Lily said, thinking back to the start of her run.

“Anyway. Are you okay? Are you worried someone was in the shop when you weren’t there?”

Lily took a slurp of her coffee, then shook her head. “I really think I’m just on high alert and imagining things.”

“That makes sense. I assume the police haven’t caught anyone?”

Again, Lily shook her head. “No.”

“I guess they’d be long gone by the time the police got there.” She bunched her shoulders up and shivered. “You don’t think about things like that happening here.”

“No,” Lily agreed.

“Hopefully, people will be vigilant now and this will be the end of it.”

Lily finished her coffee in a long gulp. “Fingers crossed.”

Stepping back outside, she glanced along the promenade and spotted the group of artists. It took her a moment to notice Flynn among them, in his uniform. Directly beside him, a tall, slim woman in a gypsy skirt and vest top laughed loudly at whatever he’d said. Leaning in, she wedged her breast against his arm and said something close to his ear. Instantly, he took a step away and directed his words to the rest of the group before leaving them behind and striding in Lily’s direction.