Page 22 of The Sunken Truth (Lily Larkin Mysteries #5)

Chapter Twenty-Two

A message came through from Lily when Flynn walked through Hugh Town towards Kurt’s place.

He hit dial, figuring it was easier to tell her about his encounter with Eustace than type it out.

Pausing, he looked between the buildings to the massive clouds stacked on the horizon and threatening to break the calm at any moment.

“Did you find Eustace?” Lily asked, her eager voice making him smile.

“Yes. He spent a while talking more about his family history. Including pirates.”

“I knew there’d be pirates in his story, eventually. Maybe I need to visit him so I can hear the story too.”

“It gets better,” Flynn said with a sigh. “Pirates stole the bulk of the gold, but Captain Tremayne kept a bit for himself…”

“That’s what Eustace wants from the shipwreck?”

“Yes. And he admitted he has no intention of handing it in.”

“He wants to keep it?”

“He wants to throw it back into the sea. ”

The laughter from Lily would have made him smile at any other time, but as he relayed the conversation, all he could think of was the superintendent and what he’d make of it all.

“Why does he want to throw it in the sea?” Lily asked, voice laced with amusement.

“He thinks it’s cursed.”

“No way!” Lily said, delighted. “This story gets better and better.”

“Except he seems genuine. He attributes Ryan’s hose being cut to the curse.”

“Like a ghost did it? Like Seren said?”

“I have no idea. He thinks bad things happen around the gold.”

“Maybe we should write this down. It’d make a good children’s story.”

Flynn exhaled a frustrated breath.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I could just do without this. How ridiculous will I sound going back to the station to report what I’ve found? Should I tell the superintendent my latest lead suggests the dive incident was caused by cursed gold?”

“I probably wouldn’t mention that.”

“I need to track Kurt down and hope he admits to tampering with Ryan’s dive equipment. It seems unlikely, though.”

“Maybe that’s not your only approach to figuring this out,” Lily mused.

“If you have a better plan, I’m all ears.”

“Whoever cut the hose, did it to get their hands on whatever Ryan found, right?”

“I would guess so.”

“Okay. So you need to find whatever it was he discovered on the wreck. If you find that, you’ll find who cut the hose.”

Flynn felt the first stirring of a headache. “How am I supposed to find it?”

“Look for it…”

“Could you be more specific?”

“Whenever I’m investigating, I snoop around and see what I can find.”

“The difference is I’m a police officer. I can’t go searching people’s property without due cause.” His tone was harsher than he’d intended, but he’d really been hoping she might be more helpful.

“Couldn’t you have a look around the dive boats? If there’s no one on them, you could just have a quick look.” Excitement had her speaking fast. “And they probably leave their houses unlocked most of the time… if you were to go inside looking for them and they weren’t there––”

“Can you be serious?” he snapped, putting an end to her chatter.

“I am serious. How well could someone hide an ancient metal chest?”

“I think it’s a small box,” Flynn said, irritated by the conversation. “And you’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m trying to help.”

“Suggesting I trespass to search for clues isn’t remotely helpful.” His jaw was clenched as he approached Kurt’s flat. “I have to go,” he said and ended the call without saying goodbye.

She was being ridiculous. He needed to figure this out and she wasn’t taking it seriously.

Admittedly, it was difficult to take any of it seriously with all the talk of pirates and cursed gold, but if he had any chance of extending his posting on the Scillies, he had to show the superintendent he was useful here.

Staring at her phone, Lily cursed herself. She’d known Flynn was stressed about the superintendent’s visit, and her wittering away had been entirely unhelpful. Of course Flynn couldn’t go snooping around private property.

It was the reason she felt more confident about investigating things faster than the police – she didn’t have to worry about rules in the same way they did.

If she were caught trespassing, she could just come up with an excuse for being in places she shouldn’t be.

She pondered that as she headed for the harbour. If she were, for instance, to be caught on Ryan’s dive boat, she could say she left something behind after their dive. Or that she was looking for Benji to ask if he’d had any luck with the photos.

Something would come to her.

She found the boat easily, tied up by the harbour wall and bobbing on the waves which rolled in with increasing strength. Grey clouds blocked out the sun as she stepped aboard.

Despite the boat appearing unoccupied, she called hello.

All was quiet and she moved to the wheelhouse and let her eyes trail over the navigation equipment.

Beside the wheel were multiple gauges and buttons.

Amid them, a photo of Ryan and a young girl was held in place with tape which curled at the edges.

Presumably it was his daughter beaming into the camera while she draped herself around Ryan’s neck.

She was probably ten or eleven and her eyes sparkled with the unbridled joy of youth.

With her eyes on the open trapdoor, Lily took a few steps and peered down below deck before taking the steps down into the small space. The light switch on the wall clicked when she pressed it, and soft yellow light illuminated the room.

Benches around the edge of the small space gave the feel of a changing room, which she guessed was what it was used for.

A couple of wetsuits hung from ceiling hooks in the middle of the room and a pair of fins and a wetsuit glove were discarded near her feet.

Cupboards at head height ran around the room and Lily made quick work of looking through them, only to be faced with assorted diving equipment, towels and a variety of sunscreen bottles.

Nothing which made Lily pause.

Regulators hung on the far wall with air hoses attached.

She ran her hand along the length of hose closest to her, which had the sheen of new equipment.

The next one was slightly more battered and she inspected the length of it, wondering if it were possible that the equipment had failed due to wear and tear, and bad maintenance.

She wouldn’t have thought so.

Her eyes went to the floor and a steel chest below the bench. Crouching, she pulled it out. The numbered padlock prevented her from investigating its contents.

“What are you doing?”

The gravelly voice almost had her leaving her skin. She slapped a hand over her racing heart as she stood and locked eyes with Ryan.

“Hi,” she said, her brain searching for an excuse. “I forgot my sunglasses the other day.” It was an excuse she’d used before when she’d been poking around places she shouldn’t.

“They’re on top of your head,” he said calmly.

“A different pair.”

“I didn’t see any.” He tilted his head, eyeing her suspiciously. “What are you really looking for?”

Her gaze slid to the box by her feet, then up to Ryan. He blocked the way and was staring at her intently, but she wasn’t getting any threatening vibes from him.

“I’m looking for whatever it was you found at the shipwreck.”

“That’s what I thought.” He shook his head. “I already said I dropped it when someone cut my hose.”

“I know, but someone who was down there isn’t telling the truth. I’d like to figure out who. No offence, but I don’t know you so I don’t know whether to trust your word.”

“Fair enough.” He moved towards her and she took an instinctive step back, but he stopped in front of her and bent to input the code on the padlock. “We keep valuables in here sometimes. Either for guests, or our own. There shouldn’t be anything in here now.”

When he pulled the lid back, Lily leaned forwards, peering over his shoulder.

“That’s Benji’s,” he said, lifting the watch, which was the only item in the box.

“Thanks,” Lily said when he put the watch back and closed the lid.

“I have no problem with you searching the boat. There’s nothing here to find.”

“Because you know it’s elsewhere?” she asked, interested to see how he’d react.

He huffed out an amused breath. “No. Because I don’t have it. You’re searching the wrong boat.”

“You still think it was Harry who sabotaged you?”

“Yes.” He gestured to the steps and she went ahead onto the deck, where the sky was now almost completely overcast.

“Cute photo,” Lily said, nodding at the picture on the console. “Your daughter?”

“Yeah. It’s an old one. She’s sixteen now. At sixth form in Penzance. ”

“It must be hard not having her around.”

He shrugged. “She’ll be back soon for the school holidays.”

“I don’t think I know your wife,” Lily remarked, hoping to get more out of him.

“Ex wife,” he said. “She lives in Penzance too.”

“How long are you keeping your business closed for?” she asked, deciding there was no reason not to be blunt with her questions.

“I don’t know. Until I feel comfortable opening again, I suppose.”

Lily waited a beat, hoping he’d say more, but he looked pointedly at the harbour steps alongside the boat.

“Sorry for sneaking around,” she said sheepishly.

“I’ve heard about your investigative tendencies. It doesn’t bother me. I only hope you get some answers.”

“PC Grainger is looking into it too,” she said, hopping back onto the harbour steps. “I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”

“Fingers crossed.” Ryan tipped his head and stood with his hands on his hips as he watched her go.