Page 5 of Dead in the Water (Lily Larkin Mysteries #4)

Chapter Five

When Jessica came bursting into the shop on Monday morning, Lily was standing on a chair to update the menu on the blackboard.

“You’re early,” she said, then checked her watch. “Really early.”

“I know. I’m not here yet.”

Lily lifted her eyebrows. “Weird, because it definitely seems as though you’re here.”

“I’m not here to work. I was out for a run, but I went past the harbour. Have you heard what happened?”

“No.” She wiped the board, erasing the apple pie flavoured ice cream which they’d run out of yesterday. “What happened?”

“I don’t know, but the police are down there and there’s an ambulance. I heard someone died.”

Lily had raised her blackboard pen, but paused. “Seriously?”

The door swung open again and Seren rushed in. “Someone died!” she shrieked. “It’s horrible. Did you hear?”

“I’m just hearing now,” Lily said, stepping down from the chair. “What happened? Do you know who it is?”

“It’s not a local. A visitor. I was talking to Zack Wheeler, the fisherman.

He found the guy early this morning – floating in the water by the bottom of the harbour steps.

Blood on the back of his head. He thought it looked as though the poor fella had slipped down the steps, cracked his head on the way and ended up in the water. ”

Stunned, Lily walked out from behind the counter. “That’s terrible.”

“I can’t believe it,” Jessica said, heading for the door. “I’m going to finish my run and get showered. I’ll see you in an hour.”

She’d only just disappeared from view when the bell over the door jangled again. Pippa from the cafe a few doors down wandered in.

“Have you heard what happened?” she said quietly.

Seren nodded. “I was talking to Zack. He found the body.”

“It’s horrible.” Pippa’s face was pale and her eyes sorrowful. “Some of his friends were in the cafe this morning. This poor woman, Joyce, was distraught. I think it was putting off my other customers, but I could hardly ask her to leave.”

“The guy was here on holiday, right?” Seren asked.

“Yes.” Pippa pressed a hand to her chest. “This was their first stop on a sailing trip down to the Mediterranean.”

Lily felt the blood drain from her face. “Friends who own a yacht together?”

“Yes.”

“Joseph?” Lily asked. “Was the man’s name Joseph? Please tell me it wasn’t?” He said his friends had been in the pub – maybe one of them had fallen after a couple of drinks too many. Not that she’d wish any of them any harm, but she’d enjoyed chatting to Joseph. Surely he wasn’t dead.

“Yes, Joseph,” Pippa said. “Did you know him?”

She shook her head and moved automatically to the nearest chair. “He’s dead?”

“It looks as though he slipped on the harbour steps.” Pippa pressed her lips together. “Knocked himself out and ended up in the water.”

“No,” Lily whispered.

Seren pulled out the chair beside her. “You knew him?”

“He came in for ice cream a couple of days ago with his friends. Yesterday evening he stopped to watch the sunset outside the shop, and we had a chat.”

“You spoke to him last night?” Pippa asked, pulling up a chair.

“Yes. He seemed like such a nice guy.”

“You might have been the last person to speak to him.”

“He was talking to his son on the phone when he left,” Lily said.

“That must have been right before he died.” Pippa pressed her palms onto the table.

“His friend Joyce said he didn’t come back to the boat last night.

Apparently, he’d gone off for a walk while they were in the pub.

When they got back to the boat, they all went to bed and didn’t notice until this morning that he didn’t make it back to the boat.

They woke up to see the police pulling his body out of the water.

Apparently, he was snagged on a bit of rusted ladder close to the bottom of the steps. ”

“Oh, god.” Lily’s mind went to Flynn, assuming he’d been involved in that grim task. “I wonder if someone’s told his son. It sounded as though they were close.” Tears stung the back of her eyes as she remembered him talking so fondly about his grandson.

“His friend, Joyce, called his son,” Pippa said. “She came in the cafe straight after, and couldn’t stop crying, the poor thing.”

“Why were they in the cafe?” Lily asked.

Pippa shrugged. “Sergeant Proctor wanted to speak to them, but he needed to deal with the body first. They didn’t want to just sit around on their boat, so they came for a coffee while they waited. They’ve gone now. What a terrible holiday.”

“How old was he?” Seren asked.

Lily stared at the table. “I’d guess mid to late sixties.” Her stomach lurched with a wave of sadness. “He seemed perfectly fit and healthy. He was excited about going home today and playing with his grandson.”

“It’s so sad,” Seren murmured. “Makes me feel sick. His poor family.”

“I better get back to the cafe,” Pippa said, smiling wanly as she stood. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Are you okay?” Seren asked Lily when they were alone.

“Yeah. It’s not as though I knew him… but it’s really sad.”

“It makes you realise how precious life is.” She stood and stretched her neck. “On that note, I’m off to find Kit to give him a big hug.”

Lily managed a smile.

“Here, you can have one too.” Seren bent and wrapped her arms around Lily, squeezing so hard that she couldn’t help but laugh. “You should call Flynn,” she said when she released her.

Oddly enough, that had been Lily’s instinct as well.

“Why?” she asked, affecting a puzzled air.

“He’ll have been dealing with it this morning. He’ll know all the details. And you should tell him you spoke to the guy last night. The police might want to talk to you.”

“I suppose they might,” she said. “I’ll message him.”