Page 30 of Death at the Deep Dive

“Ah.” Nora sounded regretful. “There might be a hitch. The original Deep Dive burned down in 1965.”

“You mean the Deep Dive on Coral Avenue isn’t the same Deep Dive where Josephine and Douglas worked?”

“They may very well have worked both locations. I’m sure most of the staff did.”

“Most of the staff would be Shandy family members,” Ellery pointed out.

“Yes. And I don’t know that the change of location is relevant, except it might not be easy to access the old employment records if they were lost in the fire.”

“Right.” Ellery frowned. “Well, Vera made up the list of suspects, so she should be able to fill in some of the blanks for me.”

“She didn’t explain her reasoning behind listing each name?”

“Not really. She’s been brooding over Vernon’s disappearance for decades. I’m guessing she’s been moving suspects on and off that list for years.”

“That’s probably true. In fact, it lends credence to this whittled-down list.”

“Because she’s had plenty of time to consider and reconsider all the players,” Ellery concluded.

“Exactly. Vera’s no fool. She might not have actual evidence, let alone proof, but if someone’s on that list, they’ve landed there with good reason.”

“Including Eudora?”

Nora’s gaze veered from his and returned to the neatened bookshelf. “She knew you’d take the case once you saw Eudora’s name. For all we know, she added Eudora’s name simply to lure you in.”

“You think she was lying about my aunt’s friendship with Vernon?”

Nora looked thoughtful. She said slowly, “No. No, they were good friends. I do remember that. I don’t think I fully understood the nature of their friendship back then.”

“Maybe there was nothing to understand. Maybe they were just pals.”

Nora considered, gave a slight shake of her head. “They were pals, yes. But I think they had to be more than pals.” She glanced at him. “You could see it in the way they joked with each other. And in the way they argued. Really, you could see it in the very way they stood next to each other. As though they were touching even when they were feet apart.”

“Hm.” Ellery decided to let that go. Nora had doubtlessly been a little smarty-pants, but she’d still only been fourteen years old. Her lack of experience had to color her interpretations. Never mind the fact that after nearly sixty years, she was bound to have forgotten a few things. Heck, he forgot things from last week.

He asked instead, “Where was the original Deep Dive located?”

“On the other side of the harbor.”

“But there’s nothing over there.”

“Not anymore, but at one time, nearly one third of the village was situated on the far side of Old Harbor.” Nora glanced at Kingston, who nodded agreement.

“There used to be several shops and businesses all centered around the Royale,” Kingston explained.

“What was the Royale?”

“A very grand hotel built in 1915. In its day it was quite the vacation destination. The Royale had its own private beach, a ballroom, and a first-class dining room that could seat twelve hundred people.”

Nora nodded eagerly. “My parents used to go to dances there. And I remember as a little girl having lunch in that amazing dining room. There was nothing like it on the island, before or since.”

Kingston said, “Granted, by 1965, the Royale had fallen into serious disrepair and was no longer much in use.”

Nora said, “But the rest of the shops and businesses were still thriving.”

“Yes.”

“You’re kidding,” Ellery said, although it was obvious from their expressions they weren’t.

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