Page 1 of Dead in the Water (Lily Larkin Mysteries #4)
Chapter One
Apparently, the group of customers on the only occupied table in the ice cream shop thought Lily had gone into the back room, rather than merely ducking down behind the counter to wipe up a blob of spilled ice cream.
If she popped up again now, while the haughty woman was making derogatory comments about the coffee it was going to be awkward.
“Honestly, it’s awful,” she went on. “It’s a good job the ice cream is excellent. That’s all I can say.”
Lily’s lips curved in a slow smile. Sod it. She could do with some entertainment after a quiet couple of days.
“Thank you,” she said as she stood, then smothered a laugh at the array of reactions from the six people around the table. The woman with the perfectly styled auburn hair visibly winced, while her friends looked thoroughly amused.
At a guess, Lily would judge them to be in their sixties. Two women and four men.
“Can I get you anything else?” she asked cheerfully. “More coffee, perhaps?”
“I think we’re fine, thank you,” the woman said, frowning into her mug.
“You don’t mind us lingering, do you?” a serious-looking man with wire-rimmed glasses asked. “We thought we’d wait until the rain calmed down, but who knows if that will ever happen?”
“It’ll probably stop soon,” the grey-haired woman beside him said, slipping her hand onto his knee.
“Ever the optimist, aren’t you, Joyce?” the other lady said mockingly. “You’ve been saying that for two days now.”
“It’s only a bit of rain.” The man beside her patted her on the back affectionately. “Tomorrow will surely be better.”
“They’re getting lovely weather down in Spain,” the woman said huffily. “I checked the weather reports.”
The others in the group fell into a silence that even Lily found uncomfortable.
It was broken by the sound of a chair scraping. A moustached man stood up and there was a split second when Lily was certain he was about to make a dramatic exit from the shop, but he walked up to the counter.
“I think I’ll have an ice cream after all,” he said, standing at the glass-fronted counter.
While the rest of them had already eaten ice cream, he’d opted for just a coffee.
“What flavour would you like?” Lily asked, paying no attention to the hushed conversation between his friends that sounded distinctly like bickering.
“I’ll go for strawberry, I think.”
Lily nodded and picked up the scoop. “Are you enjoying your holiday so far?”
“It’s all right, I suppose.”
“Come on,” Lily said lightly. “Surely the coffee isn’t that bad?”
He chuckled at the lame joke, then his features turned serious. “I think some holidays are just destined to be a disaster.”
“Oh, dear. That doesn’t sound good.”
He took the ice cream cone from her and sidestepped to the till. “It’s not so bad, really.”
Lily took his money and deposited it in the till. Then she lowered her voice.
“Did you give the casting vote on the Isles of Scilly or something? Because someone seems upset that they’re not enjoying some Spanish sunshine.”
He gave her a conspiratorial smile. “Something like that.” He looked over his shoulder at his friends, who were now deep in a conversation about which other islands they would visit when the weather cleared. “Sorry about Kerry, by the way.”
Lily dipped her eyebrows in confusion. “Oh, you mean the coffee comment? It’s fine.”
“The coffee’s really not that bad.”
Lily beamed. “I’d argue with you on that one, but I suspect you’re only being polite.”
“You don’t like your own coffee?”
“No, but I love the coffee at the cafe a few doors down. If you want good coffee, you should go there.”
“I’m not convinced about your marketing tactics,” he said, then licked at his ice cream.
“This is an ice cream shop,” she said flatly. “I want to be known for the great ice cream, not for the coffee. I didn’t offer coffee at all when I first opened, but people kept asking, so I gave in.”
“It seems you’re missing a trick by not offering both good coffee and good ice cream.”
Lily shrugged. “I don’t want to put myself in competition with other small businesses.
The island isn’t big enough for that. Especially since I really like the woman who owns the cafe.
Now I get to go to her place and have a decent coffee as a treat.
It wouldn’t be the same if I had access to great coffee all the time. ”
“You make some good points.” He wiped a smudge of ice cream from his moustache. “The ice cream is definitely good enough to keep people coming back, so you have no worries there.”
“Thanks,” Lily said, glancing out at the rain, which was still coming down hard. “I hope the weather picks up for you tomorrow. The islands are spectacular when the sun comes out.”
“I think they’re pretty lovely anyway,” he said, offering her another smile before returning to his friends.
At a noise from the back room, Lily went to check what Jessica was up to. She was still getting used to having an employee, and it wasn’t the first time she’d forgotten Jessica was there.
She’d met the confident teenager a month or so earlier when her boyfriend had gone missing and Lily had helped to track him down. Having just finished secondary school, Jessica had been looking for a summer job and enquired about working at the ice cream shop a few days after Lily had opened.
At sixteen, she was full of energy, and had been quick to learn the ropes. Having an extra pair of hands was great when the weather had been decent, but the two days of solid rain had kept customers away, leaving them scrabbling for ways to kill the time.
“What have you found to do now?” Lily asked, amused to find Jessica crouched in front of the new cabinets with a bucket of soapy water and a cloth. All the food which had been in the cabinets was laid out on the countertop.
“Just giving the cupboards a clean,” she said, reaching to the back with her cloth. “Do you need me out the front?”
“No.” Lily leaned against the counter. “Considering the cupboards were only installed a few weeks ago, I’m not sure they’re in need of a deep clean.”
“Sorry.” She sat back on her heels. “I couldn’t think of anything else to clean and time goes slowly when there’s nothing to do.”
“You could just go home early,” Lily suggested. “There really isn’t much point in us both being here when it’s so quiet. I appreciate all your cleaning efforts, though.”
Idly, Jessica ran her cloth over the cabinet door. “I was also thinking I’m fine alone here if you ever need to leave early. I’m sure I’d be fine to lock up if you wanted.”
“Thanks. It’s great that you feel so confident. I’ll probably take you up on it at some point.”
“Tonight would be fine. If that would be helpful.”
Lily tilted her head. “Why do I feel like you’re trying to get rid of me? Were you planning on inviting your friends over for a party or something?”
Jessica blew a raspberry as she laughed. “That’s a great idea and I’ll keep it in mind for the future, but I was actually thinking you might want extra time to get ready for your date this evening.”
Lily did a slow blink. “My what? ”
“Your date.” Jessica sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh my goodness. Was it supposed to be a secret? I promise I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was standing right next to you when you arranged it, so I assumed you knew I could hear.”
“If you were standing next to me, could you please remind me of the details because I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Your date with PC Grainger,” she said, a flicker of concern in her eyes.
“Oh, that!” Lily snorted a laugh. “That’s not a date.”
“Really? He said he was cooking for you. It sounded like a date.”
“Did it?” Lily’s mind flashed up an image of the time they’d kissed on the beach a few weeks back. Something her brain liked to remind her of regularly.
“Does he cook for you often?”
“No, but I was teasing him the other day because he always comes here and I cook, so I think he just took the hint finally.”
“He’s pretty good looking,” Jessica said. “I thought you two were dating or something.”
“No. Just friends.” She swallowed hard and looked at all the food on the counter, most of which were containers of sugar. “Why don’t you put all this away and head home early?”
“Thanks, but I’m happy to hang around. I’m not supposed to finish for another hour and a half.”
“You’re very dedicated,” Lily mused, as she wandered away. After a couple of steps, she backtracked and looked around the doorframe at Jessica. “I just want to make sure we’re clear on something. If I send you home early, I will still pay you for the whole day.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” Lily stifled a laugh as Jessica picked up the pace of refilling the cupboards.
“That would be amazing then, thank you. I’m saving up for some new clothes, you see, and everything helps.”
“If it’s ever busy and I ask you to work longer, I’ll pay you extra for those hours, but if there’s nothing to do and I send you home early, I’ll still pay you.”
“I love working here. You’re a great boss.”
The compliment gave Lily a warm tingle in her stomach. “It’s good having you around.”
Jessica cleared away the countertop at lightning speed, then moved to the end cupboard to retrieve her bag and her raincoat.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she rushed past Lily. “Enjoy your date.”
“Thank you,” Lily said before giving a quick shake of the head. It wasn’t a date.
In the shop, the customers were leaving too.
Left alone with her thoughts, Lily pondered whether she’d missed some clue and Flynn really had invited her for a date.
It was unusual for him to invite her to his place. And him cooking was unheard of.
She shook her head. They were just friends.
Admittedly, she often got butterflies at the sight of him. And she couldn’t deny the intrusive thoughts about kissing him. But they’d agreed to just be friends, and she was fine with that.
She really was.
Now she should stop overthinking things. Since she probably wouldn’t get any more customers, she could close the shop early and get ready for her date.
She cursed herself.
It wasn’t a date.
At least she was reasonably sure it wasn’t.