As soon as Phoebe was lowered to the water’s surface I kept my eye on the dolphins. The event with Laura had unsettled all of us, and our radio communications were curt, businesslike and sombre. Dolphins aren’t quite the lovable children of the ocean as they are often portrayed in the press: they are still wild animals and are quite capable of savagery and viciousness. Their intelligence can even lend a bit of perversity to their behaviour. I’ve seen them torture their prey playfully like a cat would a trapped mouse. But I’ve never seen or heard of them grouping together to bully an individual like they had done to Laura. We were all concerned that they’d turn on the dive team. I watched expectantly as two of Meredith’s team released the harness securing us to the A-frame. Since she was wearing a full face mask with comms on this dive I could converse with the team leader. “Everyone OK, Meredith?” “They’re not paying us any attention, Matt. They’re just off on their own. To be honest I