Page 49 of Obsession Under the Southern Stars

“No, now I’m retired I spend most of the time in the Northland with my kids and grandkids. I’m in Kerikeri at the moment. Where are you staying?”

“At the Montgomery.”

“Nice, I know it. I’ll get going now. I’ll be about half an hour.”

“Thanks, Brock.”

“No worries, see you soon.” He ends the call. “He’s going to meet us at the villa in thirty minutes,” I tell Zoe.

“It’s a lot of fuss over nothing,” she states, glaring at me.

“You’re still shaking.”

“It’s cold!”

“Zo, you can protest all you want but he’s coming, so you might as well deal with it.”

She looks at Emma, who just raises her eyebrows and says, “You know how bossy he is. There’s no arguing with him.”

Zoe folds her arms and glowers. I give Emma a wry look, pass her the umbrella, and take Zoe’s empty coffee cup. Despite saving her life, I guess I’m going to be in the doghouse for a while. Oh well. Not much I can do about that. I’m not backing down.

I put the cups away, then start helping Clive and Hori tidy up. We put the few artifacts we’ve recovered into buckets of fresh water, as rapid drying can cause them to crumble into dust. Westow the scuba gear and the archaeology equipment, and by the time Manu pulls into the marina, we’re all done.

Clive brings the trailer up, and we load all the gear onto it, then attach it to his car. He’ll take it back to the office.

By this time, Emma has taken Zoe up to the Cruising Club building, and I pick her up from there. “Take care,” Emma says, giving Zoe a hug beneath the umbrella. “I hope you feel better tomorrow.”

“I’ll be fine,” Zoe says, although I can see she’s still trembling. She’s also quiet, which is very unlike her.

I say goodbye to the others, take her to the car, and stand there holding the umbrella while she gets in. Then I close the door, throw the umbrella in the back, and go around to the driver’s side. Once I’m behind the wheel, I watch as she tries to buckle her seatbelt in. Her hand is shaking so much that she can’t slot the clip in. Eventually, I take it from her and push it until it clicks, then start the engine and head out to the main road.

We don’t speak as I drive us back to the hotel. Now, I’m glad we stayed so close to the marina. I park out the front, then take out our backpacks and our wetsuits on their hangers. It’s still raining, and the two of us run along the outer corridor to our villa, and I unlock it so we can go inside.

We just get in when the rain seems to double in volume, hammering on the patio tiles and thudding on the rock. “Good old Northland sub-tropical rain,” I say, looking out of the window at the droplets bouncing off the table where we sat and had dinner only two nights ago.

Zoe turns away. “I’m going to get changed. My clothes are wet.”

“Okay. You need a hand?”

She stops and gives me a look.

“I’m serious,” I protest.

“I’ll be fine.” She disappears into her room and closes the door.

I frown, but there’s little I can do if she won’t let me help.

I go into my own room and change into a dry tee and shorts. I’ve just finished when there’s a knock at the door, and I go out to see Brock raising a hand through the window.

I open the door and smile. “Hey, thanks so much for coming.”

“Hello, Joel.” He comes in, puts down the doctor’s bag he’s carrying, and gives me a bearhug. “It’s good to see you.” He’s a big guy, taller than me, with silver hair and a mostly silver beard. I know he has several kids who help run an animal sanctuary on the coast near Waitangi. He’s one of the good guys.

“Likewise.” I close the door behind him.

“How is she?”

I tip my head from side to side. “Okay, I think. But she said she thought she was going to die, and I think it really shook her up.”

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