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

Chapter Four

Only a sliver of the sun was still visible when Lily stepped outside. While it disappeared into the sea, it sent streaks of orange and yellow across the darkening sky. The reflection of the vibrant colours on the water drew Lily’s attention – like twinkling lights as far as you could see.

Suddenly, the effort of putting the tables and chairs away was worth it. She inhaled the briny air and gazed out at the mesmerising view.

After a couple of minutes of taking it in, she turned to the grey-haired man sitting at the furthest table. “I’m afraid you’re a little late for ice cream,” she told him.

“I was just enjoying the sunset.”

“It’s stunning,” Lily said.

“It must be an amazing place to live,” the man said.

“I haven’t been here long.” Lily kept her eyes on the water, unwilling to miss a moment of the tail end of the sunset. “It is fantastic though. I should take more time to stop and watch the sunset.”

He released a gentle hum of agreement. “It’s nicer when you have someone to share it with.”

His solemn words snapped Lily from her trance.

“Oh!” she said, catching sight of his familiar neat moustache. “You were in the shop with your friends yesterday.”

“Yes. My little group provided you with some entertainment, I think. I’m afraid Kerry has a knack for speaking without thinking. I’m glad you didn’t take offence.”

“Hard to be offended when I know the coffee isn’t great. Now, if she’d said something derogatory about the ice cream, I wouldn’t have taken it well.”

“There was no danger of that. They were still raving about the ice cream at breakfast this morning. Your interesting flavours had everyone hooked.”

“Glad to hear it,” she said. “Where are your friends this evening?”

“In the Mermaid Inn. Or they were. They might be back on the boat by now.”

“On the boat?”

“We share a yacht.”

“Wow!” She sank onto the chair across from him. “That sounds great.”

“I suppose it does.” He shifted in his seat. “My dad taught me to sail when I was young. When I hit middle age, I decided I wanted to spend my retirement years sailing the world.”

“And you’re actually doing it?” she asked in awe.

“My wife and I couldn’t afford to buy a yacht. But we had friends who wanted to join our little venture, so it seemed like the perfect solution. We’d known them for years and everyone got on well.”

“I suppose you’d have to be pretty close,” Lily mused. “I honestly can’t think of many people I’d want to be stuck on a boat with for long periods of time.”

His moustache twitched as he smiled. “We agreed to stay in hotels on longer trips so we wouldn’t be under each other’s feet the whole time.” He pointed along the promenade. “We stayed at the Star Castle the last couple of nights. We’re back on the boat tonight, ready for an early sail tomorrow.”

“Are you off somewhere nice?”

“Depends on your definition of nice. We’re heading home to St Ives, so it’s not far to go.”

“You don’t seem thrilled about that,” Lily remarked.

“I don’t think I’d be happy, no matter where we were going.”

She felt the muscles in her forehead pull tight. “Why not?”

“Long story,” he said, giving his head a shake as though clearing his thoughts. “Sorry, am I keeping you from closing up or something?”

She hitched her shoulders in a shrug. “I came out to put the tables and chairs away for the night, but I’m not in a rush…”

“It’s a fairly depressing story. You probably don’t want to hear it.”

“I don’t mind.” Funny how quickly you could go from not wanting human interaction to not wanting it to end. “If you want to tell it, I’d be happy to hear it.”

His thoughtful silence stretched for long enough that Lily wasn’t sure she’d get to hear his story. It was an odd relief when he finally spoke.

“We’d had the boat for a month when my wife was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. She died within six months and we only managed a few day trips on the yacht.”

He had warned her it was a depressing story, but his words still brought tears to prick the back of Lily’s eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s a year since she died. Now I own a boat with two other couples who are keen to go off on all the trips we’d originally planned, and I’ve lost all enthusiasm for any of it.”

“That’s understandable.”

“They’ve been patient with me, but I know they’re secretly champing at the bit, waiting for me to get over it and move on. I feel guilty for holding them back, but I really can’t summon any motivation.”

“Couldn’t they go without you?”

“None of them are experienced boat people. They love the idea of sailing, but none of them feel confident to sail long distances – even though it’s a motor yacht and not a sailing yacht.”

“That must make things difficult,” Lily murmured.

“My wife was into sailing. It always feels more comfortable having someone else with knowledge when you’re out on the water.”

“That makes sense.”

He dipped his head to stare at his hands in his lap. “I finally agreed we’d do a trip around the Mediterranean. An acquaintance of mine from the sailing club agreed to come with us. He’d help with the sailing in return for a free trip. Everyone had met him before and it seemed like a good idea.”

Lily frowned, confused. “Are you on your way back from that trip?”

“No. This was the start of it. Except, almost as soon as we left, I knew I couldn’t face the trip. We planned on being away for six weeks. Leaving St Ives felt like I was getting even further from Lisa – my wife. Which is daft, I know, but that’s how it feels.”

“I don’t think it’s daft.” Lily smiled sadly. “So you’re going home?”

“Much to everyone’s annoyance, yes.”

“Could you fly home and they go on without you?”

“We talked about it, but almost as soon as I told them I didn’t want to continue with the trip, they suggested Russell buy out my share of the boat.”

“But you don’t want to sell?”

“I do. When they suggested it, I felt this tremendous sense of relief. I don’t want to sail the world without Lisa.

I want to be at home, spending time with my son and my grandson.

” He paused and looked thoughtful. “The problem is that I suspect they’d already been plotting for Russell to buy me out.

I’d pondered the idea of selling, but knew it would be difficult to find someone interested in a third share of a yacht.

No one wants to own a yacht with people they don’t know. ”

“I imagine that would be hard. But selling to this Russell guy seems like a good solution.”

He nodded. “Except Russell knows it would be difficult to find a buyer, so he offered me less than it’s worth. I know he’s not short of money, so it feels as though he’s trying to take advantage. On principle, I don’t want to give in to him.”

“I don’t blame you.”

He lifted his eyebrows as he smiled. “The others think I’m being unreasonable, but I said we need to sail back home tomorrow unless he can change his offer on the boat. I thought that might be a good way of putting a bit of pressure on him, but so far he hasn’t budged.”

“So you’ll sail home tomorrow?”

“First thing. Then they either need to encourage Russell to increase his offer, or we’ll have to sell the boat. It doesn’t matter to me either way.” His smile softened his features. “I told you it was a depressing story.”

“I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way they should have.”

“That’s life, isn’t it? You can make all the plans you want, but some things are beyond our control.” He shook his head. “Sorry, I’ve just been wittering away, telling you all my problems. I’m Joseph, by the way.”

“Lily,” she replied. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too. I promise I’m not usually so gloomy.” He stood and smiled. “On a more cheerful note, this time tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be playing trains with my grandson.”

“How old is he?”

“Five. He’s quite the character. A proper little chatterbox. His favourite thing to do at the moment is play with the train set I bought him for Christmas.”

“That’s lovely.” Standing, Lily stacked her chair onto the one Joseph had vacated. “I hope you enjoy catching up with your family tomorrow.”

Joseph looked deep into her eyes. “It was great talking to you. You made me see things more clearly.”

“I barely even said anything.”

“Just talking it through helped me get things straighter in my head.” He picked up the chairs from the next table. “Let me help you.”

“You really don’t need to,” she said, manoeuvring the chairs through the doorway.

“It’s the least I can do. Then I’m going to call my son and make sure they have nothing planned for tomorrow. I really have my heart set on playing trains with Thomas.”

Once they’d got the tables and chairs inside, Lily wished Joseph well and watched him wander away. He didn’t get far before she heard the gentle sound of his laughter as he chatted on the phone.

Nice man. She felt a pang of sadness about his wife.

Hopefully, spending time with his grandson would bring him the peace he needed.