Page 25 of The Sunken Truth

“It’s been an interesting morning,” Flynn said, leaning against the sideboard and trying to pretend the superintendent wasn’t there.

The sergeant sat up straighter. “Many boats around?”

“Aside from us, just two… the two dive schools. Apparently visibility was much better this morning. They said the wreck was quite clear. One guy from the dive school”– he checked his notepad for the full name – “Ryan Simmons. He claims he found an artefact down on the seabed.”

“That must have caused some excitement.” The sergeant grinned. “What was it?”

“He’s not sure. Some sort of small metal box.”

“Couldn’t he bring it up?”

Flynn shook his head. “There was a problem with his air supply. He had to surface quickly.”

The smile vanished from Proctor’s face. “Was he hurt?”

“No. He was with Lily, and she shared her oxygen with him. But it could’ve gone very badly.” Flynn hesitated for a beat. “It looks as though someone cut his hose. Not just the main one. The backup too.”

Silence descended on the room.

Sergeant Proctor stiffened, his expression darkening as he leaned forwards. “Someone cut his air hose while he was underwater?”

Flynn nodded. “That’s how it looks. There’s no fraying on the hose, no signs of wear. It’s a clean cut – like someone took a blade to it.”

“Bloody hell,” the sergeant muttered. “It could have been fatal. If someone really cut his hose, that’s attempted murder.”

Superintendent Brand said nothing, but his eyes locked on Flynn, unblinking.

“Did Ryan see who did it?” the sergeant asked, more forcefully now.

“No. He was focused on the artefact. And once he touched the seabed, a cloud of sand went up. Everyone reported the same – that he was surrounded by sediment when it happened.”

Sergeant Proctor exhaled slowly, one hand pressing against the desk like he needed something solid. “There’s no chance this was an accident?”

“Not from what I saw and heard,” Flynn said.

“Any idea who might’ve done it?”

Flynn hesitated, flicked a glance at Superintendent Brand. “Ryan pointed a finger at the other dive school owner.”

“Harry Wright?” Sergeant Proctor said, his brow creasing deeply.

“You know him?”

“Yeah. Him and Ryan have had a rivalry for years. The friendly kind though, nothing serious. At least not as far as I could tell. But this…” He shook his head. “This is serious.”

Flynn nodded. “It didn’t feel friendly out there today. Harry swore he had nothing to do with it. Even offered to let me search the boat to prove he hadn’t taken any artefact.”

“Did you do a search?”

“No. Ryan didn’t want it in the end. He’s convinced Harry would have taken the artefact and hidden it underwater to retrieve later.”

The sergeant frowned. “No one went back down to look for it?”

“They all seemed to think it wouldn’t be worth it since the visibility was so low. Plus, everyone had jobs to get to.”

“I had a hunch that shipwreck might cause some issues,” the sergeant remarked. “But I never imagined anything like this.”

“I’m not sure where to go from here,” Flynn said. “There was no clear evidence of who did it, but something else seemed odd…” He tilted his head. “Do you know a man named Eustace Tremayne?”