“Perhaps the dive itself is a threat,” Nick suggested. “Maybe we should check her equipment or something.”
“I’m not above checking her equipment, but we’ll have to do it under the guise of checking everyone’s equipment or it will look hinky,” Quinn said. “As for equipment failure itself, that would be my natural assumption except … .”
“Except what?” Nick prodded.
“Except that this is the second time it’s happened on this trip,” Rowan supplied. “It happened with Selena, too.”
“And that’s why you were watching her so closely,” Nick mused. “I wondered if it was something like that. You seemed disturbed that day on the deck.”
“Selena is part of Andrea’s elite diving team,” Quinn noted. “She had the mark. We saved her. Now Andrea has the mark. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“No, I would agree.” Nick moved his eyes to the diving team at the end of the dock. The bulk of the participants were complaining … and in very loud fashion. “I guess we have to ask ourselves what Selena and Andrea have in common.”
“They’re both elite divers,” Rowan volunteered. “Maybe someone is worried they’re going to see something at the wreck, something that someone wants to hide.”
“Hmm.” Nick pursed his lips. “That’s definitely a possibility.”
“What could it be, though?” Quinn challenged. “The Conqueror has been down there for centuries. Whatever our guilty party is trying to hide couldn’t possibly be anything other than new.”
“Unless he or she is looking for something old,” Rowan pointed out. “Think about it. What’s supposed to be down there?”
“A shipwreck,” Quinn answered without hesitation.
“You’re being too literal,” Nick offered. “I understand what Rowan is saying. We talked about it a bit during the descent, in fact. There’s money down there.”
“Old money,” Quinn said. “It’s not as if the coins can be collected, cleaned, and used to buy a new car or something. An antique dealer or coin collector would recognize old Portuguese coins and given the notoriety this find has gotten, it would be very hard to pass them off as anything other than stolen goods.”
“That’s true,” Nick agreed. “The coins are considered historic. Their value goes above and beyond that which they can be sold for if you’re dealing with the right buyer.”
“Oh.” Realization dawned on Quinn as he ran his hand over Rowan’s back. “You think there’s a turncoat in our midst.”
“Wait … how did you get there?” Rowan was completely flummoxed. “How did you get from a specialized dealer to a traitor?”
“It’s fairly simple,” Nick replied. “Whoever has targeted the divers did it for a purpose. What’s the purpose? It has to be the coins. Even a handful of them could make someone very rich.
“The thing is, we have security procedures in place to make sure no one pockets any of the loot,” he continued. “All the divers were divided into set pairs and all collection bags have to be logged once the divers hit the docks. We have third parties waiting right at the spot where the divers exit the water to take possession.”
“I still don’t understand,” Rowan pressed. “How does that lead to a traitor?”
“What’s the best way to circumvent the security, Ro?” Quinn asked.
“I don’t know. Um … maybe joining forces with another diver.”
“Uh-huh. How do you circumvent the third and fourth parties on the docks watching everything?”
Rowan shrugged. “I have no idea. This is your world. I’m just visiting … and hoping for an extended leave pass.”
“Cute.” Quinn poked her stomach. “You circumvent it by having a group of people work together.”
“And then you increase your portion of the pie by eliminating members of the group,” Nick added.
Rowan’s eyes widened to saucer-like proportions. “You’re saying that several of the divers are working together.”
“And possibly murdering together,” Nick confirmed.
“That means if Selena and Andrea were targeted, then they’re probably involved,” Quinn said. “They’ll know who is in charge of this, who is calling the shots.”
“Wouldn’t that be the buyer who wants the coins?” Rowan asked.
“Not necessarily,” Nick replied. “It’s far more likely that they’ll want to get the coins before they approach a buyer. Bringing a buyer in too early would mean another person to control should things get out of hand. No one thief worth his or her salt would risk that.”
“It has to be a man,” Rowan said. “It was clearly a man who attacked Selena on The Bounding Storm the other day.”
“It could be more than one person, though,” Quinn pointed out. “We have no idea who is and isn’t involved.”
“And that could very well leave us outnumbered,” Nick added.
Quinn tightened his grip on Rowan’s waist. “I want you to go back to the ship, Ro. I think that’s the safest place for you. Nick and I will handle this.”
Rowan immediately started shaking her head. “There’s no way that’s going to happen.”
“Oh, it’s going to happen,” Quinn argued. “You’re not safe here.”
“Neither are you. You can’t go diving with those people again. You’re the odd man out.”
“I have no choice but to dive with them again. I’m the only one who can figure out what they’re doing underwater.”
“Not the only one.” Rowan pulled away from him, her expression fiery. “I can help underwater. I’ll be in the submersible with Nick. I can watch your back for you.”
Quinn didn’t want to smile. It would only encourage her, after all. He couldn’t help himself, though. “I wouldn’t want anyone else watching my back. Still, it’s not safe for you to stay here. We have no way of knowing who our enemies are.”
Rowan was adamant. “I’m not leaving you here.”
“Ro … .”
“It’s not going to happen.” A muscle worked in Rowan’s jaw as she stared him down. “You can’t bully me into changing my mind. Don’t even try.”
Despite the surreal situation, Nick was amused as he watched Rowan stand her ground. “Oh, she’s a firecracker. I’m so glad I didn’t miss this.”
Quinn murdered him with a look. “She’s … something all right. I still don’t want her involved in this.”
“She’ll be in the submersible,” Nick pointed out. “There’s actually no safer place for her.”
Quinn remained unconvinced. “The Bounding Storm is safer. Our people are there.”
“You’re my people … er, person,” Rowan corrected. “I’m not leaving you.”
Quinn turned to stone for a full ten seconds, finally letting loose with a heavy sigh. “Fine. You’d better be careful, though.”
“The same goes for you.”
“The same goes for all of us,” Nick corrected. “Now, I suggest we take a long, hard look at the people over there while we eat lunch. We know what we’re dealing with now, if not who. We should be able to figure something out if we all put our heads together.”
“Great.” Rowan flashed a smile. “Order something good for lunch. I’m starving.”
“Only you could be hungry in the middle of all this,” Quinn said.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I’m fairly certain I meant it to be exactly that.”
QUINN KEPT ROWAN close as they settled at one end of a picnic table. There were three grouped together, and he purposely picked the one with the best view to use as his perch.
Nick went the easy route and ordered sandwiches and chips. He also arranged for a supply of juice and water to be delivered. He sat across from Quinn and Rowan and kept the conversation going while watching the divers for hints of mischief.
“So, about the cannon … .”
“I think it’s easy enough to bring up,” Anthony said. “We’ll take inflatables down, slide them under the cannon and
then inflate them so it naturally lifts through the water without being jarring. The depth is not so deep that we have to worry about that.”
“No, but I do think there are going to be issues when the cannon hits oxygen,” Andrea noted. “It’s been under there for a very long time. Only the metal is still intact and it’s going to be a mess to clean up. I’m worried that there will be an oxidation effect when we get it to the surface.”
“I see.” Nick steepled his fingers, giving the approximation of a man in deep thought. “Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow to deal with the cannon. I want to place a call to the home office tonight and see what they have to say. I would hate to ruin the cannon because we moved too fast.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Anthony said. “Right now we can focus on the ocean floor. I was hoping to get some underwater metal detectors down there to make things easier. Currently we’re using the screens and shuffling dirt into them. That’s slow going.”
“We have that equipment on The Bounding Storm, right?”
Anthony nodded. “I can send a team back to retrieve it.”
“We can let that wait until tomorrow,” Nick said. “For today, keep on as you’re currently doing. Just because the work is slow, that doesn’t mean we aren’t getting anywhere.”
Anthony scowled, obviously unhappy. “Yes, but wouldn’t it be better for everyone if we could work faster?”
“Faster is not always better.” Nick was firm. “Keep the afternoon shift the way you’ve been doing it. I will contact the home office and see what they think about the plan to bring up the cannon. We’ll talk after dinner. Perhaps tomorrow we will have an entirely new game plan.”
Anthony made a grunting sound in the back of his throat as he shook his head. “Fine. You’re the boss.”
“I am.” Nick turned his attention to Andrea. “What did you find this morning?”
“What looks to be a few more coins,” Andrea replied. “There were only a handful of them … five I think, to be exact. We also found a weird disc thing. I’m not sure what it is. It might have something to do with The Conqueror, but it might be something else completely. We won’t know until later.”
“Keep me informed. I would hope we can make additional progress this afternoon. Given the pace we’re working, it seems likely we’ll have to leave a team behind and call in for reinforcements when The Bounding Storm heads back to her home base.”
“And when is that?” Anthony asked.
“Five days,” Quinn answered. “Our company only allowed for the booking because we had a hole in our schedule … some conference or something fell through. In seven days we leave on another cruise that’s already booked. We need the time between now and then to ready for another group of passengers.”
“So there’s no hope of keeping you guys here longer?” Selena asked, her eyes moving over Quinn’s impressive shoulders. “That’s kind of a bummer.”
Rowan shifted on her seat, uncomfortable. “I’m pretty sure we have to stick to our schedule.”
“We definitely do,” Quinn agreed, patting her knee under the table as he worked to keep himself from laughing at her response. “I’m not sure what your company had in mind when it planned this thing … but that’s the timetable we have to work with.”
“I don’t think they thought that far into the future,” Nick said. “I believe the only thing they were worried about was getting a team out here promptly. They were very quick when hiring divers, restoration experts, and security.”
He conveniently left out the part about that haste possibly causing them to face some murderous blowback, but that was on purpose.
“I’m sure it will work out,” Rowan offered helpfully.
Nick offered her a kind smile. “I’m sure it will, too. Don’t fret. Everything will work out how it should.”
The group lapsed into uncomfortable silence for a moment, everyone lost in their own little world. There seemed to be a certain amount of bitterness emanating from the table – from Anthony in particular – but it never got a chance to get a foothold because something else happened to shift everyone’s attention.
“What’s that?” Selena stood, brushing off her hands on her wetsuit before pointing down the way to where a bevy of lights flashed and a group of people stood. The lights belonged to police cars, and there seemed to be a lot of activity about a quarter of a mile down the beach.
“It doesn’t look good, does it?” Anthony followed her gaze.
“Perhaps we should check it out,” Nick suggested.
“It’s not our problem,” Anthony argued. “We should get back in the water. We only have limited time to get this job done. That’s the priority, right?”
“It is,” Nick confirmed. “I still want to check it out.”
“We’ll go with you.” Quinn used a napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth before grabbing Rowan’s hand. “I want to see what it is, too.”
A handful of people joined them for the walk, including Anthony, even though he clearly wasn’t happy about the delay. Selena and Andrea walked ahead of everyone, their heads bent together. Quinn watched them with a studied eye, although they didn’t seem to be acting out of sorts.
When the group reached the beach, Quinn squeezed Rowan’s hand before moving forward for a better look. He was almost sorry he did when he realized what the island’s rescue team was doing. They were retrieving a body from the shallows.
“Son of a … .” He glanced over his shoulder and searched faces until he found Anthony’s. The man looked as shocked as Quinn felt. “Is that who I think it is?”
Anthony didn’t answer. He was too lost in the scene playing out as the large body – because the man was truly huge – was dragged from the ocean.
“That’s Stuart Dombrowski,” Andrea said, her face draining of color as she stared.
“The missing guy from your team?” Nick asked.
Andrea nodded. “I guess he wasn’t out having a good time after all.”
“I guess not.” Nick exchanged a weighted look with Quinn. “Well, this isn’t good.”
That was the understatement of the year as far as Quinn was concerned. This discovery changed everything, and not for the better.
19
Nineteen
There was no more diving that afternoon.
The death of one of their own – along with the gruesome body discovery – left a pall hanging over the group. Nick insisted they return to The Bounding Storm and regroup. Even Anthony didn’t argue.
Once back on the ship, the diving and restoration crews separated for a private meeting. Quinn considered trying to listen in, but he figured that was overstepping his bounds. Instead he followed Rowan to the tiki bar and indulged in iced tea and a private conversation of his own with his girlfriend.
“Are you okay?”
The question caught Rowan off guard. “Is there some reason I shouldn’t be?”
Quinn shrugged. “I don’t know. You seem … quiet.”
“I’m trying to absorb everything.”
“Everything with Nick, or everything with Stuart?”
“Everything everything.”
“That sounds like a lot to absorb.” Quinn patted her hand before leaning back in his chair. “I don’t know what to make of it. I don’t suppose you have Stuart in any of your photographs, do you?”
Rowan instantly started shaking her head. “No.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I would’ve remembered him. He was huge – almost as big as Anthony – and he had a mustache straight out of a porn movie. Trust me. I would’ve remembered him.”
It was the absolute worst time and yet Quinn couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “You know you didn’t shoot him because you would’ve remembered the pornstache. Is there any wonder why I’m crazy about you?”
Rowan mustered a small smile for Quinn’s benefit before sobering. “Things are starting to happen fast now. I don’t understand it, but I sense something
is about to shift.”
“You’re intuitive. That doesn’t exactly surprise me.”
“But?”
“There’s no but. You’re intuitive. I happen to agree with you. Something is about to shift.”
“I don’t suppose you know what that is, do you?”
“No.” Quinn rolled his neck and stared at the sky for a beat. “I want you to stay on The Bounding Storm tomorrow.”
Rowan immediately balked. “We’ve already talked about this.”
“We have,” Quinn confirmed, bobbing his head. “I would like to finish that discussion now.”
“We finished it at the dock.”
“No, we didn’t.”
“Yes, we did.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Rowan made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. “When are you going to realize that simply saying ‘no’ to me isn’t going to make me fall in line and do what you want me to do? You’re not my boss.”
“Technically I am,” Quinn reminded her. “You have to listen to what I say.”
“That’s not how a relationship works.”
Quinn was testy, the afternoon heat and body discovery combining to make his fuse short, but he managed to bite back a scathing retort. Instead of yelling and screaming, he adopted a pragmatic approach. “Where you’re concerned, I’m two things. I’m your boyfriend and your boss.”
“That sounds like a dangerous combination.”
Quinn narrowed his eyes. “Are you threatening to break up with me if I exert control as your boss?”
Rowan realized how her prior statement sounded and tamped down a surge of guilt. “No. I would never say that. I’m sorry if it sounded that way.”
Quinn didn’t relax despite the denial. “Rowan, just because you’re my girlfriend, that doesn’t mean I can give you whatever you want.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“And yet … .”
“And yet you’re not shutting me out.” Rowan was firm as she held up a hand to quiet whatever argument Quinn was about to mount. “You need me.”
Sunken Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 4) Page 17
