Page 8 of Dead in the Water (Lily Larkin Mysteries #4)
Chapter Eight
Strolling back to the station, Flynn forced himself to concentrate on his surroundings. He greeted several locals and stopped for a quick chat with the woman who ran the post office. Inevitably, she had questions about the incident at the harbour, and he did his best to answer them.
Only when he had the station in his sights did he allow his thoughts to drift to Lily and their kiss on the beach. His mouth pulled into a secret smile as he pushed the door open.
The front desk was unmanned, but Sergeant Proctor appeared from his office at the back when Flynn called out a greeting.
“Did you find Lily?”
“Yeah. She was a little shaken up about the whole thing, but she’s okay.”
“What time did she speak with Mr Whittaker yesterday evening?”
“Sunset. It sounds as though he probably left her about nine forty-five.”
“That makes sense. He must have called his son straight after.”
“She said he was on the phone as soon as he left. Do you want to get an official statement from her?”
“No.” He drew in a breath which puffed out his chest. “Let’s try to keep her name out of our report for once.”
Flynn stifled a grin. “Did you hear any more from the guy’s son?”
“Yeah. He’s adamant he wants to come out here and fly back with the body, but he’s panicking because his wife is away on a business trip and there’s no one else to look after their son. He doesn’t want to bring him.”
“I don’t blame him.”
“So he’s going to be here as soon as he can, but it sounds as though it’ll take a few days.”
“Is that an issue?”
“No, I don’t think so. There’s a backlog for the post-mortem, anyway. I just felt sorry for the guy. Sounded as though he wanted to get on the next flight.”
For lack of anything useful to say, Flynn shook his head sadly. “Is there anything else that needs to be done?”
“I reckon we’re on top of it. There is something I wanted to talk to you about, though.” He tipped his head to his office and Flynn followed him back there. “It’s about your message last night,” he said, as he seated himself at his desk.
Flynn sat opposite him. “To be honest, I’m still not certain of anything, but I’d be keen to know if it’s a possibility to stay longer.
It’s definitely something I’d consider…” He paused, thinking of kissing Lily on the beach.
He was pretty sure he would stay longer if he could.
“That’s if you’re still keen to have me for longer,” he added uncertainly.
“Absolutely.” The sergeant’s smile had an oddly wistful quality. “PC Hill and I managed fine when it was only the two of us, but we both agree that an extra pair of hands makes life much easier. And I really think you’re an asset to the community.”
“Thank you.” Flynn couldn’t contain his grin. “So you’ll look into it?”
“That’s the thing,” the sergeant said. “I already asked last week. I wanted to know if there’d be a chance of us getting an extra PC, even if you decided against it.”
Flynn’s chest tightened. “They said no?”
“I’m afraid so. I’ve been advised that I can make a special appeal for an extra officer…”
“Is that likely to work?” Flynn asked with bated breath.
“I’m not convinced anyone would even read the appeal. I think I was being fobbed off.”
“Right.”
“We’ve operated efficiently with two of us, so as far as my superiors are concerned, there’s no reason to extend the budget. It’s also been suggested that we recruit Special Constables. We had some in the past and that worked well, but we seem to have a knack for finding people who move away.”
“Right.” Flynn nodded solemnly. Taking on voluntary support made sense for the usually quiet islands.
“I’m disappointed. I really would have liked to keep you on. It’s amazing how quickly your time here is going. Six months is going to be up before we know it.”
“Yeah.”
“Eight weeks, if you can believe it?”
Flynn snapped his head up to meet the sergeant’s gaze. “What?”
“Only eight weeks and you’ll be back in London. PC Hill and I were discussing it yesterday. We’re both going to miss having you around.”
“Eight weeks?” Flynn echoed. So far, he’d been measuring his remaining time in months. To hear it in weeks sounded like nothing at all.
“Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Apparently so.” Flynn straightened as he attempted to compose himself. “Thanks for looking into it, anyway.”
“I’m just sorry there wasn’t a different outcome. I really did try. And I will put in that special appeal, but as I say, I can’t imagine anything will come of it.”
Flynn forced a smile as he stood. “I should get back to work.”
The sergeant tipped his chin, and Flynn moved mechanically back to the front desk, where he switched the computer on and leaned back in his chair to stare blankly at the screen.
Over the next couple of hours, he concentrated enough to reply to some messages on social media and deal with a couple of phone calls – all concerned citizens, wanting to know what had happened at the harbour that morning.
When the sergeant wandered out from the back, Flynn was staring at the wall in a trance.
“You can go,” Sergeant Proctor said, jerking him from his thoughts.
He let out a quizzical grunt as he sat up straighter.
“I appreciate your dedication, but your shift ended an hour ago.”
“There were a couple of phone calls,” he said, tipping his head toward the phone. “The death at the harbour has people in a panic.”
“Stuff like this always does.” The sergeant lifted an eyebrow. “I could have dealt with the phone calls. Are you avoiding going home or something? I’m not complaining, but usually you’re very efficient at clocking off on time.”
“No. Just lost track of time.” He switched the computer off and stood, retreating to the back room to lock his radio and belt away with his stab vest.
“See you tomorrow,” the sergeant said as Flynn passed him.
He nodded and stepped outside. With his insides twisted in a knot, a whisper of panic dried his throat.
He’d always known his time on the island was limited. Until a few weeks ago, that had been something he was grateful for.
Things were different now, though.
As he wandered home, all his excitement about his evening with Lily vanished.