Page 72 of The Sunken Truth
“What about the guy with the gambling problem?” the superintendent said. “He definitely sounded suspicious to me.”
Flynn shook his head. “He didn’t sound at all suspicious when I spoke to him. He swore he’d never put someone in danger while diving and I believed him.”
“Liars often are very convincing,” the superintendent argued.
“I really don’t think it was him.”
“How many people were in the water at the time?” the superintendent asked, a note of impatience in his voice.
“Seven. Not including the victim.”
“I really can’t see how it’s so difficult to figure this out then. Talk me through all the suspects.”
“It wasn’t Kit or Seren,” Flynn mused. “And it wasn’t Lily. That only leaves four suspects. Ishouldbe able to figure this out.” He was muttering, speaking to himself morethan anything.
“How did you rule those three out?” the superintendent asked.
“They’re my friends. I know them.”
“That doesn’t mean they couldn’t have done it. Don’t let personal feelings cloud your judgement.”
“I’m not,” Flynn said, through clenched teeth. “But I can tell you for a fact it wasn’t any of them.”
“This is why someone from the mainland would have been better suited to look into this,” he said, eyes on the sergeant.
“No. Flynn’s right. His judgement isn’t clouded. Knowing the people involved gives him an advantage.”
“How long will you let me keep Kurt here for?” Flynn asked the sergeant.
He checked his watch. “Two hours, then we’ll have to let him go.”
“Okay.” He stood in a rush. “I need to go and speak to a few people.”
The sergeant nodded his approval. “Let me know as soon as you find anything out.”
“Will do,” he said, then shot from the room. He needed space to get his head straight. It was impossible to think of anything around the superintendent.
Outside, he took a lungful of fresh air and gave himself a mental talking to.
If he had any chance of proving himself to the superintendent, he needed to figure this one out.
And he only had two hours to do it.
Chapter Thirty-One
Perchedon the wall at the front of the station, Flynn replayed his conversation with Kurt. If he was telling the truth about finding the cigar case further out from the wreck, that would mean he was no longer a suspect. And if it was true that he’d seen Harry swimming in Ryan’s direction, then Harry should be his prime suspect. But that still didn’t ring true.
Kurt had been lying to him all along. If he’d been lying before, maybe he still was. His instincts told him he needed to speak to Benji.
Setting off in the direction of the dive school, he hoped he’d be able to track him down without too much difficulty. He was striding along Garrison Lane when he decided he could do with some backup.
Lily answered the phone after only a couple of rings. “How did it go with Kurt?” she asked.
“Not great. He stuck to his story that he found the artefact but didn’t cut the air hose. He claims he kept quietbecauseof the sabotaged equipment. Apparently he was worried about someone coming after him too.”
“Did you believe him?”
“No. But until I have proof, that means nothing. I put him in a cell and the sergeant’s given me two hours before we’ll need to release him.”
