Page 25 of Dead in the Water (Lily Larkin Mysteries #4)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Lights around the castle bathed the stonework in an orange glow. The stone steps of the entranceway were especially well lit and the female figure standing at the top of them was visible from a good distance away.

Exchanging a look with Flynn, Lily moved to the side of the steep path and continued walking along the grassy verge. From the way Russell continued his swaying walk with his head bent, Lily guessed he wasn’t aware of the woman watching him from the steps, even as he reached the foot of them.

“Who’s that?” Lily whispered, slowing her pace to match Flynn’s. The moonlight caught his blue irises and cast shadows over his face.

“No idea,” he replied. “I don’t think we can get much closer without them spotting us.” He tugged on her elbow, drawing her behind a small shrub. Instinctively, she crouched behind it, reasonably certain they weren’t visible to the person on the steps.

Lily winced when the woman spoke. The distinctive cadence of Kerry’s voice carried on the breeze, though she couldn’t catch the words.

“That’s weird.” Lily couldn’t take her eyes from them as Russell and Kerry launched into what sounded like a heated exchange. “I wish I could hear what they’re saying.” Glancing around, she decided that trying to get closer would risk being spotted.

“They don’t sound happy,” Flynn commented.

“No. They don’t.” Except, the situation seemed to change quickly.

Kerry’s demeanour was anything but angry as she lifted a hand to Russell’s face.

He stepped closer, closing the space between them, and Lily’s jaw slackened in shock right before they kissed.

“That’s not his wife.” Lily’s eyes shot to Flynn. “She’s married to the other guy. What’s going on?”

“Shh!”

“Sorry,” she whispered, while Kerry and Russell retreated into the hotel. “What on earth just happened?”

“At a guess, I’d say they’re having an affair.” He waited a moment before moving from their hiding place.

“He wasn’t really flirting with me,” Lily muttered as things fell into place.

“What?”

“He kept flirting with me and being all creepy, but I think it was only when Kerry was around. He was trying to make her jealous or something.” It was a relief that he didn’t actually think he had a chance with Lily. “Poor Vic, though. Right under his nose. How doesn’t he notice?”

Flynn looked thoughtful. “He takes sleeping pills.”

“How do you know?”

“He mentioned it when we questioned him about the night Joseph died. It was another reason we didn’t think too much about no one hearing anything – he’d taken a sleeping tablet, and Joyce wears earplugs.”

Once again, Lily was annoyed with herself for not discussing things with Flynn earlier. She’d missed information because of it.

“Why does he take sleeping pills?” she asked.

“He just said he hasn’t been sleeping well. Convenient for his wife, I suppose. Presumably once he’s out for the count, she can slip away without fear of him waking and noticing her gone.”

“What does this mean regarding Joseph?” Lily said in a rush.

“Does them having an affair change the circumstances of his death? Maybe Joseph found out about the two of them and they killed him to keep him quiet.” She stopped walking, remembering that Flynn had never thought there was anything suspicious about Joseph’s death.

“Anything is possible,” he said quietly. “But lots of people have affairs. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

Lily fell into step with him again. “I’m shocked. I’ve been following them for two days trying to find stuff out, but I really didn’t see that coming.”

“Have you found anything else out?” he asked, a heaviness to his words that made her feel bad for keeping him out of the loop.

“Not much. It seems Russell was in love with Joseph’s late wife.”

“If Joseph’s wife had still been alive, that would have been a motive for Russell to get Joseph out of the picture.”

Lily bunched her shoulders against the sudden chill in the air. “I thought you didn’t believe anyone killed Joseph.”

“I never said that.” He leaned so his shoulder bumped against hers as they walked.

“There’s no evidence it was anything other than an accident.

Until there’s some solid reason to think there’s more to it, there’s not much I can do.

I’m hoping the results of the post-mortem might shed some light on things. ”

“Why was there a sudden rush on the post-mortem?”

He hesitated for a moment. “Because I suggested it should be done quickly.”

“So you weren’t just ignoring my suspicions?” She didn’t dare look at him, because it suddenly felt ridiculous that he or the sergeant would dismiss her concerns.

“The sergeant told you we’d continue to look into it, and we have.” They fell silent for a moment before Flynn spoke again. “What else have you found?”

Lily pondered her time with Joseph’s friends. “Joyce seems to have a problem with Kerry. I think she feels steamrollered by her a lot of the time. Possibly by all of them. She’s upset about not having a larger cabin on the boat.”

The relief at finally being able to talk everything through was immediate.

“Also, Keith mentioned something about it being a financial benefit to them if Russell buys out Joseph’s share of the boat. Why would that be?”

Flynn’s eyebrows twitched together. “I don’t know. That sounds a little odd. But I don’t know much about expensive motor yachts. Maybe there’s a legitimate reason. I can ask the sergeant.”

“Thanks.” Slipping back into her friendship with Flynn had been instant, but she felt the sting of rejection once again as she remembered he only wanted to be friends with her.

“I know you’re annoyed with me,” he said, as though reading her mind. “But do you have to avoid me? I don’t like it.”

“I’ve been busy, that’s all,” she lied. “Why were you hanging around outside the shop in the dark?”

“Waiting for you. Obviously.”

“Did it occur to you I might have already been in bed? How long were you planning on waiting?”

He didn’t reply, and it only took Lily a moment to figure out why.

“You knew where I was! That’s why Seren wanted to know where I was… she was asking for you.”

“Well, you were ignoring me,” he said, as though that made it okay.

“Yes, I was! Because I didn’t want to see you or speak to you. Which is my decision. You don’t get to stalk me just because you’re not getting what you want.” Stopping in front of the shop door, Lily’s blood pumped furiously.

Flynn shoved his hands into his pockets. “Yeah,” he said, eyes on the ground. “That’s fair. I’m sorry. But…”

“But what?” she prompted when he fell silent.

“You didn’t let me explain things properly.”

“I didn’t need to. You’re moving back to London soon, so there’s no point in us getting into anything. That’s it, right? What else is there to explain?”

He started to speak, but stopped himself and took a breath. A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Do you really not want to see me, or speak to me? Aren’t we friends?”

She twisted her lips, the question causing a battle to rage inside of her. Part of her didn’t want anything to do with him. But the bigger part of her craved his company, and his friendship.

Her conversation with Maria sprang to mind and she longed to tell him all about it.

The trouble was, she wanted more than he did. She didn’t know if she could deal with just being friends with him.

“I think I just need some space,” she said, her voice brittle.

He scuffed the toe of his shoe on the concrete. “Okay.” He pushed his fingers through his hair and looked for a moment as though he might say more. “Goodnight,” he whispered before he turned and walked away.

Lily fought the urge to call him back. They could just be friends and she could invite him in and tell him all about her conversation with Maria, and everything that had happened in the last two days.

In the end, she stayed silent and let herself into her lonely flat.