Page 19 of The Sunken Truth

“Aye.” He nodded. “The day before yesterday.”

“Do you really think it’s the Isles Fortune?”

He raised his hands. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? All I know is that there seems to be a ship sticking out of the sand in the exact spot that the Fortune went down.”

“Was there much to see when you first spotted it?” she asked. “Yesterday it was difficult to see anything down there.”

“It was much clearer than yesterday. Definitely a quarterdeck and mast rising out of the water.”

Lily set her bag down on the bench seat. “Did you get any photos?”

“I did, yes.” Ryan’s lips straightened to a thin line.

“Are you keeping them for yourself?” she asked, confused by his sudden mood change.

“No.” He folded his arms over his chest. “I took a bunch of photos, but unfortunately they didn’t come out well.”

“You should treat yourself to a decent underwater camera,” Kit said lightly as he pulled one leg of his wetsuit on. “It’s a business expense, you know? No need to be tight.”

His eyes flashed with mock annoyance. “It’s top of the range. Takes brilliant photos.”

“Just not when you make a significant archaeological discovery?” Kit quipped.

“Apparently so.”

Seren moved closer to him. “Are you serious? The photos just didn’t come out?”

He nodded once. “I saw the quarter deck clear as day, but when I surfaced and looked back at the photos, they were all blurred. There’s nothing to see at all.”

“No way!” Seren pressed her hands against her temples. “You can’t be serious?”

“Stop it!” Ryan pointed a finger at Seren. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Hear what?” Flynn asked, looking about as confused as Lily felt.

“It’s the ghosts,” Seren said, her voice a dramatic whisper. “They don’t like people taking photos.”

“You need to get that insane talk off my boat, Seren!” Ryan shook his head, but his eyes danced with amusement.

Seren’s eyes were wide. “Our photos from yesterday didn’t turn out well, either.”

“All you could see down there yesterday was silt,” Ryan said, chuckling.

“I could see the mast,” Seren insisted. “It should have come out in photos. I’m telling you, the ghosts are interfering.”

Ryan moved to fetch his wetsuit, but turned and grinned at Seren. “I hate to pick holes in your mystical theories, but any historian will tell you that no one died when the Fortune went down. So who exactly do you think is haunting it?”

“It’s the spirit of the ship,” Seren teased.

“Ah, of course.” Ryan rolled his eyes at her before switching his attention to Flynn. “I’m assuming you’re not diving?”

“No. I’ll be staying above the surface.”

“In that case, I’ll go down with them, if you don’t mind manning the boat.”

“That’s fine.” Flynn glanced around. “Do I need to do anything?”

“Nope.” Ryan started to get changed with the rest of them. “Just make sure the boat is still here when we surface. I don’t fancy swimming home.”