Her then reluctantly confiding in me about her heart condition. It was too much of a coincidence. It must be Lily who Netta was talking about.

“This lady,” I began, trying to stem my rising tide of concern. “Whereabouts exactly does she live?”

Netta folded her arms and gave me a playful frown. “You know I can’t tell you that, Leonie. Patient confidentiality.”

She didn’t have to. I knew it was Lily she was talking about, and that was why a renewed sense of determination took over.

Chapter Twenty-One

I walked home with Harley, my mind turning over what Netta had told me. It must have been Lily she was talking about. I was convinced of it.

An independent, spirited older lady, living alone with a newly diagnosed health issue? There couldn’t be too many of those in this area. Lily had also commented about her GP being a young female doctor, just like Netta. It was too much of a coincidence.

When I arrived back home, I concocted a quick dinner of seabass, chunky fries, and vegetables and fed Harley chicken with her kibble.

Then I set up my laptop at the kitchen table. I couldn’t give up on Flynn Talbot, especially not now. This had given me the impetus I needed. If he knew something, I had to find a way to convince him to cooperate.

Ok, so he had chosen to ignore my earlier attempts this week to speak to him again, but the news about Lily’s heart condition had fired up my determination. If he knew something about the other Flynn Talbot or about Merry Wood, I would appeal to his conscience to tell me.

I knew enough about Lily to guess that she would resist moving out of her home with every fibre of her being. She wouldn’t want to leave. That would mean leaving behind Merry Wood too.

My conscience was screaming in my ear as I considered everything. There was no way I could betray Lily’s trust by sharing her private medical information with a stranger. The revelation about Lily’s health condition might well change Flynn Talbot’s mind about speaking to me, but I felt wretched to be even thinking along those lines. I was not about to betray Lily’s faith in me by doing something like that. Her belief in me had taken a hit when those two models decided to trespass inside Merry Wood. I wasn’t prepared to put it to the test again.

I would just have to use my persuasive powers to get Flynn Talbot on board some other way.

While my laptop was firing itself up, I hurried into my bedroom and picked up Lily’s letter, which I’d put for safekeeping in my jewellery box, and returned to the kitchen.