“They might have been diving for another reason and taken advantage of the crayfish,” Sam added.
“Shouldn’t the police be handling this?”
“They’re understaffed,” Brandon said.
Sam smiled. “Besides, we might find nothing.”
“Have you told Dot?” Penelope couldn’t claim to know Dot well, but she was fairly certain the sergeant wouldn’t appreciate them investigating—military training or not.
“We’ll tell her if we find something,” Brandon said.
It wasn’t illegal to go diving, but they were skirting the line between right and wrong, and Penelope didn’t cope well so close to the line. What if she said nothing, and they were injured?
Her stomach swirled and her skin tightened. “You should tell her now.” She cringed at the prim, uptight sound to her voice.
“Better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” Brandon joked.
She shook her head. “That implies you know what you’re doing is wrong.”
“It’s just a dive, like I did yesterday.” Sam’s placating tone did nothing to make her feel better.
“I don’t like it.”
“I told you we should have waited until tomorrow to tell her,” Sam said to Georgie.
“She has a right to know,” Georgie retorted. “It could be dangerous out there if she’s clueless.”
Penelope gritted her teeth. When had she become someone who needed to be soothed and handled? She’d once been the one who would have suggested the adventure in the first place. They were going no matter what she said, so she had two choices; tell Dot herself, therefore losing Georgie’s trust, or go with them to ensure they stayed out of trouble. But that meant diving again.
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Only one option would allow her to respect herself. She forced herself to speak. “If it’s just a dive, then you won’t mind if I come along.”
Both men scowled. “Don’t you have work?” Sam asked.
“The reef is my work. If this is bigger than two poachers, it’s my duty to investigate and inform the Department of Fisheries and Parks and Wildlife.”
“We don’t know what we might find,” Brandon said.
“All the more reason I go with you so I can document it.” She kept eye contact with Sam, not allowing her fear to show. Gerard had called it her ice princess look. If she could change their mind, she wouldn’t have to go through with this.
“She’s got a point,” Georgie said. “Having her along may temper your boof-head tendencies.”
Brandon and Sam both turned to her with identical protestation on their faces. “What boof-head tendencies?” Brandon asked.
“The ones that make you think you’re invincible and lead you into danger,” Georgie said. “Pen will keep you honest.”
Brandon looked as if he wanted to protest some more, but Sam said, “Sure, Penny can come.”
Shock sliced through her at his acceptance, and she wasn’t sure whether it was because of his agreement or the fact he’d called her Penny. It was such an unfamiliar name, but she liked the way he said it.
“Great,” she said, though she felt anything but happy about the prospect. “What time do we head out?”
Chapter 8
Sam would eat his hat if Penelope was happy with what she’d just agreed to. She was good at hiding her true emotions, but he’d been with her after the poaching incident and the brief lowering of her guard had given him an insight on how she was feeling.
But he couldn’t tell whether her unhappiness was because they weren’t telling the police, or because of something else.
Would Stonefish appear when they went diving tomorrow?
