Malicious Intent

Lily Larkin Mysteries

Book 2

Hannah Ellis

Published by Hannah Ellis

www.authorhannahellis.com

Postfach 900309, 81503 München

Germany

Cover design by dmeacham design

Copyright © 2024 Hannah Ellis

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Chapter One

It took Lily Larkin three days to pack up her life. At least that’s how long she’d spent back in Truro. She needn’t have even taken that long. She could have managed it in a day, no problem at all, and she tried not to dwell on the kind of life she lived that she could pack it up and leave it behind in a matter of hours.

At the airport building on St. Mary’s – the largest of the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast – she glanced around, focusing on the life she was moving to rather than the one she’d left behind. She was moving to the island and opening an ice cream shop.

That still hadn’t sunk in properly yet.

All she’d been hoping for when she’d visited the island the previous week was a hit of nostalgia from an ice cream shop from her childhood memories. She was still in shock that she’d agreed to refurbish and reopen it. But that hadn’t even been the most shocking thing about her trip – she’d also found a dead body while out jogging and then spent a week tracking down a killer.

All in all, it had been an unexpected week.

Oh, and she’d made a few friends, which was also unusual for Lily. One of those friends had offered to collect her from the airport, but there was no sign of Seren now, and Lily was beginning to think she’d been stood up. The other passengers from her flight – all nine of them – had dispersed, and there was only her and a few members of staff left in the building.

Her suspicion was confirmed when her phone finally connected and a message popped up. Seren apologised profusely, but she wouldn’t make it after all.

It shouldn’t have been a huge disappointment. With only one case, Lily could easily manage the twenty-minute walk to Hugh Town, but given how crazy it felt to be moving to the island, she’d have appreciated the reassurance. Having Seren there would have calmed her nerves at the slightly overwhelming life change.

Taking a deep breath, she headed for the door, then growled to herself when she pushed it instead of pulled. Outside, the bright sunlight made her wish she had her sunglasses to hand. They’d be tucked in her backpack somewhere, but she didn’t feel like stopping to root around for them.

When the wheels of her suitcase snagged on the curb, she cursed loudly and pulled it roughly onto the pavement. As she wrestled with the case, the strap of her backpack slid from her shoulder and she cursed that, too.

“Seems as though your luggage is winning the argument,” a familiar voice said.

The warmth in the words immediately eased Lily’s tension. She hefted her backpack onto her shoulder as she looked up into smiling blue eyes. “PC Grainger,” she said.

“Miss Larkin,” he replied curtly, with a tip of his chin and a teasing glint in his eyes.

Most of the time she’d spent with him the previous week had been while he was on duty, so she’d tended to think of him as PC Grainger, despite knowing his first name.

“Hi, Flynn,” she said. “How are you?”

“I’m pretty good.” He flashed a crooked smile. “Seren said she couldn’t make it so I thought I’d see if you needed a hand with your stuff.” His gaze dropped to her suitcase. “Where’s all your luggage?”

“This is it,” she told him, not sure why her lack of possessions felt suddenly humiliating. “For now, anyway,” she added. “I have some stuff in storage which I could bring over later.”

“Waiting to see how long you decide to stay?”

“I guess so.” She tilted her head. “Thank you for coming. Did Seren bully you into it? I’d have been fine alone.”

“There was no bullying,” he said, moving closer and taking her case. “How was it back in… where are you from?”

Lily frowned at her least favourite question. She never really had an answer for where she was from. “Truro,” she told him. It was where she’d lived for the first few years of her life and for the past six months. “It was fine. I’d only been living there for six months, so it was easy to pack everything up. I’d been renting a furnished flat so I don’t have any furniture to deal with or anything like that.”

“A nomad life,” he remarked. “Sounds interesting.”

She nodded vaguely. A nomad life was exactly what she’d had. “Did I miss anything exciting around here while I was gone?” she asked, to switch the focus of the conversation away from her.

“I don’t think so.”

“No more dead bodies you need me to help you investigate?”

He smiled gently, then pulled his sunglasses down from his head. “No. Nothing like that.”

Lily caught the tightening of the muscle in his jaw and wished she hadn’t joked about it. It wasn’t exactly her fault he was currently taking compulsory holiday time, but she felt a pang of guilt, nonetheless.

“Are you dying to get back to work?” she asked.

“I’m not a fan of my current situation,” he said without emotion. “I like to be busy. I also have a new appreciation for my old colleagues in London. I miss the camaraderie.” Okay, so it wasn’t just being forced to take holiday time that was getting to him, but being forced to work on the Isles of Scilly.

“You never told me what happened to get you exiled to Scilly,” she remarked. There’d been a rumour in the pub that included some kind of immoral relationship between him and a high-ranking officer’s daughter, but she had no idea if it was true. In fact, she didn’t know much about him at all. There hadn’t been time before – she’d been too busy weeding out a killer.

She looked at him expectantly, keen to know if the rumour was true. It was hard to know whether his thoughtful expression was him deciding how to explain, or whether to tell her at all.

“Come on,” she said. “I’m dying to know.”

“I’m sure you are, but it’s definitely not a story I’m dying to tell.”

If she knew him better she’d push the subject, but she didn’t feel comfortable delving further. Instead, she shifted her gaze to the horizon. As they breached the hill, the coast came into view and the mesmerising stretch of tranquil blue sea. “I can’t believe I’m moving here,” she whispered.

“The islands are stunning.” He broke into a grin as he gave her a sidelong glance. “If there was more crime, it’d be the perfect place to live.”

Lily spluttered out a laugh. “I can’t believe you just said that.

“It’s every police officer’s nightmare,” he said, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Except for Sergeant Proctor and PC Hill, who seem to enjoy having absolutely nothing to do.”

He spent the next ten minutes giving comical accounts of the complaints he’d had to deal with on the Isles of Scilly Police social media page since he’d arrived. She couldn’t figure out if he was making it up when he regaled her with the story of being sent out to deal with a cat which had been terrorising sparrows. His dramatic storytelling kept her chuckling until they reached the promenade by Porthcressa Beach.

They fell silent then, and Lily shifted her backpack on her shoulder as they approached the ice cream shop at the end of the row of buildings.

This was her home now. A secret part of her hoped it might be her home for a long time.

She’d just slotted the key into the lock when Flynn spoke again.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“What?” Lily looked past her shoulder to find him pointing at the window.

He frowned at the poster attached to the windowpane with a few pieces of tape. “Did you put that there?”

“I didn’t put anything there.” She leaned to read the advertisement while the breeze lifted the corners of the paper, threatening to rip it from the glass.

“I thought the owners insisted you have to open as an ice cream shop,” Flynn said, puzzlement clear in his voice. “And do you seriously think you can become a private investigator because you figured out one crime?”

“Of course I don’t think I’m an investigator. The poster has nothing to do with me.”

“It’s got your name on it,” Flynn pointed out.

Lily nudged him out of the way to get a better look. Her eyes widened as she read the advert for a private investigator who would apparently investigate any crime – no matter how big or small. “It’s got my phone number on it!” She tore the paper from the window. “What the heck? Who would do this?”

“Someone with a well–developed sense of humour, I’d guess,” Flynn said, stepping inside after her.

“It’s not funny.” She double checked the phone number on the poster. “That’s my actual phone number.”

“Have you had any calls?”

“No.” She kept her eyes on the paper as she moved further inside the dusty old shop. “That’s actually quite offensive.”

Flynn peered over her shoulder. “What is?”

“That no one called. I’d make a great investigator.”

He parked her suitcase and chuckled. “So you’re offended by the poster and also offended that no one called?”

“No.” She smiled. “Not really. Who on earth did this, though?” She stared at the words. “And why would anyone go to the effort of creating it? It looks professional.”

“I have no idea.”

“Did you do it?” she demanded.

He laughed loudly. “Admittedly, I have a lot of time on my hands, but I’m not quite that bored.”

“Do you think it was Seren?” She hadn’t seemed the type for practical jokes, but Lily didn’t know her well enough to say for sure. “By the way, why couldn’t she come and meet me?” Her message had been vague, more apologetic than explanatory.

“I’m not sure,” Flynn said, turning away and surveying the room.

“It could have been Kit,” Lily mused, her attention back on the poster. “Maybe he’s upset that I got the lease for the shop when he wanted it. Do you think he’s annoyed with me?”

“No idea.” Flynn ran a finger over a stack of dusty chairs in the corner. “I don’t really know the guy. It would be petty of him, though. It’s not your fault the owner wanted you to have it and not him.”

“It seems a bit unfair.” Lily sighed as her eyes roamed the dirty room. “I didn’t even want the place.”

“Really?” Flynn walked back to her. “I thought it’s what you came looking for.”

“I only wanted to see the shop.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t have to think very hard about whether you wanted to take it on. How long are you even planning on staying? And what did you do about your job?”

“What job?”

He squinted at her. “Didn’t you have a job in Truro?”

Considering it was a standard question, she shouldn’t have felt so stumped by it. The problem was, telling him she didn’t have a job would likely invite more questions.

“I’ve been on a career break for the last six months,” she said in the end. It was a fraction of the truth, at least.

“What career?”

“Oh. Um…” Again, a predictable question. “Well, not a career break as such. I never really had a career, just jobs.”

“What jobs?”

“Different ones…” Having someone ask about her life really shouldn’t make her so uncomfortable. “Why are you asking so many questions?”

He shrugged. “Just making conversation. So how do you afford to live when you take six months off from your different jobs?”

“I have money saved,” she said hesitantly.

“So they were well paid, these different jobs you had?”

“No.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I inherited money.” When her uncle had died, she’d inherited enough that she probably didn’t need to work ever again. Which should have been a good thing, but she suspected needing to work might have been beneficial for her mental health.

Apparently, she’d found a way to put an end to Flynn’s questions, anyway. He managed a sympathetic smile, then glanced around the room again. “I think you have some work ahead of you here?”

“I think you’re right. That is, if I open it as an ice cream shop.” Her lips pulled into a smile as she raised the poster which declared her a private investigator. “Maybe I’ll do something else. It seems I have options.”

Chapter Two

Lily hadn’t slept well since her uncle had died, and her first night in her new home was no different. It wasn’t overly surprising. The flat above the ice cream shop hadn’t been lived in for twenty years and would take time and effort to make it comfortable.

She’d need to order a bed and mattress and some basic furniture, and was thankful she didn’t have to worry about the cost of having it shipped over. For now, she was making do with an air mattress and bedding which she’d borrowed from the owners of the B&B she’d stayed in on her previous visit.

The new surroundings were disorientating when she woke. It took her a moment to come around and another moment to register that it was a banging sound which had woken her. When it came again, she dragged herself up and went to the living room window.

She blinked a few times until the person banging on the door below came into focus. The teenager looked up and waved, apparently wanting her to come down.

After pulling a hoodie on over her pyjamas, she set off down the stairs. Padding through the shop, she tried not to look too closely at the state of it. If she was going to restore it, she really did have a lot of work ahead of her.

The young blonde-haired guy stood in front of the door, cupping his hands to peer through the glass. He smiled half-heartedly when he spotted Lily.

“Hi,” she said, opening the door a crack. Surely it was obvious the shop wasn’t up and running yet.

“Is this you?” the kid asked, holding up a poster.

“Where the heck did you get that from?” Perhaps a little naively, she’d assumed the poster attached to her window had been the only one.

“They’re all over the place.” He glanced behind him. “Can I come in?

Lily frowned, wondering if she was still asleep and dreaming. “I’m not open. I won’t be open for ages.” In her sleepy state that was her best guess for how long it would take to get the ice cream shop up and running.

“Please,” he said. “I need your help. I think someone’s after me.”

Okay, so now she was sure she was dreaming. “I haven’t even had coffee,” she said, then widened her eyes when the teenager barged inside.

“I can’t pay much,” he said. “But I’d really like to hire you.”

“Hire me?” She really needed coffee.

“Yes.” He held the poster up. “I need your services as an investigator.”

It was far too early in the day, and since she was still certain it was a dream she did what felt natural. She laughed.

“I’m serious.” His eyes flicked nervously to the window. “Can you help me?”

“I’m not really a private investigator,” she told him, shaking her head. “I don’t know where those posters came from.”

He tilted his head, causing his floppy hair to fall onto his forehead. “But you are the one who caught the killer? That guy who pushed the other guy off the cliff?”

“Yeah... but it was one of those ‘right place, right time’ situations.”

“I heard you interviewed all the suspects when the police refused to.”

“It was a little more complicated than that.”

“But you found the killer?”

“Well, yes.”

“So can you help me as well?”

“I... um...”

“It’s been going on for weeks,” he said in a rush. “I didn’t know what to do, but then I saw your poster.”

She opened her mouth to argue it wasn’t her poster before deciding it wasn’t worth it. Maybe it would be easier to see if she could help him and send him on his way.

“What’s your name?” she asked calmly.

“Rhys.”

She stifled a yawn. “And how old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

She nodded. He was short for his age, and his agitated state made him appear younger still. “What exactly has been going on for weeks?” she asked.

His relief was clear in the drop of his shoulders. “Someone’s been following me. At first I thought I was imagining it. I had this feeling like I was being watched. I was coming home from football training after dark and I could hear footsteps. That’s happened a few times.”

“Did you tell your parents?”

“Yeah, but they don’t believe me. The islands are known for being safe, so they think I was imagining it.”

“I’m not sure what I can do.” It sounded as though he needed an escort home from football rather than an investigator.

Not that she was an investigator.

“Yesterday I found this.” Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a folded piece of paper and handed it to Lily.

Reluctantly, she unfolded the white A4 sheet. As her eyes roamed the words, she automatically moved her hand further from her body, as though that might somehow protect her from the contents.

I’m coming to get you.

It wasn’t the words that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, but the font. Like something you’d find on the cover of a Stephen King novel.

She squinted at the red smears around the page. “Is that blood?”

“I think so.”

“Well, that’s not good. Did you show your parents?”

He nodded. “They reckon it’ll be one of my friends messing around.”

“Where did you find the note?”

He chewed on his bottom lip. “On my desk in my room. Last night when I got home from football training.”

“That’s creepy. Was there a window open or something? How would someone have got in?”

“The back door is open half the time.” His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “It’s an island with almost no crime.”

“Okay.” She tried to give the paper back, but he recoiled as though repulsed by it. “Maybe you should speak to the police,” she suggested. “Show this to them.”

“I tried. Sergeant Proctor didn’t take it seriously. He made me feel stupid for bothering him.”

Lily felt her jaw tighten. From the little she knew of Sergeant Proctor, she wasn’t a fan. Mainly because he’d rewarded Flynn’s efforts to help her by punishing him. Admittedly, a week off work wasn’t everyone’s idea of a punishment, but it was to Flynn.

“Please can you help me?” Rhys asked, an air of desperation in his voice. “I’m scared.”

“I’d like to,” she told him. “I’m just not sure how.” She could ask Flynn’s advice, she supposed. “Do you have any idea who might have left the note?”

Slowly, he shook his head. “I don’t know, but I heard somewhere that crimes are often committed by someone close to you.” He pointed at the paper in her hand. “I wrote down some names.”

Flipping the paper over, she found a list of six names, written in small, neat handwriting in the bottom corner.

“Your parents are on here,” she stated.

He winced. “It’s not as though I could imagine any of these people would actually do anything to hurt me... but they’re the people closest to me.”

“Who are the others?”

“My stepdad, my girlfriend, and my two best friends.”

“Do you have any enemies?”

He shook his head. “I get on with everyone at school.” He puffed out his cheeks. “Speaking of school, I have to go or I’ll be late. Will you help me, though? I can come back later…”

“I guess so.” She really had no clue how she’d even begin to help, but she didn’t feel she could dismiss him as everyone else had. “I’ll have a think about it and see if we can come up with some sort of plan.”

“Thank you so much.” He let out a dramatic exhale. “I feel better already.”

Chapter Three

Other than asking for Flynn’s advice, Lily wasn’t sure what she could do to help Rhys. And she wasn’t even sure how to go about doing that since she didn’t have Flynn’s number. When she’d needed to contact him before she’d called the police station, but since he wasn’t currently working, that wouldn’t work.

She was vaguely tempted to call and ask Sergeant Proctor why he hadn’t taken Rhys’s concerns seriously. Even if he genuinely thought it was nothing, he shouldn’t have been dismissive. One day Rhys might really need help and wouldn’t feel he could go to the police.

Back upstairs, the empty flat left her feeling deflated, and she got dressed hastily so she could go in search of coffee. Once she was caffeinated, she could think about going shopping, and then figure out how to contact Flynn.

The Cookie Jar Cafe was only a few doors down from her new home. It smelled of freshly baked goods, making Lily’s mouth water as she stepped inside. She’d been in on her previous visit to the island, but was once again mesmerised by the quirky handmade pottery which adorned the many shelves. The bespoke cookie jars had an animal theme, as did the rest of the collection, which included plates, bowls, egg cups and mugs.

Only a few tables were occupied, and the counter was unmanned when she approached. After a few minutes of eyeing the many varieties of cookies, a tall, sandy-haired guy wandered out from the back.

“Sorry,” he said cheerfully. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Long enough to break any willpower I had over not eating cookies for breakfast.”

He smiled warmly. “The perfect amount of time, then.”

After she gave her order, he set a mug under the coffee machine, then moved to plate up her sugary treats. “I’ve just moved in a couple of doors down,” she told him. “Please don’t let me have cookies for breakfast too often.”

“Into the ice cream shop?” he asked, eyes shining. “You’re Lily?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I always think it’s worrying if people know your name before you introduce yourself.”

He set her cookies on the counter and glanced back at the coffee machine. “I’m afraid I’ve heard a lot about you already, and most of what I heard wasn’t complimentary.”

She felt her eyebrows pull together, and her heart rate increased despite his jokey tone.

“Apparently, you’ve broken my brother’s heart. He’s very upset with you.”

“Your brother?”

“Kit.” He wiped his hand on his trousers before offering it to her. “I’m Lowen.”

“Is this your place?” she asked, while her mind lingered on the comment about Kit.

“My girlfriend’s.” He swept a hand towards the nearest shelf. “I make the pottery.”

Lily was complimenting him on it when a woman walked out of the back room. Lowen introduced her as Pippa, his girlfriend.

“You’re the one who upset Kit?” she asked brightly.

“Apparently.” A heaviness weighed on her stomach.

Lowen draped an arm around Pippa’s shoulders. “Our latest family dinner was mostly him ranting about you swooping in and thwarting his efforts to get his hands on the ice cream shop.”

Lily smiled nervously. “I honestly don’t know why the owner offered it to me and not him. I really didn’t mean to annoy him.”

Setting her coffee beside the biscuits, Lowen shook his head. “He’s not annoyed. I was only teasing.”

“It sounds as though he’s not my biggest fan.” Which shouldn’t have been a big deal, but she couldn’t help but wonder if that had anything to do with Seren not meeting her at the airport.

“Kit never really gets annoyed with anyone,” Pippa said. “He was a bit put out by the situation, that’s all.”

“He doesn’t need another business, anyway.” Lowen tilted his head. “He’s got enough going on.”

Lily pulled out her purse to pay, but Pippa insisted it was on the house.

“A little something to welcome you to the island,” she added. “We’re neighbours, so if you ever need anything, just ask.”

“Thank you.” Lily was about to move to a table when a thought occurred to her. “Actually, I do have one question...”

Pippa gave an eager nod.

“I wonder if you know where Flynn lives. Or how I might get in contact with him. He’s not working this week, so I don’t know how to find him.”

“Flynn?” Pippa eyed her questioningly.

“Oh...” Lily gave a quick shake of the head. “PC Grainger.”

“That’s weird,” Pippa said. “He’s in here all the time, and I didn’t know his first name. Everyone calls him PC Grainger. He doesn’t exactly invite conversation so I never even thought to ask.”

“I know he isn’t staying in the regular police accommodation,” Lowen said thoughtfully. “I couldn’t tell you where he is staying, though. Apparently, he’s only here for a few months.”

“He has a sweet tooth,” Pippa mused. “So if you hang around here long enough you’ve a good chance of bumping into him.”

“He also jogs regularly,” Lowen added. “I often see him out for a run or exercising on the beach.”

“He’d need to,” Pippa commented. “You don’t get a body like his from eating my cookies.”

Lowen quirked an eyebrow, making Pippa laugh.

“What?” she demanded. “I’m not allowed to notice attractive men?”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” he said playfully.

“Sorry.” Pippa smiled at Lily. “We weren’t very helpful.”

“It’s fine.” Lily thanked her again and backed away as another customer approached the counter.

Sitting at a table by the window, she kept an eye on the promenade and the beach beyond, hoping she might catch sight of Flynn. There was no sign of him, but the mention of him working out got her thinking about exercise. The two cookies she’d devoured compounded her desire to burn some calories.

Five minutes later, she’d changed into her running gear and stepped back outside. Fate must have been on her side, because when she walked onto the sunny promenade, a figure passed her at a run.

“Flynn!” she shouted.

For a second it seemed he hadn’t heard and she was about to go after him when he slowed to a stop and turned back.

“Hey!” He raised a hand, but didn’t seem as though he intended to stay and chat. “I was going to call over later and see if you needed any help with anything. I’ll catch you after my jog.”

“Can I join you?” she asked when it seemed he’d continue without another word.

“For a jog?”

“I was about to go for a run, anyway.”

“I’m going around the whole island,” he said, forehead wrinkling.

“Okay.”

“It’s like ten miles. And I run at a decent pace.”

She couldn’t help but grin. “So it’s too far and too fast for a weak little woman like me?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You implied it.” She glared at him, then burst into a run. “Keep up if you can,” she called behind her.

It was only a few seconds before she heard his footsteps beside her. “I wasn’t trying to be condescending,” he told her. “I just assumed you wouldn’t want to go that far. Also, I usually jog alone.”

“I imagine you’d have to,” she said cockily. “Since no one could keep up with you.”

She could almost hear his eye roll. “You really reckon you can keep this pace for ten miles?”

“I can,” she told him. “But if you want to be alone, I’ll leave you to it. I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Really?” He sounded entirely amused. “You think you can run at this pace and chat?”

“Well, I usually run alone too, so I can’t say for sure, but I guess I can manage it.”

“We can ease off a little, if you like.”

She beamed. “Am I going too fast for you?” Out of pure determination, she’d have managed to hold her conversation at the speed they were going, but she was secretly grateful that they dropped down a notch.

“What did you want to talk about?”

She didn’t reply while they shifted from the promenade to the path that snaked with the coastline. With the path only wide enough for one, she went ahead, and only spoke when the path widened enough for him to run beside her again.

“A kid came to visit me at the shop earlier,” she said. “He’d seen the poster about my private investigator skills and wanted to employ my services.”

“No way.” Amusement softened his tone.

“It seems the poster on my window wasn’t the only one. He reckons they’re all over the place.”

“How old is this kid, and what did he want?”

“He’s fifteen. He thinks someone has been following him. Yesterday he got a threatening note.” She gave Flynn a sidelong glance and caught the flash of concern in his eyes.

“I thought you were going to say he’d lost his bike, or his pet or something. Did he show you the note?”

“Yeah. He left it with me. It’s pretty disturbing. It has what looks like smears of blood on it.”

“Creepy.”

“Rhys seemed freaked out by it.”

“He should take the note into the police station.”

“He tried that. Sergeant Proctor didn’t take it seriously.”

“Really?” The scepticism in Flynn’s voice surprised Lily.

“I thought you didn’t like the sergeant. Isn’t this typical of him?”

“No.” Flynn dropped behind for a few paces when the path narrowed again. “He doesn’t like me, and I don’t particularly like him, but he’s not bad at his job. He takes the welfare of the islanders seriously. I can’t imagine him being dismissive of something like this.”

“I felt really sorry for the kid because he said his parents didn’t believe him and neither did the police.” Lily focussed on her breathing for a moment, the incline making speaking more challenging. “He seemed agitated. I’d like to help him, but I don’t know how.”

“What did his parents say?”

“That it was probably his school friends playing around.”

Flynn sounded as though he was struggling with speaking too, and they stayed quiet until the path levelled out again. “His parents are probably right,” he said. “But if the kid is freaked out by it, someone should do something.”

“What would the police usually do?”

“It’s the sort of thing the school would usually handle, but on the island I imagine they’d send an officer into the school to address it. Hold an assembly to talk about bullying, that sort of thing. I’m surprised Sergeant Proctor didn’t want to do that.”

“Any chance you could talk to the sergeant? Tell him how freaked out the kid is?” When he didn’t respond, Lily gave him a minute before she spoke again. “It really doesn’t seem okay that the sergeant dismissed him. What if it’s not a prank and someone really has it in for him?”

“I agree that it’s not okay. I’m just trying to think of the best way to approach the sergeant.”

“So you will speak to him?”

“Yes. Can I get the note from you? I’d like to see it.”

“Yeah.” As they rounded the bend, the sight of a beautiful rocky cove greeted them. A salty breeze cooled the skin of Lily’s face. “Did you also say something about coming over to see if I needed help with anything in the flat? Was that an offer to help renovate?”

“What needs doing?” he asked, the weariness in his voice sounding entirely fake.

“It’s actually only cleaning for now,” she said. “I can manage that alone, but I’ll definitely accept help with painting once I have the supplies.”

“Just let me know when,” he said, then veered away from the coast when the path split. “Let’s not do the entire island today. I’m intrigued to see that note.”

“Yeah, right.” She sped up to overtake him. “You just realised you won’t be able to keep up with me for ten miles. Race you back to my place,” she called over her shoulder.

Chapter Four

Ignoring the voice in his head that told him he was about to get a lecture, Flynn walked into the station with his shoulders back and a confident gait. His morning jog with Lily had been interesting. Not only because her company was a refreshing change to the usual solitude of his runs, but also because of what she’d told him about her visitor. He really couldn’t fathom that the sergeant would dismiss someone’s concerns so easily. Especially not a kid’s.

“Morning!” he said cheerfully, hoping to set a tone for the conversation.

PC Hill greeted him with a nod and a smile. With his thinning hair, he looked older than his forty years. Flynn hadn’t quite got the measure of him yet since he seemed to reside in Sergeant Proctor’s shadow.

“Can’t stay away,” Sergeant Proctor remarked. “You’re not on duty again until Monday, you know?”

“I know.” Flynn moved to stand by the sergeant’s desk. “I just wanted to check something with you.”

“What is it?” Sergeant Proctor leaned back in his chair.

“It’s about this note.” Flynn pulled the piece of paper from his pocket.

Sergeant Proctor only shook his head. “You’re going to need to add a little context.”

“It’s the note that was delivered to Rhys...” He paused, wishing he knew his last name. “He said he’d been to speak to you about it. After that, he went to speak to Lily. That’s how I heard about it.”

Sergeant Proctor tilted his head. “Not the most helpful context, since I don’t know who Rhys and Lily are.”

“Lily Larkin,” Flynn said. “She’s the one who––”

“Ah yes. The wannabe detective who’s been plastering the island with flyers. I was intending to go and have a word with her later. If she really fancies herself as an investigator after that business at the Millers’ place, I can’t say anything against it. But it would be in her best interests not to interfere in our policing. And not to litter the island with her posters.”

“That wasn’t Lily,” Flynn said.

“They’ve got her name all over them. Literally. She even had the cheek to pin one on the door of the station. I don’t know what goes through people’s heads sometimes. I really don’t.”

“It wasn’t Lily,” Flynn said again. “She doesn’t know anything about them, and as far as I can tell, she has no plans to be a private investigator. She’s opening an ice cream shop on the promenade.”

“I heard about that.” He paused and shook his head. “Were the posters really nothing to do with her?”

“No. She reckons it’s someone’s idea of a joke.”

“Not a very funny one,” PC Hill put in. “I spent two hours this morning taking the things down.”

“Anyway,” Flynn said, wanting to get the conversation back on track. “Some kid called Rhys went to her asking for help. He’d received this note and said his parents wouldn’t help and neither would anyone at the station. According to Lily, he was pretty shaken up.”

Sergeant Proctor frowned as he took the paper from Flynn. “I haven’t had any kid come in.” He glanced over at PC Hill, who shook his head. “I’d certainly remember this,” he added, eyes scanning the words on the paper. “What did you say the lad’s name was?”

“Rhys. Lily didn’t get his last name, but he’s fifteen.”

“Sounds like Ted and Mandy Johnson’s kid,” PC Hill said.

Sergeant Proctor nodded. “Must be.”

“So you know him?” Flynn asked.

“Vaguely. More like we’re aware of the family.” Sergeant Proctor tapped the desk. “His dad’s a fisherman. His mother can be found in the Mermaid Inn most evenings. You’ve no doubt seen Mandy around.” There was a flicker of judgement in his eyes, but it soon passed.

“Not the most stable home life,” PC Hill said, sitting up straighter. “We’ve been called out by the neighbours on more than one occasion over the last six months.”

“One of those couples who like to communicate by screaming at each other,” Sergeant Proctor said. “But of course it all settles down the minute we arrive. There’s never any sign of physical altercations, so there’s not a lot we can do.”

“Why would Rhys say he’d spoken to someone at the station when he hadn’t?”

Sergeant Proctor shifted in his seat. “Perhaps not everyone is comfortable speaking to the police. A teenager might find it intimidating to come in here.”

“Will you speak to the family?” Flynn asked. “Even if the note is just someone’s idea of a joke, I think it should be addressed.”

“I agree,” Sergeant Proctor said with the tone of someone who’d rather not agree. “If he lied about speaking to us, I wonder if he also lied about speaking to his parents.”

“Want me to speak to them?” PC Hill asked.

“Someone should.” The sergeant replied to PC Hill while his eyes remained fixed on Flynn.

“Me?” Flynn asked in surprise. “You want me to do it? I’m not on duty, remember?”

“Probably the best way to get information,” Sergeant Proctor told him. “If someone knocks on their door in uniform, they’ll be straight on the defensive. Whereas if you were to approach Ted Johnson informally you’ll stand a better chance of figuring out what’s going on.”

“Okay.” Flynn felt a twinge of anticipation about having something productive to do, but he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that the sergeant had an ulterior motive. “Where would I find Ted? That’s the dad, I assume?”

“Yes. Sunrise at the harbour is probably your best bet.”

“Sunrise?” Flynn asked, stifling a yawn at the thought.

“He’ll be bringing in his catch.”

“Right. So I’ll just hang around the harbour tomorrow morning?”

Sergeant Proctor nodded once and handed back the piece of paper. “Let me know how you get on.”

“Will do.” He paused at the door and thanked the sergeant.

The conversation had been nowhere near as painful as he’d expected.

Chapter Five

All was still at the harbour at sunrise. The water lapped gently at the harbour wall and boats swayed peacefully with the tide. The occasional screech of a seagull cut through the silence while a pink stripe gradually expanded at the horizon.

Flynn’s eyelids felt heavy, and he chastised himself for not having the foresight to bring a coffee. He ignored the niggling feeling that the sergeant had set him up.

The cold had seeped through his trainers by the time he spotted a fishing boat chugging towards the harbour. Forcing his eyelids to alertness, he wandered over and leaned casually against the railing, hoping to appear as though he was out to enjoy the sunrise and not lurking for a reason.

Except, as the deep chatter of the pair of fishermen grew louder, Flynn realised he couldn’t be too casual, since he didn’t know the guy he was looking for.

“Morning,” he called, moving as close as he could get without venturing down the stone steps to water level. The men in their rubber overalls hauled crates of fish from the boat as soon as they reached the harbour. “Good catch?”

“Not bad,” the older of the two called back amiably, while passing a crate of fish to his colleague, who’d hopped onto the steps.

Flynn inhaled the potent scent of fish and brine. “I wonder if you know where I might find Ted Johnson.”

“Aye.” The bearded, younger guy, looked up at him. “He’s out checking his pots.”

“His what?” Flynn asked, confused and unsure if he’d heard correctly given the man’s heavy Cornish accent.

“His pots. Lobster and crab. We passed him about half an hour ago. He’ll be coming in soon, I’d imagine.”

“Oh, right. Thank you.”

The guy grinned. “If he’s in trouble, it wasn’t me who told the coppers where to find him.”

“He’s not in trouble,” Flynn said, hiding his surprise that the men knew who he was. He was still getting used to the lack of anonymity on the island. “Thanks,” he called, raising a hand to wave as he backed away. “Have a good day.”

“Hang on.” The older one gestured for him to come closer while deftly plucking a large fish from one of his trays and wrapping it in paper. “Here,” he said, holding it out to Flynn as he descended the steps. “I like to get on the right side of the local law enforcement. That’s a little welcome gift.”

“Right.” Flynn’s smile felt painful as he took the package.

“I’m Zack,” the man said, then tipped his head towards his friend. “That’s Kev.”

“Thanks a lot,” he replied automatically. “I’m Flynn.”

“We know.” Zack gave him a toothy grin and flicked his hand in salute. He indicated the fish. “That’ll make a change to burger and chips in the Mermaid Inn.”

Flynn blinked rapidly. Apparently, island life provided zero anonymity.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with the food at the pub,” Kev told him. “Variety is the spice of life, though.”

The two men chuckled and got back to work. Flynn thanked them again and moved away to watch the horizon for signs of another boat.

He was conscious of the weight of the fish in his hands, and of the fact that he didn’t have a clue how to cook a whole fish. At least figuring out what to do with it would give him something to do for the afternoon.

It was another half hour before a small boat came into view. As it neared the harbour, Flynn’s eyes went to the faded blue paint and the bright orange buoys hanging over the side.

The stocky guy appeared to be around forty, with a weathered look about him. His short brown beard didn’t disguise the hard set of his thin lips, and his eyes were so focused on tying his boat up that he didn’t register Flynn at all.

“Ted?” Flynn finally called out, descending the steps to reach the floating jetty where the guy was tying up the boat.

He turned and the small shake of his head gave Flynn the impression he also knew who he was.

“Is this about Rhys, by any chance?” His faded denim cap kept his features in shadow, giving definition to his scowl.

“I take it you know who I am?” Flynn asked.

“PC Grainger, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I’m not here officially. I just thought we could have a quick chat.”

He stepped from his boat and pulled his hat from his head to run a hand through his mess of brown hair. “I already had a word with him.” His low voice rumbled with annoyance. “I told him to take the posters down and apologise. He went too far this time. You can’t go splashing some poor young woman’s phone number all over the island. I’m sure she has enough to deal with after she discovered a dead body and then searched for his killer. The whole island’s been talking about it.”

“Rhys put the posters up?” Flynn asked. “The ones advertising Lily as a PI?”

Ted’s eyebrows inched together. “Isn’t that what you came to talk to me about?”

“How did he get Lily’s number?”

“That solicitor, Mr Greaves.”

“He just gave out Lily’s number?”

Ted pulled his hat back onto his head, casting his eyes in shadow. “Rhys called him, pretending he needed to get in touch with Lily about renovating the shop. He’d have sounded convincing. The kid has a talent for lying.”

“Right.” Someone would have to have a word with Rhys, but for now Flynn was so surprised by the conversation that he wasn’t sure how to respond to the new information. “Do you know anything about this?” he asked, pulling the threatening note from his pocket.

“Bloody hell,” he growled, then snatched the paper from Flynn. After staring at it for a moment, he scrubbed a hand over his face, leaving his cap at an odd angle. “I’m not trying to excuse him, because this is clearly not okay, but he’d never actually hurt anyone. I’ll take him to see the woman myself and he can explain that he’s merely an idiot with an obsession with practical jokes.”

Ted sighed heavily, eyes flicking back down to the paper in his hand. “That’s creepy. I’m not surprised she called you. The poor woman must be wondering what kind of place she’s moved to.”

Flynn’s jaw had been working, trying to get a word in.

“Rhys didn’t threaten Lily,” he finally managed. “Someone sent this to him. He thinks someone is after him.”

“Someone will be. Me for a start. His mother won’t be far behind. I promised I wouldn’t tell her about the posters, but I’ll have to now. She’ll tell his dad and he’ll kick off. He’s visiting this weekend too, so there goes any chance I had at a peaceful weekend.”

“Rhys’s dad?” Flynn asked, wholly confused by the conversation.

“Yeah. It’s school holidays next week and Rhys was supposed to go to visit him, but there’s some football tournament he doesn’t want to miss, so his dad is coming here instead.”

Flynn scrunched his features up. “You’re not Rhys’s dad?”

“I’m his stepdad.” He sighed. “His dad has been wanting Rhys to go and live with him in Bristol. Rhys is dead against it, but he might not have much choice after this latest stunt.”

“And you’re not concerned about him receiving this note?”

Ted laughed, but there was no humour in it. “It might do him some good if someone did play a prank on him, but this handiwork is definitely Rhys’s. I know he doesn’t use it appropriately, but the lad does have a talent for graphic design.”

“You think he made this?”

“I’d bet a month’s income on it.” He’d pulled his phone from his pocket and Flynn had the feeling he was about to call either his wife or his stepson, but after a moment he directed the screen in Flynn’s direction.

“I guess this is it,” he said as a video began to play on the social media app. “At first I thought it was harmless fun. They call themselves the Scilly Pranksters; him and his two mates. They record videos and post them online to see who can get the most likes.”

Flynn’s eyes were glued to the screen. The music accompanying the video was an intriguing mix of upbeat and ominous while the scene showed fingers moving swiftly over a keyboard, typing out the very message on the note Rhys had given Lily. The next shot was the text in a variety of fonts before the final one was settled on. Then a close-up of a finger. A pinprick drew blood, which was smeared on the paper.

Flynn winced. “That’s...” His brain threw out a lot of descriptive words, but none he felt were appropriate to utter.

“He’s not a psychopath,” Ted said. “I know this looks bad, but he’s a decent kid. He’s a bit messed up, that’s all.”

Probably how all psychopaths start out. Flynn kept the thought to himself while unable to drag his gaze from the video playing on the screen. The promenade appeared and then the ice cream shop. The person behind the camera approached the door and then banged loudly.

“He recorded her,” Flynn mumbled when Lily’s voice came. You couldn’t see her, but it still felt like a violation of privacy. Her words had been distorted, sometimes with a crackle and sometimes with an echo, but it gave an eerie quality to the conversation, which he imagined didn’t reflect the reality of it. Also, it made Lily sound slightly unhinged.

Ted swore under his breath when Lily appeared at the end of the video. Rhys must have filmed her through the window as she gazed down at the note he’d given her. A puff of smoke appeared to waft from her nostrils before a caption filled the screen.

Can Lily Larkin save the day again?

The dramatic music added a comical air, but Flynn had never been less amused.

“Not a psychopath?” he growled, glad he wasn’t on duty, so he didn’t need to worry too much about his lack of professionalism.

“It’s a stupid prank,” Ted snapped. “I’ll get him to delete the video and make him apologise. And I’ll make sure the pranks end.”

Flynn’s blood pulsed hard in his veins. “My advice would be to keep Rhys away from Miss Larkin. I need to speak to her about how she’d like to deal with the situation, but until then Rhys shouldn’t be anywhere near her. And you can expect an official visit from one of my colleagues soon.”

They stared at each other for a moment before Flynn took the note back from him. “I’ll need that as evidence,” he said, hoping to impart the gravity of the situation.

As he strode away, he wished he hadn’t had the entire conversation with a wet fish in his hands.

Chapter Six

Lily woke to a message from Flynn that simply said, let me know when you’re awake. She sent him a smiley face emoji, then rolled onto her back.

He messaged again immediately, asking if he could come over.

It’s early, she replied. Still in bed. If you could call it a bed, anyway. She suspected there was only a centimetre or two of air between her and the floorboards.

Need to talk to you about Rhys, came the quick reply.

Sitting up, she stretched her neck and felt instantly more alert.

Bring coffee, she typed, then threw the duvet aside and went to her suitcase in search of clothes.

She’d only managed to get dressed and run a brush through her hair when the faint sound of knocking reached her. On the way downstairs, she grumbled about how he couldn’t possibly be there already.

“Were you hanging around outside my place waiting for me to wake up?” she asked, opening the door wide for Flynn.

He shook his head and handed her a takeaway mug. “I was in the cafe.”

“Everything okay?” she asked, clocking the way he chewed his lip.

“Yeah. I just wanted to talk to you.” His eyes roamed the room. “Can we go up to the flat?”

She led the way, growing more intrigued by the moment. “Did you speak to Rhys?” she asked when they reached the kitchen upstairs.

“No.” He stopped, taking in the space before turning to look across the hall to the empty living room. “When I suggested we come up here, I was thinking we could sit...”

“I have no chairs,” she stated. “No furniture at all, actually. You’re welcome to sit on the counter.” She hopped up onto the wooden surface, thankful that someone had opted for good quality kitchen units. They still looked decent despite presumably being over twenty years old.

“Why do you look so serious?” she asked. “Nothing happened to Rhys, did it? Because I thought it was odd that he hasn’t been in touch again.”

“He’s fine,” Flynn said.

“Then why do you look as though you’re here to deliver bad news?”

The sympathy in his features annoyed her.

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it. I have thick skin, so you don’t need to pussyfoot around.” As she said it, a lump formed beneath her sternum and she couldn’t be sure the sentiment was true. But the only family she had was gone. The worst had already happened.

“I spoke to Rhys’s stepdad this morning,” Flynn said, holding her gaze.

She cast a quick glance at her watch. “You’ve been busy.”

“He’s a crab and lobster fisherman, so he’s an early riser. It turns out Rhys was the one who made the posters. About you being an investigator.”

Lily scrunched her nose up. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Rhys and his friends like to play pranks.”

“Okay,” she said slowly. “But do you think he did it because he needed someone to talk to? Because he felt threatened?”

Flynn shook his head. “Him coming to visit you was another practical joke. He wrote the note himself.”

“I don’t understand,” Lily said, closing her eyes briefly. “Why would he do that?” It made no sense, especially given how distressed Rhys had been. If it was a joke, he was an excellent actor.

With a pained expression, Flynn moved next to her, phone in his hand. “They make videos of their pranks and put them on social media to see who can get the most views and likes.” He angled his phone screen towards her and pressed play.

The video began with a blurred image of a laptop screen and text overlaid in the foreground which read, When a holidaymaker accidentally solves a crime and you help kick-start her career as a private investigator...

The text vanished and the camera panned in on the laptop screen where the poster was being typed up. Next came a quick succession of images of the posters pinned at various locations around the island.

There was something about the video that made Lily smile. It was the music – it added a comical air. The last photo gradually zoomed out from the poster on the window of the ice cream shop. A voice that sounded like something from a movie trailer declared that anyone with a problem should call Lily Larkin.

“Why are you grinning?” Flynn asked when the video started again in a loop.

She snorted a laugh. “Because it’s kind of funny.”

“I don’t think you’ll find the next video so funny.” He scrolled down and another video started.

This one had a much more sinister vibe, what with the dripping blood and echoes on several of Lily’s words, but she still mostly just found it fascinating.

When the video ended, Lily took the phone from Flynn to watch it again more carefully.

“You can make a formal complaint against him,” Flynn declared when the video started up for a third time. “He’s only fifteen, so there’s not much that can be done, but it might be a wakeup call for him.”

“It’s a great video.” Lily couldn’t take her eyes off it. “It makes me sound a little deranged, but you have to admire his cinematography skills. I reckon this kid could have his pick of careers in the film business. Either as an actor or a filmmaker. He totally had me fooled when he came in here.”

“You don’t seem too concerned,” Flynn said.

“He’s a kid playing a joke,” Lily said, not sure why Flynn was taking it so seriously.

“You really don’t find that last video disturbing?” he asked slowly.

She shrugged ambiguously. “It’s creepy, but only because that was the vibe he was going for. I really don’t think there was any kind of sinister motive. He was just doing it for the likes.”

“What makes you think that?”

She shrugged again. “He blurred out my phone number. If this was anything personal against me, he’d have left my number visible.”

“It’s visible to anyone on the island who sees the posters.”

“Maybe you could suggest he takes them down.”

“They’ve been removed already,” Flynn said.

“There we go then.” She smiled and handed the phone back to Flynn. “That video has half a million views. My uncle would go mad.”

“Your uncle?”

“He didn’t like social media. Hated it, in fact. I wasn’t allowed on it and we had so many fights about it when I was a teenager. He insisted an online footprint was a dangerous thing... but he was kind of paranoid about a lot of things.”

“Did you live with him or something?” Flynn asked.

She nodded. “My parents died when I was little, so he raised me.”

“Sorry,” he murmured. “Are you close to your uncle?”

“He died six months ago.” She forced a weak smile, as though that might lessen the pain in her chest.

“Sorry,” Flynn said again. “Do you have other family nearby?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Not that I know of, but...”

“But?”

She wasn’t sure whether to voice her thoughts, so it took her a moment to reply. “I still don’t know why the owner of the ice cream shop offered for me to run it. I can’t shake the feeling that she knew my parents. That somehow she might be related to me.”

“Why wouldn’t she say so?”

“I don’t know.” Lily picked up her coffee and took a sip. “Anyway, I’ve just had an idea.”

“What is it?”

“Maybe once the shop is up and running, I can ask Rhys to make some marketing materials. He can put his skills to use and make a video advert for the ice cream shop.”

Flynn blew out a breath. “I think you need to take this more seriously. The kid’s a delinquent.”

“He’s a teenager having a laugh,” she insisted, then gave Flynn a friendly nudge. “Watch it again and don’t watch it in police officer mode. It’s funny, I promise.”

He gave a subtle eye roll. “You’re odd, you know that?”

“I think you may need to work on your compliments,” she told him happily.

“What I need to do is go and tell the sergeant about Rhys and his pranks.”

“Have fun with that,” she said, hopping down from the counter. “And go easy on the kid. Try to remember what it was like to be young and fun.”

He mock-scowled before telling her he’d see her later.

Chapter Seven

The sergeant seemed quietly impressed with Flynn’s reconnaissance efforts. He didn’t even seem put out when Flynn admitted he hadn’t reacted in the most professional manner to the news of Rhys playing pranks on Lily. Apparently, Sergeant Proctor didn’t hold Mr Johnson in particularly high esteem and hinted that he’d have responded similarly.

Despite the sergeant’s approval, Flynn left the station with disappointment weighing on his stomach. He’d hoped the sergeant might invite Flynn to come back to work, but there was no such suggestion.

The week of compulsory holiday time was dragging, to say the least.

He was on his way for a coffee at the cafe on the promenade the following morning when his phone rang.

“Everything okay?” Flynn asked, surprised to hear from the sergeant.

“It’s going to be one of those days,” Sergeant Proctor grumbled. “I need you back on duty ASAP.”

Flynn frowned. “Has something happened?”

“I highly doubt it.” He paused. “That Rhys kid. No one knows where he is.”

“He’s missing?”

“My feeling is that he’s pulling another stunt, but his mother’s been posting on social media about it. Not that she seems too concerned, but for the sake of appearances, I want all hands on deck. Get your uniform on and meet me at the station. I’ll fill you in properly and then we’ll get out and look for him. That’s if he hasn’t wandered home by then.”

Flynn turned on his heel before he’d even ended the call. He was at his flat again in a matter of minutes.

The relief at being back in his uniform was overwhelming. It felt slightly inappropriate to be so happy when a kid was missing, but he felt a buzz as he headed for the station.

“Where’s Jeff?” he asked when he found the sergeant alone. He’d expected PC Hill to be there too.

“Searching Porth Hellick Down.”

Having only been on the island for a month, Flynn was still unfamiliar with most of it, but was surprised at the search area being so specific.

“Is there reason to think Rhys might be in that area?” he asked.

Sergeant Proctor sat up straight behind his desk. “A dog walker found something out-of-place up there this morning. I’ll get to that in a minute…”

He nodded at the chair opposite him, giving the impression there was a lot to fill Flynn in on. “Mandy Johnson, Rhys’s mum, posted on social media this morning, asking if anyone had seen Rhys. Apparently, he was supposed to help his stepdad on his boat this morning like he usually does on Saturdays, but he wasn’t in his bed when Mr Johnson went to wake him. It appears he probably sneaked out yesterday evening and stayed out all night.”

“Not that unusual for a kid his age,” Flynn remarked.

“That’s what I said. His mother agrees that he probably stayed at a friend’s place. Especially since there was an argument yesterday about him playing jokes on Lily Larkin. Mrs Johnson says her husband was furious and the three of them ended up in a blazing row.” He raised an eyebrow. “The neighbour confirmed that when I spoke to her earlier.”

“So they had an argument and Rhys took off?”

“He went to football training yesterday evening, as usual. His mum was out when he came home, but Ted Johnson says Rhys came home and went straight to his room. That’s his last known movement.”

“Okay.” So far, Flynn wasn’t overly concerned. “Did his mother officially report him missing?”

Sergeant Proctor shook his head. “She really didn’t seem very worried. Someone else tagged the station in a comment on her social media post, so I felt duty bound to follow up. I don’t think she’d have called us about it. She seemed a little concerned that she was wasting our time.”

Flynn suspected she was probably right. “I’ll be amazed if the kid hasn’t turned up by the end of the day.”

“That’s my feeling too. But here’s where things get a little odd…” Sergeant Proctor tapped his pen against the desk. “I had a call from a dog walker this morning. He wanted to report some vandalism up on Porth Hellick Down.”

Flynn frowned. “What and where is Porth Hellick Down?”

“It’s an old archaeological site on the eastern side of the island. There are old tombs and burial chambers dating back to the Bronze Age.”

“Sounds creepy.”

“It’s very pretty during the day. I imagine it’s not so pleasant after dark.” The sergeant shrugged. “Anyway, the largest of the tombs – The Great Tomb – used to have an open entrance. You could walk inside if confined spaces were your thing. But a couple of years ago, we had a lot of teenagers hanging out there and messing the place up, so we covered the entrance to The Great Tomb with a locked iron gate. Problem solved.”

“But the dog walker found more vandalism? On the same night that Rhys stayed out all night?”

“It’s a little more interesting than that.” He continued tapping the pen against the desk. “PC Hill and I went up there as soon as we left Mrs Johnson this morning. The gate to the tomb was torn off its hinges and it seemed someone had been in there. We found a bag of food and water. All of it untouched. There was also this.” He pushed an evidence bag across the desk.

Immediately, Flynn recognised the font on the paper as the same on the note Rhys had given to Lily when he’d claimed someone was after him. This note had a different message…

Meet me at The Great Tomb. Tonight.

Below the printed text, a heart was drawn in pen with the initials JP inside it.

“JP?” Flynn asked.

“Rhys’s girlfriend is Jessica Price.”

“Okay. So it looks as though she wanted to meet him,” Flynn said. “Not exactly a romantic font, but maybe it was some sort of shared joke.”

“I suspect the whole thing is a joke. I already spoke to Jessica. She denies any knowledge of the note and claims not to know where Rhys is.” He blew out a breath. “Given his recent history, I guess Rhys is in the middle of his most elaborate prank yet. But we have no choice but to treat this as suspicious until we know for sure.” He chewed on his lip. “The padlock holding the door to the tomb in place had been cut, and there was a standard bike lock in its place.”

“Intact?” Flynn didn’t quite understand.

“Yes.” The sergeant nodded. “It appears that someone cut the original lock so they could lure someone in there and lock them in. Whoever was in there managed to get free by breaking the hinges.”

Flynn’s eyebrows lifted. “So we think Rhys was locked in a burial chamber?”

“That’s how it looks. But like I say, there’s also a strong possibility that Rhys set it up to look like that.”

“That’s one messed up kid,” Flynn said, eyes lingering on the paper in the evidence bag. “What do you want me to do?” he asked, eager to get to the bottom of what was going on.

“You can take the Land Rover and help PC Hill search the surrounding area. I have to go and speak to Mrs Johnson again.”

Flynn grabbed the keys to the Land Rover and was at the door when Sergeant Proctor spoke again.

“One more thing,” he said in a measured tone. “We need the lab to confirm it, but the gate to the tomb appeared to have blood on it.”

Flynn blinked slowly. Rhys had already used blood in his previous prank, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that he’d do it again.

Even so, if this was another prank, it felt as though he’d escalated things considerably.

Chapter Eight

Drinking her morning coffee on the beach was far more comfortable than sitting on the floor in the flat. Or wobbling on the air mattress that refused to stay fully inflated for long. The tang of salt in the air complemented the bitter coffee, and gentle churning waves made a pleasant soundtrack for the start of Lily’s day. Occasionally, a seagull would hop near to her, then scuttle away when she stamped her foot.

Reaching the bottom of the mug, she contemplated her plans for the morning. More cleaning. This time she was going to give the ice cream machines a good scrub and try to figure out if they really were functional after so long sitting dormant.

She was mustering the motivation to move when a shadow fell across her.

“You’re back in uniform,” she stated, tilting her face to look at Flynn.

“Yeah.”

His sombre tone confused her. “That’s good, isn’t it?”

He nodded and crouched beside her. “Rhys has gone missing.”

“Missing?”

He nodded again. “Given his history of pranks, the sergeant thinks he’s probably playing around again. His mother thinks the same.”

“What happened?”

“No one has seen him since yesterday evening. His phone is switched off.” His lips pulled to one side.

“What else?” Lily asked.

“It seems his girlfriend left him a note, asking him to meet her at this old burial chamber. There appears to be blood on the gate up there.”

“He also used blood in his last prank,” Lily pointed out.

“Yeah.” Flynn pushed his fingers into the sand. “His girlfriend denies any knowledge of the note.”

“He probably wrote it himself,” Lily said. “No doubt he’s off somewhere making an elaborate social media post.”

Flynn rubbed sand between his fingers. “His parents think so, too.” He paused, looking deep in thought for a moment. “Except that would require his phone to be switched on.”

“Are you worried?” Lily asked.

“Something feels off,” he said. “I looked at his previous social media posts and it’s all harmless fun. Plus, from what I gather, it’s out of character for him to stay out all night.”

Lily tapped the side of her mug, trying to get things straight in her head. “So someone left him a note to get him to this burial chamber…” She frowned. “Are there bodies in it?”

“No. It was excavated a hundred or so years ago. Now it’s essentially a creepy little room under a mound of earth, with an iron gate covering the entrance. Which seems to have been lifted off its hinges.”

A shiver rippled through Lily that had nothing to do with the cool breeze. “Like someone locked Rhys in there?”

“That’s how it looks.”

“And now there’s no sign of Rhys,” she mused.

Flynn gave a perfunctory nod. “Part of me thinks he’ll show up again by the end of the day…”

“Maybe one of his friends played a prank on him and now he’s off sulking somewhere.”

“The sergeant suggested the same.” Flynn stood. “I need to get back to searching.”

“Do you need volunteers?” Lily asked.

“Not at the moment. His parents aren’t concerned and don’t want to make a formal report. They didn’t come to us at all. His mum just posted online that if anyone saw him, they should let her know. We wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. Since they’re not concerned, we’re working on the assumption that this is someone’s idea of a joke.” He blew out a breath. “If you see him, let me know.”

“Of course.” She stood and brushed the sand from her bum. “I need to clean some ice cream machines.”

“What a shame I’m back at work,” he said with a mocking glint in his eyes. “Otherwise, I’d have loved to help with that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure you would.”

Chapter Nine

Lily was up to her elbows in a bucket of soapy water when someone banged on the front door. Scrubbing out the old ice cream machines wasn’t exactly thrilling, so the interruption was welcome. Also, she was expecting Seren or Kit would call by. Given how much she’d seen of them during her first trip to St Mary’s it felt odd that she hadn’t seen anything of them since she arrived back. When she’d messaged Seren the previous day, she’d apologetically explained that she was ill and said she would be in touch when she felt better.

At the door to the shop, the woman with brown wavy hair was unfamiliar to Lily, and she opened the door hesitantly.

“I just wanted to apologise,” she said, then caught herself. “Sorry. Are you Lily?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Mandy. Rhys’s mum. I’m very sorry about his stupid jokes.”

“It’s fine.” Lily looked the woman over. She was younger than Lily would have thought – probably in her mid-thirties. She must have had Rhys young. Either that, or she had an excellent skincare routine. “Has he turned up yet?”

“Not yet, but he’ll no doubt be home before dinnertime. He won’t go hungry.”

“Fingers crossed,” Lily said.

“I warned him to stop with his jokes. He always takes things too far.”

“Do you think he’s playing another prank?” Lily asked.

“I think one of his friends probably decided to prank him and he went off in a sulk.” She seemed entirely unconcerned.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Lily smiled weakly. “I don’t know the island, but I’m happy to help search if you need people.”

“Oh, no.” She waved a hand in front of her face. “He’ll turn up. I was just getting a coffee down the way and I thought I’d come and apologise for Rhys’s antics.” Her chest heaved with a sigh. “The police know about it. I told them that’s why I wasn’t worried about Rhys’s little disappearing act. Did they speak to you?”

“Not officially.” Lily’s hands were still damp from her cleaning efforts, and she wiped them on her jeans. “We had a conversation, but I told them it was just a stupid teenage stunt.”

“That’s good. I was worried you might be one of those overly dramatic types who would make a big fuss.”

Lily shook her head.

“He really was only playing around,” Mandy said. “Not that I’m saying it’s okay, but it’s what kids do.”

“Yeah. Really, it’s fine.” She overrode the instinct to invite the woman in. She’d actually like to get rid of her so she could get on with her cleaning, but didn’t want to seem rude.

Mandy looked along the promenade. “I’m waiting for my husband,” she said. “He’s been out looking for Rhys, but he’s on his way here now.”

“Okay.”

Mandy turned in the other direction and smiled at a burly-looking man with a heavy gait, striding over to them.

“No sign,” he said, when Mandy looked at him questioningly.

Her demeanour changed in an instant, worry creasing her brow as tears sprung to her eyes. The guy looked oddly impatient when she slipped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

The man’s eyes flicked into the shop. “Are you Lily?”

“Yes.”

Awkwardly, he reached around Mandy and offered his hand. “I’m Ted; Rhys’s stepdad. I’m sorry about all that stuff with the posters and everything.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lily said. “I just hope he turns up soon.”

“I’m sure he will.” Ted’s eyes slid once again to his wife as he gently peeled her off him with his hands on her shoulders.

“It couldn’t be worse timing,” Mandy said, looking frantically at Ted. “What with Ian here.”

“It’s one extra person to help search,” Ted said.

“He’s not going to stand for this, though.” Her eyes flicked to Lily. “My ex is here for a few days. Rhys’s father. He’s been wanting Rhys to live with him. He says Rhys will be better off with him over in Bristol. Now he’s got more ammunition, hasn’t he? He’ll say I’m an unfit mother and I can’t look after Rhys.”

“Rhys is old enough to decide where he lives,” Ted said, taking a step away from Mandy. “And he doesn’t want to live in Bristol, so I don’t think it matters how much Ian grumbles about it.” He rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Besides, the man’s all talk. He doesn’t want a delinquent teenager messing up his life.”

“Ted!” Mandy said tearfully. “Don’t say that. He’s not a bad boy, really.”

Ted discreetly rolled his eyes.

“Did you speak to his friends?” Mandy asked, eyeing him hopefully. “Jessica swore she doesn’t know anything, and that she hadn’t written that note, but if she didn’t do it, it will have been Max or Jory. I guarantee it.”

The names were familiar to Lily, and it only took a second for her to figure out why. They were the names of the people Rhys had listed as being closest to him.

“I spoke to the three of them just now.” Ted tipped his head along the promenade. “They’re all at The Cookie Jar. Jessica is really upset. I honestly don’t think any of them know anything about it.”

“Of course that’s what they’ll say.” Mandy swiped a tissue under her nose. “But one of them must know. I’m going to talk to them.”

“I’m going to head home,” Ted said. “See if there’s any sign of him back there.”

“Claire from next door said she’d keep an eye out and call me if he comes home.”

“I’m going to check. You should come home too. We’ve looked in all the obvious places. I’d say our best bet is to sit tight until he turns up.”

“I know it’s probably just another stupid prank,” Mandy said. “But I keep thinking about the blood on the bars of that gate. Rhys could be hurt somewhere and can’t get home.”

“I doubt it.” Mr Johnson seemed unfazed by his missing stepson.

Mrs Johnson’s eyes flashed with rage. “You could be a bit more sympathetic,” she snapped. “Sometimes it feels as though you don’t care at all.”

“He’s fifteen,” he shot back. “Not a toddler. And he’s pretty good at looking after himself, thanks to you.”

While Mandy turned squarely to her husband, Lily wondered if she could discreetly back away and leave them to their domestic. She was confident they’d forgotten about her presence, anyway.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mandy growled at her husband.

“You know exactly what it means. You were never going to win any prizes for mother of the year. And if you really knew Rhys, you’d know he’s not in any danger now. He’s run away, but he’ll be back.”

“If he’s run away, how do you explain the blood and the note?”

“I can’t explain them,” he replied wearily.

Mandy looked helplessly at Lily. “Which teenager turns their phone off voluntarily?”

“One who doesn’t want to be found,” Ted suggested. “I can’t really blame him for that.” He didn’t look at Lily or Mandy before he turned and walked away.

“I thought he’d be more supportive at a time like this,” Mandy murmured, then cast her eyes to Lily. “I know Rhys is probably fine, but a bit of support would be nice. I feel as though I’m on my own.”

“I can help look if you want,” Lily said half-heartedly.

“That’s kind,” Mandy said. “I’m going to speak to his friends again. I really think one of them must know something.”

Lily was pleased Mandy didn’t take her up on the offer to help search. She was inclined to agree that Rhys would turn up in his own good time. At least she hoped so. She really wanted to believe that Rhys’s notion that someone was after him had just been part of his prank.

Left alone, she wandered back to the ice cream machines. She picked up her cloth, then set it aside again as a thought hit her.

If Rhys had been genuine in thinking that someone was out to get him, he’d also handed Lily a list of likely suspects.

Chapter Ten

The task of cleaning the ice cream machines got put aside when Lily found herself too distracted to stick to it. Regularly, she checked social media, waiting for an update that Rhys had turned up safe and well. Hopefully, Flynn would also keep her abreast of any developments, but since he was back at work, she probably shouldn’t expect to hear from him.

Surely Rhys would be home before dark.

The more time ticked on, the more worry niggled at her.

Something else niggled at her too – the lack of contact from Seren or Kit. Even though she knew that Seren was ill, Lily couldn’t shake the feeling that they might be annoyed with her about the ice cream shop. She’d looked for Kit when the train had passed on the promenade, but it had been a woman driving it.

Thinking there might be another train trip late in the afternoon, she stepped out of the front door hoping to catch sight of Kit. Again, it seemed to be a woman down by the electric train at the end of the concrete promenade.

A few kids played on the long stretch of beach, and a kite flapped high over the heads of a family of three – the dad helping the young boy to let out more string, so it lifted even higher.

Lily pulled a strand of hair from her mouth as the wind whipped at it and was about to return inside when she caught the eye of a girl standing nearby. She stood with two teenage boys – the three of them looking in Lily’s direction. She would have put money on them being Rhys’s friends.

The girl said something before breaking away from the boys.

“You’re Lily, right?” Her voice quivered as she approached.

“Yeah.”

She nodded. “I’m Jessica. Rhys’s girlfriend.”

Lily smiled lightly.

“His mum thinks I did something,” she said. “That I wrote him that letter and lured him out to that tomb, but I told her the same as I told the police – I don’t know anything about the letter. Everyone knows that I write my initials in hearts for him so anyone could have written it.”

“You really don’t know where he is?”

“No.” She pressed her lips together. “But it’s weird that he hasn’t been in touch. He wouldn’t just not message me, no matter what was going on. Even when we argue, we always make up straightaway.”

“Did you argue recently?” Lily asked.

Jessica tugged at the hem of her cropped white T-shirt which didn’t come close to meeting the waistband of her low-slung jeans. “I told him he had to stop with the stupid pranks. That’s why I know this isn’t a prank. Not one of his, anyway.”

“Do you think he listened when you told him to stop?”

She shrugged. “After he put up the posters, I told him he was being an idiot, but then he made that video with you in it.”

“So he didn’t listen,” Lily pointed out.

“I was furious with him after that,” she said. “We had a big argument about it yesterday and I told him if he didn’t stop, I’d break up with him.”

“How did he react?”

“He said I was over-reacting, but I told him I was serious. I meant it and he knew it.” She pulled her shoulders back. “He wouldn’t have played another prank.”

“Maybe someone played a prank on him,” Lily suggested, eyes drifting to the two boys who lingered fifty metres away.

“I wondered about that.” She glanced briefly at the boys. “I don’t think so, though. Max wouldn’t have let it go on for this long. Especially not now the police are involved. And Jory’s scared of his own shadow, so I can’t see him luring anyone out to a burial chamber at night. Plus, they both swear they had nothing to do with it.”

“Rhys’s stepdad thinks he’s run away,” Lily said.

Jessica didn’t react at first. “He’d have told me,” she said eventually.

“So you wouldn’t be surprised by him running away, just at him not telling you…”

“Things haven’t been great for him at home recently.”

“How come?” Lily asked.

Jessica looked uncertain, as though she shouldn’t be talking to Lily. “I’m not actually sure. Rhys can be quiet when it comes to personal stuff and his home life. He doesn’t even like me going over to his place any more. We always hang out somewhere else. But last week he said he’d had a huge argument with Ted and that he hates him.”

“Did you ask what it was about?”

“Yeah, but he wouldn’t say, and then he started saying he might go and live with his dad in Bristol, so we got into a fight about that.”

“So he gets on with his real dad?”

She shook her head. “No. That’s how I knew the fight with Ted must have been bad. He’s always said he’d never live with his real dad.”

“Is he close to his mum?” Lily asked.

“No. I think he’s embarrassed by her. Not in the normal teenage way, but properly embarrassed.” She glanced back at the boys, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “A while ago, there were rumours about her cheating on his stepdad. He won’t talk about it. Not to me, anyway. Like I say, he’s embarrassed by it all.”

Lily’s mind whirred, thinking about the uncomfortable atmosphere between Rhys’s mum and stepdad.

She also couldn’t help but think about how Rhys had come across when she’d encountered him. She’d thought he’d had superb acting skills to fool her with his prank, but now she suspected his acting skills went deeper. If he had a tough home life, maybe he spent a lot of time pretending everything was fine when it wasn’t.

It also made her remember how surprised she’d been when he’d included his parents and stepdad in his list of people who might be after him.

After hearing more about his family, it made a lot more sense.

It also fuelled Lily’s inkling that something about the situation just didn’t feel right. If she had to put money on it, she’d say that there was a lot more to it than Rhys playing a prank.

She may not actually be an investigator, but she couldn’t deny the desire to dig around a little and see what she could find.

Chapter Eleven

Surely any PI worth their salt would visit the scene of the supposed crime. Not that Lily really considered herself a private investigator. She was just a concerned citizen with an inability to shut her mind off.

Porth Hellick Down was picturesque in the fading daylight. The grass seemed to glow under the last of the sun’s rays, and the hilly mounds and scattered stones gave texture to the landscape. In the distance, the sea pushed gently against the shore, and the turquoise water turned dark blue away from the land, then stretched all the way to the horizon.

The Great Tomb was larger than the other burial mounds and would have stood out even without the police tape roping off a perimeter around it.

Do Not Cross, it proclaimed repeatedly.

Lily whispered an apology as she slipped underneath it. It was for a good cause, she told herself. Breaking rules was okay if you were well-intentioned, wasn’t it?

She decided not to answer that question as she walked hurriedly towards the tomb. The entrance was narrow and hindered by the iron gate which rested at an angle against a boulder. Flynn had described two locks to her, but neither was there now. Presumably, the police had removed them as evidence.

Being careful not to disturb anything, she leaned closer to the gate, her eyes roaming over the bars as though scanning for information. The metal looked to be in good shape, so the patch of rust on one bar was hard to miss. She wouldn’t have assumed the dark smear around it to be blood if she hadn’t already been aware of it.

A chill went through her at the thought of it being Rhys’s blood.

Just a prank, she told herself when her heart rate quickened. He put drips of blood there as part of his joke. That’s what she wanted to believe.

It was more than just a pin prick this time, though.

Moving on from the blood, she scrutinised the hinges, then moved a few steps to inspect the place where they would previously have been attached to the bolts in the stones at the chamber’s entrance.

From there, her eyes were drawn into the tomb itself, which quickly disappeared into darkness.

Lily glanced around before stepping inside. Immediately, the air felt cooler. The scent of soil infected her nostrils and made her heart rate notch up even further. On either side of her, the walls reminded her of how small the space was. After only a few steps, she stopped. Instinct told her that the tomb didn’t go much farther, but the complete blackness ahead chilled her to the bone.

“Hello,” she whispered, feeling foolish at the thought that she might not be alone. Someone could easily be lurking ahead of her. She could check with the torch on her phone, but as she pulled it from her pocket, she had the distinct feeling that adding a glow of light wouldn’t stop the blood from rushing in her ears.

She needed to get out. Immediately.

Turning, she stumbled forwards, only to collide with a solid wall that she could have sworn shouldn’t be there.

Except it wasn’t a wall. Firm hands on her shoulders made her heart stop dead. She wanted to scream but her throat felt as though it was in spasm and breathing seemed impossible.

“What are you doing here?” the familiar voice asked.

“Flynn!” she managed, her voice an odd croak. The remnants of daylight beyond him felt like a beacon, and she shoved him aside to rush out into the open.

After gulping in a few ragged breaths, she looked up to find him staring curiously.

“Did you somehow miss all the police tape… or do you not understand the words do not cross?”

As her breathing evened out, she straightened up. “I just wanted to have a look.”

“Ah,” Flynn said mockingly. “We should add that in brackets on the police tape… do not cross… unless you fancy a quick look.”

“Are you going to arrest me?” she asked, slightly annoyed by his teasing tone after he’d scared her so much that her soul probably left her body for a moment there.

Flynn patted his pockets. “I don’t have my handcuffs, so you’re in luck.”

“It’s not really a big deal, anyway, since everyone seems to think it’s all a prank.”

“True. But if it turns out not to be a prank, you’ve just disturbed a crime scene.”

“I didn’t touch anything.”

His lips turned upwards. “I suppose you walked in there without your feet touching the ground. Maybe you could teach me that trick.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sorry,” she said insincerely. “But I’m actually concerned about Rhys.” She moved past Flynn towards the gate, staring once again at the bloodstain. “The hinges are the kind where you could just lift the gate off them,” she pointed out, half thinking aloud and half filling Flynn in on her theory. “Rhys is shorter than me, but I’d guess…” She bent her knees, bringing her to what she imagined was roughly Rhys’s height. Then she moved her arms towards the gate, stopping before she touched the bars. She nodded decisively. “It seems plausible that Rhys might have held the bars at this height to lift the gate off the hinges.”

“It’s pretty heavy,” Flynn replied, close beside her.

“I’m not saying it would be easy, but if you locked me in there in the dead of night, I would find the strength to get myself out. No matter how heavy the gate was.”

“You did seem twitchy in there. Claustrophobic?”

“No.” She focused on the gate to avoid meeting Flynn’s gaze. “I just don’t enjoy being in pokey old graves.”

“You’d think a private investigator would be braver.”

Again, she rolled her eyes. “I’m not an investigator.”

“You do a very good impression.”

When he fell silent, she shifted her gaze to his face. “Are you the night watchman, or what?”

“No.” His eyes met hers. “I’m not on duty.”

“Just skulking around, looking for people to scare?”

His features turned serious, and he tilted his head to indicate they should move out of the restricted area. “It felt weird sitting around at home when we still don’t know where Rhys is. Maybe it was a prank…” He lifted the police tape and held it while she ducked underneath. “But maybe it wasn’t,” he added as he slipped under after her.

“This is what I keep thinking too,” Lily said, gazing back at the tomb in the twilight. “He asked me for help and I can’t just assume he’s fine and not do anything.”

Flynn pushed his hands into his pockets and released a sigh. “I thought that if it was a prank, he might still be around here. Maybe he’s watching the place… videoing the police, watching us work. That sort of thing.”

“But there’s no sign of him?”

“No. I couldn’t see properly from my lookout, so I thought you were him when I saw you skulking around.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

He tipped his head again, and they set off towards the path. “I don’t think he’ll be showing up here anytime soon. If he was here, he’d have seen us and scarpered.”

It sounded like a dig, but since he didn’t seem at all annoyed by her intruding on his stakeout, she refrained from commenting.

“You know what else I keep thinking,” she said, once they were back on the lane and heading towards Hugh Town. “If he genuinely thought someone was after him, he gave me a list of the people he thought it might be.”

Flynn nodded. “If someone played a prank on him, it was probably one of his friends. If there’s something more sinister going on, the parents would be my top suspects.”

“Why his parents?”

“If a kid goes missing, it tends to end up being a close family member. Going on statistics alone, the stepdad would be the prime suspect.”

“Seriously?”

Again, he nodded. “Kids living with a stepparent are a hundred times more likely to be abused.”

“A hundred times!” Lily’s eyes widened. “That can’t be right.”

“They’ve done studies on it. In psychology, they call it the Cinderella effect.”

“But a hundred times more likely just seems wrong. It can’t be that high.”

“It’s what the research says.” He sounded entirely unemotional. “It’s not for me to say whether the research is correct, but given my experience in policing, it doesn’t sound unbelievable.”

“But some stepparents must be good parents.”

“I’m sure lots of them are,” he said flatly.

“But if something bad has happened to Rhys, you’d be looking at his stepdad first?”

“Personally, yes. And not only because of the statistics.”

“Why else?”

He gave a subtle shrug. “The guy seems shady to me.” He opened his mouth, then closed it again abruptly.

“Were you about to tell me something confidential?”

“It’s not entirely confidential since I was only having a casual conversation with him… but I probably shouldn’t tell you.”

“You’re going to though, right?” she said eagerly.

His eyes flashed with amusement. “When I was talking to Mr Johnson before Rhys went missing, he said something…” He paused, as though thinking back on it. “He said maybe it would be a good thing if someone did play a prank on Rhys. He implied it would teach him a lesson.”

Lily frowned. “If he’d been planning on teaching Rhys a lesson, it would have been pretty stupid of him to mention it to you first.”

“Yeah.” Flynn flicked his tongue across his lips. “But I encounter a lot of stupid people in my job.”

Lily smiled lightly, and they fell silent as they wandered through the quiet streets of Hugh Town. “I just hope Rhys turns up safe and sound,” she said eventually.

“Me too,” Flynn said, stopping as they reached the ice cream shop. He looked up at the building. “By the way, I insisted to Sergeant Proctor that you had no plans to become a private investigator. Am I going to end up eating my words on that score?”

“No.” She smiled as she pushed the key into the lock. “I’m just concerned about Rhys. And intrigued about the whole situation.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I imagine they are two qualities which would lead someone into the world of private investigations.”

“This is not a career path. As soon as Rhys turns up I’ll be giving up my investigative skills for good.”

His eyes sparkled with mirth. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Chapter Twelve

It was late when Lily wished Flynn goodnight on the doorstep. Her trip to Porth Hellick Down had killed some time, and there was something comforting about chatting everything through with Flynn, even if the facts of the matter remained the same. They had no clue where Rhys was, nor whether he was safe.

When she finally got into bed, Lily’s inability to fall asleep wasn’t a huge surprise. The lack of a proper bed made it difficult, and combined with her racing thoughts about Rhys, she soon gave up on the idea of sleep. Wobbling, she removed herself ungracefully from the air mattress and went to get a glass of water. The absence of a couch felt suddenly pronounced. Any kind of seating would be good. Pacing the flat did little to calm her mind.

At the living room window she stopped, gazing out at the half moon and the twinkling stars which filled the dark sky. Opening the window amplified the hypnotic sound of the waves rushing on and off the shore. Finally, her mind felt more peaceful.

The shallow windowsill wasn’t a comfy seat, but given the lack of an alternative, she welcomed the perch.

With everything in shadow, it was five minutes before she registered the figure standing on the beach. If they hadn’t moved, she probably wouldn’t have noticed them at all.

A quick glance at her watch told her it was past midnight. The pub had long since shut, and the island was put to bed for the night.

When the figure walked along the beach, Lily’s heart quickened. From her position, she had no chance of making out who it was, but she couldn’t dismiss the possibility that it was Rhys.

While she hurriedly pulled on clothes and shoved her feet into her trainers, she hoped whoever it was hadn’t gone far.

Quietly, she ran down the stairs and through the shop, then slipped outside into the crisp night air.

Moving instinctively along the promenade, she squinted, waiting for her eyes to adjust. With only the light of the moon to go by, she could only just make out the dark figure, now at the end of the beach. She kept her eyes on him as she power walked, sticking close to the buildings. When he made his way from the beach to the promenade, she stopped dead, holding her breath for a moment, and only continued when she was sure he hadn’t spotted her.

She was convinced it was a man, but the closer she got, the more certain she was it wasn’t Rhys. The guy was well built, unless it was just a bulky coat.

Either way, it seemed suspicious for someone to be wandering around in the dark.

From her shadowy hiding spot, she watched him head between the buildings and waited a moment before following him. Hugh Town was eerily quiet until they reached the harbour where the gentle slap of water against the harbour wall encroached on the silence.

The man’s gait was slow and measured as he walked along the harbour wall. After a moment, he stopped and gazed towards the horizon.

Lily kept her distance, slipping behind a golf buggy parked just before the barrier to the harbour.

The guy stayed where he was, as though waiting for someone.

Minutes ticked by and he merely stood there.

How long was she planning on observing him? Lily wondered. Walking out and speaking to him seemed like a risky plan. Although, given the quiet on the island, she was sure someone would hear if she screamed.

Ten minutes of staying quietly hidden felt like a lifetime, and Lily began to regret the idea of stalking strange men in the dead of night. He wasn’t doing anything, and Lily had the notion that he was just an innocent guy with insomnia. Following him felt suddenly ridiculous.

It should have been easy enough to slip away through the shadows, but her foot hit a bottle top and sent it clattering along. In the daytime, the sound would have been barely noticeable, but now she may as well have banged a gong to announce her presence.

The sound of footsteps had her retreating to the minimal cover of the golf buggy.

“Is someone there?” a low male voice called. Silence hung for a moment. Then his voice came again with quiet malice. “I know you’re there. You may as well come out.”

He was close now and Lily had no chance of remaining undiscovered.

Emerging from her hiding place, her gaze honed in on the man with the dark clothing. “Mr Johnson?” she said, surprise clear in her voice.

His eyebrows dipped until recognition hit his features. “You’re…” He shook his head. “What’s your name?”

“Lily,” she offered, and he mumbled it back to her.

“What are you doing creeping around in the dark?” he asked.

She wanted to ask him the same thing, but decided she’d probably get more out of him if she didn’t immediately put him on the defensive. “I saw someone from my window,” she told him honestly. “I wanted to check in case it was Rhys.”

He rocked on his heels, seemingly placated. “I couldn’t sleep and thought I’d have a look around for him.” His eyes darted over his shoulder, then whipped back to Lily. “I should probably get home.”

Lily looked over his shoulder, certain he’d been watching the horizon for a reason. If he really was out looking for Rhys, staring at the water didn’t seem like the most efficient approach. “You’re a fisherman?” she blurted out, remembering her conversation with Flynn about him.

He paused. “Yes.”

“Have you checked your boat?” When he didn’t respond, she assumed she hadn’t been clear. “That’s the sort of place someone could hide, right? Did you check to see if Rhys was hiding out on your boat?”

The moonlight caught his pale irises and highlighted his frown. “Of course I checked my boat.”

His tone immediately had Lily suspicious. “Maybe we should check it again…” She took a few steps. “Just to make sure. Where is it?”

Slowly, he shook his head. “I already told you he’s not there. I need to get back home. I suggest you do the same.” He stalked away, head bent low and moving at a brisk pace, as though worried she might follow him.

Desperately, she wanted to question him about why he was so against her looking at his boat, but her instincts told her that continuing to stalk him in the dark wasn’t the most sensible approach.

She’d drop it for now, but she couldn’t help but agree with Flynn’s earlier assessment. There was something shady about Ted Johnson.

And she fully intended to find out what it was.

Chapter Thirteen

After a few hours of sleep, Lily was wide awake again, pondering what Ted Johnson had really been up to out at the harbour.

She had a feeling he might know more about Rhys’s disappearance than he was letting on and knew she wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else until she’d spoken to him again.

Quizzing him alone in the middle of the night hadn’t been wise, but she didn’t see an issue with asking him a few questions in broad daylight.

First, she’d scope out his boat and see if that brought up any clues.

The sun had only just risen and a group of seasoned-looking fishermen stood in a couple of weathered old boats moored beside the steps of the harbour wall. Carefully, Lily descended the wet stairs, trying to make out what the men were saying as they called out to each other. Their accents were so thick that Lily struggled to understand what seemed to be a lot of teasing banter.

“Morning!” one of them called from the nearest boat as she approached.

Her nose twitched at the overpowering smell of fish. “Hi,” she said. “I wonder if any of you know Ted Johnson?”

Two of them retreated to the far side of the furthest boat, but the two closest to her nodded in unison.

“We all know each other around here,” the younger, bearded guy said.

“Would you be able to point me toward his boat?” she asked.

The other guy wiped his hands on his trousers. “I don’t think you’ll find him around here this morning. He’s had a bit of bother with his kid.”

“That’s why I’m looking for him. I wanted to ask if he’d heard anything from Rhys.”

The bearded guy tilted his head. “Are you the one who inherited the ice cream shop?”

“Kind of. I didn’t inherit it…” She stared at the guy, wondering why he’d thought that. “I’m renting the building,” she said hesitantly.

He smiled warmly. “So it was you who figured out who pushed that fella off the cliffs?”

“Yeah. That was me.” She shifted her weight. “So you haven’t seen Ted this morning?” That made sense, though. He’d surely take a day off when his stepson was missing.

The older guy shook his head. “I’m sure Rhys will pop up again soon. No doubt he’s hiding out at a mate’s place or something. I’ve got three teenagers, and I swear they cause more stress than toddlers.”

Lily smiled tightly. “Out of interest, which one is Ted’s boat?”

She waited while the two men scanned the array of boats tied to a floating jetty nearby. After a moment, the older guy walked around the wheelhouse for a better look.

“I guess he went out this morning after all,” he finally said, forehead wrinkled.

“His boat isn’t here?” Lily asked.

“No.” He checked his watch. “He’d usually be back by now, so if you hang around, you’ll probably catch him.”

“Thanks.” She moved away, leaving them to get back to work.

An hour went by, and then another before Lily decided she was waiting in vain. Ted wasn’t about to show up. She suspected he wasn’t even out on his boat.

She just wasn’t sure where else to look for him since she didn’t know where the Johnsons lived. It crossed her mind to ask Flynn before dismissing the notion. He wouldn’t be able to give out the information, and it would be unfair to ask.

Besides, she could probably figure it out herself. She’d just need to ask around the locals. Which gave her a reason to go into the pub and see if Seren was working.

There was only an older guy behind the bar, so Lily ordered a coffee, then hung around for a while, waiting to see if she’d spot someone she knew. That would be easier than asking strangers for information.

A few more people had entered the bar when she slipped out again, thinking she’d check the cafe on the promenade instead. On the way there, her eyes went to the electric train with a group of people surrounding it. Either a tour had just ended or was just about to start.

Maybe Kit was around.

No such luck, but Lily recognised the woman heading to the driving seat. She’d met her in the pub the previous week.

“Morning!” Keira said cheerfully.

“Hi,” Lily said.

She beamed. “How are you settling in?”

“Fine.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. She just wasn’t sure what settling in would really look like. Most likely it would involve more furniture. “I was actually hoping I might catch Kit…”

“I’m covering for him today. He’s not well.”

“Oh. Is he okay?”

“I think so. Seren was ill this week, and he stayed home to look after her.” She grinned as she slipped behind the wheel. “I’m not sure if he caught whatever Seren had, or if they’ve just decided to both call in sick and hide from the world. They’re still kind of in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, so I suspect it’s the latter. Anyway, I have to get on…” She aimed a thumb over her shoulder. “You can jump in if you want.”

“Thanks, but I have a few things to do.”

Lily stood aside as the train moseyed along the promenade, thinking that she should probably do something productive, like ordering furniture and supplies to renovate the shop and flat. Or visit Mr Greaves to sort out the paperwork she was supposed to sign for leasing the shop.

She’d get to those practicalities later.

As soon as she’d figured out what Mr Johnson was up to.

Chapter Fourteen

Once again, Lily was distracted on her way to the cafe. This time by the sight of Rhys’s two friends sitting on the sand. It was clear from the way they looked at her when she approached that they knew who she was.

“Hi,” she said, kneeling in front of them. It should be easy enough to find out where Rhys lived from them. She couldn’t imagine they’d think anything of it if she said she needed to speak to his mum.

At least if she could get a word in. The skinny kid with white-blonde hair spoke without bothering with introductions.

“There’s still no sign of Rhys,” he began. “We were just saying it’s weird for him to stay away for so long.”

Lily didn’t miss the implication behind the statement. “Has he run away before?” she asked.

“He skipped school a few times,” the boy replied. Lily recalled the names from Rhys’s list – Jory and Max – but she couldn’t guess at who was who. “But now the school calls his parents if he doesn’t turn up, so he can’t get away with pretending to be ill anymore.” He scratched at his nose as he paused for breath. “I think Jessica will split up with him now. She said if he played another prank, she was done with him.”

“So you think it was just a prank?” Lily tried to catch the eye of the bigger, brown-haired kid, but he hugged his knees and stared along the beach as though Lily wasn’t there.

“It’s got to be a prank.” The blonde boy elbowed his friend. “You think so, don’t you, Max?”

That clued Lily in to their names.

“What?” Max blinked a few times as though tuning into the conversation.

“You think it’s another of his pranks?” Jory said.

“Probably.” Max shrugged.

“Jessica will split up with him, won’t she?” Jory looked eagerly at Max.

“I doubt it.” A flicker of sympathy shone in Max’s eyes. “She’s obsessed with him.”

Frantically, Jory shook his head. “She said she’d break up with him. I’m sure she will. She’s been complaining about him a lot recently, and she seemed serious when she told him not to play any more pranks.”

Max sighed heavily. “It’s what you call an idle threat. She was annoyed about the jokes, but she won’t split up with him over it.”

“I think she will,” Jory said, his voice becoming impossibly fast. “He’ll be gutted, but she did warn him. Anyway, I have to get home. I’ll message you later, okay?”

“See you,” Max said, while Jory scurried away.

Lily watched him go. “Does he have a crush on Jessica?”

“Yeah.” The corners of Max’s mouth twitched, hinting at a smile. “He’s not exactly subtle. Everyone knows he has a thing for her. We just don’t mention it.”

“What does Rhys think about his friend having a crush on his girlfriend?”

“He doesn’t care. It’s not as though Jory’s a threat to their relationship or anything. I reckon Rhys feels sorry for him. It’s a bit sad, really. Jessica’s one of those people who’s friendly to everyone. It’s not like she means to lead Jory on, but I’m sure he takes it the wrong way when she’s nice to him.”

“Poor kid.” Lily recalled a couple of unrequited crushes from her teenage years and wouldn’t wish the feeling on anyone. At least she’d never been delusional enough to think she stood a chance.

“I should probably get going too,” Max said, dropping his palms to the sand to push himself up.

“I wanted to ask you something...”

He sank back to the sand, looking at Lily expectantly.

“Would you mind giving me Rhys’s address? I met his mum yesterday, and I wanted to go over and check how she’s doing, but I don’t know where they live.”

“Sure. Have you got your phone? I can show you on the map.” He dropped a pin when she gave him her phone. “It’s not far from here. Just on the other side of Hugh Town.”

“Thank you. That’s helpful.” She took her phone back. “Do you know what she’s like, Rhys’s mum? I only met her briefly.”

He picked up a handful of sand and let it flow through his fingers. “I don’t really know her.”

Lily had got the impression they’d been friends for ages, so it was odd that he wouldn’t have an impression of Rhys’s mum.

“You don’t know who?” a female voice asked. Jessica loomed over them, smiling half-heartedly.

“We were just talking about Rhys’s mum,” Lily said, when Max failed to answer.

“Oh.” Jessica grimaced. “Were you telling her about that?”

The look Max shot her was fuelled by pure rage.

With a gasp, Jessica slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “Of course you weren’t.”

Max was off his feet and striding along the beach before Lily could figure out what was going on.

“I’m sorry,” Jessica called after him. “Wait! I’m really sorry.”

“What was that all about?” Lily asked.

“Nothing.” Jessica shook her head and her eyes filled with tears. “I’m such an idiot. I have to go after him.” She burst into a run to catch up with Max.

Lily watched as they played a fast-moving game of Jessica reaching for his arm and Max shrugging her off. By the time Jessica got him to stop, they were too far away for Lily to hear what they were saying. It seemed as though Jessica was crying as she clutched at Max’s hand and eventually threw her arms around him.

He slumped into her hug and a moment later they continued up the beach and into the town.

At least Lily had the Johnson’s address now.

That, and a lot more questions.

Chapter Fifteen

In stark contrast to the other houses in the row, the Johnson’s place lacked any kind of cultivated plant life in the small front garden. It wasn’t really a garden at all, just a patch of paving slabs with a few determined weeds emerging through the gaps.

“Sorry to disturb you,” Lily said when Mandy opened the door to her late in the afternoon. “I just wanted to ask if there was any news on Rhys.”

“Not yet.” She looked behind Lily as though expecting Rhys any minute. “He’ll be back today for sure. Before dark, I bet.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Lily asked.

“Who is it?” a male voice bellowed from within the house.

“Just a friend,” Mandy called back, then looked eagerly at Lily and opened the door wider. “Why don’t you come in?”

Lily didn’t feel she had much choice in the matter as Mandy took her wrist and pulled her over the threshold.

“This is Lily,” Mandy said, ushering her into the living room where a smartly dressed man sat on the couch. His expensive-looking chinos and navy polo shirt were completely out of place in the stuffy living room with the shabby, brown furniture and a well-worn grey rug.

“Hi.” He extended a hand. “Ian. Rhys’s dad.”

Lily shook his hand, pondering the greeting for such a situation. “I just wanted to check in and see if there was anything I could do to help,” she said in the end.

“See!” Mandy said. “We have a good community here. People look out for each other.”

Ian offered Lily an awkward smile and returned to his place on the couch. “I don’t think now is the time to have this conversation,” he said.

“Not so tough with other people around, are you?” Mandy spat, then idly gestured at the armchair for Lily. “You were quite happy to rant about how you’re going to take Rhys back to Bristol with you when there was no one around to hear.”

“I can’t take him anywhere, can I?” Ian snapped. “Since no one knows where he is.”

“Probably hiding out somewhere so he doesn’t have to listen to your threats,” Mandy huffed.

Ian fumed. “Or so he doesn’t have to deal with the consequences of terrorising that poor woman on his social media account.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how many times I’ve told you he needs discipline. You can’t let a teenager run wild.”

“He’s a good boy,” Mandy said firmly. “And Lily was the woman he played a joke on. Thankfully, she’s sensible enough to see it for what it was… just kids mucking about.”

Ian grimaced and shot Lily an apologetic smile. “What he did was out of order and I don’t condone it. He’ll be over to apologise whenever he reappears.”

The fact that no one seemed overly concerned about him despite him being gone for almost 48 hours should have made Lily feel better, but she agreed with Flynn’s assessment that something seemed off.

“He’ll be back before dark,” Mandy said, eyes drifting to the window. “He eats like a horse, that boy, so his hunger will bring him back soon.” She picked up the packet of cigarettes from the coffee table and tapped them against her palm. “Do you smoke?” she asked Lily.

“No.”

“Me neither.” She set them down again at the sound of Ian’s derisive snort. “I don’t,” she snarled. “Only when I’m stressed. Funnily enough, since my son is missing, I’ve been a bit stressed.”

Ian ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Ten minutes ago, you were insisting he isn’t missing at all, just being a normal teenager and staying out all night.”

“Yes.” Mandy’s eyes went to the window again and she nodded decisively. “Yes, that’ll be it. He’ll be home soon.”

It occurred to Lily that if someone she loved was missing, she’d probably tell herself they were fine too. The alternative would be unbearable.

“I’m sure he’ll be home soon,” Lily said. “What about setting up a search party, though?”

“The police are looking for him,” Mandy said. “They’ve organised some volunteers to help. Ted’s out looking for him too. Ted will find him.”

“Are Ted and Rhys close?” Lily asked. From Jessica’s comments, she assumed not, but couldn’t help but wonder at the fact that Rhys’s stepdad was out looking while his biological parents were sitting around doing nothing.

“They rub along fine,” Mandy said, then moved to the window. “I should speak to Rhys’s friends again. One of them must know where he is.”

“You’ve already asked them,” Ian said.

“I could ask more firmly,” she said, a menacing note in her voice. “They’re trouble, the three of them.” She whirled around to her ex. “Maybe you’re right that he should live with you. Get him away from this bad crowd he’s in with.”

“I thought the four of them had been friends since they were little?” Lily asked.

“They weren’t so much trouble when they were five years old,” Mandy said. “Maybe it’s island life,” she muttered. “Not good for teenagers. Maybe Rhys needs to be around more people his own age.”

Ian nodded. “A change might be good for him, if we can get him to agree to it.”

“You’re his dad,” Mandy said. “You’ll just have to tell him it’s decided, and it’s happening. I can’t do it. He’ll think I don’t want him.” She tapped her fingers against her thigh. “Where are you?” she mumbled at the windowpane.

Lily went over to her. “I’m sure he’ll be home safe and sound soon.”

“If he’s not, Max will have me to answer to,” she muttered.

“Max?” Lily asked.

“If it’s a prank, he’ll be behind it. His cap was in Rhys’s room, on his desk. Did you know that?”

Lily’s eyebrows shot upwards. “Did you tell the police that?”

“Yes. But Max claims he knows nothing about it. He says they always borrow each other’s stuff, so Rhys probably took his cap and forgot to tell him.”

Ian leaned forwards, elbows bracing against his knees. “You also told the police you were sure he’d be back soon, so I don’t think they see much urgency to the situation.”

“There isn’t any urgency.” Mandy’s features relaxed. “He’ll be back soon.”

The tension in the room was stifling, and Lily was desperate to leave the uncomfortable atmosphere. She was about to make her excuses when she remembered the real reason for her visit.

“Did you say your husband is out looking for Rhys?” she asked, aiming for a gentle tone.

“Yes.” Mandy’s eyes flashed with accusation when she swung around to Lily. “He’s helping the police with their search. I’m sure he’ll find him. He knows all of Rhys’s hangout spots. They’ll both be home soon.”

“Maybe I should get out and look for him,” Ian said, but made no move to go anywhere. “I could nip back to my hotel for a while, too. Sitting here is driving me crazy.”

Mandy gave a manic shake of her head. “I need you here when Rhys gets home so you can talk some sense into him.”

“You could call me when he turns up,” Ian said, while sinking further into the couch.

“Just stay, will you?” Mandy snapped. “It’s not as though I ask very much of you. Just stay until your son is home.”

“Fine.” Ian shrugged.

“I’m going to go,” Lily said softly, needing to get away from the tension. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?”

“No. Thank you.” Mandy walked into the hallway with her. “It was very sweet of you to come over.”

Glancing into the kitchen, Lily managed not to react to the state of it. Dishes were piled in the sink, and the sideboard was littered with empty wine bottles and dirty glasses.

With a nervous smile, Mandy pulled the kitchen door closed. “I’ve been too worried to clean.”

At the front door, Lily turned to face her. “Have there been any issues with Rhys and Max recently?” She couldn’t help but think of the incident with Max earlier and wondered what was behind it.

“Max is trouble,” Mandy hissed. “He leads Rhys astray. All these pranks will have been his idea. He lies too. Don’t believe a word he says.”

“Okay.” With a tight smile, Lily said goodbye.

As she walked away, she wondered what it was Mandy thought Max had said.

And why she’d looked so panicked by the idea.

As though Max knew things she’d rather no one knew about.

Chapter Sixteen

The desire to call Flynn and update him made Lily a little uneasy. She’d become so used to being alone that the thought of checking in with someone felt unfamiliar.

Reassuringly, he sounded happy to hear from her, and once she’d told him what she’d found, he filled her in on their unsuccessful search of the island. The relaxed conversation lasted until she was almost home.

“I have to go,” she told Flynn when she caught sight of a familiar figure striding purposefully along Hugh Street.

Ted’s features were expressive, as though he were mentally conversing with someone. Distracted, he didn’t notice Lily, but she didn’t take her eyes off him as he continued past the pub and around the corner to the harbour.

Without a lot of thought, Lily picked up her pace to follow him. Rounding the corner, she stopped short. Her eyes darted all along the harbour wall and then down to the boats tied up below, but she couldn’t spot Ted. That was crazy though – he couldn’t have vanished. On autopilot, she moved all the way to the end of the harbour wall, glancing at the boats and then staring out to sea when she couldn’t go any further.

It was as she turned back that she spotted Ted again, springing up a set of steps that led to the boats. His brisk pace immediately put her on alert.

“Hey!” she shouted, then broke into a jog and waited until she was closer to call out again.

His agitation was written all over his face when he whirled back to her.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “I’m in a rush.”

“Any sign of Rhys?”

“Not that I’ve heard. I need to get home and check.”

“I was just there, and he hasn’t shown up yet.”

His eyes narrowed. “Just where?”

“At your place.”

“Why were you at my place?”

“I wanted to check how Mandy was doing… see if there was anything I could do.”

“Okay,” he muttered. “I need to go.”

“Which one is your boat?” she blurted out as he began to walk away.

His glare was cold and intimidating. “Why do you want to know about my boat?”

She hesitated, pondering how honest to be. “Because you were cagey about your boat when I asked you last night. And because you didn’t tell me that your boat wasn’t in the harbour.”

Guilt flashed in his eyes before his gaze dropped to the ground. “What are you talking about?”

“Where is your boat?” Her voice held all the authority she could muster, hoping she might turn the intimidation tables.

He held her gaze for an excruciating moment before he raised his arm.

Lily held her breath as she overrode the urge to flinch.

“There,” he said levelly at the same moment she registered he was pointing and not about to clobber her. “The blue one. Can I go now, or do you have more benign questions?”

He’d already started walking away when she spoke again. “I don’t believe you,” she said, hurrying after him.

“Don’t believe what?” he asked, not slowing down.

“I don’t believe that’s your boat,” she said, loud enough that anyone nearby could hear. “I think your boat has gone, and it’s got something to do with Rhys. Did you take him somewhere on your boat?” The question was so loud that he finally stopped. He was in her personal space so quickly that she didn’t have time to step back.

“Rhys borrowed my boat,” he hissed in an angry whisper. “But the boat is back now, so I assume he’s on his way home. If you’ll stop harassing me, I can go and check.”

“He borrowed your boat?” She drew herself up to be closer to his height. “Why didn’t you tell the police that?”

“Because I didn’t think they needed to know.”

“But they’ve been searching the island,” Lily stated. “So have you… even though you knew he wasn’t here.”

“I couldn’t exactly look anywhere else since I didn’t have my boat.”

Lily’s eyes widened. “This changes things. If he’d gone off in your boat, he could’ve been in danger.”

“Why?” Ted asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

“Because he’s a kid on a boat. Anything could happen to him.”

Ted parked his hands on his hips. “He’s been going out on the boat with me since he was little. He knows how to handle it… he knows where’s safe and where isn’t. I was never worried about his safety. I was only concerned about his mental state. Something must have upset him for him to take off with the boat and not tell me.”

Lily’s brain chewed over the information. “Has he done this before?”

“Once,” Ted said. “He wasn’t gone for this long and he messaged me to tell me where he was.” He sucked in a lungful of air and took a step back.

“Why did he take off that time?” she asked.

His features tensed. “Because he was upset.”

“Where did he go?”

“Just anchored out by one of the off-islands. I do the same myself sometimes when I need a bit of headspace. There are always supplies in the boat, so he wouldn’t go hungry.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t mention this to the police. Or his mum. She’s really worried.”

He shook his head. “I need to find him. Then she can stop worrying.”

Lily started to speak again, but it was clear he wouldn’t hang around any longer. She watched him for a moment, then looked towards the blue boat, bobbing on the water. Maybe she’d have a quick snoop around. Ted’s story had been convincing, but she still felt the urge to check the boat out. Once he was out of sight, she’d have a quick look around.

Except when she turned to check he was gone, she found he wasn’t heading in the direction of home at all.

Which suggested he had another idea about where Rhys was.

One that he’d decided not to mention to Lily.

After taking a couple of steps towards the boat, she changed her mind.

Apparently, she was following Ted again.

Chapter Seventeen

Maybe Ted had been telling the truth, but Lily couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something very off about him. She should probably call Flynn and tell him about Ted’s boat going missing at the same time as Rhys had, but she was concerned about what would happen if Ted felt cornered.

It was definitely better for her to follow him in the fading daylight. She could just imagine Flynn agreeing that was the best course of action. Of course, he’d say it in a sarcastic tone to complement his dramatic eye roll, but she could at least pretend he’d think it was a good idea. The alternative was imagining a more realistic picture in which he was furious with her and telling her she was an idiot.

She only wanted to see where Ted was going, though. Which meant she should probably give up her covert operation now and go home. That, and call Flynn to fill him in. Not that she’d garnered the most useful information. Ted had left Hugh Town and entered a lonely bungalow at the end of a dark lane.

When a light came on in the front window of the house, Lily ducked back below the front wall. From the outside, the house looked tiny, and in need of renovations.

What on earth was Ted doing there?

The slice of the living room she could see through a gap in the curtains didn’t provide any helpful information.

She was contemplating leaving when a noise stopped her.

A shout from inside the house. As though someone had been startled.

With her heart beating faster, she peeked over the wall, squinting at movement through the curtains. She could just make out two figures. Hopefully, if they were to look out, they wouldn’t be able to make her out in the dark. Not if she stayed still.

She slapped a hand over her mouth when a figure stepped into the spot where the curtains didn’t quite meet.

Rhys.

He was in there with Ted.

Even Ted’s silhouette exuded anger while Rhys held his hands up defensively.

Snatches of their shouted exchange hit Lily’s ears, but she could only make out the odd word here and there. With the house set alone, there was no chance of neighbours coming to check what all the racket was about.

Ducking down again, Lily moved at an uncomfortable crouched run to the garden gate. She peered around, checking they were still focused on their argument before she bolted down the front path. Judging by the continued yelling, neither of them had spotted her. Beside the window, she could make out their words more clearly, at least when they weren’t both shouting at once.

“You can’t stay here,” Ted bellowed. “I can’t keep having this conversation.”

“How can you do this to me?” Rhys’s voice switched from anger to sorrow and Lily was certain he was crying. “Why are you doing this?”

“You know why?” Ted growled. “I don’t have a choice.”

“Fine, I’ll go then.”

Lily’s mind whirred, trying and failing to make sense of the conversation.

“I’ll go now and you’ll never see me again,” Rhys shouted tearfully. “None of you will.”

They fell silent for a moment, then Rhys said something Lily couldn’t make out.

“Get off me!” Rhys shouted. “Get off me! I hate you!”

A crash and the sound of something being smashed had Lily standing up straight. From her new angle, she couldn’t see anything that was happening inside, but Rhys clearly needed help and no one else was around to intervene.

She was standing at the door, pushing down her panic and trying to figure out the best approach, when it occurred to her that maybe the sensible course of action was to call the police.

Flynn’s voice in her head told her that was the right plan.

That would take time though, and with the sound of Rhys shouting at Ted to leave him alone, she didn’t have time to wait.

Compromising with the voice of caution in her head, she snatched her phone from her pocket, and wrote a one-word message to Flynn.

Help.

She sent him her live location and pushed the phone back in her pocket.

There, she was being sensible.

That’s what she told herself when she raised her hand to knock.

Lowering it again, she tried the door handle. With the door unlocked, she chose not to announce herself, but barged straight in.

The shouting had stopped, leaving the eerie sound of a teenager sobbing.

“Get off him,” Lily called as she burst into the living room to find Rhys on the couch crying hysterically into Ted’s chest.

It only took a fraction of a second for Lily to register that Ted wasn’t hurting his stepson. His arms wrapped around him were comforting, not harming. Broken glass lay beside the fireplace, but looked more like a tumbler had been knocked over rather than thrown.

Lily’s presence quietened Rhys’s cries immediately.

“What are you doing?” Ted asked her calmly.

“I heard shouting.” Her cheeks heated as it became clear that the scene probably wasn’t anything like as sinister as she’d thought. “I came to see what was going on,” she said, blundering on while her brain refused to accept it had probably made a substantial error in judgement.

“Did you follow me here?” Ted maintained his air of calm.

“Yes,” she said. “And it’s a good job I did because…” She looked at Rhys, who was avoiding her gaze, seemingly embarrassed as he wiped tears from his cheeks. There was nothing in his demeanour to suggest he felt threatened by his stepdad. In fact, he looked like a nervous kid keeping close to Ted and taking comfort from the protective arm around his shoulders. “What’s going on?” Lily asked, her brain clicking back into gear. “Do the police know you’re home?”

Rhys didn’t answer, but looked at Ted instead. “You can’t tell them,” he said, an edge of pleading to his voice.

“I have to tell your mum,” Ted said, an apology woven into the words.

A resigned look came over Rhys, but he didn’t respond.

Lily looked around the room, then into the hallway. “Whose house is this?”

“Mine,” Ted said.

“Yours?” Lily echoed. “But…”

“I just moved out.” Ted smiled sheepishly. “Yesterday, in fact.”

Lily felt the realisation dawn. That explained why Rhys ran away. It also shed some light on the shouted conversation she’d heard. Rhys pleading to stay there made more sense now.

“I stayed around for a long time for Rhys’s sake,” Ted said. “But in the end, I needed to get out.” He squeezed Rhys’s shoulder. “It’ll be better for you this way, too. You can come and hang out here, and you won’t have to listen to me and your mum arguing all the time.”

“But I want to live with you,” Rhys complained.

“There isn’t room.” Ted rubbed at his brow with the defeated look of a man who’d had the same conversation many times. “And your mum won’t let you.”

Rhys’s bottom lip quivered. “She said I can’t see you at all if you move out.”

“She only said that to get to me,” Ted told him, running an affectionate hand through his stepson’s hair. “She wouldn’t really stop you.”

Lily sank onto the arm of the chair as she felt the adrenaline rush subside. “So this is why you ran away?”

Ted looked at her with a hint of surprise, as though he’d forgotten she was there. “You really shouldn’t just let yourself into other people’s houses.”

“Sorry,” she said with a dramatic exhale. “I thought Rhys needed help.”

“I do need help.” Rhys wiped at his damp cheeks again. “I need you to let me stay here. I can’t go home.”

“We’ll talk to your mum,” Ted told him, “And the police. We’ll get this all figured out, okay?”

“What happened to your hand?” Lily asked, noticing the bloody gash across it.

“I need to clean that up,” Ted said, inspecting it before he stood.

“Wait,” Rhys grabbed at his hand to stop him. “You don’t understand.”

“Understand what?”

“I didn’t just run away.” His eyes darted between Ted and Lily. “Someone locked me in a tomb.”

Chapter Eighteen

Nothing was making sense. With Lily’s surprise at seeing Rhys, and at finding out his mum and stepdad had broken up, she’d forgotten all about the scene at the burial chamber. Now she couldn’t figure out how everything fit together.

“The police thought you’d played a prank,” Ted said, looking questioningly at his stepson. “Someone found food up in a tomb at Porth Hellick Down, and a note for you. The gate to the tomb was broken. There was blood on it.”

Rhys nodded furiously. “I found a note from Jessica on my desk. I thought it was weird that she didn’t just message me, but we’d argued, so I thought maybe it was some cute way to make up. I didn’t really question it. Not until I got there.”

“What happened?” Lily asked. “Who was there?”

“I don’t know. I had the torch on my phone, but I still couldn’t see much. The gate to the tomb was open. It seems stupid now that I went inside, but I wanted to see Jessica and sort things out between us. So I went to look in the tomb. Someone closed the gate and locked it. I could hear them moving around on top of the mound, above the entrance. I stuck my phone out, thinking I could shine the light on them. But they knocked it out of my hand.” Tears filled his eyes. “It was pitch black. Like really pitch black.”

“Jessica wrote the note,” Lily said, thinking aloud.

“I don’t think she did.” Slowly, Rhys shook his head. “I keep thinking about it and she wouldn’t do that. She hated the pranks so she wouldn’t play one herself.”

“Maybe she wanted to make a point,” Lily suggested.

Ted frowned. “I can’t imagine her doing that.”

“I really don’t think she sent the note,” Rhys said without much conviction.

“What about your friends?” Lily asked. “Maybe one of them did it.”

“Maybe.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I spent all day yesterday and today trying to think who would have done it and I can’t figure it out. We like to play jokes on each other, but it’s always harmless. I can’t imagine Max or Jory taking things this far.” He looked searchingly at Ted. “But I also can’t think who else might have done it.”

Lily leaned onto her knees. “Whoever did this left food and water in the tomb, which suggests they didn’t intend for you to come to any harm.”

“I didn’t see any food,” Rhys said, “But it was completely dark and I was too busy trying to get out.” He held his hand in front of him and picked at the dried blood. “The gate only hangs on the hinges, so I lifted it off, but I cut my hand on it.”

Ted rubbed at Rhys’s back. “I don’t understand why you didn’t come home when you got out.”

“Because I was freaked out. If it was a prank, then someone had taken things too far. I was worried they might do something else. But I wasn’t sure it was a prank. If it was a joke, they’d have laughed and let me out again. I thought that what I said to Lily might be true – that someone really is out to get me.”

Ted’s eyebrows drew together. “If you’d have come to me, I’d have helped you. Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“No.” Rhys rolled his shoulders and shrugged Ted off him. “I didn’t know you’d help me. You’re leaving me alone with Mum, so I sort of figured you didn’t care that much.”

Ted squeezed the bridge of his nose. “You know I care about you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re my son. I will always care about you.”

“Just not enough to stick around,” Rhys said bitterly.

“I can’t keep having this conversation.” Ted pulled his phone from his pocket. “I need to let your mum know you’re okay.”

“Don’t,” Rhys said. “I can’t deal with her. Or Dad. I’ll bet he says I have to go and live in Bristol with him now. If I see them, it’s just going to be more issues. I need to figure out who locked me in that tomb, not sit around arguing with my parents.”

“Everyone has been looking for you,” Ted told him.

With a sharp intake of breath, Lily eased her phone from her pocket. The messages from Flynn were initially questioning, then edged with irritation at her lack of response. The most recent messages had more of a concerned tone.

“He’s on his way,” she muttered.

“Who is?” Rhys asked.

“Flynn.” She chewed on her bottom lip while her fingers hovered over the keypad and her mind fought for the best way to explain the situation and put a stop to his worrying.

“Flynn?” Ted lifted a questioning eyebrow.

Lily gave a quick shake of her head. “PC Granger. I heard shouting and came rushing in here. Before that, I sent him my location and told him I needed help.”

“Did you say anything about me?” Rhys was on his feet. “Does he know I’m here?”

“No, but––”

“I have to go before he gets here.” Rhys cut her off and moved towards the hallway. “If he finds me, he’ll take me back to Mum.” His eyes went pleadingly to Ted. “I’m not going home. Not now. Someone is out to get me and Mum won’t take it seriously. She’ll say it’s stupid kids’ stuff. All I’ll get from her is a lecture.”

Ted was on his feet too, holding up his hands as though concerned that Rhys was about to bolt.

“Your mum might not be the most sensitive person,” he said, taking tentative steps towards him. “But she loves you and she’s worried about you. She needs to know you’re okay. Also, we need to clean up that cut on your hand. You need to eat something. And sleep. You can’t think straight if you haven’t slept.”

Rhys flicked his tongue along the corner of his mouth, looking entirely torn. Clearly, his first choice would be to stay and let Ted take care of him. But Lily suspected the desire for comfort was overshadowed by the idea of having to deal with his warring biological parents.

“I need to go before the copper gets here.” Rhys looked into the hallway as though continuing to weigh his options.

Ted’s pleading gaze went to Lily. “How about we tell PC Granger I saw Rhys and spoke to him, but that he took off again? Then everyone will know he’s fine, but he can have some time to rest before he has to face questions.”

Lily looked at her phone and the frenzied messages from Flynn. “I can’t lie to him,” she said, more to herself than anything.

“I’m going again then,” Rhys said, his voice brittle as though it was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Wait,” Ted said loudly, an outstretched hand pleading with Rhys not to move. “Just give him some time,” he said to Lily. “Please. If he leaves again now, that cut on his hand will end up infected, and this whole situation will be way worse. Let him stay here and rest.”

“Please,” Rhys added. “I’m hungry, and I want to sleep. And I can’t deal with anything else.”

Lily pressed her palm against her forehead, the decision feeling impossible.

The creak of the garden gate had them all looking towards the window, not that they could see the front path through the curtains.

“Hide in the bedroom,” Ted instructed Rhys.

“She’s going to tell him,” Rhys said nervously. “I need to leave.”

“She won’t tell him.” Ted pointed across the hall. “Trust me. Hide and we’ll get rid of him. Then I’ll make you something to eat and I’ll clean your hand up. Just don’t leave again. Please.”

Rhys looked at Lily, his eyes wild as the sound of banging on the door started.

She gave a resigned nod, and Rhys rushed away.

Chapter Nineteen

As Flynn’s fist hammered furiously against the door, he resisted the urge to kick it in. He didn’t know whose house it was, but Lily’s live location told him she was in there.

What the hell had she got herself into now?

And why hadn’t she replied to his messages? What had happened that she’d only had time to write a one-word message?

Help.

That one word had made his heart pound, and it hadn’t stopped since. It was his police instincts that had him jumping straight into action. If someone needed help, he’d always jump into a situation without regard for his own safety.

Except, this felt different to a standard call. It wasn’t just the usual adrenaline rush. Now, he felt a blind fear that he’d seldom felt in the field.

But then he wasn’t usually called to help people he knew. Of course it felt different.

Also, he didn’t have the comfort of his uniform and his radio and the rest of his kit. He hadn’t even contemplated getting them. When Lily hadn’t responded to his messages, his only thought was to get to her.

Since no one was answering the door, he checked his phone one last time. According to the blinking dot on the screen, Lily was still inside.

His instincts warred, telling him to kick the door in, while also whispering that he couldn’t go around kicking doors in.

He sucked in a deep breath and tried the handle.

The door clicked open, and he called out for Lily as he pushed it.

“What the hell?” he blurted out at the sight of her in the hallway. She looked a little pale and her eyes didn’t have her usual assuredness, but she appeared to be fine. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He glared at her. Instead of feeling relieved, he was furious.

“What was your message all about?” He moved inside. “Whose house is this?”

Ted Johnson stepped into the hallway behind Lily. “It’s mine.”

“What’s going on?” Flynn growled at Lily through his confusion. “Why did you send me that message? I thought you were in danger?” His gaze slid to Mr Johnson, trying to figure out what he’d walked into.

“My fault,” Ted said with a smile. “I had my TV on too loud. Lily was passing and thought someone was fighting in here.”

Flynn looked at Lily, searching her features and waiting for her to reassure him that everything was okay.

The weak smile she offered gave no such reassurance.

“It was totally embarrassing,” she said with none of her trademark confidence. “I came barging in here. I thought maybe it was something to do with Rhys.”

“You didn’t reply to my messages,” Flynn pointed out. Once she’d realised there was no danger, she could have let him know.

“I was busy apologising to Ted.” Her eyes darted to Mr Johnson, who flashed her a reassuring smile. For a man who’d never smiled in Flynn’s interactions with him, he was suddenly incredibly amiable. Lily inhaled deeply. “And then Ted told me he’s seen Rhys. He’s okay.”

“Is he at home?” Flynn asked. “Have the police been informed?” He felt his brow crease to a frown. “Did you just say this is your house?” he asked Ted, confused by the whole situation.

“I’m renting it,” Ted replied brightly. “Just moved in yesterday.”

“Did you tell Sergeant Proctor that?”

“He knows that Mandy and I have been having problems. The marriage has been over for a while really, but it took me some time to find somewhere affordable.”

“It puts a new light on Rhys’s disappearance. Presumably it was the separation that made him run away?” Flynn shook his head, realising he was asking too many questions without waiting for the answers. “Where’s Rhys now?”

“He took off again,” Ted said. “At least we know he’s okay.”

“Does his mother know he’s okay?”

“I need to call her.” Ted smiled again; an annoyingly cheery grin plastered on his face. “I was just about to when Lily arrived.”

“Right.” Except most people didn’t have their TV blaring when they were about to make a phone call. “Where were you when you spoke to Rhys?”

“Down by the harbour. I was checking on my boat and he popped up. He was waiting for me.”

“Why did he take off again?” Something felt off to Flynn, though he wasn’t sure why the guy would lie.

“He thinks someone is after him,” Lily said, cutting Ted off when he started to speak. “He told Ted that someone locked him in that tomb.”

“The poor lad is terrified,” Ted went on. “He won’t come home until he knows who lured him out there. I don’t really blame him for wanting to stay hidden.”

Lily’s eyes glimmered with determination. “We need to find out who sent Rhys that note and why they trapped him in a burial chamber.”

Flynn’s eyes landed on Lily. “We?”

“You,” she said quickly. “The police. You know what I mean.”

The fact that she was avoiding eye contact with him hadn’t gone unnoticed, and he couldn’t help but think that he didn’t have the full picture of what was going on.

“I’ll need you to come to the station,” Flynn said to Ted. “We need to get all the details of exactly what happened with Rhys and what he said to you. Why don’t you come down in half an hour?” That would give Flynn time to get in uniform and update the sergeant, too. No doubt he’d want to interview Mr Johnson himself.

“I’m more than happy to,” Ted said. “We need to get this mess sorted out. I’m sure it was probably a prank that went too far, but whoever’s responsible needs to be held accountable. Imagine being locked in a dark chamber that was once someone’s grave. There’s no wonder Rhys is so nervous.”

“Did he give you an inkling of where he’s hiding out?”

“No, but he’s a smart kid. He’ll have something figured out. I got the impression he’ll resurface again soon.” His shoulders rose and fell as he heaved a sigh. “I’m just happy he’s safe and well.”

“Yeah.” But Flynn could have sworn the man was lying, or at least hiding something. “I’ll see you at the station in half an hour. Are you heading home?” he asked Lily.

“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “I’ll walk with you.”

They remained quiet as they left. Flynn only spoke when they were well away from the house.

“That was weird,” he muttered.

“What?” Lily asked too quickly.

Lots of it was weird. Most of it was.

“Did you know he lived there?” he asked. Surely it wasn’t a coincidence that the house she’d been passing was Ted Johnson’s. Especially since it was at the end of a quiet lane. No one would be passing.

“No.” She grimaced. “I was following him. I tried to peek in the window, then I heard shouting. That’s when I messaged you. Sorry if I panicked you. I should have messaged you again, but I got too caught up with everything Ted had to say.”

Flynn nodded slowly. His gut told him she was lying. The idea of which really shouldn’t make him so angry since he’d only known her a couple of weeks. It wasn’t as though they were best mates or anything.

What did it matter if she was lying to him?

He stopped and turned back to stare at the house. How long had he banged on the door for? Admittedly, he’d been agitated, so maybe it had only felt like a long time, but he didn’t think so.

Why hadn’t they come to the door straightaway?

The answer hit him with absolute certainty.

Rhys was in the house.

They hadn’t come to the door because they were busy getting him out of sight.

“Flynn,” Lily said quietly, her hand on his arm drawing his attention.

“I think I should go back,” he said.

Her eyes flashed with panic. “Why?”

“Something’s not right. He was lying.” Mr Johnson had been, and so had Lily. He was certain of it. He just needed to figure out why.

Was she lying to protect Rhys somehow? Or was she lying because Mr Johnson had threatened her? Either scenario felt plausible.

“I don’t think so,” Lily said.

He looked her right in the eyes, sure he could find the information he needed there. “Should I be concerned about Mr Johnson?” he asked, a gravity to his tone that he hoped would entice her to tell the truth now even if she hadn’t earlier.

“No.” She shook her head and her hand loosened on his forearm. “Definitely not. He really cares about Rhys.”

Now he believed her. And if Rhys was in the house and wasn’t in any danger from his stepfather, there must be another reason Lily had kept the information from Flynn.

He just needed to trust that her reasons were sound.

“My gut is telling me to go back there,” he told her.

She shook her head again. “I need you to walk me home. It’s dark and I’ve been feeling kind of twitchy with all that’s happened in the last couple of weeks.” She was back to lying again, but now she didn’t even seem to care that she wasn’t remotely convincing.

“Come on,” she said, leading the way. “Walk me home and then you can go and interview Ted. After that, you can get to work figuring out who locked Rhys in that tomb. And why.”

Against his better judgement, Flynn continued along the road with her.

Chapter Twenty

Only when she’d wished Flynn goodnight and was alone in her flat did Lily feel as though she could breathe properly again. The unlived-in space was utterly depressing, and she went to the bedroom since the inflatable mattress was the most enticing thing in the flat. It sank further than she expected when she laid down. She’d need to put some more air in it before she went to sleep, but for now, she couldn’t bring herself to move.

At Ted Johnson’s place, she hadn’t had time to properly consider the best course of action, but with a little distance, she suspected they’d done the right thing. Rhys needed food and rest, not more stress. After he’d had a good night’s sleep, he could go back to his mum.

Lying to Flynn had been the right thing to do for Rhys.

It felt horrible. Lily had to keep reminding herself why she’d done it. Even then, she couldn’t quite dislodge the knot in her stomach.

Surely, he’d understand, though. Once Rhys was back home, Lily could explain it all to Flynn and he’d understand.

Hopefully.

With Seren and Kit not around, Lily felt as though Flynn was her only friend on the island, and she hated the thought of losing his friendship.

Pulling her phone from her pocket, she went into her messages with Seren. Impulsively, she typed out a few words, asking if she was feeling better. As soon as she hit send, she felt her stomach flood with anxiety. Reaching out felt like making herself too vulnerable. As though she was admitting how much she craved Seren’s friendship. Which left the nerve-wracking possibility of being rejected.

Maybe she should contact Kit and make sure he wasn’t annoyed with her about the shop. It would feel weird though, since she was sure she was overthinking things. She didn’t know him well, but she couldn’t imagine him holding a grudge over that.

Her mind drifted back to Flynn and her insides felt heavier still.

No matter what was going on with Rhys, she’d tell Flynn the truth soon, and explain why she’d lied.

Pulling her mind from her self-pity, she decided the most productive thing to do was try to figure out who had locked Rhys in the tomb.

With a jolt of energy, she sat up, wobbling on the mattress until she abandoned trying to get comfy and opted to sit on the floor with her back to the wall.

On her phone, she made a list of suspects. Five names now since she’d eliminated Ted.

Then she let her mind go wild, considering each possibility.

As Flynn expected, the sergeant took over the interview with Mr Johnson. It was probably for the best since Flynn struggled to concentrate. When he did manage to focus on what Mr Johnson was saying, all Flynn could think was that it was a lot of lies.

Ted didn’t give much more information than he’d given to Flynn earlier, other than mentioning a cut on Rhys’s hand, which he said hadn’t looked too serious. It explained the blood on the gate, anyway.

Back at his flat, he got changed out of his uniform and felt restless. He itched to message Lily, or go over there and demand answers from her. There wasn’t any point though, since he knew he wouldn’t get anything more out of her.

It shouldn’t bother him so much – the thought of her keeping things from him – but it did.

When the walls felt as though they were closing in on him, he grabbed his jacket and headed out of the door. The pub would be closing in an hour, but that was one less hour to sit around feeling sorry for himself.

It was the young, sandy-haired guy serving on the bar. A member of the Treneary family, if Flynn had it right. His brother Kit drove the tourist train, and another brother had a pottery studio that was something of a tourist attraction. Flynn was sure there were a few more Trenearys on the islands too. Not that he was particularly interested.

He wasn’t in the mood for chatting with the bar staff. Not that he ever was. He was only glad it wasn’t the red head serving, so he didn’t have to suffer her judgemental looks.

He’d just ordered a pint when he spotted a group of three women chatting further along the bar. From their London accents, he gathered they were only visiting the islands.

They were the kind of people he would happily socialise with.

People he never had to see again.

“Can I buy you ladies a drink?” he asked when he caught them looking his way.

“Yes, please,” the dark-haired one replied, offering a flirty smile as she moved closer to him.

An hour and several drinks later, he escorted her back to her hotel room and killed another pleasant couple of hours there.

It was exactly the distraction he needed.

Chapter Twenty-One

Lily wasn’t at all surprised to find Ted on her doorstep the next morning.

“How’s Rhys?” she asked as he followed her past the ice cream machines and up to the flat.

“He ate like a horse and slept for ten hours. Then he got up for breakfast and went straight back to bed. He’s exhausted.”

“Is his hand okay?” In the kitchen, the lack of chairs made her self-conscious. A table would be a pleasant asset, too.

“Fine.” Ted glanced around the small space. “It was only superficial. I cleaned the wound and covered it.”

“That’s good. I can offer you tea or coffee,” she said, switching the kettle on. “But I’m afraid there’s nowhere to sit.”

“I forgot you only just moved here. Finding furniture isn’t a simple task over here, is it?”

“No.” She smiled. “Tea or coffee?”

“Neither thanks. I don’t want to leave Rhys alone for long. I just wanted to thank you for last night.”

“It seemed as though it was probably for the best.” She didn’t like to think about how hard it had been to lie to Flynn. She only hoped he’d forgive her whenever the time came for her to explain. “You’re a very convincing liar,” she said to Ted. It had shocked her how genuine he’d sounded when speaking to Flynn.

His previously friendly demeanour slipped away. “I couldn’t have him finding Rhys and scaring him off again. I’d only just got him back.”

“I know. I was only surprised by how easy it seemed for you to lie to a police officer.” She didn’t know what point she was trying to make, or why she seemed intent on antagonising him. Maybe because it had been so difficult for her to lie to Flynn, and it seemed like no effort at all to him.

“Biologically, he’s not my son,” Ted said, tension leaving his features as he leaned against the counter. “But I’ve been with his mum since he was six. We’ve lived in the same house since he was seven. Since then, I’ve spent way more time with the lad than either of his biological parents.” A pained expression crept over his face. “He’s my kid. I’m his dad. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him safe. So, no, I didn’t have any reservations about lying yesterday. I’ll continue to lie to whoever I need to until I figure out who locked Rhys in that dungeon.”

A lump wedged itself in Lily’s throat as her uncle came to mind. He’d been her Ted. Not a biological parent, but the person who would do whatever it took to keep her safe and happy. In that moment, she missed him so much she thought she might drop to the floor and weep.

She moved to make herself a cup of tea, to avoid the intensity of her feelings. “How are you going to figure out who did it?”

Ted’s smile was clear in the cadence of his voice. “I was hoping you might help. There’s no one else I can talk to, and I’m stumped.”

“You know I’m not actually a private investigator? That was just Rhys joking around.”

“Everyone says you figured out what happened with that guy who died on the cliffs.”

“That was a one-off. I was in the right place at the right time.” She frowned as she poured hot water over the tea bag. “Or the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Kind of like this thing with Rhys,” Ted pointed out.

“I really don’t know what I can do to help.”

Turning, she found Ted staring at her. “Please,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “What do you want me to do?”

“For now, just talk it through with me. I can’t get any of it straight in my head.”

“I know that feeling.” She added milk to her tea and rested against the counter. “Who do you think is the most likely suspect?”

“I’m honestly not sure. The note would suggest Jessica, but then I think it probably can’t be.”

“Why not?”

“For one thing, she just doesn’t seem the type. But it also doesn’t make sense that she’d have signed the note from herself. If it was her, why leave evidence?”

“What if she only wanted to play a trick, but when Rhys freaked out, she panicked and it got out of hand?”

“Maybe, but Rhys is convinced it wasn’t her. I hope he’s right. She’s been good for him. I’d hate to see how he reacts if it turns out she did this.”

Lily twisted her lips to one side. “Did you know that one of Rhys’s friends has a crush on Jessica?”

“Jory?” He huffed out a laugh. “There are practically love hearts dancing around his head whenever he’s near her. I reckon everyone’s aware of his feelings.” He shrugged. “Rhys definitely knows. He feels sorry for Jory. I think most people do.”

“From what I’ve gathered, Jory thinks he has a chance with Jessica, if only Rhys was out of the picture.”

“Jory’s a bit odd, but I don’t think he’s completely delusional. I also don’t think he’d harm Rhys. They’ve been friends since they were toddlers.”

“I’m not suggesting he was trying to hurt him.” Lily pondered the situation some more before voicing her thoughts. “Jory heard Jessica say that if Rhys played one more prank, she’d split up with him…”

Ted tilted his head. “You think Jory tried to make it look like Rhys was setting up another social media post?”

“It would have been pretty badly executed, but it kind of makes sense.”

Ted shook his head. “Jory’s scared of his own shadow. No way he’d creep around a burial site at night.”

“Maybe he’d be brave enough if he thought it might lead to something with Jessica.”

“It just doesn’t ring true.”

“Okay. What about Rhys’s other friend, Max? I heard his hat was in Rhys’s room after Rhys went missing…”

Ted shrugged. “They’re always borrowing each other’s stuff. There’s probably a lot more of Max’s stuff around Rhys’s room too. I don’t think it means anything. Also, those two are best friends, always have been. Even after…” He rubbed at his forehead and refused to make eye contact, as though Lily might not notice that he’d been about to say something.

“Even after what?” she asked, in a tone meant to convey that she wouldn’t be fobbed off.

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

Lily threw her hands up. “You were the one who wanted my help,” she pointed out. “If you won’t––”

“Okay!” He raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender, then exhaled loudly. “Mandy cheated on me a while back. With Max’s dad.”

Shocked, Lily slapped a hand over her mouth. That explained why Max stormed off the beach. “How long ago was that?” she asked.

“A few months.” Ted continued to rub at his forehead. “I think Rhys felt some sort of second-hand guilt. Which is a lot more than his mother felt.”

“What happened?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Honestly, our marriage was over a long time ago, so I mostly just found the whole thing embarrassing. As far as I know, it wasn’t going on for long, but Mandy made a scene in the pub one day. She bumped into Max’s parents and flipped out when she saw them together. That’s how Max’s mum found out about it. Along with the rest of the island.”

“Is that how you found out?”

He shook his head. “I found out the next day when Rhys came home and asked his mum if it was true. Some kids at school had been talking about it.”

“Wow,” Lily whispered.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “That was when I decided to move out. There was no pretending for Rhys’s sake after that.”

“That must have made things really hard for Rhys and Max.”

He nodded. “Rhys was mortified. He was so angry with Mandy, and terrified that Max wouldn’t be friends with him any more. I spoke to him about it – told him he needed to talk it through with Max.” He smiled sadly. “It was awful for Max. His mum kicked his dad out, and he ended up moving over to the mainland.”

“Pretty traumatic for Max, then?”

“Yeah, but I was proud of him and Rhys. They talked it through. Max said he didn’t want to lose his best mate and his dad. He didn’t blame Rhys or take it out on him.” He rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “But now I wonder…”

“If it was all a bit too easy?”

“Which teenager is that level-headed? Especially about something which completely disrupts their life.”

“Maybe he was biding his time until he could get back at Rhys. Not that Rhys had done anything, obviously, but it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to think that Max could have had some misplaced anger.”

“I hope that’s not the case.” Ted looked pained by the thought of it. “I suppose it makes sense, though.”

Lily massaged the back of her neck. “What about Rhys’s dad? What’s he like?” In the five minutes that she’d met him, she hadn’t been sure what to make of him.

“Pompous and full of hot air. He likes to complain about the way Mandy is raising Rhys. But he likes to do it from a distance.”

“Mandy said he’s been wanting Rhys to live with him?”

“He’s been saying that for years. I reckon it’s quite convenient that Rhys doesn’t want to live with him. He can seem well-intentioned without ever having to do anything about it.”

“Okay,” Lily mused. “But let’s say he wanted Rhys to live with him. Genuinely.”

Ted smiled. “You think he came over for the weekend and somehow lured Rhys out to Porth Hellick Down so he could lock his own kid in a tomb?”

“I hope it’s not the case… but it would certainly give him a good case for taking Rhys to live with him.”

Ted growled. “I don’t particularly like the guy, but I struggle to believe he’s capable of that.”

“And Rhys’s mum?” Lily asked. “Is she capable of it? Because she seems a little unstable.”

“She’s unstable alright, but that’s all directed at me. She’d never hurt Rhys.”

“Does she have an alcohol problem?”

“Yes.” He eyed her warily. “And when she tries to get it under control, which is pretty regularly, it’s always because she wants to be a better mother, or she feels she’s letting Rhys down.”

“She is letting him down though, isn’t she?”

“She loves her son,” Ted said, an edge of defensiveness to his tone. “If there’s one good thing I can say about her, it’s that she loves Rhys. Maybe she’s not great at showing it, but she does.” His eyes misted over. “She wasn’t always like she is now. When I met her, she was a different woman entirely. She doted on Rhys and that hasn’t changed. Not deep down.”

“And yet you haven’t told her he’s safe and well.”

“I’ve told her that I’ve seen him and that he’s okay.”

“Just not where he is?”

“I’ll tell her today,” he said. “I didn’t want Rhys to bolt again, but I’ll talk to him later. Once he’s caught up on sleep, he’ll be more reasonable. I only wish I could figure everything out before then.” He straightened up, as though gearing up to leave. “Would you speak to Rhys’s friends again? They clam up when I talk to them, but maybe they’d be more open with you. You’re a lot closer to their age than I am.”

“I can try,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t know where to find them, though.”

“There’s a football match this afternoon. Rhys was supposed to be playing.”

They exchanged numbers so he could send her the details, then they walked downstairs together.

In the shop, his eyes went to the pile of old tables and chairs in the middle of the room.

“Do you want me to help you carry some of that upstairs?” he asked.

She frowned as she looked at the dust covered furniture which she’d half-heartedly cleaned around. “They’re really old and gross. I need to figure out how to dispose of them.”

“They’re stainless steel. Give them a wash and they’ll be fine. That way, you’ll have a place to sit in your kitchen.”

“They’re probably twenty years old. Maybe more. As far as I know, they’ve spent most of that time collecting dust.”

He swiped a hand over a tabletop. “Once you remove twenty years’ worth of dust, they’ll be fine.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Could I also use them for the shop instead of ordering new stuff?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“You’re sure it’s not a health hazard?”

He chuckled. “Not if you clean them well.” Effortlessly, he lifted a small round table. “I’ll take one upstairs for you. Bring a couple of chairs.”

She did as she was told, then wondered why she hadn’t investigated whether they could be given a new lease on life. Maybe because she was avoiding thinking too much about the ice cream shop. She hadn’t even visited Mr Greaves yet to sign the paperwork.

After depositing the table and chairs in the kitchen, Lily walked back downstairs with Ted. At the door, he promised to be in touch.

Lily stepped outside when he left, glancing along the promenade, and catching sight of Flynn standing outside the cafe with a takeaway mug in his hand. He tipped his chin at Ted as he passed, then caught Lily’s eye. In his uniform, he always looked more self-assured. Walking towards her now, he had that air of self-confidence. Lily’s insides twisted as she recalled how she’d lied to him the previous evening.

“Morning,” he said as he neared her. He barely smiled, his features set in a frown and his eyes weary, as though he hadn’t got enough sleep. “What was he doing here?” he asked, flicking his thumb in Ted’s direction.

“He helped me move a table and chairs up to the kitchen,” she said, forcing an insincere smile. “Did you know that stainless steel furniture lasts for decades?”

He gave a dismissive shake of the head. “Did he have anything else to say about Rhys?”

“No,” she said weakly.

His stance was imposing as he stared at her. Could he tell she was lying? She suspected so, and she hated it. Hated the way he was looking at her, as though he didn’t trust her.

“I think he knows things he’s not telling us.” He waited, then continued when Lily didn’t respond. “It makes it very difficult for us to do our job if people hide things, or lie to us.”

She nodded. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything else,” she said, then glanced behind her. “I need to go and clean furniture.”

The intensity of his gaze was painful, and she was tempted to tell him the truth. He said a curt goodbye and walked away. Lily remained rooted to the spot, watching him leave and feeling awful.

She wanted to call him back and tell him the truth. There was no reason she shouldn’t. Rhys would be back home by the end of the day, anyway.

What was she achieving by keeping it from Flynn?

It didn’t take her long to reflect on her own motives. She enjoyed the feeling of being needed, and of having a purpose.

And as improbable as it was, she truly believed she had a better chance of getting to the bottom of things than the police. They had to follow procedure, whereas she could do whatever she wanted, and didn’t have to answer to anyone.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Not overly thrilled by the idea of watching a bunch of teenagers run around a football pitch, Lily purposely arrived towards the end of the game. A few parents made up the sprinkling of spectators on the side-lines. Plus a gaggle of teenage girls, and then Jory and Jessica, standing away from everyone else. Lily walked straight over to the two of them.

“How’s the match?” she asked.

Jessica blinked as though coming out of a daydream. “I can’t even concentrate on it. I don’t know why I’m here. It feels wrong when we still don’t know where Rhys is.”

“Better than sitting alone in your bedroom,” Jory said, a protective hand resting in the centre of her back. “You’ll go crazy if you just sit around imagining what could have happened to him. He’s bound to reappear soon, anyway.”

Ignoring Jory’s reassurances, Jessica looked at Lily. “Rhys is really dedicated to the football team. I suppose I hoped he might be here, but watching them play without him makes it all real.” As tears filled her eyes, Jory slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “I just want him to come home,” she sniffed. “All I can think about is how angry I was the last time I saw him. I want to take it all back.”

Lily opened her mouth to offer a few sympathetic words, but Jory beat her to it.

“You had every right to be angry,” he said, rubbing at her upper arm. “The pranks were getting out of hand and he and Max were being immature. Of course you had a go at him. He deserved it.”

“I wouldn’t break up with him, though, not really.”

Lily paid careful attention to Jory’s reaction to that statement. Could she detect a flash of disappointment in his eyes, or was she seeing what she wanted to see? Because from where she was standing, it seemed as though Jory was using his friend’s disappearance to get close to Jessica.

The thought was a little disturbing and Lily really hoped he was merely being a supportive friend to Jessica with no agenda. But then Jessica snuggled closer into Jory’s embrace and she could have sworn he sniffed her hair.

“Did someone score?” Jessica asked, eyes travelling to the other end of the pitch, where the players appeared to have halted play.

“Don’t think so,” Jory muttered.

Whatever had happened seemed to be an issue off the pitch rather than on it. The other spectators had merged into a huddle, some looking at their phones and some chatting animatedly. A couple of people walked on to the pitch, ignoring the frustrated voice of the referee.

With the players clearly distracted, the ref apparently took control in the only way he could and blew the whistle for full time.

“What’s going on?” Jessica whispered, drifting away from Jory.

From across the pitch, Max stepped away from his teammates. Grinning, he aimed a thumbs up in Jessica’s direction.

“It’s Rhys, isn’t it?” Jessica said breathlessly, despite being too far away to converse with Max. “He’s fine, right?” She swung around to Jory, who had his phone in his hand, eyes scanning the screen.

“He’s back,” he said, a small smile lifting his lips. “His mum posted on social media just now. He’s safe and well at home.”

“Thank god!” Jessica’s hands went to her chest. “What happened? Where’s he been?”

“It doesn’t say.” Jory beamed at her. “His mum just said he’s home and thanked everyone for their support.”

“That’s amazing.” She flung her arms around Jory. “I’m going to kill him!” she said, laughing through tears as she moved to hug Lily. “But I’m so happy he’s okay.”

Lily smiled at Jessica’s obvious relief.

“Did you hear?” Max called out, jogging over to them.

“Yes!” Jessica replied, her elation palpable. “We have to go and see him.”

Max nodded. “I’ll grab my bag. Give me one minute.”

“I can’t believe it,” Jessica said, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I kept telling myself everything would be fine, but my mind was imagining all sorts of horrible things.” She reached for Jory’s hand and squeezed it. “Where do you think he’s been?”

“I don’t know. We’ll go and find out.” His smile widened. “Hey, do you reckon he’s turned his phone back on?”

“Good question.” Jessica pulled her phone from her back pocket.

“There’s no point,” Lily said without thinking. “His phone is lost.”

“How do you know?” Jessica said, jabbing at the phone screen. “If he took off of his own accord, I guess he only turned it off. Which I will kill him for, by the way…” With her phone to her ear, she trailed off and Lily waited for her to say it was still going to voicemail.

“It’s ringing,” she said, eyes lighting up.

“Are we going?” Max said, walking back out of the clubhouse. “You’ll have to put up with me stinking. I can’t be bothered to shower. I just want to see Rhys.”

“I was just trying to call him,” Jessica said limply. Moving the phone from her ear, she kept her gaze on Max. “Is that your phone ringing?”

“As if I ever have my phone on loud!” He pulled it from his pocket as proof, then glanced behind him at the bustle outside the clubhouse.

With her piercing gaze fixed on Max, Jessica held her phone out to Jory. “Hold that,” she instructed, before taking two strides to Max. She pulled his bag from his shoulder and dropped it to the ground.

“What are you doing?” Max asked, but didn’t move to stop her when she unzipped one pocket and then another. As she opened the smaller side pocket, the ring tone grew louder.

Jessica’s expression was pure rage when she pulled a phone from the bag.

“What the hell are you doing with Rhys’s phone?”

Chapter Twenty-Three

For a moment, an entire conversation played out with no one uttering a single word. The looks shooting between the three friends spoke volumes. Jessica was all accusation, while Max’s features were full of puzzlement. Jory had taken a small step back, eyes flashing with fascination. A bucket of popcorn wouldn’t look out of place in his hands.

“Did you and Rhys cook this up together?” Jessica demanded, shoving the phone accusingly at Max.

Max stared blankly at the phone in his hand. “Cook what up?”

“It’s all one of your stupid jokes, isn’t it?”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” Max said. “I don’t know how the phone got into my bag.”

Lily frowned as she looked at Max. “The person who locked Rhys in the tomb took his phone from him.”

All eyes turned to her.

“How do you know that?” Jessica asked suspiciously.

She shook her head, remembering that she had more information than they did. “He turned up at Ted’s place last night. He’s been keeping a low profile because someone really did lock him in a tomb.”

“As a prank?” Jessica’s eyes bounced to Max and then back to Lily.

“He doesn’t know if it was a prank or if someone has some kind of vendetta against him.”

Jessica sucked in an audible breath. “So he was actually at home last night and he didn’t bother to tell me?”

“He wasn’t in the best of shape,” Lily said.

Panic flashed in Jessica’s eyes. “He’s okay, though?”

“Physically, yes. He’s pretty freaked out by the whole thing.”

“I can imagine.” She swung around, snatching at Rhys’s phone and starting towards the clubhouse. “What kind of person locks their friend in a tomb?” she growled over her shoulder.

“I didn’t,” Max said helplessly. “I swear I didn’t.” When he looked to Jory, his friend only shrugged.

“You have his phone,” he pointed out. “And Rhys’s mum said she found your cap in his room, too.”

“I lost it. Rhys must have borrowed it without telling me.”

“What about the phone?” Jory said.

“I don’t know about the phone,” Max said. “Maybe Rhys put it there.”

Jory frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know. He was the one who was obsessed with the pranks.”

“He’d hardly lock himself in a tomb,” Jory said, then walked away.

Max chased after him, insisting he had no idea how the phone had ended up in his bag. Following Jessica’s lead, Jory pulled his bike from the rack. They were too far away for Lily to hear them now, but she assumed they were planning on riding over to Rhys’s house. After Jessica and Jory rode away, Max looked momentarily lost. Then he pulled out his bike and set off after them.

Lily lingered by the clubhouse while she pondered what to do.

There wasn’t much she could do.

Except warn Ted that three riled up teenagers were heading in Rhys’s direction.

Technically, Flynn shouldn’t even be on duty any more. He’d been all set to head home when Ted Johnson called to say that Rhys had turned up again and was now safely at home with his mother.

He’d expected the sergeant to turn down his offer to tag along with him to speak to the family, but he’d reluctantly agreed, muttering about it being good for Flynn to get more experience of policing in a small community.

In the uncomfortably small living room at the Johnson’s house, the sergeant held court, standing beside the mantelpiece. Flynn hung back, perching on the windowsill to listen to Rhys’s account of the events of the previous few days.

“He’s not in any trouble, is he?” Mandy Johnson asked once Rhys had explained everything.

“No,” Sergeant Proctor replied. “We’re just happy he’s safe.”

Rhys’s father, Ian, shook his head – an action he’d been doing a lot since they arrived. “Will you be having a word with his friends? This whole prank situation has got out of control and someone needs to make that clear. It’s got to stop.”

“Someone should definitely have a word with Max,” Mandy said, taking her son’s hand and squeezing it. “A harmless prank is one thing, but leaving you so scared that you didn’t even feel you could come home is something else entirely. You need to stay away from him from now on.”

“Max wouldn’t do that.” Rhys chewed on his bottom lip, eyes glimmering with uncertainty.

“Then why was his cap in your room?” his mum asked.

Rhys only shook his head, and Flynn waited for the sergeant to push the subject. When he didn’t, Flynn cleared his throat, reminding them of his presence.

“Max thought you might have borrowed his hat,” he said, looking questioningly at Rhys. “Is that right?”

“I don’t know.” He left his lip alone and chewed on a thumbnail instead.

“Surely that’s something you’d remember,” the sergeant said.

He shrugged. “I don’t think I borrowed it.”

“Maybe he left it when he’s been over here,” Flynn suggested.

“He hasn’t been over in ages.” Rhys looked at the floor. “Not for months. And I know I didn’t borrow his cap because he told me the other day that he’d lost it somewhere. It’s a new one, and he was annoyed. I wouldn’t have taken his brand-new cap. But…” He scrubbed at his face. “I just can’t believe Max would do that. He’s my best friend.”

The sergeant patted the end of the mantelpiece. “I think we’ll arrange a school visit. Hold an assembly to address pranks and bullying.”

Rhys buried his face in his hands. “Do you have to? School’s going to be embarrassing enough as it is with everyone asking me questions.”

“I’ll make it a general conversation,” the sergeant said, shifting his weight. “I won’t mention you specifically.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “And no one’s going to figure that one out, are they?” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“He’s trying to help,” Ted said, the first time he’d spoken since they’d got there. “Show a bit of respect, will you?”

“Who knows if you’re even going back to school here anyway,” Ian put in. “Your mother and I have been talking seriously about you coming to live with me.”

“Well, you can talk about it all you want,” Rhys sneered. “I’m not going and you can’t make me.”

“We’ll discuss it later,” his mum said, rubbing his back. “I’ve only just got you back, so I can’t imagine losing you again, but something needs to change. You must be able to see that.”

“I’m not leaving St Mary’s,” he said firmly.

A collective sigh seemed to hang in the air while Sergeant Proctor wrapped things up. Rhys immediately disappeared up to his bedroom while Mandy and Ian showed Flynn and the sergeant to the door. Ted was too caught up with his phone to even bother saying goodbye.

“What do you make of all that?” the sergeant asked once they were back in the car.

In the passenger seat, Flynn clicked his seatbelt into place and hid his surprise at being asked his opinion.

“Hard to say. It seems likely that one of Rhys’s friends was just mucking around and it all went a bit far.”

The sergeant nodded as he pulled the car away down the road. “I’m inclined to agree. Max’s cap in Rhys’s room seems like a big enough clue. I might speak to Max again – not that I imagine he’ll admit to anything. He’s been having a rough time of it lately, so it’s not overly surprising that he’s acting out. His dad left the island after rumours that he had an affair with Rhys’s mum.”

Flynn’s eyebrows rose, and he was about to suggest that he could have mentioned that earlier when movement in the rear-view mirror caught his eye.

“Stop for a sec,” he said, turning in his seat to look back at the Johnson’s house where Rhys’s girlfriend and friend had just skidded to a stop on their bikes. “They’re in a rush,” he mumbled.

Jessica let her bike fall to the ground and hurried to the door.

“They’ll be eager to see Rhys,” the sarge remarked.

“Yeah.” That made sense. But Flynn had the feeling there was more to it than that. “Max is there now,” he said as Sergeant Proctor put the car into gear at the T-junction. “Can you just hang on a second? Something feels off.”

“They’ll just be happy to see him. If this was all down to Max messing around, hopefully he’ll have learned a lesson and that will be the end of…” His words fell away as Rhys came rushing out of the house.

He waved something in the air as he shouted at Max.

“That doesn’t look good,” the sarge muttered.

The arrival of Rhys’s parents on the pavement didn’t seem to have any kind of calming effect. In fact, they appeared to join in with the verbal assault on Max.

“I think we need to intervene,” Flynn said at about the same time that Rhys raised a fist and planted it squarely in Max’s face.

Flynn was all set to jump out of the car, but the sergeant shifted the gear stick and reversed up the road so fast that Flynn could only be impressed by his driving skills.

Even if it was an unnecessarily dramatic entrance to the scene.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The lack of blood came as a surprise to Flynn, who’d been sure the punch had landed directly on the nose. In fact, it was Max’s cheek bone that Rhys’s fist made contact with, and which had him stumbling back on the pavement to land on his bum. By the time Flynn reached them, Ted was escorting Rhys away from Max with a hand at the centre of his chest.

“Are you okay?” Flynn asked, when Max made no effort to get up from the pavement.

“I didn’t do anything,” he said as tears flooded his eyes.

“We know. We saw.” Flynn offered his hand to help him up, but Max didn’t even seem to notice. His eyes were on Rhys.

“What was that about?” the sergeant asked, standing beside Rhys and Ted.

“He locked me in that grave,” Rhys announced loudly.

“I didn’t.” Max looked helplessly at Flynn. “I promise I didn’t. It wasn’t me.”

“He had my phone.” Rhys took a step in Max’s direction, but Ted moved squarely into his path, telling him quietly to calm down. “He had my phone the whole time. Jessica found it in his bag.”

Sergeant Proctor tilted his head. “The phone that was taken from you at the tomb?”

“Yes. It was Max all along. I’ll bet you think you’re funny,” he growled at Max. “But it wasn’t funny at all. I was locked in a pitch-black tomb. That’s a sick joke.”

“It wasn’t a joke,” Max whimpered while gingerly touching his cheek.

“Right,” Rhys said cockily. “So you weren’t joking? You wanted to get back at me?”

“Get back at you for what?” Max asked, his voice high-pitched.

“You were angry with my mum for sleeping with your dad, so you thought you’d take it out on me. I don’t know why I was so stupid to think we could still be friends.”

“We are friends,” Max insisted. “I didn’t do anything. I don’t know how your phone ended up in my bag.”

“You’re such a liar,” Rhys said, then turned away and took Jessica’s hand when she slid to his side.

Rhys’s mum moved beside the sergeant, saying something that Flynn couldn’t make out.

“I think everyone needs to take a bit of time to cool off,” Sergeant Proctor said. “Rhys, let’s go inside and you can talk me through everything calmly. PC Grainger, could you stay with Max?”

Flynn offered his hand again and helped Max up. While the rest of them filed into the house, he led Max to the police car and opened the back door for him.

“Am I being arrested?” he asked sheepishly.

“No. Once the sergeant has spoken to Rhys, we’ll drive you home.”

“I didn’t do anything,” he said again, slumping onto the back seat.

Flynn rested his arm on the open door. “Can you explain to me what happened with the phone? Jessica found it in your bag... is that right?”

He sucked in a long breath. “I was up playing football and someone said it was on social media that Rhys was home. I was going to head over here to see him with Jessica and Jory.” He squinted, as though trying to get it straight in his head. “I guess Jessica tried to call Rhys, but his phone rang in my bag. I don’t know how it got there. Someone must have put it there.”

Thinking about who might have planted it there, Flynn’s mind immediately landed on their other friend, Jory. From what Lily had told him, Jory had a thing for Jessica and had seemed keen to break them up. Maybe he’d set up the prank and when it had got out of hand, he’d tried to pin it on Max.

Ted walked out of the house, interrupting his train of thought. He tipped his chin at Flynn, then looked into the car at Max.

“How’s your cheek?” he asked.

“It’s throbbing, but it’s fine.”

“Put that on it,” Ted said, holding out an ice pack. “You’ll end up with a shiner otherwise.”

Max took it from him, wincing as he held it against his face.

“I don’t care what’s gone off,” Ted told him. “He can’t go throwing his fists around. There’s no excuse for that.”

“I don’t even care about that,” Max said forcefully. “I didn’t lock him in that place, or write that note or any of it. I swear I didn’t, Ted. Can you tell him that for me?”

Ted gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his shoulder. “Everything will work itself out in the end.”

He tipped his chin at Flynn again and ambled back to the house.

“I really didn’t do it.” Max moved the ice pack from his face in his agitation.

“Keep that on,” Flynn said, pushing his hand gently back to his cheek.

“Everyone will believe I did it because of all that stuff with my dad and Rhys’s mum, but Rhys and I agreed we’d still be friends, no matter what our stupid parents did.”

His eyes swam with tears. “Rhys is the only one who really understands,” he sniffed. “He gets it because he’s losing Ted, too. Just like my dad. Ted’s leaving as well, and Rhys has always been close to Ted. He’s cool. Rhys has always said Ted feels more like his real dad than his biological dad does. So he gets it and we talk about it all... and I always felt like he was more than just my friend. We’re more like brothers.”

“If you’re really that close,” Flynn said, “And you really didn’t lock him in that tomb, then eventually you’ll figure things out.”

Max pressed his head into the seat. “Not if someone set me up.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

After leaving the football field, Lily resisted the urge to walk towards Rhys’s house, and instead made her way back to the ice cream shop. In her messages with Ted, he mentioned that the police had been over. She wondered whether it had been Flynn. Desperately, she wanted to call him and fill him in on the situation with Rhys’s phone and get his take on it.

In the end, she sent him a quick message asking if he was working. If he wasn’t she’d try to see him so she could explain what had happened at Ted’s place the previous evening. The lies were weighing on her and she’d like to straighten everything out.

When he didn’t reply, she told herself it was because he was at work and not because he was ignoring her. She tried to believe that, anyway. But she’d lied to him, and she was sure he knew that. It wouldn’t be surprising if he just didn’t want to speak to her.

Pacing the flat got boring quickly, and she took herself onto the beach. If she was going to pace, she at least had a longer stretch there. After a couple of lengths of the beach, she took her shoes and socks off and shifted down to the shoreline. There was something about the coolness of the water on her feet and the rhythmic push and pull of the tide that cleared her mind a little. The racing thoughts slowed, and she stopped to appreciate the breeze tickling her face and the feel of the wet sand between her toes.

Setting off back up the beach, she spotted Jessica and Jory outside of The Cookie Jar. They both waved and Jory walked away in the opposite direction while Jessica started towards Lily.

“I said I’d get Rhys his favourite cookies,” she said, holding up the paper bag from the cafe.

“How is he?” Lily asked, desperate to know what had happened after they’d left her at the football field.

“Okay. Kind of. To be honest, the atmosphere at his place is awful, which is why Jory and I volunteered to fetch treats. He has to go home now,” she said, turning to watch Jory disappear around the corner at the end of the promenade.

“What happened with Max and the phone?”

Jessica blew out a breath. “Rhys punched him. I’ve never seen him so angry.”

“Is Max okay?”

“I guess so.” She gave a small shrug. “The police were there, so they calmed everything down pretty quickly.”

Again, Lily wondered whether it had been Flynn or the other officers. It didn’t feel appropriate to ask.

“Do you really think Max locked Rhys in the tomb?” she asked, not bothering to hide her scepticism over it.

“He had his phone,” Jessica said, then moved to sit on the sand, hugging her knees to her chest. “I know Max has been having a difficult time with his parents, but it’s crazy that he would do something like this to Rhys.”

“Maybe he didn’t,” Lily said, taking a seat beside her. “Have you thought about that?”

“Someone locked Rhys in that tomb,” she said, resting her chin on her knees. “It seems obvious it was Max.”

Lily watched a seagull circling above the shallows, hoping the silence would leave room for Jessica to consider all the possibilities.

“Do you know Jory has a crush on you?” she finally asked.

“Yeah.” Jessica turned her head in Lily’s direction. “So?”

“So he thought you’d break up with Rhys if the pranks continued.”

Jessica’s smile was condescending. “You think Jory wanted to make it look like a prank because he thought he’d have a chance with me if Rhys and I split up?”

Slowly, Lily nodded. “That feels pretty believable to me.”

“Except he knows I don’t like him that way.”

“Even if he thinks you probably don’t like him that way, I imagine it doesn’t stop him hoping.”

“You don’t understand,” Jessica said calmly. “Jory and I had a conversation about it. I was feeling awkward… like if I gave him a hug, I was worried he’d get the wrong idea… so I talked to him about it and asked if it would be easier if we didn’t hang out so much. He said he knew he never had a chance, and he still wanted us to be friends.”

“Okay, but––”

“You really don’t get it,” Jessica said, more forcefully this time. “Even if I suddenly developed feelings for Jory, it still wouldn’t matter. Jory idolises Rhys – he wouldn’t try to steal his girlfriend, or lock him in a tomb. He just wouldn’t.”

“The other day when I was talking to him, Jory seemed pretty excited by the idea that you might break up with Rhys.”

“He’ll have been worried, not excited.”

Lily huffed out a laugh. “He was definitely excited.”

“He might have seemed excited to you,” Jessica said. “But Jory has an odd way of expressing emotions. He often looks excited when he’s anxious. Or happy when he’s sad. Like the time he told us his gran had died with a massive grin on his face, as though it was hilarious. He was devastated, but unless you knew him you wouldn’t have known it.”

“Really?” Lily asked.

She nodded. “That’s another reason I know he’d never do anything to hurt Rhys. He’s kind of awkward generally, but Rhys and Max always just accept him as he is. If anyone at school teases Jory, they shut it down straightaway.” She smiled gently. “Jory would never jeopardise their friendship.”

“But Max would?” Lily asked.

“Yesterday, I’d have said no way. But he had his phone, and somehow his hat ended up in Rhys’s room.”

“He had his phone with the ringtone on loud,” Lily pointed out.

“So?”

“Either he was very careless, or he wanted someone to find the phone.”

“Why would he want someone to find it?”

“Exactly,” Lily said. “I don’t think he would. Which leaves the other option…”

“Which is?”

“That someone put it there to make it look as though it was Max.”

“But who?” Jessica asked, a faint whine to her voice.

“That’s what I’d like to figure out.”

Five minutes ago, her bet would have been firmly on Jory, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Once again, her thoughts were a big, tangled mess.

She checked her phone and felt a pang of disappointment that there was still no reply from Flynn.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Only when they walked back into the station, over two hours after they’d left it, did Flynn realise he wasn’t officially on duty. He could go home, but with the events of the afternoon swirling around his head, he followed Sergeant Proctor into his office at the back instead.

“I don’t get it,” he said, dropping into the chair across from the sergeant. “If Max locked Rhys in the tomb, he was incredibly careless in covering his tracks.”

“He’s a kid. With his adrenaline pumping, he won’t have thought about his hat when he left that note in Rhys’s room.”

Flynn leaned back in the chair. If it was only the cap, he’d agree. “Why would he walk around with the phone’s ringtone on loud? Why even keep hold of the phone? If he didn’t want anyone to know he’d done it, surely he’d have thrown it in the sea.”

“Who knows what was going through his head?” Sergeant Proctor opened his laptop. “I’m just glad Rhys is back home. Missing person cases always give me the willies. Especially kids.”

Flynn was inclined to agree. He only wished he could shake the feeling that they were missing something. When the sergeant cleared his throat, Flynn took the hint and stood up.

“I’ll be heading home. See you tomorrow.”

“One quick thing.” Sergeant Proctor tapped his finger on the desk and cleared his throat again. “What did you think of my suggestion of going into the school?”

Yet again, Flynn was taken aback by the sergeant asking for his opinion, and it took him a moment to reply.

“It makes sense, I suppose.”

“Rhys mentioned it would be embarrassing,” he mused.

“They’re teenagers. Most things are embarrassing.”

“Yeah.” His brow furrowed. “I was thinking maybe you could do it…”

“The school visit?” Flynn’s burst of laughter came quickly and was lacking any humour. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Right.” For a moment there, he’d really thought he and the sergeant were coming to understand each other better, but apparently he’d just been plotting more ways to torture Flynn.

“Would you?” Sergeant Proctor asked.

Flynn plastered on a tight smile, refusing to let the sergeant know he was getting to him. “Sure. I can do that.” He was at the door when the sergeant called him back.

“It was meant as a compliment, not a punishment,” he said.

Flynn tried to read his features and failed.

“Oddly enough, I don’t spend my time thinking of ways to annoy you. You were good with those kids today. They respond well to you. I genuinely thought you would do a better job of speaking to them at the school, but if you don’t want to, it’s no skin off my nose. PC Hill will be happy to do it.”

“I’ll do it,” Flynn said, feeling stupidly flattered.

“If you’re sure,” the sarge said, then gave a flick of the hand in dismissal, apparently not wanting to linger too long on the compliment. “Have a good evening.”

“Thanks, sarge.”

Outside the building, he expelled all the air from his lungs. It had been an unexpected day at work on all fronts.

On the walk home, he pulled his phone from his pocket and scanned the message from Lily. It didn’t say much, just asked if he was at work. His thumb itched to message her back and tell her about his day.

Except he imagined she already knew most of it, given her investigative talents, along with her apparent connection to Ted Johnson.

No, he wasn’t going to message her back. He shoved his phone back in his pocket and quickened his pace.

His determination didn’t last long. Once he was home and settled on the couch with a beer, he decided it was petty to ignore her message.

He got his phone out again and tapped out a succinct reply.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Lily was elbow deep in a bucket of water – making another attempt at cleaning the ice cream machines and trying not to think about the lack of contact from Flynn – when a knock distracted her. Seren’s expression was sombre when Lily opened the door.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, looking utterly forlorn as she squeezed Lily’s forearm. “I really wanted to pick you up from the airport but I had a migraine which lasted three days. All I could do was lie in a dark room.”

Lily shook her head. “Are you okay now?”

“Yes.” She grimaced. “I was actually fine yesterday, but after Kit spent three days taking care of me, I decided we both needed some time to chill out.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” She smiled weakly.

“It was great. We switched off our phones and ignored the world. We always seem to be busy, so it was bliss, but I just saw your message earlier and felt awful for ignoring you.”

“It’s fine…” As the words left her lips, she realised she needed to get things out in the open to put her mind at ease. “Is Kit annoyed with me?” she asked.

“No.” Seren’s features scrunched in confusion. “Why would he be?”

“Because I got the lease for this place when he wanted it.”

She shook her head. “I think he’s more curious than anything, but he’s not annoyed with you. Did someone tell you he was?”

“Not exactly…”

“He’s not annoyed, I promise. He was saying this morning that he wanted to come over and see if you need any help with anything. I wanted to ask the same. Except, I’ve got a shift at the pub now, but if you need anything later just message me.”

“Thank you,” Lily said.

“How are you settling in?”

“It’s been a bit weird so far…”

“How so?”

She wasn’t sure where to start. “All that stuff with Rhys…”

“The Johnson kid? I heard he ran away. Back now though, I think.”

“He asked me for help,” Lily said. “And then he disappeared. He is back, but we still don’t really know what happened.”

“Why did he ask you for help?”

Lily smiled gently. “How long have you got?”

“Not long.” Seren swore quietly as she checked the time. “I stay at home for a few days and miss all the excitement. Do you want to come to the pub later and fill me in?”

“Yes. I’ll come for dinner after I finish my cleaning.”

“Great.” Seren backed out of the shop. “Also, it looks like glorious weather tomorrow. We’re having a barbecue at our place. You should come. And if you see PC Grainger, can you invite him too?”

“Flynn?” she asked, confused. As far as she knew, Seren didn’t like him.

“Yeah. Just if you happen to see him. I’ll message you the details. See you in a bit.”

Two things played on her mind as Lily scrubbed at the machines. The first was that she still couldn’t figure out who’d locked Rhys in the tomb. Irrational as it was, she felt she’d let him down by not figuring it out.

Maybe it was Max, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the kid had been made a scapegoat. It was easy for people to believe it was him, but it didn’t feel right to Lily that he was so adamantly denying it. Also, he really had looked surprised by the phone in his bag.

The other thing that bothered her was Flynn’s lack of response to her message. It really shouldn’t bother her so much, but just a few days ago he’d seemed keen to help her settle in. It had made her feel that moving here was the right thing to do. Now she felt as though she’d lost a friend.

Maybe she was just being dramatic.

She had a reason to get in touch with him, anyway. She could message him again to pass on Seren’s invitation.

When she picked up her phone to do just that, she had a message from him.

Home from work now, he’d written. Rhys is back home. But I guess you already know that.

The last part of the message made her stomach feel as though it had turned to lead. He couldn’t have been more passive aggressive if he’d tried.

There was no way she was responding to that. At least not over the phone.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

A sudden rush of nerves made Lily’s legs feel weak as she walked up the stairs to Flynn’s flat. He hadn’t sounded surprised when he answered the intercom to her, but he didn’t have his usual spark when he agreed to her request to come up for a coffee.

“I lied to you,” she blurted out after a curt greeting.

“When?” he asked, not looking at her as he moved to the kitchenette in the corner.

Lily lingered in the centre of the living room. “When you came to Ted Johnson’s house last night.” She paused and chewed the inside of her cheek. “Rhys was there. I’d heard him arguing with Ted and rushed in to see what was going on… but he didn’t want to be found yet, so when you turned up, he hid. He begged me not to say anything.”

The rumble of the coffee machine finally broke the silence in the room, but Flynn kept quiet.

“I’m sorry,” she said when he handed her a cup. “I wanted to tell you the truth, but I thought… I actually didn’t have time to think. I knew Rhys would bolt if I didn’t agree to keep quiet. He was safe with Ted and I thought it was better to keep it that way.”

Flynn went back to get his own drink and didn’t give any indication that he was listening. When he finally turned back to her, he tipped his head towards the cream couch.

“I’m sorry,” Lily said again, wishing he’d get angry with her. That would surely be easier to deal with than his lack of reaction.

“I suspected you were lying.” He gave a one-shouldered shrug as he sat at the other end of the couch. “It doesn’t really matter now. Rhys is home, and all is well. That’s the main thing.”

“Are you annoyed with me?”

“Not really.” He took a measured sip of his coffee. “I get quite used to lying in my line of work.”

Now Lily was angry. He’d lumped her together with all the people he encountered through his job, and, perhaps a little naively, she’d thought she ranked higher than some random person who he didn’t care about.

“What do you think about Max?” he asked.

She blinked as she caught up with the conversation. “How do you mean?”

“Do you think he sent Rhys the note? Locked him in the tomb?”

“I…” Her mind whirred, wondering why he cared what she thought. “Honestly, no. I don’t think he did it. At least my gut tells me it wasn’t him. Why do you ask?”

He set the cup on the coffee table and leaned back on the couch. “Because your gut feelings are usually accurate.” His eyes slid to her. “I happen to agree with you.”

Lily sipped at her drink, not sure how to respond, and unsettled by Flynn’s lingering gaze. After a moment, he rested his head back and closed his eyes.

“It seems too convenient,” Lily said softly. “And I think Max would have admitted it if it was him. He’s a teenager from a broken home, so it’s easy for people to assume it was him, but what if he’s a good kid who’s sensible enough not to take his anger out on his best friend?”

Flynn drew in a breath, and his dark eyelashes fluttered open. Slowly, he nodded. “If it wasn’t Max, who was it?”

“I really don’t know.”

“It’s going to bug you, though, isn’t it?” One corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. “It will annoy you until you figure it out.”

“I’m not sure I can figure this one out. I’m going to have to let it go.”

“You’ll figure it out,” he said. “Or someone else will. In a place this size, I can’t imagine the truth staying hidden for long.”

“It’s definitely going to annoy me,” she said, then stared into her coffee.

“I have an inkling it was Jory,” Flynn said.

“I thought the same. In fact, I was convinced it was him, but then I spoke to Jessica about him and now I’m not so sure.”

“What did she say?”

Lily wasn’t sure how to answer. “Just the way she talked about him, and the way she was so certain he wouldn’t do it.”

“She can’t really be certain, though.” He inhaled deeply. “And I can’t help but feel it’s all quite convenient for Jory. If his friends trust him so much, it makes it easy for him to get away with it.”

After being convinced by Jessica that Jory didn’t do it, doubts were now creeping into Lily’s head. She straightened her spine as a thought occurred to her.

“When we were up at the football pitch, it was Jory who suggested Jessica try to call Rhys.” She thought back on it. “Right at the moment that Max went to fetch his bag.”

“Why were you at the football pitch?” Flynn asked.

“Ted asked me to speak to Rhys’s friends.”

“Ah.” Flynn gave a subtle eye roll. “Dr Watson giving the orders.”

Lily raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Sherlock Holmes,” he said dismissively.

“Yeah, I know, but…” She wasn’t sure why he seemed so annoyed about her helping Ted. Especially when he’d been so unconcerned about her lying to him. “Never mind. Looking back, it’s plausible that Jory knew the phone was in Max’s bag.”

“And the most likely reason for him knowing that is because he put it there.”

Lily agreed with an exaggerated nod. “How can we prove it? Can you fingerprint the phone?”

“At this point, the phone will be covered in fingerprints, so that wouldn’t prove much anyway.”

“There must be something you can do,” Lily urged.

He propped his elbow on the arm of the couch and scratched at his jaw. “I can’t imagine the sergeant would consider it worthwhile looking into. It stirred up a lot of bother, but in the end it was only a stupid teenage stunt.” The corner of his mouth twitched into a small smile. “It’s more like a problem for an amateur detective rather than the police.”

She choked on a cough, amused. “Did you just call me amateur?”

He held his hands up and grinned at her.

“I solved this case and the last one…”

“I thought we just agreed that this case isn’t solved,” Flynn said.

“Well, I figured it out. I just don’t know how to prove it was Jory.”

“I’m sure something will come to you.” His eyes sparkled as he drank the last mouthful of his coffee.

Lily slapped her hands on her thighs. “I should go. Thank you for the coffee.” As she stood, she remembered the other reason she’d wanted to speak to him. “By the way, Seren told me to invite you to a barbecue at her place tomorrow night.”

He nodded as he stood. “Kit messaged me about it. You’re going too?”

“Yeah.” She’d expected him to suggest going over there together, but he kept quiet as he walked her to the door. “Do you know where their house is?” she asked.

“Kit gave me the address. Over near Old Town.”

“You’ll be going past my place,” she said, hoping she sounded casual. “We can walk together if you want?”

“Sure.” He definitely sounded casual. “I’ll give you a knock on the way over.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The following morning, Lily had the distinct feeling that she’d got up on the wrong side of the air mattress. But then, given the slow puncture in the mattress and the fact that she hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks – possibly months – it wasn’t overly surprising that she was in a foul mood.

Sleep wasn’t the only factor, of course. She also hadn’t been eating properly, so that probably played a role. Then there was the issue with Rhys which felt unresolved.

Her morning jog was supposed to clear her head, but it only fuelled her racing thoughts. As she thundered past unspoiled beaches complemented by rugged sand dunes and turquoise water, Lily barely registered the scenery at all. If it was Jory who’d locked Rhys in that tomb, she’d really love to prove it. She just couldn’t figure out how.

With her mind refusing to stop chewing everything over, the thought also hit her that maybe she just couldn’t let the issue drop because, without that to focus on, she’d once again be forced to look to her own problems, and figure out exactly what she was doing with her life.

Back at the flat, she showered and changed, but quickly left the depressing lodgings behind in favour of sitting on Porthcressa Beach.

After staring at the horizon for a few minutes, she pulled out her phone. If she was going to stay on the island, she needed to properly research what exactly it would take to get an ice cream shop up and running.

Two hours later, her bum had gone numb against the sand and she felt the subtle tingle of too much sun on her cheeks. In summer, she’d no doubt look like a beetroot, but even the spring sunshine was enough to force her back inside.

She’d add sunscreen to her shopping list.

In the middle of the afternoon, a message came through from Seren, telling Lily to come over whenever she felt like it – they could throw food on the grill at any time. She also asked if Lily had spoken to Flynn and questioned whether he was coming too.

It was tempting to cancel, since she really wasn’t in the mood to be sociable. Also, she wasn’t in the mood for the whole matchmaking thing, which she had a niggling feeling was what was going on. Why else would Seren have invited Flynn and her?

Only the thought of Seren having gone to some effort deterred her from cancelling. That, and the sliver of hope that if she ignored any matchmaking attempts, being around people might snap her out of her low mood. Proper food might also help.

Aiming for some kind of fake it til you make it mentality, she made a little effort with her appearance – even wearing a bit of makeup. Maybe if she looked fresh and alert, she might feel it.

Hopefully Seren wouldn’t take her appearance as further fuel to her matchmaking fire. She absolutely wasn’t making the effort for Flynn’s benefit. She saw him as a friend and that was it.

Just because she enjoyed his company and had some intense feelings about lying to him didn’t mean she saw anything between them other than friendship.

The extra effort in her appearance seemed to do the job anyway, and her smile was genuine when she answered the door to Flynn early in the evening.

“I bought a couple of bottles of wine and some beers,” he said, then raised an eyebrow. “That’s enough, right? I wasn’t supposed to bring food or anything?”

“No. I don’t think so.” She stepped outside. “You did better than me. I didn’t even think about bringing anything. I’d have just turned up empty-handed.”

“You still will, won’t you?” His eyes flashed with teasing.

She shook her head. “No, because I’m going to swipe a bottle of wine from you before we get to the house and claim I brought it.”

“Fair enough.” They turned off the promenade to walk through the quiet town. “How was your day?”

“Pretty rubbish,” she said.

“No mysteries to solve today?” he teased. “I’ll bet you didn’t know what to do with yourself.”

That was probably a little too close to the truth, but she decided not to follow that train of thought.

“I still think there’s a mystery to solve where Rhys is concerned. I’m just not sure what I can do about it.” She frowned. “I spent the afternoon trying to figure out what to do about the ice cream shop.”

“I thought you’d already agreed to reopen it.”

“Yeah.” They stepped into the road to make way for an elderly couple walking towards them. “I agreed, but now it feels kind of crazy.”

“You’re having second thoughts?”

She shrugged, and they veered back onto the pavement. “When the owner offered me the place, it all felt easy. I didn’t really know what to do with my life and it felt like the universe telling me which way to go, but now that I’m here and I see how much work it is…”

“I can help you with painting and any other renovations.”

“It’s not just that. Today, I looked into what I’d need to do to set up a business and it was exhausting just researching it. I’d need to take a food hygiene course and figure out all the accounting and tax side of it.” She puffed her cheeks out. “Also, do you know anything about the process of making ice cream commercially? Because I looked it up today and it’s quite a process. In fact, there are different ways to do it so I’d have to figure out how I wanted to do it, and then there are lots of other decisions… about flavours and whether I want to create my own or use artificial flavourings.”

“It’s daunting now because it’s all new,” Flynn said. “But you’ll learn and then everything will feel easier.”

“Maybe. The problem is, I don’t know if this is something I want to do. I’d be much more willing to put in the effort if I was passionate about it. That’s why people open small businesses, isn’t it? They’re driven and inspired. I’m neither of those things. I’m just drifting into it and it feels like a bad approach.”

“Perhaps the motivation will come later,” he mused. “And maybe you’ll feel better about it all when you’ve settled into life here. So far, it’s all been quite stressful for you.”

“Not really,” she mused. “I’ve been a bit preoccupied, but I wouldn’t say it was stressful.”

“Just because you don’t consciously recognise it doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you.”

She considered the events of the last few weeks. Of the entire last year come to that.

Her mind flashed through a quick snapshot reel of the events of the previous weeks. She thought of finding the dead body on the rocks, and of her unpleasant encounter with the deceased before he’d died.

Then there was everything with Rhys. Even though she hadn’t really known him well, she’d still felt fear for him when he’d gone missing. There’d also been the night she’d followed Ted home and heard him arguing with Rhys.

Maybe Flynn had a point about the stress.

The memory of that evening at Ted’s place brought back the lies she’d told Flynn and how bad she’d felt about it.

“I’m sorry again for lying to you,” she said, as they left the buildings behind in Hugh Town and walked a narrow road that left no room for a pavement. Not that it was needed, given the lack of traffic.

“Don’t worry about it.” A muscle in his jaw worked, and the silence felt uncomfortable.

“I felt really bad,” she told him. “I wanted to tell you the truth.”

“Really, it’s fine.”

“You say that, but you were annoyed with me, weren’t you?”

She should probably have let it drop, but part of her needed him to tell her he’d been annoyed about it. The alternative – that he genuinely didn’t care – didn’t feel good.

“I was annoyed,” he said, giving a resigned sigh. “I thought we were friends, and I was fairly sure you were lying to my face.”

“I––” She started to speak, but he cut her off.

“I hated not knowing what was really going on or why you were keeping things from me, but I trusted that whatever you were doing, you were doing it for the best. And that turned out to be true, so it’s okay that you lied to me. I get it.”

Maybe he got it, but he also sounded angry. Which was exactly what she’d wanted.

And now she didn’t want it at all.

“If you were only my friend, I’d have told you the truth,” she said. “But you’re also a police officer, and I knew that if I told you the truth, you’d have to follow certain procedures.”

He nodded and smiled softly. “Let’s just forget it. All’s well that ends well, hey?”

“Yeah.” Except, she couldn’t shake the feeling that an innocent kid was being made a scapegoat, and that didn’t feel like something ending well at all.

“Can you give me that bottle of wine now?” she asked a moment later. “I don’t want Seren to catch me approaching empty-handed.”

Laughing, Flynn pulled a bottle of white from his bag. “You realise I was hoping to score brownie points with Seren with my alcoholic offerings. Maybe she’ll stop scowling at me in the pub.” He pursed his lips. “I was really surprised to get an invitation to their place. I genuinely thought she hated me.”

“I have a theory about that.” Lily cringed, wishing she could take the words back.

“What is it?”

Hoping to change the subject, she inhaled through her nose. “I think I can smell the barbecue already.”

“You can’t distract me that easily,” he said, amused. “What were you going to say?”

“Okay. I should probably mention it anyway since it might make this evening slightly less awkward.”

“Why would it be awkward?”

She scrunched her face up in a bashful grimace. “Because I think Seren is trying to set us up.”

“You and me?” he said in a tone that she wasn’t keen on – as though it was the most absurd idea ever. “Sorry,” he said, grinning. “I just really thought she didn’t like me, so I’m surprised she’d try to set us up.”

“I don’t really understand it either.” Maybe she’d realised Flynn was a decent guy, and that’s why she’d asked him to collect her from the airport and had now invited them over as though they were a couple. “I’m not keen on double dates at the best of times.” At least the one she’d been on in her teens hadn’t been great. “But the thought of someone deviously arranging a double date feels even more awkward.”

“Well, there’s food and alcohol,” Flynn said. “Hopefully that might make up for your unwanted date.”

“I didn’t mean…” She caught the teasing in his eyes and stopped talking.

She really did catch the scent of the barbecue then, and it made her mouth water. Flynn had it right – they could enjoy the food and drinks and not concern themselves with whatever else Seren had up her sleeve.

Chapter Thirty

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” Flynn asked, his mock innocent act making it even more difficult for Lily not to laugh.

“You’re smirking,” she told him, leaning on the wooden rail that ran around Seren and Kit’s impressive wraparound terrace. “No one likes a smirker.”

“I’ll stop,” he said, but he didn’t.

“Just say it!” Lily rolled her eyes. “Whatever pathetic little joke is keeping you so amused, you may as well just say it.”

A dimple puckered his cheek as he tried to contain his grin. “I just keep thinking this is the weirdest double date I’ve ever been on.”

“You’re such an idiot,” she said, but gave up on trying not to smile.

“Why did you think it was a double date?”

“I don’t know, but clearly I was wrong.”

“Or…” His eyes danced with humour. “Maybe Seren invited all these other people as a cover. So it wouldn’t be obvious that she’s trying to set us up.”

Again, Lily rolled her eyes. “I admitted I was wrong. Can you please stop winding me up now?”

“I don’t think so. Winding you up is a lot of fun and I reckon there’s a lot more mileage in this yet.”

“You have a childish sense of humour, do you know that?”

“Thank you,” he said mockingly.

Watching him chuckling at her expense kept Lily secretly amused. Turning away from the bustle of Seren and Kit’s family members, she looked out over the picturesque bay with scattered boats bobbing on the gentle waves. The sun had just set, but the last glow of daylight lingered at the horizon, causing the tips of the waves to sparkle in various shades of orange.

After a couple of minutes of not speaking, Lily turned back to Flynn, who was fixated on the view as well. He looked younger out of uniform, and there was a constant sparkle in his eyes, as though he was always on the verge of cracking a joke.

“Stop staring at me,” he said flatly.

In other circumstances, she might have been embarrassed at being caught, but she was too relaxed to care.

With a contented sigh, she shifted her gaze back to the hubbub on the terrace. “I can’t imagine having this many family members,” she said. “For an only child, this is quite exhausting.”

“I know what you mean.” Flynn took a swig of his drink. “Having siblings must make life very different.”

“Did you manage to figure out who all these people are?” Lily asked. “I got pretty lost when Seren tried to explain who was who.”

Flynn chuckled. “I reckon even she was confused.”

“I think I got the basics,” Lily said. “Mirren Treneary has five sons, and all of those sons have wives or partners, and one or two of them also have kids.”

Flynn nodded. “Fairly sure there’s some extended family thrown into the mix, too. A niece and a cousin, maybe.” His eyes lit up. “Also, I think she said someone is dating their cousin.”

“She didn’t say that!” Lily snorted a laugh. “You know she didn’t say that.”

“It was something like that.”

“One of the Treneary brothers is a half-brother or stepbrother. And he’s dating his cousin.” Her eyes widened as Flynn cracked up laughing. “No, wait. His brother is dating his cousin. I think that’s it. They’re not actually related.”

“He’s dating his brother’s cousin and that just sounds dodgy to me.” Slowly he shook his head. “Should have brought my handcuffs.”

Lily picked at the label on her beer bottle. “Actually, I was chatting to Jago earlier, and he’s very nice.”

“Kind of hard to talk to him without thinking about him dating his cousin, though, I imagine.”

“She’s not his cousin.” Lily glared at him, despite knowing he was only trying to wind her up again. “Anyway, he’s very interesting. He’s just opened a brewery on the island.” She tipped her head at the drink in his hand.

Flynn’s eyebrows shot up. “He brewed this?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Now I wish I hadn’t said anything bad about him, since he’s about to become my new best friend. Which one is he?”

She pointed. “Tall, sandy-blonde hair.”

“That doesn’t narrow it down all that much.”

“He’s holding a baby.” She tilted her head. “I’m fairly sure it’s not his baby.”

“If only they’d all stand with their own partners and children. It would make it way easier to learn who’s connected to who.”

“You should suggest it,” she said. “Name tags wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”

Seren walked over as he began to walk away. “I need to see a man about a brewery,” he told her.

“Good idea,” she replied. “Find yourself somewhere else to drink so I don’t have to spend so much time around you.”

He grinned at her and continued on his way.

“That almost sounded like affectionate teasing,” Lily remarked as she clinked her drink against Seren’s.

“Kit told me I have to make an effort to be nice to him. He’s still a long way from getting into my good books, though. I’ll be honest, he irritates me.”

“Really?” It wasn’t just that Lily was surprised at the sentiment, but that Seren’s behaviour didn’t reflect it. “How come you asked him to collect me from the airport, then?”

Seren stared at her. “I didn’t.”

“You at least hinted that he should…”

“No.” She dipped her chin, causing a lock of red hair to fall across her face. “I didn’t speak to him about it at all.”

“But he said…” Lily trailed off, trying to remember exactly what he’d said. “I definitely had the impression you’d sent him.”

“Absolutely not. I asked Noah if he could go, but he was working. Maybe he mentioned it to Flynn.”

“Maybe,” Lily mused, then broke into a smile. “This will sound ridiculous, but I somehow got it into my head that you were trying to set me and Flynn up.”

“What made you think that?”

“I thought you’d sent him to the airport, and then you invited us over here.” She winced. “I thought it was going to just be the four of us.”

Seren’s eyes sparkled. “Like a surprise double date?”

“Yes.” She laughed at the absurdity of it.

“Wow,” Seren said. “If you were expecting it to be the four of us, I guess this might have been a little overwhelming.” She swept an arm in the general direction of the bustle of people.

“A little bit. It’s fun though, and great to meet more people.”

Seren nodded. “I told Kit that I’d give Flynn a chance, but I wouldn’t try any matchmaking between the two of you. Although, he elevated himself in my opinion by meeting you at the airport.” She called out to Noah as she caught sight of him and beckoned him over. “Did you ask Flynn to collect Lily from the airport the other day?” she asked him quietly.

“No.” He frowned. “Was I supposed to?”

“No. It’s only that Lily thought I’d sent him…”

“He was sitting at the bar when we were talking about it,” Noah said. “He probably heard.”

Seren rolled her lips together. “I’ll grudgingly say that was nice of him.”

“Why grudgingly?” Noah asked, while Lily’s eyes strayed to Flynn, who was having an animated conversation with the owner of the brewery.

“I’m still not overly keen on him,” Seren said. “But he might grow on me.”

“You just don’t like him because he has women falling all over him all the time. He’s single and clearly enjoying that status.” Noah lowered his voice, but the edge of awe remained. “He came into the pub a couple of nights ago, went straight up to a group of women and charmed all three of them. He left with one of them, but judging by the way they were drooling, I reckon he could have taken all three of them home if he’d wanted to.”

Lily’s eyes snapped to Noah, and his words felt as though they’d slashed right through her chest. He gave an appreciative sigh and moved away from them again.

“You don’t like Flynn, do you?” Seren asked. “Romantically, I mean.”

Lily felt as though all her blood had pooled at her feet. “No,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t betray her internal state, which was screaming at her that the statement was a lie. “He’s a friend,” she went on. “I like him as a friend, that’s all.”

“Good,” Seren said, apparently taking Lily at her word. “If you were interested in dating, I know this great guy. I used to date him myself, but that was years ago. Obviously, it didn’t work out, but he’s lovely. I could introduce you?”

“No.” Lily wrinkled her nose. “Thanks, but I’m not looking to date. I have enough on my plate for now.”

“I’ll bet. How’s it coming on with the shop?”

“I’ve done a lot of research,” Lily said, then launched into telling her everything she’d found out about ice cream making.

It at least kept her from reflecting on the way her body had responded to hearing that Flynn had taken some woman home.

Chapter Thirty-One

On the walk home, the silence between Flynn and Lily felt strained. Annoyingly, her brain had got a little fixated on the thought of him taking another random woman home from the pub. She wasn’t usually a judgemental person, so there was really no need for her to have any thoughts on the subject at all. He was single and wasn’t hurting anyone.

Lily only saw him as a friend, so his sex life was really of no interest to her.

Why was he being so quiet, though? Part of the reason Lily always felt so at ease around him was his ability to effortlessly carry conversations. Maybe all the chatting at the barbecue had taken it out of him.

“You’re quiet,” Lily remarked eventually. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I was miles away.” He gave her a sidelong glance that made her unaccountably nervous. “This will sound really weird now, but I actually do have siblings.”

“Oh.” That was a little weird since he’d given her the impression he was an only child, like her. “Did you forget about them?”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “I don’t really know them. They’re half siblings and we didn’t grow up together. They’re a lot younger than me. Growing up, it was just me and Mum.”

Lily smiled lightly. “Are you in touch with your siblings now?”

“Not really. I exchange emails with their mum now and again. She’s nice. When I see my dad, he usually spends a lot of time telling me how great they are…” He trailed off, eyes focussing somewhere in the middle distance. “I haven’t seen them for a couple of years, and then it was only for an afternoon.”

“Brothers or sisters?” Lily asked.

“One of each. They’re…” He looked thoughtful. “About ten and thirteen, I think. So we really don’t have much in common except for sharing a father.”

“That must be weird.”

“Yeah.” His shoulders bunched up around his ears. “I grew up as an only child, so when we were talking about siblings earlier I didn’t mean to lie or anything.”

“I don’t think you did.” She offered him a small smile, but had the impression it wasn’t her disapproval he was concerned with.

“Five minutes after I mentioned not having siblings, I felt this weird guilt. Like I was denying their existence or something. Sometimes I feel as though I should make more effort to see them, but I always put it off and then more time goes by.” He blew out a breath. “It also feels awkward. And if I’m honest…” Again, he trailed off, leaving Lily desperate to know what he was going to say.

“What?” she prompted when it seemed he might not finish his sentence.

“Nothing.” He looked genuinely unsure of himself for the first time since Lily had met him.

“Tell me what you were going to say.”

“It’s daft…”

She only needed to give him a look to get him to continue.

“It’s just that my dad wasn’t around much when I was growing up. Hardly at all really. He’d show up for a day or a weekend every few weeks, but he wasn’t there for the day-to-day stuff.”

“It annoys you that he’s there for them when he wasn’t there for you?”

“Yeah. I guess it bothers me.”

“It sounds completely normal that you’d have some bitterness about that.”

“It’s not their fault.” He shook his head. “And sometimes I think I should probably feel bad for them. Looking back, I think I was better off not having Dad involved in my life. He’s a terrible father and not a very nice person. But it’s clear from the way he talks about Jake and Rosie that he has a completely different relationship with them. To them, I think he might be a decent dad.”

“I can definitely see why you’d be bitter about that,” Lily said, ignoring the urge to stop and hug him, or take his hand, or do anything else that might ease his anguish.

“I should try to see them more,” he said, a sliver of lightness creeping into his voice. “When I’m back in London, I’ll visit them. Maybe I can organise it for a time when my dad isn’t around. That would probably be easier.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

“Sorry,” he said as they stopped in front of the shop. “I didn’t mean to bring the mood down.”

“It’s fine.” It was nice to learn more about him. “Do you want to come in?” she asked, sliding the key into the lock.

“What’s on offer?” he asked, making Lily’s heart rate speed up dramatically. “If it’s a tap water while standing in your kitchen, I think I might pass.”

Internally, Lily laughed at herself. Of course he’d meant what was on offer to drink. She was ridiculous sometimes.

“It’s really great tap water,” she said mockingly. “And I have a table and chairs up there now.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. I want to get up early for a run tomorrow.” He shifted his weight. “Do you want to come? For a jog?”

“I’m not sure I could keep up with you,” she teased.

Flynn rolled his eyes. “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”

“Probably not.” She felt her smile all the way to her toes. “I’ll come. And don’t worry, I’ll try not to go too fast.”

As she wished him goodnight, she was extremely glad she’d forced herself to be sociable for the evening.

Chapter Thirty-Two

It might have been the energy from Seren’s barbecue party, or that she had plans with Flynn, but Lily felt much lighter despite another terrible night on the air mattress. The hour-long run went by in a blur as she and Flynn chatted away. Flynn had the day off and when he asked if she needed help with anything at the flat, she really wished she’d been more proactive in ordering paint supplies.

At least it gave her a much-needed jolt of motivation. When she left him, she went home intent on ordering supplies. Quickly, she got caught up in researching interior design. This time, it wasn’t procrastination that stopped her from placing an order. It was her lack of an eye for design that left her indecisive.

When a knock sounded from downstairs, she was tempted to ignore it rather than get side-tracked from her task. Curiosity got the better of her and she moved to the living room window, and remembered the missed call from Mr Greaves which she’d received when she was out for her jog and hadn’t responded to.

Maybe he’d got sick of waiting for her to go and sort out the paperwork and had brought it to her. Except, when she peered out of the window, it was a middle-aged woman down below, fiddling with the buttons on her cardigan.

Lily muttered to herself about how she hoped the woman wasn’t looking for a private investigator, then felt a spontaneous twinge of excitement at the prospect.

She opened the window and aimed a questioning greeting at the woman.

“I’m sorry to bother you.” She craned her neck to meet Lily’s gaze. “I’m Maggie. Max’s mum. Are you Lily?”

“Yes,” Lily replied, taken aback. “Hang on a second. I’ll come down.”

Maggie was still fiddling with the button on her grey cardigan when Lily opened the door.

“I’m sorry to turn up like this,” she said. “I wondered if I could talk to you.”

Lily nodded. “Come in.” She gestured to one of the newly cleaned tables. “I’d offer you a drink, but I’m not very well set up down here yet. A couple of days ago, I couldn’t even offer a seat, so that’s an improvement.”

“Thank you.” Maggie smoothed down her skirt as she sat.

“What can I help you with?” Lily asked.

“I’m not actually sure if you can help. But I know you were helping Rhys figure out who played that stupid joke on him, so I thought I could at least talk to you.”

“Okay.” Lily’s smile was tight.

“Max didn’t do it,” Maggie said. “Everyone is saying he did, and I can see how it looks. But I know him and I know he didn’t do it.”

As she spoke about her son, her nerves vanished and a fierce protectiveness came to light. “It’s been hard for him these last months, but he’s tried to do the right thing at every turn. He’s been protective of me, and full of empathy for Rhys.” A muscle in her jaw worked. “He’s done the right thing and now he’s being punished.”

“The police said there’d be no repercussions. Since there’s no evidence it was him, they can’t even caution him.”

“That doesn’t matter,” she said frantically. “Everyone is talking about it and pointing fingers. He’s about to finish school and he’ll be looking for a job. It’s hard enough for teenagers to find jobs on the island. With this hanging over him, he’ll have no chance.”

“I’m sorry,” Lily said. “Max seems like a good kid and I wish I could help. I’m just not sure how.”

“I probably shouldn’t have come.” She wrung her hands in her lap. “I just feel so helpless.”

“At least Max knows you’re on his side. He knows you believe him.”

“It doesn’t feel like enough.” She stood and fiddled with her button again. “She was never even interested in him, you know.”

Lily stood too. “Sorry?”

“Rhys’s mother, Mandy. She was never actually interested in George. It was all a game to her. She broke my family apart because she couldn’t keep her own together.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Lily said.

“She went after George to try and get Ted’s attention. She thought she could make him jealous, but Ted was even more disgusted with her than ever. George was just a stupid fool who fell for a bit of flattery. Things hadn’t been great between us, of course, but we could have sorted it out if it hadn’t been for her.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip, removing the last of her pink lipstick. “I shouldn’t unburden on you. It just gets to me. It’s Max who’s suffered in the end. Max and Rhys. They’re good boys, the pair of them, but I don’t know what this will do to them.”

“I’m sorry I can’t help,” Lily said.

As she closed the door behind Max’s mum, a familiar sensation niggled at the back of her mind.

Like someone had given her the final piece of a puzzle and she just needed to figure out where it fit.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Messaging Ted to ask how Rhys was doing wasn’t entirely altruistic of Lily. She mostly wanted to get in touch to involve herself in the situation once again. Her other plan was to pick up a box of chocolates and take them over to Rhys in a show of well wishes.

He’s doing okay, Ted told her in his reply. Ian is leaving tomorrow. I’m going over there now so the four of us can have a conversation about what’s best for Rhys and discuss the possibility of him going to live with Ian.

There was a pause before he messaged again.

If you catch the screaming match on the wind, just ignore us.

The eye roll emoji made her smile before she considered how sad his message actually was. Poor Rhys didn’t have it easy with his home life.

She sat up straight on the kitchen chair, paying attention to her niggling thoughts once again, trying to slot all the pieces of the puzzle into place. Rhys and his parents were about to be together in one place, and she suddenly felt it was the perfect time to take over a box of chocolates.

Ten minutes later, she was walking out of the supermarket with the token gift in her hands when she had the overwhelming urge to let Flynn in on her plans.

He answered the phone after a few rings. “Figure it out yet?” he asked, instead of a greeting.

“Excuse me?”

“You barely stopped talking about Rhys and Max and Jory this morning. I assumed you’d go home and get straight back into investigator mode.”

She smiled. “I actually went online to look for paint and furniture, but I got sidetracked by Max’s mum turning up on my doorstep.”

“What did she want?”

“To tell me Max didn’t do anything, and it’s unfair that he takes the blame.”

“If he didn’t do it, she’s right – it is unfair.”

“It got me thinking,” she said, wandering slowly and not worrying that she was headed in the wrong direction.

“Yeah?” Flynn prompted.

“From everything I’ve heard, I can’t help but think that Rhys’s relationships with his peers all seem very secure. They’re a good bunch of kids who support and care for each other.”

“So…”

“So it’s the adults in their lives who cause the problems. Maybe I was completely off track focusing on Jory.”

“You’re thinking one of Rhys’s parents did this?” The surprise was clear in his voice. “Or his stepdad…”

“I don’t think it’s Ted. Not for a second.”

Flynn’s reply was part hum, part growl. Clearly, he wasn’t Ted’s biggest fan, but she didn’t want to get into that.

“What if it was his mum or dad?” She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Or both of them,” she suggested, the idea coming out of nowhere.

“Do you have a plan to investigate this further?” he asked flatly.

She slowed her pace to cross the road. “I just happen to know that Rhys and his parents are about to sit down and discuss what happens next in terms of where he’ll live. I thought it would be a good time to call over and drop off some chocolates.”

A low chuckle hit her ear and made her smile widen. “And you called to tell me this because…?”

Her smile slipped. That was a question she didn’t know the answer to. Or at least not how to properly articulate it.

“I’m not sure,” she said feebly.

“Do you want me to come?”

She did, and she didn’t, and it was hard for her to figure out why she felt so conflicted. “I think it might be a good idea,” she said slowly. “But also…” She struggled to find the right words.

“I was already thinking I might call in and check in on them,” he said casually. “Not in any official capacity, just as a friendly follow up.”

“Not in uniform?” she asked, realising that was the issue. If they saw him as a police officer, everyone would clam up and she’d get nothing out of them.

“Not in uniform,” he clarified. “I’m also pretty good at blending into the background when I want to.”

“That seems unlikely,” she said, then grimaced. “I mean…” She could almost hear him smiling down the phone and decided she’d probably only dig the hole deeper if she continued. “So, are you coming, or what?”

“Where are you?”

“Outside your flat.”

He was definitely grinning now. “I’ll be down in two minutes.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

They reached the Johnson’s house to find everything quiet. At least from the outside. Hopefully, the inside of the house proved just as peaceful.

Mrs Johnson answered the door with a polite but puzzled smile.

“We were going for a walk,” Lily said, “And thought we’d check how Rhys is now.”

“That’s nice,” Mandy said. “We were just…” She glanced over her shoulder towards conversation from further in the house. “Rhys’s dad is here… we’re just trying to sort a few things out.”

Rhys appeared from the living room. “Are they for me?” he said, clocking the chocolates.

“They are indeed.” Lily held them out. “How are you doing?”

“Not bad.” He managed an unconvincing smile.

“How’s the hand?” Flynn asked.

“It’s fine.” He held up his bandaged palm. “I’m hoping for a cool scar, but the doctor said it probably won’t even leave a mark.”

“Hi,” Ted said, appearing behind Rhys and shooting Lily a private look. One that asked why she was on the doorstep when he’d told her not half an hour ago that they were having a family meeting.

“We didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said. “We were just passing.”

“Are you coming in?” he asked. “I can put the kettle on…”

“He’s always the hospitable one,” Mandy said. “Whereas I forget my manners. Come on in…” She stepped aside, then directed them into the cramped living room. Rhys’s dad stood and shook both of their hands. If he was surprised or annoyed by their arrival, he didn’t show it.

Ted asked everyone what they wanted to drink, but didn’t make it out of the door before Flynn stepped into his path.

“Why don’t I do that?” he suggested. “If you don’t mind me making myself at home in your kitchen, I’m sure I’ll find everything. After the stress of the last few days, you should all be relaxing.” He left before anyone could argue, not that anyone seemed as though they would.

It was a good tactic, Lily mused. Putting himself out of the way, but close enough to keep tabs on the conversation.

“We’re trying to decide where I should live,” Rhys said, an edge of bitterness to his voice as he stared at Lily across the coffee table.

“We can discuss it later,” Mandy said. “It’s not a decision we should rush into, anyway.”

“I’m not leaving St Mary’s.” Rhys had all the bravado of a cocky teenager. “I don’t care what you say. I’ll be sixteen in a few months, then I can do what I want.”

Mandy looked wearily at Lily, seemingly unsure whether to continue the conversation with her there.

“I think maybe your dad is right,” she said, apparently deciding to ignore Lily’s presence. “Much as it pains me, I think maybe you should live with him for a while.”

“No,” Rhys said forcefully, while his dad turned a shocking shade of crimson beside him.

“I said we should consider it.” Ian scratched at his jaw. “But he’s only got a few months left of school. It would be disruptive to move him now.”

“What about after his exams?” his mum said. “He could live with you and go to sixth form or college.”

“No,” Rhys said. “Once I finish school, I’m going to work with Ted on his boat.”

“You should stay in education.” Mandy’s smile was tight. “That will give you more opportunities in the long run.”

“I don’t need career opportunities. I’m going to be a fisherman like Ted.”

“Maybe it would be better for you to continue with school for a couple of years,” Ted said. “If you still want to work with me after that, you can. But like your mum says, it’s good to keep your options open.”

“I don’t want to move to the mainland. My friends are all staying here. Jessica is here. I promised her I’m staying too.”

“It’s these friends who are the problem,” Mandy said. “You’ve got in with a bad crowd. You can’t see it now, but some time apart from them will do you good.”

“They’re not a bad crowd,” Rhys spat.

His mum gave a humourless laugh. “Not a bad crowd, but I can’t sleep at night for worrying about what stunt one of them might pull next.”

“None of them would do anything to hurt me,” he said adamantly.

His mum glared at him. “What about what Max did?”

“He only did that because of what you did!” Rhys was off the couch and pacing the room. “It’s you who messed everything up. You’re the reason Ted left and the reason everyone at school whispers behind my back.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mandy said through gritted teeth. “I’m not the problem in this house. If you were easier to deal with, Ted wouldn’t have got fed up with us.”

Lily felt Ted tense beside her. “Me leaving was nothing to do with Rhys,” he said quietly.

Mandy’s hands shook in her lap and an ocean of anger raged behind her eyes. She looked as though she might lose control any moment now.

She was hiding something; Lily was sure of it.

Watching her, Lily was hit by an image of the first time she’d met Mandy. They’d been outside Lily’s place. Rhys had just gone missing, and she hadn’t seemed concerned. She hadn’t shown much emotion at all until Ted had turned up. Lily hadn’t known anything about their situation, so hadn’t given much thought to the way she’d hugged her husband. All Lily had noticed was how uncomfortable Ted had looked.

“Sorry,” Mandy said, rubbing trembling fingers across her forehead. “It’s been a stressful few days, and I’m not thinking straight. I think I need to lie down.”

“We can talk about all this later,” Ian said.

“I need to rest.” Shakily, Mandy stood up, then extended an arm in Ted’s direction. “Can you help me upstairs? I feel dizzy.”

Reluctantly, Ted moved to her. Through the doorway, Lily spotted Flynn hovering and knew it was now or never. He’d told her that her gut instincts were usually right and she needed to trust her intuition now.

“I hope you feel better soon.” There was a manic edge to Lily’s voice as she stood.

“Thank you,” Mandy whispered as she clutched at Ted’s arm.

“I also wanted to ask you something…” Lily caught Ted’s eye as she took a couple of steps closer to him. “Would you mind calling over to my flat later? It’s pathetic, but I have a few repairs that I could use a strong man to help with. You were great at helping me the other day, so I just thought I’d ask.”

“Sure,” he said, looking slightly bemused as Lily gazed at him.

“Thank you so much.” She gave his arm a squeeze and caught the moment when something snapped behind Mandy’s eyes.

“He can’t help you,” she sneered. “He’ll be here with his family.”

Ted tilted his head. “I’ll hang around for a little while, but I can help Lily later.”

“I need you here.” Mandy leaned closer to him. “You need to stay with your family.”

“We’re not a family any more,” Ted said. “I don’t live here, remember?”

“You have to live here,” Mandy said frantically. “You’re my husband and I need you here…”

“It’s been over for a long time.” Ted narrowed his eyes. “You know that.”

“Only because of him.” She jabbed a finger in Rhys’s direction. “We only ever argued because of him.”

“That’s not true,” Ted said, offering Rhys a sympathetic glance as the kid sank onto the couch beside his dad. “It was never about Rhys. It was about you and your drinking.”

“He’ll be gone soon,” Mandy said, not seeming to register Ted’s words. “He’ll go and live with his dad and everything will be good between us again.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Ted tried to move away, but Mandy only held on to him tighter.

“It’ll just be you and me,” she said, breathing erratically. “That’s how it always should have been. Once he’s out of the way, we’ll be fine.”

“Mum,” Rhys whispered when the room fell silent.

“Shut up!” she snapped at him. “Shut up and stop ruining everything.”

The tears that swelled in Rhys’s eyes broke Lily’s heart, but she couldn’t think about that now.

“You did it, didn’t you?” she said calmly, wishing that Rhys wasn’t around to hear the conversation. “You’re the one who lured Rhys out to that tomb. You locked him in it.”

“Max did that,” she said, her voice robotic as though reciting a script. “Max had Rhys’s phone, so everyone knows he did it.”

“Oh, my god.” Beside his son, Ian dragged his hands through his hair. “You went up to the football pitch.”

“Shut up!” Mandy barked, while everyone looked to Ian for an explanation.

“You said you thought Rhys might turn up for his football game, but you actually went there to put his phone in his friend’s bag.”

“Mum?” Rhys pleaded, staring at her. “You didn’t do that, did you? You didn’t lock me in that place?”

“It was only what you deserved,” she growled. “You cause trouble. And Ted was leaving because of you. But I knew he wouldn’t leave while everything was so terrible. He wouldn’t leave when you were in trouble. And when you’ve gone to live with your dad, Ted won’t want to leave me any more. He’ll stay if you’re not around to mess everything up.”

For a moment, Rhys just stared at her. Then tears rolled down his cheeks before he ran from the room. Within seconds, Ted’s footsteps echoed Rhys’s on the stairs.

Lily was still reeling and didn’t even notice Flynn enter the room, but when Mandy’s cries became hysterical, he was suddenly there, calmly assisting her to sit down and taking control of everything.

Chapter Thirty-Five

If there was one thing Flynn hated in his job, it was mental health cases. From what he’d observed from the hallway, he was sure that was what he was dealing with now. The state of the kitchen also told him there was an alcohol issue. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that Mrs Johnson was also on drugs.

The way Lily had provoked her had been an effective way of getting Mandy to confess to having locked her child in a burial chamber. It also seemed a bit like lighting touchpaper and watching the spark move towards explosives. With any luck, Flynn could intervene and stop the explosion.

He stepped into the living room as soon as Rhys and Ted fled up the stairs.

“Rhys!” Mrs Johnson screeched. “Get back here! Ted! Where are you going?”

“Let’s just give them a minute,” Flynn said, stepping into Mandy’s path.

Her eyes flicked wildly to his, then she shook her head in an erratic motion. “You’re the police officer,” she said, panic widening her eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. You can’t arrest me. I didn’t mean anything.”

“I know,” he said. “Why don’t you sit down for a few minutes?”

As he encouraged her to the armchair, he pulled his phone from his pocket, subtly unlocking the screen and scrolling to the sergeant’s number.

“Could you take that?” he said, holding his phone out to Lily. Her face had drained of colour and for a moment her eyes were fixed on Mandy. Flynn said her name to get her attention, and she looked at his phone, her eyes suddenly more alert.

“Should I call?” she asked him quietly.

Flynn nodded and tipped his head towards the door. “Fill him in on everything, please.”

“Who’s she calling?” Mandy snapped as Lily left the room. “And why is she here? I don’t want her in my house, trying to steal my husband.”

“She’s gone now,” Flynn said, lowering himself to perch on the edge of the coffee table in front of Mandy. “Why don’t you take a few deep breaths? You’ll feel better then.”

Surprisingly, she followed instructions and took a couple of loud, ragged breaths.

“I can’t believe this,” her ex muttered from behind Flynn. “You locked our son in a tomb. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Flynn winced as the guy sabotaged his efforts to keep Mrs Johnson calm.

“I needed you to take him,” Mandy said, shifting in the chair. “You always threaten to take him away to live with you, but you never do. He’s too much for me. I can’t cope with him.”

“You should have told me that,” Ian growled. “You’ve traumatised the poor kid for life. You’re his mother! You’re supposed to look after him.”

Flynn twisted around to look at him. “Could you wait in the kitchen?” he said firmly. From the next room, he could hear Lily talking quietly and hoped the sergeant wouldn’t take long. The sooner they got Mandy out of the house and away from her son, the better.

“I didn’t want to hurt him.” Mandy lurched forwards and grabbed at Flynn’s forearm. “I promise I didn’t.”

From the doorway, Ian barked a humourless laugh. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have locked him in a grave in the middle of the night. Bloody hell, you pinned it on that other poor kid as well. Did you steal his cap?”

“Max is trouble anyway,” Mandy muttered. “Rhys should have better friends. It serves him right that I stole his stupid cap.”

“You’ve lost the plot, you know that?” Ian spat. “You’ve absolutely lost it.”

Flynn glared at him. “Kitchen. Now.” The man shook his head and continued. As much as he wasn’t helping the situation, Flynn absolutely understood his anger. Now wasn’t the right time for it though.

“I left him food and water,” Mandy told Flynn desperately. “I knew someone would find him the next morning. How was I supposed to know he’d run off? I thought he’d come straight home and Ian would insist on him going to live with him.” Her bottom lip trembled. “It would have been better for Rhys, too. Living with his dad would be better for him. I’m not a good mother. I try, but I’m not. I can’t cope with him.”

“It’s all right,” Flynn murmured while she broke down in tears, rocking back and forth as she sobbed.

“You’re going to arrest me, aren’t you?” she said, gasping for breath. “You’re going to arrest me and lock me up.”

“I’m going to need you to come to the police station,” he explained calmly. “You’ll need to tell us everything that happened.”

“I don’t want you to lock me up,” she said desperately.

“Take a few deep breaths, okay?” He gave her a reassuring smile. “You’ll go to the police station and explain everything and we’ll figure out what happens after that, okay?”

She turned her face into the side of the chair and sobbed violently. Flynn sat quietly with her until the sergeant and PC Hill arrived five minutes later. Thankfully, Mrs Johnson seemed to have accepted her fate and shuffled out of the house amid a lot of tears, but otherwise not a lot of fuss.

Once she was settled in the back of the Land Rover, Flynn gave his colleagues a quick rundown of the situation. They listened intently and asked a couple of questions here and there.

A few minutes later, PC Hill slipped into the passenger seat while Sergeant Proctor lingered on the pavement with Flynn.

“I don’t know if I even want to know how you ended up here when you’re off duty,” the sergeant said with a sigh.

Flynn glanced at the house and gave a sheepish grimace.

“Good work, anyway,” Sergeant Proctor said, causing Flynn to wonder if he was hearing things.

“Thanks,” he said hesitantly.

The sarge glanced at the car beside them. “I need to get back to the station and make some calls. Figure out where we go from here.”

“Okay,” Flynn said. “What about Rhys?”

“Can you hang around here and speak to him? I’ll need to have a conversation with social services, but we’ll need to find him somewhere else to stay for the time being. Either with his dad or his stepdad. See if you can get the three of them to figure something out that they’re all happy with.”

“Will do,” Flynn said.

“Keep me updated.” The sergeant reached for the car door. “And come down to the station once you’re done here.”

Flynn nodded, feeling slightly shell-shocked by the ease of the conversation.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Lily felt sick to her stomach from the moment Mandy had admitted to locking Rhys in the burial chamber. Despite having been reasonably certain it was her who’d done it, hearing her say it had been a shock. Thank goodness Flynn had come with her. The way he took charge and kept Mandy calm was impressive.

After speaking to Sergeant Proctor on the phone, Lily remained in the kitchen with Ian, listening to Mandy’s crying and Flynn’s soft murmurs drifting from the living room.

Ian paced back to the living room as soon as Flynn led Mandy outside with Sergeant Proctor. Unsure what to do with herself, Lily hovered in the hallway, chewing on her thumbnail.

Her eyes flicked to the front door when it eased open. Flynn’s eyes were full of concern.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, but couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Is Rhys still upstairs?”

Again, she nodded, then turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

“Has Mandy gone?” Ted asked as he descended.

“The sergeant and PC Hill have taken her down to the station,” Flynn said.

“Bloody hell,” Ted muttered, reaching the foot of the stairs. “I really didn’t think she was capable of that.” He shook his head. “I should have seen it.”

“What’s going to happen to her?” Ian asked, appearing from the living room.

“If she’s up to it, she’ll need to make a statement about what happened with Rhys,” Flynn replied. “After that, I can’t tell you for sure what will happen.”

“She’s an alcoholic,” Ted said. “I knew things were bad, but I honestly didn’t think it was so bad.” He sighed. “I should have done more to help her. For Rhys’s sake, if nothing else.”

“It’s not an easy situation,” Flynn said evenly. “What we need to focus on for now, is what happens with Rhys.” He looked to Rhys’s dad. “Clearly, he can’t live with his mum at the moment.”

Ian shook his head and swore under his breath, then retreated into the living room and lowered himself onto the couch before dropping his head to his hands.

When Flynn and Ted joined him in the living room, Lily fought the urge to bolt. There was an adrenaline rush attached to figuring out what had happened, which had entirely left her now. Irrationally, she felt horribly guilty for the chaos she’d just thrown the family into, and had to remind herself it wasn’t her fault.

Knowing she couldn’t just slip away when things felt uncomfortable, she followed Flynn into the living room and took a seat at the end of the couch.

“Rhys can stay with me,” Ted said, breaking the silence in the room.

“It’s not that I don’t want him,” Ian said, looking forlornly at Ted. “But you heard what he said earlier – he wants to be with his friends. After all this with his mum, he needs some stability and I don’t think moving him to a new town and school will be good for him.”

“I’m happy for him to live with me, if that’s an option.” Ted cast Flynn a questioning look.

“It’s an option if it’s what Rhys wants,” Flynn said. “I’d need to chat it through with him, but if he agrees – and if you two are in agreement” ––he shifted his gaze to Ian and then back to Ted––“I can’t see it being an issue. His mother needs to be okay with it as well.”

“Even after what she’s done?” Ian snapped. “She still gets a say?”

Flynn nodded, then flicked his attention to the doorway as Rhys wandered in, head bent low. He moved to stand beside his stepdad. “I want to live with Ted,” he said.

“I’m not saying you can’t live with me,” his dad said. “If you wanted to, we could figure it out…”

Rhys shook his head. “I want to stay with Ted.”

“You can.” Ted rested a hand on Rhys’s back but looked at Flynn.

“That seems like the best arrangement,” Flynn agreed. “At least for the short term.”

“What will happen to Mum?” Rhys asked, his voice hoarse. “Will she be arrested?”

Flynn’s eyes shone with compassion. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

“Your mum is ill,” Ted said sympathetically. “She’s going to get help.”

Flynn nodded in confirmation.

“Can we go to your place today?” Rhys asked Ted. “I don’t want to stay here.”

Ted nodded. “Pack your things.”

“I need to talk to Max, too. I can’t believe I punched him.” His eyes glistened sorrowfully. “He’ll probably never speak to me again.”

“We’ll go and see him on the way to my place,” Ted said. “Once we explain everything, he’ll understand.”

Looking shell-shocked, Rhys nodded and trudged from the room. They waited in silence as his footsteps receded up the stairs.

Ian broke the silence. “We’ll sort something out financially,” he said to Ted with a firm nod.

“I’ll manage,” Ted replied. “It’s not an issue.”

“We’ll figure it out,” he repeated as he stood. “I’m going to see if Rhys needs help.”

“I’m going to head off too,” Flynn said. “I should get over to the station. If you need anything, just call. And we’ll keep you updated on what’s happening with Mrs Johnson.”

The two men muttered their thanks, and Flynn shot Lily a questioning look. “Are you all right?”

Apart from feeling as though she’d just torn a kid’s life apart, she was fine. “I’m okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He nodded and said a collective goodbye before he left.

Once he’d gone and Ian had disappeared upstairs, Lily leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes.

It was a moment before Ted broke the silence. “How did you know it was her?”

“I didn’t know for sure.” Slowly, she opened her eyes. “It just didn’t feel right that Max had done it. Max’s mum told me Mandy had only gone off with her husband to make you jealous. It got me thinking. I thought it was worth a shot at provoking her. I just wish Rhys hadn’t been here to witness it.”

“At least it came to light.” He pushed his hands through his hair. “If it weren’t for you, he’d have continued living under the same roof as her, and it would probably only have been a matter of time before she snapped again.” He let out a low growl. “I feel like I let Rhys down. If I’d have realised how bad things were…”

“You’ve always done your best for Rhys,” Lily said firmly. “You still are.”

“It’s not an ideal situation. The house is too small and I don’t know how I’ll manage financially.”

Lily glared at him, annoyed by his previous conversation with Rhys’s dad. “You should have accepted Ian’s help.”

“I will. I’m not so proud that I’d turn him down completely. I’ll take what he gives me, which will be what he was previously giving to Mandy.”

“Isn’t it enough?”

“It’ll help. We’re fine for now. I’m just not sure what I’ll do when Rhys finishes school and insists on coming to work for me. The fishing doesn’t make enough as it is, so I can’t afford to pay him, too.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’ll have to take on more odd jobs. Find more work. It’ll be okay.”

“I wish I could help.” Maybe when the ice cream shop was up and running, she could offer Rhys a job there. She didn’t feel like making promises she couldn’t keep, though. First she had to get the shop up and running.

“You’ve been help enough as it is,” Ted said. “Thank you doesn’t seem to cover it.”

“I hardly did anything,” Lily said as she stood.

With a shy smile, she said goodbye and set off for home. While adamantly ignoring the emptiness she felt at the idea of going back to the lonely flat.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Yet again, the beach was a more appealing place to hang out than the empty flat. There, Lily could stare out at the horizon and avoid making big decisions. She could watch seabirds swoop and dive and listen to the calming sound of the waves. She could bask in the evening sunshine and feel the breeze tickling her skin.

If she focussed on those things, she could ignore the reality of her life.

An hour went by and then another.

She should go and eat.

And she should sleep.

Or try to. The thought of another night on the faulty air mattress made her want to cry.

Maybe she’d be better off sleeping on the sand.

“There you are!” Flynn’s energetic tone was the exact opposite of how Lily was feeling. “I’ve been banging on your door. You should get a doorbell and an intercom system.”

“I’ll add it to my list,” she said, soaking in his smile as he knelt beside her on the sand.

“You were amazing!” His eyes sparkled and his enthusiasm would have been infectious if Lily’s mood wasn’t so low. “Totally amazing.”

“You were,” she countered.

The dimple appeared in his cheek. “Did you like my ‘going to make tea’ trick?”

“Yes.” She managed a small smile.

“It worked a charm! But you were brilliant – the way you got Mandy to admit what she’d done… I’ll be honest, I didn’t see that coming.”

“You were really great with her,” she said, dismissing his praise. “I wasn’t sure what would happen… if you’d have to arrest her or something.”

He shook his head. “That would only have escalated the situation.”

“What will happen to her?”

“I’m not sure. She’ll likely need a psychiatric evaluation. Hopefully she’ll get help for her drinking, and whatever other help she needs. As for locking her kid in a tomb… I imagine she’ll be charged and have to go to court.”

“It’s sad, isn’t it?” Lily said.

“Yeah.” Flynn didn’t look particularly sorrowful. “But it’s great that you figured everything out. It’ll be a massive relief for Max and his mum.”

“I suppose so.”

His smile lost some wattage. “What’s up?” He gave her leg a friendly nudge. “I thought you’d be excited.”

She almost laughed then – because she was anything but excited.

“What’s going on?” he asked, the gravity in his words making her want to tell him everything that was going on in her head.

“I think I got so caught up in figuring out who’d locked Rhys in that tomb that I didn’t really stop to think how horrible all of this is for him.”

Flynn frowned. “It seemed to me that you were thinking about Rhys the whole time.”

“Kind of,” she said. “But in the end, I think I could have been a bit more sensitive. Like maybe not get his mum to admit to everything in front of him.”

“She’s the one who did something wrong, not you. Because of you, he’s safe now.”

“It just feels pretty crap,” she said. “Also…” She stopped before she started on her next rant and clamped her jaw shut as she gazed into the distance.

Instead of pushing her, Flynn stayed quiet, but settled himself on the sand and made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry.

“I’ve never bought furniture before,” Lily said eventually.

His left eyebrow rose a fraction. “Do you need help choosing stuff?”

“I don’t think it’s actually ordering furniture that’s a problem.” She sank her fingers into the sand beside her. “I’ve always rented furnished places. Places I could leave without too much hassle. When I was growing up, we moved around a lot…”

“You and your uncle?”

“Yes. After my parents died, he took me to Italy with him. He was a chemistry teacher and had a job at an international school. We stayed there for a year and then moved to a different city. After a couple of years in Italy, we moved to Spain and then France. Most school years, I moved to a different international school in a different city or country.”

“Wow,” Flynn said. “I can’t imagine that.”

The sand felt slightly hypnotic as it ran through Lily’s fingers. “When I was young, it felt exciting. Uncle Derek always made moving an adventure, and I got caught up in his enthusiasm. But the older I got, the more I resented it. I hated having to always make new friends. I never really felt like I belonged anywhere.”

“It sounds pretty unsettling to me,” Flynn ventured. “You and your uncle were close, though?”

“Yeah. Really close. Until I got sick of the moving around and was old enough to make my opinion heard.” She didn’t like to dwell on all the arguments they’d had. “I wanted to move back to the UK. In the end, Uncle Derek agreed, though I don’t think he was ever happy about it. I went to Exeter University, and I moved in with friends. I thought everything would be different, but somehow I never settled to anything. I dropped out of university, and I could never seem to stick at a job. I bounced between various rented accommodation.”

Taking a deep breath, she looked at Flynn.

“So ordering furniture here feels like too much commitment?” he ventured.

“Maybe.” When the intensity of his gaze felt like too much, she looked to the horizon. “If I order paint and furniture and open the ice cream shop, then I’m definitely staying. This will be my home.”

“Don’t you want that?”

“I think I do.” She pushed a strand of hair from her face. “It’s kind of overwhelming, too.”

Again, he nudged her leg, this time more gently. It forced her to look at him.

“If you decide you want to move on again, you can always sell furniture.”

She nodded. He was right.

“Here’s a plan,” he said eagerly. “After work tomorrow, I’ll come over and help you choose furniture. Everything is daunting if you do it alone.”

“Thanks,” she said.

“For now, we should get a drink!” The energy came back to his eyes and she hated to turn him down.

“I’m so tired,” she told him.

“Come on! Let’s go to the pub. I’m buying drinks. I’ll even stretch to food if you’re hungry.”

It was almost tempting, but she really was exhausted. “Thanks, but I need an early night.”

Disappointment flashed in his eyes, and was gone again in an instant. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m good.” She swallowed hard and stood up. “Thanks.”

He fell into step beside her and they walked up the beach. “I should probably go home, too. I’m working early tomorrow. How about I bring drinks tomorrow and we can celebrate our investigative skills while we choose your furniture?”

“That sounds good.”

He walked her all the way to her door.

“I’m not exactly sure what time I’ll be working til, but probably around five.” He continued talking while she opened the door and stepped inside. “I’ll message you when I’m on my way over.”

“Great,” Lily muttered, but she wasn’t really listening. She was preoccupied with the object on the counter at the back of the room.

“See you tomorrow then,” Flynn said.

Quickly, she moved towards the blue ring binder. “That’s not mine,” she muttered.

“What?” Flynn said.

“That’s not mine,” she repeated, louder this time.

“What isn’t?”

“The folder isn’t mine.” She caught Flynn’s eye as he walked to her side. “Someone has been here.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The thought that someone had been in the shop sent fear snaking around Lily’s spine.

“Don’t touch anything,” Flynn said from somewhere over her shoulder. His no-nonsense tone pushed her further into panic mode as he took her keys from her hand. “And don’t move. Stay there.”

She whirled around as he darted into the back room. “Where are you going?”

“To check they’re not still here.”

Him switching into police mode did nothing to put her at ease, but as he pounded up the stairs to the flat, she spotted the note on top of the folder. The swirly writing immediately calmed her.

Ignoring Flynn’s instructions not to touch anything, she reached to pick it up.

For Lily’s eyes only.

Only four words, but there was something comforting about the handwriting.

Setting it aside, she opened the folder and stared at the contents.

Distracted with leafing through the pages, she forgot all about Flynn until he returned a couple of minutes later. At the sight of him in the corner of her vision, she closed the file.

“I told you not to touch that,” he said fiercely.

“It’s fine.”

He walked to the front window and peered out. “You need to look through your things to check there’s nothing missing, but there’s no sign that anyone was upstairs.”

“They weren’t,” she said quietly.

“If someone came to rob you, they’d be disappointed with your flat. They’d no doubt think someone beat them to it.”

“No one came to rob me.”

“How do you know?” He was so close beside her that she caught a pleasant waft of his aftershave. “Did you just forget you left that there?”

“No. It’s not mine.” She smiled to herself. “Well, I guess it is now.”

“What is it?”

Lily swatted his hand away when he reached for it. While he frowned at her, she showed him the note that had been delivered with it.

“What is it?” he asked, voice brimming with suspicion.

“I can’t tell you,” she said, a warm sensation spreading from her stomach that swept away her melancholy and made her feel almost giddy. “It’s top secret.”

“Stop messing about,” Flynn said. “What is it?”

“It’s private.”

He tilted his head and looked at her impatiently. “It’s the same writing as the note you got from the owner of this place, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“So they’ve been here while you were out. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Not really.”

He stared at her for a moment. “Just because they own the building doesn’t mean they can let themselves in whenever they feel like it. They shouldn’t have access to the place at all. If they want to come in, they need to clear that with you first. It will say so in your rental agreement.”

Lily winced.

“Please tell me you read through the rental agreement before you signed it?”

She pressed her lips together. “I haven’t actually signed a contract.”

Flynn opened his mouth, but she spoke over him.

“I was supposed to go to Mr Greaves’ office and sort out the paperwork, but I’ve been busy.” She gave him a pointed look.

“Go and see him tomorrow,” he instructed, “And make sure there’s a clause that says the owner can’t access the property unless by prior arrangement. And ask Mr Greaves who has keys to this place. It’s creepy to think that someone can let themselves in. I don’t want to scare you, but maybe we should put an extra lock on the door to the flat.”

She smiled at the way he’d said we. Having someone concerned for her safety felt comforting, even if it was completely unnecessary.

“You don’t need to worry,” she told him. “They didn’t come here with any malicious intent. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“How do you know?” He looked from her to the folder.

“It’s recipes,” she told him, grinning.

“Recipes?”

“Yes. The owner gave me her original ice cream recipes.”

Again, he extended a hand towards the folder, and again she swatted him away. “You can’t look. There are secret ingredients in here that no one else can know about.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not.” She took the folder and held it protectively against her chest. “The owner entrusted it to me and only me. You can go now so I can look through it properly, but thank you for checking on the flat.” Instinctively, she kissed his cheek, squeezing his upper arm as she did.

He sighed heavily. “I realise you want to get rid of me, but I have a question first.”

“What is it?”

“Where is your bed?” He pointed overhead. “I know you haven’t ordered furniture yet, but I assumed you at least had something to sleep on. There’s no bed up there – just a bunch of blankets on the floor.”

“The bunch of blankets were on an air mattress, but it seems to have a puncture.” Determinedly, she told herself not to get sucked back into self-pity. Tomorrow, she’d order a bed and some other furniture. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long to be delivered to the island. Surely, it couldn’t be more than a week or two.

Her heart sank at the thought of sleeping on the floor for a week or two.

“Stay at my place,” Flynn said.

Her eyes flicked up to meet his. “What?”

“Stay at my place.”

“No,” she said weakly.

His smile was all charm. “I don’t mean to brag, but I have a bed and a couch.” His teasing eyes turned serious. “I can’t leave you to sleep here with no bed.”

Her pride wanted to argue, but it was drowned out by the part of her that couldn’t face another night of attempting to sleep on the floor.

“The couch actually sounds nice,” she said. “Just for tonight. If you’re sure you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all. Grab your things.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Flynn waited downstairs while Lily threw a few essentials in her bag. Then he chatted away while they walked to his place – telling her some tidbit about the bell that rang in the distance. Apparently, it was attached to a buoy out at sea and chimed with the swell of the waves. Some local had told him about it, and Lily suspected he was only passing on the information to distract her from her embarrassment over her living situation.

“Grab a drink and make yourself at home,” he said when they walked into his living room. “I’ll sort out some bedding.”

“Sorry to be a pain,” she said.

“It’s really not a problem.”

Tiredness hit her and she sank onto a chair at the kitchen table where she listened to Flynn moving around in his bedroom. When he reappeared, she’d help him make up the couch, but until then she couldn’t bring herself to move.

It was a good ten minutes later when he walked out with a pile of bedding in his arms. He deposited it unceremoniously on the couch.

“I put fresh bedding on and it’s reasonably tidy in there.” He glanced back at the bedroom. “The mattress is actually really comfy.”

Lily blinked through her confusion. “I’m sleeping on the couch.”

“It’s fine. You can take the bed.”

“I can’t take your bed.” Lifting from the chair, she drifted to the bedroom doorway.

“It’s actually easier if you sleep in there,” Flynn said. “Then I won’t need to worry about waking you if you’re still asleep when I’m getting ready for work tomorrow. He eased past her and grabbed his uniform, which was hanging on the wardrobe door.

“I can’t sleep in your bed,” Lily said dumbly.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s your bed,” she stated flatly. “Also, you have to work tomorrow, so you need a good night’s sleep. I’ve spent the last six months sleeping on a couch so I’m completely used to it.” Technically it had been a sofa bed in her bedsit in Truro but she’d rarely bothered to extend it to a bed since it took up most of the space in the room. Her eyes flicked to Flynn, who was frowning deeply.

“You should definitely take the bed,” he said.

She growled in frustration. “I didn’t say that so you’d pity me. I was only pointing out that I’m fine on the couch.” Except when she glanced in at the bed, with the crisp sheets and abundant space, she felt a tug of longing.

“Sorry,” Flynn said.

“Sorry?” She whipped her gaze back to him. “You’re offering me your bed. What do you have to be sorry for?”

He shook his head. “I meant I’m sorry for whatever shitty situation you’ve been going through for the last six months.”

She opened her mouth, but the lump in her throat made it impossible to speak. Tears burned at the back of her eyes, but she willed them away. She wasn’t someone who cried easily, and she wasn’t about to start in front of Flynn.

“Do you want a drink?” he asked. “There’s never a lot of food in my fridge, but I’m pretty good at keeping it stocked with beer.”

“I’m okay, thanks.”

He walked to the kitchen. “Are you sure?”

“I might just go to bed,” she whispered.

“Whatever you want.”

She went to pick up her bag, then stopped once again in the bedroom doorway. “It’s pretty pathetic how excited I am about sleeping in a bed.”

Since she’d gone for a jokey tone, she expected him to reply with a witty comment, but his expression was serious.

“It’s not pathetic,” he said, with a wealth of sympathy in his eyes.

She wished him goodnight as she closed the door.

Once she was in her pyjamas, she crawled under the duvet. She inhaled the tantalising fresh scent of clean bedding and adamantly ignored the way Flynn’s words echoed in her head.

I’m sorry for whatever shitty situation you’ve been going through.

It hadn’t been an easy time, but she wouldn’t think about it now.

Not when she was nestled in the luxury of a double bed with clean sheets.

And feeling as safe and content as she had done in a long time.

Chapter Forty

Everything was quiet when Lily drifted out of sleep, trying and failing to cling to whatever pleasant dream she’d been lost in. The complete darkness showed that it wasn’t even close to daylight, and she basked in the luxury of a proper bed. Perhaps it was because of the unusually deep sleep, or possibly because she had too much to ponder, but it soon became clear she wouldn’t drift off again.

Her thoughts went to Rhys, wondering if he’d managed to sleep. And then to Ted, who she suspected would have spent a sleepless night figuring out how to make ends meet, as well as how to support his stepson through such a difficult time. Once again, it made her think of her uncle, and she wondered how many sleepless nights she’d caused him over the years.

Groggily, she remembered Rhys’s insistence that he wanted to work for Ted on his boat. She envied him his certainty over his career path. Working on a lobster boat was probably a pleasant way to make a living. It seemed completely foreign to Lily and one of those professions which was probably often passed down from parent to child.

Maybe she’d ask Ted if she could go out on the boat with him one day. Just to see what lobster fishing was all about.

Her eyes blinked open as a thought hit her.

Checking the clock, she was pleased to find it was still early – not yet dawn. Which meant she could make it to the harbour in time if she hurried.

Despite the alluring comfort of the bed, she left it without hesitation. Quietly, she dressed and pushed her pyjamas into her backpack.

The bedroom door didn’t make a sound when she opened it, and she was hopeful she could creep out without disturbing Flynn. She’d send him a message, so he wasn’t concerned when he woke and found her gone. Halfway across the living room, she paused to look at him draped across the couch.

In the dim light, she could make out his dishevelled hair and the strong line of his jaw. Her eyes moved to his chest…

“Are you okay?” His gruff voice almost had her exiting her skin.

She swore under her breath. “You scared the life out of me.”

“You’re the one creeping around in the dark.” He propped himself on an elbow. “Is my bed too comfortable for you?”

“I haven’t slept so well in ages,” she told him happily. “But I need to go.”

“Now? The sun isn’t even up.”

“Yeah, I know. I just… There’s something I want to do straight away.”

“Anything you need help with?”

She shifted her weight, keen to get going, but uncomfortable with being mysterious. Not telling him where she was going felt like she was lying to him again.

“I don’t need help, thanks. I’ll explain it to you later. I just really need to go now.”

“Okay,” he whispered.

She paused at the door with her hand on the handle. “Thank you for letting me stay. I really appreciate it.”

“Sure,” he said. “Any time.”

As she left his building, she couldn’t help but think he’d meant it when he’d said any time. And it felt good to know she had someone she could rely on.

Even with his cap keeping the first rays of daylight from his face, Ted was easy to spot. He nudged the peak up when he spotted Lily.

“I thought you’d have given up creeping around at all hours now that everything’s out in the open.”

She smiled gently. “I’m not creeping around. I just wondered if I could come with you.”

“Where to?”

She pointed towards the horizon. “Wherever it is you go.”

“To check the pots?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” He looked to the horizon too, as though the answer was out there somewhere.

“If you don’t like company, you can just say so.”

“I don’t have anything against company. It’s just…” He removed his cap and squeezed the peak before setting it on his head again. “This is awkward, but I’ll just say it… yesterday when you were flirting with me…”

She shook her head a little too forcefully. “I wasn’t flirting. Well, I was, but not really. It was only for show… you know, to see how Mandy would react.”

“Right. Good. Just checking. So you wanting to come out on the boat with me, isn’t… you know… a thing?”

“No! No offence, but you’re––” She slapped a hand across her mouth. “I’m really sorry,” she mumbled through her fingers.

“It’s never going to be anything good when someone starts a sentence with no offence but…”

“I was only going to say…” She grimaced, not sure how to say it tactfully.

“That I’m way too old for you?”

“I definitely wasn’t going to say way too old, but I was thinking about the age difference.”

“If it makes you feel better, I agree that you’re too young for me.” He sighed. “I haven’t got the stamina.”

While Lily snorted a laugh, Ted covered his face with his arm.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered. “Did I just say that? Please get on the boat. I’ll start the engine… hopefully the noise will drown out this car crash of a conversation.”

She hopped aboard and settled herself on a bench at the side of the deck. They stayed quiet as the boat cut a path through the water, the engine noise a gentle purr. As they left the harbour, the sun peeked onto the horizon, breaking through in a blurry streak of red that spilled onto the water and made the peaks of the waves twinkle gloriously.

“It’s beautiful,” Lily said, pushing her hair from her face as she turned back to Ted.

His rough hands rested at the helm. “This is the best part of the day, in my opinion. Funny that most people miss it.” He glanced at Lily. “Are you usually an early bird, or did you get up specifically for the boat trip?”

“I felt like a boat trip,” she said, pulling her hair back and securing it in a ponytail. “I wanted to see how you catch lobster.”

He huffed out a laugh. “What brought that on?”

“I just thought it might be interesting.”

“It’s probably not as interesting as you’d think.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she told him, then switched her attention to the endless stretch of water before them.

Over the next couple of hours, she lost all sense of time. Just as she’d thought, tagging along with Ted was an incredibly interesting experience.

What she hadn’t envisioned was the way he came to life when he talked about his work. While he told her about the lobster pots and held out a lobster for her to inspect, his passion radiated from him. His knowledge tumbled out, telling her about the best bait, and the different types of lobster, how big they had to be for him to keep them, and how to differentiate between males and females.

His knowledge went further than lobster too – he told her all about the seals they spotted laying on rocks, and he could identify all the different sea birds. They even spotted a couple of puffins and he told her all about their mating and nesting habits.

By the time they chugged back into the harbour, Lily felt pretty pleased with herself.

Once Ted had tied the boat up, he offered his hand to help her from the boat.

“I was right that it was interesting,” she said. “I would have paid good money for that trip.”

He smiled. “If only other people would.”

“They would,” she said. “They absolutely would.”

Ted frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“You could offer it as a trip for holidaymakers.”

“I don’t reckon anyone would seriously pay for that.”

“They would.” She laughed at his inability to see how special his job was. “Get Rhys to film you doing everything you just did. That’s all the advertising you’ll need.” She switched her attention back to the boat. “How many people could you comfortably fit? Easily five or six passengers, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Charge them thirty quid each and that’s a nice little extra, isn’t it? Enough that you could afford to employ Rhys.”

“Who’s going to pay thirty quid for a couple of hours bobbing around on my old boat?”

“Lots of people will. Because what you’re offering is a glimpse of a lifestyle they’ll never get to experience. I’m telling you; they’ll pay for the trip and probably still want to tip you at the end. You’re fascinating when you get talking about your work.”

He pulled his hat from his head. “You really think people will pay for that?”

She nodded eagerly.

“I could just have people come along with me and earn extra money for no extra work?”

“No doubt they’d even want to help you with the work.”

“Well, that seems mad.” He looked thoughtful, as though mulling it over.

“You’d need a simple website and a bit of advertising, but Rhys could do all of that.”

“I’d probably need extra insurance if I had passengers,” Ted mused. “It’s not a bad idea, though. I’m going to look into it.” A slow smile spread over his face. “Did you already have that idea before you came out on the boat, or did it just come to you?”

“I already thought of it,” she said. “I wanted to come along and check it wasn’t utterly boring before I suggested it.”

“Thank you.” He looked genuinely touched. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“I have some reading to do,” she said, thinking of the folder that had been delivered to the ice cream shop the previous evening. “And I need to visit the solicitor and go over some paperwork for the ice cream shop. After that, I’m ordering paint and decorating supplies, and some furniture. Do you know how long it takes to get stuff delivered over here?”

“It varies, but it’s usually safe to assume it won’t be quick.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“What colour paint do you want?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Why?”

“I might be able to get my hands on some, if you’re not set on any specific colours.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded. “I can lend you brushes and whatever else you need.”

“That would be amazing.”

“I can’t promise, but hold off on ordering anything for a couple of hours until I’ve looked into it.”

“Thank you.”

“I feel as though it’s the least I can do.” He looked into the boat. “I could also offer you a lobster…”

“I’m currently very limited in my kitchen supplies. Once I have a few more pots and pans, I’ll take you up on it.”

“Any time.”

There were those words again, making her feel all warm and fuzzy as she ambled away.

Chapter Forty-One

After grabbing a quick breakfast, Lily called Mr Greaves, who agreed to meet her at his office to go through the paperwork for the shop and the flat. Once again, she quizzed him about the owner, but predictably got no new information. He seemed genuinely surprised by the notion of the owner being on the island.

With the contract signed, she felt a sense of determination as she walked back to the shop. Finally, she was feeling motivated. She’d read through the ice cream recipes and the instructions for the machines, then she’d make proper progress on making the flat homely. Flynn was coming to help her pick out furniture, but maybe she’d have it all done by then and they could just relax with a beer or two.

Lost in a daydream, she was almost at her front door before she spotted Ted standing outside with Rhys and Max, and a bunch of paint supplies.

“Hey,” she said, patting Rhys’s arm. “How are you?”

“Okay, thanks,” he said shyly.

“We decided it would be good to get out of the house today,” Ted said, while Lily unlocked the door.

Rhys rolled his eyes. “I was actually going to play video games with Max until Ted insisted I come and help paint.”

“Mum said I have to help too,” Max added happily.

“Well, I appreciate it.” She eyed the paint tins. “Where did you get the paint from?”

“Just asked around to see if anyone had any going spare.” Ted picked up a couple of tins. “Apparently egg shell white is easy to come by. I have a lead on some lilac. I thought that might look good down in the shop…nice and cheerful.”

“It sounds great.” Lily’s eyes lit up. “You’ll have to tell me how much money I owe to who.”

“Everyone was happy to donate it,” he said, then tipped his head at Max. “Help me carry stuff inside.”

When they walked in, Lily picked up the remaining supplies. She’d just straightened up when she caught Rhys staring at her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked. “It’s been a rough time for you. I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling.”

“I’m okay,” he said, shifting his weight. “I wanted to say thanks for all your help.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, moving to the door.

He stepped into her path. “Also, I’m sorry for the social media stuff. The pranks I played on you. It was stupid.” From the way he glanced inside, Lily gathered he’d probably been coerced into apologising.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I thought the videos were good. In fact, I was thinking you could make some promotional material for the ice cream shop when it’s open.”

He rolled his eyes. “Am I going to be forever in your debt, or what?”

“I was going to pay you,” she said, chuckling at his grumpy teenager routine. “But if you’re not interested, don’t worry about it.”

“Seriously?” His eyes lit up. “You’d pay me for making videos?”

“Yes. You’d need to sort your attitude out, though. I’d expect a professional service.”

“I’ll do it really well if you’re paying me.”

“Good. Now get the door for me, please.”

He pushed at it and held it open, then grabbed the remaining bucket and paint rollers and followed her inside.

“We can start with the flat,” Ted said as they all filed upstairs. “I just heard from my friend that he’ll drop the lilac paint off later.”

“That’s amazing.” Upstairs, Lily set the supplies in the hallway. “I really can’t thank you enough.”

“Where’s all your furniture?” Rhys called when he and Max walked into the living room.

“I haven’t got any yet.”

“Have you ordered furniture?” Ted asked, frowning as he poked his head into each room.

“Not yet. I haven’t had much time. It’s fine though.”

Ted came back to the hallway. “Where do you sleep?”

“I was sleeping on an air mattress until it sprang a leak.”

“And since then?” he asked, eyebrows drawing together.

“Last night I slept at Flynn’s place.”

Ted’s eyes flashed with amusement. “I wondered if there was something going on between the two of you.”

“There isn’t,” she said in a rush. “We’re just friends.”

“Right,” he said, amusement dancing in his eyes.

“I can’t believe you have no furniture,” Rhys said, wandering back to the hallway. “You don’t even have a TV.”

“I only moved in a week ago. Give me a bit of time and I’ll have it looking like a palace.” She wasn’t keen to let the conversation linger on the state of her living arrangements. “Where shall we start?”

Ted seemed to be in his element directing operations, and Lily was more than happy to let him take over.

An hour later, Lily went into the living room to find Max and Rhys had abandoned their posts. Through the window, she could see them on the promenade, hunched over Rhys’s phone.

“Pair of slackers,” Ted muttered, appearing beside her. “I’d have a word with them, but to be honest, I’m just happy I got Rhys out of the house today. And it’s good to see him and Max back to normal.”

“Leave them to it,” Lily said. “They did a good job in here, anyway.” Having fresh paint on the walls wasn’t a huge transformation, but it was a small improvement, and she could imagine it looking cosy with some furniture and soft furnishings. “Do you know what’s happening with Mandy?” she asked quietly.

“She’s in the hospital for now,” Ted said wearily.

“The hospital?”

“Sergeant Proctor was concerned about alcohol withdrawal yesterday evening, so he took her over there.”

“It’s that bad?”

“Apparently so.” He blew out a breath. “I spoke to her mum earlier. She’s going to fly over. I feel bad, but I’m pretty much handing Mandy off to her. I don’t feel I can help her. I’m too angry with her.”

“I don’t blame you. And you’ve got your hands full with Rhys.”

“At least she agreed to him staying with me. I was worried she’d put up a fuss.”

“That’s good.”

“He loves the idea of the tourist trips, by the way.”

“Of course he does,” she said cockily. “It’s a great idea.”

A gentle smile pulled at his lips. “Come on. Back to work.”

He went to continue painting the kitchen while Lily made a start on the hallway. She was almost finished when Rhys and Max burst back into the flat, laughing their heads off.

“You have to see this,” Max said to Lily. “Rhys made another video.” He grinned at his friend. “Show her.”

“Don’t be angry,” Rhys said, approaching Lily with his phone in his hand.

“What have you done now?” Ted growled, walking out of the kitchen.

“Nothing bad,” Rhys insisted, showing his screen. “And I didn’t make it public. I just posted it in closed groups.”

“What groups?” Lily frowned at the still of her in the living room. “When did you take that?”

“Earlier. When you weren’t looking. Watch this…” He hit play and her eyes widened at the footage of her empty flat, with text overlay describing how she’d moved to the island with no furniture.

“Wait for the best bit,” Max said, giggling away.

She couldn’t help but laugh when the video ended on an image of her looking pensive. The picture wasn’t funny at all, but with the added violin music, the effect was amusing.

“You made me look like a charity case!”

“That’s the point,” Rhys said. “I asked people if they had anything to donate. The video needed to tug at the heartstrings.”

“No one’s going to just give away their furniture,” Lily said, shaking her head.

“There are loads of replies already,” Max said excitedly.

Rhys nodded. “The woman from the pub commented and said she’d coordinate donations so it’s not stressful for you. She’s coming over here now.”

“Seren?” Lily asked.

“Yes.” Rhys opened the comment section below the video and showed Lily the replies.

“Someone offered a couch,” she said with a gasp. “And a wardrobe.”

Smugly, Rhys took his phone back. “You’re welcome!” he said mockingly. “How about you just pay me whatever you’d have spent on furniture?”

“He’s joking, of course,” Ted said, wrapping his arm around Rhys’s shoulders. “That’s a great effort, though. Well done.”

“Thank you,” Lily said, feeling a surge of emotion swell in her chest.

Maybe she’d have the place feeling homely faster than she imagined.

Chapter Forty-Two

There were moments over the course of the afternoon when Lily caught Rhys with a faraway look in his eyes and was reminded of everything he’d been through. Hopefully, the support of the people around him would buffer him from too much lasting damage from the trauma inflicted by his mother.

Late in the afternoon, Jessica and Jory turned up to offer extra helping hands. With them on board, painting the downstairs didn’t take long at all. When they finished, Lily sent them off to the cafe with money to buy themselves refreshments.

Now, stepping outside to take a break from the paint fumes, she watched them huddled on the beach, chatting animatedly, and looking as though they’d entirely put aside the events of the past week. Lily felt a pang of envy for such tight friendships.

Her phone vibrated, and she hesitated before answering the phone to the unknown number.

“Is that Lily Larkin, the investigator?” a hoarse female voice asked.

“Yes.” Lily grimaced. “No. I mean, I’m Lily Larkin but I––”

The old lady cut her off. “My cat’s gone missing,” she said loudly enough for Lily to assume she couldn’t hear well.

She started to explain that she wasn’t an investigator, but quickly changed tack. “How long has it been missing?” she asked instead. It wasn’t as though she was about to take it on as a job, but she suspected she’d get off the phone quicker if she went along with it.

“Since yesterday evening. He didn’t come in for his breakfast.”

“Is that unusual?”

“Not really. I think my neighbour feeds him. I’ve told him not to, but I think he does, anyway. He claims he doesn’t, but I know he’s lying. Could you investigate it?”

Lily stifled a laugh. “How about you call me again if he hasn’t returned by tomorrow morning?”

“Oh, he’ll be back by then. I just want you to find out for definite if my neighbour feeds him. Get some evidence for me. Stake him out and take secret photos. That sort of thing.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have much time at the moment.”

“Okay.” She huffed a frustrated sigh. “Worth a try, I suppose.”

Lily said goodbye, but the woman had already hung up.

“What are you grinning at?” Ted asked, arriving behind her.

She shook her head. “Nothing. Just enjoying the sunshine for a minute.”

“I think a coffee is in order,” Ted said, stepping outside. “And not that instant stuff upstairs. I’ll get us something decent from the cafe.”

“I’ll go,” Lily said.

“In that case, I’ll get started on washing paint brushes.” He went back inside and Lily smiled to herself as she ambled to the cafe. The productive day, and the generosity of the islanders, had done a brilliant job of lifting her spirits.

She was walking back from the café with two coffees in her hands when Flynn called out to her. His smile was full of warmth and he looked completely relaxed in his jeans and grey hoodie. His stubble grazed her chin when he kissed her cheek in greeting, and her stomach clenched as she remembered they had plans.

“I was just thinking,” he said quickly. “Why don’t you stay at my place until you sort out your furniture situation?”

Her blood pulsed harder in her veins as guilt flooded through her. “I… um…”

“I know, I know. You’re fine. But it seems silly to sleep on the floor when you can stay at my place. It’s really no problem.”

“Thank you...”

“What are friends for?” He took one of the coffees from her. “Are you all ready for some furniture shopping? I brought beers if you fancy one later.” He held up the bag.

“Thanks. The thing is…”

A noise inside the shop drew their attention, and they looked in the open door to see Ted walking towards them with a bucket and a load of paintbrushes and rollers.

He said a quick hello to Flynn, then looked at Lily. “I’ll check there’s nothing else upstairs.”

“Thanks,” Lily murmured as he walked away again.

“Ted’s helping you,” Flynn said with a tight smile. “That’s nice of him.”

“You really wouldn’t believe my day.” She wasn’t even sure where to start. “I went out with Ted on his boat this morning.” Squinting, she pondered how to succinctly explain that. “I had this business idea for him… it’s kind of a long story, but I was out on the boat, and then I mentioned needing to order paint supplies and he said he could get some for me. Then he roped Rhys and Max into helping paint the place, so that’s what we’ve been doing all afternoon. And then Rhys made this video… It’s slightly embarrassing, but he spread the word that I needed furniture and suddenly I had a lot of locals offering me their unwanted things. Seren and Kit are out somewhere with a van collecting stuff now.”

Flynn’s eyes fell to the cup in his hand. “This coffee wasn’t for me, was it?”

“No, but don’t worry about it. You can have it.”

He handed it back. “I guess you don’t need my help with furniture shopping now?”

“I’m so sorry,” she said, feeling like the worst person in the world. “My day was crazy. I should’ve messaged you and told you what was going on.”

“You forgot we had plans?”

“I’m really sorry,” she said again. “I feel horrible. I just got caught up in everything.”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s great that people are helping.”

“It’s kind of a relief,” she told him.

“Yeah, I bet.” He smiled, but the enthusiasm he’d arrived with had vanished.

“I really appreciate your offer to help me. And for letting me stay over last night.”

“No worries.” He held up the bag in his hand. “Maybe we can have beers another night.”

“You don’t need to go,” she said. “You can hang around.”

“Watch out!” Kit’s voice boomed. “The queen is coming.”

A burst of giggles erupted from the little girl sitting on the armchair which Seren and Kit carried.

“We roped Trystan into helping,” Seren said as Flynn stood aside to let them pass. “Ellie wanted to come along as well. Jago said he’d come and help unload the van too.”

“How much furniture have you got?” Lily asked, shifting inside, and holding the door with her foot while she juggled the two coffees.

“A lot!” Seren beamed. “Really nice stuff, too.”

“That’s so great. Thank you for picking it up.” She’d offered to go with them, but they’d insisted they were fine alone.

“You just need to tell us where to put it all,” Kit said as they moved through the shop.

Lily nodded while looking to Flynn, who remained outside. “I’m really sorry,” she said quietly.

“It’s fine,” he replied, backing away.

“Which walls do we need to be careful of?” Kit called.

“All of them,” she replied. “There’s wet paint everywhere…”

She grimaced at Flynn, feeling terrible but really needing to go and help.

“Go!” He waved a hand and gave her a proper smile. “Figure out where to put all your furniture.”

“Thanks,” she murmured and turned away from him.

Following Seren and Kit to the flat, she mentally berated herself for forgetting her plans with Flynn. He’d been so supportive since she arrived back on the island and she felt like the most ungrateful person ever. And underneath that was a lot of disappointment that she wouldn’t get to hang out with him. Having everyone around to help her with the flat was great, and she wasn’t complaining, but hanging out with Flynn would have been good, too.

“How about over here by the window?” Seren said, drawing her from her trance. “You’ll be able to drink your morning coffee while looking out at the sea…” Turning in a circle, she scanned the room. “Then we could put the couch over there, and the TV against that wall.”

Lily scrunched her nose up. “You don’t have a TV for me, do you?”

“Yes! We had the choice of two actually, and we went for the bigger one.”

“That’s amazing,” Lily said, feeling a fresh wave of overwhelm at people’s generosity. “I hope you remember who donated everything so I can thank them.”

“I have a list!” Seren said. “But honestly, most people just had the stuff in storage and were happy to get of rid of things.” She looked at the armchair, which little Ellie had taken a definite liking to. “So, is it okay here?”

“Perfect,” Lily replied, already looking forward to drinking her morning coffee snuggled up in the cosy-looking green chair.

Kit bent to tickle Ellie, then straightened up and clapped his hands together. “Let’s get the rest.”

When they reached the front door, Trystan and Jago Treneary were backing in, carrying one end of a white wardrobe. Flynn had the other end.

“You’re still here,” Lily said as a smile hit her lips.

“He was about to run away,” Trystan said, straining under the weight of the wardrobe. “But he spotted Jago with a crate of beer and was suddenly keen to hang around.”

“Sounds about right,” Seren said, giving Flynn a playful slap on the arm.

Flynn grinned at Lily. “That’s absolutely not true.”

“It’s actually a housewarming gift,” Jago said, tipping his head towards the crate of beer in the middle of the room. “But I’ve got more in the car. Once we’ve unloaded, we can toast your new place.”

“Sounds good,” Lily said. “Thanks.”

“Could we keep moving?” Flynn said with a groan. “I’m taking all the weight here.”

“It hardly weighs anything,” Jago teased. “You may need to adjust your workouts to more than just lifting pints.”

Flynn choked on a laugh. “Why do I seem to have a reputation for drinking beer?”

“Oh, I can’t imagine!” Seren said sarcastically.

“Where do you want this?” Flynn asked, grinning at Lily.

“Bedroom,” she told him, returning his smile.

An hour later, her freshly painted ice cream shop was bustling with people happily sampling Jago’s latest batch of beer. A new brew, which he seemed happy to get feedback on from his enthusiastic taste testers. Thanks to the paint fumes, the door had been left open and passers-by slowed down to peer in at the noisy gathering. Over the course of the hour, more of the Treneary family had arrived until Lily was certain they must almost all be there.

Lily was feeling a little overwhelmed by their increasingly rowdy banter and glanced around for Flynn, looking for an ally. He wasn’t in the room. Surely he wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye…

There was no time to ponder it as the matriarch of the Treneary family arrived at the door with a bunch of flowers. Mirren gasped as she stepped inside and made a beeline for Lily.

“This is very surreal,” she said, giving Lily a hug. “I think the last time I walked in here I was pushing Kit in his buggy.”

“Here comes the reminiscing,” Kit said, eyes sparkling.

Mirren patted Lily’s arm. “I’ll have to have a look through our photo albums. I’ll bet I have photos of this place from when the kids were little.”

“I’d love to see,” Lily told her.

“Did you find out anything more about the owner?” Mirren asked.

“No, but I think she lives on the island…” The room fell silent and Lily felt self-conscious with all the attention on her.

“Really?” Seren asked eagerly.

“She can’t,” Mirren said. “I’d know about it.”

Snorts of laughter burst around the room.

“No one could live on St Mary’s without Mum knowing about it,” Trystan said mockingly. “It’s not allowed.”

Mirren hushed him with a stern look and a wave of her hand. “I’d have seen her,” she said. “What makes you think she lives here?”

“Someone came into the shop while I was out and left me a book of ice cream recipes.”

Everyone seemed to speak at once, and the eruption of opinions made Lily smile widely.

“That’s creepy,” Seren said, cutting through the chatter. “It must have been the owner, though. Who else could it have been?”

“I would have seen her around!” Mirren said again, looking amusingly indignant.

“Mum!” Noah shouted. “Half the time you don’t notice me when you pass me in the street.”

A mischievous smile pulled at Mirren’s lips. “It’s not that I don’t notice you,” she said, causing a cascade of laughter around the room. “Well,” she said, giving Lily a conspiratorial look. “If I stopped to greet every member of my family when I went out, I’d never get anywhere.” Her eyes went to the flowers in her hand. “These are for you,” she said, handing them over.

“Thank you.” Lily glanced around. “I’ll see if I can find something to pass as a vase.”

“I should have brought one,” Mirren said. “I’ll pop one over tomorrow. And if there’s anything else you need, just let me know. My attic is like a bric-à-brac shop and you’re welcome to any of it.”

“Thank you,” Lily said again as she backed away and out of the room. In the kitchen upstairs, she found a pint glass and filled it with water. It was an unstable vase, but it would do for now and the bright blue blooms would liven up the living room perfectly.

She was striding through the doorway when she registered the low voices. By then, it was too late to back away.

“Sorry,” she said, clocking Flynn and Ted deep in conversation by the window. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Don’t be daft,” Ted said, “it’s your house. I was just getting a quick update on Mandy.”

With the cheerful atmosphere downstairs, Lily had almost forgotten about that situation. She gave Ted a sympathetic smile and set the flowers on the coffee table.

“I’m going to see if there are any beers left down there,” Ted said as he passed her. “Also, I was thinking you probably shouldn’t sleep here tonight. The paint fumes won’t be good for you.” His left eyebrow twitched and his eyes twinkled as he smiled at her.

She rolled her eyes at him and watched him leave before she turned to Flynn.

“Are you staying at his place?” he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“No.” She inhaled deeply, then coughed on the cloying scent of paint at the back of her throat. Maybe Ted was right about staying somewhere else. Briefly, she remembered Noah’s comment about Flynn taking someone home after the pub, and wondered whether her staying at his place interfered with his evening entertainments. He had said she was welcome to, though. “Can I stay at your place again?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said without hesitation. “Of course.”

She smiled gratefully and felt a wave of tiredness. “First, I need to figure out how to break up the party downstairs.”

“Considering they have completely furnished your flat today, I think you’re going to have to let them have their fun for a while.”

“Is that your official police response?”

“I’m afraid so.” He placed his hands on her shoulders to march her out of the room. “Tell you what,” he said in her ear. “Stick by me. I’ll deal with conversation… you can just smile and look pretty.”

“Ooh, I can manage that,” she said cheekily. “No effort at all.”

Chapter Forty-Three

The exhaustion Lily felt at the end of the long day was the satisfying kind. The gathering in the ice cream shop had dispersed within half an hour of her and Flynn re-joining them, and in that time she’d felt more and more at ease with the boisterous Treneary family.

Back at Flynn’s place, he rustled up pasta for dinner, while announcing regularly that he wasn’t much of a cook. It tasted fine to Lily, though she supposed it might have been the novelty of having someone cook for her that made her tastebuds easy to please.

“Thank you,” she said, placing her empty plate on the coffee table in front of her.

“You’re welcome.” He leaned forward and set his plate beside hers, a slow smile creeping over his face. “How are you feeling after your busy day?”

She gave a contented sigh. “I think I was looking for some kind of sign that I was doing the right thing by moving over here. Today really made it feel like the right decision. It was so amazing how everyone helped.”

“It was pretty cool,” he agreed.

As a thought hit her, she sucked in a quick inhale. “With all the bustle of furniture removal, I didn’t get to tell you about the other interesting part of my day.” She paused for dramatic effect. “I had my first proper enquiry.”

“What kind of enquiry?”

“Someone wanted to hire me as a PI,” she said. “To investigate whether her neighbour is secretly feeding her cat!”

“No way!” Flynn broke into a grin. “Isn’t that a little beneath you?”

“Hey!” She chuckled. “No job too big or too small. That’s what my advert said. I told her I didn’t have time, but it got me thinking.”

“You really want to be a private investigator?” He looked at her seriously. The whole idea of it felt like a joke, but there was no hint of mocking in the question.

“I could,” she said. “I looked it up and there aren’t any formal requirements for being a private investigator.”

“You’d be good at it.”

Lily stared at him, taken aback by his reaction. “Do you think so?”

He nodded. “You put people at ease. They talk to you.”

“I felt like I was good at it,” she said. “And I enjoyed it. I never really felt that in a job before – like it was what I was supposed to be doing.” She gazed at him intently. “You feel like that with policing, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I can’t imagine doing anything else.” He leaned against the arm of the couch. “At least I couldn’t before I moved here. Policing really isn’t the same here.”

“Don’t you like it here?”

“I miss the buzz of London. There was always an element of danger to my job which is lacking here.”

“And what happened that you ended up here?” The last time she’d asked him, she’d felt as though she was being nosey, but they were friends now and she felt easier quizzing him about it.

He covered his face with his hand. “I pissed off the wrong person,” he said eventually.

“That doesn’t really answer my question.”

“I know, but…” He ran his hand through his hair, looking entirely uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation.

“I heard a rumour,” she said, thinking it might be easier for him to just confirm or deny the story.

“What was it?”

“That you slept with some police chief’s daughter.” She tilted her head. “Was that how you pissed someone off?”

Slowly, he nodded. “There’s a little more to it than that, but I guess that’s the crux of it.”

“Did you get her pregnant?” Lily guessed.

“No.” His eyes sparkled as he laughed.

“Tell me the rest. She wasn’t underage, was she?”

He scrunched his nose up, looking vaguely offended. “No. She was a consenting adult.”

“What’s the rest of the story, then? There’s got to be more to it.”

“It’s not even particularly bad.” His features turned serious, and she was sure he was about to tell her all of it. “It’s not something I want people to know,” he said instead.

Lily opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off.

“You must have stuff from your past that you’d just rather people didn’t know about. Not even stuff you’re ashamed of; just things you’d rather leave in the past and not have to worry about people judging you for.”

Lily’s breath caught in her throat, and she swallowed hard.

“Now I want to know what just came to your mind,” Flynn said, amused. “What are your secrets?”

She should probably learn to hide her emotions better. He’d totally caught her out. “I wasn’t actually thinking of my secrets,” she said.

“Whose?” Flynn asked with a puzzled expression.

Since she clearly wouldn’t get any more out of him, she didn’t mind the subject change. “After my uncle died, I found things in his files that made me think he hadn’t always been honest with me.”

She winced. It was the first time she’d spoken about it and knew she had to be careful how much she said. Some of it she didn’t understand herself, so couldn’t share it with anyone. “Like the photo of the ice cream shop,” she told him, sticking to safe ground. “I’d always had memories of visiting an ice cream shop with my parents, but Uncle Derek denied any knowledge of it.”

“Strange that he wouldn’t want you to know.” Flynn cocked his head. “Maybe he didn’t even realise he had the photo.”

Lily shook her head. “It was with other important documents. Not in a dusty old box or anything like that. He’d have known it was there.”

“So that’s how you ended up here? You came looking for the ice cream shop.”

“Yes. And then I found out there’d been a fire at the ice cream shop, twenty years ago.”

Flynn searched her features. “So?”

“It was a few weeks after my parents died in a house fire.”

Briefly, Flynn closed his eyes. “Where did your parents die?”

“In Truro. So it’s not as though it was close location-wise, but it’s a weird coincidence, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” He bit down on his lower lip. “Where were you when your parents died?”

“Staying at a friend’s house.” She tried to recall memories from that time, but most of it was blank and she didn’t know if that was an age thing or a defence mechanism. “I think I had a normal life until then… and then my uncle came and picked me up and everything changed. Not long after, we moved to Italy.”

“Wow.” The shock on Flynn’s features felt oddly validating. Since it wasn’t something Lily talked about much, she never got other people’s reactions and she found it fairly fascinating now.

She chewed on her thumbnail. “I always had this feeling that my life didn’t quite make sense. Uncle Derek didn’t talk about my parents much, and that became an issue between us.” She paused to get her emotions under control. “I thought I had forever to quiz him for information, but then he died.” She smiled sadly.

“How did he die?” Flynn asked.

“Heart attack.” She swallowed hard, pushing aside thoughts of the argument they’d had before he died.

The skin on Flynn’s forehead wrinkled. “Do you think the two fires might not have been a coincidence?”

“I don’t know.” She’d been adamantly telling herself that it must be a coincidence. The alternative raised more questions than her brain could deal with. “I just wish Uncle Derek was still around for me to ask. I hate that he left me with so many questions.”

“If it wasn’t a coincidence, someone else must know about it.”

“Yeah,” Lily agreed. “The owner of the ice cream shop. But she doesn’t want to be found.”

“That’s also really suspicious, isn’t it?” Flynn’s eyes lit up. “We need to find her and ask her some questions.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? I thought you’d be desperate to find her.”

Part of her wanted to find her, but part of her was reluctant to delve too deep. “What if I don’t like the answers I find?” she said quietly. “What if there was a good reason for Uncle Derek to keep things from me?”

Flynn looked thoughtful. “So you’re just going to open the ice cream shop and be okay with not knowing?”

“I’m going to open the ice cream shop,” she said determinedly. With any luck, it would be something else she was good at and would feel as fulfilling as her recent investigative work.

“And you don’t think this is going to niggle at you?” Flynn asked.

“I know it’s going to niggle at me. But it’s also too exhausting to think about now. Besides, all I have is the owner’s name and a blurry old photo of her.”

“You have a photo?”

Retrieving her phone, Lily found the photo in the old article about the ice cream shop. She showed Flynn. “I’m not sure how it’s helpful, since she clearly doesn’t want to be found.”

“But she lives on the island,” Flynn said, staring at the photo. “How else could she keep leaving stuff in the shop for you?”

“What do you suggest? That I knock on every door on the island until I find her?”

He shrugged. “It’ll take us a while, but I guess we could give it a go.”

“We?”

“I’m not sure how to break this to you,” he said with a wry smile, “but so far you haven’t solved a mystery without my help.”

The laugh that escaped her sent a jolt of happiness into every cell in her body. “You’re going to help me?” she asked seriously.

“I think we make a pretty good team. Don’t you?”

She ignored the way her stomach fluttered. “I suppose we do.”

“We’ll figure this out.” His voice held enough confidence that she couldn’t help but believe him.

With him on board, everything felt suddenly less daunting. She’d find the owner and get answers to her questions. And she’d make a go of the ice cream shop too.

After spending so much time drifting through life, she felt a warm rush of contentment at the thought that she might finally have found a place to put down roots.

Don’t miss the next book in the series…

A Poisonous Plot

(Lily Larkin Mysteries: book 3)

Poison has taken root on the island – and it’s not only the plant life…

When Lily moved to the Isles of Scilly for a fresh start, her plans were simple: open an ice cream shop and find out who owns the building she's renting.

But her peaceful new life is shaken when a local Italian restaurateur begs for help—someone’s been tampering with his food and poisoning his customers, and he’s convinced it's no accident.

When Lily narrowly escapes a similar attempted poisoning, it becomes clear: someone on the island has it out for newcomers, and her opening day might be in jeopardy.

With the charming but exasperating PC Grainger by her side, Lily tracks her leads to the eclectic staff at the local garden centre. But as the threats grow and sabotage looms, Lily realises she’s in a race to catch the culprit before her ice cream dreams melt away.

And with each twist in the investigation, Lily finds herself wondering: will her partnership with PC Grainger stay strictly business, or is there room for romance among the island’s rocky shores?

Available here: https://geni.us/LilyLarkinBook3

Also by Hannah Ellis

The Lily Larkin Series

Death on the Rocks (Book 1)

Malicious Intent (Book 2)

A Poisonous Plot (Book 3)

The Isles of Scilly Series

The Weekend Getaway (Book 1)

A Change of Heart (Book 2)

The Summer Escape (Book 3)

The Potter’s House (Book 4)

An Unexpected Guest (Book 5)

The Hope Cove Series

The Cottage at Hope Cove (Book 1)

Escape to Oakbrook Farm (Book 2)

Summer at The Old Boathouse (Book 3)

Whispers at the Bluebell Inn (Book 4)

The House on Lavender Lane (Book 5)

The Bookshop of Hopes and Dreams (Book 6)

Winter Wishes in Hope Cove (Book 7)

There’s Something about Scarlett (Book 8)

The Single Dads Club Series

It Takes a Village (Book 1)

Riding the Waves (Book 2)

Playing for Keeps (Book 3)

Rules of Engagement (Book 4)

The Loch Lannick Series

Coming Home to the Loch (Book 1)

The Castle by the Loch (Book 2)

Fireworks over the Loch (Book 3)

The Cafe at the Loch (Book 4)

Secrets at the Loch (Book 5)

Surprises at the Loch (Book 6)

Finding Hope at the Loch (Book 7)

Fragile Hearts by the Loch (Book 8)

New Arrivals at the Loch (Book 9)

The Lucy Mitchell Series

Beyond the Lens (Book 1)

Beneath These Stars (Book 2)

Always With You (Standalone novel)

The Friends Like These Series

Friends Like These (Book 1)

Christmas with Friends (Book 2)

My Kind of Perfect (Book 3)

A Friend in Need (Book 4)

All of Hannah’s books can be found here:

http://Author.to/HannahEllis

Hannah has also written a series of children’s books aimed at 5-9 year olds under the pen name, Hannah Sparks. You can find the first book in that series here: https://mybook.to/WhereDragonsFly

About the Author

When she’s not writing, Hannah enjoys spending time with her husband and kids. She loves to read, do jigsaw puzzles and go for long walks. She also enjoys yoga and drinks a lot of tea!

Hannah can be found online at the following places:

Facebook: @authorhannahellis

Instagram: @authorhannahellis

Website: www.authorhannahellis.com

If you’d like to be kept up to date with news about Hannah’s books you can sign up to receive emails from her through her website:

www.authorhannahellis.com/newsletter