Part 6 of 10
When she skids to a halt, she is treated to the sight of Richard Poole frantically backing out of one of the veranda doors, trying to fend off an amorous island woman that has no business being here! Camille grits her teeth and stomps her way up the nearest set of beach-steps, calling out, a tight fake smile pasted on her face, "Sir? Sir, did I forget to clean the bathroom?" then halting in pretend-surprise. She pours hot acid onto Lily with her eyes as she lisps, "Oh, what are YOU doing here after hours, unannounced and uninvited, in an unmarried man's house?"
Richard steps away from the silently glaring Lily and goes to Camille, chuffing bluffly, "Oh, yes, Miss Bordey, yes, you did forget! How unlike you, would you please do it now?" Then he takes a quick breath and turns to Lily, "And, no, Sergeant, you cannot be here after hours, uninvited and unannounced. It's completely unprofessional. Please leave. We will discuss this tomorrow. At work."
Camille brushes past Lily, giving her a good hip-bump towards the steps for good measure, "Sorry, sir, I'll get right on it, sir." She swans in through the doors then calls out, "Sir, can you please show me where you keep the cleaning rags?" Richard turns on a dime and dashes inside as Camille smirks and closes the doors in Lily's face. That's you put in YOUR place, you cat!
Richard falls into a chair and wipes his brow, muttering low as they listen to Lily's angry footsteps fade away once more, "Whew! Thank god you were still nearby. She scared the life out of me lunging in from the dark like she did. I'm beginning to think you're right, Camille, that woman is up to no good."
As he turns once more to his work at the table, Camille goes into the bathroom and spends a solid hour scouring every square inch of an already spotless room. And fuming. Yes, that woman is up to no good, but WHY? She glances out the door to the man working so diligently and frowns. Well, I mean, other than the obvious. He's very good looking in a pale sort of way, very pleasant, very… very… She blinks. Um, very nice, yes, very nice. But Lily seems too over the top. If it isn't actual sexual attraction, what else could it be? Now, what would make ME chase after a man that I didn't actually like, hmm?
As she works, her mind goes into undercover-agent-overdrive and a sudden idea pops up. One that makes her stop and ponder the possibilities. Ooo, this bears careful scrutiny. When her hour is up, she helps him lock up nice and tight. His lights are going out as she walks up the beach again, this time without interruption. Later, as she is turning out her own lights, she vows to keep digging on the Lavender case but now adding Sergeant Lily Thomson in as well, the scheming cat.
The next day Richard slips out of the station on his quest for a proper cup of tea… and it is Lily who follows him… but who is in turn followed by Camille… and all three witness the bride's fall from the resort balcony and so begins 'The Case of The Dead Bride'.
For her part, Lily is sure she's getting somewhere with the new DI although he is resisting a lot more then she thought he would. Imagine him lecturing ME on the non-fraternization rule! Who cares about all that in the Caribbean? No one, that's who! And that cleaner! If I was a suspicious person, I'd be suspicious of THAT woman being underfoot day and night! Well, who cares if he's caught the eye of someone else? As long as he's distracted that's all that matters and now we have a SECOND murder to help muddy the waters! Things couldn't look rosier.
Except… except… Lily has been watching Poole in action, sees how Fidel and Dwayne are coming around, and she feels a subtle shift in her world-view. One night, while sitting out on her own balcony listening to the town come to life, she puzzles at her thoughts. It is with some surprise that she realizes she might have some actual FEEL-ings for this stiff-necked pedantic Englishman! She plunks down her wineglass in shock and stares out over the street.
No! Impossible! Why would I be attracted to such an odd duck as him? Sure, he's polite and quiet and smart and kind of impressive in an understated kind of way… and then it hits her. Fidel, he reminds me of Fidel. Not in looks, no, the two men couldn't be more opposite if they tried. But their manner! Their manner is almost identical. She drops her chin and frowns. She'd missed her chance with Fidel because she hadn't even known about Juliet until it was too late. Now a baby is on the way and that makes things definitely too late. Nevertheless, Fidel had taught her something unexpected.
There's a certain type of man that cannot be lured astray and Fidel is just such a man, Best by name and best by nature. Fidel is her one failure in romance to date. She shakes her head. It's better this way. Fidel is too good for me and my ways. Besides, he might have noticed something about my secret doings and then… She shakes her head again, not willing to complete that thought. James would never have allowed it. Too risky. It would have put Fidel in harm's way and she could never allow that.
She huffs and crosses her arms. Well, OK, so Poole reminds me of Fidel. A tiny little bit. So what? If I DID make a serious play for him, he's only the palest imitation of Fidel. She scoffs and throws her chin up. Yeah! The palest of pale imitations. Still. He's not long for the island, is he? No, he isn't. He'll run back to England as soon as they let him, won't he? Yes, he will. So, if I DID take a serious run at him, what's the harm? I'm kinda curious now and no one cares about him, least of all me!
Then her eyes narrow and she frowns. Except for that annoying little cleaner! She's been underfoot non-stop almost from day one! She needs taking down a peg or two, that one! Always so simpering and buzzing around him like he's something special. Well, he's NOT special! He's just a man like any other man… and I'm going to PROVE it! It will give me something to do and it might be fun.
Smiling with feline satisfaction, Lily Thomson finishes her wine with every intention of continuing to distract the new DI from his officially appointed duties… using every dirty trick in her big book of tricks!
End – part 6
