Divers were doing what they like to do – dive – and all was normal except ….. what is that lurking at the bottom of the sea bed?

Upon investigation it was something very sinister indeed.

A cement block with an iron ring and attached to that iron bar – a pair of handcuffs.

And that starts the latest thriller mystery from best selling author…… Seven Miles.

It would seem to be another best seller except …..

It is true.

The questions a fictional hero investigator would ask are exactly the same as the Royal Cayman Island Police Service are asking.

Who dropped the cement block onto the seafloor of the Caribbean Sea off the Seven Mile Beach on the beautiful Grand Cayman Island?

A sinister link is the most likely answer although the RCIPS are not speculating.
The purpose of the heavy block with the handcuffs “is undetermined at this time” is the official line.

Divers had spotted the block last week but it was only brought onshore last Tuesday (14). By the look of the block and the state of the handcuffs it has been under water a long time.

One ring of the handcuffs is cuffed to a metal bar at the top of the block, while the other ring is cuffed to a jagged, flat piece of metal.

My first thoughts:

How many handcuffs are unaccounted for in the RCIPS arsenal?

Would there be a connection to our missing persons Nathan Clarke, Kerry-Ann Baker and Anna Evans?

Other thoughts:

The close timing of their disappearances and the lack of progress on the investigation. It is suggestive of a person knowledgeable in law enforcement and probably from overseas hence the cessation of disappearances whether by returning home or transfer off island. Serial killers often stop for several years as part of their persona or sometimes simply due to relocation where fresh murders are unnoticed.

Or, as the International press are already surmising:

“The Cayman Islands are vulnerable as a drug transshipment point located along maritime smuggling routes between South America and North America. In April, a cocaine-stuffed bag washed up on a Grand Cayman beach.”

A local lawyer is already suggesting there should be an independent non-RCIPS enquiry.

Cement block, iron bar & handcuffs. Sherlock Holmes has solved many cases with less evidence.

Now I have just started my next best seller. Seven Miles is signing off.