Page 26 of The Sunken Truth

“Yes. Completely eccentric and must be nearly a hundred years old. Lives over on Bryher. Don’t tell me he was out on the water… he barely leaves his house.”

“He wasn’t there, but apparently he’s been offering a cash reward for anyone who brings him anythingfrom the wreck. He claims he has ten grand in cash at his house for anyone who brings him gold.”

The sergeant massaged his temples. “That sheds new light on the incident this morning. A cash reward certainly makes things more interesting for any treasure hunters.”

Finally, the superintendent spoke. “How much is the gold worth?”

“Who knows,” the sergeant replied. “Legally, you have to hand it in. Whoever finds it would get some payment related to the value of the item. But it could take a while to get the payout and there’s no telling how much it would be.”

“Which would make ten grand very appealing,” Flynn said.

“Yes,” Sergeant Proctor agreed.

The superintendent sat up straighter. “lt’s pretty stupid to announce he has ten thousand in cash at his home.”

For a moment, the sergeant stared at him blankly. “We don’t have robberies here,” he said eventually.

“Never?”

“Hardly ever.” Sergeant Proctor looked thoughtful. “I don’t remember any.”

“Seriously? There are no break-ins?”

“It wouldn’t even require a lot of breaking,” Flynn said. “Since most people don’t bother locking their doors.”

The sergeant braced his forearms on his desk. “What’s Eustace playing at?” he mused.

“Apparently, he claims to be related to the captain of the Isles Fortune.”

“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard him telling that story before. If it’s true, he might actually have a right to any goods that went down with the ship.”

“How do we find that out?” Flynnasked.

“By the end of the day we’ll be descended on by historians and other experts. No doubt they’ll have information for us.”

“What do you want me to do in the meantime? Should I get back out to the dive site and monitor things there?”

“No. I’ll send PC Hill out. I’m expecting a call any minute to say we have to close it to the public. Which would make life easier for us.” He leaned back in his chair. “Could you pay Mr Tremayne a visit? Clarify that he shouldn’t be offering to buy historical artefacts.”

“Sure.” Flynn nodded eagerly.

“After that, you can start asking questions and find out what happened on the dive this morning. We need to find out who sabotaged the diving equipment.”

Flynn hid his surprise and nodded curtly. “I can do that.”

The superintendent raised an eyebrow. “If you want that properly investigated, you could request a detective or two to come out here. It sounds as though it might warrant it.”

“PC Grainger can look into it,” the sergeant said firmly. “I find it’s easier to get information if we keep things low key. That’s if you feel comfortable looking into it?” he asked Flynn.

“Absolutely.”

“On his own?” Superintendent Brand asked.

The sergeant’s eyes were on Flynn. “Radio in if you need assistance. I’m sure you’ll be fine, though. Check in later and let me know what you find.”

“Will do,” Flynn said.

He left with a smile on his face.