Sem whistled as the crew members secured the yacht to the marina and started alighting. ‘That’s one good-looking boat. Wasn’t that the model you were thinking of getting, Bram? Until you saw the price. Too expensive, you said.’

Bram frowned at him, clearly unhappy to be reminded. ‘You and I both know those boats aren’t worth a damn cent if you can’t drive them properly. Come on.’

A tall, serious-looking North Hollander with greying hair led the team over. Bram introduced us. ‘This is Emerens Ericsson, Jo Baaker.’ Emerens shook my hand politely enough, though I noticed he squinted over my shoulder as he spoke.

‘You’re the fashion designer,’ he said.

‘Textiles historian.’

‘There’s a difference?’

I accepted the barb gracefully. ‘Bram says you’re in charge of the Defence Diving Group.’

‘That’s right. These are my boys. We’ve been diving together for – what is it, six, seven years now?’

The six men murmured their assent. They were all reasonably young, fit and broad-chested, dressed in identical black wetsuits emblazoned with the Defence logo.

‘We don’t usually dive out this way, unless there’s something big that needs our attention,’ Emerens said. ‘An accident, you know. Search and recovery.’

The back of my neck prickled.

‘Of course,’ he went on, ‘now that we know what’s out here is a matter of international significance, I expect we’ll be visiting the island more frequently.’

‘You’ve known about this site for years, Emerens,’ Bram said.

‘True,’ the divemaster conceded. ‘I guess I owe you an apology for not coming out sooner. No hard feelings?’

He extended his hand. Bram hesitated, then shook it, easing the tense mood.

‘Bram, you mentioned something about an extra diving suit,’ I said. ‘I’d like to take you up on it, if it still stands. There are a few details I’d like to clear up about the wreck’s location.’

Bram turned to me. ‘Of course,’ he said. He threw Emerens a sharp look. ‘I assume that’s okay with you, Divemaster?’

‘Fine by me, as long as she can look after herself. So, the historian is a diver? At least you’re willing to get your hands dirty. Today’s goal is to establish what happened down there the day the artefacts were found and to see if there’s anything else worth retrieving or if, due to deteriorating conditions, it’s better to leave things as they are. Everyone stays safe, yes? Everyone looks out for their friends. We’ll take our boat; you take yours.’

‘What if we find something?’ Nico said.

‘Then you leave it be,’ Emerens said. ‘Don’t touch anything. The boys and I will come back for it. Just point it out to one of us. Got it?’

Nico frowned then nodded.