Page 6 of Death on the Rocks (Lily Larkin Mysteries #1)

Chapter Six

Following the incident with Vinny that afternoon, Lily hadn’t been keen to hang around the B&B. She headed back out to explore a few of St. Mary’s beaches and after a couple of hours of aimless wandering, she ended up in the pub at the harbour for dinner.

Having finished her meal, Lily remained sitting at the bar.

The pub had a nautical theme, with shipping and fishing artefacts decorating every inch of space.

It was a feast for the eyes, but Lily kept her focus on her phone, pretending to be engrossed so she could listen in on a nearby conversation without being noticed.

“He’s an absolute disgrace,” the red-headed barmaid was saying to the young woman opposite her. “You can’t be a policeman in a small community and act like that.”

“He’s off duty,” her friend replied across the bar. “Surely he can do what he wants. It’s not as though there’s a law about police officers getting drunk and sleeping around… as long as it’s on their own time.”

The barmaid leaned on the bar. “It seems very unprofessional to me.”

“Because you’re used to squeaky clean Sergeant Proctor.”

“They couldn’t be more different, could they?

” The barmaid’s gaze shifted across the room to where PC Grainger was sitting at a table for two with a pint in front of him and a slender young blonde opposite him.

Their hands met on the table and the woman pawed at the back of his fingers like an attention-hungry feline.

“How does he do it anyway?” the barmaid asked, lowering her voice even further. “That’s the third woman I’ve seen him with and he’s only been on the island for a month.”

“Do you think it might be because he’s gorgeous?” the woman asked mockingly. “It could also be something to do with the uniform.”

“He’s not in uniform now,” the barmaid pointed out. “And I don’t think he’s that good looking.”

“Are you serious?” The woman’s voice rose before she caught herself and switched back to hushed tones. “He’s stunning. The colour of his eyes is insane.”

“Fine, he’s fit, but his personality is sadly lacking.”

The friend, sitting just a couple of bar stools over from Lily, grinned mischievously. “I’d guess his lady friend this evening isn’t overly concerned by his conversational skills.”

“True.” The barmaid straightened up and glanced again at PC Grainger. Almost immediately she leaned back on the bar. “I didn’t even tell you the latest rumour about him...”

“Which lucky person are you gossiping about now?” a loud male voice cut in.

Recognising the voice, Lily automatically looked up.

“Oh, hello!” he said, catching her eye.

“Hi.” She ignored the other two sets of eyes on her. “Kit, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. I don’t think I caught your name.” He held his hand out and Lily introduced herself.

“You’ve met my girlfriend, I take it…” He indicated the barmaid. “Seren.”

Lily smiled awkwardly.

“I met Lily earlier,” Kit said. “Checking out the site of the old ice cream shop.”

“I loved that place,” Seren said, before being interrupted by her friend who leaned in Lily’s direction.

“I’m Keira,” she told Lily.

“My brother’s girlfriend,” Kit added.

“It’s quite the family get together,” Lily remarked.

“Hardly,” Keira said. “The place would be heaving if all Kit’s family was in here. There are loads of them. You can’t throw a stone on this island without hitting a member of the Treneary family.”

“You should really stop throwing stones at my family,” Kit said dryly, earning himself a punch on the arm from Keira.

“Anyway,” she said to Lily with a gentle grimace. “Sorry if we were talking loudly before…”

“You weren’t, but I may have been eavesdropping a little.”

“Sorry about these two,” Kit said. “They’re a right pair of gossips.”

“We don’t usually gossip like that,” Keira said, causing Kit to choke on a laugh.

“We don’t!” She aimed a playful elbow at his ribs. “But it’s not every day a hot copper turns up on the island. It’s caused quite a stir. Especially as he seems intent on sleeping with every single woman he meets.”

“Is he hot?” Kit asked, with a comical frown.

“He’s pretty easy on the eyes,” Keira said. “But don’t tell Noah I said that.”

“I suppose he’s sort of classically handsome.” Kit raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think women were into that these days.”

“Classically handsome men?” Seren said, the corners of her lips twitching. “No. I don’t think women like that at all.”

“I thought rugged good looks were all the rage.” Kit lifted his chin a fraction. “If you’re telling me classically handsome is back in, I might have to rethink my haircut.”

Beside him, Keira snorted a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he demanded.

“Nothing.” She beamed and reached out to pinch his cheek. “You’re so cute.”

“Hey.” He swatted her hand away. “That’s what the old ladies tell me. When I take the seniors from the nursing home out for a train ride, all I hear is how cute I am. I assumed it was bad eyesight that made them mistake my rugged good looks for cuteness.”

Keira opened her mouth to comment then pressed her lips together at the last moment.

“Seren likes my rugged good looks, anyway,” he said firmly.

“I do.” Seren’s smile was full of affection. “Very much.”

They were a cute couple, Lily thought before her gaze drifted across the room again.

“It is all a bit mysterious, isn’t it?” Kit said. “There was definitely no opening for another PC on the island. And Sergent Proctor’s very shifty if you ask him about it. Though he did say PC Grainger was probably only here on a temporary posting.”

“I met him today.” Lily’s words drew the attention of all three of them. “PC Grainger,” she clarified.

“Did he try to sleep with you?” Keira asked.

“No.” She laughed at their eager faces.

“What happened?” Kit asked with a mischievous grin. “Tell us everything.”

“You’ve got a cheek calling us gossips,” Keira told him affectionately.

“Tell us,” Seren said across the bar.

Lily's gaze lingered on PC Grainger, who was completely oblivious to being the centre of their conversation. Then she flicked her eyes back across the bar. “First I want to know what you were about to say. About a rumour…”

“I heard he was working in London.” Seren’s whispered words had them all leaning in.

“He got caught sleeping with some police chief’s daughter…

she was only young… seventeen, I think. It was a big scandal but not actually a sackable offence.

They’ve sent him over here to keep him out of the way while the dust settles. ”

“I don’t believe it,” Keira said. “It sounds totally made up.”

“Sounds believable to me,” Seren said. “I’ve seen him leave this place with three different women since he’s been here.”

“It’s weird that you’re keeping track of his conquests,” Kit said with a small shake of his head.

“There are probably more,” Seren said idly. “His loose morals aren’t my only issue with him. You need to be friendly for small town policing and I’m not sure he knows the meaning of the word. He’s borderline rude when I serve him. And he never tips.” She looked at Lily. “What did you make of him?”

Before she could answer, Kit spoke. “I thought you were only visiting… how have you already met our new constable?”

She gave them a rundown of her strange day at the B&B, excluding the minor detail of her manhandling Vinny, but finishing with PC Grainger arriving in her room.

“He sounds quite heroic,” Seren said grudgingly.

“I don’t know about that,” Lily said. “I was glad he turned up when he did, though.”

“This won’t be good for Flora and Rodney.” Kit’s eyes were fixed on his phone. “The guy’s already written them a review.”

“What does it say?” Keira asked.

He pursed his lips as his eyes darted over the screen.

“Nothing about the camera. It’s mostly about the breakfast.” His lips twitched upwards.

“He has a real bee in his bonnet about his overcooked bacon. And then he rants about the bed and the pillow.” Kit paused and chuckled.

“It’s quite clever not to mention the camera.

A theft might not put people off since it would sound like a one-off and not the owner’s fault.

But improperly cooked bacon…” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“That’s got to be the most damaging complaint for a B&B. ”

“My theory about Flora was wrong anyway,” Seren said. “I really thought she’d been writing the bad reviews herself.”

“Why would she do that?” Keira asked, voicing the question on the tip of Lily’s tongue.

Kit tilted his head to one side. “She and Rodney were in here last week. Rodney was complaining about a spate of bad reviews and some cancelled bookings. Flora jokingly said that it might be time to move to the mainland. Except it didn’t really sound like a joke.

I mentioned it to Mum and she said she wouldn’t be surprised.

Apparently, Flora has been desperate to move closer to her grandchildren for a couple of years now. ”

“I heard her mention that today too,” Lily told them.

Kit returned his phone to his pocket. “Rodney would never leave St. Mary’s.”

“That’s why I thought she might have been the one writing the reviews,” Seren said. “If the business goes under they might have no choice but to sell up and leave.”

Keira stared at her. “You have a worryingly suspicious mind. People generally aren’t that devious.”

“Maybe she isn’t writing fake reviews,” Lily mused. “But she could be the reason they’re getting the reviews…”

“You think she burned the bacon on purpose?” Kit said.

Lily shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Ooh!” Seren’s eyes widened and she lowered her voice to a whisper. “Maybe it was her who stole the camera!”

Keira’s burst of laughter cut through the atmosphere. “You sound like a bunch of conspiracy theorists! Flora Miller hasn’t turned to crime.”

“It actually sounds quite believable to me.” Seren looked at Kit. “Do you think we watch too many crime dramas?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Maybe.”

Over the next hour, Lily enjoyed the light-hearted chatter and banter with her three new friends.

At one point she considered raising the subject of the ice cream shop again.

Only briefly though – until she realised that for the first time in a long time she felt utterly relaxed.

She was enjoying being sociable and that certainly wasn’t a regular occurrence for her.

After six months of being consumed by the idea of finding the ice cream shop, it felt good to be distracted.

She knew herself well enough to know she wouldn’t be able to put it out of her mind indefinitely.

But at least for the evening, she was putting the mystery of the ice cream shop aside.