Chapter 18: Contraband
So, bottom line, we got a nanny. Good news, I don't have to feel guilty whenever Diver's called in to help the save the city. Bad news, the nanny is Jane's mom.
"Grandma can just eat you- Edward Turner! I've told you a hundred times to towel off before you come into this house from that filthy river!"
Jane calls this punishment. I agree.
"I was only out there for ten-…Sorry, Mrs. Dobbs." I say, stepping back onto the patio to clean myself. After years of knowing her, I know better than to talk back to my mother-in-law.
The terrible truth behind this is that this all makes sense. Jane's just now getting back to work and I can't let her quit knowing how much she loves her job. Likewise, my paycheck (and thank GOD it does pay) from the Response only comes in if I actually show up to fight crime. It's not exactly a job I can phone-in.
I walk in with just my boxers and water tank on. "Better?"
Mrs. Dobbs sneers at me (hopefully) playfully. "I don't know what my daughter sees in you."
"I'm an acquired taste," I say. "Did I miss anything?"
"Some man…Mark, I think his name was, called," Mrs. Dobbs says while I change in the bedroom. "Ed, I do wish you kept this place cleaner. What are all of these papers?"
"Papers?" I ask.
I walk back through and Mrs. Dobbs shows me my sketches of the fish ouroboros tattoo from the crime scene.
"Oh, those," I say, taking them from her and tossing them back on the coffee table. "It has to do with a case."
"Hmph. Well then." Mrs. Dobbs turns her attention back to my highchair-bound daughter, but calls over her shoulder, "That contraption on your back looks so much better than the last one."
I thank her, twisting around to try and see the new tank. Well, I say tank. The last one was a tank; this one is more like a box. The water is kept in a bag protected by a cover and fed through tubes to my gills. The bag is huge and takes up most of my back, but instead of making me look like I have a hunch, it just makes me looks a little thicker.
"So only Mark called, huh?" I ask, hopeful.
"Yes."
Crap. I pick up my ouroboros sketch and start pacing the room. Not that I’m not thankful to hear from Mark, it's just it’s been a couple of days since I found the body and I haven't heard a thing from the police about the case. I've been practically anchored by the phone whenever I'm home waiting.
…anchored.
I scramble to the patio door and bolt outside, mentally punching myself for not thinking of it before.
Mrs. Dobbs yells after me as I hastily put on my costume, "Where are you going?!"
"IhaveanideabehomeinanhourloveyouTracy!!!!"
I dive off into the river before my mother-in-law can say anything else.
A Quick Swim Later…
The Indigo City Docks
I can't believe I never thought about this sooner.
After that time Wind Duster and I tore up the docks a few months ago (long story), I started making sure my regular rounds came around here to make sure the peace was kept. Before Tracy was born, I started noticing stuff. Different kinds of boats coming and going, how the crates were dropped and picked up, and, most importantly, I started noticing the equipment.
As I walk down the aisles of crates, I go over my sudden burst of genius with a smile. The anchor that the body was tied to was not one someone can find on a fishing boat. It was old, very used, and, most importantly, big. One that can only be found on-
"A big @$$ freighter." I say triumphantly, looking over my prize. I stare lovingly at the crate before me, newly placed on the ground with a giant painted fish ouroboros on its side.
"Oh. My. God."
I turn around in surprise to find a group of people staring wide-eyed at me. Every one of them is dressed in a blue t-shirt and goggles. The man in the middle of the group, wearing one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen on a human being, is practically shaking with excitement.
"…Who are you guys?" I ask, taking a step back.
"Isn't it obvious?" The man in the middle says, putting his goggles over his eyes. "We're the Official Diver Fan Club!"
…Oh crap.
To be continued
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