Page 26 of Dead in the Water
“At ten o’clock?”
“We don’t know what time he fell. It’s likely it was immediately after he ended his call with his son, but maybe he walked for longer, or he sat on a bench for a while. There’s no way to know for sure.”
“There are no cameras in the area?”
The slight shift of his eyebrow was enough for her to know that it had been a stupid question. Of course there were no cameras.
“Thanks,” she said. “That’s all I wanted to know. I need to get back to work now.”
He followed when she walked back into the shop. “I’ll talk to you later?” he asked.
She nodded, but was happy she didn’t need to specify how much later that would be. They may still be friends, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t furious with him.
And hurt, too, but she didn’t like to dwell on that.
She wanted to put it all out of her mind.
With the bell above the door signalling Flynn’s departure, she took her phone out and hastily typed out a message. She didn’t need to wait long for a reply, and a smile pulled at her lips as she read it.
“Do you think you’ll be all right here on your own for an hour?” she asked Jessica.
When she nodded eagerly, Lily made a dash for the door.
Chapter Fourteen
When Lily had first visitedSt Mary’s, she stayed in a bed-and-breakfast in a quiet corner of the island. It was where she’d met Oscar – the eighteen-year-old who did some gardening and odd jobs at the holiday accommodation.
He also worked at the Star Castle Hotel. Which Lily hoped was about to come in useful.
In his message, he’d said he was at work. Lily had replied that she was on her way and needed to talk to him. At the top of the steep path up to the hotel, he stood looking out over the bay.
“Nice to see you,” he said with a knowing smile. “Are you working on a case?”
She grinned. “Are we in a crime TV show?”
“Feels like it when you’re around.” His smile faded. “I assume it’s not a coincidence that a guy who was staying at the hotel died, and then you wanted to meet me here?”
“Now it seems you’re the detective,” she told him lightly, then toed her shoe in the dirt. “I spoke to Joseph Whittaker at the ice cream shop. Probably less than half an hour before he died. He seemed like a nice guy. And he said some things that made me wonder if someone had it in for him.”
Oscar nodded gravely.
“Did you have much to do with him and his friends when they were here?”
“I checked them in, and I saw them around the place a few times. They all seemed pleasant enough.”
“There were six in their group, right?”
He nodded slowly. “Two couples and two single guys. Off on a sailing trip together. It sounded cool in theory, but I’ve seen their yacht and it looks pretty cramped for six people. I reckon it could get stressful quickly.”
“They all seemed to get on well, though?”
“For the most part…”
“What does that mean?”
“Apparently they had a barny in the bar the first night they were here.”
“Did you hear what it was about?” Presumably that had been when Joseph had broken the news that he didn’t want to continue with the trip, but she’d like to be sure.
