Page 11 of Death at the Deep Dive

“No doubt we are.” She lit another cigarette. “Save your breath, laddie. It’s common knowledge.”

Ellery spluttered, “It’s—what’scommon knowledge? No. I don’t care. First of all, no. Wrong. And secondly—that’sjust wrong on every level. But, putting that…thatnonsenseaside, you’re talking aboutsixty years ago.”

“Fifty-nine.”

“That’s a cold case. That’s a case so cold, it’s…”

“Cryogenically frozen?” Vera’s expression was one of polite inquiry.

Chalk one up for Vera. Just because she was an elderly woman running a salvage business in a fishing village on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere didn’t mean she hadn’t ever read a book or watched TV. She was not Pittenweem Jo, for heaven’s sake.

Ellery protested, “How do you know your brother was murdered? And if you thought he was murdered, why didn’t you go to the police fifty-nine years ago when someone could have actually done something about it?”

“I did go to the police!”

Her unexpected rage—fifty-nine years’ worth—startled him into silence.

Vera jumped to her feet as though she couldn’t contain herself a minute longer. “You’re right! Fifty-nine years ago, I couldn’t be sure. I’d only my gut instinct. So I went to the police. But Chief Ballard wouldn’t take me seriously. And even if he had, he couldn’t find his arse with both hands. I went back a week later, and they treated me like I was some hysterical female. No one would help me. No one believed me. They called him adeserter. Vernon!”

“I’m sorry,” Ellery said. He knew how it felt to have the police not believe you.

She dropped back into her chair. “I thought Vernon’s fate was destined to remain one of the island’s mysteries. But thenyouwashed up on our shore. The last Page.”

“The last…”

“If scuttlebutt is to be believed.”

For a moment they simply stared at each other.

He admitted, “The truth is, Mrs. Sutton-Shandy—”

“Never mind that Sutton-Shandy business,” she interrupted. “You might as well call me Gram. You’ve as much right as anyone on this island, and more than some.”

“What’s that mean?”

She shrugged. “Come now, laddie, you must know the Page and Shandy bloodlines are as intertwined as seaweed in a kelp bed.”

Colorful, but surely inaccurate. No way was he calling herGram. Ideally, he wasn’t going to call her anything, because he wasn’t going to get involved in this very old mur—missing person’s case.

But even as the thought formed, he couldn’t help thinking that he was passing up the perfect opportunity to find out where those gold doubloons came from.

Oh, who was he kidding? Ofcourse, he was curious about what had happened to Vernon Shandy. He’d been curious since he’d first heard Nora mention Shandy’s name. Finding the doubloons had only whetted his interest.

He repeated, “The truth is, I wouldn’t even know where to begin with a case like this. I’m not a detective. I just get roped into things, usually because I know the people involved. But I don’t have any personal connection here. And even if I knew where to start, everyone involved is probably d—” He caught himself. Present company was clearly excepted. He concluded, “Not around to talk to.”

Vera studied him for a long moment through the veil of cigarette smoke.

She said finally, “As for where to start, you’d start with me, of course. I’ve had decades to think about this. I’ll provide you with a list of suspects right now.” She reached into the little jeweled cigarette box on the table and pulled out a much-handled sheet of lavender paper. She handed the creased sheet across the table to Ellery.

As he unfolded the paper, she added, “Not every suspect is still alive, I’ll give you that, but it’s not as though I expect you to bring anyone to justice. It’s too late, I know. Most of them have found their justice beyond the grave.But I want to know what happened.I want the truth! Vernon was my brother, and I loved him dearly. For fifty-nine years, not a day has passed I haven’t thought about him, missed him, wondered what happened. It haunts me.”

It was pretty effective, not least because she seemed sincere. Her eyes glittered with a brightness that might even have been real tears.

Reluctantly, Ellery stared down at the list.

Joey (Josephine) Franklin

Douglas Franklin

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