Page 35 of The Sunken Truth
“Before I moved here, I had a bit of a showdown with Dad. He wasn’t very happy with me so it seemed like a good time to tell him what I thought of his parenting efforts. Gina was there. I’m sure he told her it was all lies, but she emailed me a few weeks ago asking questions about my childhood and my relationship with Dad.”
“Did you reply?”
He nodded once, but didn’t elaborate.
“Do you speak to your dad much?”
“Not really. I try to avoid having anything to do with him these days.” He shifted in his seat, looking decidedly relieved at the interruption when Maddie arrived with their food.
Once she left, he commented on how odd it was that no one had got photos of the shipwreck, and chuckled about the trend of people taking photos of themselves on black backgrounds and declaring it to be a picture of them in front of the wreck. The local social media communities were full of them.
His subject change wasn’t exactly subtle, but Lily didn’t push him on it, assuming he’d tell her more in his own time.
The shop portion of Lowen’s pottery studio was void of people when Lily and Flynn walked in half an hour later. Above the door, a bell rang once and the sound reverberated around the airy space. Shelving around the edge of the room displayed unique handmade pottery – each piece exuding its own unique charm. At the back corner, the till sat on a counter, and beside it an open archway led to Lowen’s workshop, where Lily had enjoyed trying out the pottery wheel on her last visit.
Lowen stepped through the archway before they’d ventured far into the room.
“Hello!” he said brightly. “This is a surprise. If you’re here for a pottery lesson, I’m afraid you’ll have to come back later. I’ve got a couple here now for a lesson.” He looked at his watch. “They’ll be finished in an hour.”
“That’s not why we’re here,” Lily said. “We were actually hoping to scrounge a lift to St. Martin’s but I guess that won’t be possible if you’re in the middle of a lesson.”
“You’re welcome to borrow my boat,” he said without hesitation. “I don’t need it until dinnertime.”
“Really?” Flynn tilted his head.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Right.” Flynn shifted his weight. “It’s very generous of you, but…”
“We’re city people,” Lily finished for him. “We’re used to driving cars, not boats.”
“It’s only a little RIB,” he said. “And with this weather, I don’t see how you can go wrong.”
“Rigid inflatable boat,” Lily said for Flynn’s benefit.
“I know! I’ve lived here longer than you. I do have some basic knowledge of boats, thanks.”
“Sorry!” she said mockingly.
“Do you need to get back to St Mary’s after you’ve been to St. Martin’s?” Lowen asked.
“Yeah. But if we time it right we can get the day tripper back.”
“Or you could do me a favour and take the boat back and leave it for Pippa. Saves me going over to pick her up.”
“Okay,” Flynn said. “You may need to give us a few pointers about where to tie up… and anything else we should know.”
“I can do that. It’s all pretty straightforward. Hang on asecond.” He went into the workshop and chatted with his customers for a few minutes before reappearing. “They’re all set up for ten minutes.”
They stepped out onto the beach and made straight for the boat on the sand nearby.
“What’s your tour of the off-islands in aid of?” Lowen asked as they walked over the soft sand.
“We came here to speak to Eustace Tremayne,” Flynn replied.
“Is he all right?” Lowen said, his words laced with concern.
“He’s fine,” Flynn said quickly. “We just had some questions for him about theFortune.”
