Page 2 of The Sunken Truth

“No.” Zack laughed. “Of course not. Any historical discoveries have to be reported. If anything significant is found, it’ll end up in a museum.”

Kev continued to bounce. “But there’s a reward when you hand it in. Determined by the value of the find.”

“I suppose someone could also pocket a coin or two,” Lily said. “It’d make a nice keepsake.”

Turning with one filled mug, she caught the harsh stares of the two fishermen.

“I’m shocked you’d suggest such a thing,” Zack said gravely.

“Not out loud,” Kev said, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Don’t say these things out loud!”

She took the second mug to fill. “So you’re not saying you wouldn’t sneak a bit of bounty for yourself? Just that you’d never admit to it?”

“We’re men of honour,” Zack said, struggling to keep a straight face. “I don’t like you implying anything different.”

“Sorry.” Lily pressed her lips together as she turned back to them. “You’re actually going to dive at the shipwreck then?” Somehow, she couldn’t imagine Zack in a wetsuit.

“You bet we are.”

“In that case, I wish you luck.” She set the second mug on the counter. “The coffee is on me. If you find treasure, you can reward me with a gold doubloon.”

“I’m not sure you’re taking this seriously,” Zack said, shooting her a wink before they left.

Chapter Two

The message Flynnhad received from the sergeant was rather cryptic – merely saying he needed to speak with him as soon as he arrived at work. Considering the size of the police station, the message felt somewhat redundant. They always spoke at the start of his shift, unless the sergeant wasn’t on duty.

It had Flynn intrigued enough that he arrived a quarter of an hour early. PC Hill was in the sergeant’s office and both of his colleagues greeted him with smiles that looked altogether unnatural.

“What’s going on?” Flynn asked.

The sergeant nodded to the seat beside PC Hill. “I was just telling Jeff that I received an interesting email yesterday evening.”

“Yeah?” Flynn dropped into the chair.

The sergeant shifted in his seat. “Probably not a big deal, but it seems we’ll be getting a visit from one of our superiors on the mainland.” He cleared his throat and dropped his gaze to the desk. “Superintendent Brand will arrive later today.”

Flynn’s stomach lurched. “Why? He’s in the Met. Why would he come here?”

“His email said he wants to see how things are done over here.” The sergeant raised his hands in a puzzled gesture. “Sometimes the superintendents like to check out what’s going on elsewhere.”

“Really?” Flynn sighed. “So this is a regular occurrence, is it?”

PC Hill swallowed hard. “Maybe not very regular…” He looked helplessly at Sergeant Proctor.

“Like I say, it’s not a big deal…”

“Right.” Flynn scrubbed a hand over his face. “Do you think at some point we should acknowledge that his visit probably has something to do with me?”

“I was going to get to that,” the sergeant said, scratching at his jaw. “I just didn’t want to… I mean, I wasn’t sure…” For someone usually very articulate, it was almost painful to watch the sergeant flounder.

“It’s fine,” Flynn said. “You don’t need to walk on eggshells on my account. The man can’t stand me. There’s no reason for us to pretend otherwise.”

“He didn’t mention you in his email…”

“Even so, I would guess the reason for his visit is to find new ways to torture me.”

“Wait…” PC Hill’s brow wrinkled thoughtfully. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing…”