Page 61 of Artful Deceit

“I’m going home for a bath.”

“Make sure all these cuts and scrapes are clean and dry. And cover them. Do you have plasters? Big ones?”

“Yes.”

“Ask Jessica to help you if you can’t reach the ones on your shoulder.”

“Can you stop fussing now, please?”

He nodded. “I’d give you a hug but I’m scared of hurting you.”

Disappointment had her lips turning down.

“I’ll hug you if you want,” he said, palms raised.

“No, I just realised we’ll need to postpone our evening plans again.”

“True.” He grimaced as his eyes trailed down the length of her. “That’s not an attractive look.”

“Flynn!” She swatted at his chest. “I meant because I’m in pain, not because I look gross.”

“Yeah. That’s absolutely what I said, wasn’t it?”

“No.” She pouted, but leaned into him with her good side and slipped an arm around his waist.

“I can drive you home,” he said.

“I thought you weren’t allowed to take me in the police car.”

“Not when I’m going to an incident. When youarethe incident, it’s a different matter.”

She snorted a laugh, then shook her head. “I can manage. You need to deal with Gideon.”

Chapter Thirty

Flynn triedto call Lily when he left Gideon’s place that evening. And then later, when he’d tied things up back at the station, and went home for the evening.

She didn’t answer, and he hoped that meant she’d cleaned herself up and gone to bed early.

But he also really needed to speak to her. The events of the day swirled in his head when he finally got into bed.

He woke to a message from her saying she’d fallen asleep early – just as he’d suspected. Rushing to get ready for work, he only called her when he was about to leave. With his phone to his ear, he took a seat on the couch, figuring he could finish his coffee while he spoke to her.

“What happened?” she asked, answering almost immediately.

“Not a lot.”

“You didn’t find anything?”

“We found a necklace that belongs to Hilary Phillips.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes. We searched every inch of the place, but that’s the only thing we found.”

“Okay. He must have a hiding place elsewhere.”

“We did a thorough search,” he said, his words clipped. “And from what we understand, Gideon doesn’t have a lot of friends or family on the island, so I don’t think it’s likely he left it with someone else.”