Oliver surfaced from his last dive and gave Sam the OK signal before inflating his BCD.Progress was slow, but steady, and he was pleased with his students’ patience.They all worked in a line and visibility had improved so he could see the groups as they worked.So far, they’d uncovered some fragments of ceramics, and what looked to be some kind of wooden planks, newly uncovered by the storm.
He climbed aboard theOceanidand lowered his vest to the ground.
“What’s it like down there today?”Sam asked.
“Clear,” Oliver answered.“Calm.Good conditions for a dive like this.”The students were already standing around the table eating afternoon tea.Even Andrew was keeping food down today, though he’d thrown up the entire journey here.“Any issues topside?”
“A few boats came near, but they left after they saw us on board.”
Good.Hopefully, Sam and Sherlock were enough of a deterrent.
Rajesh glanced over at the discussion.“A bunch of people approached us at the brewery last night, and we told them there was no treasure.”
“Though there was one woman who thought Andrew was a bit of a treasure,” Tom teased.
Andrew sniffed.“Don’t be jealous.Older women recognise my maturity.”
Suzyn rolled her eyes.“Or are desperate.”
They all laughed.It was good to see the team was bonding.
Sam headed to the top deck to steer them back to town.Oliver needed to decide whether they should stay on the boat.There were only so many dives they could do in a day, they had more room in the house to work, and it wasn’t a long trip out and back.However, Andrew wasn’t as sick with the calmer weather.
Andrew ran to the bathroom and Oliver winced.Maybe staying on the boat wasn’t the best option.
There’d been expeditions when he’d longed to have solid ground under him at the end of the day.However, the thought of treasure hunters messing with his site niggled at him.And there was a little voice in the back of his head that said if he stayed on the boat, he wouldn’t run into Dot.
Stupid really.
He’d never let his feelings affect an expedition before.
The indecision plagued him, adding constant stress in the back of his mind as they unpacked the boat.
Back at the house, they collated their work.Suzyn turned her laptop around, showing a photo she’d taken.“I’m pretty sure this is some kind of wooden plank.It’s shaped differently to the coral and appears as if it was uncovered recently, maybe in the storm.”
Oliver reviewed it and nodded.“Looks like it.You can retrieve it tomorrow and we can test it.Knowing the type of wood might help us narrow down which ship it is.”
Tom pointed to one of the printed photos of the ocean floor.“I found some glass and ceramics here.”
“And also here.”Rajesh pointed.
Oliver looked at Andrew to see what he would add, but the man said nothing.
“I’ve got a list of ships that went missing in that era around Australia,” Suzyn said.“I’ll check which ones mention wood as cargo.”
They continued discussing what they’d found until someone knocked on the front door.No one made a move to open it.
Oliver sighed.Probably another curious local.He opened the door and stepped back, his heart skipping a beat.Dot stood there in her police uniform, shadows under her eyes from fatigue, but her back straight and her face expressionless.Once upon a time she would have greeted him with a huge smile and a massive hug.He resisted the urge to instigate it, knowing he’d be rejected.And that hurt more than it should.
“Oliver.”Dot nodded.“This is Tess Lim.She has some information which might be helpful to your expedition.”
He blinked, glancing towards the young Asian woman next to her who was holding a journal and some photocopied papers.
Tess’s smile was a little shy.“I’m studying history at uni and have a particular interest in theRetributionshipwreck as one of my ancestors was on board.”
Oliver smiled politely.The two wrecks weren’t related, but it was nice of Dot to help a friend.“We’re actually studying the other shipwreck near theRetribution.”
Tess nodded.“TheAvontuur.”
