Page 13 of Death on the Rocks (Lily Larkin Mysteries #1)

Chapter Thirteen

There was something about PC Grainger’s presence that made Lily feel anchored.

While he was there, she felt safe and comfortable.

Once he left she felt out of place around the Millers and Alanna and Marc.

Possibly because she was aware of the fact that she’d insinuated to PC Grainger that one of them may be a murderer.

She spent the afternoon lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to the noises in the house.

Eventually, she heard the doorbell and then the back and forth of a conversation before the creak of the stairs told her someone was coming up.

The gentle knock on her door surprised her, and she stared at it for a moment before she moved.

Had it really only been twenty-four hours ago that Vinny had been pummelling on the door and demanding entrance? No one was demanding anything now, though. In fact, the knock had been so light that she wasn’t even certain it was someone at her door until she opened it.

The barmaid from the pub looked at her sympathetically.

“I hope I’m not intruding,” she said, words dripping with apology.

“I heard what happened… that some guy staying here had died, and I knew you were staying here, so I wanted to check on you. Flora just told me you were the one who found him.” She tilted her head. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. It’s been a very weird day.”

Seren gave a half smile. “It must have been awful.”

Instinctively, Lily wanted to say it hadn’t been so bad, but an image of Vinny’s twisted body came back to her and she swallowed hard. “Yeah,” she murmured. “It was pretty awful.”

“I have a shift at the pub tonight,” Seren told her. “If you want company, you could come and prop up the bar again. Kit will probably come in at some point too.”

“Thank you.” Lily considered the idea. “I actually don’t feel like going out.

” She screwed her face up as a thought occurred to her.

“Except I don’t have any food here, so I suppose I’ll need to go out at some point.

” Maybe, under the circumstances, Mrs Miller might cook something for her. She could at least ask.

“Oh!” Seren’s eyes lit up. “I almost forgot… I brought you crab cakes. They’re my favourite comfort food and I thought you might need something comforting.

” She looked suddenly uncertain. “I don’t even know if you like crab cakes, but if you do these are probably the best you’ve ever tasted.

There are chips too.” Reaching into the bag in her hand, she retrieved a takeaway box and handed it over.

“Thanks so much.” Lily took it eagerly, only now realising how hungry she was. “That’s really kind of you.”

“I bought some for myself as well,” Seren said. “We can eat together if you want, or if you’d rather be alone, I’ll leave you in peace.”

Lily was happy to have company and opened the door wider before she frowned at the space she was inviting Seren into – a bedroom. “We could eat downstairs if you want…”

“No, let’s eat in here.” Seren moved inside. “Flora’s downstairs. She’d probably sit with us and we won’t be able to talk properly.”

Lily felt the same sense of ease that she’d felt with PC Grainger as she watched Seren settle herself in the armchair with her takeaway box on her lap.

Out of the blue, Lily heard her uncle’s voice ringing in her ear. Don’t get too attached, it said with Uncle Derek’s kindly tone. You know we won’t be staying long.

In her mind’s eye, she could see him ruffling her hair as he said the words. And he’d promise to buy her a treat in the next city or town they moved to – often in an entirely different country. As though a new toy would make up for not having friends.

Her breath stopped as she was suddenly deep in a recollection of the arguments they’d had when she’d finally tired of being dragged from one place to the next.

And then the last words she’d spoken to him…

telling him he’d ruined her life. She’d wanted to take them back immediately, but her stubborn streak had made her wait a day before going to apologise.

He’d been dead when she’d whispered her apology in his ear, while squeezing his cold, lifeless hand.

“Oh, my goodness.” Seren removed her takeaway box from her lap and set it aside.

“I’m so sorry. I’m like the most insensitive person ever.

I just waltzed in and started stuffing my face.

Are you okay? We can talk if you want. I just thought you might prefer to eat before we get to the subject of the dead body… ”

Snapped from her memories, Lily realised she was still standing by the open door. She wasn’t in floods of tears, so that was something. Still, she must look like she’d lost the plot. She forced her muscles to relax as she closed the door.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m starving. I just zoned out for a moment there.”

“You’ve got a lot on your mind,” Seren said. “Eat up and then you can tell me all about it. Maybe it will help to get it off your chest.”

Lily sat at the dressing table to eat and didn’t bother to wait until she’d finished to give Seren the details of her morning.

“It’s frightening, isn’t it?” Seren said. “Thinking that life can come to an end so quickly. It gives me the willies just thinking about it.”

Lily pushed her empty takeaway box aside. “PC Grainger was great,” she said, knowing Seren would be interested in that bit of info. Also, she wanted to correct Seren’s view of him being grumpy and rude. Lily hadn’t seen that at all. “Really calm and kind,” she said.

“That’s good,” Seren said softly.

Lily nodded. “They say it was an accident.”

“The rocks get slippery,” Seren said. “And the fog is intense today. You can barely see your hand in front of your face.”

“They don’t do any kind of investigation though,” Lily mused. “That surprised me.”

Seren was about to pop a chip in her mouth, but stopped abruptly and set it back in the box on her lap before closing the lid.

“What’s really hard with situations like this,” she said with a gravity to her tone that took Lily by surprise, “is not knowing exactly what happened. His family will never know precisely how he came to fall. That kind of stuff can haunt you.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” Lily probed.

The way Seren shook her head made it seem as though she might brush the conversation aside, but after a small hesitation she kept talking. “Kit’s dad died in a boating accident,” she said. “He was on his own, so we’ll never know exactly what happened. It’s hard for Kit and his family.”

“And you?” Lily ventured, recognising the grief in Seren’s eyes.

“Kit’s dad was great,” she said, an air of melancholy to her words.

A moment later, she smiled gently. “Sorry. I wanted to check you were okay, not make you more depressed.” She sat up straighter.

“Let’s lighten the atmosphere… you said PC Grainger was calm and kind, but I’d also like to know if he was flirting with you today. ”

That definitely changed the atmosphere and the laughter that bubbled out of Lily felt wonderful.

Don’t get too attached, the voice in her head chimed again, but she shoved it to one side. She was only staying on the island for a week, so she wasn’t in a position to be making lasting friendships, regardless of how much she longed to.

But right at that moment she felt she had a friend, on a day when she really needed one.

“Did he flirt?” Seren demanded. “He totally did, didn’t he?”

“No.” Lily tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t manage it. “He was completely professional.”

“Well, you need to watch out, because he’s probably going to try and sleep with you.”

Lily shook her head defiantly.

“I bet you he will.” Seren let out a dramatic gasp. “You don’t even care, do you? Do you have a thing for PC Grainger?”

“No!” Lily suspected there was no way Seren would believe her unless she could stop with her incessant grinning.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shift her features to anything resembling a serious expression, and the more she denied any romantic feeling towards PC Grainger, the less Seren seemed to believe her.