Page 41 of The Sunken Truth
“Umm…” He opened and closed his mouth. “I didn’t notice anything.” He hadn’t paid much attention. “I was worried about you and Ryan, since you looked a little stressed. I was probably mostly focused on you.”
“You know what else bothers me?” Lily said in a rush.
“What?”
“Ryan was extremely calm for someone who had his air hose cut.”
“He’s a dive instructor. I’d imagine he’s trained to stay calm in these situations.”
“Yes, but he said that had never happened to him before. Being trained to stay calm and actually being able to when you’re underwater and suddenly can’t breathe is something else entirely.” Her brow furrowed. “It was a little eerie how relaxed he was. And he just took my octo as though it was instinct… except maybe it wasn’t instinct, but a carefully thought-out plan.” She seemed to talk to herself rather than to him.
He shifted in front of her to ensure he had her attention. “But he didn’t know you were going to be there with him.”
“True,” she said crestfallen. “But he’d know someone would be with him. No one dives alone.”
“Why would he go to the bother of ruining his equipment?If he had his hands on something from the wreck, why not just keep hold of it?”
“I don’t know.” She pouted. “Is it weird that he wants to claim loss of earnings from his insurance?”
Flynn puffed out a breath. “I’m not sure. On the one hand, something did feel a little off about it, but it also seemed like a sensible move.”
“He’s putting safety before profit,” Lily mused.
“It would also be a pretty pathetic insurance scam. Because he genuinely will lose money. Essentially, all he’ll gain is a bit of paid holiday time. And given the way insurance companies work, it would hardly be worth the hassle of the paperwork.”
“What if Ryan sabotaged his own equipment to cause a distraction, and he had the artefact on him the whole time – like Harry initially suggested.”
“We’ve got a lot of ‘what ifs’,” Flynn pointed out. “And nothing concrete whatsoever.”
“What are we going to do next?” Lily asked.
“I should probably check in at the station. I wouldn’t mind tracking Kurt down later.”
“That’s a good idea,” she said. “Maybe I should check on Jessica and the shop.”
“Or visit Maria,” Flynn suggested gently. “If you want to.”
“I might just do that.” Her words took him by surprise since he’d been fully expecting her to make an excuse to put it off.
They continued on together and had only gone a few metres when Flynn’s phone rang. He half expected it to be Gina again, except she’d sent a follow-up message almost as soon as she’d called earlier, saying it was nothing important but would love to chat with him soon. An email had since come through from her as well, but he couldn’t even bringhimself to look at it, knowing it probably wouldn’t be anything light-hearted. If she and his dad were having marital problems, he really didn’t want to get involved.
Thankfully, it was a work call.
“It’s the sergeant,” he told Lily before he spoke into the phone. “I’m just on the way back in.”
“Great. That’s perfect timing I have someone here from the British Museum asking questions about the Tremayne family. I’m assuming you’ve spoken to Eustace?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Good, you can have a chat with this guy, then. Have you found anything out about the diving incident this morning?”
“Nothing concrete.” His stomach tightened at the thought of the superintendent being at the station. Flynn’s findings so far were unlikely to impress him. “Is the superintendent still around?”
“No, he went out to the dive site with PC Hill and a bunch of historians and marine archaeologists.”
Flynn released a sigh. “I’ll be with you in a few.” He ended the call and turned to Lily. “Apparently there’s someone from the British Museum waiting to speak to me about the Tremayne family.”
“Wow. Really?”
