Page 18 of The Sunken Truth (Lily Larkin Mysteries #5)

Chapter Eighteen

Flynn waited until they were well away from the dive shop before glancing at Lily. “What did you make of that?”

She took a moment before replying. “I got weird vibes from Ryan. If Harry cut the hose he’s a good actor, because I believed everything he said. I don’t know if I’d say the same for Ryan.”

“But if Harry really is having financial difficulties, it gives him motive.”

“Having a motive doesn’t mean he did it.”

“The financial thing is probably true, though. Nat hinted at it when she was talking about the group threatening not to pay.”

“Yeah.” Lily slowed her pace, glancing out at the water, which sparkled madly under the bright sunshine. The serious set of her features told him she was deep in thought as she puzzled through it all. For Flynn, who was more used to talking things through, it made him impatient.

“Did Benji seem twitchy to you?” he finally asked.

“Maybe, but I wonder if that’s just his personality.”

“What was that about the USB stick? ”

“On the boat this morning, I saw Kurt with a USB stick. Benji took it from him. He said it had photos of the wreck. It seemed odd, though I’m not sure why.” Her head whipped to Flynn, and she stopped in the middle of the pavement. “Did you see them surface this morning?”

“Kurt and Benji?”

“Yes. They surfaced by the boat, right?”

“Yeah.” He frowned.

“So you’d have seen if they had any artefacts from the shipwreck?”

“Umm…” He opened and closed his mouth. “I didn’t notice anything.” He hadn’t paid much attention. “I was worried about you and Ryan, since you looked a little stressed. I was probably mostly focused on you.”

“You know what else bothers me?” Lily said in a rush.

“What?”

“Ryan was extremely calm for someone who had his air hose cut.”

“He’s a dive instructor. I’d imagine he’s trained to stay calm in these situations.”

“Yes, but he said that had never happened to him before. Being trained to stay calm and actually being able to when you’re underwater and suddenly can’t breathe is something else entirely.

” Her brow furrowed. “It was a little eerie how relaxed he was. And he just took my octo as though it was instinct… except maybe it wasn’t instinct, but a carefully thought-out plan.

” She seemed to talk to herself rather than to him.

He shifted in front of her to ensure he had her attention. “But he didn’t know you were going to be there with him.”

“True,” she said crestfallen. “But he’d know someone would be with him. No one dives alone.”

“Why would he go to the bother of ruining his equipment? If he had his hands on something from the wreck, why not just keep hold of it?”

“I don’t know.” She pouted. “Is it weird that he wants to claim loss of earnings from his insurance?”

Flynn puffed out a breath. “I’m not sure. On the one hand, something did feel a little off about it, but it also seemed like a sensible move.”

“He’s putting safety before profit,” Lily mused.

“It would also be a pretty pathetic insurance scam. Because he genuinely will lose money. Essentially, all he’ll gain is a bit of paid holiday time. And given the way insurance companies work, it would hardly be worth the hassle of the paperwork.”

“What if Ryan sabotaged his own equipment to cause a distraction, and he had the artefact on him the whole time – like Harry initially suggested.”

“We’ve got a lot of ‘what ifs’,” Flynn pointed out. “And nothing concrete whatsoever.”

“What are we going to do next?” Lily asked.

“I should probably check in at the station. I wouldn’t mind tracking Kurt down later.”

“That’s a good idea,” she said. “Maybe I should check on Jessica and the shop.”

“Or visit Maria,” Flynn suggested gently. “If you want to.”

“I might just do that.” Her words took him by surprise since he’d been fully expecting her to make an excuse to put it off.

They continued on together and had only gone a few metres when Flynn’s phone rang.

He half expected it to be Gina again, except she’d sent a follow-up message almost as soon as she’d called earlier, saying it was nothing important but would love to chat with him soon.

An email had since come through from her as well, but he couldn’t even bring himself to look at it, knowing it probably wouldn’t be anything light-hearted.

If she and his dad were having marital problems, he really didn’t want to get involved.

Thankfully, it was a work call.

“It’s the sergeant,” he told Lily before he spoke into the phone. “I’m just on the way back in.”

“Great. That’s perfect timing I have someone here from the British Museum asking questions about the Tremayne family. I’m assuming you’ve spoken to Eustace?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Good, you can have a chat with this guy, then. Have you found anything out about the diving incident this morning?”

“Nothing concrete.” His stomach tightened at the thought of the superintendent being at the station. Flynn’s findings so far were unlikely to impress him. “Is the superintendent still around?”

“No, he went out to the dive site with PC Hill and a bunch of historians and marine archaeologists.”

Flynn released a sigh. “I’ll be with you in a few.” He ended the call and turned to Lily. “Apparently there’s someone from the British Museum waiting to speak to me about the Tremayne family.”

“Wow. Really?”

“Yes. You look pretty excited about that.”

“I am. Make sure you call after and tell me about it. He’ll be able to shed some light on which parts of Eustace’s stories are true. I’ll bet it’s fascinating.”

“Come with me if you want.”

“Won’t Sergeant Proctor mind?”

“I doubt it.”

She glanced at her watch, then checked her phone. “I suppose Jessica would have messaged if there were any problems. And my conversation with Maria can wait another hour.”

A couple of minutes later, they approached the station to find the sergeant standing in the open doorway.

“This is a surprise,” he said to Lily, voice dripping with sarcasm.

She rolled her eyes but smiled warmly at him.

“Have a quick chat with the guy from the museum before he goes to check into his hotel,” Sergeant Proctor said to Flynn. “You can fill me in on everything else later.”

“You don’t mind if Lily sits in with us, do you? She’s taken a sudden interest in local history.”

“Fine by me,” he said, stepping aside. “He’s in my office.”

The office door was wide open and the tall, wiry-haired man was talking loudly on the phone while he paced the room. At the sight of Flynn, he finished his call and extended his hand.

“Morris Hunter,” he said, pumping Flynn’s hand. “Curator from the British Museum.”

“Good to meet you,” Flynn said, introducing himself and then Lily – saying she was a resident with an interest in the recent finding. Not that the guy seemed to care about the extra person.

“I believe you’ve been chatting to the descendant of the Isles Fortune’s captain?” he said eagerly.

“We were chatting to him this morning,” Flynn said, gesturing to the chairs and taking a seat.

“He’s an elderly man, I believe?” Morris said. “Is he compos mentis?”

“He’s ninety-seven,” Flynn said. “But he seems very fit for his age.” Whether he was mentally competent, he wouldn’t like to say .

“And do I have it right that he’s the grandson of Captain William Tremayne?”

“That’s what he told me,” Flynn said, again not wanting to claim anything as a definite.

Morris pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I have to say if it really is the Fortune which has been found, then things might be about to get very exciting. Finally, we might get some answers.”

“Answers to what?” Lily asked, leaning forward and resting with her elbows on her knees.

“I suppose, first and foremost, we’d like to know about the ship’s cargo.”

“Whether it was carrying gold?” Lily asked.

“Precisely. Then there’s the question of whether the sinking was an accident.”

Flynn’s eyebrows shot up. “Why would anyone think otherwise?”

“There’s been suggestions it was insurance fraud,” he said excitedly. “The underwriters suspected so at the time, but there was no evidence.”

“And you think there’s evidence at the bottom of the sea?” Lily asked.

“If the ship was carrying gold when it sank, that would be a fantastic find, but I’d be almost as interested to find any log books uncovered.”

“From the shipwreck?” Flynn asked. “The one on the sea floor, which has been underwater for more than a century?”

Grinning, the man wagged a finger. “I know what you’re thinking… that such documents wouldn’t survive underwater, but you’d be surprised what we’ve found in relatively well-preserved states.”

Lily exchanged a puzzled look with Flynn. “How?”

“Paperwork was often protected in oilskin cloths and steel chests. Certainly, we wouldn’t expect to find anything perfectly preserved, but it’s entirely possible that we find enough clues to piece together what happened. Did Mr Tremayne tell you anything about the circumstances of the shipwreck?”

“He said it went down in a storm,” Flynn said.

Lily wrinkled her nose. “He says his grandfather was smuggling gold from South Africa, but surely he wouldn’t have made an insurance claim for smuggled gold?”

“No. Absolutely not. The insurance claim is for silk, and for the ship itself.” He steepled his fingers under his chin.

“The insurance company asked a few questions at the time. Funnily enough, the lack of a log book was suspicious. Usually, it’s something which the captain and his crew would be keen to save.

Them not saving it raised questions. Though, they argued that in the chaos of the storm, they didn’t have a chance.

” He paused for a moment. “Sergeant Proctor mentioned that Mr Tremayne is keen to get his hands on any gold recovered from the wreck…”

Flynn and Lily nodded in unison.

“Does it seem he wants any other artefacts or only the gold?”

“Both, as far as I’m aware, but he was offering a higher reward for the gold.”

Morris rubbed his palms together. “It’s certainly interesting.”

“Is it?” Flynn asked.

Morris had a twinkle in his eyes. “Technically, if evidence of insurance fraud comes to light, the descendants could be called to pay the money back.”

Lily’s eyes bulged. “Even though it’s a hundred and something years later.”

“If the insurance company is still in existence, it’s a possibility,” Morris said.

“Though I can’t imagine it. If Mr Tremayne was worried about that, he’d be keen to get his hands on the logbook too.

Or maybe he’s not asking about it because he knows it’s not down there.

He might have it at home! Maybe the logbook was never lost, only hidden by the captain. ”

Flynn rubbed at his forehead. “My primary concern is that Mr Tremayne has been offering cash rewards when he shouldn’t be. His reasons aren’t overly interesting to me.”

“I think it’s fascinating,” Lily said, tilting her head. “What happens if gold is found down there?”

“Then we’d have an exciting new exhibit for the museum.”

“The British Museum?” Lily asked.

Fairly sure he knew where her thoughts were, Flynn inwardly grimaced.

“Yes,” Morris said.

“But if there is gold, it was stolen from South Africa,” Lily said. “You wouldn’t ask if they wanted it back?”

Morris grunted and shifted in his seat. “If it’s found in British waters it would more than likely be kept in the British Museum.”

“Hmm.” Lily’s eyes sparkled with delight. “How many items in the British Museum are technically stolen goods?”

Flynn managed to keep his amusement hidden while Morris continued to squirm in his seat. “I’d argue the artefacts belong to humanity as a whole rather than to any specific country. And they are displayed in a museum for everyone to visit.”

“I see,” Lily said brightly.

Morris stood. “My accommodation should be ready for check in. I won’t take up any more of your time.”

“It was good to talk to you,” Flynn said. “Eustace Tremayne expressed that he’d be more than willing to speak with anyone who was interested in his family history.”

At the change in subject, Morris’s demeanour relaxed again. “I’d be very interested in speaking with him.”

Flynn wrote down Eustace’s details and explained that he doesn’t go out much so any meetings would probably involve a trip to Bryher.

Then he walked him back to the front desk and wished him a pleasant stay.

“I should go too,” Lily said. “That was a fun day.”

“Except I’m no closer to figuring out who cut Ryan’s hose,” Flynn said grumpily. “What should I do next?”

“I’m not sure.”

“That’s not helpful. The superintendent will probably be here later asking about my findings.” He looked at Lily impatiently. “What would you do next?”

“I think I’d question Kurt.”

He nodded. That sounded like a solid plan.

“Are you going to speak to Maria?” he asked Lily, at the front of the police station.

She looked around, unsure of herself.

“I’m not trying to pressure you into it,” he said quickly. “If you don’t want to speak to her, then don’t.”

“I want to know. I’m just concerned I won’t like the answers.” Heaving in a deep breath, she gave a decisive nod. “I’ll go over there now.”

“Let me know how it goes,” he said and flashed her a reassuring smile before she ambled away.