Page 69 of Artful Deceit

Swallowing hard, she pulled her shoulders back. “No.”

“Lily.” He rubbed at his forehead and sighed heavily. “What on earth is going on?”

“It’s hard to explain, but…”

“But what?”

“I think maybe I need a lawyer.”

The look he gave her was mostly disappointment. “If you think you need a lawyer, you probably do. I’ll need you to come down to the station for a formal interview. If you don’t have a lawyer, I can arrange one for you.”

Tears threatened behind Lily’s eyes, but she blinked them away. “Now?” she asked.

“Yes, now.”

She glanced behind her. “I need to run upstairs and lock up.”

“Go on then,” he said and sank onto the nearest chair.

As she ascended the stairs to the flat, Lily pulled her phone from her pocket and took a deep breath. She had no idea if Maria knew more about her childhood than she’d let on, but now seemed like as good a time as any to ask her outright.

At the door to the flat she tapped away, telling Maria about the money and the passports and the fact that the sergeant was taking her to the police station.

If you know anything at all,she typed at the end of the message.Please help me.

She hit send without stopping to think or reread the message. Then she locked up the flat and went back downstairs.

“Are you okay?” she asked Sergeant Proctor as he stood with what appeared to be a fair amount of effort.

“Fine. Let’s get to the station and get this over and done with.”

They walked in silence to the police station. The vague sense of fear in the depths of her stomach was replaced by annoyance when she clapped eyes on Flynn sitting at the front desk. He’d promised he’d get her the backpack without anyone looking in it. She’d trusted him to do that, but he clearly hadn’t trusted her enough to not look.

“We should let Len go on bail,” the sergeant said. “On the condition that he doesn’t approach anyone he stole from. In fact, he probably shouldn’t leave his house.”

Flynn stood slowly, his eyebrows lifted. “He’s already gone. We sent him home before you left to speak with Lily.”

“Oh, yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Lily has agreed to a voluntary interview.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Flynn asked, coming around the desk to the sergeant.

“I’m fine.” He stood up straighter. “I’m just going to get a breath of fresh air, then I’ll interview Lily.”

The room was eerily quiet as he pushed at the door and walked outside.

“He seems a little under the weather,” Lily remarked.

“It’s been a long day.” Flynn worried at his bottom lip. “What’s going on?”

“I wish I knew,” she said sadly.

“Why do you have two passports?”

“I honestly don’t know,” she said, desperate for him to believe her. “I found the money and passport after my uncle died.”

“Why did you keep it?”

Her shoulders slumped. “I’ve been asking myself the same question for days. Part of me wanted to know why he had it. I had hoped Maria might have some clues for me, but she doesn’t seem to know any more than I do.” She scrubbed a hand down her face. “How much trouble am I in?”