The light was on in the dining area, and though he didn’t feel like socializing, Tusker ducked under the thatched roof. Sebastian was sitting alone at a table, eating a plate of rice and curry with his fingers. He looked tired but beckoned Tusker to sit down. “Eat something? You must be very hungry.” He called out in Sinhala and the cook, a rail-thin old man in a sarong and dirty button-up shirt, appeared out of the kitchen. “You want chicken? Fish?” Sebastian asked Tusker.

“Fish.” Tusker didn’t feel like eating, but he couldn’t remember the last meal he’d had.

“Malu,” Sebastian said, and the old man nodded and disappeared again. The smell and sound of frying food emanated from the kitchen.

“Roland told me what happened,” Sebastian said. “Dr. Senanayake is a good doctor. Your friend is in good hands.”

“I think he was deeper than me for most of the dive. I should have alerted him to it.”

“Well, everyone reacts differently, and a lot can depend on diet, dehydration, how much sleep he had, if he was stressed.”

Tusker nodded. Sebastian was trying to be helpful, but his words felt empty. Tusker had seen the effects of decompression sickness before. Watching Ian writhing in the back of the taxi brought to the surface raw emotion. With Upali’s death, it was almost too much to bear. And yet, what was pushing foremost in his mind was that hole in the Taprobane.

“Did Upali mention anything about their work? Anything strange?”

Sebastian finished chewing while he thought. “He was pretty excited two nights ago by what they found. Thought it was the Vampire.” He took a swig from a bottle of ginger beer. “But he did say they had found something peculiar in the wreck. Didn’t say what but said he needed to make a trip up to Trincomalee… the navy base, as a matter of fact, to ask them about it. That was the morning they went out to get more video footage.” He looked down at his food.

The cook came out with a steaming plate heaped with white samba rice smothered in chunks of a meaty fish with a yellow gravy. It smelled delicious.

“Would you like a fork?” Sebastian asked him.

“No, I’ve gotten pretty good with my fingers.” Tusker managed a weak smile, “Though I do eat with my left hand. I know that’s a no-no.”

Sebastian smiled and wobbled his head. “As you wish.”

“Did Upali show you any footage from the ROV?” Tusker said as he dipped his fingers, knuckle deep, into the curry. It was hot.