Page 36 of Dead in the Water (Lily Larkin Mysteries #4)

Chapter Thirty-Six

“No, no, no!” Frantically, Lily whacked the side of her phone, as though that might make the signal magically come back.

Since she hadn’t left room for Flynn to get much of a word in, she wasn’t even sure when she’d been disconnected.

Had he understood her predicament? The police on Scilly didn’t even have a boat, which seemed more ridiculous now than it ever had.

How could you police an archipelago without a boat, for goodness’ sake?

How was he going to reach her without a boat? Her breathing was uneven and panic elevated her heart rate.

Flynn would come, she told herself. Of course he would. She just needed to sit tight until he turned up.

Noises in the room had her peering through the crack again.

Keith deposited a bunch of clothes onto the bed.

“Not there!” Joyce hissed. “We can hang them straight in the wardrobe.”

Lily pulled her chin to her chest, swearing to herself wildly.

In an awkward shuffle, she scrabbled to the far side of the wardrobe, curling herself as small as possible.

“We’ll bring the chair from our room as well,” Joyce said as the wardrobe door slid open and light flooded in.

“It’s handy to have a chair even if it takes up space… ”

Lily glanced up, holding her breath while she waited to be discovered.

“Bring the bedding over as well.” Joyce craned her neck to look behind her while she deposited the clothes onto the rack and slid them in Lily’s direction. “We should make up the bed first.”

As Joyce moved away from the wardrobe, Lily let out a quiet, controlled breath. When the coast was clear, she pulled the clothes closer to hide herself, and pushed the door so it wasn’t so wide open.

While Joyce and Keith came and went from the room, Lily focussed on her breathing while checking her phone often, hoping the signal might return.

Fifteen minutes passed with Lily constantly panicking that she was about to be discovered. After that, Joyce and Keith must have decided they’d done enough moving. With no sounds from them, she suspected they’d gone up on deck.

Even if Flynn had received her location, he’d have lost it as soon as her phone cut out.

And if he was coming after them, shouldn’t he have been there by now? They hadn’t long left the harbour when she’d called him.

Turning her head, she rested her cheek on her knees and sighed heavily. How long until they docked somewhere? Could she manage to stay hidden until they reached land? And what would she do then, with no money, no identification, nothing.

A distant shout had her head snapping up and her ears pricked. She was fairly certain they were arguing up on deck, though she couldn’t make out anything clearly.

The noise continued for a few minutes.

There was a bump, as though the boat hit something. Please let it be another boat knocking into them.

Shouting continued, as did Lily’s fruitless attempt to hear what was going on.

“Lily!”

The familiar voice had her shoulders sagging in relief. A moment later the wardrobe door slid open and the clothes above her shifted.

Flynn crouched down and beamed at her. “Sorry to cut your Mediterranean trip short.”

She didn’t get up, but pushed her palm against her forehead. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

“Of course I was coming,”

“I think Vic killed Joseph,” she said. “You can do forensic testing on his shirt, right? See if it really is blood and if it’s Joseph’s blood?”

“Yes. It looks as though the post-mortem report will confirm that his death wasn’t an accident too.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The angle of the skull fracture isn’t consistent with a fall. We also have a witness saying she heard arguing at the harbour on the evening of Joseph’s death. If nothing else, it’s highly suspicious that no one on the boat reported hearing anything.”

“Because Vic drugged them all with sleeping pills.”

“Seriously?”

“I think so.” She smiled sadly. “How did you get here?”

“I commandeered a couple of boats.” His eyes sparkled with amusement.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“I’ve never been in a boat chase before.” He bit down on his lower lip. “It’s so much fun! Also, you’re a stowaway. This is a great day!”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” She extended her hand and he pulled her out.

It took her by surprise when he immediately wrapped his arms around her, but she didn’t complain.

“You had me a little worried there,” he muttered into her hair.

She sagged against him, nestling her face against his neck and inhaling the scent of him. “ I was more than a little worried.”

After a moment, she peeled herself off him.

“Where’s the shirt?” he asked. “With the blood stains.”

“Oh.” She grimaced and looked down at her waist. “I thought I’d need to get past them and I didn’t have anywhere to put it so I hid it in plain sight.”

“That’s the shirt?” Flynn pointed.

“Yeah.” She undid it and held it out.

He pulled an evidence bag from a pocket and opened it up for her to drop it in.

“Is the sergeant going to be having a word with me about the improper handling of evidence?”

“I don’t think the sergeant will be at all upset with you today.

” He tilted his head at the sound of arguing overhead.

“We should see what’s happening,” he said, taking her hand and leading the way.

At the galley steps, he released her hand and looked back at her with a joyful glint in his eyes.

“You’re not going to believe the sight out there… ”

Lily frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I may have been downplaying it when I said I commandeered a couple of boats…”

She didn’t have a chance to speak before he took off up the steps.

Following him onto the deck, she blinked in the bright sunshine and her eyes landed on the sergeant and PC Hill, surrounded by Keith, Joyce and Russell.

The voices were all raised over each other, and Lily couldn’t make out any of it.

“Look,” Flynn said, nudging her elbow.

She clocked Kit standing in the lifeboat alongside the yacht and returned his smile, but another sight drew her attention – a ring of boats surrounding them.

“Where did everyone come from?” she muttered while raising a hand to wave at Ted and Rhys in their fishing boat. More familiar faces occupied the other assorted boats.

“They heard you needed help,” Flynn whispered in her ear.