“All right.” She kissed him and headed inside.
***
Sam waited until Penelope disappeared inside before he rang Sherlock. He had to know whether his friend had found anything about her before things progressed further. He’d wanted to stay at the Ridge and help, but he couldn’t without confirming Penelope wasn’t involved with Stonefish.
No answer.
He swore. This wasn’t the game he wanted to play. Need a status update on your mission. He sent the text, urging Sherlock to respond.
Come on. He couldn’t leave Penelope waiting for too long or she’d get suspicious.
SOS, Sherlock.
His phone rang and Sam breathed out a sigh of relief. “Have you found anything?”
“She’s thirty-two, lived with a guy, Gerard, for eight years and worked doing research on sea snakes before moving to Retribution Bay.” Sherlock’s voice was dull, listing off facts with no emotion. “A colleague died in a diving accident twelve months ago. Only Penelope was a witness.”
“Emelia, right?”
“She told you?”
“Yeah. She tried to go diving with me but couldn’t. Had a panic attack.”
The sound Sherlock made might have been sympathy, but then he continued. “Sounds like Gerard broke it off after the accident.”
“What about family, loved ones? Anyone who could be under threat and make her vulnerable to Stonefish?”
“Not that I could find. Her family seems normal and the guy who checked into their finances said nothing was out of the ordinary, though her mother appears to have an obsession with shoes.”
Great. That was one less issue. “Thanks, mate. I really appreciate it.” Sam smiled. “We could do with your help up here.” He told Sherlock about the weapons cache.
“I’m useless,” Sherlock said. “I’d only get in the way.”
“No, you’re—”
Sherlock hung up.
Sam swore. He couldn’t help his friend from this far away and Sherlock needed help, both mentally and physically.
Sam tucked his phone into his pocket and waved to Gretchen, who was across the car park with her son, Jordan.
“We’re back on Monday, right?” she called.
“Yep.” He gave her the thumbs up and entered the cafe, searching for Penelope’s red hair. She sat facing him, but her head was bowed as she read the menu. Beautiful and fascinating. He wanted to get her opinion on all sorts of subjects, and she would be an asset in the search for treasure.
She looked up as he sat. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah, it’s great. Just remembered I was going to check in with a mate.”
“Is this the one who lost his leg?”
Sam jolted. “Yeah. Did I tell you about him?”
She nodded. “Yes, when you gave me a lift back from the Ridge the other day. How’s he holding up?”
“He doesn’t want to face the world—thinks he’s useless and no help to anyone.”
“Is there a task you can give him to show how valuable he is?” She passed him the menu.
