On the monitor was a section of the hull through which a square hole had been cut.
Sam moved Bruce close to it. The hole appeared to be just a little smaller than the ROV.
“The edges look melted,” Dino said.
“Can you point the light inside?” Stone asked.
The light swiveled from the edge of the hole to the interior. The yacht had been built with a double hull, meaning a hull within a hull, to provide extra safety. That safety had been negated by the fact that the inner hull had also been burned through.
“What the hell could do that?” Josie asked.
“A welding torch?” Choi suggested.
“Maybe for the inner hull,” Stone said. “But if someone tried that on the outer, water would have poured in as soon as the torch punched through. They wouldn’t have been able to finish.”
“I wasn’t thinking welding torch,” Dino said.
They all turned to him.
“I take it you’ve seen something similar,” Stone said.
Dino nodded. “On a robbery, five or six years ago. The thieves used this special type of incendiary cord to cut through a metal door. The yacht’s not metal, but the edges looked similar. My guess would be that the cord was put in place days before it was activated. Then someone used a remote controller to set it off.”
“Whoever that was had to be on or near the yacht,” Stone said.
“Because of what happened to the captain?” Josie asked.
“That, and there was no cell signal that far out at sea, so it couldn’t have been triggered that way. And since the device was inside the ship, below the waterline, using a satellite phone likely wouldn’t have worked, either. Whoever set it off had to be close.”
“I agree,” Dino said.
“But who would do something like this?” Josie asks.
“It’s not just who did it,” Stone said, “but also who’s behind it. It might not be the same person.”
“I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“My money is on not the same,” Dino said. “Knowing where to obtain the proper incendiary cord and how to set it up with a remote is not a skill most people possess.”
“Nor is shooting someone in the center of the forehead,” Stone said.
“Exactly. Which to me means he or she was likely a pro hired for the job.”
“Then who did the hiring?” Josie asked.
“It’s usually the person who gains the most from the incident,” Dino said.
“Like from insurance on the yacht?”
“I think the sinking was just a cover for the real crime,” Choi said.
Dino smiled at her, impressed. “Come see me when you get out of the Coast Guard. The NYPD can use smart people like you.”
“Then what’s the real crime?” Josie asked. “Killing the captain?”
“Thatcouldbe it,” Stone said. “But the captain wasn’t the only one who died.”
“Trenton Sidney,” Choi said.
