“Treasure,” Oliver said.He had planned to go back to town every night, but maybe he should talk to Sam about overnighting on the boat.That way he could keep an eye on things.
Andrew pushed open the bathroom door, his skin pale, almost green.Oliver cringed.He couldn’t do that to Andrew, but he could buy a tent and camping gear in town and sleep on the island.
“Can the police protect it?”she asked.
He hadn’t thought about Dot.
Sam answered.“They’re stretched as it is right now.One of their officers is missing, and the storm caused a lot of issues in town.”
“Missing?”Andrew asked.“How do you misplace an officer?”
“She was searching in the ranges for two children who were kidnapped,” Sherlock replied.“People get lost in them all the time.”
The students gaped at him, but Andrew said, “She mustn’t be much of a cop then.”
“She’s an excellent officer,” Sam said, his tone grim.
“All right, let’s focus on the task,” Oliver said before things got out of hand.“Gather around and we’ll review the details of the next dive.”
The last thing he needed was his students offending Sam and Sherlock.
“We’ve got a wreck to identify.”
***
“They’ve sent the names of the officers coming up from the organised crime division,” Martin said as he walked into Dot’s office holding a piece of paper.
“Thanks.”Dot scanned the names and swore.This had to be a joke.Of all the people they could have sent…
“Something wrong, boss?”Martin asked.
She shook her head and plastered on a smile.“It’s fine.What time does the plane get in?”
“In an hour.”
Great.Barely enough time to do anything before she had to be at the airport to pick them up.“Right.I imagine they’ll want to look at what we found and then head out to the island to see for themselves.I’ll take them if you can handle things here.”
“Of course I can.”Martin pulled himself up to his full height as if she’d offended him.
Dot smothered a sigh.She didn’t have the energy to deal with his ego today.“Great.”
She waited until he left and then glanced down at the list of names again.Rodney Taylor.She had hoped to never see him again.It didn’t surprise her he was now part of the organised crime division.At the academy he had always bragged that he was going places.He didn’t want to be a street cop for long.He was after promotion and excitement, and he hadn’t cared who he pushed out of his way to get it.
Dot was glad Nhiari wasn’t here.Rodney had tormented her all during the academy, and Nhiari hated him with a passion.Dot’s dislike wasn’t quite as violent, but it was close.
She could only hope he’d matured and discovered that treading on people wasn’t the way to succeed.
Still, the thought of having to be polite and professional to him made her skin crawl.
She checked her notes on the case and then went into the evidence room to make sure everything was in order and to gather the items that needed to be sent to Perth on the next plane.Satisfied everything was correct, she finally drove to the airport to greet Rodney and his team, picking up the keys for their hire car when she arrived.
The three men who disembarked all carried themselves with the same arrogance, ignoring parents who were carrying children and a million bags, side-stepping couples who were taking selfies of their arrival and only when they stepped through the doors, did they look around for her.
Rodney’s instant sneer confirmed all of Dot’s expectations.She braced herself and smiled, holding out a hand.“Rodney.It’s been a long time.”
He frowned in mock confusion.“Have we met before?”
So that was how he was going to play it.He would have been given her name before he’d come here.“Dot Campbell.We went through the academy together.”She smiled.“It’s been a decade and we all forget things as we get older.”Before he could retort, she turned to his colleagues and introduced herself.“I’ve arranged a hire car.Do you want to go to your accommodation first, or get straight to work?”
