Page 17 of The Sunken Truth (Lily Larkin Mysteries #5)

Chapter Seventeen

Back at St Mary’s, Lily and Flynn dragged the boat onto Porthcressa Beach and returned the key to Pippa in the cafe before setting off to visit Ryan’s dive centre.

Since his boat was moored in the harbour, they were hopeful they’d find him in the dive centre on the Strand, close to the lifeboat station.

The shop was deserted when they walked in. Lily’s gaze went to the pictures on the wall – various underwater shots, including one of a curious seal swimming right at the camera.

“The door was open, so someone must be around,” Flynn said, striding to the desk at the back to press the bell on it.

“I think you’re forgetting where you are,” Lily remarked. “They could definitely just have left the door unlocked and gone out somewhere.”

The door behind the desk opened and Ryan appeared.

“I thought I might run into you again soon,” he said.

“Have you been looking into what happened this morning? I think I was a little shocked at the time, but now I think about it, I’d really like to know exactly what happened.

I’m wondering if I should make a formal complaint… ” He looked questioningly at Flynn .

“I’m already looking into it, but you should come down to the station later and make a statement. We’re keen to find out what happened.”

“I’d be amazed if it was anyone other than Harry.”

Lily stepped beside Flynn. “Are things so bad between you that he’d sabotage your equipment?”

He let out a sigh that released the tension in his shoulders. “Before today, I’d have said no. We don’t get on, but I’d never wish him any harm. I’d have thought he feels the same. But it could only have been him.”

“How well do you know the guys who work for you?” Flynn asked.

His shoulders bunched up again. “I trust Benji completely. He’s worked for me for years. I know his family well. There’s no chance he’d do something like this.”

“And Kurt?” Lily asked. “Harry suggested he could be unreliable.”

“Apparently he worked for Harry last summer,” Flynn added, “but he wouldn’t take him back this year.”

His eyebrows shifted together. “That’s what he’s saying, is it?”

“Isn’t it true?” Flynn asked.

“From the rumours going around, the real reason he didn’t take Kurt on again was because he couldn’t afford to employ anyone.

I don’t think it was anything against Kurt.

He gave him a written reference when he left at the end of last summer and there was nothing in it to suggest he wouldn’t have him back again. ”

“You think he’s having financial problems?” Lily asked.

“That’s what I heard. Him not hiring anyone for the summer seems to confirm it. If it’s true, it would certainly have made Eustace’s offer appealing for him.” He sighed heavily. “Honestly, I wish he had nothing to do with my hose being cut, but I really can’t see who else it could have been.”

“You didn’t say how you feel about Kurt,” Flynn remarked. “You said you trust Benji, but what about Kurt?”

“I don’t have much of an opinion, other than he’s capable and competent.”

“Maybe it was him,” Lily suggested. “I heard he likes to travel around, taking casual jobs. That sounds like the sort of person who’d be keen for some quick cash.”

Ryan shrugged.

“I think it’d be worth questioning him again,” Flynn said.

“It couldn’t have been him,” Ryan said. “Whether I trust him is irrelevant. He was with Benji. If he’d cut my hose, or even been out of Benji’s sight at that time, I’d know about it.”

The front door opened and Benji sauntered in, his lips set in a small smile under the shade of his cap.

“The boat’s ready for this afternoon’s trip,” he said, dropping his backpack onto the window seat. His eyes flashed with surprise when he registered Lily and Flynn. “Oh, hi. Everything okay?”

“They were just asking a few more questions about this morning,” Ryan said. “Where’s Kurt?”

“He had a headache. Said he was going to go home and lie down for a bit.”

Ryan’s eyebrows rose. “Maybe he’s not so reliable after all. Not that it matters since I’ve cancelled this afternoon’s dive.”

“Really?” Benji rocked on the balls of his feet. “Because we can’t dive the shipwreck?”

“No, because my equipment failed this morning and I need to go through that boat and all the equipment to make sure everything is safe for use.”

Lily tilted her head. “You insisted someone cut the hose,” she pointed out, confused that he was referring to it as equipment failure.

“I think they did,” he said, leaning against the counter. “But until I know for sure what happened, I won’t be taking any chances.” His eyes darted to Flynn. “Which reminds me – could I get a police report for my insurance?”

Flynn’s eyebrows drew together. “You can, but I don’t see why they’d need one. They should pay up for the damaged equipment without any fuss.”

“It’s not just the equipment.” His gaze dropped to the floor. “If I have to shut up shop for a few days, I’ll need to make a claim for loss of income.”

“A few days?” Benji asked, surprise written all over his features. “I’ve already checked over the rest of the equipment. It’s all fine.”

Ryan folded his arms across his chest. “There’s also the potential that someone is sabotaging dive equipment. Until we know for sure what happened, I won’t feel comfortable taking dive groups out.”

“So, you’re going to close indefinitely?” Lily asked.

“I don’t know how long I’ll close for. All I’m saying is that it currently doesn’t feel safe to dive and I won’t put lives at risk. Can I get a police report or not?”

Slowly, Flynn nodded. “I can’t see that being a problem.” He turned to Benji. “I just want to check something. On the dive this morning, was Kurt with you the entire time?”

“Yeah.” Benji nodded rapidly.

“There’s no way he moved away from you for a while?”

“No.” Pulling his cap from his head, he dragged his fingers through his mussed-up hair. “He was beside me all the time.”

“What happened when you saw us head for the surface?” Lily asked.

“I was a bit confused. But I saw you reach the surface, and it seemed as though everything was okay. We’d been about to go back to the boat, anyway. Our tanks were getting low.”

“Was there a reason you didn’t come straight up to the surface to check everything was okay with us?” Lily hadn’t thought much about them surfacing near the boat, but suddenly it felt odd.

“I didn’t know Ryan’s hose had been cut, otherwise we’d have followed you.

” He twisted his lips. “To be honest, I was focused on looking for any artefacts, so we stuck to the seabed, then surfaced near the boat. It really didn’t occur to me there was a problem.

I watched you surface and everything seemed calm. ”

Lily nodded. That was true – there’d been no visible signs of panic.

“Thanks for talking to us,” Flynn said, looking between the two men. “I’m going to keep looking into it. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

They started for the door and Lily smiled at Benji. “Don’t forget to tell me if you find you have any good photos.”

His lips twitched, but he looked completely blank. “From today?”

“Yeah or from your USB stick,” she reminded him. “You said you were going to see if you could sharpen up the photos of the wreck.”

“Oh.” Benji opened and closed his mouth a few times. “Yeah. I forgot about that. I was going to see if I could clean them up.”

“I didn’t know you were good at that sort of stuff,” Ryan said. “You could have a try with mine as well.”

“Yeah. I could give it a go.” He shifted his weight and pointed at the back room. “I’m going to grab a coffee.” He gave a quick wave and scuttled away.