Page 3 of The Sunken Truth (Lily Larkin Mysteries #5)

Chapter Three

When Kit had called asking if Lily wanted to ditch work for the afternoon and go diving with him and Seren, she didn’t need to consider it for long.

They’d been talking about going diving together ever since Lily had mentioned she’d learned as a teenager.

Having a shipwreck to explore was the perfect motivation to get on and do it.

“Sure you’re okay alone?” Lily asked Jessica when Kit strolled in just after lunchtime.

“Yes.” The cheerful teenager smiled widely.

“And thanks for letting me start late today. Even though you can’t see as much as I expected, it’s so cool diving around a shipwreck and wondering about the history of it.

” She’d been chatting about her morning dive since she arrived an hour ago.

Hearing about it had raised Lily’s excitement levels even further.

“I’m just glad you didn’t find the treasure,” Lily said with a smirk. “I can’t wait to casually pull a chest full of gold out of the seabed.”

“Don’t get too excited,” Jessica warned. “With all the divers kicking up sand it’s murky down there. There’s a good atmosphere at the surface though. You’ll have fun. ”

“Ready to go?” Kit asked, grinning at her.

“Yeah. Do you want an ice cream for the road?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m too hyped up already. I don’t need a sugar rush.”

Outside, Lily was slightly confused when Kit set off across the promenade instead of along it.

“Aren’t we going to the harbour?”

“No. It’s busy today, so we stuck to the beach.” He pointed to the small motor boat bobbing in the shallows. A figure stood in the water beside it, holding it in place while a couple more people sat in the boat.

“Who else is coming?” Lily asked, kicking her sandals off on the sand, then wedging them in the side pocket of her backpack.

“Keira and Flynn.”

Surprise wrinkled her brow. “Flynn’s coming?”

“Is that a problem?” Kit asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“No.” Flynn was her best friend, so there was no reason it would be a problem. Unless you considered the fact that she was completely in love with him. Or that he was moving back to London in a month. She was avoiding dwelling on either of those things.

“I’m just surprised,” she said. “I thought he was working today.”

“He is. Patrolling the sea!”

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what else to say.

It wasn’t as though she didn’t spend time with Flynn. They’d been hanging out together regularly, and doing a decent job of pretending everything was fine between them, but the closer it got to him leaving, the more painful it became to be around him.

Don’t think about it, she coached herself as they approached the water’s edge. Pretend he isn’t leaving and enjoy hanging out with him while you still can.

“How long is it since you went diving?” Kit asked.

“Years. We spent a summer in Portugal when I was about sixteen, and I think we went most days.”

“I’m sure it will all come back to you,” Kit said. “I can give you a quick refresher course if you want.”

“I’d appreciate that.” She smiled at Seren as the cool water washed around her feet, then gave her a hug when she reached her. “I’m very excited,” she said, stepping into the boat and squeezing Keira’s shoulder in greeting. “Who’s driving the train today?”

“Noah.” Keira grimaced. “It was supposed to be me, but I talked him into covering for me. I didn’t want to miss out on the shipwreck.”

Lily plonked herself on the bench seat beside Flynn. “Are we expecting trouble out there?”

“The sergeant thinks fights might break out over the gold,” he said dryly.

“Seriously?” she asked, amused.

“No. I don’t think we’re really expecting there to be any drama.”

“That’s not true!” Keira said, while Kit and Seren walked the boat out into deeper water. “Seren and I have bets on how long until Flynn passes out from heat exhaustion.”

“You are a little overdressed,” Lily remarked, her gaze trailing over him, taking in the stuffy collar on his shirt and the neckline of his vest underneath it. The black trousers would absorb the heat of the sunshine, and his heavy boats made her toes squirm just looking at them.

“I left my stab vest behind,” he said. “So this get up is relatively light and breezy.”

“Take your shirt off,” Keira suggested. “We don’ t mind.”

Seren cracked up laughing as she hopped into the boat. “I’m feeling more and more sorry for Noah. First you leave him to do your job while you have fun, then you’re trying to get police officers to strip and turn it into some kind of party boat.”

“I was only thinking about Flynn’s comfort!”

“Sure you were.” Kit brought the engine to life and took a seat beside the tiller.

When Lily swivelled on the seat to face forwards, Flynn did the same.

“You still haven’t convinced Sergeant Proctor that a police boat would be a good idea?” she asked, the noise of the engine making the conversation feel private.

“He’s still saying it’s unnecessary. But I think the real problem is that it would make the job too attractive. Everyone would want to work here if they thought they could spend their days on a speedboat.”

“That’s true. Imagine how much fun that would be.” She almost added that he’d never want to leave, but caught herself just in time.

His gaze was fixed on the horizon and she could have sworn he’d been thinking the same as her, given how forlorn he looked.

After a few minutes of silence, she leaned closer. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. Why?”

She shrugged. “You’re quiet.”

Opening his mouth, it seemed he was going to say something, but he merely sucked in a breath that puffed his chest up before shaking his head. “I’m fine,” he said again.

Lily was unconvinced. “You must be so hot. ”

“It’s all right.”

Playfully, she knocked her shoulder against his and was rewarded with a shadow of a smile.

“Look!” he said, pointing ahead.

Bishop Rock Lighthouse really lived up to its name – a tall lighthouse sitting on a tiny rocky islet that rose out of the water. Not too far from it, a cluster of boats bobbed close together.

“I thought they’d all be spread out,” Lily remarked loudly, turning to Kit and Seren.

“They tie the boats together,” Kit told her. “It’s more fun for the non-divers that way – it’s like a little floating island. It also means the boats keep some distance from the shipwreck. That way no one accidentally drops anchor on it or anything.”

“That makes sense,” Lily replied.

“The red buoy will be the marker for the wreck,” Seren said, pointing.

As they got closer, Lily felt a stir of anticipation for the dive.

It had probably been five years since she’d dived, but when she was younger it had been one of her favourite pastimes, and one which she’d shared with her uncle.

They’d learned together and had both got the bug for underwater adventures.

She felt a pang of sadness as she thought of how much he’d have loved to dive the shipwreck with her.

“Any news on Maria?” Flynn asked, leaning close to speak in her ear.

She sighed at the mention of the owner of the ice cream shop. Maria had gone for a trip back to the mainland right when Lily had wanted to question her about her connection to her dad. “No. Glynis is sure she’ll be back soon, though.”

“Are you definitely going to confront her?”

“Yes.” Admittedly, hearing that Maria had left the islands had been a bit of a relief. Her slowly returning memories led her to believe Maria had been having an affair with her dad, and getting confirmation of that didn’t exactly fill her with joy. “I need to know the truth, once and for all.”

“Hopefully, she’ll be back soon.”

Lily nodded, but her attention was on the collection of boats ahead of them.

The hum of the engine quietened as Kit slowed the boat.

A few familiar faces greeted them from what appeared to be a tiny floating village.

Every age group occupied the boats, from kids to old people.

Some people sunned themselves in bikinis, while some had elaborate picnics and others were busy gearing up to dive.

“Who called the police?” a man called jovially. “Don’t tell us you’ve come to break up the party.”

“Must’ve been someone complaining about the noise,” a woman joked.

Despite his smile, Flynn’s eyes looked more annoyed than amused. Usually, he’d have a bit of banter, but apparently he wasn’t in the mood today. Maybe the heat really was getting to him.

“Glad you’ve joined the party!” Ted called, throwing them a rope from his fishing boat.

“Please tell me we can put our wetsuits on in your boat,” Keira said, rocking their considerably smaller vessel. “We’ll likely all end up in the water if we attempt it from here.”

“We’re going to end up in the water anyway,” Kit pointed out. “That’s sort of why we’re here.”

Keira rolled her eyes. “I’d like to have my wetsuit on before I get in the water.” She had her suit slung over her arm when she stepped over onto Ted’s boat.

“Rhys is down there too,” Ted said, taking the diving equipment from Kit and setting it beside him. “He’s convinced he’s going to find gold.”

“He better not get to it before me,” Lily said, stepping onto Ted’s boat to change into her wetsuit .

Amid the banter and excited chatter in her little group, she felt another burst of anticipation about the dive.

Her eyes went to Flynn. Apparently, he was immune to the atmosphere.

Staring out at the horizon, he looked as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.