Page 45 of The Sunken Truth

“I’m assuming you’re not here to see me,” Glynis said.

Lily took a chilled glass of lemonade from her. “It’s always good to see you.”

“But you want to speak to Maria?”

Lily nodded. “If she’ll talk to me.”

“Why don’t you take her a glass out and see if you can coax her into taking a break? Maybe she’ll be ready to chat. After her trip to Bristol, she seems much more relaxed.”

“I’ll give it a go,” Lily said, grateful to Glynis for giving her space to talk to Maria alone.

From the patio, Lily pondered the best approach to the conversation while Maria continued pulling up weeds, oblivious to her presence.

“Hi,” Lily said eventually, realising she could spend all day and still have no clue what she should say.

Maria sat back on her heels and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead.

“Hi,” she said, not a hint of surprise in her features. “How are you?”

“Fine.” The ease of the greeting surprised Lily. Previously, Maria had always seemed on edge around her. Maybe Glynis was right about her being more relaxed after her trip to Bristol.

“Glynis thought you might be ready for some refreshment,” Lily said, raising the glass.

Standing, Maria walked over to her. After a long sip of lemonade, she glanced in the kitchen window. “Where is Glynis?”

“She said she’d be out in a minute,” Lily lied.

“It’s warm today.” Maria pulled at her T-shirt, which clung to her midriff.

“Yeah.” Lily followed Maria’s lead and took a seat.

“I thought you’d probably show up again,” Maria said after a moment of quietly listening to birdsong.

“Really?”

She nodded. “You’re like a dog with a bone, aren’t you?”

“I have questions,” Lily said. “And I think you might be the only person who can help me with the answers.”

“I already told you I can’t help you.” She had said that – but the other times they’d spoken she’d seemed guarded and anxious. Now, there was something different about her.

“Did you enjoy your trip?” Lily asked.

“Yes. I tied up some loose ends.”

Lily hesitated, giving her space to say more, but she kept quiet.

“I started remembering things from my childhood,” Lily said eventually.

Maria nodded slowly, but if she was curious, she didn’t show it.

A subtle approach to her questions would probably be best, but all Lily’s brain would conjure was the one blunt question that she most wanted an answer to.

“Did you have an affair with my dad?” she asked shakily.

She squeezed her eyes closed. The question was out now and she couldn’t take it back.

Suddenly, she was positive she didn’t want to know the answer.