Page 12 of Death on the Rocks (Lily Larkin Mysteries #1)

Chapter Twelve

For the first time since he'd arrived on the island, Flynn's day didn't drag at all. It was something he missed about his old life – being so busy that time slipped by without notice.

He spent the entire morning at the Miller’s place, piecing together Vinny's final movements while also attempting to keep everyone calm.

Lily had been the easiest on that score.

Once she got over the shock of finding the body, she seemed to take it all in her stride.

Or perhaps it was the contrast with Alanna's hysterics which made Lily seem so cool.

Back at the station, he wrote up his report, and Lily’s statement, while his ears pricked up frequently to listen in on Sergeant Proctor's phone calls. That seemed to be the most effective way for him to keep abreast of everything to do with today’s incident.

He’d tried the more traditional approach of speaking to his superior, but that mostly felt like conversing with a moody teenager.

“Couldn’t have been worse timing,” Sergeant Proctor muttered following a particularly drawn-out coughing fit.

It had occurred to PC Grainger a couple of times to suggest the sergeant went back home to bed, but he imagined it wouldn’t be a welcome suggestion – not coming from Flynn, anyway – so he held his tongue.

“Excuse me?” Flynn asked, noticing the sergeant was looking at him expectantly. He hadn’t even registered that the words were directed at him.

“I said it’s terrible timing.” He paused and Flynn pondered how to respond. Being spoken to by Sergeant Proctor without him barking orders at him was something of a novelty. “What with PC Hill off ill. I could’ve done with him around today.”

“Is there something else you’d like me to do?” Flynn offered.

“No,” the sergeant snapped. “There’s also not a lot we can do at the moment.

We can’t move the body off the island until this weather clears, and it’s looking as though the fog might hang around for a day or two.

” He erupted into another coughing fit, and Flynn noticed the sheen of sweat across his forehead.

Again, he refrained from suggesting he go home to bed.

After a moment, Sergeant Proctor caught his breath and looked resignedly at Flynn. “I suppose you can hold the fort here if I go home for a while.”

“Of course,” Flynn said, hiding his positivity at the notion. “I’ve written up my report and the statement for Miss Larkin.”

Sergeant Proctor walked over to Flynn’s desk and frowned in obvious confusion.

“The woman who found the body,” Flynn clarified.

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

“I’ll go over and get her signature on it tomorrow. Is there anything else you want me to deal with? A press release maybe?” He winced, wondering if that was even something they bothered about on the islands. Was the press even interested?

“I already did it,” Sergeant Proctor said.

“And I have all the relevant people on standby for moving the body to the mainland as soon as the weather permits. I’ll try to keep any press interest at bay until we’ve informed the next of kin, though.

” He dropped a piece of paper in front of Flynn with a name and phone number on it.

“That’s the details of the deceased’s sister.

I tried calling twice but got no answer.

Keep trying her.” He let out a long breath.

“You have dealt with this sort of thing before, I take it? You can be sensitive when breaking the news?”

“Yes,” Flynn said, gritting his teeth to keep from saying any more.

Like pointing out that he was twenty-seven and not actually a child.

That he’d been in the force for nine years and had routinely dealt with similar situations.

And mostly to shout at him that he wasn’t completely incompetent and that their time together would be much more pleasant if he’d stop treating him as though he was.

He smiled benignly and reached for the piece of paper. “I can manage that.”

“If anything else comes up, call me.” Sergeant Proctor was already walking away. “Anything,” he growled. “Don’t go making decisions without running them by me.”

“Yes, Sarge,” Flynn said brightly, deciding to focus on the positive – he had the place to himself for the rest of the afternoon.

Not that he liked to wish illness on anyone, but he couldn’t help but hope it might take the sergeant a few more days to fully recover.