When they got back to the police boat, Oliver and Sherlock were on the deck of theOceanid.“I’ll drop you there,” Dot said.
“You heading back now?”
“I want to loop past the other islands on the way.”
Sam glanced at his boat and then back at her.
“I’m fine on my own.I want to make sure no other drugs have washed up.”
“Good idea, especially since Oliver thinks this place will be heaving with treasure hunters any day.”
Dot groaned.“I want to throttle Jordan for spreading the rumour.”
Sam nodded.“He’s just a kid.I couldn’t have kept it a secret when I was ten.”
That was beside the point.Her resources were already significantly overstretched.Oliver grabbed the rope Sam tossed him as they neared.He’d pulled the wetsuit down to his waist, giving her a nice view of his muscled chest.She remembered the thrill of running her hands over his skin, feeling his sharp intake of breath and rapid heartbeat that quickly led to other things.
Her face hot, she looked away as Sam climbed on board, but when Oliver didn’t throw the rope back, she had to meet his gaze.His eyes were bluer than she remembered, more like a baby’s blanket than a stormy ocean.Her heart twinged, and she hardened it.“I need the rope back.”
He nodded and threw it onto the deck.
Dot accelerated away, ignoring her rapid heartbeat.She had been over him for years.His arrival in town reeked of Stonefish manipulation.She had to remember that.
She headed towards the first island, keeping an eye out for debris, and also on the depth.It could be tricky to navigate the coral around here, especially with the varying tides, and she didn’t want to add her own boat to the list of shipwrecks in the area.At least the drugs would be enough to get the organised crime division up here.They couldn’t ignore millions of dollars’ worth of drugs washing ashore.The only problem was, she wanted to be the one to make the arrest.Stonefish had killed her brother.
Pushing aside her grief, she focused on the task at hand.It had been some time since she’d been in this area of the gulf on the water.She’d been to the shore, where the monument to theRetributionwas, and it had been only a couple of kilometres away where she’d discovered her brother shot through the head.
Damn it.The memory flashed into her mind.Mark lying on his back, flies buzzing around him, a perfect hole in his forehead, and a mess at the back of his skull.
Her stomach heaved and she shoved the memory away.It was one more reason why she had to stop Stonefish.
She should have made more of an effort to be a better sister.Her parents hadn’t cared for them, but she and Mark could have been a family.
She’d hoped becoming a police officer would stop him from his petty crime activities.She thought it had.But he’d just hidden it from her.
It was too late now.
Now she had to search for evidence.She’d been meaning to explore the area more thoroughly, but something always cropped up that stopped her.Stonefish had to have some kind of haven here.They’d got planes in the air quickly after her brother was killed, but there’d been no sign of the dinghy the murderer had escaped in.He had to have hidden it somewhere.
Dot decreased her speed, splitting her attention between watching the water and scanning the shore of the nearby island.It would be more effective to go ashore, but Sam was right.It wasn’t safe to go alone, especially not with Nhiari away.Her other three officers were capable, but on her suspect list.
She hoped she was being paranoid, suspecting everyone, but her gut and circumstances were hard to ignore.
Her radio squawked.“You on your way back, Sergeant Campbell?”Colin called.
“Almost.What’s happening?”
“Got word from the airport.The plane that just landed is full of treasure hunters.There have been a few arguments at the hire cars, with everyone wanting one.Do we need to set up a checkpoint into town?”
She swore.Checkpoints worked at the height of the season when accommodation was booked out, but there were plenty of rooms available now.Perhaps they could stop people and tell them treasure hunting wouldn’t be tolerated.“Yeah.Can you get Martin to help you?”
“He said to contact you.He got called out to the boat ramp.”
“What about Pierre?”
“He’s settling a dispute about a dog.”
Damn it.“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”But it wouldn’t be in time to catch those coming into town and telling them they were wasting their time.Even announcing they’d found the whole chest of treasure wouldn’t help because it would just encourage people further.They would be sure there was more to be found.
