Page 17 of Dead in the Water (Lily Larkin Mysteries #4)

Chapter Seventeen

The rest of the train trip was spent watching the scenery go by.

Occasionally, Lily tuned in to Kit’s voice and took in the information about the islands, but mostly she spent the time psyching herself up to speak to Maria.

The chances were she’d find out she was entirely wrong about Maria owning the shop, but she needed to know once and for all.

After parting ways with Joyce and Keith at the end of the tour, she wandered past the ice cream shop.

There were a few customers but since Jessica appeared to have everything in hand, Lily didn’t even go inside, but continued towards Glynis’s house.

Even if Glynis was at home, it didn’t mean Lily couldn’t speak with Maria alone.

That had only been an excuse to put it off.

“Hi,” Maria said when she opened the door. “I’m not sure Glynis is up to a visit now. We’ve been for a walk this morning and she’s exhausted. She just fell asleep in her chair.”

“I won’t disturb her,” Lily said, resisting the urge to postpone the chat for another day.

Maria began to close the door. “I’ll tell her you called.”

“Actually,” Lily said, placing a hand on the door. “I wondered if we could have a chat.”

“You and me?” Given the unease in her features, anyone would think Lily had suggested they move in together not have a conversation.

“Yeah, it won’t take long,” Lily said breezily, then strode inside.

“I really don’t have much time.” Maria closed the door behind her. “I have a few jobs to do while Glynis is napping.”

Walking to the kitchen, Lily hovered beside the table and inhaled a calming breath.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you something…

” She trailed off, distracted by Maria reaching into the neck of her sweater and pulling out her necklace.

With the pendant tight in her grasp, Lily couldn’t get a good look at it.

“Is that an anchor?” she finally asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Your necklace? Is it an anchor?”

“Yes.” She tucked it away again and crossed the room to stand beside the sink. “Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah.” She squared her shoulders. “Are you Gail Greenwood?”

Maria – or Gail, if that was who she really was – chewed on her bottom lip. There was no hint of surprise in her features, but she avoided Lily’s gaze and moved to fill the kettle.

“ Are you? ” Lily demanded. “I’m fairly certain you are.

I just can’t figure out why you’d lie about your name.

” A pulse of anger swept through her. “Actually, that’s not true…

I think I know why you’d lie… Because you don’t want anyone to know you own the ice cream shop.

I just don’t know why you want to keep that a secret. ”

Maria’s shoulders rose and fell before she turned to face Lily. “I didn’t lie about my name. Maria is my middle name. I haven’t gone by Gail for a long time.”

“ How long?”

“Twenty years,” she said nonchalantly.

Lily’s thoughts whirled so fast she felt slightly dizzy. “Why?”

“I never really liked the name Gail. I wanted a change.”

Lily struggled to keep track of the questions that buzzed in her mind while the kettle gurgled in the background. “Why did you hide from me?”

“I didn’t hide.”

“You did!” Lily spat. “You hid when you didn’t tell me you owned the ice cream shop. Why wouldn’t you want me to know that?”

She waved a hand in front of her face, then turned when the kettle clicked off but made no move to do anything with it. “I didn’t want the stress of it. If you knew who I was, you’d have questions.”

“You’re right about that. I have so many questions I’m not even sure where to start.” The chair screeched on the tiled floor as she pulled it out and dropped onto it. “Did you know my parents?”

It took a moment for Maria to turn again and when she did, her face was a blank mask. “No,” she said flatly. “Why would I know your parents?”

“They visited your shop.” She searched her bag for the photograph, noting the tremble in her hand when she drew it out. “Here,” she said, crossing the room. “That’s them, and me. Twenty years ago.”

“Lots of people visited the shop.” She frowned at the picture. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember them.”

“Did you take the photo?”

“Possibly.” Her lack of reaction was infuriating. “It was a long time ago. And the shop was always very busy in the summer.”

“Are you sure you didn’t know them?” Lily asked desperately. “Their names were Julia and Christopher Larkin.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” she said. “I’m sorry I can’t help. I really do have a lot to get on with, if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind.” Lily went back to the chair and sat with her back perfectly straight. “What made you close up the shop and leave the island?”

Maria rubbed at her forehead, and her jaw tightened. “I bought the shop impulsively. A midlife crisis, I suppose. But living on a remote island didn’t turn out quite how I imagined, so I left.”

“And the fire?”

Her shoulders rose a fraction. “What?”

“There was a fire in the shop, wasn’t there?”

“Yes.”

“Was that why you left?”

“Partly. I’d already been toying with the idea. The fire felt like a sign that it was time to go.”

“How did the fire start?”

Her eyes were full of suspicion when they strayed to Lily. “I don’t know.”

“Wasn’t there an investigation, or anything?”

“I had candles on the tables in the evenings. It’s thought that I probably forgot to blow one of them out.”

“You sound as though you don’t believe that.”

“Maybe I forgot. When you do things on autopilot it’s hard to know. In the end, it didn’t matter how it started. There was a fire, it was dealt with. No one was harmed. That’s the main thing.”

“Yes,” Lily whispered, sadness rushing through her in a heavy burst. “My parents died in a fire.”

“I’m sorry,” Maria said.

“Thanks.” Feeling defeated, Lily stared at the floor.

“I don’t want anything to do with the shop,” Maria said eventually, breaking the silence. “That’s why I didn’t want you to know who I was. I don’t want you calling me with every little problem, or asking my advice. Everything needs to go through Mr Greaves.”

“Why didn’t you sell it when you left?”

“I couldn’t find a buyer back then.”

“And since then? I know you had offers.”

“I’m not really sure.” She leaned against the counter. “Maybe sentimental reasons.”

Lily leaned onto her knees. “Why did you offer it to me? I know other people had been interested.”

“You asked at the right time. I’d just moved back here.

I suppose seeing the place abandoned stirred something in me.

It had been a popular spot when I ran it and it seemed a shame it was in such a dilapidated state.

There had been complaints that it was a blight on the landscape and I realised that was true.

” Her lips lifted into a small smile. “Then you asked about the place and it seemed like a sign.”

“But I didn’t ask if I could open it. I was asking about you. I wanted to know if you remembered my parents.”

“There must have been a miscommunication. Mr Greaves told me you were interested in leasing it.”

Lily frowned as she tried to collect her thoughts. She wasn’t sure if Maria was lying, or if she wanted her to be lying because she wasn’t getting the answers she wanted.

“What about the note you left me?” Lily asked accusingly.

Creases formed between Maria’s eyebrows. “I didn’t want to be involved, but I thought the recipes might be helpful.”

“Not that note. Before that – you left me a note saying you hoped I finally found a home here.”

“Yes,” she said slowly.

“How did you know I was looking for a home?”

Her expression didn’t change. “Mr Greaves had mentioned your parents had died. I suppose I just assumed you were looking for a fresh start.”

“You really didn’t know my parents?” Lily asked, gazing at her searchingly.

She shook her head. “No.”

The lump in Lily’s throat expanded and grew increasingly painful. She needed to get out, quickly.

“Sorry to have bothered you,” she muttered and bolted from the house.