Page 1 of The Sunken Truth (Lily Larkin Mysteries #5)
Chapter One
A gentle knocking sound hit Lily’s ears as she padded down to the shop on a bright Tuesday morning in July.
The two stocky figures peering through the window looked slightly menacing until her eyes focused enough for her to recognise the local fishermen.
She yawned as she crossed the room to open the door.
“Morning,” she said, puzzled by the early morning visit.
“Sorry to bother you,” Zack said, his rosy cheeks and bushy beard giving him a perpetually cheerful look. “You couldn’t help us out with a little coffee situation, could you?”
Lily frowned. “Have you got yourself in Pippa’s bad books or something?” The cafe a few doors down was the place people went for coffee – not the ice cream shop.
“The queue’s out of the door at the cafe,” Kev said excitedly. “We’ve got our own travel mugs, we just need caffeine.”
“What’s going on?” Lily asked, looking along the promenade to the small crowd outside of the cafe.
“Didn’t you hear?” Zack said. “The Fortune has emerged.”
Lily merely blinked in confusion .
“Not yet, it hasn’t!” Kev said, elbowing Zack.
“Today might be the day,” Zack said, then homed in on Lily’s confusion. “The Isles Fortune. You must have heard of it?”
She shook her head.
Kev grinned at her. “The ghost ship.”
“You’re going to need to explain better,” she told them.
“Is there coffee going or what?” Zack asked, extending his hand with his travel mug.
“It’ll take a few minutes,” Lily said, standing aside for them “And you know it’s not as good as Pippa’s coffee.”
“Desperate times,” Kev said with a playful shrug.
Chuckling, Lily walked back to get the coffee machine started. “Are you going to explain what on earth you’re talking about?”
Zack leaned on the counter. “A ship went down near Bishop Rock Lighthouse in the early nineteen hundreds.”
“Local legend has it that there was a chest full of gold on it when it sank.” Kev bounced on the balls of his feet.
“The crew escaped and watched it go down, but no one ever found the gold. Nor the shipwreck.” He lowered his voice and widened his eyes.
“On a clear night, when the moon is full, strange lights flicker just above the water where the ship is supposed to rest.”
Lily laughed. “I’ve also noticed the moonlight can do odd things at night… usually when I’m walking home from a session at the pub!”
“Don’t ruin our fun,” Kev said. “The lights are the moonbeams hitting the gold and reflecting up. I’ve believed it since I was a kid and I won’t hear otherwise.”
“Whether or not the lights are real is irrelevant,” Zack said. “The exciting thing is the ship. It’s emerged from the seabed. ”
“It’s just risen out of the sand?”
“Yes.” Zack nodded. “Local divers found it yesterday. They say it’s something to do with the tides or weather changes, but essentially the seabed shifted and there she is, lounging twenty metres below the surface.”
“How do they know it’s the same ship?” Lily asked sceptically.
“They don’t know for sure yet,” Zack said. “But they say it looks like the right era.”
“Excuse me for being a little ignorant, but what has a shipwreck got to do with the sudden increase of custom at the cafe?”
Zack straightened up. “The guy from the dive school who found it mentioned it in the pub and someone posted about it on social media. So now everyone with dive equipment will be out there looking for gold. By tomorrow, the island will no doubt be swamped by historians and treasure hunters from the mainland too. If a local wants to find the treasure, they’ll need to be quick.
Apparently, a lot of people had the same idea as us about grabbing sustenance from the cafe before hitting the water. ”
“How does it work with this sort of thing?” Lily turned back to the coffee machine. “Is it a case of finders’ keepers?”
“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.