Instantly, her brother’s voice sobered. ‘Be careful. You’re not geared up for caves right now.’
‘Just the entrance, I promise. And I have a torch.’
‘Great. A torch.’
There was a noise as Nico grabbed the mic from him. ‘Ari, we talked about this. Don’t do anything stupid. Especially not with—’
Rafael cut in effortlessly. ‘I’m perfectly safe, Nico. We are just approaching the entrance, nothing more. And we are mindful of the currents.’
Ari flashed him a grin as he said that. The danger of being swept inside was not great, but it was still there. The area between the point and the island was narrow and treacherous. Above them, the waves against the cliffs were undulating, stronger than she had thought when they left the surface. She glanced up. Was it darker here? A trick of the light?
‘Stay with me,’ she said.
The sand tailed off to a scattering of rock debris and stones, things that had been swept in over the years, and that had fallen down as the rock face slowly gave way to the relentless sea. It wouldn’t last forever. Nothing did with the ocean involved. It wore away rock and stone, ate the land away from the outside, and from within. The caves beneath the point were its weakness. Every year, they undermined it a little bit more. The geological survey had said as much.
Ten minutes passed, fifteen, as they approached the gaping mouth and she studied it for further clues.
‘What’s that?’ Rafael asked, pointing down between a couple of rocks.
Ari shone the torch down and it glinted. More coins?
No. Something else. More modern. A watch? She waited while he photographed the area with the find in situ. Then she pulled it out and bagged it, trying to work out why it seemed so familiar. A diving watch. She’d seen them a thousand times. Jason and Nico both wore something similar. Metal strap, heavy face with blue highlights and…
And suddenly she remembered where she’d seen it. Thierry’s wrist.
She swore and almost dropped the bag.
‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ Nico barked.
She couldn’t tell them. Not now. She couldn’t even explain it. What was his watch doing here? Had he lost it when the eel attacked him? But that was some distance from here. Had he lost it the night he died?
Rafael swam closer, his hand resting on her shoulder, his head tilted in a question.
She shook her head. She couldn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say. ‘It’s fine. Nothing. I thought I’d found something else. Trick of the light. Let’s get on.’
There was a long silence from the boat while she and Rafael photographed the area carefully, looking for anything else.
It could just be a coincidence. Someone else’s watch. Someone else’s loss.
They’d find out back on the surface. The boys would recognise it, wouldn’t they? Or Madalen?
Ari shuddered at the thought, a chill rushing through her body. Another shadow passed overhead and she glanced up again. The light from the surface had dimmed further and the waves looked like storm clouds gathering. The weather was changing. She could feel it.
‘Jason, give me an update on conditions up there?’
His voice broke up as he answered and she tried again.
‘Repeat that?’
‘—deteriorating. Can you hear—? Return to—’
‘Something’s wrong,’ Rafael said. ‘Interference? That shouldn’t be possible.’ He looked more affronted that his expensive technology was failing them.
‘Yeah, we should head back. We’ve got the place. We’ve got some evidence.’
‘Yes, but…Ari, it’s hardly enough.’
‘What are you looking for?’
