‘I don’t understand,’ said Forest. ‘I thought we were looking for a reason someone would kill Alexandra. I wanted treasure, damn it!’

‘We’ve found it, lad. Don’t you get it?’ He couldn’t understand why he was getting so angry with the boy. Of course he wouldn’t understand, how could he? ‘That cave is a massive find. It asks so many questions – probably answers a few, too. It’ll draw researchers from all over Australia . . . we’ll have divers everywhere, looking for more finds. They might turn this place into a national park.’

‘And that’s bad?’ said Forest.

‘It is if you’re running a drug trade out there. The Business would end overnight. That’s why Jesse wanted it kept secret. That’s why he killed Alexandra. She would’ve told the whole world – she would’ve had to. It’s an incredible find. And she knew about the Business, how much this place would lose – what her husband would lose. She probably saw this as a way to end it permanently. Clever girl.’

‘And then Jesse murdered her,’ said Forest.

‘If she died for this cave, it won’t have been for nothing.’ After all these years, Ahab had wanted to find Jesse because he thought something terrible had happened to him. Now he wanted to find Jesse so they could have . . . words. Stern words. Words one of them may not survive. ‘We need to tell someone. I don’t even know who you’re supposed to tell when you find things like this. There must be some government department you’re supposed to call.’

‘We need to be careful who we tell . . .’ said Forest. ‘That cave wouldn’t be hard to destroy. Or block up the entrance. Or . . . just kill us, to keep it a secret.’

But the cave was still there for us to find . . . so Alexandra mustn’t have told Jesse the coordinates. Or she gave him the wrong ones.

If Jesse believes this boy is the real Forest, then that’s why he wants him alive – he wants the cave.

The door opened and in walked Shelby. She took her sunglasses off, scanning the room until she saw them. She walked over, heels clicking. Ahab put the scraper in his pocket.

‘I need to talk to Davey,’ she whispered. ‘Where is he?’

‘What’s happened?’ said Ahab. She looked either nervous or excited, he couldn’t tell which.

‘The product is ready. Now we need to make sure the next part is right. We’re going to try and make contact with Blackbeard . . .’

Ahab glanced at Forest. He thought again about what the boy had said.

If Ahab told Shelby about the cave, and they went straight to the government, then how long would it take for it all to be sorted out? Days? Weeks? Months? With the resources Blackbeard had at his disposal, would the site even remain intact that long?