Page 41 of Dead in the Water (Lily Larkin Mysteries #4)

Chapter Forty-One

For a moment Glynis merely frowned at the suggestion of spilling information about her friend. “I don’t know what there is to tell,” she said eventually. “And I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable telling you what I do know.”

“There must be something,” Lily said. “Why didn’t it work out for her with the shop? From what I hear, the ice cream shop did well back then. Why did she leave?”

Glynis pulled out the chair closest to her and folded her hands in her lap. “Personal reasons, which aren’t for me to speak about.”

“Please tell me.” Lily gazed pleadingly at Glynis as she hurriedly took the seat opposite her. “I know it sounds crazy, but I think there’s something she doesn’t want me to know and I need to know why.”

Glynis stared forlornly at her hands. “You have to understand that what I know about her situation back then is what I’ve pieced together from the odd comment or bits of cryptic conversations. She’s not someone who opens up. She’s never outright told me the whole story.”

“Just tell me what you do know.”

“It has to stay between us?” Glynis said.

While Flynn joined them at the table, Lily nodded readily.

“I think she was having an affair with a married man. Not that she’s ever said so, but it’s the conclusion I drew.”

“That’s why she closed the shop and left the island?” Flynn asked. “To be with him?”

“I think he’d told her he’d move here. He had kids…

” She closed her eyes briefly. “One kid, at least. I think they visited her here once or twice. As far as I can tell, he promised Maria they’d live happily ever after…

but I guess he ended up staying with his wife.

” She looked sadly at Lily. “I think when she left the islands it was to be with him. I remember her writing to me and saying that things hadn’t worked out as she’d thought they would, but she couldn’t bring herself to come back to St. Mary’s. ”

Lily’s mind raced as new theories developed at lightning speed. One idea in particular lodged itself in her brain.

“The man she was seeing… was his child a boy or a girl? And how old?”

“Maria never actually talked about them, but I remember walking past the shop one evening… Maria was standing out the front, staring at the beach. The weather was terrible – wet and windy, so the beach was deserted but there was a man, flying a kite with his kid. It was quite a striking scene since there was only the two of them on the beach… and there was something haunting about the look on Maria’s face as she watched them. ”

“Did you ask her about them?”

“Yes. She said he was an old friend. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but in the weeks after, it became clear she was having problems. I put two and two together, but I couldn’t tell you if I reached the right conclusion.”

“The kid,” Lily said, her breath catching in her throat. “Was it a boy or a girl?”

“I don’t know. It was twenty years ago, and they were far away so I didn’t get a good look.”

“How old do you think they were? A young child, or a teenager?”

“Young. Three or four. Maybe five.” Her eyebrows pulled together. “Why do you want to know?”

Lily shook her head, not daring to voice her thoughts. “Just wondering.”

“Don’t be taking anything I say as fact,” Glynis said quickly. “Like I say, Maria is very closed off. I don’t think she really opens up to anyone.”

“That must make her difficult to be friends with,” Flynn said gently.

Glynis nodded. “I’m the only person she stayed in touch with when she left. And that was only because I made most of the effort. Eventually she met someone else and was married for a decade, but from what I gather it wasn’t an overly happy marriage.”

Lily drummed her fingers against her coffee cup. “Why do you think she came back here after all this time?”

“She said she needed a change of scenery. And that she needed to make some decisions about the shop. I think she was contemplating selling it until you came along.”

“I still don’t understand why she wanted me to open it,” Lily mused.

“I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that Mr Greaves got in touch to say someone was interested in the shop, and she said it seemed like a sign.”

Lily nodded. It was what Maria had said to her, too – just good timing. But Lily was struggling to believe that.

“I don’t like talking about her behind her back,” Glynis said.

“That’s all I know and I can’t see how it’s helpful.

I am sorry that I acted deceitfully in not telling you about Maria, especially as I knew you were looking for the owner, but I honestly didn’t have any ill intent.

I was hoping that with time, I could persuade Maria to reveal herself to you. ”

“I understand,” Lily said. “It’s okay.”

Glynis smiled and stood. “You know I’m very fond of you and I hate thinking there’s any bad feeling between us.”

“Concerned about losing your ice cream fix?” Lily said lightly, wanting to leave any tension behind them.

Glynis chuckled. “Absolutely.”

Lily walked her to the door, then went to the window and looked out at the beach and the calm sea beyond. Closing her eyes, she imagined it on an overcast day with the wind strong enough to fly a kite.

It hit her in a rush – the salty air in her nostrils and the feeling of the plastic kite handle digging into her palm. The gusts were so strong she was scared she would lose her grip on the kite, or be blown away with it.

It wasn’t the only thing that scared her, either. Fear rooted itself deep in her stomach, and she felt it everywhere.

“Lily!”

Flynn’s voice jolted her back to reality.

Her eyes filled with tears as she snapped them open. In front of her, Flynn’s features were full of concern.

“Are you okay?”

Wildly, she shook her head. “It was me,” she said frantically. “I was the kid on the beach.”

“How do you know?”

“I remember it. I was on the beach, flying the kite. Everything was terrible.”

“How do you mean?”

Taking a deep breath, she moved away from Flynn and paced beside the large window.

“I don’t have many photos of my parents,” she said slowly.

“But in the ones I have, we look happy. I always thought that at some point in my life I’d been part of a normal, happy family, but I think that’s a lie.

I remember being on the beach and I was so scared. ”

“You just remembered it now?”

“Yes. It’s like something unlocked in my mind. I didn’t think I had memories of that time, except for the vague memory of being in the ice cream shop… but I guess…”

“What?”

She tried to smile through the pain in her chest. “There’s a psychological reason we sometimes don’t remember things, right?”

Slowly, Flynn nodded. “It’s a coping mechanism.”

“Your mind tries to protect you from traumatic events.” She stopped pacing. “I only remember flying the kite on the beach, but I know that no one was supposed to know I was here. My dad kept insisting it had to be a secret.”

“You remember him saying that?”

“Not exactly.” She couldn’t figure out how to explain it. “I just know … it’s only a feeling, but it’s really clear.”

Flynn nodded.

“I think my dad was having an affair with Maria,” she said, hardly daring to say the words. “Which means we were never a happy family after all.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Flynn said kindly.

“No. But it would explain Maria’s reluctance to speak to me. I can’t imagine it’s something she’s proud of.”

Flynn sighed. “And it would explain why she leased the shop to you. Maybe she’s trying to make amends.”

“Maybe.” Lily sank onto the nearest chair and dragged her hands through her hair. “What if there’s more to it?”

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking about the fact that my parents died in a fire… and then there was a fire at the ice cream shop… I’ve always thought that was a strange coincidence. And I think that was probably around the same time that Maria started going by her middle name.”

Flynn stood in front of her. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to know the truth.” A surge of anger rippled through Lily. She was tired of feeling lost and confused. “I want answers. And I’m going to get them. Maria owes me that much, at least.”

To be continued …