Page 30 of Dead in the Water (Lily Larkin Mysteries #4)

Chapter Thirty

As hard as she tried, Lily couldn’t put Joseph’s son out of her mind.

It felt like the one piece of the puzzle she hadn’t tried, and she knew it would niggle at her if she didn’t take one last stab at figuring out if there was more to Joseph’s death than an unfortunate accident.

James would be on the boat clearing out his dad’s things and she could easily make an excuse to stop by.

Jessica had already said she enjoyed the extra responsibility, and didn’t bat an eyelid when Lily asked her if she’d be okay alone again.

When she had a twinge of unease at leaving Jessica alone so much, she told herself she’d never worked a job where she’d preferred it when the boss was around.

Leaving Jessica to manage things was probably doing her a favour.

At the top of the harbour steps, she looked down at the boat tied up at the end of the floating jetty. She’d expected someone to be on deck. Surely, while James was clearing out his dad’s things, the rest of the boat’s occupants would be around for moral support.

Or maybe he’d wanted to be left alone.

A memory of clearing out her uncle’s flat came back to her. When he’d died, Lily hadn’t told any of her friends, so there’d been no offers of moral support. Not that she’d have taken them up on it, anyway. It felt like a job she’d had to do on her own.

Her stomach tightened as she thought of the paperwork she’d uncovered while going through his things. It was a good thing she had been alone – she had no idea how she’d have explained it all.

Shaking the unhelpful thoughts away, she walked slowly along the jetty while rehearsing what she might say to James.

She wanted to tell him she’d met his dad and see where the conversation went.

In her head, James was as warm as Joseph had been, but maybe he’d have a less open personality, and striking up conversation wouldn’t be so easy.

Especially given that he was grieving. Maybe he wouldn’t be keen on chatting with a stranger.

“Hello!” Lily called when she reached the boat.

The lack of reply wasn’t overly surprising. Nor did it deter Lily. She stepped aboard and headed down the few steps into the galley, where she shouted hello again.

All was silent as she ventured further into the boat.

Joseph’s door was open and Lily frowned when she looked inside. Several cardboard boxes and a suitcase sat beside the vanity table. Every surface was bare and the bed stripped.

Lily must have missed James.

She cursed herself for not coming sooner.

Glancing further along the hall, she made a split-second decision.

The door to Kerry and Vic’s cabin opened soundlessly when Lily pressed the handle.

A sequinned cream blouse hung on a cupboard door, and a few more items of clothing were strewn on the bed. The small vanity table was bursting with perfume bottles and various lotions.

Her heart rate increased as she craned her neck to check the coast was clear in the hallway.

All was silent.

She’d surely hear if anyone came back to the boat.

Opening the cupboard with the blouse hanging on it, she faced a solid wall of clothing. For a small space, Kerry really knew how to pack a lot in.

Closing the door quietly, Lily pulled the door of a slim cupboard.

Her eyes darted over the selection of hats – mostly men’s – each on their own shelf.

At the bottom was a bundle of washing. Quickly, she moved to the drawers.

She didn’t know what she was looking for, but closed each drawer again immediately when all she found was clothes.

A drawer below the vanity table held a couple of small, velvet-covered jewellery boxes.

Instinct had Lily opening them each in turn.

One held a gold necklace with a large sapphire. The other had matching earrings.

Sliding the small drawer closed, she scanned the room before lifting the pillows, then feeling stupid. What was she expecting to find under the pillows?

She was contemplating moving to have a look around the other cabins when she opened the drawer of the tiny bedside table. A pair of reading glasses were nestled between a packet of tissues and a pack of indigestion tablets. She lifted the pill packet, but only found a phone charger beneath it.

“What are you doing?” Kerry’s voice was loud and demanding. She stared at Lily from the doorway.

“Oh, my god!” Instinct had her whipping her hand behind her back, hiding the tablets as she forced her features to a smile. “You scared the life out of me.”

“One of the risks of sneaking around in places you’re not supposed to be, I imagine.”

“Oh.” Lily aimed for a light-hearted laugh, but it came out a little manic. “I wasn’t sneaking around. I called out, but there was no one here.”

“So you thought you’d just come in?”

“Sorry,” she said breathlessly. “I think I left my sunglasses behind yesterday. I didn’t think anyone would mind me having a quick look for them.”

“I don’t suppose anyone would mind. I’m not sure why you thought you might have left them in my husband’s bedside table, though.” Her gaze drifted to the open drawer.

Lily shook her head and opened her mouth to protest, but Kerry strode over and snatched the box of tablets from behind her back.

“What on earth are you up to?” Kerry asked, sounding more bored than annoyed.

“I can’t figure it out. Why would you want to spend your time with a bunch of old people?

It makes no sense. And I don’t believe for a moment you’re in any way attracted to Russell.

You don’t seem the type to chase a man for his money. ”

“I’m not,” Lily blurted out.

“What are you doing, then? And what’s so interesting about Vic’s indigestion tablets?”

“Nothing.” Lily shook her head. “I saw a pair of glasses sticking out of the drawer and I thought maybe they’d been put in there by mistake.”

“They’re Vic’s glasses,” Kerry said.

“I know that now. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be in here. I’ll just go.”

“That’s probably best,” Kerry agreed curtly. As she went to return the tablets to the drawer, the blister packs fell from the box.

With a wrinkled brow, Kerry bent to scoop them up.

Lily really should leave, but her eyes were fixed on the blister packs – clearly two different tablets.

“That’s odd,” Kerry muttered, staring at the packets in her hand.

Before Lily could question her, Vic appeared in the doorway.

“What’s going on?” he asked, looking quizzically at Lily.

“I lost my sunglasses,” she mumbled, but her gaze flicked quickly back to Kerry.

“What’s this?” Her voice was high-pitched as she held up one of the blister packs to her husband.

He stepped into the room. “What’s what? ”

“Zopiclone,” she said, reading the packet.

Vic frowned. “Sleeping pills,” he said, taking them from her. “Where did you find these?”

“In with your indigestion tablets.”

“Weird.” After a moment, he smiled and shook his head.

“I bet I know what happened. When I was packing to leave, a bunch of stuff fell out of the bathroom cupboard. I picked things up in a rush. I’ll bet they got mixed up.

” Pushing them back into the box, he returned the packet to the drawer. “I see you found your sunglasses.”

It took Lily a moment to realise he was speaking to her. He thrust his chin towards her head and she reached up to her sunglasses.

“Different pair,” she muttered. “I probably left them somewhere else.”

“If we find them we’ll drop them into the shop,” Vic said. “It’d be a good excuse to go for another ice cream, wouldn’t it, Kerry?”

She smiled tightly. “Yes.”

“Sorry to have bothered you.” Lily called goodbye over her shoulder as she strode from the cabin. In the hallway, she glanced longingly at the other doors before continuing on her way.

On the short walk back to the shop she couldn’t help but feel defeated. Not only had she failed to track down Joseph’s son, but her spontaneous reconnaissance mission had been futile too. Maybe she was losing her touch with this investigating thing.

At the door to the ice cream shop, she stopped and pulled her phone out. The urge to call Flynn was almost overwhelming.

Almost.

Until she remembered she’d told him she needed space.