Page 37 of Death at the Deep Dive

Or rather, Vera, suspected her family of possible involvement.

Either way, Ellery recognized that glittery fury in Tackle’s eyes and the clenching and unclenching of his ham-sized hands. He braced himself, trying to remember all those hand-to-hand combat techniques he’d learned from Danny Boyega, who’d coordinated the fight scenes in theHappy Halloween! You’re Deadfilms, but was unable to think of anything—except how much it hurt to get punched by accident. Never mind how it would feel to get punched on purpose.

He swallowed, remembering that Tackle had gone to prison for manslaughter. Maybe Tackle remembered that too because the glitter in his eyes faded.

“Wherever he is, it’s none of your business, and Gram should have remembered that before she started airing our dirty laundry. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave this alone.”

Ellery put his hands up. “Okay.”

Tackle eyed him narrowly. “Okay?”

“Was that the wrong answer?”

“It’s the right answer. I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.”

“I want you to agree to leave this alone. I want you to stop looking into what happened to Vernon.”

“And I said okay.”

Vernon seemed baffled. “Stop saying that!” Ellery spread his hand—which seemed to bewilder Tackle all the more. “Are you crazy? What the hell is the matter with you?”

“I don’t know what you want from me. Your grandmother is never going to believe I couldn’t find outanything. I’m a terrible liar, so when she asks me what’s going on, I’m going to end up telling her the truth. And even if I stop poking around, it’s too late to quash an investigation.”

“It’s not too late!”

Ellery couldn’t hide his impatience. “Ofcourseit’s too late. The coins are with RIMAP, which means ultimately there will be marine archeologists all over this place, looking for the rest of the treasure.”

Tackle’s lips parted.

“I have no control over that. None. Nada. Zilch. You have no control over that. It’s a done deal.”

“It’s not—”

“Secondly, I’ve already talked to Police Chief Carson about this, so he’s bound to take another look at the case. It doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do. The investigation is happening with or without me. You can threaten me from now till the end of time. You’re not stopping anything.” Ellery added hastily, “Except me, of course.”

“I’m notthreateningyou. I’m giving you a piece of friendly advice.”

“I’m getting a lot of that lately.”

Tackle suddenly looked shaken, as if another much worse thought had dawned on him. He stared at Ellery, but clearly, he saw something else, something that scared the heck out of him.

Which, you would think, would take a lot.

“I’m just being honest,” Ellery said. “I’m sorry.”

Tackle seemed to snap back to the present. He glowered at Ellery. “Not one word to my gram. You got that?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t be a smartass.”

Ellery sighed.

Tackle hesitated. Maybe he felt a more formal end to the scene was required. He opted for pointing his finger pistol-like at Ellery’s forehead and quoting, “‘Dead men tell no tales.’”

Nice. One of the classics.

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