Page 32 of Death on the Rocks (Lily Larkin Mysteries #1)

Chapter Thirty-Two

The patchy internet signal meant Lily would have to wait until later to see what she could find out about Gail Greenway. After so many months of searching, having a name felt significant. She just wished the name meant something to her, but it didn’t jog her memory in the slightest.

After strolling through Hugh Town, Lily arrived at the police station and stepped quietly inside.

“Are you still working alone?” she asked PC Grainger, who was sitting in the same spot he’d been the last time she’d been there.

An image of him and his blonde friend popped into her head, and she shoved it aside.

“The sergeant and PC Hill are still ill,” he told her.

She nodded, trying not to convey her disappointment.

Maybe if the sergeant had been there, he might take her concerns more seriously.

As it was, she’d once again have to convince PC Grainger, and she suspected she was starting out on uneven ground.

Not that it mattered. All she had to do was pass on what she’d uncovered and then it was out of her hands.

“What can I help you with today?” The way he stressed the word today made it sound as though she was a nuisance he had to deal with regularly.

She sat heavily on the chair opposite him. “I know you said you wouldn’t look any further into Vinny’s death, but I wanted to update you on what I’ve found… in case it might make you reconsider.”

He sighed as he rested his elbows on the table. “You’ve been playing Miss Marple, have you?”

She shrugged. “I see myself as more of a modern detective. And younger than Marple, obviously, but I see what you’re getting at. And yes, I have been digging into the incident, but it was hard not to.”

“Really? I know the weather hasn’t been brilliant, but I’m sure you could have found something else to entertain yourself. If hiking isn’t your thing, there’s always Netflix… surely you have Netflix?”

“I…” She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. The mocking in his tone scrambled her carefully constructed thoughts into chaos. Taking a steady breath, she vowed not to let him goad her. “I’m only here to report what I’ve found,” she said archly.

“Fine.” He leaned back in his chair and interlocked his fingers on his chest. “Hit me with it.”

“Well.” She swallowed hard, annoyed with herself for getting flustered. The more confident and arrogant he was, the more feeble she felt. “I don’t know who did it,” she said.

“Who did what?”

“Killed Vinny.”

“Right,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Of course. That’s helpful.”

“I can’t even say for certain that someone did,” she said, choosing to ignore his teasing. “There’s definitely some stuff that seems dodgy.”

“Such as?”

“I’m fairly sure he was involved in some criminal activity.

Specifically pornography.” She cut him off when he tried to speak.

“Before you ask, no, I didn’t find the memory card, but I found the subject of the photos.

” She described her visit to Katie and the fact that at least one other woman had experienced the same.

“If Katie doesn’t want to make a statement, I can’t really follow it up.”

“I’m hoping she might change her mind.”

PC Grainger leaned forwards. “You mentioned that you think someone killed Mr Roth. Are you suggesting that Katie pushed him off the cliff?”

“She has a motive,” Lily mused, though she couldn’t really see Katie doing it. “But I think Oscar might be in love with Katie, which also gives him a motive. I also wonder if he has the missing memory card.”

“Any other suspects?”

“Yes.” She tapped on the desk. “I get the impression that Mrs Miller is covering for Mr Miller. I don’t think they were actually together at the time of Vinny’s death.

Also, Flora said she’s been worried about her husband’s mental state.

She said it was out of character for him to have a go at Vinny the way he did.

Plus, they’re making a last-minute trip to the mainland tomorrow. That seems fishy to me.”

“Okay,” PC Grainger said.

“There’s also Alanna Harding to consider.

She confided in me that she was relieved Vinny was dead.

Apparently, she’d been trying to nudge him out of her business for a while.

She called him a liability.” Lily frowned.

“I suppose that also makes her boyfriend a suspect since he’d probably be protective of her. ”

She paused when she noticed her words were tumbling out in a rush, but there was more she had to say.

“Also, I can’t figure out the missing memory card.

I don’t know who took it or why? At first I thought it was Oscar, but now I wonder if it was Alanna.

She’s concerned about her blog, and it would definitely reflect badly if it comes out that Vinny had been involved in something seedy. ”

“You’ve certainly collected a lot of information.” PC Grainger seemed to be taking her more seriously now, but she had the impression he still wasn’t convinced. “People obviously like to talk to you.”

The cryptic statement had her shaking her head. “How do you mean?”

“I mean people keep telling you stuff. I don’t know about you, but if I’d killed someone, I’d be keeping very quiet about it, not offloading on random people.”

“I think people need to get things off their chest,” she said, slowly. “They talk without even really thinking about it.”

He nodded. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes. Anything.”

“Why are you so obsessed with this?” The hint of sympathy in his features, coupled with the same question she kept asking herself, had her squirming.

“I just…I… I…” She searched for a reason which wouldn’t make her sound mentally unstable. “I can’t shake the feeling that something is amiss. My gut is telling me that Vinny’s death wasn’t an accident. There was foul play involved.”

“You keep telling me how unpleasant he was, so I can’t figure out why you even care.”

She scrunched her nose up. “Just because he wasn’t a good guy, doesn’t mean that someone should get away with murder…

” Although, as she said it, she was struck by an image of Katie.

What if she’d tussled with him and killed him by accident?

Would Lily really be okay with seeing her in prison because of it?

Or if Oscar had flown into a rage because he wanted to protect his friend.

“I think we need to know the truth,” she ventured. “After that it would be up to the courts to decide what happens, right?”

His eyes narrowed and his gaze was intense as he stared at her. “I’ve just thought of something,” he said slowly. “The day before Mr Roth’s death, you also argued with him.”

“What?” She tilted her head, confused.

“You’d been involved in a heated confrontation with the deceased a mere twenty-four hours before his death.”

As that encounter came back to her, Lily tried to speak, but only managed a strangled squeak.

“During that confrontation, you twisted Mr Roth’s arm behind his back and made him whimper like a tortured puppy.”

“I didn’t think you’d seen that,” she said, grimacing.

“I turned a blind eye because I figured the guy probably deserved it.”

“Okay.” She shifted in her seat again. “Surely you’re not accusing me of anything?”

“No.” Wearily, he shook his head. “But you also don’t have an alibi for the time of his death.

So I’m pointing out that if you want me to go into detective mode, you’d also be on my list of people to question further.

” Again, he eyed her intently. “Where did you learn to defend yourself like that, anyway?”

She gave a dismissive shrug, not wanting to get sidetracked. “I did self-defence classes and martial arts when I was younger. I guess it stuck.”

Her mind wandered and she pictured her uncle lecturing her on the importance of physical fitness, and how important it was to know how to defend herself.

He’d been obsessive about it, which hadn’t occurred to Lily as strange until she was older and realised not all little girls were instructed quite so thoroughly on how to kick grown men in the balls with enough force to immobilise them while she ran away.

That and a lot of other effective defensive manoeuvres.

“Are you going to look into things more, or not?” Lily demanded, getting the conversation back on track.

PC Grainger’s lips twisted to one side. “The problem is there’s no concrete evidence of anything. Plus, I’ll be honest, it all seems quite far-fetched.”

“Does it? Vinny exploited women and was aggressive towards just about everyone he encountered. Is it really so shocking that someone hit back?”

PC Grainger stretched his neck and looked thoughtful. Presumably, he was searching for the most tactful way to remove Lily from the station.

“You’re not going to do anything about it, are you?” she asked with a sinking feeling.

Silently, he shook his head.

It didn’t matter, though. She’d told him everything she knew, and that was what she’d intended to do. She rose from the chair. At least she could leave with a sliver of dignity.

“Thank you for listening,” she said curtly, and was almost at the door when she gave up on the idea of a dignified exit. “If I could make one quick suggestion,” she said with a grimace.

He smiled with warm amusement. “Go on, then.”

“I’m absolutely not telling you how to do your job, so please don’t take it that way, but I think if I were you I would take a quick look through his things…

” She trailed off as PC Grainger’s features visibly tensed.

Maybe she’d gone too far, but it felt too late to backtrack.

“I don’t see how it would hurt. If Vinny was up to something dodgy, you could probably find evidence on his laptop. ”

She was talking quickly again, and was aware that it made her sound like some sort of paranoid, crazy person.

The awareness didn’t help her slow down.

“There’s probably a password, so I don’t know if you can somehow get around that, but you could at least look.

Maybe it’s not password protected.” She paused and winced at the way PC Grainger was staring at her.

“Sorry,” she said. “It was just a thought. Although maybe you’re not allowed to snoop through his things to look for evidence.

Would that make it inadmissible or something? ”

He snorted a laugh at that. “You’ve gone all CSI again,” he said lightly.

“About it being inadmissible, or the general idea of searching his things for evidence?”

He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Looking through his stuff would be my next step too.”

“So you will?”

“I already have.”

“Oh.” So he hadn’t entirely dismissed her previous concerns. “Did you get into his laptop?”

“No.” His eyes locked with hers in a way that made her self-conscious.

“Was it password protected? I imagine if you’re up to something dodgy, there’s no way you wouldn’t have a password.”

“You’d think so,” he said wistfully.

Lily searched his features. “You’re being cryptic. Was there a password, or not?”

He sighed heavily. “I really shouldn’t tell you this.” His words had a faraway quality, as though maybe he was thinking aloud. “I will absolutely regret telling you this…”

“Tell me what?” she demanded.

He scratched at his neck and looked annoyed with himself as he spoke his next words. “His laptop seems to have gone missing.”

Lily’s eyes widened as she hurried back across the room and dropped into the chair.

She had questions for PC Grainger. Lots of them.