Kelly left it and they walked in silence towards the underwater search team van, which had set up next to the pond. It hadn’t snowed as forecast but the sky was heavy with promise. The pond looked uninviting; not that it was normally used for a pleasant dip anyway. It was the preserve of ducks, swans and litter, and was around three hundred metres long and twenty wide. Kelly had charted a route from the scene of Ella’s homicide, taking into account that they knew from the two CCTV cameras that worked that the attackers hadn’t fled through the exits. Instead, she concentrated her search towards the Beacon Estate, which was their biggest lead so far. That route passed the edge of the lake, where a person could dump a weapon before disappearing. She’d checked the area for CCTV and, as she’d expected, found none. She surmised that the attackers had made their decisions based on exactly the same criteria, which proved premeditation and some resourcefulness. It also meant prior planning and preparation.

The dive sergeant introduced himself and Kelly did likewise. He was dressed for dry land, and she guessed that somebody else was going in. The whole area had been secured, but they couldn’t prevent people watching them from balconies and walls surrounding the park. She explained her theory to him, and they agreed that a strong man could potentially throw a weapon about thirty feet if he was running, or up to fifty walking. The speed and viciousness of the attack suggested that the perps would be running. The sergeant said he’d map out to fifty feet to be on the safe side. Kelly and Will watched as he charted a grid of squares over the area of the pond, and liaised with two divers readying themselves to go in.

Kelly had picked up a bit about diving in Florida. She and Johnny had done two casual aided dives, meaning they weren’t qualified to go alone, but still they’d had to learn the jargon, and now she understood most of what was being said. She knew that the DV was the demand valve on the breathing regulator, and this was discussed a lot. It had to be tested before entering the water. She also understood that BAR was the air pressure left in the tank. She and Johnny had had to work out underwater how much they were consuming per minute and at what depth. They’d been so engrossed in their calculations that the instructor had to point out a grey nurse shark that had come to feed on the reef.